How to backup the ROM
 By tw, August 2, 2002

Introduction

It's always a good idea to make a backup copy of the ROM.

Service packs and some other updates for the Pocket PC 2002 operating system are installed in the permanent flash ROM. Microsoft calls these kind of updates XIP (Execute in Place) updates. By installing updates into flash ROM more RAM remains available to store data and applications. Also XIP updates survive hard resets since they are stored in permanent memory. So there is no need to reinstall XIP flash ROM updates after a hard reset.

The drawback is that Microsoft didn't provide any way to uninstall XIP flash ROM updates. Once an XIP update is installed it cannot be removed again easily. This is especially a problem if an unofficial update was installed which in some cases can prevent the installation of official updates later. The only way to remove an XIP update is to overwrite the complete flash ROM with a backup copy of the ROM made before the XIP update was installed.

Backup copies of the ROM are crucial when the installation of an XIP update fails and the contents of the ROM gets corrupted. That shouldn't happen but several people have encountered this situation.

The Genio/Maestro has a built-in flash program in its initial system loader program (the so-called boot loader) which in most of the cases still works even if the other contents of the ROM got corrupted. It can be used to restore the ROM contents - if you have made a backup copy of the ROM before. (See here).

Making a ROM backup

There are two programs developed in the iPAQ-Linux project which can be used to make a backup copy of the ROM: BootBlaster and OSLoader. These programs were developed for the Compaq iPAQ but their ROM saving functions work on the Genio/Maestro too. Note, on the Maestro with 32MB RAM only OSLoader should be used. On the Genio with 64MB either of them can be used.

BootBlaster

• BootBlaster can be downloaded here.

Unfortunately saving the ROM image to a memory card is not supported yet by BootBlaster. So make sure you have at least 15MB memory (storage space) free on your Genio.

The program has no installation program. Just copy it over to the Genio to \My Documents or some other folder and then use file explorer to start it. In BootBlaster just invoke Flash -> Save Bootldr .gz Format and afterwards Flash -> Save Wince .gz Format. But don't try the Program function!

Saving the ROM image will take some time. Afterwards you will have two compressed files called saved_bootldr.gz (size ~92kB) and wince_image.gz (size ~ 13MB) in \My Documents. These two files are a compressed binary image of the ROM.

Copy them over to your PC and uncompress them using WinZip or some other utility which supports .gz files to saved_bootldr.bin and wince_image.bin. Then open a command prompt window from the Start menu and combine them into one big file by typing on a single line:

copy /b saved_bootldr.bin + /b wince_image.bin /b ROM_Image.ppcrom

The resulting file ROMImage.ppcrom should have exactly 32MB (33,554,432 bytes). You can compress it again if you like. Copy it to a safe place somewhere on your PC.

OSLoader

• OSLoader can be downloaded here.

Using BootBlaster can be a problem on the Maestro since it has only 32MB RAM. OSLoader doesn't support saving to a memory card either. But it allows to save the 32MB of the ROM in 8 chunks of 4MB each which can be copied separately to the PC.

Copy OSLoader over to the Maestro and run it. Go to Tools -> Flash -> 32MB Save to files.... Tap OK on the warning message and it will save the first 4MB chunk. Then it will stop and you can copy the chunk over to your PC. OSLoader saves the chunks in \ and not in \My Documents. If you have saved it you can delete it on the Maestro to make room for the next chunk. Then press 'OK' to save the next chunk. Repeat this until you have saved all 8 chunk files on your PC.

Note, always tap the 'OK' button only once even if you doesn't see any response. The program buffers all taps on OK and therefore would not stop after saving the next chunk.

The saved 8 files contain an uncompressed binary image of the ROM and are 100% identical to the backup copy you would get from using BootBlaster. Open a command prompt window from the Start menu on your PC and combine them into one big file by typing on a single line:

copy /b flash_00000000.bin + /b flash_00400000.bin + /b flash_00800000.bin + /b flash_00c00000.bin + /b flash_01000000.bin + /b flash_01400000.bin + /b flash_01800000.bin + /b flash_01c00000.bin /b ROM_Image.ppcrom

You must type the whole command on a single line. Or copy & paste this line into a single line batch file and execute it. In any case the resulting file ROM_Image.ppcrom should have exactly 32MB (33,554,432 bytes) afterwards. You can compress it again if you like. Copy it to a safe place somewhere on your PC.