WMDC – The "Do More"
Registration Screen
By
Raj Pillai, Copyright
2009
Created 1/03/2009
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Introduction:
If you have a new Windows Mobile device and
are using Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC) to synchronize, then you
would have seen the following screen prompting you to register to get
free content and help related to Windows Mobile.
Read on to understand more about when and why it
appears and other related information.
When & Why Does it Appear?
Under normal circumstances, this dialog will appear only when you
connect a mobile device which has never been synchronized before with any PC.
The reason is because when you connect your mobile device to the PC,
WMDC looks if the “Production Registration” key is inserted in the
registry of your device under the following location:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows CE Services\
If it is not available, it inserts this key and displays the above
dialog and waits for your input i.e. Register Online / Remind me Later /
Don’t Register. Based on your selection it enters the following values
under “Production Registration” key:
Selection |
Values entered
|
Register Online |
Inserts a DWORD key “State” with the value 1. |
Remind me Later |
Inserts a DWORD key “State” with the value 3 and also
inserts a String Value key called “LastReminder” which stores
the last reminder date and time. |
Don’t Register |
Inserts a DWORD key “State” with the value 2. |
If it’s available, WMDC will simply read the above entries and act
accordingly. As these entries are stored on the device, WMDC looks for this entry in every device
that is connected. No information about this setting is stored on the computer side.
So users who complain that they are prompted with the above dialog
whenever they connect a new device, you now know the answer. There is no
easy way to disable this dialog permanently from popping up if you have
quite a few mobile devices to deal with due to the design in which this
information is stored.
Registration Benefits:
Having spoken about Registration, it makes only make sense to explore
it a bit.
The registration enables you to gain access to lot of content and
information which will enable you to basically make most of your device.
So you can gain access to content that will enable you to customize the
phone by adding your choice of ringtone, wallpaper and themes. Get
information on how to be more productive with your device and getting
help for issues related to your mobile device.
If you would like to know about what is available, visit -
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/totalaccess/default.mspx
To know more about benefits on the TotalAccess for members, visit –
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/totalaccess/member-benefits.mspx
Read other articles
by Raj Pillai
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