[MDA III, XDA III, PDA2k, 9090 General] mwheeler2:
WM5 on SX66 (Blue Angel)

I updated my SX66 to WM5 before the ROM was patched (by Mamaich)... and then spent the next few days working on the issues of performance/sound.

With sound disabled (prior to patch), the device was undoubtedly faster. I made registry changes to increase cache size, disable animations, etc. but I had made those changes in 2003SE as well... and WM5 still outperformed it by a significant margin.

As for the areas not dealing with speed/performance, the new OS requires some getting used to. Hardware buttons that are unassignable (old Windows and OK buttons are softkeys now) and a few other issues (such as GPRS on only when activated by Internet Explorer and Bluetooth shutdown on power off) were a little unnerving, but nothing that would make the OS unusable.

What makes WM5 indispensable is PERSISTENT STORAGE. This is the Holy Grail for all Windows Mobile devices prior to this OS. When your battery dies and your backup battery dies, you must re-load all of your aftermarket software and PIM info. Software such as Sprite Backup made this process easy... but what if you're mid-flight to another country without a laptop and your PDA crashes? This is not an issue with WM5. All after-market software and PIM data is stored to ROM (software install location is optional)... which means that it is stored in non-volatile memory. It is not lost during power/system failure. What this means in terms of device security is that the person that finds your PDA on your desk at work cannot simply "hard reset" it to remove all of your info and use it themselves... Your password/PIM data and software will still be secure/in place and only downgrading the device to 2003 and repartitioning the ROM will clear it.

At the moment, I have no issues with WM5 on my SX66. Editing the camera keys in the registry solved the issues with sound and there are plenty of patches available to reconfigure the hardware buttons, etc. But I'm learning to like the OS as shipped...

I've been using Windows Mobile for more than three years and this iteration is undoubtedly worth the upgrade. If you have the time and patience to read through these forums, make an installation checklist and then follow it to do the upgrade.

My checklist would read:

-Download patched WM2005 ROM

-Download MaUpgradeUT_NoID.exe

-Download all patch CABS

-Download DOC tool (Disk On Chip partition tool)

-Run DOC tool (if successful, the ROM size is now ~63MB in control panel)

-Copy and rename the HTCRUU.dll and HTCRUU.conf files to RUU.dll and RUU.conf

-Run MaUpgradeUT_NoID.exe (if the first try is unsuccessful, put device into bootloader mode. Rec/Media/Power/Reset all at once)

-After upgrade check functionality BEFORE applying any patches, there are as many differences between just SX66's as there are between all of the Blue Angel devices... some patches may NOT be required.

-Apply patch CAB's

-Apply registry edits suggested in the forums for performance improvement

I hope this enlightens those waiting to see the efficacy of this ROM upgrade. I have had a good experience with WM5, in spite of the initial problems. I'm happy with its performance and will not downgrade to 2003SE unless I screw up WM5 bad enough to make it necessary to re-partition the ROM... then I'll go right back to WM5.

Cheers all...