Bought a refurbished lifedrive

[koshy2000]

Hey,

I bought a refurbished lifedrive and have been waiting for it for a week or so. i rushed into this one when i saw how much the price had dropped but ive only taken time in the last few days to read through all the problems. definitely going to use the 14 day trial period. anyway a few questions:

1) should i expect some of the issues to be fixed in a refurbished model?

2) has there been any improvements lately? have people who have bought them within the last 4 months noticed any improvement?

3) what are some good "surviving lifedrive" guides? i have only found 2 but if there are any more that would really help.

im determined to get this thing working nicely or it will be T|X time. Thanks.

[koshy2000]

just realized there is only a 90 day limited warranty on this thing! :| seriously what is the risk?!?

[koshy2000]

no help? i heard you guys were good. i'll try a different forum then i guess *sigh*...

[mrp123]

Welcome. Have you searched the archives here? The search engine is quite good. Your questions have been discussed in previous threads because others were in your situation too. That's why no one responded. You'll find a wealth of information here as you will see.

[koshy2000]

all i could find about refurbished models is that scam that guy tried to pull with the battery :rolleyes:

[dsaroff]

Hey,


1) should i expect some of the issues to be fixed in a refurbished model?

2) has there been any improvements lately? have people who have bought them within the last 4 months noticed any improvement?

3) what are some good "surviving lifedrive" guides? i have only found 2 but if there are any more that would really help.

im determined to get this thing working nicely or it will be T|X time. Thanks.

1. No...you still need to download the patches from the Palm web site.
2. No. Mine died at 9 months, I bought a new one while awaiting a under warrantee replacement and it was no worse or better than the original.
3. Do an absolutely CLEAN install. Move all your palm directories and MAKE CERTAIN YOU DON'T REINSTALL YOUR SAVEDPREFERENCES. Then be careful on what programs you add. Add them slowly, critical programs first.

[koshy2000]

okay next question

should i buy a 2 year (59.99 CAD) or 3 year (69.99 CAD) warranty to cover this thing OR no warranty (i only have 90 day manufacturer warranty because its refurbished). if it breaks 3 times they will give me a different product... i figure the lifedrive will eventually do that within 3 years and i can upgrade to palms new entry at that time.

[koshy2000]

1. No...you still need to download the patches from the Palm web site.
2. No. Mine died at 9 months, I bought a new one while awaiting a under warrantee replacement and it was no worse or better than the original.
3. Do an absolutely CLEAN install. Move all your palm directories and MAKE CERTAIN YOU DON'T REINSTALL YOUR SAVEDPREFERENCES. Then be careful on what programs you add. Add them slowly, critical programs first.



to reply 1, i was referring to some of the overall stability problems. i though maybe some hardware modification has been made on these current refurbished models once palm figured out the issues. guess not.

[mrp123]

i though maybe some hardware modification has been made on these current refurbished models once palm figured out the issues. guess not.

Ha! That's a pretty funny joke.
Actually, no. We all wish Palm would admit to error and fix the problems. But they're so fixated on the Treo that would never happen, as if there were a chance of them fixing it anyway.

[dsaroff]

okay next question

should i buy a 2 year (59.99 CAD) or 3 year (69.99 CAD) warranty to cover this thing OR no warranty (i only have 90 day manufacturer warranty because its refurbished). if it breaks 3 times they will give me a different product... i figure the lifedrive will eventually do that within 3 years and i can upgrade to palms new entry at that time.

I would buy the 2 year warrantee. In 3 years, you will probably be on another device.

[koshy2000]

I would buy the 2 year warrantee. In 3 years, you will probably be on another device.

What are the chances that in two years I will have to bring it in to the shop 3 times? I want to actually use this thing, but if it does break 3 times then I can get a new equivalent model at that time. I only have 90 day parts and labor with palm.

[dsaroff]

I can't really predict that. Some folks have had no failures; mine failed at 9 months. Nothing in life is guaranteed.

[koshy2000]

I can't really predict that. Some folks have had no failures; mine failed at 9 months. Nothing in life is guaranteed.

It's guaranteed you will DIE. :p

Yeah i totally get what you mean. It will be a tough call. I have the option of getting a TX w/ wireless keyboard bundle for about 20 bucks more. Then I have to buy memory. What are the thoughts of Lifedrive owners on the TX?

[mrp123]

What are the thoughts of Lifedrive owners on the TX?

I almost got a TX but here's what prevented me: far greater storage capacity out of the box, faster CPU (through it's advertised as such, I later found it's really not true. The processors are physically the same, the TX as I understand it was clocked down but can be clocked up using a 3rd party app). Built-in mic versus neededing 3rd party dongle mic (or make your own) for TX. LifeDrive manager software is quite handy. TX has its advantages too. You'll find these comparrisons in other threads.

[koshy2000]

I almost got a TX but here's what prevented me: far greater storage capacity out of the box, faster CPU (through it's advertised as such, I later found it's really not true. The processors are physically the same, the TX as I understand it was clocked down but can be clocked up using a 3rd party app). Built-in mic versus neededing 3rd party dongle mic (or make your own) for TX. LifeDrive manager software is quite handy. TX has its advantages too. You'll find these comparrisons in other threads.


alright well i have 14 days at least to try it out. decisions decisions... :confused:

[dsaroff]

I like my LD, but...

TX--Pros
More stable
Smaller
Lighter
Cons
No Voice recorder
No LifeDrive mode
NoDrive Mode
Cheaper feel (I like the buttons and feel of the LD).
Less memory out of the box (though a 4GB SD only costs US$60).

[SoS]

I like my LD, but...

TX--Pros
More stable
Smaller
Lighter
Cons
No Voice recorder
No LifeDrive mode
NoDrive Mode
Cheaper feel (I like the buttons and feel of the LD).
Less memory out of the box (though a 4GB SD only costs US$60).

I dont really agree with the idea that a TX can be cranked up to an LD by sticking a 4Gb card in. In the same way, you can put a 4Gb card in a LD and have 8Gb. Yes the TX is cheaper, but any comparison needs to consider only what is 'in the box'!! Otherwise, I agree with everything!!

[koshy2000]

I like my LD, but...

TX--Pros
More stable
Smaller
Lighter
Cons
No Voice recorder
No LifeDrive mode
NoDrive Mode
Cheaper feel (I like the buttons and feel of the LD).
Less memory out of the box (though a 4GB SD only costs US$60).

I dont mind the feel of the TX and STABILITY is a big issue. 60 bucks? seriously?

[koshy2000]

Ha! That's a pretty funny joke.
Actually, no. We all wish Palm would admit to error and fix the problems. But they're so fixated on the Treo that would never happen, as if there were a chance of them fixing it anyway.

what do you do with your 8 gigs of lifedrive?

[koshy2000]

its here! damn now i have to wait for that 3 hour charging period

[koshy2000]

UH OH... i plugged it in to charge for the first time and it gives a "device not recognized" popup in windows when i plug in the USB cable.....PROBLEM?

[Bexuanmai]

Do 3 hours charge first
See you after 3 hours ;)

device not recognized<=== Windows doesn't have LD's driver , you must install Palm Desktop

[koshy2000]

Do 3 hours charge first
See you after 3 hours ;)

<=== Windows doesn't have LD's driver , you must install Palm Desktop

is it normal for the battery indicator to jump around when there is high demand? i turned on wireless and saw a huge drop even while charging. random!

[dsaroff]

I dont mind the feel of the TX and STABILITY is a big issue. 60 bucks? seriously?

That's what I paid.

[dsaroff]

what do you do with your 8 gigs of lifedrive?

2.8 GB MP3s
WikiPedia 1 GB
350000 word dictionary 40MB
Dictionaries/Thesaurus/personal databases 100MB
Word/Excell/Powerpoint 50MB
eBooks 100MB
Backup files 300MB
Pictures 100MB
Applications 52MB

[dsaroff]

is it normal for the battery indicator to jump around when there is high demand? i turned on wireless and saw a huge drop even while charging. random!

Yeah...I've seen that too. It is very important to make sure you give it a full charge before the first use.

[koshy2000]

2.8 GB MP3s
WikiPedia 1 GB
350000 word dictionary 40MB
Dictionaries/Thesaurus/personal databases 100MB
Word/Excell/Powerpoint 50MB
eBooks 100MB
Backup files 300MB
Pictures 100MB
Applications 52MB


How does one acquire wikipedia? I found a version with 2000 articles that SOS put out but its way smaller than 1 gig. That would be awesome to have on there. do you just casually read through it or do you really use it for reference?

[mrp123]

what do you do with your 8 gigs of lifedrive?

1.5 GB music/lectures
2 GB of movies (examples: Star Wars Ep. 1 and 2, many misc. clips)
600 MB recorded conversations (don't ask...)
160 MB pictures
40 MB reference books
1.1 GB complete maps of US for GPS app
and I never feel crowded which is quite important for me.

[dsaroff]

How does one acquire wikipedia? I found a version with 2000 articles that SOS put out but its way smaller than 1 gig. That would be awesome to have on there. do you just casually read through it or do you really use it for reference?

go to tomeraider.com You'll need the reader (which costs $9 or you can try if for free) and they have the 1GB Wikipedia file on the site (free).

I both casually read and use it as a reference (when I debated with a friend how LONG the Simpsons have been on the air--since you asked, since 1989 <grin>)

[koshy2000]

thanks dsaroff! lots of good stuff on there

[dsaroff]

thanks dsaroff! lots of good stuff on there

I found the tomeraide/wikipedia download link no longer works, but you can find it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:TomeRaider_database.

Also, I was wrong on the price of tomeraider, it's $30, but you can try out all the functionality for free

[koshy2000]

definitely enjoying it so far! organization + movies = :)