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KGJulie · 10-13-2006, 07:52 PM

Hi. I am brand new to the forums although I have been reading them for about a year.

I just got my Pearl this week. When I pulled it out of its case when I got home from work tonight, the startup screen comes on (i.e., the screen and keyboard light up, and the little hourglass is there), then the screen goes black and the red LED lights up. Then the red LED goes off, the whole thing appears to be off for a minute, then it starts this all over again. I've pulled the battery about six times, doesn't help. I've plugged it into the charger, also didn't help. It was fully charged before I left work and was working fine (receiving messages and receiving/making calls) on the way home. Now it just keeps flashing on and off and won't do anything else.

Does anybody have any idea what could be wrong? And what could be done to fix it? (I did search the archives, but didn't find anything.) It's my work BB, but I hate to go the whole weekend with no phone/BB. Thanks for any help.

d_fisher · 10-13-2006, 09:28 PM

Sounds like you got a bad device, take it back and exchange it.

acnst · 10-13-2006, 10:37 PM

I doubt that it is a bad device. The issue you have is that the firmware was corrupted for what ever reason. You need to reload the firmware using the following procedure. You will loose all data on your device, but this is the only way to recover the device.

1. Install Desktop Manager (You can skip this if it is already installed)
2. Install firmware package for your device on your pc (You can skip this if it is already installed)
3. Make sure Desktop Manager is not running
4. Start loader.exe for C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research in Motion\AppLoader
5. Click on Next in the Application Loader window
6. Remove the battery from your BB
7. Connect your BB to the USB cable
8. Reinsert the battery
9. The drop down list "Connection:" should now change from COM1 to either USB:UNKNOWN or USB:[BBPIN]. As soon as you see "USB:..." click on Next and Application loader should be able to reconnect to your device. Now you can reload the firmware.

As timing is important for this procedure, it can be possible that you have to repeat the procedure multiple times until you succeed. Good luck!

John Clark · 10-14-2006, 12:04 AM

The case could have caused it....What kind of case are you using? If you're using that TMobile brand case (or another with no magnet) then I suggest you throw it away. The magnet on the TMobile case is only for the flap and not for putting it to sleep. You end up rolling and pushing the trackball while you're inserting and removing from the case. Kind of like pushing every key at once on your computer!! I tried one and the thing locked up my Pearl for good. It was doing weird things and would hardly work. A hard reboot worked for mine but I dumped the case and went back to the SDA case for now...just a thought.

KGJulie · 10-14-2006, 09:09 AM

Thanks for all the suggestions. acnst, I tried following your instructions. Halfway through "Erasing applications," the progress bar stopped moving, then disappeared. Then I got a screen that said:

Unable to complete the loading operation.
A fatal error has occurred while updating your device's software. Please try again.
Device communications error encountered. [A:0x0000000E]

I guess my BB is just dead. Seems a shame it didn't even last a week!

Thanks again everyone.

acnst · 10-14-2006, 09:31 AM

Strange issue. Do you have another Windows PC were you could try this? Are you using an USB hub? If yes, then repeat the procedure while the BB is directly connected to the PC and not via USB hub.

KGJulie · 10-14-2006, 09:58 AM

I tried the procedure about 5 times, got the same result every time. BUT, I don't have the Blackberry USB cord, I'm using a USB cord for a Zen micro mp3 player. (It's directly attached and not through a hub though.) Could the non-BB cord be causing the fatal error? My BB USB cord is attached to my work computer. I guess if I absolutely need the BB cord I could run to my local Tmo store and buy one?

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it. I was so excited to get my new BB and play with it this weekend. Now I'm just disappointed that it seems to be so fragile. My old 7100t seemed rock solid.

acnst · 10-14-2006, 10:51 AM

The USB cord shouldn't make any difference, but you could try the cord form your 7100t - if you still have the cord.
Else the only way to check if it is the device, would be to try to install the Desktop Manager and firmware on another PC and try the update there. If you get the same error, than your devices is faulty.

John Clark · 10-14-2006, 12:34 PM

Is the computer turning the USB device off "to conserve power?" You can check this by right clicking on My Computer->Properties->Hardware->Device Manager. Expand the line that says Universal Serial Bus Controllers then right click on each of the lines that says USB Root Hub and choose Properties->Power Management. Make sure the box that says "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power." is not checked. Do this for all of the USB Root Hubs. This caused problems for me a while back.

acnst · 10-14-2006, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Clark

Make sure the box that says "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power." is not checked. Do this for all of the USB Root Hubs. This caused problems for me a while back.

I can really imagine that this could produce issue during the firmware load. KGJulie, you should check this setting on your pc.

KGJulie · 10-14-2006, 12:56 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried it on a different computer, exact same result. Gets to 1/2 way through "erasing application" and I get the fatal error message. Also tried the USB power management tip (which I never would have thought of in a million years) with same results. Sorry to say T-Mo customer care has not been very helpful. So sad that my Pearl is a lemon.

I purchased this BB through my employer's corporate account. Does anybody know if a T-Mo store can replace it or get me a loaner? I've tried calling but can't get through to my local T-Mo store...

swanie2000 · 10-14-2006, 02:13 PM

Mine did that exact same thing (as described in your first post) after installing a 2gig microSD card. Take your card out, if you have one installed, and try...

Swanie

PS, you will probally need to re-upload the OS if you have tried and failed while the SD card was installed. T-mobile dosn't support the 2Gig yet, but the rogers OS does.

MythmbHurts · 10-14-2006, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Clark

The case could have caused it....What kind of case are you using? If you're using that TMobile brand case (or another with no magnet) then I suggest you throw it away. The magnet on the TMobile case is only for the flap and not for putting it to sleep. You end up rolling and pushing the trackball while you're inserting and removing from the case. Kind of like pushing every key at once on your computer!! I tried one and the thing locked up my Pearl for good. It was doing weird things and would hardly work. A hard reboot worked for mine but I dumped the case and went back to the SDA case for now...just a thought.

There have been many tests with high power magnets and they will NOT damage the flash drive of a BB... Maybe if you had a super power electric magnet but the ones that come in T-mobile pearl case will not kill a BB.. I have cut those same exact magnets out of the T-mobile case and put both of them into my custom Pearl case.. I have seen this problem once. It happens when the battery was taken out and put back in and then taken back out before the phone had a chance to boot up fully.. I would try playing with the battery putting it and out a few times start with leaving it in for 5 seconds and then take it out and put it back in see if the phone will boot then try leaving it in for 10 seconds take it out put it back in and see if it will boot..

gbunton · 10-15-2006, 08:28 PM

I've got the same problem with my 7130e from Sprint. I tried to install firmware 7130eEFSBP_PBr4.1.0_rel493_PL2.2.0.166_A4.1.0.359_ SprintPCS and get the same error now. Anyone have any other suggestions?

shambasha · 10-15-2006, 08:47 PM

I had the same problem, I spend hours and hours on the phone with Tmobile help desk, then when they finaly connected me to Blackberry help desk, the tech on the phone told me to take it back to the store becuase this is a hardware issue and they have seen it before couple of times.
there is nothing you can do to fix it, they have to flash the device.
so before the 14 days period expaires, take it back to the store and get a new one.

bryanmsi · 10-16-2006, 10:15 AM

Mine is exhibiting this exact behavior. I do have the T-Mobile case, but I can't imagine that is really the cause of the problem. Based on what I've seen here, I'll just take it back to T-Mobile store and exchange.

What a bummer! Up to now, I'd rate the Pearl as the BEST cell phone I've ever had, and certainly the best Blackberry. Oh well. I guess every new hardware item has its glitches.

markvibari · 10-16-2006, 10:53 AM

I had a problem with identical symptoms (constant rebooting, unable to reload OS) just after the 8100 was released. In my case, the problem started after loading and trying to unload Google Talk. The 8100 began throwing ArrayExection and NullPointer errors. I spent 4 hours on the phone with RIM. We backed up my data, reinstalled the OS and restored the data.

The next day, I installed Berry411. Everything looked OK. When I turned it on the following morning, it threw a generic Uncaught Error. Uh oh. Just to test the unit, I pulled the battery and hard booted it. It came back up with a "JVM Error 529". I hit continue and it went into an endless reboot loop. I got back on the phone with RIM and tried unsuccessfully to reload the OS, but we couldn't get the Pearl to communicate with the PC. We even tried a DOS-based utility they sent me to reload the OS, but it wouldn't work.

I reluctantly returned the unit for a refund and went back to my old phone and standalone PDA. I was bummed, but I just wasn't comfortable with a unit that blew up each time I tried loading an application.

Now I've been yearning to give the Pearl another try. I was waiting to see whether newer builds have updated firmware. I've seen some posts on BlackBerryCool that the September builds seem more solid, and have better lighting, key-feel, etc.

Out of curiosity, do you know when your unit was built? According to the above article, the FCC ID will have either L96 (August) or 896 (September) printed next to it. Not sure what the code for October is...

KGJulie · 10-17-2006, 11:03 PM

I got a replacement Pearl yesterday. FWIW, the phone seems a LOT better than my first Pearl, and the mute button on top actually puts the new Pearl into standby like it's supposed to! I also had Google Talk on my first Pearl and the problems appeared after dowloading and installing it. Makes me wonder... I think I'll be staying away from Google Talk this time.

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions. I really appreciate it.

John Clark · 10-18-2006, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MythmbHurts

There have been many tests with high power magnets and they will NOT damage the flash drive of a BB... Maybe if you had a super power electric magnet but the ones that come in T-mobile pearl case will not kill a BB.. I have cut those same exact magnets out of the T-mobile case and put both of them into my custom Pearl case.. I have seen this problem once. It happens when the battery was taken out and put back in and then taken back out before the phone had a chance to boot up fully.. I would try playing with the battery putting it and out a few times start with leaving it in for 5 seconds and then take it out and put it back in see if the phone will boot then try leaving it in for 10 seconds take it out put it back in and see if it will boot..

My post didn't imply that the magnets damaged the blackberry. What I said was that the magnets weren't effective enough, or basically weren't in the right place. The only magnet built into that case is the magnet for the flap. There is no magnet in the lower portion of the case. The BB goes into the case and rolls and pushes the trackball before the magnet gets a chance to do it's job and starts opening applications at the same time. I never said the magnet damaged the BB. Only that it was a crappy case that didn't work and screwed up my BB while pulling it out of the case.

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