Palm OS/WinMo Hardware

[#1]

I was just recently handed the management of about 200 or so Tungsten E2 handhelds.  Several of them have begun to suffer from the same issue.  What happens is, at random times, the Palm will display a "Fatal Error" and require a reset. 

"Soft" resetting the palms will work in some cases but not others.  Sometimes a "Hard" reset will temporarily fix the error, sometimes the error returns right away.  The error does return eventually in all cases that I have seen so far.  What I am wondering is if the internal flash modules that the Palms use for "RAM" might be going bad.  I've already gone through several troubleshooting steps trying to fix this problem and keep these handhelds working on a limited budget.

My question is this:  Is there a way to permanently fix this issue?  Or is it a sign that the devices are just old and in the process of complete failure?

Post relates to: Tungsten E2

[#2]

Does this error occur before you hotsync the devices to a PC? If you hotsync the device to a PC then get the error, there may be an issue with an app or data you are sync'ing back to the E2. If this is the case, you will need to rename the backup folder on your PC and then sync.  Here are the instructions;

Go to http://kb.hpwebos.com/wps/portal/kb2/common/article/887_en.html and follow the directions to do a hard reset. Next before you hotsync your data back over you will need to rename your backup folder, to do that go here;

XP
C:\program files\palm or palm one\[hotsync username]\ and rename your backup
folder to backup.old


Vista
Start-->documents\Palm OS Desktop\[hotsync username]\ and rename your backup
folder to backup.old

Then hotsync to your current hotsync name and all your contacts, calendar,
tasks, and memos will come back over.

Show file extensions for XP or Vista

XP
If you can not view file extensions on your PC I would like you to open a
folder go to Tools-->Folder Options--> View (tab) and under show hidden
files and folders uncheck hide file extensions for known file types.

Vista
Open control Panel go to Folder Options--> View (tab) and under show hidden
files and folders uncheck hide file extensions for known file types.

Have you checked the support page for any updates required for the E2? Click on the download link and look for the updates.

For reference purposes, click on the following link for the support page for your device on the kb.hpwebos.com webpage.

http://kb.hpwebos.com/wps/portal/kb/na/tungsten/e2/unlocked/home/page_en.html

There are links on the page to the user guide, troubleshooting, how to's, downloads, etc.

[#3]

So far, the error has only occurred while running an application on the Palms and not during a hotsync.  A recent example is a palm that originally diplayed the error while running a math testing program.  You could run the program and everything would be okay until you tried to view the records of any student.  After performing a hard reset, the error returned approximately two weeks later but instead of the math program it was a reporting program.  

I have not been able to find any pattern to the errors.  They do not seem to be limited to a specific version of Palm OS or even to any specific application.  Out of about 200 Tungsten E2 handhelds, all running the exact same applications, for the exact same purpose, I'm seeing about 2-3 new cases of this error per week.  The devices are all approximately 5-6 years old and I'm wondering if they are just getting old.

[#4]

The applications you are using, are they listed as compatible with PalmOS 5.4? This is the OS version on the E2.

Have you tried using one of the E2's without the programs installed, use the basic functions of the E2 and see if you have the same error? There may be an issue with the applications you are using.

I would think that if the RAM was bad, it would not work for 2 weeks then get an error. It would fail immediately. If you want to test the RAM, do a search on the internet for a RAM testing program for Palm OS. I saw one on en.softonic.com.

Have you contacted the application developer regarding this issue? You may want to check and see if they have any info. on the issue.

[#5]

The applications are compatible as far as I know.  The applications have been in use for 5-6 years on these Tungsten E2 handhelds and we have only experienced this issue within the last several months.  As far as a "RAM" test, I have not been able to find one for Palm OS devices.  

The software you mentioned at softonic is just a generic web page for palm OS software that happens to include the words "RAM" and "Test" in different advertisements on the website itself.  The closest thing I could find was a program that would fill available free space and was designed to allow developers to test how their applications would run under low memory conditions.

I have been able to replicate the issue without the applications installed on one device so far.  After a hard reset, the device loaded and as soon as I tapped the screen to calibrate it, the "fatal exception" error occurred.  It then occurred in the same way after a soft reset.  A second hard reset allowed me to get past the calibration screen without the error.

[#6 · Accepted solution]

Ok. Sorry about the RAM test link. I have limited access to the internet at work so I just saw the link on Google search with the address. I will see what I can come up with when I get home and can search with no restrictions.

Here is a link I found regarding the Fatal Error message;

http://kb.hpwebos.com/wps/portal/kb/na/tungsten/e2/unlocked/solutions/article/28963_en.html

If you have the behavior with no apps installed and no hotsync of the data, it typically points to the device itself. As you stated it may be due to age of the device. You can try all the resets listed in the following article and see if one of those may fix the issue.

http://kb.hpwebos.com/wps/portal/kb/na/tungsten/e2/unlocked/solutions/article/887_en.html

An issue that can occur on the Handheld is the digitizer can go defective especially if you have problems calibrating the screen. I don't think the Fatal Error would be caused by the digitizer though, it would just not respond to taps. I have not seen a Fatal Error when the screen stops responding as you have described.

Here is a link to the downloads page for the E2, check the downloads and see if you need to install one of those. I can see the daylight savings time update and a security panel update. If you don't have those installed, I would suggest to install those and see if that may resolve the issue.

http://kb.hpwebos.com/wps/portal/kb/na/tungsten/e2/unlocked/downloads/page_en.html

[#7]

After reading the article you linked, I think for now, I'm just going to set these aside.  It looks like there could be any number of issues causing the fatal error and it could even be different depending on the device.  The number of devices that have this specific issue are a very small fraction of the total number of devices and I have enough replacements to deal with this until the Palm handhelds are (finally) replaced.

Thanks for the effort and research!

[#8]

You're welcome. Glad I could provide some assistance with your issue.