Getting data off semi-functional 755p

[jvm]

I have a 755p that has very odd symptoms. (a) It won't synch any more -- I can press the Synch button on the cable, and the Palm thinks that it should be synching, but it never connects. (Yes, HotSynch is running on the XP PC.) (b) The "phone" app doesn't come up -- no matter what screen I'm on (even in a game), pressing the "phone" button (or choosing the "phone" app from the home-page apps menu) flashes a moment and puts me back where I was. Calls to the phone go to voice-mail immediately, so the cellular network knows that the phone part of the 755p is dead.

The Verizon store confirmed that the phone is relatively hosed, and a new one is on the way. What I'm hoping is that I can find a way to transfer the Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and possibly other databases (which I think are in PDB files on the device) over to the new 755p.

When I look at the Beam functionality, it doesn't seem to show data files. (Everything has a "lock" icon next to it.) I've read that there are file manager programs that can beam anything, including the PDB files, but I don't know how I can get any new software onto the device -- even if I put a new program (which is a PRC file, right?) onto an SD card -- but I don't see where to put one on this device; there was one in the earlier Treo I had -- it won't run from there. And without a file manager program, or the ability to synch, I don't know how to copy any PRC file onto the Palm itself.

Am I going to lose all the info that I have that hasn't already been synched to Palm Desktop? (I have to return the busted Treo within 10 days.) Unfortunately, I haven't done a synch since the room that had the PC with Palm Desktop got flooded (another story!).

I'm very Windows-PC literate -- but there's no "command prompt" for the 755p. Any help would be appreciated. (Would calling Palm support result in my talking to anyone who knows as much as the people here?)

Thanks for any assistance. (A file manager will be the first thing on the new phone!)

[TazUk]

What does the Hotsync log on the PC say, does it show an attempt to sync?

[jvm]

Originally Posted by TazUk

What does the Hotsync log on the PC say, does it show an attempt to sync?

Nothing at all. It's as if the synch cable were not plugged in -- tho the Palm responded to the button press.

Hmm. The phone store accidentally kept my synch cable, and when I went to pick it up they gave me a different one (it has no power connector, and the button is smaller). I'm about to try it with the old phone ... is there a trick to getting the Palm to behave as if it were a USB drive, so I could get the files off it? (Of course, having it synch would be better!)

Hmm, the PC beeped when the cable was plugged in. Perhaps a hot-sync will work after all ... more soon.

[Later] Severe joy in Mudville -- the wrong synch cable worked to get the old Treo connected, and it has now been synched to a brand new never-synched install of Palm Desktop 6.2.

Now I need to find the instructions that might be needed so I can synch the data now in the desktop software to the new device. It might be really easy, but doesn't the new device have a different name than the old one? (I've never set a name on the new one; it's pretty much fresh out of the box.) I fear that I might have only one chance to get this right. (Hmm, maybe it's time for an image backup of the PC, so I can try again.)

[jvm]

Well, hot damn. I used Palm support's chat, the guy walked me through nuking away the contacts that the phone store had pushed onto the new Treo, and synching up. All my settings were moved over. I am very happy -- except for one thing, that's so unrelated that I will start a different thread about it.

[TazUk]

Glad you got it sorted

[jfa02]

Indeed thats excellent.