Help please with Fatal Error & Reset probs

[slindsey]

Hello out there I really hope someone can help me.

I sync'd my Sony 665 with the palm desktop and immediately it displayed the following Fatal Alert:

DateDB.c,Line:2537, An earlier alarm was found in skipped records.

and it displays the Reset button.

This is all fine and good but when I do a reset I get back to the same screen. I've tried to do a hard reset but while this error message is displayed I can't turn the unit off. Furthermore, the unit is not turning off by itself. I'm stuck displaying this error message till the battery runs out!

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!

[avijohn]

Solution:
If a Fatal Exception or Alert error occurs on the CLIE(TM) handheld, perform a soft reset. The error could be caused by a particular application that is not operating correctly or installed properly. Reinstalling the software may be necessary. If the error occurs when attempting a HotSync(R) operation, the data being transferred may be causing the issue. If the error still occurs, it may be necessary to perform a hard reset.

NOTE: This error may occur after installing the PEGA MSC1 Memory Stick(TM) Camera Module on the PEG NR70, PEG SL10 SJ20, or PEG SJ30. The MSCam_enUS.prc update must be installed to operate correctly. Memory Stick(TM) Camera Module updates are available for download from the Sony Support web site at: http://www.sony.com/peg/support.

Hope this solves your problem.

Regards,
AVinash John

[pgarodia]

I bought a T615c almost 2 months ago and have been having problems with it ever since. Today I was scrolling through categories in the address book and the pda froze. After a while I got the following error.

MemoryMgr.c Line:4365
NULL Handle

I have received this error before and I have been losing my data because of this. This error comes with a RESET button which never works. The only way out is a hard reset and with that I lose all my data. According to my research it seems like there is a problem with Palm OS that is causing this. Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions, etc?

Thanks a lot,
Prateek

[Try Me Out]

Normally, problems of this nature are caused by a conflict in one or more programs that you are running. It also sometimes can be traced to certain hacks that you might have installed.

If its really bugging you that much, then I might humbly suggest that you go through the process of starting clean with a hard restart, then installing maybe 3 apps. Try it out for a day or two, then proceed with another set, and so on, until it starts freezing again. This is tedious and slow, but it will surely isolate the problem. I use 3rd party installers like Pilot Install to help me out in this.

I'm sure you may even have an idea of which app is the culprit, so you can also start there.

Once you determine what the program is, check for updates or fixes, or just try to live without it.

Hope this helps you out.

Stay cool.:cool:

[slindsey]

What is this third party program? What does it accomplish over the basic install?

Susan Lindsey

[Try Me Out]

The basic install requires you to do a hotsync, which can make your task more tedious and time-consuming.

With pilot install, you can simply drag the programs (prc) and datafiles (pdb) you want into its window, press the hotsync button, and voila! You can even do the same with jpg files and it will convert them automatically.

I use it to load any program I want to try out, and it has become an indispensable tool for me. And its totally free!

Hope you solve your problem so that using your PDA becomes a totally enriching experience. In the meantime, I remain,

Sincerely yours,:cool:

[pgarodia]

Hi all:

Thanks a lot for the winderful suggestions. I dont have any 3rd party software that did not come with the original install cd. I have managed to bring my clie back to life and I still dont know what caused the problem. But, I saw that Sony posted some updated software on their website for T-615c. One of them (for World Alarm Clock) fixes some bug about soft reset. I am not sure if that will fix my problem but I sure am going to try.

Thanks,
Prateek

[TalkingToes]

You can also press the UP button while it is starting to power on. This will bypass most programs that will start normally.

I installed an old hack, and killed my new t665c instantly when I reset it. I could not do a soft or hard reset. This allowed me to disable, then delete the hack. No problems since.

TalkingToes

[adrian_cho]

DateDB.c,Line:2537, An earlier alarm was found in skipped records.

Every couple of weeks I get this error after a HotSync. It is EXTREMELY ANNOYING. I love my Clie but this thing is a real pain in the butt. The only thing you can do is do a hard reset and resync everything. Problem is that not all apps will correctly re-install themselves in this manner and some need to be re-installed manually.

I do not have any 3rd party apps installed that I believe would affect this (the date book). In my mind it is clearly a bug in either the IntelliSync conduit (I sync with Outlook) or something else in the core software.

I haven't worked out the exact case causes this bug but I do believe it usually occurs after entering a new appointment either in Outlook or on the Clie and then syncing.

Adrian

[masterd]

I have gotten this error now for the second time on my Clie 710c upgraded to OS 4.1. Seems the only thing to do is do a hard reset (which works holding the power button while pushing in the pin).

And then I have to reinstall all my goods. A real pain in the butt. This seems like a bug in PalmOS software but how to prevent it?

Any ideas?

[adrian_cho]

I have no ideas and it is really starting to get very annoying. It SEEMS to happen whenever I enter an appointment on the CLIE and then sync. I don't have any third-party date book apps.

I have installed all the patches from Sony's site and it didn't help.

I hope they fix this. It is a real annoyance in an otherwise great product.

Adrian

[Try Me Out]

People, don't forget that we are dealing with 2 pieces of hardware (your desktop and the clie) and 2 pieces of software (Outlook and Datebook). Any of these can be the culprit.

Right now, we are all looking at the clie or its datebook as the problematic areas. This could be so, but I think the problems you are experiencing are isolated, not frequent. I've had no problems with mine, though I don't sync my data in Outlook, just on the Clie desktop, which works fine with me.

Which comes to my next point. Since you experience the problem with Outlook, it is possible that there is some problem with how Outlook links with the datebook data of the clie (since you mentioned that you already consulted Sony).

Maybe you can try checking out Microsoft and look for some answers there.

Hope this helps you out. I hate to see people get frustrated with such a fine product as the clie.

stay cool.:cool:

[adrian_cho]

Speaking from a programming point of view, the bug is very likely in the CLIE. It is the CLIE which is getting in the infinite loop with the "assert". In theory, the conduit uses the Palm API to access the database and it should not be possible to corrupt it. The API should reject anything that would compromise the integrity of the database.

That's the theory anyway. The conduit could be to blame if the API is crap.

Adrian

[masterd]

I got this error and am not even using Outlook. I use Gnome Pilot (0.1.70) and sync with Evolution (1.2.1) under Linux (RH 8.0). So, it seems both the Outlook conduits and the Evolution conduits can corrupt the Clie.

This points to the problem being in the Clie software. I wonder if there is anyway to escalate this to Sony development. I have tried to call their technical support, but they don't seem to have an escalation path -- they sent me to second level support, but to no avail...

Anybody have any ins to Sony? Any Sony support people read these forums?

[masterd]

I have opened up a bug on Ximian's bugzilla database for Evolution. I know it is not really their problem, but maybe they can help track down what type of thing is tickling the Clie bug it and at least fix it on the Linux conduits.

Here is a link to the Ximian bug:

http://bugzilla.ximian.com/show_bug.cgi?id=37284

Now, if only I could open a bug with Sony :)

[masterd]

Update: apparently somebody else was seeing this problem when using Evolution and already filed a bug with Ximian, so mine was a dup. Here is the original bug report with a very good description as to what is causing the Clie to fail (clearly a bug in Sony's code):

http://bugzilla.ximian.com/show_bug.cgi?id=35051

Another thing: in order to stop the crash, I have found that you can hold the up arrow when booting and then restore (via memory stick -- you did do a backup at a good point, right?) a previous version of the DatebookDB.pdb file. Then soft reset the Clie. Of course, your datebook will not be up to date at that point...but you can get on with life.

[bongo]

A big thanks to Talking Toes for the suggestion to press the up button while starting up.

In my case, I had a fatal exception, crash, did a hard reset, but when I got to the regional settings, got a "Hold" message before it died. Pressing the power button did nothing.

Just now, while holding the up button, I am doing the soft reset, and I am stable at the preferences page, then able to do a hotsync.

But when I try to enable hi res assist, I get a"Missing system files" error. I did have a full backup, and it looks like data was restored, but how do I find the files that I need now?

Any ideas?

More: I deleted the only hack that was on there (silkyboard) and after powering off, I cannot power on again, without doing an up-button-soft-reset. Also the contacts in the address book are not in alphabetical order...

Thanks.

[Try Me Out]

Looks like an app or hack did some serious damage to your system files, which is not easy to do.

Your last course of action would be to do a complete reset, which will erase all the data in your pda (except for the default apps that initially came with it.)

Do a hard reset and hold on to the power button for a couple of seconds. Let go, and press the scroll up button to confirm that you want to erase everything.

It wouldn't be advisable to do a hotsync since it just might bring back to your pda whatever gave you the problem in the first place. So you might have to install apps manually, leaving behind the suspected problem app.

stay cool.:cool: