Applications are locked after a crash restore

[la8pv]

Hi all,

Fore some reason my 2125 phone has started hanging at the "Cingular Hello" screen. It does responds to the power-off button, but won't go past the greeting screen, even if I wait hours...

That's not the biggest problem, though, since I'm able to do a hard reset and execute SpriteBackup.exe to restore from one of the archives on my storage card.

The really strange thing is that once I've done the restore, some of the applications I was previously able to run without problems, now prompt the "Access is denied...cannot start...digitally signed...etc" message - as if the phone is now application-locked again..!

I've tried following the steps found on http://www.modaco.com/Cingular-2125-t235408.html and other places, but my Facade, its homescreen plugin, BatPlug, SKTools, etc refuse to come up. For the life of me, I can't remember what I did over a year and a half ago to unlock the apps on my phone....


I'm at my wit's end... Do I need to reinstall SpriteBackup on to the reset'ed device before I restore the archive or is there a different way to unlock my phone so the apps will run?

[Mike Temporale]

I'm at my wit's end... Do I need to reinstall SpriteBackup on to the reset'ed device before I restore the archive or is there a different way to unlock my phone so the apps will run?

No, you don't have to do that.

If I recall, Sprite doesn't backup the application lock setting. Becuase some people found a way to use Sprite to bypass the a carriers strict application lock. So yes, You'll have to app unlock again.

This should do the trick - http://www.modaco.com/Application-Unlocking-Cin-t233958.html

[la8pv]

No, you don't have to do that.

If I recall, Sprite doesn't backup the application lock setting. Becuase some people found a way to use Sprite to bypass the a carriers strict application lock. So yes, You'll have to app unlock again.

This should do the trick - http://www.modaco.com/Application-Unlocking-Cin-t233958.html

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the info and the tip, as always.

After the restore, I actually tried those registry edits, but I still wasn't able to run some applications nor (re)install. I have tried the SurrealApplicationUnlock thingy, and I also tried using the Microsoft Security Configuration Manager, but since I couldn't run any CABs on my phone, I was unable to unlock it that way.

This is really puzzling to me... The hanging problem happened last week as well, and at that point I was able to do a hard reset and then a restore from backups, and after a couple of stumbles I got it back up and running. This time, however, that doesn't work

So.... For now I hard reset the device again and installed and set up my most important apps all anew (Facade, Outlook, Home screen). I ran the "secpolicies.cab" and was able to use the Security Configuration Manager and turn "Security Off". So, after a hard reset I was able to install a program that I wasn't able to after a restore...

After another hard reset, I reinstalled Facade, but this time also Sprite Backup (to the storage card). When trying to run Sprite, the phone bogged down and became extremely slow and unresponsive. Rebooting and leaving Sprite alone, , I also tried (re)installing Kevtris to the storage card. This install slowed the phone down the same way, and I finally had to rip out the battery and reboot.

Lo and behold, I then get the same, original, problem of hanging on the "Hello screen". I press and hold the power button, power back on, same hang. Do it again, power off and on, and this time it comes up.

Does this point to the storage card beginning to sing its last verses? I have a 2GB card that has worked (mostly) fine up till now. I do have some corrupted files and folders on it which I can't delete, a reformat is likely needed, but I need a card reader in order to do that.


Sorry for the long-winded post..! On the surface, at least, it looks like I have two problems to deal with (app lock and hanging), but perhaps both are caused by a failing storage card.


I'm not going to cry much if I have to do a complete reinstall of everything with a new storage card, but being inherently lazy I try to look for other ways to fix the problem first...

Thanks again for your help!!

-e

[Mike Temporale]

So if you hard reset, turn off application lock and install your applications - everything is fine. But if you restore from backup, you can't change the application lock and the applications won't run? If so, I think that has to be a bug or issue of some sort with Sprite. Have you talked with their support team about it?

[la8pv]

So if you hard reset, turn off application lock and install your applications - everything is fine. But if you restore from backup, you can't change the application lock and the applications won't run? If so, I think that has to be a bug or issue of some sort with Sprite. Have you talked with their support team about it?

Hi again,

I don't even have to turn off app lock after the hard reset to install and run Fizz Weather, but I couldn't run it (and dang near anything else) after the restore this week. ...but last week, it worked just fine after the restore....

Haven't contacted Sprite yet, but may do so in the near future. I'm in the process of moving my WM5 2125 from and XP to a Vista partnership, so I may as well take this opportunity to get a clean a reinstall of my favorite apps and settings and maybe even get it all on a new or reformatted storage card... What do you think?

Thx!

-e

[la8pv]

Hi again,

I don't even have to turn off app lock after the hard reset to install and run Fizz Weather, but I couldn't run it (and dang near anything else) after the restore this week. ...but last week, it worked just fine after the restore....

Haven't contacted Sprite yet, but may do so in the near future. I'm in the process of moving my WM5 2125 from and XP to a Vista partnership, so I may as well take this opportunity to get a clean a reinstall of my favorite apps and settings and maybe even get it all on a new or reformatted storage card... What do you think?

Thx!

-e

Update: So, it turns out the storage card was the offender..! I got my new card from someone on eBay today, and after a hard reset, then a restore + copy, I am back in business! Wiser from the experience, I am now performing a full backup again, and once that's all done I'll post my home screen (if I can), so y'all can see why I'm such a wreck without "the thing".

Thanks,

Eivind

[la8pv]

Update: So, it turns out the storage card was the offender..! I got my new card from someone on eBay today, and after a hard reset, then a restore + copy, I am back in business! Wiser from the experience, I am now performing a full backup again, and once that's all done I'll post my home screen (if I can), so y'all can see why I'm such a wreck without "the thing".

Thanks,

Eivind


Sigh... How long was Adam in paradise..?

I am so depressed. After days of waiting for the new storage card, and then hours of restoration work today, I am back to where I was in July: When rebooting, the phone occasionally hangs at the Cingular Hello screen. It hangs and hangs and hangs...

When I press the power button, the screen says "Goodbye" and it'll shut itself down. If I only try it enough times, it'll eventually complete the startup. The odd thing is, if I have the phone connected to the PC via USB, nothing will happen (WMDC won't see it) while it hangs at Hello, until I press power off, and then it connects and SmartJournal begins its synch (which doesn't complete because the phone shuts down a few seconds later).

On the storage card, I have several apps, among them Fizz Weather (with plugin on home screen), Sprite Backup, and some others. All of them, except Fizz, were there when the troubles began in July. Fizz was added later to replace HandyWeather.

I simply do not understand the under-the-hood workings of the 2125 phone well enough to have a clue whether this is hardware- or software-related. In the past, I've had what I thought were "normal" problems with the phone, where it would lock up every so often; the storage card wouldn't be seen at boot-up and get mounted as Storage Card2, etc, but never something like this. I love the candy style phone, and I'm still waiting for the S730 before I chuck the 2125 and upgrade.

Any ideas or (smartphone) thoughts, anyone?

Thx,

Eivind

PS: I can't upload a screenshot of my home screen, unfortunately, otherwise you'd be able to see how much time I've put into getting everything 'just right'

PS2: No more app lock problems - I have no idea what was causing that with the old storage card, or if it was nothing more than a fluke..