We continue to receive reports from customers whose Palm V units do not
wake up when a Datebook alarm comes due. We have sent numerous email
messages about the problem to David Fedor and Gabriel Acosta at 3Com, and
they simply do not acknowledge receiving them. Does anyone else have any
further information on this serious defect in the Palm V?
FYI, what follows this message is the standard response that we now send to
all of our customers who encounter this fault.
- James Einolf
Little Wing Software Development
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There appears to be a manufacturing glitch that affects an unknown number
of Palm V units, causing misbehaviour in a number of subtle ways. This is
*not* a problem with Clock III, but with the Palm V itself. For instance,
one of the symptoms of an affected unit is that the Palm V does not "wake
up" for Datebook alarms.
Enter an event into the Datebook and set the alarm to go off sometime in
the next few minutes, then turn off the device. The correct way for the
Palm V to behave is to "wake up" and sound an alarm at the appointed time.
If your device stays off and only notifies you of the Datebook event when
you turn it back on manually, you have one of the affected units. Do the
following to fix both this problem and the aberant behaviour of Clock III.
First and foremost, do a HotSync to back up your Palm V data. Then click on
the HotSync logo in the Windows task bar on your desktop PC and select
"Custom" from the pop-up menu. Highlight "Date Book" and click on "Change".
Click on the "Desktop overwrites Handheld" checkbox and click on "OK".
Repeat this step for "Address Book", "To Do List", "Memo Pad", "Expense"
and "System", then click on "Done".
Next, do a hard reset of your Palm V (this is definitely a two-handed
task). Press the reset button by poking a paper clip into the RESET hold on
the back of the Palm V. *At the same moment* push and hold the green power
button. Continue holding down the poer button as you let up on the paper
clip on the RESET button. When the "Palm Computing Platform" logo screen
appears, release the power button. A prompt will appear asking you if you
want to erase all data. Answer "Yes" by pressing the scroll "up" button.
Follow the prompts to get your Palm V digitizer started and such, then
HotSync the device to restore your data. Clock III should also be
re-installed during the HotSync - if it isn't, re-install it manually using
the "Palm Install Tool" application.
To the best of our knowledge, this is not a permanent solution. We have had
reports of the problem resurfacing on units where it seemed to be fixed. We
have tried to pursue a remedy with 3Com, but they have been completely
unresponsive. If the hard reset procedure outlined above does not cure the
problem for you, or if the symptoms return at some later date, we suggest
that you call 3Com customer support. Be sure to discuss ONLY the problem of
the Datebook application failing to "wake up". Do not tell them that you
have a problem with Clock III, as it is our experience that they will then
try to tell you that Clock III is the cause of the problem.
Our appologies for the inconvenience.
- James
