SafeMode for Pocket PC Help

SafeMode for PocketPC 2.1 Help

What is SafeMode?

SafeMode for PocketPC is a system utility, designed to help you in certain situations when your PDA may freeze or enter a soft-reset loop. It behaves somewhat similar to the original Safe Mode on Windows PCs, by not loading 3rd party startup programs, today plugins or services. This way, you have the possibility of uninstalling programs that freeze your PocketPC.

What's new in version 2?

Version 2 was completely rewritten and features a much more advanced SafeMode protection. SafeMode is now started very early in the boot process, therefore it can prevent the system from loading many more application types (for example, Pocket Internet Explorer addons).

How does it work?

After installation, the SafeMode Options page will be displayed. You can change the default SafeMode settings now, or later by choosing "SafeAdvanced" shortcut from "Programs".

The "Mode" page allows you to configure the default SafeMode behavior:
- alert on each PDA reset
- alert if your PDA worked less than XX seconds: this option will only notify you if SafeMode detects your PDA worked for less than XX seconds (default is 60 seconds)
You can also choose your SafeMode key (the hardware key used to activate SafeMode):
- Press the "Choose" button. A window will appear, and you can press any hardware key. The name of the key will be displayed under "Current key". Press "Apply" to keep the selected key, or "Cancel" to keep the old one (NOTE: the default key is the "Action" key, which is generally in the middle of your navigation pad)

By default, you have 3 seconds to press your hardware key, after SafeMode notifies you. You can change this value by adjusting the "Notification time".

The "Notify" page allows you to change the default SafeMode notification at boot time (that is, when the system informs you that you can enter SafeMode):
- By checking the "Sound" checkbox, the "Choose" button will be available. Pressing "Choose" will allow you to change the default notification sound. If "Sound" is unchecked, no sound will be played at boot time. Please note, if you choose a sound on your Storage Card, it may not play (since at the time SafeMode is started, the PDA may not recognize your Storage Card yet)
- By checking the "Vibration" checkbox, your PDA will vibrate at SafeMode startup (This may not work for some devices)
- By checking the "Message" checkbox, you enable the SafeMode notification window at startup. You can also edit the default message that is displayed on the notification window.

The "Display" page allows you to change the visual appearance of the SafeMode screen:
- Choosing "Theme" will display the current theme background as your SafeMode image
- Choosing "Custom image" allows you to select a custom image of your own as SafeMode background. You can do this by pressing the "Choose" button. Please note, if you select an image on your Storage Card, it may not display (since at the time SafeMode is started, the PDA may not recognize your Storage Card yet)
- Choosing "Plain color" allows you to define a preferred color as SafeMode background. A window will be displayed once you press the "Choose" button. You can adjust the color by moving the Red, Green and Blue sliders. The resulted color will be displayed below. Press "Apply" to save the color, or "Cancel" to keep the old color.

Once you're done configuring SafeMode, press "OK" to save the settings.

Entering SafeMode

Depending on your setup, at boot time you will see a message on the upper part of the screen.
NOTE: if you have "Password" or "My Info" turned on, you may not see this message.Also, on some devices, the touchscreen may not sense your tap at boot time.
In this case, it is best to either have a default SafeMode sound, or vibration notification. Once you see the message/hear the sound, you have a few seconds, as configured, to press your SafeMode key, or tap on the message area to enter SafeMode. Your device will soft-reset, and this time you will be presented with the "SafeMode" screen, instead of the default "Today" screen.

On the SafeMode screen, you will see two buttons: "Advanced" and "Reset".

Tapping "Advanced" will open the SafeMode Advanced application, with more Options than before. You can see the Startup programs list, the Today plugins which are currently installed, the 3rd party Input methods and current system Services.

The "Startup" page shows a list of the current links in your Startup folder. You can see the link name, the file it points to, and the status of the file it points to (Existent/Non-existent). Some items may display "N/A" on the "Status" column. These are system default links.
Selecting one of the items, and pressing info will display the version information of the file (if it's present within the file). This allows you to identify the developer and version of the file.
"Delete" will just delete the current link from Startup (but not the file it points to).

The "Today" page shows a list of the currently installed Today plugins. Same as above, you can see the name, the file it points to, and the status. Items displayed with "Not applicable" are system default Plugins. Pressing "Info" displays the version information within the plugin (if existent).
"Delete" will just delete the current registry entry for the selected item (not the file it points to).

The "Input" page shows a list of 3rd party Input methods. This list may be empty if there are no 3rd party Input methods installed.
"Delete" will just delete the current registry entry for the selected item (not the file it points to).

The "Services" page shows a list of the currently installed system Services. Some of them may display "Not applicable". These are system entries.
"Delete" will just delete the current registry entry for the selectd item (not the file it points to).

On the lower part of the SafeSettings window, you will see a link which you can tap for quick access to "Remove Programs".

Best practices

In case your PDA hangs or enters a soft-reset loop, it is best to enter SafeMode, press "Advanced" on the SafeMode screen, and then remove the programs that are causing problems by tapping the link in the lower part of the SafeSettings window. After you're done removing the program, return to SafeSettings screen and see if the program left any shortcuts/registry entries. You can look at the "Status" column for that: if it displays "Doesn't exist", it means that the program left a shortcut/registry entry behind, so you can delete it.

Returning to normal mode

Once you're done uninstalling and removing shortcuts, close the SafeSettings window. You can then press the "Reset" button on the SafeMode screen (recommended) or alternatively, soft-reset with the stylus. The PDA will start in normal mode.

Registration

SafeMode 2 is shareware. After 14 days, it will stop running (and your PDA won't be SafeMode protected). You must uninstall or register SafeMode, by going to monocube.com and purchasing a license.
To register SafeMode, please start SafeAdvanced from Programs (or by pressing the "Advanced" button in SafeMode), go to the "Register" page, and enter your name and serial number, exactly as you received them, then press the "Register" button.

Uninstallation

You can only uninstall SafeMode while running in normal mode.Uninstall from Settings - System - Remove Programs.