New Driver Update - Improve Battery Performance and Support Extended Batteries

[xtonda]

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...tem=hh-60941-1

TITLE: HP iPAQ 200 Enterprise Handheld Series - Software Driver Update to Improve Battery Performance and Support Extended Batteries

Version: 1.00
Description: This driver update adds support for an extended battery, and includes power management improvements to increase battery life between charges.

PURPOSE: Recommended
SOFTPAQ NUMBER: sp39391
SUPERSEDES: None
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 30th, 2008
CATEGORY: Driver

SUMMARY:
- Updates power management drivers to improve battery life.
- Adds support to fully charge an extended battery.

[neillm]

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...tem=hh-60941-1

TITLE: HP iPAQ 200 Enterprise Handheld Series - Software Driver Update to Improve Battery Performance and Support Extended Batteries

Version: 1.00
Description: This driver update adds support for an extended battery, and includes power management improvements to increase battery life between charges.

PURPOSE: Recommended
SOFTPAQ NUMBER: sp39391
SUPERSEDES: None
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 30th, 2008
CATEGORY: Driver

SUMMARY:
- Updates power management drivers to improve battery life.
- Adds support to fully charge an extended battery.

Ha ha! Looks like a likely fix for neillm syndrome! Fingers crossed!
Good example of spin if it is. "Stops your HP 210 from failing to switch on and stuffing it's battery" would be more accurate

I've asked the HP engineer I'm in contact with if this driver update is to address my problem, but I doubt I'll get a reply.

[xtonda]

Maybe, or maybe it solves problem with CF card power drain, they could be more specific.

[neillm]

Maybe, or maybe it solves problem with CF card power drain, they could be more specific.

They will never admit to a problem like that. Unfortunately we live in the world of ridiculous class action suites. Greedy people have spoiled it for everyone. Companies simply can't afford to be honest anymore

I've loaded the new driver. It still does odd things. Like when the unit is charged. The amber light goes out, the screen then dims to the "on battery" brightness level for about 3 seconds and then the green light comes on and the backlight goes back to full brightness again. This should not happen.

I'll start using my 214 normally again and see if unit #5 dies after this update.

[ljepava]

i installed this update. is this battery improvment automatic, or i can access this application?

[Konrad Pierce]

Once you've done a soft-reset the changes will take effect automatically.

[David Hettel]

This update **appears** to have addressed the CF power problem I am at 5 hours and I am seeing zero change in battery status. No power loss.

Interestingly the CF slot is still power as inserting a CF card or removing a card wakes the series two hundred.

[BigVoice]

I have installed the new battery driver and see no obvious improvement. I will try inserting my CF card tonight and see if this solves the power drain problem.

[Konrad Pierce]

I believe that WinCE (WM) devices power on each time a CF card is inserted/removed because Windows needs to restart itself to mount/unmount CF media drives; they then require a trickle of continuous power for caching purposes (similar to the older smartdrv buffer model, not typical swap file/partition models) - the earliest CF (PCMCIA) memory was volatile and require even more power than solid-state flash, microdrive-based CF devices involve moving parts that require still more power, and of course all CFIO devices draw extra power as needed for their functions during operation. SD-class cards (and their derivatives) conform to ATA storage specifications for "hot swapping", part of which is the requirement that they can operate properly with intermittent power on demand and none at all when inactive. CF cards could operate in this manner as well (theoretically), but it would require the OS drivers to be rewritten and cause these platforms (along with any CF cards formatted for them) to be completely incompatible with all other ("traditional") CF-capable machinery.

In any event, a WM battery driver will not address this issue in any way - it only governs battery use. On earlier iPAQs this driver contains a list of "registered" battery types and capacities it will recognize, along with a small database of all the relevant parameters for charging/discharging voltages, currents, timing, and such stuff. (It's impossible for an OEM to ship a "universal" battery driver for a PPC because third-party vendors always introduce newer/bigger/better/different batteries with specific parameters that cannot be defined in advance.)

[neillm]

I believe that WinCE (WM) devices power on each time a CF card is inserted/removed because Windows needs to restart itself to mount/unmount CF media drives

My old Fujitsu 720 doesn't do this. Doesn't seem to have any ill effect. In fact, I've never seen the duplicate CF card issue on my Fujitsu.