Registered: Dec 2000
Location: London, UK
Posts: 118

I just installed my first hacks (Phlegm Hack and Fix AN Find Hack) with hackmaster (v0.9) after seeing some threads posted around. After the install I turned on my Visor to start playing and the screen was filled with a garbled mess - almost like snow on a tv screen.

So opened up the .pdf manual, looked up resets, and performed a soft reset. The Visor hung on a Palm Computing Logo with a flashing black pixel in the upper left corner...

...it stayed that way for 15 mins.

I performed another soft reset. This time I was presented with the "Erase all data?" message. I quickly pressed any other button than "Up" but the screen went blank.

Is this it, have I experienced my first melt down in 3 months of palming and now must erase the palm then hot-sync?

Is this a sign to stay clear of hackmaster? Or shall I just get back of the saddle for another go?

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 25

The flashing black dot is debug mode and is caused by your big fat fingers pressing the up/down keys while you were doing the soft reset.

The erase all data thing was caused by your big fat fingers entering hard reset mode by pressing the power button while doing the soft reset.

To perform a soft reset, hold visor by the sides without pressing any buttons and insert pin into the little hole and observe.

Hackmaster is very valuable. I use Fix AN Find with no problem, so it was probably Phlegm whatever that is.
PS. Don't delete hacks while still active. Deactivate them, then delete them.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 14

Personally, I say hard reset, re-hotsync, take 2 asprin and call me in the morning.

When it asks if it can reinstall hacks, say no.

go into hackmaster, make sure phlegm hack is off.

delete phlegm hack.

hotsync.

that should fix it.

-Keith

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: London, UK
Posts: 118

All is well so far... I've performed a hard reset, praising myself for being so diligent in Hot Syncing my data prior to installing Hackmaster. Now I just have to wait till I return to my regular pc to hot-sync. Is it a straight forward "Desktop overights Palm" sync or is there anything I should look out for? Should I sync from the Palm Desktop or Pocket mirror?

BTW PhlegmHack is

quote:

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Mitch Blevins

an extension that allows you to switch back and forth quickly to your most recently used apps. Similar to SwitchHack.

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 434

The version of Phlegm Hack in general circulation is not compatible with the Visor; but, if you contact the author, he will e-mail a version that fixes the problem.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 14

A regular hotsync should do it. You may have to reinstall whatever apps you had on before, but this gives you a chance to look through them all and decide if you really need them (since you installed Zap!2K, when was the last time you played SubHunt?) etc. I find a hard reset/restore is a great way to clean out the junk. Consider it visor floss. ;-)


-Keith

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: London, UK
Posts: 118

I've lived through my first (forced) hard reset in the learning curve that is the Palm OS. Needless to say I am wiser for the experience.

Lessons:
* Back up regularly - my saviour

* Keep a record of any 3rd party apps installed (and more importantly, where they came from). CryptoPad.prc mysteriously disappeared (though the DB was restored!). After a panic that I'd lost everything, then a search on the grudging slow Palmgear I relocated, reinstalled the prc and alls well (ironically I could hae saved the panic by checking out the CryptoPad Desktop exe!)

* Read the manual! I hadn't told PocketMirror where to sync the custom fields and which way to "first sync". Consequently I lost all the info in Custom 1-4 (which meant all URLs and Birthdays used by HappyDays!)

* Use hackmaster at your peril. The global find now performs and illegal error seconds after I click ok!

Does anyone have any ideas on the way forward now? I kind of liked the global find, the backbone of my pda IMHO

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 434

FindHack is 100% Visor compatible; your problem must be with a third-party app or a change that a third-party app has made to one of the built-in app databases. FindHack includes a setting that allows you specify which apps to include in global searches. Start by unchecking all third-party apps, and test to esure everything is working. Now add an app at a time, and retest.

An app that I would guess is never going to work with FindHack is CryptoPad. Put another way, if FindHack works with CryptoPad, then CryptoPad is worthless.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 217

Ianp -
I highly recommend BackupBuddy. It automatically backs up all applications and data on your Visor at every hotsynch. With BackupBuddy a restore after a hard reset restores everything, third party apps and data too - all you have to do is press the hotsynch button.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: London, UK
Posts: 118

I cleaned out the third party apps. But the Fatal Exception continued. I then performed a Hard reset and deleted the data again. As expected, Fatal Exception disappeared.

quote:

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Yucca wrote

...your problem must be with a third-party app or a change that a third-party app has made to one of the built-in app databases...

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 434

No idea re: quickoffice 2. For best results, I'd suggest starting a new topic in software . . . seeing as I doubt many quickoffice 2 users are going to get this far along on this thread.