rldunn

OK, I think I have finally tracked this bug down. After WAY too many hours doing test after test, it looks like the alarm freeze bug is caused by ..........:

The FONT setting in CO Datebook!!!!!

Don't ask me why the font setting would affect whether or not the alarm freezes, but it certainly seems to be the case. I finally tracked this down by remembering two facts from earlier testing:

1) Deleting the Saved Preferences file from my Clie made the alarm freeze go away.

2) When I selectively deleted one-by-one all 3rd-party entries in the Saved Preferences file, it didn't make the alarm freeze go away.

So, I decided that the problem was probably caused by a non-3rd-party entry, and what better candidate than the CO Datebook entry. Thinking that the entry was maybe being corrupted by something brought over from the PC on a hotsync, I deleted the CO Datebook entry, immediately reset all my CO Datebook prefs, set an alarm, went to ZL (which before caused the alarm freeze 100% of the time for me), and .... the alarm froze!! So, I decided the next best candidate were other CO apps. I didn't feel like testing them one-by-one, so this time I deleted all of the CO saved preference entries, set an alarm, went to ZL, and ... it worked!! Woo hoo!! Now to figure out which one it is!!

Next, I went back to CO Datebook, reset all my prefs, set another alarm, went to ZL, and .... got the alarm freeze. Hmmm. So, I deleted the CO Datebook entry again, this time DIDN'T set all of my prefs, set an alarm, went to ZL, and the alarm went off fine!!

I then set each of my normal preferences one by one until I tracked it down to the font setting. After a lot more testing, after deleting the CO Datebook saved preference entry, if I set the CO Datebook font at either of the 2 smallest settings, I would get the alarm freeze. This is true if I change the font setting in day view or week view. Setting the font to any of the biggest 4 settings will not cause the alarm freeze. After getting the alarm freeze, just changing the font to a larger version will not make the freeze go away. You must delete the CO Datebook saved preferences entry to fix the problem.

Previously, I could set an alarm in CO Datebook, then go to either ZL, Handyshopper2, ClieMail, Netfront, or one specific tab of my address book and get an alarm freeze 100% of the time. Since finding the fix, I have tested an alarm with each of these, most multiple times, and all alarms went off perfectly.

So, for those who experienced alarm freezes, here are the steps to fix it:

1) Use Filez or PalmInsider to delete the CO Datebook entry. I will give directions for Filez. (Note - deleting this entry will NOT affect your datebook entries or handwritten notes in any way. All it does is essentially reset your CO Datebook options to factory condition).

2) In Filez (I'm using v5.3), choose 'View Preferences'.

3) Make sure 'Saved' is selected in the box on the upper right, then search for "SaSd" in the box on the left. When this is selected, hit the Delete button.

4) Exit Filez.

5) Go back to CO Datebook, and reset all of your prefs, making sure you don't choose one of the smallest two fonts in either Day or Week view.

That's it, pretty painless. It's annoying to not be able to use all of the font options, especially since the CO Datebook doesn't display a lot of text in the Low setting (which I use) anyways, so I really liked using the 2nd smallest font setting. However, this is less annoying than the alarm freezes, and for the first time since nearly my first day with the TH, I can use my launcher as my Home app!!!

Can others please test this out and post your results here? I've done several tests of this and believe everything above is true, but I just discovered this tonight, so I don't have days of experience with it to know for sure. If it looks like this works for everyone, I'll send this info along to Sony for our (hopefully) forthcoming patch.

krypticide

Awesome! I'll have to give this a shot. If this works, you'll be a godsend. Well, you'd still be a godsend in my eyes even if it didn't, for having worked so hard on this issue.

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krypticide

Does this affect any preferences in the other CO programs, or just datebook? Also, do we have to set the font to the normal one in all the other CO programs too (luckily I have Fonts4OS5).

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rldunn

It just affects the CO Datebook Prefs settings - it doesn't affect other apps in any way. I can't wait to see if this works for someone else!!

Thanks for the compliments!!

krypticide

Oops, you probably missed my last edit. Was asking if we need to set fonts the same way in the other CO proggies.

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rldunn

No, it doesn't seem to matter what font you use for the other CO apps. I use the 2nd smallest font in practically all of the CO apps, and the rest besides CO datebook are still set that way.

krypticide

Interesting. Here's to hoping this works! Kind of silly if this is the solution...I wonder why the font would matter.

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rldunn

I completely agree. Only thing I can think of is that the font setting actually corrupts the saved preferences entry for CO Datebook, and somehow this corruption affects the alarm. That's why the alarm freeze still exists if you change the font back to one of the 4 largest ones, since the corruption still exists. That's my latest theory, we'll see if this one holds up.

krypticide

If it works, we should email in force to Sony. Maybe they'll offer to hire you as one of their chief troubleshooters...

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sharpja

rldunn, you rule. I followed your instructions and it worked like a charm on my TH55. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I agree that it is a bit of a nuisance to have to use the bigger fonts, but I can live with it. A bigger problem was the freezing alarms.

Again, thanks,
james

bucalo9

Incredible detective work. I confirm it works on my TH55 too. So, does this mean every TH55 with small font chosen will do this? If so, opinions on likely patch issued?

bucalo9

Maybe a voting thread for all TH55 owners to test small font choice effecting alarms?

TreoRenegade

rldunn,

Tried it, and enjoyed the rewards when an alarm went off this morning-- just like it was s'posed to. No muss; no fuss. I owe ya one, PardNah

Unregistered

Just tried this on mine as well. Worked like a charm. Thank you, thank you , thank you