KarelD_MSFT (Expert)[2009-10-27 11:58]: Karel Danihelka - Developer in Partner Response Team.
davbo_msft (Moderator)[2009-10-27 11:59]: Our chat today covers the topic of Windows Embedded CE & Windows Mobile!
1. This chat will last for one hour. During this hour, our Experts will respond to as many questions as they can. Please understand that there may be some questions we cannot respond to due to lack of information or because the information is not yet public.
2. We encourage you to submit questions for our Experts. To do so, type your questions in the send box, select the "ask the Experts" box and click SEND. Questions sent directly to the Guest Chat room will not be answered by the Experts, but we encourage other community members to assist.
3. We ask that you stay on topic for the duration of the chat. This helps the Guests and Experts follow the conversation more easily. We invite you to ask off topic questions after this chat is over, but not during.
4. Please abide by the Chat Code of Conduct.
davbo_msft (Moderator)[2009-10-27 11:59]: We are pleased to welcome our Experts for today's chat. I will have them introduce themselves now.
davbo_msft (Moderator)[2009-10-27 11:59]: We are pleased to welcome our Experts for today's chat. I will have them introduce themselves now.
Sing Wee[MS] (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:0]: Hi, I'm Sing Wee, part of the CoreOS/BSP Test Team.
rajran[MS] (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:1]: Hi , I am Rajeev Rangappa, PM in CoreOS team.
RajeevDubey[MS] (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:3]: Hi, I am Rajeev Dubey, Bluetooth Program Manager.
MariNe_MSFT (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:3]: My name is Mariana Nenova - SDET in the Shell team.
MikeThom [MS] (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:3]: Hi I am Mike Thomson, Group Manager from Windows Embedded CE
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator)[2009-10-27 12:3]: Hi, I'm Sue Loh, a developer on the Windows Mobile tools team (with past experience on the kernel and file system). I hope we can answer some of your questions today!
FBLANQ_MSFT (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:3]: Hi, I'm Francisco Blanquicet, part of the CoreOS/BSP team.
mskim_MS (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:4]:
Q: Regarding Silverlight Runtime in R3 and Expression Blend 2 - Expression Blend 2 appears to be unable to cope with the CacheMode="BitmapCache" tag that's needed for off-screen rendering in the silverlight runtime. Am I doing something wrong?
A: Andrew, CacheMode is from Silverlight3, we added this feature into Cashemere for a better performance but Expression Blend2 doesn't know about this SL3 property.
GLanger_MS (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:5]: Hi, I'm Glen Langer, lead PM for Core and BSPs.
kurtken_msft (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:6]:
Q: Can you point me to any documentation on the "threaded" SMS-message view in tmail.exe; I am having trouble adding my custom context-menu extension to it
A: Are your referring to the Windows Mobile SMS application? This chat is for Windows CE.
MS_Dinglu (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:7]: Hi, I am Dingding Lu, I am in CoreOS/BSP test team
mskim_MS (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:7]:
Q: So if I use Blend 3 will this help or just cause more problems?
A: You can't use Expression 3 with Cashmere, please use Blend2. You will need to add CacheMode only for the device XAML not in Blend2 XAML.
kurtken_msft (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:8]:
Q: Regarding mdd/pdd flash driver. There is some blocks that the MDD allocates for managing the data. Is it save to backup and recover those blocks? Where can we get info about them?
A: Can you give more information on what it is you are trying to do? The MDD's management of blocks is opaque because if it ever changes the only updates will be internal. is there a reason you need to access the internal structures?
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator)[2009-10-27 12:8]:
Q: Hi! We are developing an app for a new handset running WM6.5 and are having problems when starting up first time. We are built into image and start up at boot since we have set correct reg keys in HKLM\Init. But one test case fails, namely to get reg notif
A: Can you explain a bit better what you mean by your test case fails to get reg notif? Who is supposed to change the registry key, when? Who is waiting on it, when?
kurtken_msft (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:9]:
Q: Hi! We are developing an app for a new handset running WM6.5 and are having problems when starting up first time. We are built into image and start up at boot since we have set correct reg keys in HKLM\Init. But one test case fails, namely to get reg notif
A: Hi Simon. This chat is for windows CE, and does not cover windows Mobile. The best thing for you to do is contact your WM representative that licenses WM to you to get support.
MikeThom [MS] (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:9]:
Q: Does Wince6.0 R3 include iPOD support?
A: No. There is no integrated support in Windows Embedded CE. There is an automative kit that does supply support for head-units.
KarelD_MSFT (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:9]:
Q: Regarding mdd/pdd flash driver. There is some blocks that the MDD allocates for managing the data. Is it save to backup and recover those blocks? Where can we get info about them?
A: It depends what do you want to achieve, but in most cases answer will be no. I would recommend to backup flash volume on logical level, not physical one. So file can be restored on different flash (with different bad blocks etc).
kurtken_msft (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:9]:
Q: Does Wince6.0 R3 include iPOD support?
A: When you say "support" do you mean being able to connect an IPod to a Windows CE 6.0 device that has USB host support?
kurtken_msft (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:9]:
Q: Yes, I am referring to Windows Mobile SMS application. I thought this chat includes Windows Mobile topics. Sorry, if that is not the case.
A: No. please contact your support channels for windows mobile through your WM licensing representative.
mskim_MS (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:10]: Tom, please use the "Ask Expert" command so we can answer your question.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator)[2009-10-27 12:11]: Q: We listen for changes to HKLM\System\State\Phone , "Missed Call Count" however at this first start up we never get such notifications. Rebooting will make it work as expected. Any ideas why it does not work the first time?
A: You're saying the entire first boot, you never get notifications. Right? Not that you miss the very first notification of the very first boot, and everything else works after that. Assuming I got it right -- well you need a registry key in order to wait. Are you sure the key exists at first?
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator)[2009-10-27 12:11]:
Q: We listen for changes to HKLM\System\State\Phone "Missed Call Count", however at this first start up we never get such notifs. Rebooting will make it work as expected.
A: You're saying the entire first boot, you never get notifications. Right? Not that you miss the very first notification of the very first boot, and everything else works after that. Assuming I got it right -- well you need a registry key in order to wait. Are you sure the key exists at first?
KarelD_MSFT (Expert)[2009-10-27 12:13]:
Q: Does Wince6.0 R3 include iPOD support?
A: iPod expose itself as normal block device and as such it is supported. If you are looking for stream interface there is support in Microsoft Windows CE for Automotive, but you can add support yourself if you are able to get agreement from Apple and authentication chip.
davbo_msft (Moderator)[2009-10-27 12:13]:
Q: Actually, the title of this was presented as "Windows Embedded CE AND Windows Mobile", so that is not the case then?
MikeThom [MS] (Expert):
Q: [17] http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx?dg=microsoft.public.windowsce.platbuilder&tid=d5fa66de-0167-4a1f-932f-273fba9b29e8&cat=&lang=&cr=&sloc=&p=1
A: I will have someone from the QFE team look into this.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator): Sorry hoongyuin, we're only experts in Windows CE, not desktop Windows.
MikeThom [MS] (Expert):
Q: [16] Morning, I have a question regarding the Sept QFE '09 which causes ActiveSync issues I posted but got no answer? I am seeing more people posting on similar issue and on CE6.0 as well do you have any more info on this issue?
A: I will have someone from the QFE team look into this.
RajeevDubey[MS] (Expert):
Q: [18] Hello, I have a CSR bluetooth module to manage under WinCE and I would like to use the HCI_CustomCode to send some proprietary commands. Please could you tell me how to fill pcall for HCI_CustomCode (I did not found in msdn documentation)
A: Hi Butterfly, Please email me your request and I will get back to you after reviewing it with our dev team. Please provide an example of what you are trying to accomplish so we can address your concern properly.
KarelD_MSFT (Expert):
Q: [19] I´m already referring to the logical blocks. I want to know how to I get back to a "last well known" state backup of the filesystem (I´m using TExFAT). I am having filesystem corruptions due to hard power loss cycles.
A: Correct procedure in such situation is dismount all file systems from block device, erase, create partitions and write sectors from backup.
mskim_MS (Expert)[12:26]:
Q: [20] XAML Runtime Open GL Render Plugin: As shipped this supports OPENGL ES 2.0. My hardware has ES 1.1 support. Does the render plugin *NEED* any ES 2.0 features or should it be possible to convert the plugin for ES 1.1?
A: Andrew, this XAML renderer plug-in uses OpenGL ES 2.0 features. Since the plug-in is provided as public code, you can take a look at it.
RajeevDubey[MS] (Expert)[12:27]:
Q: [22] Thank you RajeevDubey but at which address, can I email ?
A: rajeevdu@microsoft.com
mskim_MS (Expert)[12:27]:
Q: [20] XAML Runtime Open GL Render Plugin: As shipped this supports OPENGL ES 2.0. My hardware has ES 1.1 support. Does the render plugin *NEED* any ES 2.0 features or should it be possible to convert the plugin for ES 1.1?
A: One of the ES 2.0 feature EXR uses is the Shader.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator)[12:32]:
Q: [24] Nothing in reg tree missing except actual value name="Missed call count" as defined in snapi.h. HKCU\System\State\Phone key is present
A: Hmm, if your code is successfully opening the key and holding a notification handle on it, and that notification handle isn't getting notified when the value is created, then that sounds like a bug. The only thing you could do about it is get in touch with our support. If it really is a bug then the support cost is supposed to be free, I believe (but you might want to double check). I would double check that your code is successfully opening these handles, just in case HKLM\System\State\Phone is getting created AFTER your code runs.
RajeevDubey[MS] (Expert)[12:35]:
Q: [25] Thank you, I email you my request about HCI_CustomCode.
A: I have not received your mail yet. Will confirm once I get it.
kurtken_msft (Expert)[12:36]:
Q: [26] I saw a question last month about if FMD_WriteSector() fails on NAND, and I was unclear about one point. After compation, does the FAL mark the block as bad, or try to erase it and reuse it? Same behavior for Flash MDD?
A: when a writesector fails, no attempt to write to the block will occur after that. As far as I know, this includes an erase attempt. The block may be read from, but will not be written to. if compaction moves the sectors out of the block that is now 'bad', then that block will not be used again even for reads.
Sing Wee[MS] (Expert)[12:39]:
Q: [32, 34] Is there a suitable version of conmanclient2 for ce 6 with two VS2005 running at the same time (One with PB and another one in app dev mode)? I get many edm.exe messages in PB when doing with the version from standard sdk 5 of conmanclient2?
(I´m debugging an application that tests the driver)
A: Is your application native or managed?
davbo_msft (Moderator)[12:40]:
Q: [21] Using Windows Media Player Settings.setMode, what is the proper way to call it without it returning a E_INVALIDARG? When I call it with BSTR mode = L"shuffle" (mode, FALSE) or (mode, TRUE), they both return an error and indicates 0x80070057 => E_INVALIDAR
A: WMP OCX 7.0 http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb821536.aspx. I don't see setMode exposed on the interface. For Shuffle you'd need to implement that outside of the OCX.
mskim_MS (Expert)[12:40]:
Q: [35] EXR OGLES2.0: What processor did you use to test the XAML OGL Render plugin? It would be good for us to test the EXR with Open GL without having to recode for OGL ES 1.1.
A: We have tested the OGL plug-in with TI OMAP 3530 and nVidea Tegra APX 2600 but also knows that it works with many other platforms.
davbo_msft (Moderator)[12:41]:
Q: [23] G. I am calling it via aninstance of IWMPSettings->setMode(mode, bValue);
A: OCX 7 IWMPSettings Interface http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb821471.aspx - setMode not a supported method.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator)[12:42]:
Q: [9] We listen for changes to HKLM\System\State\Phone "Missed Call Count", however at this first start up we never get such notifs. Rebooting will make it work as expected.
A: Yeah, I'd expect HKLM\System\State and its sub-keys to be created sometime during the first boot. Unfortunately there's no way to auto-attach an application debugger during device boot. I would probably try writing a simple log, like you say. You could also revise your code to fall back to waiting on HKLM\System if the "State" and "Phone" keys don't exist. Or to try creating the keys instead of just opening them.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator)[12:42]:
Q: [30] So there is a possibility that those reg keys are in fact not created yet? Is there any good way to attach/debug such situations? (other than file logging)
A: [re-posting to correct message on the conversation] Yeah, I'd expect HKLM\System\State and its sub-keys to be created sometime during the first boot. Unfortunately there's no way to auto-attach an application debugger during device boot. I would probably try writing a simple log, like you say. You could also revise your code to fall back to waiting on HKLM\System if the "State" and "Phone" keys don't exist. Or to try creating the keys instead of just opening them.
mskim_MS (Expert)[12:42]:
Q: [37] EXR: Are there advantages using the OGL renderer rather that the DirectDraw renderer? Or do they give equivalent functionality and performance?
A: It all depends on the platform implementation however there's no advantage on any technology for this plug-in.
Sing Wee[MS] (Expert)[12:45]:
Q: [38] native
A: Hi Marcelovk, I'm not an expert in this area, but I have a tutorial from a previous public presentation that showed this should indeed work. Could you private message me your email address, and I'll email the tutorial to you.
RajeevDubey[MS] (Expert)[12:45]:
Q: [40] Did you receive my e-mail?
A: Yes, just got it.
davbo_msft (Moderator)[12:49]:
Q: [44] In Wince 6.0 is there a speech recognition engine?
A: Microsoft Auto includes a speech engine - http://www.microsoft.com/auto
mskim_MS (Expert)[12:51]:
Q: [44] In Wince 6.0 is there a speech recognition engine?
A: SAPI 5.2 is included in CE 6. You can find more information from here http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/0/9/a09e587c-4ff9-4a58-a854-56fe50b862b2/release%20notes.htm
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator)[12:54]:
Q: [31, 33] On our device we have 2GB NAND flash and we have four partitions (Binary with ULDR, NK, OS, Storage). The Storage partition (USERSTORE, initially empty) should allocate the the whole NAND flash after the OS partition
What are the right configuration entries in memory.cfg.xml to get a Storage partition of 2GB (minus other partitions)?
A: I would try something like:
<ULDR ID="ULDR" STORAGE_ID="FLASH"/>
<RAMIMAGE ID="NK" STORAGE_ID="FLASH" COMPRESS="0" FIXUP_ADDRESS="0x80000000" ROMFLAGS="2" FSRAMPERCENT="0x00000000" FREE_SPACE_BUFFER="0x40000" />
<IMGFS ID="OS" STORAGE_ID="FLASH" FREE_SPACE_BUFFER="0x3200000" />
<USERSTORE STORAGE_ID="FLASH" ID="Storage" PART_TYPE="0x02" />
I have also sent feedback to our documentation team that there needs to be more guidance here.
davbo_msft (Moderator)[12:55]:
Q: [44] In Wince 6.0 is there a speech recognition engine?
A: Found another MSDN link on the SAPI 5.0 http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa914072.aspx
Sing Wee[MS] (Expert)[12:57]:
Q: [50] hi i have just bought a new laptop with vista however im trying to setup a wireless network ive enterd my wep key etc. . but when i click connect a grey box pops up asking me to enter my credintals ( user name, password and logon domain) can you help me ?
A: Sorry, this particular chat is for Windows CE only.
davbo_msft (Moderator)[12:57]: Hello everyone, we are just about out of time.
Thank you for joining us for our Windows Embedded CE 6.0 chat today!
<http://www.Microsoft.com/Embedded>
A special thank you to the product group members for coming out.
The transcript of today's chat will be posted online as soon as possible, to <http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/chats>. We'll see you again for another chat next month. Please check <http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/chats> for the list of upcoming chats.
If you still have unanswered questions, let me suggest that you post them on one of our newsgroups on
<http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsembedded/ce/default.aspx>
-Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3 Now Available! <http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/ce/dd630616.aspx>;
davbo_msft (Moderator)[12:58]: Any unanswered questions I will work to get answers and post with the transcript.
Sing Wee[MS] (Expert)[12:59]:
Q: [38] native
A: (From private message conversation, in case others are interested): Since this is native, is there any reason you need to use two instances of VS2005? Why not include the application as a subproject of the OS design?
mskim_MS (Expert)[13:01]: Andrew, please send email to mskim@microsoft.com for your VFP question on EXR, I will let you know.
davbo_msft (Moderator)[13:01]:
Q: [53] NOOO!, the transcript takes years to be available!!
A: I've worked w/ the Chat posting team and they should get posted faster now.
Sing Wee[MS] (Expert)[13:02]:
Q: [41] Looking at the SDBus I saw that you never put in HighSpeed Mode the SD card?Is it supported by the stack the high speed mode for the SD card compliant with the spec ver 1.10 and higher?
A: According to some documents I've seen, CE6.0 RTM should support SD v1.1, CE6.0 R2 should support SD v2.0 (ADMA). On the MMC-side, we're supporting 3.x.
KarelD_MSFT (Expert)[13:03]:
Q: [26] I saw a question last month about if FMD_WriteSector() fails on NAND, and I was unclear about one point. After compation, does the FAL mark the block as bad, or try to erase it and reuse it? Same behavior for Flash MDD?
A: If we are talking about flash abstraction library which shipped with Windows CE 6.0 R2 (flashcommon.lib and other) you don't need to. The Flash MDD will do it.
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator)[13:05]:
Q: [28] How can I disable the memory pooling for a specific driver in Windows CE 6.0?
A: By "pooling" I presume you mean paging of the driver code. You have a couple of ways to do it: set the "M" flag on the driver in your .bib file, if the driver is in ROM. Make sure NOT to set bit 2 (DEVFLAGS_LOADLIBRARY) of the "flags" registry value, under the driver registry settings. Or call LoadDriver on it instead of LoadLibrary, if you're loading it programmatically. This blog post is on the OPPOSITE topic, but still has tips you can follow if you do the opposite of what it's saying. http://blogs.msdn.com/ce_base/archive/2008/02/28/making-sections-of-windows-ce-device-driver-code-non-pageable.aspx
Sue Loh [MS] (Moderator)[13:05]:
Q: [43] In Wince 6.0 is there a way to disable the memory pooling for the Storage Card?If yes how is it possible?
A: By "pooling" I presume you mean paging of the driver code. You have a couple of ways to do it: set the "M" flag on the driver in your .bib file, if the driver is in ROM. Make sure NOT to set bit 2 (DEVFLAGS_LOADLIBRARY) of the "flags" registry value, under the driver registry settings. Or call LoadDriver on it instead of LoadLibrary, if you're loading it programmatically. This blog post is on the OPPOSITE topic, but still has tips you can follow if you do the opposite of what it's saying. http://blogs.msdn.com/ce_base/archive/2008/02/28/making-sections-of-windows-ce-device-driver-code-non-pageable.aspx
MikeThom [MS] (Expert)[13:15]:
Q: [46] EXR: Our ARM 11 platform has VFP which we have enabled through the OEM Floating Point CRT support (SYSGEN_OEM_FPCRT). Will this mean that the embedded XAML runtime will utilise the hardware floating point coprocessor? Or is it entirely integer based?
A: It will make use of the VFP enabled CRT.
Sing Wee[MS] (Expert)[13:26]:
Q: [56] Yes SD 1.1 and 2.0 are supported but not in high speed mode. Look at the SDBus implementation and let me know..
A: I just found the answer. Unfortunately, it appears we don't support High Speed in CE6.0 and its variants.
Hello guys,
there is a new chance to talk with Microsoft guys about Windows Embedded CE and Windows Mobile.
Title: Windows Embedded CE and Windows Mobile Live Chat
Date: Oct 27th, 2009 17:00 - 18:00 Central Europe Time
Don’t miss this opportunity to talk with interesting guys! All you have to do is to follow this link and join the live chat! :)
You can find the transcript from last months chat here and older transcripts here.Have fun!
Hi folks,
just in case you missed a very interesting Windows Embedded CE Live Chat today, you can find the transcript of today’s chat here.
msft_davbo (Moderator): We are pleased to welcome our Experts for today’s chat. I will have them introduce themselves now.
Let’s begin the chat!
msft_davbo (Moderator): Prince - this is a tech chat for Windows Embedded
Damon Barry [MS] (Expert): Hello, I'm Damon Barry from the Multimedia team.
masatos_MSFT (Expert): Hi, I'm Masato Sudo from the Applications team
FBLANQ_MSFT (Expert): Hello, I'm Francisco Blanquicet from the CoreOS/BSP team.
mskim_MSFT (Expert): Hello, this is Myungsub Kim from Windows CE JDP (PRT) team.
rajran[MS] (Expert): Hi, I am BSP PM in Core team.
Travis Hobrla [MS] (Expert)[18:06]: Hi, I'm Travis Hobrla, a developer on the BSP/CoreOS team.
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:06]: Hi, I'm Sue Loh, a developer on the Platform Builder remote tools team, with previous kernel & file system experience. I hope we can answer some of your questions today!
RajeevDubey[MS] (Expert)[18:06]: Hi, This is Rajeev Dubey, Windows CE Bluetooth PM
RajeevDubey[MS] (Expert)[18:17]:
Q: [5] (redoing for the experts) I think this is for Rajeev...is there anything you can say about the Bluetooth Core Specification Addendum 1 (CSA1) for Core revision 2.1? Or support of 3.0? This is needed for support of the Health Device Profile
A: Hi Len, at present, CE does not provide Health Device Profile. However, CE Bluetooth stack is extensible and an OEM can add newer profiles and associated stack extensions.
masatos_MSFT (Expert)[18:18]:
Q: [4] Which Compact Framework version is in ROM on Windows Mobile 6.5 devices?
A: Unfortunately, we cannot comment on products, like WM6.5, that has not shipped yet. Thank you for your question though and I would be happy to follow up with you next time when WM6.5 officially releases
AlexBu_MSFT (Expert)[18:18]:
Q: [3] Hello, I'm using Windows CE 5.0 and have question about application debugging with PB. Are there any limitations about the size of the PDB file? In my case, the breakpoints will be ignored in PB during the debug session.
A: Hi Harald. What is the size of your PDB file?
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:20]:
Q: [1] Hello experts, about FlashMDD. Besides the MSDN topic on MDD/PDD driver, and the sample in FMDMDDWRAPPERPDD sample, is there additional documentation that we can have access? I am having trouble to configure more than one non contiguos region in this model
A: [From Vadim Yushprakh] What do you mean by "more than one non contiguious region"? The MDD supports multiple regions, however each region represents a contigous range of blocks.
masatos_MSFT (Expert)[18:21]:
A: mkiepfer, your question is split up across several different questions. Can you please summarize and submit the question as one full question please?
Andy Haslam [MS] (Expert)[18:23]:
Q: [11] Would the Experts like to share any blogs they may write for?
A: Mike Hall from our team writes a blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/mikehall/
Sing Wee [MS] (Expert)[18:23]:
Q: [3] Hello, I'm using Windows CE 5.0 and have question about application debugging with PB. Are there any limitations about the size of the PDB file? In my case, the breakpoints will be ignored in PB during the debug session.
A: Harald, just as a sanity check, you're able to set breakpoints in other modules, correct?
Travis Hobrla [MS] (Expert)[18:24]:
Q: [2] I have a problem with bad blocks in NAND Flash. My FMD driver implements the method FMD_WriteSector and return false if something goes wrong. Does the FAL automatically mark the block like bad block ? I'm using Windows CE 5.0.
A: The FAL doesn't mark the HW bad, but it should track that a block has become unusable. There is a bug around omitting blocks from the usable range in CE5. A QFE has been released or will be shortly (not sure whether it will be in the August or September 2009 drop).
RajeevDubey[MS] (Expert)[18:24]:
Q: [10] Re Bluetooth HDP, yes, I am not asking for HDP support, I think we or others could do that, but with out the CSA 1 support in the CORE, HDP cannot be implemented.
A: Hi Len, we do support BT stack to be extended by OEMs. If you have questions on extending stack to add CSA1 support since we do not have that in CE, please send me an email and we can discuss the solution.
RajeevDubey[MS] (Expert)[18:25]:
Q: [12] Note that Bluetooth CSA1 adds some functionality to L2CAP
A: We do support stack extensions by OEMs. Let me know via email what extensiosn you need at L2CAP.
Sing Wee [MS] (Expert)[18:28]:
Q: [11] Would the Experts like to share any blogs they may write for?
A: There are also very informative blog posts archived on the following blog (although it has been quiet for some months now): http://blogs.msdn.com/ce_base/
Travis Hobrla [MS] (Expert)[18:28]:
Q: [6] What are the causes of KITL timeout error in Platform Builder ?
A: Generally this is because your KITL driver is hanging. Possible causes are a failure in the KITL driver, a failure in the network hardware, an interrupt storm on the device that prevents your KITL ISR from executing, or a very high priority thread that is starving the KITL thread. I would recommend connecting a serial cable to see what output you get, and then try running KITL in polling mode to see if the failure still occurs in an effort to narrow down the cause to one of the things I mentioned.
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:31]:
Q: [11] Would the Experts like to share any blogs they may write for?
A: I wrote a lot on http://blogs.msdn.com/ce_base/ but haven't done so for a while. :-(
Travis Hobrla [MS] (Expert)[18:32]:
Q: [16] Thanks Travis....so...if FMD_WirteSector() return false, doens't FAL invoke FAL_SetBlockStatus() passing parameter BAD_BLOCK and mark it as bad block ? In this way, some application can reuse this block ???
A: If WriteSector fails, FAL will try to compact the block, only setting the status to BAD if EraseBlock fails and FMD_GetBlockStatus returns BAD. So if EraseBlock succeeds the application can reuse it. However, the bug I'm referring to allows blocks that are suspected to be bad to be reused, because the FAL fails to properly omit them. That bug is goign to be fixed in the QFE.
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:32]:
Q: [3] Hello, I'm using Windows CE 5.0 and have question about application debugging with PB. Are there any limitations about the size of the PDB file? In my case, the breakpoints will be ignored in PB during the debug session.
A: PDBs can be really large - that shouldn't be a limitation. Have you sanity-checked steps like I posted in http://blogs.msdn.com/ce_base/archive/2005/11/30/tips-for-using-breakpoints.aspx?
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:33]:
Q: [13, 14] Thanks Vadim, I mean I have 4 regions set in the storage manager. 2 are normal FILESYS regions, and 2 are protected. It is like this from the start to end [NK,FILESYS,BOOTL,HIVE]. Previously, I´ve used 2 fal fmd drivers for FILESYS and HIVE, protecting...
..manually the NK and BOOTL area. Now I want to tell the MDD that it can use the FILESYS and HIVE areas, in only one driver. (Note that the bootloader is in the middle of it)
A: Vadim YushprakhI am sorry that the concept of Regions is not better explained on MSDN. We're actually refering to a type of flash device which has multiple flash parts under one controller; where each flash part is a different region. What Marcelovk needs is partitions. Now it is possible to write a flash PDD that takes a single flash part and reports it up to the MDD as consisting of multiple regions; although that's not the common scenario. If that is what he is doing in the PDD, then the PDD must support the IOCTL_FLASH_PDD_GET_REGION_COUNT command, as well as IOCTL_FLASH_PDD_GET_REGION_INFO
the IOCTL_FLASH_PDD_GET_REGION_INFO command must return a structure that contains the same number of regions as reported by the COUNT command
In order for the MDD to be able to manage each regions, there are certain minimums that each region's geometry must meet
There is a minimum number of blocks (not sure of the value). The sector size must be a power of two. Each sector (flash page) must be at least 512 bytes;
masatos_MSFT (Expert)[18:33]:
Q: [15] We have noticed that when running a bigger CF application the notifyDB of WindowsCE6.0 will increase every time the system is rebooted. One entry will always be duplicated. This causes that Active Sync is not running anymore (->too many entries).
A: Thanks mkiepfer for summarizing your question. Looking for an expert who can help you with this
msft_davbo (Moderator)[18:33]:
Q: [11] Would the Experts like to share any blogs they may write for?
A: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/com munity/development.mspx - Several Blog links for Embedded
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:34]: Oops let me re-post that better formatted
kurtken_ms (Expert)[18:34]:
Q: [17] How can I set KITL in polling mode ?
A: usually there is an option in the bootloader that lets you set a flag that tells kitl to run in polling mode.
Travis Hobrla [MS] (Expert)[18:34]:
Q: [17] How can I set KITL in polling mode ?
A: Assuming you're using CE5.0 and oal_kitl.lib, you can pass the flag OAL_KITL_FLAGS_POLL in the OAL_KITL_ARGS.flags to OalKitlInit().
kurtken_ms (Expert)[18:35]:
Q: [17] How can I set KITL in polling mode ?
A: You can also set the SYSINTR kitl should use to 0 and that should make it use polling.
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:35]:
Q: [13, 14] Thanks Vadim, I mean I have 4 regions set in the storage manager. 2 are normal FILESYS regions, and 2 are protected. It is like this from the start to end [NK,FILESYS,BOOTL,HIVE]. Previously, I´ve used 2 fal fmd drivers for FILESYS and HIVE, protecting...
..manually the NK and BOOTL area. Now I want to tell the MDD that it can use the FILESYS and HIVE areas, in only one driver. (Note that the bootloader is in the middle of it)
A: [Vadim Yushprakh]
I am sorry that the concept of Regions is not better explained on MSDN. We're actually refering to a type of flash device which has multiple flash parts under one controller; where each flash part is a different region. What Marcelovk needs is partitions. Now it is possible to write a flash PDD that takes a single flash part and reports it up to the MDD as consisting of multiple regions; although that's not the common scenario. If that is what he is doing in the PDD, then the PDD must support the IOCTL_FLASH_PDD_GET_REGION_COUNT command, as well as IOCTL_FLASH_PDD_GET_REGION_INFO. The IOCTL_FLASH_PDD_GET_REGION_INFO command must return a structure that contains the same number of regions as reported by the COUNT command. In order for the MDD to be able to manage each regions, there are certain minimums that each region's geometry must meet. There is a minimum number of blocks (not sure of the value). The sector size must be a power of two.
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:36]:
Q: [13, 14] Thanks Vadim, I mean I have 4 regions set in the storage manager. 2 are normal FILESYS regions, and 2 are protected. It is like this from the start to end [NK,FILESYS,BOOTL,HIVE]. Previously, I´ve used 2 fal fmd drivers for FILESYS and HIVE, protecting...
..manually the NK and BOOTL area. Now I want to tell the MDD that it can use the FILESYS and HIVE areas, in only one driver. (Note that the bootloader is in the middle of it)
A: [Vadim, continued]
Each sector (flash page) must be at least 512 bytes; and we need at least 6 bytes of spare area per sector
Sue, if you'd like, you could give the customer my email, and they coudl contact me directly. This could become a deep discussion =)
mskim_MSFT (Expert)[18:37]:
Q: [4] Which Compact Framework version is in ROM on Windows Mobile 6.5 devices?
A: On my WM 6.5 phone, I have .NET CF 3.5.9198.0 but this can be changed by OEM. You can check the version of .NET CF by running Windows\cgacutil.exe.
chienher [MS] (Expert)[18:38]:
Q: [9] huger CF application. The problem then is that in most cases active sync is not running anymore. We assume that it takes to long to find the replog.exe entry within the norify db. Cleaning up the regsitry will reset the notifyDB and get the system back.
A: From what you've described looks like the "DB_Notify_Events" database has been messed up at run time. At normal situation, the AppRunAtRs232Detect event for repllog was setup within initdb.ini of your image, so at boot up time filesys will re-load it. You could use the DB api to enum the DB record from "DB_Notify_Events" and see how many records within it, does it have Record :
Field : 0001001f : "repllog.exe"
Field : 0002001f : "AppRunAtRs232Detect"
Field : 00030013 : 9
End
kurtken_ms (Expert)[18:39]:
Q: [18] So...if FMD_WriteSector() fails, FAL will try to compact the block. Waht is the function it invokes on the FMD driver ? If the compact fails, the FAL mark the block as bad ? A block is marked bad only when the erase fails ?
A: If FMD_WriteSector fails then the block should be marked bad internally in the FAL, and other sectors in the same block should be moved by the FAL to another block. As soon as FMD_WriteSector fails the FMD should mark the block as bad.
Travis Hobrla [MS] (Expert)[18:41]:
Q: [18] So...if FMD_WriteSector() fails, FAL will try to compact the block. Waht is the function it invokes on the FMD driver ? If the compact fails, the FAL mark the block as bad ? A block is marked bad only when the erase fails ?
A: compaction involves calls to FMD_ReadSector, FMD_WriteSector, and FMD_EraseBlock. We'll only mark the block unusable to the FAL if EraseBlock fails. Of course, if the driver returns BLOCK_STATUS_BAD from GetBlockStatus we wil not use it, also.
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:42]:
Q: [19] Thanks I see. I did not want to have partitions, because the bootloader is a critical area. If I have partitons, then they will be accessible from the Storage Manager, then I can render my board unbootable, right ?
A: Since you have a lot of questions, Vadim suggests that you take this onto email with him. I've already sent you his address, but feel free to contact me too if you have any problems reaching him.
chienher [MS] (Expert)[18:43]:
Q: [15] We have noticed that when running a bigger CF application the notifyDB of WindowsCE6.0 will increase every time the system is rebooted. One entry will always be duplicated. This causes that Active Sync is not running anymore (->too many entries).
A: You will need to find out which .NET app cause the "DB_Notify_Events" database to increase and fix from it.
chienher [MS] (Expert)[18:44]:
Q: [8] available after rebooting the board. I already have asked a question some time ago, but meanwhile there are a lot of applications running into this problem. We can not find any reason for that behaviour, yet, but it only seems to occur when running a
A: see previous
chienher [MS] (Expert)[18:44]:
Q: [7] We have noticed that the Notify-DB be packed with some new entries, when running a .NET application on WindowsCE 6.0. In this case one entry already available in this database will be duplicated. The curious about this is that the duplicate entry is only
A: see previous
chienher [MS] (Expert)[18:45]:
Q: [20] Q9: The problem that repllog.exe will not started anymore seems to be that there really a lot of duplicated entries available in the notifDB. Every time the board is rebootet one entry gets duplicated.
A: Yes. notify db doesn't prevent the dup and it is by design of CE6, and the root cause is why the application contonue to create the new record.
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:47]:
Q: [22] Do you have any news about strategy, how to share compiler fixes between PB QFEs and VS (I asked this last time)?
A: Let me re-state the question to make sure I understood: We released a compiler fix in a PB QFE and you want to know how to use this with an app project in VS. Is that right?
Travis Hobrla [MS] (Expert)[18:49]:
Q: [21] excuse me but I have a different answer from kurtken and Travis ... I don't understand if a block is marked bad by FAL or not....kurtken said yes "If FMD_WriteSector fails then the block should be marked bad internally in the FAL"....and Travis said no.
A: The bug that is being QFE'd is the FAL *should* mark the sectors unusable internally, but it fails to do so.
RajeevDubey[MS] (Expert)[18:50]:
Q: [24] Rajeev asked me to email him, but Idon't have his email address, could someone send it to len at socketmobile.com?
A: My email address - rajeevdu@microsoft.com
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:50]:
Q: [22] Do you have any news about strategy, how to share compiler fixes between PB QFEs and VS (I asked this last time)?
A: The compilers that you use when you build an application in VS are installed with the SDK. So you would have to replace the compilers in the SDK install... Probably c:\program files\windows ce tools\<SDK name>
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:52]:
Q: [22] Do you have any news about strategy, how to share compiler fixes between PB QFEs and VS (I asked this last time)?
A: (continued) However I'm not sure how well that would work. I am guessing there is at least some level of tying between compiler versions and things like headers. If the new compiler is from the same CE OS version as the SDK, just different by a QFE, it might work to replace it. If the new compiler is from a different CE OS version, you might find problems when you try to compile.
chienher [MS] (Expert)[18:53]:
Q: [23] Q15: Do you have any hint how to detect which app could cause this behaviour? As far as I know there is now obvious acces to the notifyDB within this application. We meanwhile have some customers, running different applications and all having the same prob
A: Try WM_DBNOTIFICATION and see which application is modifing the nitify DB.
Sue Loh [MS] (Expert)[18:55]: Sorry hhhh, we're only experts in Windows CE / Mobile, not word
If you still have unanswered questions, let me suggest that you post them on one of our newsgroups, such as Microsoft.public.windowsce.platbuilder.
. But maybe your have any hint to start searching.
Maybe someone knows the proper contact, so i can ask my question?
