Getting Programs for Mio C230

Now that you have unlocked your Mio C230, you are eager to try out various PocketPC or Windows CE applications. But where to start? There are a lot of PocketPC freeware sites. I like this particular site very much because it has ratings for most of the freeware you can download from the site.

http://pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php

You don’t have to waste your time on those lowly rated software. Most PocketPC software come in three formats.

  • Stand alone executable
  • Installer package
  • CAB file

I will start with stand alone executable. When I find a program I want to try, I usually copy the executable to Script directory and use FileMan CE to invoke it. If it runs, that’s great. If it doesn’t run, I have no clue what to try. I didn’t know what are the required dlls for it.

However, I just found out a way to determine the required dlls. It’s actually quite simple and I am going to share that “secret”with you. What you need is a program that can open binary file in hex format. If you are curious about what I use, I use TextPad. Open the executable using the hex editor. Search the executable for the text string “dll” (without the quote). Here is a screenshot.

finddll-sc2.jpg

We now know that this application requires COREDLL.dll and commctrl.dll to run. Please note that even though you know the required dlls. It’s still possible the application doesn’t run with dlls. I think the reason might be the program is not compatible with Windows CE 5 or the dlls version is not correct. One dll that most applications need is AYGSHELL.DLL. There are different versions of that dll. My release 4 includes one that’s newer than the one from my earlier releases. You can get the older AYGSHELL.DLL from my earlier releases. Some applications run well with the newer AYGSHELL.DLL, some run well with the older one. You’ll need to experiment it to determine what’s better for an application.

[Update:] One reader has pointed out there is a better way to identify the DLLs needed for an application. It’s called Dependency Walker. It is indeed better and you get to know the details about each DLL and the CPU architecture.

The second form of application is an installer package. You can use a program called EXE to CAB Converter to convert the installer package to a CAB file. The EXE to CAB program is a very old program. It’s very likely it would not work for newer installers. One other thing to try is just run the installer on you computer. When it’s done, you can look for the cab files on the system drive.

For Vista, the directory is at
C:\Windows\WindowsMobile

For XP, please refer to this article. You need to have ActiveSync (XP) or Windows Mobile Device Center (Vista) installed for installer to install the application.

When you get a CAB file for the application, there are two ways to use it. The first one is to use wceload to install it directly on Mio C230. Dominique first discovered the correct procedure to do it and Ameridan has a post about the procedure. The second way is to use a program like WinZip to extract the files from the CAB file. This part is tedious and note that the file names are different from the original names. You’ll need to change the file names back to their original names. For older CAB file, look for the .000 file. Use a text editor to open the file and you’ll know what are the original file names. For new CAB file, look for a setup.xml file. It has the info regarding the original file names.

Once you have all the files you need for an application. You could put everything under Script folder. However, I think creating a folder under Scriptprograms and put the required files in it might be a better solution.

If you get an application to work for Mio C230, please kindly share your find and tell us where to get the application and how did you get it to run. Freeware and Shareware only. If you get a commercial software you own to work, please share your experience here too.

I have started a new category: Programs for PNA. When I find a new program working for Mio C230, I’ll post it under that category. The first one is XnView Pocket.


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24 Comments

  1. I have not been successful in using “EXE to CAB Converter”. I’ve tried dragging and dropping the installer packages on it and even running the program first then specifying the installer package when prompted. In every case I get the error message that states that the conversion failed.

    Am I missing something, or are all the installer packages I’ve tried incompatible with the software?

    Finally, is there another way to extract what is needed from and installer package so I can try to install it on the Mio C230?

    I’ve had no luck in getting any programs to run, which tells me I must be doing something wrong. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks
    Mark

  2. Mark,
    Yes, it’s very difficult to get programs to work under Mio C230. The EXE to CAB program is a very old program. It’s very likely it would not work for newer installers. One other thing to try is just run the installer on you computer. When it’s done, you can look for the cab files on the system drive.

    For Vista, the directory is at
    C:\Windows\WindowsMobile

    For XP, please refer to this article.

  3. Awesome. Thank you for getting this started. I’ve gotten maybe 1 in 20 apps to work on my own. It’s maddness. When I have some time I’ll go see what I have.

    PS: If anyone has gotten any conversion calculators to work, please post! Thanks.

  4. You don’t have to manually read the binary to find the DLLs an application needs. You can use an application like Dependency Walker for that (it’s included in Visual Studio or you can download it for free at dependencywalker.com)

    Do you distribute AYGSHELL.DLL? That might get you into trouble, because AYGSHELL.DLL is the difference between the core license for Windows CE and the more expensive full license.

  5. Skender,

    Thank you for your tip on using Dependency Walker.

    Yes, my unlock package like other unlock packages on the Internet does include AYGSHELL.DLL. This is the first time I hear that it’s illegal to distribute the DLL. How about other DLLs?

  6. Mark,
    I tried to install WinPilot and I got it to load. What I did was to execute the installer. You have to make sure you have ActiveSync installed if you use XP, otherwise the installer doesn’t run. After it’s installed, I looked for the cab file and extracted the cab file. I also changed the extracted files’ names to match the original names. I don’t know if it’s working 100% because the program asks for a password which I don’t have.

  7. WinPilot Pro
    Ok, I have uploaded the zip file I have done for WinPilot. This is the link. Download the file and unzip it to the storage card. Create a shortcut on the desktop to invoke WinPilot.exe in the directory. Note that this is work in progress. If you have a password for it. You can give it a try. The real application is WinPilot_pro.exe. WinPilot.exe is a script I wrote to help get it running. The script sets the storage memory for the unit and copy some required data files to My Documents. It also rotates the screen 90 degrees before running WinPilot_pro.exe.

  8. Nice!!!

    Thanks for your help.

    Regarding the password, the program installs 2 shortcuts, one is for running the program in GPS mode and requires a password.

    The second runs in “Simulator” mode and does not require the password.

    Looking at the shortcuts, the GPS mode shortcut is; 28#”\Program Files\WinPilotVFR.exe” /d

    The Simulator shortcut is; 28#”\Program Files\WinPilotVFR.exe” /sd

    So I would assume that setting up a shortcut with the above would allow for good testing.

    I will report back how things went. And thanks again.
    Mark

  9. amida,
    I finally had a chance to install your zip file. I setup a shortcut on the user page. However, I find that it won’t run. The desktop rotates 90 degrees for a brief moment then bounces back to normal. But WinPilot does not run.

    I noticed that if I try to open the “scripts/programs/winpilot” directory on the storage card using fileman.exe it gives me a “Fatal Error” exception: 0x0000005 and locks up the machine (I have to hard reset). So I’m wondering if the two have anything to do with each other.

    Any help would be appreciated.
    Mark

  10. Does anyone know of a way to add a really basic trip meter to the Mio 230? Something that would work just like the trip meter in the car .. hit a button to reset to 0 then just count every mile until the button is hit again. Anyone have any ideas?

  11. If you have downloaded my unlock, there is a new player in the “\Storage Card\Script\programs\Media Player” directory. You can try that one. If it doesn’t work, you might have to convert your media files.

  12. Does anyone know if the USB mini B Socket (5 pin) on the back of the Mio C230 is capable of supporting a wireless USB adapter?

  13. I am trying to unlock or mod my 230 but windows xp doesnt have a driver for it and I cannot find one on the internet. Where can I get it apart from the original cd which I do not have thanks.

  14. You do not need a driver to connect it to your XP machine unless you have not updated your machine for a long time. If you don’t have service pack 3 installed, you can try it first.

    You also do not need to connect your C230 to computer for unlocking. You can take out the SD card and use a card reader to put everything on the SD.

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