Registered: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 108

Prism has problems with Springboards

For no apparent reason, my Visor Prism has started giving me "Fatal Alert/Fatal Exception" and other error messages when I try to use it with Springboards.

Sometimes it won't even recognize that the springboard is inserted, i.e. automatically launched apps do not come up or are not even present in the launcher screen. I might remove and re-insert several time before it might get recognized.

Sometimes, it will recognize the board, but when I start to run the app I get the same "Fatal Alert" message or another message. For example, using the Pocket Express game pack, I launched Pocket Chess 1.0 and got the "Fatal Alert" only after I had made my first move! Sometimes with Pocket Chess I would get a different "Fatal Alert" message, like:

Memory Mgr.c,Line:4450,
Invalid chunk ptr

or with the Magellan GPS Companion I would get:

Memory Mgr.c,Line:4390
Invalid handle

or:

Memory Mgr.c,Line:4340
NULL handle


With the Handspring 8MB Backup, if it even recognized the card and showed the Backup app, it would lock up halfway through the backup, or not even start.


I tried the Soft Reset, the Warm Reset, even the Hard Reset, but I still have the same problem. It must be in the Prism, surely all those Springboards could not go bad at the same time.

Any ideas? I hate the thought of packing it up and sending it back to Handspring for service!

__________________
The Prismer

"I am not a number, I am a person!"

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 23

Hi,
Does it give you the error if you insert a module after the hard reset but before re-synching? My only thought would be that if you did a hard reset, hot-synched and then tried the module maybe there is some corrupted software that gets re-installed.

If it works after hard reset but before a hot-synch I would move the directory on the computer that holds the back-up files and archive files and slowly reinstall everything. I have heard of people getting preference files corrupted. These are replaced at hot synch.

That's all I can think of.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 231

DRAM problem?

I can't be sure if this is the problem but you may want to check it out here.

Good Luck!

__________________
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

Registered: Aug 2002
Location: Philippines
Posts: 1

I got a similar problem

Only, I could attribute it to something I may have done. I loaded Quickbits memory optimizer and FastCPU in combination, then ran my Visor Prism at maximum overdrive (46Mhz). After a couple of days my Prism went into cardiac arrest with a Fatal Alert message (couldn't remember what exact message). I resuscitated it via a soft reset, and it revived.
After checking its reflexes I noticed it had partial amnesia. It couldn't recognize 2 Springboard modules I had, a MemplugCF 128Mb and a Targus Handcam digital camera accessory. I decided to operate with a more drastic procedure and went into Hard Reset. Then I restored from Palm Desktop backup and resumed operation. Still, no recognition of Springboard.
Have I given it an unintentional prefrontal lobotomy? What could I do to recover?
Thanks.

Registered: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 108

Well, it is working, for now.

The jury is not totally in yet, but I did fix my Prism. Thinking that I should maybe try the "Super Hard Reset", by pulling the plug (literally) on my Visor's rechargeable battery, I started to open the case. I thought that a better option than trying to "run flat", which could damage the Li-ion battery.

Confession time: I did open the case previously, to see what the Li-ion battery looked like. This may or may not have precipitated my problem (see below).

Anyway, to make a long story short(er), while removing screws, I thought I would try one more time, just for the heck of it, doing a hard reset before actually opening the case. Remember, all the screws are now removed, and I am holding the case together with hand pressure. Low and behold, it worked! I could now install Springboards and run them without a Fatal Alert error. So, I thought, maybe it was just cured somehow by the last hard reset. But when I replaced all the screws the problem returned!

Aha! Slowly, I backed out the screws, one by one, resetting and checking, resetting and checking, until I found the offending screw. Just to be sure, and since I had had it apart anyway, I went ahead and pulled the battery plug for the Super Hard Reset, replaced the 5 "good" screws, and then completed a backup from my 8MB backup module. It kind of coughed and hesitated a little, saying it did not recognize the user, saying this did not seem to be a backup from the same Visor, etc. but I kept at it and was rewarded with the "Backup complete" message. Ah, success!

The jury is not in because, maybe I had only a temporary fix. Maybe it will still go to fatal error after some more use, after all it worked fine for a few weeks after I opened it up the first time. Perhaps it was the Super Hard Reset that really did it, and the screw was only a secondary problem. Lessee if I replace the screw and it dies again, will I know for sure? Removing the screw again and doing a hard reset should tell me then, but I am not sure I want to mess with my working Prism! Incidentally, after my backup, all my apps are working fine, including the ones I was afraid might have caused the problem.

Now one final question: How does Handspring know if you have opened the case (which is supposed to void the warranty)? Do they open it up and dust for fingerprints? <grin> Or is it possible they have planted a hardware/software land mine, by making screw removal (or re-installation) initiate some kind of internal virus? This would have to be resettable, assumably by the Super Hard Reset or other operation the repair tech might make. If so, I think Handspring went a little too far. It is one thing to refuse to grant warrantee service for free if the case is open, it is another thing to actually create a problem which would require service if the case was ever opened by the user. Sort of like entrapment! Or the unethical auto mechanic who creates a problem in their customer's automobile, knowing that he will probably return to his shop for the repair work.

By the way, the problem screw was the one in the lower left corner as you look at the normal upright Visor from the front, or behind the scheduler button on the left.

__________________
The Prismer

"I am not a number, I am a person!"

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 10

I didn't believe it, but...

I read the post about the super hard reset and the offensive screw and thought that Prismer2 had a screw loose But I was having the exact same difficulty with my VisorPhone and GPS Companion. It worked flawlessly in my VDX. When I upgraded to the Prism, all hell broke loose. Crashes all the time. The stupid thing even crashed while updating the GPS firmware...now my GPS has no firmware to speak of. Grrrrrr.

So after reading this thread, I cracked the case open (no warranty for me) and did the super hard reset. I put the case halves back together and inserted the phone. So far, so good. Then I put the screws in one by one, starting with the middle left (facing the back). I seated it all the way, no problems. So I started the middle right. I'd guess about 5 quarter turns from the end, I got my typical fatal alert/fatal error. I did a soft reset, the phone came back up, and so did the error. I backed the screw out a few turns, soft reset, and no error. Sweet! I took it out completely, and seated the rest of the screws no problem. Then I tightened the offending one in to crash, backed it off 5-6 quarter turns and did a soft reset. Now I'm proud to say I've been crash free for nearly an hour. We'll see what the evening holds I thought about leaving it out entirely, but my personality with have to make an adjustment first

I figured that this works because the middle screws tighten down into the springboard socket. Perhaps a tight screw tweaks the socket enough to cause glitches and errors.

If I wanted to know if someone opened the case, I'd program my robotic screw guns to align the screw heads a certain way and assume the average user is not detail oriented enough to notice this. Of course this is just proof the screws were turned, not that the case was cracked, but what the heck. It's cheaper than an electronic countermeasure

Thanks Primser2 for posting this thread.

Darrin Dailey

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 10

Spoke too soon

Well, I thought the loose screw would be the magic bullet, but it was not to be. After a scant few days of near flawless performance, my prism is again failing to cooperate with the Visorphone. This is even after the removal of all the screws and another super hard reset. Grrrr.

So what's a color pda geek to do? I tried to call Handspring last time and I knew that wasn't going to get it done. I bought it used on eBay. The previous owner never had any Springboards, so it's not their fault, but still. I think what I'll do is replace the motherboard and see what happens. That's ~$75 out of pocket and the likelihood of me destroying the remaining components, but that's better than a $200 chunk of useless blue plastic that I can't foist in good conscience.

Oh and on a final note, even though I trashed the flash on my GPS when my Prism crashed, Thales Navigation (parent of Magellan) is replacing it under warranty. Right on!

I hope this loyalty is worth something someday.

~Darrin

Registered: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 108

Loyalty?

Loyalty to whom?

Surely not to Handspring!

And I would expect that Thales is hoping that when you get rid of your Visor, or upgrade, that is, that you will buy their Palm or iPaq compatible GPS accessory.

So far, no problems with any of my Springboards, and I still have a screw loose (literally!)

__________________
The Prismer

"I am not a number, I am a person!"