iPaq 2210 Hangs on Password

[Sheena]

Hey fellas! Can't find any posts with this topic & my baby decided to start throwing tantrums :bad-words: Help, please? Here's the deal:
First time, couple of weeks ago, froze over on last digit of the password (4 #'s mode), soft resets went back to the same. Decided to wait until I got home to hard-reset, but by then it was ok (about 1 hour later).
Today, same deal but worse since it's been hours & still nothing works.

Both time, reminders still poped-up as scheduled, I can snooze them, but again PPC freezes on the last tap. I've tried several soft resets, with & without the cards (SD & CF) inserted, no difference. Tried the cradle & got the password screen ok on the PC, but the ActiveSync window never came up. The iPaq is about a year old, I haven't installed any software recently & I'm still using the original OS (no upgrades or fixes installed yet).

I read on another post for a different PPC that a hard reset might not work either in a case like this (user needed a soft reset so it froze again, then wouldn't recognize the device), hopefully you guys can help before I have to test that.

Thanks a million again. :werenotworthy:

Rosie

[Brad Adrian]

If you're using a handwriting recognition tool for input (like Calligrapher or Transcriber), that might be causing some problems. I've seen something similar when entering the password to open CodeWallet.

I'm not sure why it does it, but it might have something to do with the delay inherent in the recognition engine.

Try switching to a non-handwriting default and see if that helps.

[Sheena]

If you're using a handwriting recognition tool for input (like Calligrapher or Transcriber), that might be causing some problems. I've seen something similar when entering the password to open CodeWallet.
Thanks for the tip, Brad, but that's not it either, I never use anything but the default keyboard. The iPaq came back up after leaving it alone overnight, no idea how long it took. For now I've disabled the password until I can figure out what works.

Rosie

[Janak Parekh]

Hmm - that is confusing, and I've never had that happen to me. It screams of software incompatibilities, but you've haven't installed anything as of late. :confused totally:

When you have free time, I'd try the backup-then-hard reset route, anyway, just to eliminate possibilities.

--janak

[Sheena]

Hmm - that is confusing, and I've never had that happen to me. It screams of software incompatibilities, but you've haven't installed anything as of late. :confused totally:
When you have free time, I'd try the backup-then-hard reset route, anyway, just to eliminate possibilities.
--janak
Thanks, Janak. It's such a pain when the proverbial gremlins attack, isn't it? I think I got one for sure because my VCR just started "rebooting" itself, rats! :bad-words:

Just FYI, the extra software I've installed (practically from the day of purchase) is just the basic stuff: GigaBar, Battery Pack, uBook Reader, WordBook, Pocket TV Browser, and MineSweeper. The most recent was Pocket TV Browser maybe as far back as 6 months ago. The system password I use is also the basic 4-digit #'s.

Would you rec that I try the patch/upgrade? I have *NOT* upgraded anything on the OS. I've read that there's both a patch and an OS upgrade and that they fix some of the old bugs, but my bugs are mild (the blank screen for a few seconds when soft resetting, the first alarms of the day not turning the iPaq on). So far I never had a problem reading either the SD (256K) or the CF (1MB) cards & they stay in the iPaq all the time, so I decided if it's not really broken why try to fix things, especially since some users have mentioned new errors after upgrading. I only use the cards for storage of large files or libraries, not yet for running programs.

Anyway, if you get any ideas, please let me know. I'll keep you posted of my results. Thanks again. :wink:

Rosie

[Janak Parekh]

Would you rec that I try the patch/upgrade? I have *NOT* upgraded anything on the OS.
I've heard mixed reports on the 1.1 ROM upgrade at best, but I don't own a 2215 myself. Do a quick search, and you should be able to find Ed's articles on it and the ensuing discussion, which you may find helpful.

Oh, here's another thought: WM2003 as initially shipped on the 2215 has a bug - with every soft reset, the "notify database" increases in size. If you've done enough soft resets, that database may fill up, which may cause issues. If none of the programs you have "patch" this functionality, that may be one possible underlying cause. Take a look at this free patch (http://www.scarybearsoftware.com/ppc_cn_overview.html) for more information. (I believe the ROM update does fix this.)

Good luck...

--janak