Troubleshooting
From OESF
[edit] My Zaurus locked up when I was rebooting and I cannot turn it off
- Perform a full reset (and lose data)
If flicking the battery cover switch on the back from 'Normal Operation' to 'Replace Battery' and back again does not turn it off then you will have to do a full reset, which means you will lose all your data on internal memory.
To do a full reset, open the battery compartment by flicking the cover swtich to 'Replace Battery' and with your stylus press the sunken button at the bottom of the compartment.
Source: tumnus (Colin Pinkney) Last updated: 2003.Oct.2
[edit] My Zaurus keeps locking up when I reboot
- Suspend or install SafeBoot
If you are rebooting twice in a row without suspending in between, this is the infamous 'Double Reboot' bug. The workaround is to always suspend between reboots or install SafeBoot to do this automatically so you can't forget: http://www.killefiz.de/zaurus/showdetail.php?app=861
Source: tumnus (Colin Pinkney) Last updated 2003.Oct.2
[edit] My Zaurus appears to lockup when I insert a CF/SD card.
- Check your ROM and your card
This could either be because you are using an old ROM on a SL5500/SL5000D and have lots of files on on your CF/SD card. With the 1.x and 2.x ROMs it indexes all files on a CF/SD card for the Documents tab. The Sharp 3.x ROMs it no longer indexs all files.
It can also appear to lockup if you have a broken or incompatible SD card. Check the following site for card compatibility: http://zaurus.knightfire.com/
Source: tumnus Last Updated: 2003.Oct.09
NOTE: The knightfire.com site no longer exists ( see http://www.oesf.org/index.php?title=SD_And_CF_FAQ ), but it appears to be archived here: http://web.archive.org/web/20021014000154/http://zaurus.knightfire.com/cf_sd-brand.html Source: dangogh Last Updated: 2006.Sep.26
[edit] An application keeps crashing or doesn't load at all when launched from its tab icon, but is fine when run from the command line. Can I see what is wrong?
- On the Sharp SL5500 3.x ROMs and possibly all later model ROMs you can launch Qtopia so that all command line output is redirected to a file.
In the file /home/QtPalmtop/qpe.sh on your Zaurus uncomment the following line (delete the # at the start):
nice survive -l 6 runqpe $QPEUSER $QPEGROUP >/home/zaurus/log.`date +%H%M%S` 2>&1
Then comment out the following line (Insert a # at the start):
nice survive -l 6 runqpe $QPEUSER $QPEGROUP >/dev/null 2>&1
Finally restart Qtopia. All messages will then be saved in /home/zaurus/log.<date>
Remember to reverse these changes when you have done or the log file will fill up your internal memory.
Source: tumnus Last Updated: 2003.Oct.09
[edit] Why do I get an "Unsafe removal of device" message when I take my Zaurus out of the cradle or turn it off?
- This happens in Windows 2000 when you do not eject the hardware first, but it will not cause any loss of data.
To stop it you can click on the "Unplug or Eject Hardware" icon on the task bar to stop the "SL Series (NDIS 5)" device prior to removing your Zaurus or turning it off.
Alternatively, if you have the Sharp 3.x ROM on a SL-5500 or have a later Zaurus model, you can try switching to the USB I/O method of communication. To do this, with your Zaurus in its cradle, open the PC Sync application on your Zaurus and select "USB I/O". Then open the Zaurus Manager application on your PC by clicking on the Zaurus icon on the task bar and change the connection type to "USB I/O".
Source: tumnus Last updated: 2003.Oct.13
[edit] Such and such a program doesn't work (anymore) what's wrong with it?
- Try running it from terminal
Run it from the terminal and see what error messages are produced. To see what the executable's name is navigate to /opt/QtPalmtop/<tab name>/ and look in the appropriate desktop file (with the command 'more filename.desktop' for example).
If the error is that /opt/QtPalmtop/evm cannot be found, then you probably need to install Jeode (the Java runtime).
If you get an error message, it could mean one of a few things.
'Segmentation fault' means either there is a bug in the application or there is a conflict with the version of a library that it depends on. Make sure you have satisfied all the library dependencies that may be mentioned on the application's homepage. If you think you have everything setup correctly, you might want to ask if anyone else is having problems with the application on the forums, giving your ROM and application version, or even contact the developer.
'Bus Error' usually means that the application file is corrupt or it was read from the filesystem incorrectly. The most common cause of an application being corrupt is not having enough memory when you install it. Either way, make sure you have twice as much free memory in internal storage than the application requires and try uninstalling and reinstalling.
Source: lardman (updates: tumnus) Last updated 2003.Oct.31
[edit] I flashed the rom on my Z but now I get the following errors (or something similar) when I turn my Z on:
============================================================================= INIT: version 2.78 booting e2fsck 1.19 12-Jul-2000 for EXT2 FS 0.5b, 95/08/09 ext2fs_check_if_mount: Couldn't find ext2 superblock, trying backup blocks... Could this be a zero-length partition? No such file or directory while determining whether /dev/mtdblock1 is mounted. e2fsck: ATtemp to read block from filesystem resulted in short read while trying to open /dev/mtdblock1 *** An error occurred during the file system check. Dropping you to a shell; the system will reboot when you leave the shell. =============================================================================
- Perform a hard reset
Try pressing the hard reset button (open the battery compartment and press in the little switch with the tip of your stylus).
Source: lardman Last updated 2003.Oct.25
[edit] I flashed and now I just get a screen with the Sharp logo/OZ logo etc. and a flashing cursor.
- Flash again
Your flash didn't work, try it again.
What could be wrong if your flash didn't work:- - Corrupt initrd.bin (or possibly zImage), or ospack if you're using the Sharp method. Always check the md5sum of the files before flashing (normally available on the page where you downloaded said file. Use 'md5sum filename' to obtain the md5sum). This is not possible with the Sharp ospack files, for them just cross your fingers ;-). - Format of CF card not right. Even if it is supposed to be the right format try formatting it again (I've had this problem before). If possibly use your Z to do the format, if you can avoid it don't use Windows.
Source: lardman Last updated 2003.Oct.25
[edit] I can't flash. The lights just come on and then go straight off again. Any ideas?
- Check for corrupted files
Are you sure your zImage & initrd.bin or ospack files haven't been corrupted? Try checking their md5sums. Check the format of your CF card (fat 16). Try formatting it again anyway (use your Z if at all possible, both for checking the md5sums and for formating the card).
Source: lardman Last updated 2003.Oct.25
[edit] I'm trying to use the Sharp ROM update exe. It's not working.
- Only works with Sharp ROM
Are you running a Sharp ROM at the moment? If not, it won't work anyway so get hold of a CF card and use the other method (initrd.bin + zImage or Ospack).
Source: lardman Last updated 2003.Oct.25
[edit] I don't have any memory left!
- Are you just looking at the amount of 'Free Memory', cached memory is also free just being used constructively while you don't need it. It will be freed when you (or rather one of your apps) requires it.
Source: lardman Last updated 2003.Oct.25
[edit] I installed a program but no icon has appeared. What's wrong?
- Check that the program which you've installed is supposed to have an icon. For example if it's a lib or console tool it will not have an icon.
Source: lardman Last updated 2003.Oct.25</ul>
[edit] Using OZ, I installed a program but no icon has appeared. What's wrong?
- Restart Opie
Opie is not restarted automatically (like it is on the Sharp ROM) when you install a package - this means that the icons are not updated. Use the Shutdown applet to restart Opie and an icon should appear (assuming it is supposed to have one - see above).
Source: lardman Last updated 2003.Oct.25
[edit] I can't install such and such an ipk package, I'm using one of the Sharp (or Sharp derived) ROMs.
- There are 2 ipk formats, just to confuse newbies ;-), the Sharp compatible version is actually a tar.gz file which contains the following 3 files - control.tar.gz, data.tar.gz, debian-binary. The OZ/opie/familiar version is an ar archive containing the same 3 files. To convert from OZ -> Sharp use ar -x to extract the files then tar -cf to package them up, then gzip the resultant tar file and rename to .ipk. Or you can download an updated version of ipkg from the software link.
Source: lardman Last updated 2003.Oct.25
[edit] I've installed XFree and now I can't get my Z to turn on after I suspend.
- Disable/change power management daemon
XFree includes its own power management daemon which interferes with the standard one provided in the Sharp and OZ ROMs. You can either disable the standard daemon (killall -9 apmd for example), or not use the one which comes with XFree. For the latter case, remove the following files:
etcrc.drc4.dS98x11mkfifos etcrc.drc4.dS99zapmd etcrc.drc4.dS99ztsd etcrc.drc5.dS98x11mkfifos etcrc.drc5.dS99zapmd etcrc.drc5.dS99ztsd
The S99ztsd file starts a touch screen daemon which interferes with the Qtopia ts daemon, though if you're running outside of Qtopia you will still need it.
Source: lardman Last updated 2003.Oct.25
[edit] I get 'permission denied' errors when I try to move/rename/delete/edit a file. Why?
- zaurus vs. root
The newer Sharp ROMs run as the 'zaurus' user by default for security reasons and you are probably trying to do something only the 'root' user (the administrator user) has access to do.
If you are working in the terminal then you must switch to the 'root' user by running the command 'su'.
If you are using a graphical program, then hold the stylus down on its icon and wait until a dialog appears. Then tick the 'Run as root' checkbox and tap OK.
Source: tumnus Last updated 2003.Oct.28
[edit] I deleted a large file from internal memory but the memory used shown in the System Info application hardly changed. What is wrong?
- Sometimes the Zaurus gets confused as to how much internal memory is used.
A reboot fixes this. Also, make sure there are no large temporary files that are hanging around. Some of the graphical file managers put files in /tmp. To check this, run the following command in the terminal:
du -k /tmp/*
The output shows the sizes of the files under /tmp in kilobytes and should highlight if there are any large files left behind. If there are large files in /tmp when all applications have been closed, it is probably safe to delete them.
Source: tumnus Last updated: 2003.Oct.30
===I've deleted or messed up an important default file on internal storage. Can I get it back without doing a full reset?===*You can revert back to the factory default copy of any file that comes with the Zaurus by running the following commands as root in the terminal:
cd / tar xvf /root/.home_default.tar home/whatever_the_rest_of_the_path_is
If it is successful, the file path will be echoed in the terminal. So for example, to restore the file /home/QtPalmtop/etc/mime.types the commands would be:
cd / tar xvf /root/.home_default.tar home/QtPalmtop/etc/mime.types
Note that you do not enter a '/' at the start of the file path in front of 'home/'. Also where directories are actually symlinks to directories under / home, like /usr and /etc you must specifiy the full path for files. So, for example, to restore /etc/inetd.conf you run the following commands as root:
cd / tar xvf /root/.home_default.tar home/etc/inetd.conf
To restore something like /usr/lib/samba/smb.conf you run the following commands as root:
cd / tar xvf /root/.home_default.tar home/root/usr/lib/samba/smb.conf
Source: tumnus Last updated: 2003.Oct.31
[edit] What is the 'root' user?
- The 'root' user is the name given to the administrator user, also referred to as the 'super user', and is a standard convention on Linux and Unix.
The 'root' user has the priviledges to do anything, so for security reasons and general safety you do not normally run as 'root' on a Linux/Unix system.
However the older Sharp SL-5500 2.x ROMs ran everything as 'root', which led to a lot of complaints. Sharp changed this in the SL-5500 3.x ROMs and on all newer Zaurus models so that most things run as the user 'zaurus' by default. This then caused problems with several applications not getting the access they needed and another group of people complained saying "It's only a PDA!"
You cannot please everyone :)
To switch to the 'root' user in the terminal if you are using a ROM that runseverything as the user 'zaurus', run the command 'su'.
Source: tumnus Last updated: 2003.Oct.31
[edit] Help! I've deleted or messed up a device file. Can I get it back without doing a full reset?
- You can revert back to the default copy of a device file by running the following commands as root in the terminal:
cd / tar xvf /root/.dev_default.tar dev/the_device_file
If it is successful, the device file path will be echoed in the terminal. For example:
cd / tar xvf /root/.dev_default.tar dev/ircomm
Note that you do not enter a '/' at the start of the device file path in front of the 'dev/'.
Source: tumnus Last updated: 2003.Oct.31
[edit] The Sharp Calendar keeps crashing and I just installed OpenSSH or use an ext2 formatted SD/CF card. Why?
- There is a a feature in the latest Sharp Calendar that searches any SD/CF card and /home/root/Documents for files and puts a pin in the calendar on dates which match modified dates of any files found. But there is a bug with this feature which causes it to crash when a directory only allows root access.
To fix this if you have installed OpenSSH, run the following command as root in the terminal:
chown -R zaurus.qpe /home/zaurus/Documents
To fix this if you have an ext2 formatted SD card that only root can access, run the following command as root in the terminal:
chown -R zaurus.qpe /mnt/card
To fix this if you have an ext2 formatted CF card that only root can access, run the following command as root in the terminal:
chown -R zaurus.qpe /mnt/cf
If you do not like this feature in the calendar and/or you want to keep your SD/CF card restricted to root only access then you can turn it off for the SD/CF card by unticking the menu items under Option->Link File in the Calendar.
Source: tumnus Last updated: 2003.Oct.31
[edit] Qtopia doesn't seem to recognise when I insert or eject a SD/CF card after using smbmount. Why?
- There is a bug in smbmount which turns a file that is supposed to be a link to another file into a static copy and which is used to detect when a card has been inserted or ejected. To fix this, run the following command as root in the terminal:
ln -sf /proc/mounts /etc/mtab
Source: tumnus Last updated: 2003.Oct.31
[edit] What are the different types of reset/reboot?
- Reboot
This is a normal reboot like rebooting a PC and can be done by either using the Shutdown application or by running the command 'reboot' in the terminal. No data is lost with this unless there is unsaved data in an open application and it does not save on closing.
- Soft reset
This is like the reset button on a PC and forces a reboot of the Zaurus. This is not normally required unless your Zaurus has locked up and is done by flicking the battery compartment switch from 'Normal Operation' to the 'Replace Battery' position and back again. This will result in any unsaved data being lost, but all files in internal storage are kept. Some corruption in internal memory can occur on rare occassions with this reset so it should only be carried out if absolutely necessary. There will always be error messages when you turn the Zaurus on again after this, but unless it stops booting it usually fixes itself.
- Hard/Full reset
This returns your Zaurus to the factory state and will wipe out everything saved in internal storage. On the SL5000D and SL55000 it is done by opening the battery compartment and pressing the recessed button just below the battery. On all other Zaurus models, this is done by accessing the Maintenance menu by holding the OK button while turning your Zaurus on.
Source: tumnus Last updated: 2003.Oct.31
[edit] What is a symlink/symbolic link I often read about?
- This is a standard Linux/Unix filesystem feature and is similar to Windows shortcuts and Mac aliases, except a lot more useful as it embedded in the filesystem rather than being an addition.
A symbolic link is effectively file that points to another file or directory. In this sense it is like Windows shortcuts in that this lets you execute or open the file it points to by executing or opening the symbolic link. However, if the symbolic link points to a directory it also lets you navigate to the destination directory by navigating to the symbolic link. You can see symbolic links by the way they appear in file listings and the Zaurus uses them extensively. Run the following command in the Zaurus terminal:
ls -l /
Among other directories you will see entries like this:
etc -> /home/etc
This shows that /etc is actually a symbolic link to the real directory /home/ etc. This is done because /home is mounted as the only writable part of the filesystem, that is internal storage. Everything else is mounted from the read only ROM. Symbolic links allow a fairly standard file structure hierarchy to be kept yet have multiple directories under / to be writable.
You can create symbolic links by using the 'ln' command for example:
ln -s /the/target/file/or/directory /the/symbolic/link/file
Source: tumnus Last updated: 2003.Oct.31
[edit] I cannot get back to my password entry screen after a couple of miss entry's of my password. What do I do?
- Usually, tapping anywhere on the Personal Info screen will get you back to the Password Entry screen.
Source: mailto:richardhault@yahoo.co.uk
