Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 23

Scalpel:
but you know that it is statistically impossible that some people get always bad visors upon exchanging. Unless there is a reason for that. Three come to my mind:

1) Handspring does not really look into the source of those complains about crashing units and simply refurbs them and uses them as exchange units for other people w/ problems. Now, if you are once in the cycle of exchanging your visor and you receive one which has previously been identified as defective by someone else, you'll always get bad units.

2) I have only about 136 kB memory left. Anybody ever heard of Visor troubles as memory runs out?

3) There is really a combination of software which we (in the bad-luck-streak) are using which causes Visors to crash, empty the batteries etc. But in this case I'd expect a little bit more help from Handspring than their standard suggestion ("remove all 3rd party apps...") in identifying those conflicts.
Okay, here we go. Perhaps somebody here can help me to identify the EVIL program. Except the OS apps, I have installed AvantGo, the BAckup module, BankBook, BART (a subway timetable), Hackmaster, Periodic Tbl., SAM, SimCity, TealInfo, Tealmeal, TealNote, Viewer III, YAUC. Of those, I only use AvantGo, Backup Module, Bankbook, Bart and SAM frequently.
Anything which is known to kill Visors? I know, I know: AvantGo and Hackmaster are known to cause crashes. BUT gazillions of people use AvantGo and Hackmaster w/out problems. Why does it not work in my case?
Nilbog: do you use any of those programs?

Joerg

Registered: Mar 2000
Location:
Posts: 8

second Visor also bad

I have just sent back my second Visor Deluxe.

The first Visor has battery problem. The indicator would show full power even when the battery has run dry.

The replacement would suddenly turn off, even when I am in the middle of using it. It is not the Auto-Off feature, because the turn-off is within 5 seconds of my last tapping of the screen. There are also cracks in the case.

Getting replacement is rather expensive for me, since I don't live anywhere near North America. Not to mention the time it takes for the Visor to get there and back. For the 8 months I've bought the Visor, I've only got to use it for 4.

What should I do now? I am thinking of writing a nice email to Ms Donna Dubinsky. Maybe she can help me.

Please, how do I get in touch with her?

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Seattle, Wa, USA
Posts: 66

quote:

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Originally posted by JRocken
but you know that it is statistically impossible that some people get always bad visors upon exchanging.

---

It is statistically impossible that some people get always bad Visors upon exchanging, but it is not statistically impossible that some people get five bad Visors in a row. People win the lottery every day on worse odds. This is just a reverse lottery, statistically speaking.

I'm not trying to cover for Handspring, and I do think that they need to test every Visor before they send it out as a replacement. However, I suspect that if they are having such a problem, they will be working on fixing it, based on this thread. They do read this forum, and I'd hope they act on well-justified and well-phrased concerns.

In the meantime, I'd suggest picking up a TRP Pro or a Palm IIIXE. If Visor is the problem, skip it for a while in favor of another Palm OS handheld, until the "next big thing" comes out from Handspring. Whatever you do, though, don't go so far as to buy a Palm PC...

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"Scalpel"
Atomic Hyrax Games

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 33

JR-
Out of your apps, I also use hackmaster, simcity, and the backup module.
I actually thought simcity was the problem for a bit. See, when you exit simcity by tapping the "home" button, the city stays open. The city databse remains empty. Where the city is stored, who knows? But after saving the city, exiting the city, and then exiting the game, I found I still had the same problems. So I don't think it's simcity. And as you mentioned, hackmaster works fine for a number of folks. That leaves the backup module. HEre are problems I have found with the backup module so far:
1. My first visor had the bad memory chip. I patched it of course. I backed up visor #1, and restored it to #2. I found that even the patch had been backed up, and was now on visor #2. I think this caused some problems, as well as eating my batteries pretty fast.
2. When the backup module is left IN, the unit seems to crash at least twice as much. When I first dicovered this, I thought I had solved the problem completly, until 5 minutes later when my unit crashed again.
3. It seems to cause problems sometimes when you insert it or take it out.
4. Say you backup visor A, and restore it to visor B. Well, something internal still thinks it's the same unit. Whenever you preform a restore operation, it says something to the effect of "All this crap seems to have come from a different visor,restore anyway". This bug will carry through even after you have backed up visor B several times to the backup module.
5. It's very difficult to cancel a "backup" or "restore" operation, as the cancel button only responds after it has been hit about 80 times. Although this is not causing problems with the operation of the unit, I figured I'd mention it as long as I was listing things off.


So is it the memory module causing all the problems? It's possible, but it would have to be causing the problem even when it's not there.

To update my saga:
I recieved my brand NEW replacement today, as well as the slim leather case (which happens to be a huge piece of crap). I have great faith that this one will actually operate. I did notice that the screen is a little bit smaller (the border around the screen where there are no pixels is larger). But I figure it was a newer screen or something, so it's no big deal.
I've restored visor #5 to it, so I can back it up to my computer (I didnt have a chance with #5 as it's life was so short). After that I can do a hard reset, and restore everything. I do this to get past some of the above mentioned problems with the backup module. Anyway, it has already crashed once, but I'm not going to judge it too harshly until I've set it up fresh.

IF I have problems with this one...well then I guess it's plan B.

-nilbog

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 23

Nilbog:

in my case, at least one crash happened without any of the apps you are also using.

Joerg

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 33

we're both using palm OS.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 80

From what I have noticed, every crash that I have had has been related to a piece of software I have loaded onto my visor. I have also noticed that restoring a backup to a new unit is usually a bad Idea because you end up with copies of databases and things that cause some major problems.

My advice is to rename your backup directory and install any apps you want fresh to the new unit, one at a time.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 33

HAHA! This is getting funny now!
So I've had my NEW visor for a week or so now, and so far it has been working perfectly. Well, I loaded the hs_updater today and checked for the bad memory chip, and guess what?! That's right, I have the bad memory chip. Why the hell are they still shipping these things? I mean, the memory problem was the reason I took back my visor in the first place!
I know this is hard to believe..but it's true. I am dumbfounded by my string of bad luck here.
-Nilbog

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

Nilbog:

You know, I never thought of that! I'll have do to that tonight to see if my latest visor also has that bad memory.

Stay tuned...

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