5MX/Series 5 compatability

[ahaire]

I would like to have a backup for my 5MX and have looked at the relevant eBay auction pages. There are lots of series 5s on sale. Having previously upgraded from a 3MX and having had problems moving files, I would like to know the answer to the following question - will I have any problems using a Series 5 as my backup?

[nigelp]

I have tried swapping CF cards one to the other and this only worked in limited applications. I have also transferred some files one to the other and this worked fine, however I think a complete backup to the 5 would not be totally successful. Have you got a CF card? You can use that to back up the 'C' disk to 'D' and hold most of your files and applications on to.

[Mark Kenepp]

The Psion Series 5 runs EPOC r2 unless you have installed Message Suite than it runs EPOC r3.

The Psion Series 5mx runs EPOC r5.

Any document created on the Series 5 using one of the built in applications (this does not include message suite) will be fully compatible with the same built in applications on the Series 5mx. The process works in reverse except that the Series 5 does not include the application "Jotter" and therefore can not read Jotter files and the Contacts application does not exist on the Series 5 which means that you must use Data or a third party solution for storing contact information on your Series 5.

Many third party applications will run on either machine. It would be worth checking to see if the third party applications you are using will run on the Series 5 and the Series 5mx.

One thing that will not be compatible is the Message Suite application on the Series 5. Even having this application stored on a CF disk that is inserted into a Series 5mx can cause the 5mx to malfunction. There is also no way to transfer data stored in the message suite application on the Series 5 to the email application on the 5mx.

To answer your question, the 5 makes a good backup for the 5mx but it is not seamless. You can and should not perform an automated backup on one machine then an automated restore to the other. You can selectively transfer data and applications from one machine to the other either via PsiWin or a CF disk.