How to install CF 2.0 on iPAQ

Question

I have an iPAQ hx4700 which has .NET CF 1.0 installed. Where can I find .NET 2.0 CF, and how do I install it? There is a file (NETCFv2.wce5.x86.cab) in my VS 2005 installation under: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SmartDevices\SDK\CompactFramework\2.0\WindowsCE\wce500\x86. Is this the file I should install? The OS version on my iPAQ is Windows CE 4.21 and from the location of the .NET CF 2.0 file it appears to be for Windows CE 5. The only subdirectory under \wce400 is \armv4 and as far as I know the processor type (Intel PXA270) is closer to x86. Thanks for any advice, links, or pointers.

Answer 1

It sounds like you are on the right path and you are only let down by one misunderstanding on your behalf: PXA is not closer to x86.

So you are right, it is wce400 folder you should be looking at. Use the arm cab. That cab file is for PPC2003 devices.

Cheers
Daniel

Answer 2

Many thanks, I'm almost there ;-) I've installed the cab successfully but when I run a .NET 2.0 device app created with VS 2005 it doesn't run. No error message, but nothing happens. If I click on a .NET 1.0 CF app created with VS 2003 it runs fine. What else do I need to do?

Something else is that in the iPAQ's "Remove Programs" dialog, I can remove BOTH the .NET 1.0 CF and (newly installed) .NET 2.0 CF installations leaving nothing, and I still get the same bevahiour, i.e. the VS 2003 app runs (without ANY CF installed?) while the VS 2005 device app still does nothing. Now I'm really confused.

Answer 3

If I create a new CF 1.0 project by selecting "Smart Device->Pocket PC 2003->Device Application (1.0)", then it works, but if I just select "Device Application", which according to Intellisense then gives me access to the .NET CF 2.0 features, it doesn't run, so it appears to relate specifically to running CF 2.0 applications.

Perhaps the CF 2.0 isn't properly installed, even though installation appears to work just fine.

Thanks for any advice on how to do this (or what I'm doing wrong).

Answer 4

Sorry guys, operator error ;-) Just needed to reset the iPAQ, all is working now. CF 2.0 also handles the VGA resolution properly so you don't have to paint bitmaps offscreen and then blit them to get the right effect. Marvelous! Thanks for the help.

Answer 5

I don't know what is going wrong with your device.

Assuming you are copying accross to a PPC2003 device the simplest of exes (no database etc) if you cannot run it then it must be an installation issue. I also assume you can run the exe by copying it to the PPC2003 emulator.

Try soft/hard resetting and starting from scratch. Verify the install worked by running the cgacutil.exe from the windows directory (it will show the netcf 2.0 version).

Failing that, maybe enabling loader logging will shed some light:
http://blogs.msdn.com/stevenpr/archive/2005/02/28/381744.aspx

Cheers
Daniel

Answer 6

Many thanks for your help. The reset did the trick. I'm so used to not having to reboot my desktop, tend to forget that the handhelds are a bit more fickle. Thanks again.