Search PalmPower's 487 Palm-related article archive 
Home
EasyPrint
News details Click here for the RSS feed's XML code. This is not a browser URL.
Articles-only Click here for the RSS feed's XML code. This is not a browser URL.
TECH SUPPORT INSIDER
Recovering lost PalmPilot data
By Chris Brown

Do you remember when the classic excuse for not turning your homework in on time was "the dog ate it?" When was the last time you used that line? Well, without the risk of showing your age, think of the last time your boss asked for a report that somehow slipped your mind. Hopefully you didn't try to convince her that Fido ignored his Kibbles 'n' Bits to try the new taste of Paper 'n' Ink. Besides, unless you were planning to hand in something handwritten, she'd probably ask you to just print up another copy of the report off of your hard drive.

Forget using your pets for scapegoats. Blame technology! "The dog ate my homework" has now become "My hard drive crashed!" It's a much more believable excuse these days. Chances are that it has already actually happened to you and anyone else who has ever worked on a computer for a good amount of time. Since it has probably also happened to your boss before, she's much more likely to be sympathetic and spare you the flogging.

"You should not try to HotSync before you use the backup files."

Now here's an excuse you should never, ever use: "My PalmPilot crashed and I didn't realize it was due today!" That's not to say that your PalmPilot device will never crash on you. As with any computer, it will probably hiccup sometime in your relationship. You might get away with this excuse if your boss has yet to be enlightened on HotSync technology, but you know better. If you are performing a HotSync regularly with your PalmPilot Desktop on your PC, you would still be able to see your To Do List and Date Book items just as they appear on your PalmPilot organizer. Not only that, but you would be able to synchronize and replace those items back onto your device with another HotSync. Performing a HotSync between your device and PalmPilot Desktop makes for a natural backup, of course. However, what if Murphy's Law combines with your bad karma (for not doing your report in the first place and then lying about it) and strikes at the data shared between your PalmPilot device and PalmPilot Desktop software? It wouldn't really make much sense to try to synchronize bad data to solve the problem, right?

Well, you may not know it, but while you are performing a HotSync, not only is the PalmPilot Desktop updating its copy of the PalmPilot device's data, another "secret" backup of your data is being written in the background. You can use this backup and perform some transplant surgery in your file structure to get things back up and running again.

PalmPilot med school 101: desktop anatomy
If you've never peeked inside of the PILOT directory (or Pilot Desktop 1.0 folder on your Macintosh) on your hard drive, now may be a good time to get acquainted with its innards. If you had to perform surgery later, you should know the anatomy of your patient, right?


1  ·  2  ·  3  ·  4  ·  5  ·  Next »
Other articles you might like
Home > Phones and PDAs > Palm and Treo (527 articles)
   How to start clean with a new Palm handheld
   Veo Photo Traveler puts a camera in your SD card slot
   Palm's strategic relationships aim to extend applications to wireless world
Home > Solutions (189 articles)
   Miniature data warehousing is now possible
   A cheap way to schedule repeating tasks
   The Franklin Electronic ROLODEX, an inexpensive and very functional PDA substitute
Get Weekly Email Updates
Subscribe to our regular weekly email newsletter. It's packed with tips, reviews, deep analysis, and the latest news.
 
Other PalmPower Articles
Palm gets up to date with new Tungsten family of handhelds
Create handwritten email with riteMail
Presenter-to-Go puts PowerPoint presentations on your Palm OS handheld
Looking for the cutting edge
Gain remote access to databases and PLCs
PalmSource Open House showcases what's new in the Palm community
Analysis: handheld market share
More from the ZATZ journals
Computing Unplugged: The iPad: Apple's latest heartbreaker
David Gewirtz Online: CNN commentary and analysis
DominoPower: Lotusphere 2010: mobility and collaboration
OutlookPower: Running auto-respond rules when Outlook is closed
-- Advertisement --

ONLINE GROUP CALENDAR - FOR UP TO 100 OF YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS
Stay organized and in control with 24/7 access to all of your important events, projects and files --whether you're at work, at home or on the road.

You can share your calendar, projects and files so everyone in your office is up to date. Plus, search your entire group to find times when everyone is available to meet, manage company resources and much more.

Organize your entire team for as low as $9.95 per year (and yes, that's where the decimal place is supposed to be!)

Tap here to get started right away.

ZATZ Home  ·  News  ·  Back Issues  ·  Credits/Trademarks ·  Link To Us
Copyright © 1998-2010, ZATZ Publishing. All rights reserved worldwide.
Editor's Login