Another Reset Question

[wozofoz]

Hi, sorry to bring up the probably boring subject again but I have searched all around the web and cannot find a definitive answer (because there isn't one?).
All was great with the TX for 75 blissful days then it started to Reset itself usually when I had been using say Docs / iSilo / graphic game or just over time, then I turned it off.
I uninstalled (UninstallMgr) all apps that were Synced in the previous 15 days, NO change.
I Uninstalled all Das and anything else that popped up etc, NO change.
I even got rid of HomeWithFind for a while NO change.
I have NOT used a specific app for a full day eg: Docs NO change.
I do NOT launch Blazer and VersaMail (they are installed) as I have read they are great reset tools anyway.
I have noticed that the TX tends to get very fast,(push a hard button and Zap I'm there) but this is usually the sign that a reset is on the way.
I have absolutely no knowledge of the inner workings of Palm but from what I have read around the web the word 'Cache' comes up a lot.
Since I have ZLauncher installed I am wondering if using the Function Button 'Refresh Apps' will help? ZL User Manual describes it as "Manually refresh the application information cache database" I can have it sitting on my top bar of ZL and could easily tap it every few apps.
I have also read of 'DBCache' app plus Da any comments on that one?
I do not have a fear of resets, I have always reset all my Palms just before bed so that BackUpMan has a 'fresh/clean' Palm to work with while I sleep. I am just worried that my TX is heading toward the continuous reset that others have experienced.
Thanks in advance and if this subject has been answered already, sorry, I did search very hard if not well.
All the best woz of oz

[Nekkutta]

I have a fairly stable TX, about 1 reset every 1-2 weeks, and I tried to give ZL a try, nope, I started getting resets, so I took it off, from what I understand ZL eats a large chunk of memory depending how you have it set up, I just had mine set up with 2 BG images and the horizons skin, no Icon set.... would reset about 3 times in the span of about 4 hours while Palmary clock wireless was doing its slideshow in the cradle at the desk.

Nekkutta

[wozofoz]

Thanks for the quick reply. I hope ZL is not the problem. I have had it on a TE and now the TX and don't know what I would do without it. I must admit that since ZL is so popular I did not even have it on my list of maybe problem apps. I will search around and find if others have had this problem too.
Thanks again and all the best woz of oz.

[Dick Tracy]

Make sure you are using current versions of third-party apps. List at palmfocus.com.

[FerdFerd]

I had a bout of resets a few months ago. I finally hard reset my TX and installed my applications anew, not from a backup. Apparently some supporting file had become corrupted. Everything has been fine since. I didn't find any mention of a hard reset in the original post. But if I had your troubles, that's what I would do, even though it's something of a pain. But the pain is short lived, compared to persistent resets.

[TBell]

Hard Reset and then reload is good advice, especially if your device was stable before. I would also suggest reading this thread (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110502) on memory management; I didn't have many resets before - even though I use ZLauncher heavily! - but now I haven't had any in a month or so.

[<lie<onvert]

Hello,
I have a very stable TX that only resets occasionally when using Blazer (unCache hasn't solved all my problems, but that is probably me). However I use ZLauncher daily with icon sets, background images and transparencies and have not had a single problem.
Is this a second palm device? A buddy of mine did not delete old backup files from his older palm device and when he hotsynced (under the same name) it installed some old, highly incompatible applications that made his TX nearly useless. One of the most damaging was the old grafitti1 prc or pdb (I can't remember which).
I hope this gives you a lead.
<<

[wozofoz]

Hi, thanks for the quick and interesting responses everyone.
I will certainly do a Hard Reset if the problem persists, I would just rather not since I do not own a PC and have to use internet cafes ( I travel almost constantly).
When i moved up (?) to the TX from the TE I installed Uninstall Manager (UM) first then all Apps/Games were Synced new. The only things I used from the TE were some Files, IconMgr Icons etc which I beamed.
Since my first Post I have Uninstalled (UM) Documents, I found that when I opened a Doc that was on my 256 Expansion Card (as they all were) the TX would always Reset when I tried to close the Doc. In truth I only used it because it was there and iSilo is my preference. iSilo is never a problem and combined with iSiloX it is so easy to put exactly what I want on my TX, eg: I have the ZL User Manual (2.7MB) with HyperLinks on my Exp Card so I have a quick reference when on the road. How sweet is that! Also have eReader (CD) for my many books. Since deleting Docs I have had only one Reset and I was pushing the TX hard to test it out. As it is only one day now it is too early to tell if that was the problem. I am not saying Docs is bad as it is on the safe list @
http://www.palmfacts.com/devices/tx/software.php
but maybe a compatibility problem. Still I won't miss it.
Thanks Dick Tracy I have checked the PalmFocus list too @
http://www.palmfocus.com/txsoftware.php
I have been keeping a list of all Apps I use and if I just read or edited etc also any games I play up until the Reset then go back and do the same again to try to find the culprit or combination. I will Post my results when I have more evidence.
A final question. There are some DBCache clearing tools (that scare me) BUT does a Soft (Back Stab) Reset clear the DBCache and does it stay cleared or is a Hard Reset the only way to start 'fresh'.
Thanks again for your replies, all the best, woz of oz

[Nekkutta]

a soft reset will clear the dbcache, but not very well if you don't have uncache installed, since when you soft reset palm opens every single app on the TX to check for notificatication, thus it fills the dbcache immediately depending on how many apps are installed.

Nekkutta

[FerdFerd]

When I was having troubles with too many spontaneous resets, a soft reset (back stab) did not fix it. Remember my problem was apparently some file being corrupted in memory. Soft resets didn't take care of it, and neither did a hard reset and immediate full restore from NVBackup. The restore just put the corrupt file back and I was back where I started.

I can certainly understand your reluctance to do a hard reset and reinstall everything from scratch, but I think that's where you will finally end up.

I imagine you could do the hard reset and restore without needing a PC for long. Could you use a card reader on a PC long enough to put the installation files for your third party applications on your SD card? If you can, you could copy them over one by one from the card to reconstitute your PDA. At least I don't see why that couldn't work.

[cyberdude]

In terms of clearing the DBCache, I am a heavy user of OffFlush/OffFlushDA (I actually use the DA more than the app). It clears your DBCahce while your device is on and in so doing prevents resets. I have found that many memory hungry apps reset the TX if there isn't enough DBCache available for them to load when they are launched. I always do a manual flush before launching Blazer, and in this way it launches instantly. I have also found that if I don't do a manual flush before launching Blazer, I sometimes get the messsage that there is not enough room to download a file, even though there is plenty of room.

I would have to agree with FerdFerd about the reinstallation. A hard reset a reinstall is the only sure way to solve your problem. Remeber to do a reset after each install.

[wozofoz]

Well 3 full days after uninstalling Docs and only 3 unwanted resets.
Day 1 after playing Dynomite a reset on exit but I have played it many times since and no problems.
Day 2 after playing MummyMaze a reset on exit but I have played it many times since and no problems.
Day 3 after 2 hours of surfing the web with Blazer (yes, I am confident enough to use it now and I 'clear cache on exit') I got a reset when I tried to follow a link but after reset I surfed for 1 more hour and no problems. I should say I was using the wifi at the Guesthouse and the connection even on their PCs is slow and the signal sometimes weak.
The TX is much faster and just seems 'brighter' like it's new or maybe I am just seeing it through happy eyes.
Cyberdude Yes I always Reset after syncing, after uninstalling and before bed. I am interested in trying OffFlush/OffFlushDA but I can't get the zip anywhere I went to the Applications Forum and found "Flush your dbCache...." post by Alex Pruss but his link is a failure. Googled everywhere but no good. Has Alex taken it down? If so do you know why? Do you know of a link to get a copy if there is no major problem with it?
Thanks in advance and all the best woz of oz
:D

[FerdFerd]

You can get OffFlush in the Freeware section here at 1src. Page down on this link (http://www.1src.com/freeware/index.php?cid=6). You'll likely want version 2.0. Version 1.0 is there too, but probably not as safe to use.

Alex Pruss recommends against using it because a few people have had problems with it that make their devices unusable. Many folks use it regularly without incident. I'm reasonably sure you can find advice about how to use it safely by searching these forums. Most foilks seem to set it so it only flushes automatically upon powering their devices off. This prevents it from flushing while another application is active.

Edit: Let me add that one piece of advice I received from _Em here was to avoid using OffFlush if I suspected there was something corrupted in cache memory. Remember this was my issue that caused me to do the hard reset and fresh installation. If you have something corrupted on your unit that was causing your resets, you may want to be especially careful about using OffFlush.

[wozofoz]

Thanks for the Link FerdFerd I got the Version posted by PinCushion Queen as it is NOT called V1 but it does not contain the DA. I have a Question before installing (yeah I'm putting it off) I was wondering if I turn off the TX using ZLauncher PowerOff Function button that I put on the TopBar will that be the same as using the TX Hard Button? Does anyone see any conflict there? Thanks in advance. All the best, woz of oz.

[FerdFerd]

I'm not a ZLauncher user, but the soft button to power off on the gadget bar in Launcher X does properly activate OffFlush. I also remapped the power on-off function to hard key four with PowerBtn, and that also works. So I would expect your button in ZL will work.

If you are a Resco Backup user, the ability to flush the cache after an scheduled backup is incorporated into the latest version. Alex Pruss's code is used for this purpose.

[PinCushionQueen]

Thanks for the Link FerdFerd I got the Version posted by PinCushion Queen as it is NOT called V1 but it does not contain the DA. I have a Question before installing (yeah I'm putting it off) I was wondering if I turn off the TX using ZLauncher PowerOff Function button that I put on the TopBar will that be the same as using the TX Hard Button? Does anyone see any conflict there? Thanks in advance. All the best, woz of oz.

Hey there! The version of Off Flush that you've downloaded is not the most current. I've just updated the file to OffFlush v2.0 in the freeware section. Download and use this one - also the zip contains the DA.

[wozofoz]

Thanks PinCushionQueen for the update, much appreciated.
Ps, love the Avatar.