Palm reseting continuously

[thaibankie]

I have a problem with the Palm M515 I bought 2 months ago. It hung up when using my palm modem to sync with Avantgo. I removed it from the modem and reset, now it is constantly reseting. I have tried to do a hard reset also
but it is continuing to constantly reset.

The Palm looks like it is locked in some software loop that won't allow it to boot up normally. The unit continues to reset only showing the "Palm Powered" graphic on the screen for about 1 second, then the screen clears and the "palm powered" graphic appears again, this will constantly happen. I cannot turn the palm off, it will only turn off when the battery goes dead but upon charging the battery and resetting the palm it goes into this loop again. Do you have any suggestion to clear this problem?

[DrMud]

Do you have JackFlash or Flash Pro on your Palm? Any third party Security apps?

Excuse me for asking, but when you did the Hard Reset did the Palm ask you if you wanted to earse everything? And you said YES?

Bottom line if you did a successful hard reset and the battery has been drained and the problem is still with you it is a hard ware problem and it needs to go back to Palm.
Sorry.

DrMud

[thaibankie]

I don't have any security apps.

Yes I can charge the battery and do a hard reset and it asks me if I want to erase everything, I say yes, then it goes into this reseting loop again.

I think you are right about having to return it, but at the moment the only comment I can get from the Service Tech at Palm support, is to do a hard reset, which clearly does not fix the problem.

Thanks for your comments.

[lummox]

Not sure if it's the same thing, but I had the same problem with a Palm III a couple of years ago. The fix was definitely not good news, so I hope this isn't the same problem you're suffering.

My friend had a Palm III as well, so I borrowed his memory. My unit worked fine with the new memory.

Again, I MUST stress: Your symptoms, although similar to mine could be as simple as a stuck reset button (although that would be a difficult fix, too). Please do not disassemble your Palm unless you're comfortable doing so.

I am a social misfit who spends most of his time reconfiguring and tweaking devices for fun so I would suffer no compunction about breaking a device just to see how it works :p

[little-man]

this happened with my visor deluxe a little while ago, and I had to do a power down reset (take the batteries out for an hour or so.) this fixed the problem. since your palm is rechargeable, it may be a little harder, but you could try taking off the back casing and pulling out the battery connector. leave it for an hour or two, and then put the battery back in. hope it helps.

[DrMud]

Thaibankie,
It realy does sound like hardware. Given that there are no FLASH ROM apps that could be at the source, given you have done a true hard reset, given the battery has been drained the only things left are hardware issues. I know you have been poking the reset button so it is not likely to be stuck. It needs to go back to Palm.

[thereids]

DR.Mudd what does jackflash have to do with screwed up palms?
I ask because mine is having serious problems, locking up, freezing up and boot loops the works! I have done hard and soft resets and that has not fixed the problem. I installed jack flash and the problems started not to long after.

[DrMud]

What you are describing, the locking up, loops etc. is a problem that sometimes follows reformatting the Flash Rom.
There is a special reset proceedure for JackFlash. Check their web site for directions.
Doc

PS: Sorry I have forgotten the steps.

[thereids]

i read in a post you had for a nother user, about "Upgrading to PalmOS 4.1 the "easy" way, i have searched for this but can not find it, can you tell me what i am doing wrong or where i can locate this?

[DrMud]

thereids,
If you are still having the looping problem that needs to be fixed first.
Have you visited the JackFlash folks in search of their special reset?
I fyou are back to somewhat normal and are ready to Flash the OS here a couple of ideas.
If you have a password assigned in the Security app, remove it.

The upgrade seems to work most smoothly on a hard reset Palm. If you want to try this, do a HotSync to back up your data, then create a new user in Palm Desktop ("test", for example), and on your next HotSync give this username to the Palm. Do the upgrade. After the upgrade, hard reset again and give the Palm your previous username on the next HotSync.

Doc

[DrMud]

Please let me know what the status is on the Flash software. None of JackFlash can be in the ROM when you flash it. Make sure everything is removed!
Doc

[JohnKes]

thaibankie,
When you tried to Hard Reset, then pressed UP, it should have erased everything. Since it went into the loop again, that means there is a stuck button. (The OS saw more than just the UP button.) Perhaps you can try tapping all hardware buttons, then Hard Reset again.

Good luck.

[DrMud]

At long last the answer to the question "How to reset JackFlash."

Doc

To do a JackFlash reset:

1. Use the reset tip tool (or similar object without a sharp tip), to gently press the reset button inside the hole on the back panel of your handheld.
2. Release the reset button.
3. Immediately AFTER step 2, press and hold down the Memo button. If you do this correctly, the Alarm will sound.
4. Once the alarm sounds, release the Memo button. This should allow the Palm handheld to reset correctly, but the contents of Flash will not be visible until you run JackFlash or perform a hard reset.
5. Run JackFlash and then move the items that were placed into Flash back into RAM.

[thaibankie]

Thank you all for your comments. Just received my replacement from Palm. Very satisfied with their service, I had to ship from Thailand to Singapore (no service center in Thailand) to get it replaced, they paid all the shipping by DHL. From me shipping to receiving a new one was less than 48 hours, very impressive.

I guess I will never know what the real problem was with my Palm but your suggestions were appreciated.

Just doing a hot-sync to put all my apps and files back on to it, fingers crossed.....

cheers
Alan

[DrMud]

Alan,
I would wait a while to put JackFlash back to work.

Glad to hear that Palm came through.
Doc

[RezPhreak]

Just a suggestion, but whether you use JackFlash or not, I think everyone should use POSE and backup their ROM - just in case. Now if you DO use JackFlash, then not only backup the original unmodified ROM, but also the modified one as well.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Ron