I'm putting this in the "Custom OS" category because I'm certain I'd have to compile the WinMo base myself.
I did a small search on the hardware of the TX and found that there's already some people who have put and run Linux natively. I'm hoping I could use this same bootloader that they have and throw on WinMo\CE.
I think It's possible seeing as it uses an Intel XScale ARM Processor and there's about 40ish devices that use it running WinMo happily (and only 3 that I know of that use Palm OS 5.4.9)
Any chance that this could be done?
Any change that doing this could turn my nice TX into a $400 paperweight?
Thanks
-Pizzaboy192

Apparently it's embedded in ROM which could be the first thing, but if ROM can be re-burned or something [not an expert on this ] then it could wreck the ROM. If you can find a tutorial or something though this could be quite cool

Building Windows Mobile roms is often really a lot harder than you'd think. The ROM has to be made for that specific device with drivers and stuff like that. There are many hackers out there that create upgrade ROMs for older WM devices to get a newer OS on them. Even with correct drivers and an existing WM based bootloader, things can still go messy. Unstable ROMs can brick devices.

Unless Palm put out a very similar device with much of the same hardware running Windows Mobile, chances are you arent going to be able to run WM on this thing at all.

First of all, would you be willing to break the laws of the Universe? Using PalmOS on a Windows CE device would be like...



Besides the obvious cosmical implications what neonsonicboy says is right: All WindowsCE/Mobile devices have the OS in ROM which is soldered into the main board of the device (believe me, I've had to open my E-125 more times that I can remember). And Spunker88 is also right: WindowsCE was built to be highly modifyable by the OEM releasers, and since each company had different views on how to comply to the Palm-Size PC/Pocket PC Specification, each version of Windows CE/Mobile varies greately between vendors, so it would be really difficult to find a compatible version of PalmOS, which had fewer OEM partners to begin with.

But what you can do is this: try running PalmOS on the device via an emulator, like this Youtube User managed to run Linux on a BE-300.



Anyway, nice to know someone still has fun with its WindowsCE/Mo devices.

-Commanderraf

@Commanderraf:
I'm wanting to do the opposite of what you described actually. I want to run WinCE on a PalmOS based Device...
I don't know if it's possible or not... but That's where I"m trying to get...

Well, I suppose the same thing applies: most mobile devices have their OS burned into ROM, which in turn is soldered into their circuit board with industrial soldering. Actually, now that I think about it, since Palm had a more restricted aproach on its own devices -my experiences with PDAs running PalmOS always involved Palm branded hardware (a m125, a Zire 72 and two smartphones [a 755m which I still use])- I suppose that it had very strict rules on which components created those devices, if not making those propietary components themselves, making your desired process something a tad more complicated.

But hell! What do I know, maybe they're not so different at all. I remember two years ago when I got my 755p there were some rumors about a Palm device running Windows Mobile.

Wait, I found some evidence:

http://www.betaarchive.co.uk/imageuploa ... .76969.JPG

Maybe you could try to get this version of Windows Mobile and code some emulator which would let you run it in your Palm T|X (although it would run very slowly).

-Commanderraf

Most new Treos run Windows Mobile. Which is strange, because PalmOS is a great, tiny OS with loads of free 3rd party applications.

The one little shred of hope I have is the fact that there's a group that has Linux running on these Palm Devices (Including the T|X) and hopefully I can take the same approach and replace the linux files with a CE base...
EDIT:
Found the HW Specs on the page for Linux: http://hackndev.com/trac/wiki/PalmTXHardware
Time to keep digging.
Does CE need to be baked into a ROM? Can't it boot from a folder\set of files?

It can but most are in ROM. My satnav certainly is, it never saves settings. But CE can run on x86 systems, which would suggest that it can boot from a disk as I doubt many x86 systems will have CE baked into rom

As Commanderraf says, an emulator would be your best bet unless you can get a Palm specific WinCE. From the picture, and my basic knowledge of French which is similar to Spanish in some ways, it [I think] says it has a 'new interface' and 'simple programs' which suggests that they've modified the OS and thus included hardware specific drivers etc. however you would have to find a version for a device similar to the T|X or one for the T|X as that specific Treo looks newer than the T|X and might have different hardware, for example an ARMv7 vs an ARMv6.

Edit: can't find what CPU the Treo 500v from that pic has but it will probably be an XScale. You could try the CE Platform Builder to build a system for the T|X maybe, but I don't know if it'd run on the T|X.

http://hackndev.com/trac/wiki/PalmTXHardware

Well... I've only gotten bad news all day yesterday, and it's piling on today...
The T|X won't turn on.
I'm gonna let it charge all day to hope that it might re-boot but it seems dead.
Worst part is that it will cost me $200 to replace it.

What happened right before you tried to turn it on / last time you turned it off?

I was running Linux For Palm, and according to their forum, All I need to do is to re-set the battery... so It's plugged into the charger, but the charger is not plugged in (Should drain it faster)
I'm not going to open it (yet) but since the warranty is dead, I just might later... but I don't like de-soldering crap... I just might add a switch to it though if this happens too much...
http://hackndev.com/node/210

Oh dear

But if you were running Linux for Palm 'natively' [as I call it] and not in an emulator, then... surely the same can be done with Windows

I can either open the TX and short the battery out (If I feel the need to open it after finding my tiny torx bits...)
or I can wait till tomorrow and pray that it works again... I"m not spending $300 for a new TX but I might spend $30 for an HP Jornada...
Anyways... It boots it natively, so I don't see why I cant use the special bootloader app that is provided to boot a dumped version of the WinCE from any of the other Palm devices...
And there's a JTAG pinout that I could do if nothing else... but I"m not wanting to go there yet...

I take stuff apart all the time

That brought the demise of my iPod nano, a keyboard, 2 [good] computers and countless other things.

Well... Update: I have located a source for the tiny torqx driver I need (Also called a tiny allen wrench) and I shall let you know if my T|X ever lives again... I hope I don't kill the LI-ON battery by jumping the terminals...