How to Safely Soft Reset Your Windows Mobile 5.0 Device

By Bob Katayama, Submitted Wednesday, February 21, 2007

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Anyone familiar with a Pocket PC in the past, meant taking your stylus and pressing a recessed switch in the hole. My Viewsonic V36 which runs Windows Mobile 2003 requires me to unscrew the top of the stylus and use this small screw tip to do a soft reset. Not a really convenient process.

In regards to Windows Mobile 5.0 devices, a soft reset is not the same as previous Windows Mobile devices. A soft reset performed correctly allows the device to save the data from RAM to the Flash ROM.

To perform a safe soft reset: You would first press the ON/OFF button and put the device into suspend mode. You can then press the reset switch with your stylus for about 2 - 3 seconds. Your device will reset without losing any of the data.

Note: Avoid soft resetting while the device is still ON. This can cause your data to become corrupted. Also avoid applications that provide soft resetting capabilities without actually pressing the soft reset button.

I perform a soft reset on occasion even when no issues are evident. This ensures that the Windows Mobile Device performs at its optimum condition.

This also applies to Wm 5.0 Smartphones.

Submitted by Werner Ruotsalainen on February 22, 2007 - 8:05am.

I'd say you don't even need to wait 6-10 secs - when the OS suspends the device, it flushes the registry / WindowsCE databases back to the flash ROM. That is, you can reset your device right after you've suspended it.

Submitted by Bob Katayama on February 22, 2007 - 8:28am.

Wow. . . thanks for this. . .

I will adjust the instructions.

Submitted by Bruce Keener on February 27, 2007 - 10:01am.

Bob, Werner: Great tips. Thank you.
Now I'll soft reset after suspend instead of my normal reset with power on.