Palm: Fatal Error Causes and Preventions

Fatal Error or Fatal Exception sounds worse than it really is! A more friendly fatal error is: "Your device has encountered an error running the current program and needs to be reset to get it back to normal."

Note: For Treo 600 Fatal Errors display differently. Click here to know more. Fatal Errors can occur for so many reasons. By tapping the Reset button in the Fatal Error dialog box you can recover from this fatal error message. You need to perform a soft reset manually if your handheld does not respond. If a soft reset doesn't work, try a system reset. If your device seems to be frozen or looping, click here to see frozen or looping related issues.

Causes:

Fatal Errors can be caused by a variety of circumstances, including:

• Third party software (not intended for your device or setup).
• Conflicts between third party applications.
• Physical shock to the device.
• ESD (electrostatic discharge) caused by separation from charged materials (nylon, wool, hair, polyester etc.).
• Buttons accidentally being pushed because of contact with other objects or a tight fitting case.
• Removing a Springboard module during memory intensive actions (Visor organizers only).
• Unexpected DRAM issues which the Handspring Update v1.0.0 resolves (2MB Visor and Visor Deluxe only).

Software issues: Conflicts between third party applications are often the source of Fatal Errors. You can try this quick fix:

• Delete any recent applications that you may have installed. Click here to delete recent applications.

Physical issues: Look at what comes into contact with your device: nylon, spandex, silk, wool, hair, polyester, acrylic and other materials can cause ESD when they are suddenly separated from your device.

This can even happen with third party protective cases. Make sure that the material that comes in contact with your device will not conduct an electrical charge. Also make sure your case holds the device without being overly tight (undue pressure may cause the device itself to flex excessively, causing Fatal Errors). Your best bet is to stick with cases manufactured and tested by Palm for its devices.

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