There are several methods to install a program on a Windows mobile based device (Pocket PC, Windows CE…)
The most common known method is to launch a setup program on your desktop computer while your mobile device is connected to your desktop computer… and let ActiveSync do the rest.
The second method (preferred by advanced users) is to copy the program’s CAB file(s) to a folder on the mobile device, then manually click this cab file on the mobile device (using the File Explorer for example)
This method has some advantages including the fact that CAB files are often much smaller (and so, faster for download!)…
The problem in this second method is that you need to copy the correct CAB file to your mobile device… the one that corresponds to your device’s
Processor architecture.
A CAB file name often contains the processor architecture for which it is prepared… which gives something like this:
CAB file name example |
Description |
sql.wce4.armv4.CAB |
This is an installation file for processors of the ARMV4 architecture. |
sql.wce4.mips16.CAB |
This is an installation file for processors of the MIPS16 architecture. |
sqlce.wce4.sh3.CAB |
This is an installation file for processors of the SH3 architecture. |
Little (almost none at all!) of the delivered system configuration on mobile devices tell you something useful about the processor architecture of your machine.
On my PocketPC (which is iPAQ 2200), for example, the system applet tells that the machine’s processor is
Intel PXA255 … which doesn’t tell me anything useful about which CAB files to match for installing any application.
That is why, we developed this useful (and tiny) application that helps identify processor’s architecture on a Windows mobile based device.
Click here to download procMan… IT IS FREE!
Note: this download is a setup program that should be launched on your desktop computer (ActiveSync will do the rest!)