Consistent Lockup Problem

Islanti · 05-08-03, 02:40 PM

Let me start by saying I haven't seen my PPC issue mentioned anywhere, and my searches didn't show any identical experiences. I'm posting this in the hopes it can help someone else and so maybe I can figure out the cause of my problem. This is going to be a long post, so get some popcorn and settle in....

I recently bought 2 Dell Axim Basic (300 MHz) units refurbished from CompGeeks.com. After I had my units for about 3 weeks, CompGeeks had the 400MHz model. I upgraded and sold my Basic version.

When I did that, I went ahead and restored a backup of my Basic to my Advaned Axim. I'd just installed a couple dozen apps and games on two different PDAs, so doing that a 3rd time wasn't appealing. Everything seemed to work fine, so I kept using my Basic-now-Advanced Axim.

After about a week, the Axim suddenly started locking up after being powered on. Specifically, everything was fine after a soft reset for as long as I used the Axim. The PDA eventually powered down automatically or I pressed the power button. After I powered it back on, the Axim would be locked up or lock up after no more than 15 seconds.

The lockup behavior was a little strange. Sometimes I'd hear button press or screen tap sounds while other times I wouldn't. Sometimes I'd get the start or new menu to acknowledge a button press (audio and some video change), but the system would then lock up. I waited long periods of time to see if something would happen without results. I'm used to waiting as my 256MB SD card really slows down the system at times.

At this point I tried removing a few apps, but nothing seemed to change the behavior. I hard reset my Axim, re-formatted my storage card, and nuked my built-in storage. I re-installed all my apps from scratch and figured "problem solved".

Unfortunately, the problem started happening again last night. I spend several hours removing apps, today plug-ins, and registry tweaks without any change in behavior.

I used Pocket Hack Master's process list to verify only system programs were running. The Axim still locked up.

At this point I restored a backup I had from 2 days prior. The problem disappeared.

"A-ha!" It seemed that something I installed must have caused the problem. Except that I've now re-installed the apps and app updates, but the problem hasn't re-occurred.

I'm not overclocking my Axim (Pocket Hack Master is strictly switching between 100,200,300 and 400 MHZ). I supposed it's possible that my RAM became corrupted somehow, but my apps are all stored in Built-in Memory and large data files and games are on my SD card. It doesn't seem like they'd be affected by a RAM issue.

There are a couple of tweaks I know I made to the system which I haven't tried yet, but none of them seem like they'd be the issue. I'm going to test them out, but I thought I'd post this to see if anyone has any ideas for me.

shdytxmn · 05-08-03, 09:44 PM

You're not using PenReader by any chance are you. It locked up everything until I finally got it off.

Best suggestion is to do a hard reset and then add back one or two applications and run it for a couple of days. If everything is ok, add one or two more. It is a tedious process, but it certainly sounds like a software conflict and the only way to isolate these is to install slowly and allow time for issues to arise. Aaaahhhh - back to the days of DOS.

ecolli · 05-09-03, 05:07 PM

I have experienced the same type of lock up with my X5 Basic model. It was purchased new, not a refurb. It has worked flawlessly until about two weeks ago when the lock up started. No new software has been added, the only changes are Outlook calendar syncs. It seems to be worse if I've used the Transcriber for data entry and rarely happens if I set all programs to use the Keyboard. Of course, that defeats the purpose of a PDA and quickly entering an appt.

shdytxmn · 05-09-03, 09:17 PM

Have you tried a soft reset?

ecolli · 05-09-03, 11:40 PM

Soft boot, hard boot, you name it, I've tried it. It seems like a software or memory problem but the only constant that I've found so far is having the Transcriber selected.

hillemmanuel · 07-12-03, 06:08 PM

My X5 wa fine until I upgraded my ROM from A00 to A03 now my unit is a nightmare locking on all apps. I done multiple hard boots, and tediously installed applications. Soft boots are my constant companion. I think the problem may be power related because I have found when I grasp my unit firmly and move the battery it seems to come back with out a soft boot. It seems to just lock up or stall and will not move without the battery move OR a soft boot.