Where has what gone

[Fred_R]

I have a curious error.

In the first instance, I went to open my 7Book prior to visiting a client, tried to open a 'word' document and got the error message 'Information: Not Found'. Trying to open any program - contacts, Sheet, etc and the same message was displayed. It didn't matter whether I tried from the silk screen icon or the file names. Open programs like agenda were displayed, but when I closed them I and tried to reopen, I got the same response!

A soft reset almost fixed the problem. Almost because now, every time I open the machine I get a box which just says "Not found" and have to press escape to start work.

Once since this problem arose I had a repeat of the "Information:Not found" freeze.

My problem is what is not found?

How do I stop this from happening? It is annoying but not, as yet, debilitating.

Fred

[wanman]

Hi Fred,

I had a similar problem a few months ago. Not sure what caused yours but my machine crashed a few months back with a triple beep reset followed by a no beep reset. As described by you, all applications were coming up with not found when I tried opening them. All I could do was a soft reset and this seems to have solved the problem. I have since re-built the machine after inserting the additional 32mb DIMM upgrade.

What are your machine specs? (old 7 build no, current OS installed, 32mb installed?) Do you have a password set / your personal details appear when you switch on your machine? If so it could be that the file that holds this data is corrupt? If you don't have the extra 32mb DIM installed, and you have Atelier's Essential Disk Utils, I'd try running CheckDisk on C: drive and see what that comes up with. Try changing your password and personal details to see if this is saved ok and solves your problem.

Although you may not want to hear this but it may be worth a reformat and re-build or reinstate an old backup (although you could be reinstating a corrupted file).

Sorry can't be of more help.

Regards
Si

[diem]

Do you have applications installed on a CF card? If you do, then the problem refers to this.

Post back if this is the case, and I'll post some solutions.

[Fred_R]

My Series 7 was build 756,
I am currently running Netbook build 158 without additional memory.
I decided to stick with my 1Gb Microdrive, which has most of my applications, slow to load but with everything on it, it is still only 10% full!
I don't use any password protection for the psion. But I do and have run 'HotKeys' for about 12 months without any problems.

I have not added any new software in the timeframe of this problem.

However, following through on Yan's thoughts, I removed the Microdrive and it booted up without the error message. Replacing the Microdrive into the D drive and the message reappears, immediately!

One of my concerns is that I have damaged hardware by carrying the Psion around in a shoulder bag, and not treating it with all of the TLC a heavy laptop may get. Is this a possibility or is the damage more likely a software issue?

[diem]

Don't sweat it, your problem is a software one.

When you switch on, one thing that occurs is that the machine scans its file associations. These are stored in \System\Recogs on both the C and D drives.

Over time, the data stored on your Microdrive will become increasingly fragmented, and will take longer to respond to the OS when the power is first applied, thus the D:\System\Recogs folder is not available quickly enough, so the error is thrown.

To fix this, you must either copy all the files from the Recogs folder on D to the equivalent place on C, or purchase Essential Disk Utilities from Atelier Software and defrag the microdrive.

[Fred_R]

Thanks Yan,
I tried the easiest option first, but copying the contents of the D:\system\recogs to the equivalent in C: had no impact on the error.
I will look to purchase Atelier's software and defrag the D: drive. I really don't want the hassle of having to do an occasional soft reset, especially when it usually happens just when you don't need it most!
I will keep you all informed of the progress.

Fred

[diem]

Gotcha - I'd guess then that you have a file open in an application stored on D? Thus its the application that's not showing up quickly enough at boot, rather than just the Recog file.

If you'd be prepared to run a quick test, would you mind closing all docs and see if the error on boot goes away? Just to test the hypothesis like.

[Fred_R]

Yan,
I tried both ideas.
I actually did a soft reset and confirmed that there was no open files and still 'not found' message appears when started.

I purchased Atelier's Disc Utilities, very happily, and did a 'check disc' and a defrag on C: and D:. I still have 'lost' something or another. This is beginning to worry me, I hope the error is not a symptom of a deeper problem.

Fred

[diem]

Hi Fred,

I still don't think there is a serious deeper problem; given that the problem disappears if you remove the Microdrive, I remain convinced that it is related to this - perhaps simply now the quantity of data stored on it.

There have been several previous discussions amongst microdrive owners here on the forums - I'd suggest you do a search (button to the top-right) for 'microdrive' or perhaps 'micro drive' and see what info you can dig up.

[netBookBabe]

I agree with Yan - I've heard so many tales of quirks and problems with MicroDrives that I was dissuaded from buying one. I can't help thinking it has to be the prime suspect in this case - it doesn't sound to me like a hardware problem on the Psion itself.

Julie

[cshandley]

My 1Gb Microdrive has performed flawlessly for ages in both my Series7 & 7book. It is formatted optimally to get the smallest cluster size, and usually has only 50 - 100 Mb free!

Yes, they can be a bit slow (mainly at switch-on for about 5 seconds), but this is a minor inconvenience IMHO.

So personally I wouldn't be without my Microdrive :-)


BTW, early Microdrives may have had problems, but ones sold within the last year or two should be fine AFAIK.

[Fred_R]

I agree entirely.

I have been running my Microdrive for about 6 months, since buying it new in Singapore.

I have had no problems, no errors, but have learned patience. I have to wait for it to boot up when first started, and it seems to take forever if I write new files directly to the D: drive (solution is to write to C: or E: and move the file. Opening an existing file is no problem.

The only change was a 'corrupt' disc problem well over a month ago, when I first tried to 'backup' the Microdrive to my new Apple iBook.

I reformatted the Microdrive and did a backup from my PC, without any apparent problems.

A month later, without any intervening issues ...
Then this error message appeared.

[Fred_R]

I used to have a problem, now I got two!

One problem is that I reformatted my microdrive, but it is now showing as corrupt. I posted a reply to a thread on the Netbook forum.

Meanwhile, I transferred a whole bunch of stuff onto other discs. Some program files and frequently accessed data files onto C drive, less frequently used or large files (program and data) onto my 128Mb CF. This has been through EDU Checkdisk, and Optimise, but I still have the ‘Not Found’ error message whenever I start up! Indeed it now seems to be on the C drive (that is it appears even with the 128 CF removed) – so it is evidently a software problem, but what program?

There seems little point in reformatting and restoring, I think my backup files are also suspect. Any suggestions

Fred

[diem]

I suggest closing all open programs, perform a soft reset, then see if the problem occurs.

If not, open each program you use one at a time, switching off in between each, and when the problem pops up you will have identified which application is suspect; you can then un/reinstall that app.

[cshandley]

The error message sounds like it is due to a System (OS) component (not an application) problem. As such, unless you really know your way around EPOC (in which case the solution is probably just deleting or moving a single file), the only solution will be:

Rename the old System folders on both C and D drive, perform a soft reset. Now either manually reconfigure everything from the Control Panel, or risk/experiment replacing current system prefs files with their old versions (the latter will likely need a soft reset for the old system files to take effect). If all proceeds OK, then next:

Reinstall all applications. Then before running any applications, copy over the old System/App directories to the new one (ensuring to NOT replace already existing files). Now test every application.

Sadly this isn't quite fool-proof due to different applications doing things in different ways, but if you ensure you have a full backup before starting this, then the worst you can do is have to do is either uninstall & reinstall a particular app, or simply restore from your backup.


I should point out that this tricky stuff is not normally needed, because EPOC is incredibly robust (esp. compared to Windows), but occasionally it is possible it can't entirely handle something wierd that has been done to it.

---
Chris Handley

[Fred_R]

Thanks for the replies Yan and Chris,
Sorry it took a while, but while travelling I tend to limit my time on the net to a minimum.

Yan, I tried a soft reset and still get the error message, even on the "Netbook" home screen.

Chris, I am not a software wiz. I have tried restoring the microdrive, and the problem still exists, otherwise I'm afraid I don't really understand what you are suggesting! What are the steps involved? and what are the possible consequences?

Fred

[cshandley]

Originally posted by Fred_R
Chris, I am not a software wiz. I have tried restoring the microdrive, and the
problem still exists, otherwise I'm afraid I don't really understand what you
are suggesting! What are the steps involved? and what are the possible
consequences?

If you can't follow (what I thought were) fairly simple steps I described, then
it might be wisest not to try. However, if you have a FULL backup of both C & D
drives, then I can't see any harm in trying...

The consequences? Well, if you start manually fiddling with System files then
you may screw the OS up further, but if hard-reset & restore-from-backup are
only a click away then I don't see the problem.


To reiterate my steps in a more explicit fashion:

1. Go to the root of the C: drive, and rename System to SystemOLD. If it is not
visible then go to Tools/Preferences menu & enable "Show System folder".

2. Repeat for the D: drive (compact flash).

3. Perform soft reset (bent paperclip into button in hole near battery backup
on underside of unit).

4. Ensure the Show System folder thingy is still enabled (reset may have cleared
it).

5. Now, I'm fairly sure EPOC should recreate the System folder, although I'm not
totally sure. If you can't see it on the C drive then the following steps may
produce error messages.... Although editing some Control Panel setting may
create it if it doesn't exist yet.

6. If the System folder refuses to automatically re-appear, then I would create
a folder on D: drive called C, then *copy* (& paste!) the C:\SystemOLD folder
to the D:\C\ folder. And copy the C:\Documents folder to the D:\C\ folder.
Then perform a HARD reset (as soft reset, but hold down both shift keys when
pressing the ON button). All original files on the C drive should be wiped, and
a shiny new System folder should appear if you enable visibility from the prefs
menu. Now *cut* & *paste* both folders in D:\C\ back to the C drive. You
should now be back to how you were before point 6 - except C has a System
folder.

7. If you are feeling brave, you can *try* copying the C:\SystemOLD\System.ini &
C:\SystemOLD\Data\Commsdb.dat files to the new C:\System & C:\System\Data
folders. If you do so, perform a soft reset. If lucky, your original problem
will *not* have appeared. If the problem DOES re-appear, then delete both files
(in C:\System\) and perform a soft reset.

8. Go to Control Panel, and set-up EVERYTHING how it was before - of course you
took note of all the settings before you did step 1..... You may like to avoid
setting-up the Internet stuff (yet), cos that is a lot of info to re-enter when
success is not guaranteed. If files from step 7 were copied to C:\System\ then
much of the prefs info should not need re-entering :-)

9. You can get Contacts data back by replacing the C:\System\Data\Contacts.cdb
file by the one in the C:\SystemOLD folder. To restore Email data you can
replace all the files in the C:\System\Mail\ folder by those in the C:\SystemOLD
folder. (Say "yes" to replacing existing files).

10. Now re-install all your programs using the SIS files you originally used.
BUT DO NOT RUN ANY OF THE PROGRAMS YET! If you do run these programs, you will
not be able to restore any of their old settings or data.

11. Now select all folders in the C:\SystemOLD\Apps\ folder, copy them, go to
the C:\System\Apps\ folder and then paste. If asked about replacing a file -
SAY NO!

12. Perform the same thing for the D:\SystemOLD\Apps\ folder.

13. Now perform a soft reset, then test every single application you installed.

14. If you are lucky, all programs will be back to how they were, and the
problem you had will not have re-appeared. If it HAS reappeared, make a note of
WHEN it appear, as this can be used to narrow down what is causing the fault.


As I said, this is NOT fool proof - some applications may store important user
data outside of their System\Apps folder. If this is the case, then I am afraid
you will not easily be able to restore the data from that particular
application - although you might like to copy the relevant SystemOLD\Apps folder
(for that application) to it's System\Apps folder (for both C & D drives), AND
THIS TIME SAY YES TO REPLACE EXISTING FILES.

If after all this EPOC and/or your applications are more screwed-up than before,
then you can always restore from your backup. I recommend HEAVILY testing all
applications before modifying your back-up, because once you update it you
cannot go back.

Regards,
Chris Handley

P.S. Yes, it would be possible to automate most of this, but I'm not sure I
could write such a program(s) without testing it myself, which I'm not keen on
doing. Since there's nothing intrisinically difficult (just long-winded), I'd
be much happier that you do it - especially as there may be unexpected problems.