Good afternoon,
I have a problem with missing function keys of HC110 alphanumeric. We organised some used HC110 with alphanumeric keyboard for one of our customers as a replacement for old HC110 with numeric keyboard and damaged displays.
Unfortunately the old software running on those devices uses the function keys to enter some menus and now due to the lack of these function keys this is not possible anymore. So my question is: is there any combination of keys I can press to emulate the behavior of these function keys? It's not possible to change the software itself because the development of it is at least 15 years ago - neither the evironment nor the developers nor the knowledge about the programming are available at our company.
Thanks a lot in advance for your help, cheers,
Dirk Etgeton
I even cannot remember when the production of HC was finished (1997?) :)
I am pretty sure there is no "emulation kind" solution of your problem. The easiet would be to take source code and modify according the new keyboard. If it is in OPL, you still can find people to do it.
But it is definitely time to upgrade to some WCE/WM device!
regards, Michal
Dirk,
I believe the below FAQ is the answer you are looking for
Q: I want to upgrade my HC to the latest O/S version. What is it and how do I do it?
A: The last version of the HC ROM ever made was V1.72F. More relevantly, this contained V3.95F of the SIBO O/S and V2.10F of the Shell.
All HC ROMs can be upgraded using a specially-formatted remastering SSD. Creating this SSD and doing the upgrade is fairly straightforward, but obviously be aware that it is possible to leave the machine in a non-working state if something goes wrong.
To do the upgrade, you need to download V172F.zip (1935 kb) to a directory on your PC.
0121.v172f.zip
Then follow these instructions: 1. In a DOS box, run the program to extract the files you will need. You will find a Read.Me file which contains some details of what you have extracted and how to use it. You can follow those instructions if you wish - they assume a certain familiarity with HCs and SSD drives. 2. If you don't have an SSD drive, and your version of Windows won't run Mclink, then you will need to produce the Master SSD using PsiWin. Put a 512K Flash SSD in your HCs top slot, dock it, and establish a link to PsiWin. (NB you cannot use any other size or type of disc - it must be 512K Flash.) 3. Ensure that you have ticked the box in the PsiWin -> File -> Properties -> Connections -> "Allow Psion to see PC files" dialogue, so that the HC can get files from the PC. 4. Copy MKMASTER.IMG to M: on the HC, and run it. 5. When prompted, type in the name of the directory where you unzipped the files (eg C:\temp\unzip\ or whatever). At the next prompt, select the version you require. For most UK users with normal HCs, the file version is B172FENG, but see the release notes in the zip for further details 6. Wait 10-15 minutes whilst the relevant files are downloaded from the PC and copied onto the Flash disc to produce a re-mastering SSD. 7. Once the disk has been made, you can use it any HC (NB DON'T write-protect it!). Put it in the top slot and type A:\REPRO.APP at the prompt. You will see some large hex digits counting up as the ROM is reblown. When the app completes, hard reboot the HC. When you next reboot the HC, you should see the new version numbers displayed. If not, repeat the process, and try some of the alternative methods suggested. The SSD can be re-used for normal files if you reformat it in the normal way.
Then follow these instructions:
1. In a DOS box, run the program to extract the files you will need. You will find a Read.Me file which contains some details of what you have extracted and how to use it. You can follow those instructions if you wish - they assume a certain familiarity with HCs and SSD drives.
2. If you don't have an SSD drive, and your version of Windows won't run Mclink, then you will need to produce the Master SSD using PsiWin. Put a 512K Flash SSD in your HCs top slot, dock it, and establish a link to PsiWin. (NB you cannot use any other size or type of disc - it must be 512K Flash.)
3. Ensure that you have ticked the box in the PsiWin -> File -> Properties -> Connections -> "Allow Psion to see PC files" dialogue, so that the HC can get files from the PC.
4. Copy MKMASTER.IMG to M: on the HC, and run it.
5. When prompted, type in the name of the directory where you unzipped the files (eg C:\temp\unzip\ or whatever). At the next prompt, select the version you require. For most UK users with normal HCs, the file version is B172FENG, but see the release notes in the zip for further details
6. Wait 10-15 minutes whilst the relevant files are downloaded from the PC and copied onto the Flash disc to produce a re-mastering SSD.
7. Once the disk has been made, you can use it any HC (NB DON'T write-protect it!). Put it in the top slot and type A:\REPRO.APP at the prompt. You will see some large hex digits counting up as the ROM is reblown. When the app completes, hard reboot the HC.
When you next reboot the HC, you should see the new version numbers displayed. If not, repeat the process, and try some of the alternative methods suggested. The SSD can be re-used for normal files if you reformat it in the normal way.
Be carefull... As far I remember from those old times of HC, if you upgrade alfanumeric device with image for numeric one, you will not be able to use keyboard at all (after the upgrade)! I do not think that upgrade can help you...
michal