List of Windows Mobile Processes (Wisbar Advance 3)

We all know that Windows Mobile (at least in it’s current incarnation) supports multi-tasking, providing the ability to run multiple applications at one time.  One might think that the ability to multi-task, along with the large amount of RAM available on some of the newer devices (my Touch Pro includes over 200 MB, 160 MB+ as user accessible) means that as many apps as the amount of RAM can account for are able to be open in one instance.  At least, that’s what I thought.  I run several applications that maintain processes in the background, including Wisbar Advance, Hi-Launcher, and Resco Contact Manager.  I also keep one app minimized in the background:  Pocket Battery Analyzer by WizCode.  The app does a good job of charting battery percentages over time.  I like to know how my battery fares.

Recently I started noticing Pocket Battery Analyzer seemed to be closing by itself.  I went through all of the typical troubleshooting issues, include a soft reset, reinstalling the program, checking for registry problems, etc.  Growing frustration with the problem, I started looking for a trend.  I began to notice that when running a couple of additional programs at one time, or checking my mail, which also caused my weather and RSS to update, it would close.  This was irritating since it meant my graph would not be accurate after restarting.  I like accurate graphs.

After doing some research (the guys and gals at XDA-Devs are a wealth of knowledge), I learned that how many apps you can run at once is not dictated by a device’s RAM.  Instead, it is dictated by a number hard coded into the operating system.  You can run 32 applications at one time.  When you start to approach this number, the operating system starts closing programs without your interaction or permission.  This is what I was experiencing.  You might say that there’s no way a person will be running 32 programs at once.  You’re likely pretty right on there, but you have to keep in mind that this limit of 32 processes also means anything that the OS has to run to stay active.  This includes processes like gwes.exe, which controls your devices touch screen interaction with the hardware and cprog.exe, the phone application.  If you run programs that provide additional customization, like Finger Menu, Wisbar Advance or Hi-Launcher, you can bet that they are adding a process or two into the mix behind the scenes as well.  Also, programs that auto-update also tend to keep a process running in the background, waiting for their time to fetch.

In conclusion, if you start experiencing anything like I’ve described here, you should grab a task manager that shows running processes and start monitoring what is being opened at startup.  You might need to trim down your startup apps or turn off auto-update on a few programs.  In the end you should end up with a much more stable OS, and one that’s not prone to closing down your much needed background apps.

Update:  Iyaz and Randal are biz-zay!  So much is going on over at TechVi that my show time has been pushed back to 7pm Easter, 6pm Central.  We’ll be talking Windows 7 (several months in and doing well) things, so make sure you take a few and join us as we talk it up!

For those of you who have been watching TechVi on a regular basis, you’ll remember that Randal Bennett and Iyaz Akhtar have it goin’ on.  I was on TechVi representing JAMM not too long ago.

I’m going to be on again this week, Thursday 04-Feb-10 at 3pm Eastern, 2pm Central, to be specific.  The topics are to be determined; but I’m certain that it will be an awesome show.  Please tune in Thursday afternoon, and watch the show.  We’re gonna have a JAMMin’ time..!

http://www.techvi.com &JAMM – an awesome match!

I remember how much I love using the keyboard for everything.  I’m the kind that is faster hitting a CTRL+S to save, CTRL+C to copy, and CTRL+V to paste than trying to go with a mouse to do the same task.  If you are looking to be a Windows power user, or just trying to find some extra time saving tips, read on and find out what powers the new Windows 7 Window’s button can do for you!

Read More …

As a follow-up to Brian’s recent post, Quick Look: SPB Mobile Shell 3.5 for Windows Mobile Professional , Mobility Site has  posted a really nice in-depth Tips and Tricks article with lots of nice screenshots and insightful tips on getting the most out of this really great UI enhancement. 

Head on over to read the full article here>>>Mobile Shell 3.5 – Power User Tips and Tricks

You want to save electricity but the question remains, do I save more electricity keeping my computer on or turning it off at night? Well, it depends. On a recent article and study by Microsoft’s Monty Enbysk, the answer lies in counting watts. Putting the computer into sleep mode reduces your wattage use to a mere 7.3 watts which means lots of energy savings. By using sleep or hibernate, it can also equate to time savings of just waiting for about 20-30 seconds to wake the computer up to where it is ready to serve you again. Compare that to the 2-5 minute reboot time of a fully off computer. The one thing we must still remember is that even if the computer’s fully off, the power supply of the computer still draws energy for LAN functions which is about 2.3 watts…this same amount of wattage is true for hibernate as well. If you decided to yank the plug, then yes, the computer is truly off…no more power drain.

So, briefly a quick recap:

Sleep (with Monitor on) = 7.3 watts
Sleep (with Monitor off) = 3.1 watts
Hibernate = 2.3 watts
Off (plugged in) = 2.3 watts
Off (unplugged) = 0 watts

For a more detailed read as well as more interesting facts on computer energy savings, visit Microsoft’s website.

Technorati Tags: Tips and Tricks, Energy Savings, Tjchan, Just Another Mobile Monday, JAMM