Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Posts: 3

I just ran a global search and the Visor crashed. Neither a soft or hard reset is working. I keep getting:

Fatal Error: Fatal Exception

Is there anyway to bring this thing back to life?

SQN

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Posts: 3

Go figure, I tried a hard reset about 10 times. Then I started to press the other buttons because the "up" button wasn't working. Then the next time I tried the "up" button, it worked. I'm back - luckily with a backup.

SQN

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 86

From what I've heard on the board you may, very unfortunatly, have the infamous Fatal Error that truly is fatal. You're Visor is dead.

Call customer service and they'll set you up with a new Visor (and they're shipping the replacements almost immediatly). However, they are charging something like $35 for the shipping of the replacment Visor. I'd scream and yell about that. If my new Visor died because of a known problem I sure as hell wouldn't want to be told that *I* have to pay to get a new one. (</VIRTUAL ANGER OFF>

Whew! I don't know what happened, I'm usually much calmer.

In any case, I'm sorry to say that you may have a real problem. At least HandSpring will ship your new one ASAP.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[This message has been edited by Dru Lee (edited 11-12-1999).]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Posts: 56

Have you tried popping the batteries out for an hour or so? That's a super hard reset....

At least you aren't trying to use the 'paperclip' hack. :-)

(For those of you not in the know, it's a hack that lets you do a soft reset without a paperclip. Think about it....)

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 431

Doing a "warm reset" will allow you to get over the "Fatal Error, Fatal Exception" problem and delete the problem app. (I've just had to do one right now after installing HandScape!)

Warm resets are done by pressing the reset button while holding the Up button. For more detail see http://www.palmgear.com/faq/faq.cfm...=26&catID=1

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Bannockburn
Posts: 2

I was having the same problem. After using Palm products since they came out with no similar issues, I know this wasn't right.

After reading the thread below, I called Customer Service. After holding for about 30 minutes (not too bad), I went through the "Did you try...?" tree with the rep. He finally agreed that it was not a healthy unit.

The return policy is:

Standard = N/C for ~2 week turn around
Expedited = $10 for UPS Ground cross-ship; quoted as 10 day delivery.
Rapid = $29 for air cross-shipment (FedEx?); quoted as three day delivery.

Cross-Ship = They send out a new unit before receiving your original back. They charged a full price new unit plus the expedited/rapid delivery fee to your credit card, then credit the replacement unit when they receive the defective one.

I'll let you know how well this works. In the meantime, I'm going to pull out my trusty old Palm Pro!

Thanks.


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JohnB@Work

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 86

RE: Do a warm reset.

Just wondering. Would the warm reset help if he can't get the hard reset to work? If so SPN should certainly try that first, but I fear his error is truly Fatal.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 431

I cannot believe the coincidence! Here I am posting possible ways to get around the Fatal Error problem, and then I get the Fatal Error problem myself. I was very frustrated a short while ago and tried calling Handspring to get my Visor replaced but, because they kept me on hold for so long, I decided to try a number of different things.

MY VISOR IS NOW WORKING AGAIN

Here are the steps that I went through to get rid of my Fatal Error.
1. Did soft resets --> got Fatal Errors every time.
2. Did warm reset(s) --> started OK. Doing soft resets resulted in Fatal Errors every time.
3. Did warm reset, hotsynched and then did hard reset --> started OK. Reinstalled all files using BackupBuddy. Doing soft reset(s) resulted in Fatal Error. I was ready to give up here but I decided to continue.
4. Did warm reset and then did hard reset --> started OK. Did not reinstall all files using BackupBuddy. Installed 80+ apps and their associated files in multiples of 20 apps at time. After each "batch" install, did a soft reset to check that Fatal Error was not occuring.
5. Success All 80+ apps installed and can do soft reset.

I'm trying to think of things that could be causing these Fatal Errors and I've come up with the following GUESSES so far:
a. Once a certain (high) amount of memory has been used on the Visor?
b. Installing certain apps (e.g. HandScape ?)?
c. When a configuration file or preference file is corrupted?
d. Certain hacks?

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Bannockburn
Posts: 2

In talking to Customer Service about the Fatal Error problem, he specifically asked if I was using LauncherIII or ViewerIII. I did use LIII (not VrIII), but I got the dread FE even without it installed.

By the way, I went for the expedited return. $10 to save a few days...its worth it to me.

Thanks.

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JohnB@Work

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 153

I too spent some time in controlled panic mode with my <fatal exception> last night. It seemed to happen after having trouble recognizing the desktop computer (iMac, USB, MacOS9).

After some silly attempts to try to salvage installed data on the Visor, I did a hard reset (on/off button=>paper clip reset) and chose to erase all installed data. The built-in apps showed up and all seemed well.

The next part seems to be the key. The conduit settings must be set for new defaults. Just using the backup put me into a loop of installing the problematic software. Installing and synching bad software solves nothing.

So I changed all defaults to Do Nothing and began to backup data, then names, etc. In the end I have all essential stuff data, apps and it all works fine. LauncherIII did seem to be flaky as did Home. Neither is installed and the thing continues to work. I'll be more judicious in what I install in the future. I'm even getting over the overwhelming urge to customize the home view and I'll probably wait 'til the holidays to start fiddling with Hackmaster stuff.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 431

dtplink,

Are you using Launcher III 1.5.x? If you're not, you should upgrade.

I still run hacks on my Visor but I have stopped running "old" hacks. To me, "old" hacks are ones that haven't been updated for a while and are not proven to work on Palm OS 3.x.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Tonka Bay, MN USA
Posts: 36

Some more caveats.

I was installing several .prc app files at once and got a fatal error. Reset, warm reset, hard reset and advice here all failed. The Palm Computing startup screen froze and I couldn't even turn the Visor off. My only recourse was to remove the batteries and take the Visor back to original condition. Here is what I learned.

1. It takes about 20 minutes to clear up the startup screen freeze after removing batteries. After that you lose all apps and data except what came in ROM.

2. Never install new apps and docs unless you hotsync backup first. I did do that but only inadvertently. Lucky me. I was able to restore on the next hotsync.

3. Install one app at a time. With a backed up hotsync it doesn't take that much time and if you do getting an offending app, the previous installations will be backed up.

Hotsync using a PowerMac with the USB cradle. It is amazingly fast compared to what my Palm Pilot buddies are encountering with serial cradles.