Builtin "Applications" keeps crashing!!!

[BrentDC]

So today I was using my TX, launched Palm's builtin "Applications" launcher, and crash. Tried launching it again, same result. This problem has occurred before, but I usually fixed it by restoring PsysLaunchDB from backup, or making sure no non PRC/PDB are in the Palm/Launcher directory on the card. I unpopped the SD card, and launched Applications - it still crashed. I now know something is not wrong with the card. I then restored PsysLaunchDB from this mornings automated backup (NVBackup), and still a crash. I then HARD RESETED my TX, restored this mornings backup, and still a crash! Now I must've used "Applications" 10 times from the time the automated backup took place, and when I started experiencing the problem. How is that even possible? BTW, the error reported by Reset Doctor is "VFSDBCache.c, Line:4978, file offset not 32-byte aligned".

Help!

[hgradeca]

Well... You'll surely repair it if you make a hard reset and clean install of all your apps, but since this is too time-consuming, there must be an other option! ;)

Did you try hard reset and NOT restoring PsysLaunchDB? Hope this helps... :)

[ftwitty]

Try restoring from a previous backup.

p.s. Not the most recent but before the most recent.

[kairos]

Use another launcher and try pimlico’s DbFixit.

[potter]

Other things to try:
Instead of restoring PsysLaunchDB, just out right delete it and then perform a soft reset. (Hypothetically you just keep restoring a corrupt PsysLaunchDB).
Alternately, try just restoring PsysLaunchDB from an earlier backup.


As ftwitty mentioned, try restoring to previous backup. (Whatever the problem was it appears to have been backed up in your last backup.)


Try a binary search partial restore:
Restore half of the files.
Does the problem now occur?
No: Restore half of what what remains, and try test again.
Yes:
Hard-Reset.
Restore all the files that had been restored up to the last successful test.
Plus, the other half of the last pass, and try test again.

Keep repeating until you get down to one file that if restored, the device fails. I assume this is an application file
Since things may gotten confused:
Hard-Reset.
Restore everything except the one file from backup.
Reinstall that application form another source (or from an earlier backup).

(You may have a corrupt application file, that when the Application launcher tries to display the icon from it, it generates the memory fault.)

[Zxanphorian]

(You may have a corrupt application file, that when the Application launcher tries to display the icon from it, it generates the memory fault.)[/list]

Yeah, I had the exact same problem before. When it happened, I just went into the launcher and scrolled down in the "All" category, then when it crashed and restarted, I noted where i left off. Since I installed new applications before this started to happen, I found the problem app immediately, and deleted it. The problem didn't happen again.

[tk_421]

I've had the same problem before, and spent over two weeks trying to solve it... which I did.

In my case applications on the launcher didn't show up properly, or just wouldn't launch at all. I tried restoring from backups many times, but it still wouldn't work.

In my case, I realized that this had to do with a full dbcache. I am a power user, and am running so many apps on my TX, that the dbcache fills in at launch after a soft reset. Why is this? Simply because of what is called "code 5", which calls every application loaded in RAM at launch. When too many apps are loaded, you can have a crash. Sometimes I would restore the psyslaunch file, and it might fix it, but sometime sit didn't work for very long.


So the solution was Uncache. I have never had this problem return after using uncache, except when I turn it off. So my guess is that if you used less applications, or just tried uncache, it would completely solve your problem. Good luck with that!


But we'll surely get a TX2 sometime in 2008, and dbcache problesm might very well be a thing of the past. Can't wait, honestly.

[BrentDC]

Thank You all for the help. I was up late last night trying to figure out what the problem was, and my first thought (and many of yours) was something was wrong with PsysLaunchDB, and there was. What threw me off the track, was that I restored PsysLaunchDB from a known good backup in June, and that didn't solve the problem. Even though NVBackup was telling me it had restored PsysLaunchDB without any errors, it wasn't restoring it at all. I didn't figure this out until I hard reseted, did the "half restore, check problem, another half restore ect." technique, and that left me with PsysLaunchDB. I then simply Hard Reseted and selective restored everything except PsysLaunchDB. The problem the went away....phew. Thanks again :)

[hgradeca]

I'm glad that you managed to fix it! :)


But we'll surely get a TX2 sometime in 2008, and dbcache problesm might very well be a thing of the past. Can't wait, honestly.

Well, that would certainly be very, very great! ;) I just hope that it will happen! :)

[BrentDC]

OMG, the problem has returned :o and not restoring PsysLaunchDB after a hard reset didn't fix the problem. I'm so mad :mad: :mad: I think VersaMail has something to do with it, because that is the last thing I used before the problem resurfaced :(

[BrentDC]

Now Reset Docter is saying "Emul68kCommon.c, Line:530, Odd Address". One time "Applications" launched and at the very top of the list of Apps there was an entry that looked like this "ÿÿ ÿ ÿ......" Anybody ever seen this?

[_Em]

Yes; there's a thread around here somewhere from a month or so ago that addresses this; a DB's icon or filename can get mangled, causing Applications to crash (even though other launchers work just fine). I eventually fixed the problem when I encountered it by shuffling apps through a test category until I found out which one caused crashiness. I then deleted and reinstalled the culprit and everything ran fine.

[BrentDC]

_Em, I tried your suggestion, and moved all apps into a category and that category did not crash. But if I went to "All" or "Unfiled", I still get a crash :( I cought a screenshot of the unfiled category (every once in a blue moon it won't crash), what do you think of this?

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/5941/2007118163637gr7.png

[juggernaut#2]

I´d say there´s a file on your device which looks like an app to "Apps" and has got a mangled db-name. maybe it´s a new one you installed, maybe it´s an existing app / file you somehow mangled...

[scottl]

Can you identify the application that's showing up corrupt there?

[BrentDC]

Nope, I have no idea what it is :(

[PinCushionQueen]

You use IconsPlus right? If so, have you changed any icons recently? I've had problems occasionally when swapping icons and my 3rd party launcher handles the change just fine but the built in launcher crashes and sometimes it's the other way around. Because, my 3rd party launcher handled the switch ok - I didn't notice for some time since I don't use the built in launcher that often.

[BrentDC]

To be quite honest, that could easily be true. I'm currently using a 275 count Vista icon pack I just made, and who knows I could've made a mistake :rolleyes: I'll try setting IP back to the original icons.

[The New No. Two]

Any chance you can find and delete this corrupted app using Filez?

[BrentDC]

@PCQ

I set IP back to the default icons, and still crash :(

@TNNT

The problem is not deleting the culprit, it's finding it.

I have pretty much given up, and downloaded trials of MegaLauncher and Zlauncher.

[The New No. Two]

The problem is not deleting the culprit, it's finding it.

Ah. I thought maybe it would show up in files as the app with garbage characters in its name.

[BrentDC]

I don't even think that the garbage name is an app, as all my apps are accounted for not being that. I tried restoring from November 1st, and the problem went away for about an hour, then returned without me doing anything. I've had, and solved perplexing problems, but this one is "a new breed".

[alt236]

You might want to have a look at the creator and type of the "ÿÿ ÿ ÿ......" app using filez or similar.

Also, for the time being, disable any extensions you are using just to make sure they are not doing anything funny.

EDIT: Sorry hit submit by mistake :)

If the app creator changes everytime your system crashes then this might be a bit serious...

[BrentDC]

The problem is the "ÿ ÿÿ ÿ" app doesn't show up anywhere except Applications. There is no file on my device called that.

[alt236]

Probably because launchers read the app title instead of the db name.

Do you have resco explorer? Or any other launcher which supports the use of the system categories?

Move the "ÿ ÿÿ ÿ" app to its own category and then go and check its creator and type from RE or the other launcher.

[BrentDC]

When I go to Applications-->Category the "ÿÿ ÿÿ" app doesn't show up. RE doesn't show any such thing either. How can I change its Category if it doesn't show up in the Category screen?

[alt236]

Point.

But it is in the unfiled category, right? What happens if you completely empty it. Is it still there?

[BrentDC]

JFYI if I completely emptied the Unfiled Category it would still be there.

But all that doesn't matter because I found the problem ( :) ), PCQ was right!!! It was something to do with IconPlus. After I deleted IP its current Icon Database, and the three icon sets (~350 icons) made by me, the problem dissapeared. Figures it was my developent skills (I mean lack there of) that caused the problem ;rolleyes: I want to thank all of you for the suggestions :) And maybe finally this thread can die :rolleyes:

<off to find the problem with my icon sets>

[sgosnell]

Have you tried deleting that file? Or looking at the attributes in a file manager?

[BrentDC]

Read on Sgosnell :)

[alt236]

Good!

Good luck with your search :)

[BrentDC]

Hehehe :o I'm hoping <crosses fingers> that somehow IconPlus' database got corrupted, and it not something wrong with my massive Vista Icon Set (How do you sort through 275 icons to try to find a problem that showed up days after I started using the pack?).

[BrentDC]

Wow I've outdone myself, I managed to switch between the future and past, 3rd person and myself in my post above :rolleyes:

[alt236]

A divide-and-conqurer strategy can be usefull in situations like these although it can be time consuming....

On the other hand it can be something as simple as having a couple of icons at 24bit colour, i guess.

[BrentDC]

Yea, maybe I'll just open it up to beta-testing :D with a USE AT YOUR OWN RISK warning. Joking :D

[alt236]

Users may experience spontaneous crashes, headeaches and urges to throw mobile device towards the nearest vertical surface.

[PinCushionQueen]

Glad you found your problem BrentDC!! :D I suspect that the problem isn't with your iconsnet but with an app that you've assigned an icon to. Namely an app that doesn't have it's own icon to begin with... I've run into this kind of problem with IconsPlus before when assigning icons to some app - I've not been able to find the pattern :(

I use AppIcon to assign icons to these apps. Sucks that I have to use 2 separate apps for icons, but I written the devs on this problem & nothing has ever come of it. I still use IP mainly because it's the only one that lets me assign to the builtin apps.

[BrentDC]

Hmm.... I'll have to check into that. So if I'm understanding right, apps that are missing the two tAIB resources crash when you assign an icon to it with IP? That is easy enough to fix, just add the resources with BIRD :) I'll check into it ;)

[BrentDC]

Found the problem ;) PCQ you were right (again) when I assigned an icon to FDAL (no icon), it caused the crash and "ÿ ÿÿ ÿ...." thing. This time it caused a "ÿ ßÿ ß ÿß" though :rolleyes:

[ripples]

Thanks so much for this thread!

I was completely unable to view the Applications menu on my TX. It was weird because I hadn't changed anything in at least 24 hours and it was working fine when I was working in the hospital all day. Then oddly it wouldn't let me into the applications view at all. Out of all the times it crashed, ONCE ResetDoctor logged it as "crash vfsdbcache.c 4978." And that brought me here :)

Simply deleting IconsPlus did the trick. I don't really get what happened since I have not even replaced any icons with IconsPlus... I just had the program installed and have had it installed for weeks with no problems.

SO I don't get it but I'm not complaining.

Thanks again for saving me quite a headache.