T-Mobile MDA Vario help required

[Guest shadieb]

Hi,

I have just moved from an SDA to an MDA Vario which so far seems to be great. I have a couple of questions if someone could be so kind as to help with some answers.

1, How do I format a memory card on the phone?

2, How do I soft reset the phone?

3, When performing a full reset using the clear storage option, when the phone reboots it adds a load of T-mobile customizations. Is there a way to get rid of these?

4, Does anybody know of any good games to show the phone off with? I have a lot of friends with smartphones etc and would like something to really show the beast off.

5, Where do I put tones for sms on the phone and in what format should they be?

6, My SDA came with Co-pilot satnav and the bluetooth gps dongle, can I make use of these on my Vario or will I need to sell them with the phone? When I installed it on the SDA I can't remember if it was registered to that phone using the IMEI number?

I was going to look through my manual but I left it at work in a fit of eagerness to get home and start using the phone and I can't get it back until Monday :)

I am sure I had a load of other questions to ask but I can't remember them at the moment. So if anybodyhas any special hints or tips they would also be appreciated.

Many many thanks for any help.

Edited November 25, 2005 by shadieb

[Guest Pondrew]

1, How do I format a memory card on the phone?

A) There is software to do this, usually file explorer software. Here's a couple examples I found by searching on Google: storagetools, flashformat

2, How do I soft reset the phone?

A) I believe it's the same as other pocket pcs in having a reset button which you press using the thin end of the stylus.

3, When performing a full reset using the clear storage option, when the phone reboots it adds a load of T-mobile customizations. Is there a way to get rid of these?

A) Yes although I do not recommend doing this as you will be preventing some software and bugfixes/patches from installing as well. Alot of the things in Extended Rom (the gubbins that installs automatically after clear storage) is essential to the running of the device. To prevent it you would soft reset before the installation starts (ie immediately on booting after the clear storage/hard reset). There is also software that allows you to view and manipulate the extended rom files (the customisations/apps and bug fixes you're referring to) but again I wouldn't recommend it in case something goes wrong and the device is killed. The software is Total Commander.

4, Does anybody know of any good games to show the phone off with? I have a lot of friends with smartphones etc and would like something to really show the beast off.

There's quite a selection. Ultimate Bowling Fighter is definately a game you can show off with.

5, Where do I put tones for sms on the phone and in what format should they be?

A) By default these sounds are stored in \My Documents\My Sounds so a good place if the files aren't too large...

6, My SDA came with Co-pilot satnav and the bluetooth gps dongle, can I make use of these on my Vario or will I need to sell them with the phone? When I installed it on the SDA I can't remember if it was registered to that phone using the IMEI number?

A) Depends on whether the licence with Co-Pilot was transferrable or not. You might have trouble even if it is as although WM5 Pocket PC Phone edition is meant to be compatible with Smartphone software there are compatibility problems with older Windows Mobile software (WM2003SE for example).

EDIT: Moved to Pocket PC Phone Help & Advice

[Guest shadieb]

Hi Pondrew,

Thanks for the help. I will be checking out Ultimate Bowling Fighter :)

I haven't managed to locate a reset button on the phone yet but I am sure it will be there somewhere :D

I agree about the T-Mobile customizations when I change the theme in the Today section in the control panel it pretty much removes most of the T-mobile scheme etc.

I was wondering if there would be a way to get hold of another satnav program and use that with the bluetooth dongle instead? I would think this would be okay but not sure which package to look into. Co-Pilot is okay but might try something else if anybody has any suggestions?

For the sms tones is the my documents on the phone memory or do I need to create a my documents folder on the storage card and put them in a my sounds folder in there?

Thanks again for your help, it is appreciated.

[Guest Pondrew]

Ok, just checked and apparently the soft reset hole is on the side between the infrared port and camera button.

[Guest shadieb]

Thanks Pondrew :)

Still having slight problems with the SMS tones. I tried the My documents\my sounds on the phone memory but they don't appear in the list when trying to change the sms tone.

Cheers.

[Guest Pondrew]

Ok, the format of the default notifications is wav.

Now I understood that putting your wav files in My Sounds would enable you to choose them as notifications. Is this not so?

I have confirmed that the regular notification sounds are kept in the Windows directory on the device...

[Guest shadieb]

Hi mate,

I tried using .wav files as tones and tried them in the my sounds folder and in the application data folder but no luck? For some reason I cannot access the Windows folder on the phone using activesynv it just sits there doing nothing?

I have the same problem with activesync hanging when I first connect the phone, it says receiving data but never goes any further? I have to shut down the activesync window and then I can access the phone.

Thanks again for your help.

[Guest PayableOnDeath]

Ok, just checked and apparently the soft reset hole is on the side between the infrared port and camera button.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

so thats what that is,i thought it was a small screw hole lol :oops:

[Guest alexatkin]

Thanks Pondrew :rolleyes:

Still having slight problems with the SMS tones. I tried the My documents\my sounds on the phone memory but they don't appear in the list when trying to change the sms tone.

Cheers.

I just checked another thread looking for this same thing.

It seems that notifications need to be WAV files and put directly in the Windows folder. Doing that just worked for me.

Its rather annoying having to have all this stuff in phone memory, theres no way you can have many ringtones in the limited amount of space in the phone. Having said that, my miniSD card doesnt arrive until Friday so we shall see then.

[Guest Rebelmania]

Hiya Guys I'm new hear so be gentle :rolleyes:

1. I have an MDA Vario I and whenever I open up my contacts I get a large capital W on the screen. I have tried to remove it but cannot. The phone seems to work ok and I can navigate and use my contacts except that this large W will not shift. Has anyone got any solutions as to how I can get rid of this W and incidently what is it?

2. How can I unlock an MDA Vario I I am on the T-mobile network here in the UK.

Cheers guys and thanks a million in advance. :P