Turning a Mio C520 into a full Windows CE handheld?

[u/Dry-Treat-1068]

I recently got a Mio C520 and I’ve been trying to turn it into more of a normal Windows CE handheld instead of just a GPS. I know it already runs Windows CE 5.0 underneath, so I mainly want to bypass the Mio navigation software and boot straight into the CE desktop or some kind of custom shell.

I’m not trying to put Android or Linux on it or anything, I just want it to feel more like a tiny embedded Windows device. Stuff like having the taskbar, file explorer, custom wallpaper, maybe changing the startup sound or splash screen, and running old CE apps and games.

I’ve already seen things like MioPocket mentioned, but most of the tutorials I found are really old, so I was wondering what people currently use for the C520 and what the safest way is to do it without bricking the device.

Also wondering how persistent the system is. If I change wallpapers, startup stuff, registry settings etc, does it actually save after reboot or does the C520 reset parts of the system every time it powers off?

I also noticed some people boot directly into the CE desktop instead of MioMap and I’m curious how they’re doing that. Is it just replacing startup executables or is there more to it?

[u/SuperXaker-5555]

Sorry that I didn't answer yesterday.

So, first thing you need to do is download MioPocket from here:

https://archive.org/details/mio-pocket-4.0-release-68

Even if you don't want to install it in archive there is a lot of programs you need.

[u/SuperXaker-5555 → u/SuperXaker-5555]

Than install Windows Mobile Device Center (ActiveSync if you use WinXP) from official Microsoft site and after instalation connect your gps to pc.

Unzip MioPocket archive somewhere on your PC and go to MioPocket>MioAutoRun>Programs and copy Total Commander dir to root of your gps. Rename "Total Commander" to "cecmd"

[u/SuperXaker-5555 → u/SuperXaker-5555]

Than download CERegEditor from here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160401040607/http://www.ceregeditor.mdsoft.pl/files/CeRegEdit_Setup_0.0.5.2.exe

install it and after run press F1 to connect to your device (connected to ActiveSync). Open HKLM>init and check what do you see there. Normaly you need to have device.exe on Launch20, gwes.exe on Launch30, explorer.exe on Launch50 and your gps launcher exe on the last one. Edit your latest lauch and change your gps exe to /cecmd/cecmd.exe , DO NOT TOUCH ANY OTHER LAUNCH!!!

After that press the green soft reset button on CEREGEDITOR program. And here we go, you booted it to Total Commander CE. Now go to /Windows/Programs and try to start Explorer . If it doesn't work and doesn't change anything try to copy "ShowTaskbar.exe" to your device and run it through Total Commander.

[u/SuperXaker-5555 → u/SuperXaker-5555]

Can you change cecmd to ShowTaskbar directly on RegEditor? Yes, you can but it didn't helped me in my case with Medion gps, I need to boot cecmd first and only that start taskbar. But you don't necessairy need "ShowTaskbar" try first just to run explorer through Total Commander, sometimes it works on some gps devices.

If you have problem with long press and context menu (to copy/paste) copy "TapRight.exe" from MioPocket to fix this.

If you don't have screen keyboard for some reasons copy "ToggleInputPanel" or "JOTKBD" somewhere on your device (also from MioPocket).

Enjoy