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-- A silly question, I'm sure... (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=129)

Hello all,

I must say that I've watched this board with quite a bit of interest over the past couple of weeks; I was just about to buy a IIIx when I say the announcement about the Visor, and your comments and info have been QUITE helpful...

Just a quick, albeit probably silly question (since I haven't had/used a PDA since the Sharp Wizard days <grin> )... do you have to do a backup/sync before your batteries go dead, or is your data saved in memory when the machine is off? (Similar to a hard drive on a PC)

(Since this is my first post, pls refrain from blasting the "newbie"... hehehehe)

Chuck

You know. You do sound silly. But you know what? I wonder the same thing. This will be my first PDA. I feel very strong that I can assume you won't lose data if the batteries go dead... That would seem VERY unprofessional

But I -have- been known to be wrong!

Steve aka Zen

Your safe if the batteries go dead provided you change them per the instructions and the reserve battery is not dead. Basically, it will hold memory for about a week. In this day and age if you can't get to a 7-11 to buy batteries before that happens then you'll be at the top of Mt. Everest. Just be certain to change them. Also, I suspect that the Visor will provide ample warning before the batteries go totally dead.

Actually, if the Visor is the same as the Palm organizer, you would only have 1 minute when changing batteries. As long as you HotSync regularly, even if you lose all data you will get it back the next time you sync.

------------------
James Hromadka
VisorCentral.com
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/jehromadka

[This message has been edited by JHromadka (edited 10-03-1999).]

Hot sync before changing batteries. The visor has an indicator at the top of the screen showing how much life is left in the batteries.

When batteries get low, a warning will pop up on the screen with increasing frequency. If you ignore it, eventually the unit will appear dead (nothing will come up on the screen). The batteries are actually keeping your data from being deleted and can stay in this state for a few months.

When changing the Visor batteries you have 5 minutes. If you take the batteries out and it takes you more than that your data will be lost.

This info was from Handspring's tech support line. It's a long distance call but they are helpful and knowledgable.

Thanks for the info...you've saved me quite a bit of headache and frustration in the future, I'm sure. :-)

I'm sure this won't be a problem; the majority of what I'll be using the VD for is to keep my Outlook at home and Outlook at work synchronized.

Chuck

James wrote:

"Actually, if the Visor is the same as the Palm organizer, you would only have 1 minute when changing batteries. As long as you HotSync regularly, even if you lose all data you will get it back the next time you sync."

You should probably qualify that by stating that the user would be best served in changing the options in the hotsync to make the PC write over the handheld for that one time when reloading the data. This just ensures that you don't lose anything.

To make absolutely certain that you don't lose anything (meaning all your extra apps as well) you should use a back-up app (or perhaps the module if you want to spend even more $$$) like Back-up Buddy. This app will save EVERYTHING (all the bits) on your Visor/Palm and return it back to the exact state it was in. Simple hotsyncing only returns the data in your 4 basic apps (calendar, contacts, tasks, todo, and memos).

Just a quick clarification:

If you get low-battery warnings and you leave the device off the residule power in the batteries will maintain the RAM for about a week (That would be a week with the device COMPLETELY OFF)

If you take the batteries out (or they are completely dead) you will have only about a minute to swap them out.

The RAM is volital and will lose everything in it if it loses power.