Downloading Large File to LD via Blazer (or other Web browser)

[palmbingo]

Have anyone got successful experience to download large files to LifeDrive via web browser (built-in Blazer, or other alternative).

I tempted to use LifeDrive as download device by utilizing Wi-Fi connection and make use of the large hard disk. However, I was unable to do so because I always got "Insufficient Memory" prompt from Blazer. I still have 30MB free memory on the internal RAM (+ 3 Gigabytes of Hard Disk) but I was unable to download even a 5MB files.

Is there a way for me to download larger files and make use of the 4GB hard disk? Would it be good if we can take the LifeDrive into a WiFi cybercafe and retrieve all the required download, then transfer to use at PC at home?

[TimothyP]

Have anyone got successful experience to download large files to LifeDrive via web browser (built-in Blazer, or other alternative).

I tempted to use LifeDrive as download device by utilizing Wi-Fi connection and make use of the large hard disk. However, I was unable to do so because I always got "Insufficient Memory" prompt from Blazer. I still have 30MB free memory on the internal RAM (+ 3 Gigabytes of Hard Disk) but I was unable to download even a 5MB files.

Is there a way for me to download larger files and make use of the 4GB hard disk? Would it be good if we can take the LifeDrive into a WiFi cybercafe and retrieve all the required download, then transfer to use at PC at home?

Turn the device to landscape mode and you should be able to download files to the device.

[WhoKnows]

Turn the device to landscape mode and you should be able to download files to the device.

Are you serious? That is a VERY odd solution!

[TimothyP]

Are you serious? That is a VERY odd solution!

Yes i am serious. I used to always get the "not enough memory on your device, please move something to the card" message. Someone else posted this solution some where else. I tried it and it worked. For some reason, if the device is in the regular view, you wont be able to download anything. But turn the device to landscape and you should be able to. I did it twice already. I was finally able to listen to shoutcast.

[palmbingo]

Ahhh... still not working for me.
Managed to get to the next step... and skip the error "Memory Insufficient" prompt. However still get "Download Fail" on the next page. It mentioned that the RAM is too full to store (I have over 20MB left!), the prompt me asked if I OK to save the files to Internal Memory (??? but I just say Yes), still download fail.

Try again, but now I assign to save in Card (I have a 512MB SD Card) - the prompt said that unable to save because the card is locked?? (My card is not locked... I checked twice!)

Really wish that it can work out.... :(

[TimothyP]

Ahhh... still not working for me.
Managed to get to the next step... and skip the error "Memory Insufficient" prompt. However still get "Download Fail" on the next page. It mentioned that the RAM is too full to store (I have over 20MB left!), the prompt me asked if I OK to save the files to Internal Memory (??? but I just say Yes), still download fail.

Try again, but now I assign to save in Card (I have a 512MB SD Card) - the prompt said that unable to save because the card is locked?? (My card is not locked... I checked twice!)

Really wish that it can work out.... :(

I wish i could help you solve this problem. i used to get the error, then i tried this and it worked for me. Maybe someone else can tell you why are having these problems. As for the card being locked, put the card in a reader and check the properties. Also, make sure the little lock on the top of the card is in the right position.

[TimothyP]

Ahhh... still not working for me.
Managed to get to the next step... and skip the error "Memory Insufficient" prompt. However still get "Download Fail" on the next page. It mentioned that the RAM is too full to store (I have over 20MB left!), the prompt me asked if I OK to save the files to Internal Memory (??? but I just say Yes), still download fail.

Try again, but now I assign to save in Card (I have a 512MB SD Card) - the prompt said that unable to save because the card is locked?? (My card is not locked... I checked twice!)

Really wish that it can work out.... :(

What is is that you are trying to download?

[slaughters]

Since I beleive that the Blazer web browser was made by the very same company that just bought Palm it's strange that something this basic is:

(a) A problem at all.

and

(b) Has not been fixed yet.

I mean, I can't download a 400KB (yes, KB not MB) ZIP file containing an e-book with out this error coming up (we will not even talk about the silliness of PalmOne not providing a ZIP application with the Life Drive)

Goto Baen Books library and try it yourselves on any of the free books they have there for downloading: http://www.baen.com/library/

[TimothyP]

Since I beleive that the Blazer web browser was made by the very same company that just bought Palm it's strange that something this basic is:

(a) A problem at all.

and

(b) Has not been fixed yet.

I mean, I can't download a 400KB (yes, KB not MB) ZIP file containing an e-book with out this error coming up (we will not even talk about the silliness of PalmOne not providing a ZIP application with the Life Drive)

Goto Baen Books library and try it yourselves on any of the free books they have there for downloading: http://www.baen.com/library/

what zip application are you using?

[Amstel]

Have anyone got successful experience to download large files to LifeDrive via web browser (built-in Blazer, or other alternative).

Hi Palmbingo, take a look at the editorial about this subject we published here (http://palminsider.blogspirit.com/archive/2005/09/14/downloading-podcasts-directly-to-lifedrive.html) and the solution given by Palm :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/amstel/palminsidersm.jpg

[slaughters]

what zip application are you using?None at this time. I was just wanting to download the ZIP to my Life Drive hard drive or SD card and then later UnZip in on the PC via the Life Drive Manager software.

(Saw no reason to hunt around for a PALM ZIP utility if I could not download even a 400KB zip file)

[slaughters]

Hi Palmbingo, take a look at the editorial about this subject we published here (http://palminsider.blogspirit.com/archive/2005/09/14/downloading-podcasts-directly-to-lifedrive.html) and the solution given by Palm :)...I'm confused. The article says just do a "soft reset"? This does nothing for me.

Have you been able to download any of the files I pointed to in my original post ?

[Amstel]

I'm confused. The article says just do a "soft reset"? This does nothing for me.

Have you been able to download any of the files I pointed to in my original post ?
I have downloaded podcasts up to 8 megas using Blazer, but I have always needed a reset in advance ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/amstel/palminsidersm.jpg

[lbugnion]

Hi,

Try installing the trial version of RescoExplorer. Then when you download, choose "Explorer" instead of "Card". Accept the file in RescoExplorer, giving the path of your HD or your SD card (check the root's names first, I am never sure which is a:, which is b: etc...). Then change to RescoExplorer to unzip the file. In my experience, it's this combination which works the best.

A reset before hand also helps.

Laurent

[mcapehart]

DBCache is the only thing that has worked out of all the suggestions here and elsewhere. However, once the download starts, Blazer resets the device. Very frustrating!

[Pathdoc]

I finally got tired of this limitation of Blazer and complained to Palm. Below are their suggestions from tech support. None of them work. Before anyone suggests SharkDownload, yup I tried it. Unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to get the URL for many of the files that I want to download thereby making it not very useful.

My original complaint:
Blazer cannot download files from the internet. An error stating that there is insufficient memory to download the file is displayed and it is suggested that memory be freed. There is 41 megs of free internal memory, 3179 megs of free hard drive memory, and 201 megs of free SD card memory on my device. This error occurs regardless of the of the file being downloaded (e.g. 50 kb to 1 mb). The error occurs even after a HARD RESET so it is NOT due to third party software! Numerous others have reported this problem as well (please search the LifeDrive forums on Brighthand and 1src). This problem occurred before the 2.0 update and after it.

Their response:
The problem may be with the DNS settings on your handheld. You may want to ask assistance from the manufacturer of your wireless router for procedures on how to get the DNS address. You can try either setting the DNS to automatic or manual on your handheld and see where your handheld will enable web browsing.

What we recommend is to set it to manual mode, copy the DNS from the router and then fill-in the value in the handhelds Wi-Fi® settings. You may also want to visit the link below to help you set your handhelds Wi-Fi connectivity.

Wi-Fi connection wizard:

http://www.palm.com/us/support/guides/wi-fi/

Also, Blazer cannot browse some websites, this issue requires the use of other web browsers, I recommend to temporarily use other third party web browsers like live web browsers from the links below.

Here are the links to live web browsers:

Novarra nWeb
http://www.nwebwireless.com/

EudoraWeb Browser from Eudora
http://www.eudora.com/products/unsupported/internetsuite/eudoraweb.html

WebToGo from WebToGo Mobiles Internet GmbH (Palm OS 3.5 or higher) http://www.webtogo.de/uk/page.asp?p=1&loc=3
PocketLink from MD Development, Inc. (Palm OS 3.5 or higher)
http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&platformId=1&productId=30113

For further information, you may need to clear the cache and cookies in Blazer. Please go to the link below for more information:

http://kb.palm.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=56,E=0000000000240290585,K=3529,Sxi=14,Case=obj(9830)

My response:
Thank you for your suggestions. I am not having difficulty with connecting with web pages and viewing their content but rather with downloading files. I am using public hotspots and therefore cannot contact the manufacturer of the router as I do not know what it is. Similarly, I cannot manually set the DNS as I do not know what it is. I have Blazer set to clear the cache on exit so there is minimal to no data present.

I guess I am stuck with a 3rd party browser though posters on BrightHand have noted incompatibilities between the LifeDrive and some that you list. Specifically, resets with Eudora.


Their response:
I understand that you are not able to download files when connected to a hotspot and you get an error stating “insufficient memory to download the file”.

One of the benefits of Wi-Fi technology is its ability to quickly and wirelessly connect your LifeDrive to the Internet or to your corporate network when you are away from the office.

With your LifeDrive you can connect to various public HotSpots without a problem provided that you're at a HotSpot that provides free access. If you're not at a free HotSpot, you'll need to get an account with a provider that includes the connecting settings.

Please verify that the HotSpot you will be connecting would need additional security components, such as a Virtual Private Network (VPN) client. Different restrictions will be imposed in various HotSpots available.

My response:
The hotspots that I have used are free and do not require additional security. The error occurs with ALL file types including prc files. I think that these should be supported.

This is very frustrating. It is not a problem with the connection nor the file type. The file download screen appears and asks whether I should download to the card or drive, it then tells me I have insufficient memory when there is sufficient memory.

Their response:
Yes, prc files are supported. When you download a certain file make sure that the memory space you are downloading is double of the space of your internal memory. Let us say you are downloading 1MB file, you have to have a 2 MB space in your internal memory. Please double check the internal memory of your handheld.

My response:
Yes, there is double the space. I have 42 MB free in internal memory, 3178 MB free on the drive, and 201 MB free on my SD card. The file is ONLY 108 KB. This is a bug in Blazer that has been reported by many on BrightHand and 1src and was not fixed by the update. I have been able to download a file ONCE and that was immediately after performing a soft reset. Given the 2 minute turn around time for a soft reset and the amount of battery that it consumes, this is an unacceptable solution. This is the only solution that others on the forums mentioned have found as well. Please forward this higher up the chain so that someone can take a look at the app and fix the compatibility issues between it and the LifeDrive.

Hope that maybe this helps someone. It has not helped me.

[lbugnion]

I finally got tired of this limitation of Blazer and complained to Palm. Below are their suggestions from tech support.

I salute your patience *L*

FWIW, none of their suggestion makes sense. You talk about apples, and they reply about potatoes.

Just want to mention that Xiino works very well for downloads, especially in conjunction with RescoExplorer. When you download, for example, a ZIP file, Xiino asks if it should send it to RescoExplorer, which in turn asks you where to save it. You can then choose the HD or the SD card.

Unfortunately, none of these apps is free, but I find them worth the price.

On a side note, Xiino works also well when you need to log in a private hotspot (entering a username and password) when Blazer doesn't allow this to work most of the time.

HTH,
Laurent

[Pathdoc]

Well, I got another email from them. They suggested that I call their non-toll free technical support number to resolve the issue. My experiences in speaking to Palm's support folks in Bangalore have been less than positive. I really have no desire to do this. paying for another browser would be less of a hassle.

[FrankG]

Is it me or do those reponses from Palm sound like some sort of computer generate text based on keywords in the e-mail it's responding to?

Has anyone tried LGET? Comments on it? I tried it though there seems to be a problem with downloading to external memory. When you get a link Blazer won't download, feed it the URL of the file and LGET goes to get it.

Frank

[Icecruncher]

I had problems for a while. Got several to download a few months back and haven't tried again recently.

I was able to download a Palmcast directly, and they aren't exactly small.

However, First, I always surf in Landscape mode.

Second, for some files that I couldn't recognize, I bought a program called Handzipper to unzip files directly on the palm. It worked great on my last out of town trip and so I avoided bringing the laptop.

I'll try again and see what I get.

icecruncher

[docmarioce]

I also have the same problem, I can't download anything there is always the annoying message telling me I don't have enough memory, It's a waste of machine not be able to use in its entirely power

Mario

[T-Man]

Same here. There were rare times when I could download something, but that is only a dream now.

[superD]

ive downloaded 80 mb movies without problem.....

[guakamole]

This problem dogged me as well - the notorious "not enough memory" message when trying to download with Blazer, no matter landscape or portrait mode - so clutching at the last straw I did a revision of the installed software and at some point chucked away The Personal Audio Recorder Pro which I hadn't used much anyway, and... oh miracle I became able to download, large or small, albeit only after a soft reset. This is irritating as hell too of course, but surely better than nothing. So maybe after all there's still something in the notion that the problem is somehow connected with the quality of the installed software, and some particularly viscious memory guzzlers are to blame.

[Cyker]

Here's something you guys can try:

There is a program here called Downloader: http://www.angelfire.com/clone/nicktech/index.html#aPalm

It essentially does what Sharky's download program does, except for one thing:
If you feed it a web-page URL, you can set it to pull a list of links from that website INSTEAD of downloading it, and from that you can download the file you want.

I'd recommend you feed the URL into Sharky's downloader 'tho because his seems to download things a lot faster!

(Maybe Sharky could put this HTML link parsing function into a newer version of his downloader...? :D)

[ptmin]

HI
This is what has help me before my LD HD failure, i obseved that when downloading something from the web most of the time i had a message that tells me there is no application to handle the files,
since i was trying to download such files i figured out that to load a zip file i needed a zip utility so i installed the free version of UniCMD which has a great compression feature so since that time when i try to download zip application i have the option of choosing either SD Card, Internal or UniCMD, most of the time Unicmd will pup up automatically and give the option to store it in its base and i have success most of the time,
This is my question is it because blazer confuses how to handle the files or inability to handle where to store files or what , because most of the time especially of LD there is more room to store almost anything 4GB is enough.
Anyone could confirm the handling issue with www.UniCMD.de
Pee

[SoS]

HI
This is what has help me before my LD HD failure, i obseved that when downloading something from the web most of the time i had a message that tells me there is no application to handle the files,
since i was trying to download such files i figured out that to load a zip file i needed a zip utility so i installed the free version of UniCMD which has a great compression feature so since that time when i try to download zip application i have the option of choosing either SD Card, Internal or UniCMD, most of the time Unicmd will pup up automatically and give the option to store it in its base and i have success most of the time,
This is my question is it because blazer confuses how to handle the files or inability to handle where to store files or what , because most of the time especially of LD there is more room to store almost anything 4GB is enough.
Anyone could confirm the handling issue with www.UniCMD.de
Pee

Its because it needs far more dynamic heap than is necessary for this, generally, paltry task. Blazer itself is single-handedly responsiple for buggering up the dynamic heap stack in the first place and then it has the temerity to complain when it only has 2Mb single chunk to download a bloody 10Kb file...absolutely ridiculous. This is the single biggest reason why the lD will go down in history as a piece of junk (business device my arse) as opposed to the 'best ever' it could have been with a little more attention to detail and less penny pinching!!!

[_Em]

Palm appears to have 3 tiers to its tech support; I've already run the gamut twice with them, the first time actually getting a callback from T3 after calling shenanigans on their automated responses at T1 and then complaining to T2 that the problem I was having was going to cost them in sales and reputation if they didn't do something to address it quickly. FWIW, that problem was a Blazer javascript issue that still hasn't been fixed... however, it was an issue that was demonstratable using Palm's own site (they've since fixed their site to use a different method of forms submission).

Since Palm's bug submission and resolution lines seem to be a bit clogged at the moment (they now appear to be sending everyone to their pay tech support line instead of calling them back), I'll try to answer your dilemma on here.

What SoS said is 100% correct. The problem lies in the fact that even though you have a 4GB HD in your LD, Blazer saves everything to DBCache, and then copies the final result to your HD once the download is complete.

Blazer for some reason reserves 2MB of DBCache when your Palm boots up, and uses this tiny amount of space to cache downloads. If it needs it, it can request more bits of cache when needed... but here's where the problems start.

On the LD and TX, there is roughly 10MB of DBCache to go around. The system processes appear to reserve roughly 2MB of this for their own use; a number of programs request a fixed chunk of DBCache as well when the Palm starts up. These include Blazer (which hogs a 2MB chunk right in the middle of the Cache) and a number of background processes (any hacks, pTunes, VersaMail, etc.). Combine this with constant network or bluetooth use, or the use of a number of enhancement apps and/or small programs, and your DBCache quickly becomes fragmented.

The problem with a fragmented DBCache is that the next time an app (like Blazer) needs more cache, the largest chunk all in one place might only be around 100Kb. If the file you're downloading is 101kb, Blazer will pop up an error saying there's not enough memory to save the file. Go figure.

The solutions are: 1) use DBCacheTool. This little app will force clear the DBCache on demand. The only problem is that it won't clear locked cache, so if your cache is severely fragmented, you still won't be able to do much more than you could before clearing the cache.

2) remove some apps/hacks. You'd think that with a 4GB HD, you'd be able to load all sorts of things, but the truth is that if you have more than around 90 PRCs loaded (possibly less, depending on what they do), you're going to run into DBCache issues. This is due, of course, to the fact that at any given time, you can only have a maximum of around 10MB worth of data "live", and in reality that number drops to around 6MB after extended Palm use without a reset.

[Pathdoc]

I have been toying with giving DBCache Tool a try to see if it resolves this issue. Does DBCache Tool work on the LD?

[slaughters]

I've had success downloading by just browsing to the link containing the file I wish to download, then right before clicking on it, I clear the cache in Blazer.

File downloads every single time. None of this soft reset nonsense required.

But, if for some strange reason if I clear cache *then* browse to the link it does not work. I have to do it right before clicking the link. :confused:

[_Em]

I have been toying with giving DBCache Tool a try to see if it resolves this issue. Does DBCache Tool work on the LD? Yes :)
You might want to do something similar to the previous poster, but clear the DBCache right before downloading... this also might cause a soft reset however.

[mcapehart]

Neither works for me. I still get the "Not Enough Memory Message"

[T-Man]

Same here; Palm's idiotness is starting to get on my nerves, but then again I'm not exactly in a good mood right now....no, its Palm's fault

[_Em]

Well, my current problem with Blazer is that it soft resets on start unless I've cleared it's cache already... clearing DBCache seems to (sometimes) work as well. Funny thing is, this problem only started showing up last week; I didn't use to have any problems with blazer other than startup lag and the odd "not enough memory to download" error.

My guess is that there's a bevvy of 3PAs that Blazer doesn't like.
On the up side, I just installed Opera, and it works quite well (except for unrecognized download types). No image scaling etc. though... and MaxX is too unstable for me to use NetFront. I really wish there was an app that showed what PRCs had stuff lodged in the DBCache... I think this would go a long way to sorting these problems out!