1. paul.j.moore's Avatar
    Hello CB'rs--

    Ok I waited past my 14 day trial, but still am not totally comfortable with this choice (8320, Software 4.3.3.180, 4 GB Card (formatted) )

    So I have had this device for 3 weeks and have a few questions.

    I was able to load music, first with BDM-media manager, all of the music was there and seemed to be organized (organized in my PC with I-tunes) - the next time I used Media Sync - (I know not a good idea to use two management software but ...)

    After the second load I was not able to see or play the music from the second load (from the media sync) - I listened to it while flying last night, and when I got home plugged it into the PC (just to charge).

    This mornign I come down to try to figure this out and now from the BB there is No Music - (Songs, albums etc.) - If I use Windows Explorer to look at the BB all of the content is there but the BB does not see it.

    I did turn it off at the end of the flight.

    Ok so this could be a BB software issue - if so I'll go through this exercize and do a software update and re-load the songs but...

    Does this type of thing happen frequently?

    What are the hazards to doing a software update - this is my work phone and can not really afford to have it dead?

    I have noticed a lot of posts referring to battery pull reset - is this somthing that everyone does on a regular basis? How often is "normal"?

    What is best to manage music sync with I-tunes (Media Manager or Media Sync application)?

    What do most of you get out of the battery?- I am getting about 2 days with what I would call light use (10 calls - 20 webmail check ins, 20 e-mail push down - all told maybe 2 hours total screen on time.)

    Lastly - is there a list of best practices that everyone should follow? - Battery Pull every x weeks, delete all content and reload etc,)

    I think that is enough for now - I'll get into the ACT! questions later.

    Regards,

    Paul
    09-12-08 07:32 AM
  2. kyriefurro's Avatar
    I was able to load music, first with BDM-media manager, all of the music was there and seemed to be organized (organized in my PC with I-tunes) - the next time I used Media Sync - (I know not a good idea to use two management software but ...)

    After the second load I was not able to see or play the music from the second load (from the media sync) - I listened to it while flying last night, and when I got home plugged it into the PC (just to charge).

    This mornign I come down to try to figure this out and now from the BB there is No Music - (Songs, albums etc.) - If I use Windows Explorer to look at the BB all of the content is there but the BB does not see it.

    I did turn it off at the end of the flight.

    Ok so this could be a BB software issue - if so I'll go through this exercize and do a software update and re-load the songs but...

    Does this type of thing happen frequently?
    It seems to be fairly common with the native media player in OS 4.3. When you load music on your Berry it creates an index of the files and it's this index that the Media Player refers to when you open your song list. For some reason the index keeps getting lost, deleted, or corrupted, resulting in your Berry having to repeatedly rescan your SD card. If you have a lot of files, the scanning can take a long time, and the index seems to get lost even more frequently.

    You're Berry will also rescan every time you turn it off, or any time you load additional files to your SD card (any file, not just media ones).

    Some people have had success with third party apps. Personally, I upgraded ot OS 4.5.0.66 and that seems to have solved the problem.

    What are the hazards to doing a software update - this is my work phone and can not really afford to have it dead?
    The biggest hazard is that if you do something wrong, you could brick your phone. Follow the instructions here http://forums.crackberry.com/f3/prop...ocedure-53359/ carefully if you're going to upgrade the OS.

    I have noticed a lot of posts referring to battery pull reset - is this somthing that everyone does on a regular basis? How often is "normal"?
    Most users find it helpful to reboot their Berry once a day or so. The easiest way to do this is to use your auto-on/off feature to make your Berry shut off for a few minutes when you know you won't need it. Mine turns itself off for five minutes starting at 3am.

    Alternately you can press alt + right-shift + del to do a soft reset.

    Pulling the battery (often called a hard reset) should only be done if there's no other way to reset your berry. There's a very small (miniscule, but not quite zero) that doing so can corrupt your OS.

    What is best to manage music sync with I-tunes (Media Manager or Media Sync application)?
    I'll let someone who uses the media player more than I do answer this one heh.

    What do most of you get out of the battery?- I am getting about 2 days with what I would call light use (10 calls - 20 webmail check ins, 20 e-mail push down - all told maybe 2 hours total screen on time.)
    Sounds about normal. I'm usually at around 40% by the end of the day. BTW, you don't want to let your battery run all the way down. It's best to keep it topped off whenever possible.

    Lastly - is there a list of best practices that everyone should follow? - Battery Pull every x weeks, delete all content and reload etc,)
    I'm sure others will chime in with their ideas, but IMO the biggest thing to watch is your File Free memory number. If you go below 12mb of free memory, your Berry will have problems. It will run slow and it will start deleting old sms and email messages to free up space. So, be sure to completely close out any apps when you're done with them. Try to avoid the temptation to load too many apps, ringtones, etc. or load them to your SD card whenever possible.
    09-12-08 11:22 AM
  3. Garz's Avatar
    If music files are not showing up on your BB after loading them onto your memory card, a battery pull will usually fix that.
    09-12-08 11:24 AM
  4. paul.j.moore's Avatar
    Thanks for the responses Kyriefurro & Garz - I looked around (search tool) here on CB could not find answers propr to posting but I am sure they are here somewhere.

    While I am getting used to the Curve - this all seems to be a little more routine mainenence than I expected - seems like a I am giving back (by researching answers and maintaining the BB) all of the time I supposedly save by having it in the first place.
    09-12-08 12:38 PM
  5. kyriefurro's Avatar
    While I am getting used to the Curve - this all seems to be a little more routine mainenence than I expected - seems like a I am giving back (by researching answers and maintaining the BB) all of the time I supposedly save by having it in the first place.
    Its only overwhelming for the first few days. After that everything becomes second nature.
    09-12-08 01:07 PM
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD