Hi all!
First off: i've been lurking for a few days since buying an N-Gage last week, and I've learned a lot (especially about the n-gage 😉 ) by visiting here - thanks!
I have, through screwing around with fexplorer etc. messed up the phone a few times and had to reformat the mmc and *#7370# a couple of times (like when the mp3 player wouldnt work anymore!) More or less got it figured now, but i have a small anoying problem that i'm not sure is a 'real' fault, bug or just because i've screwed it up: i put some apps on (blz, fexplorer, some other stuff) onto mmc, install the apps, and they appear in the meny (yeah!) then after a while-say an hour of listening to the mp3s- i go back to the menu - no additional apps, just the baiscs! power off-and back on and they are there working fine! tried installing blz and fe on the c: drive, same (so i dont think it down to the mmc)
anyone else had similar, or should i return it as 'faulty'?
also - anyone know how to unpack the backup.arc? tried all sorts (even in linux)
thanks again guys!
To unpack the backups you need the nokia pc suite i think. I have not tried it myself ut thats what i can remember being said. As for your problem take it to nokia shop and get them to reinstall everything but make sure you unistall blz apps since they wont be very happy to see them on your phone.
thanks!
i figured i would remove anything to do with .blz ....
i know i could use pc suite-but dont have bluetooth, so i was hoping to be able to open the backup.arc from the mmc via usb- but cant find anything to open it, never mind. should pc suite be able to work without bluetooth? i tried installing it and it messed about for ages, said it was installed and does nothing.
are there any better ways of getting data off c:? rather than copy/paste individually in fexplorer to e: (doesnt completely do directories)? anything like a mini-ftp server over usb??? (just pushing my luck....)
I'm guessing that You wanna get rid of data from C: to make some more disk space...Wouldn't it be easier to buy bigger MMC card??😕 You've got Your N-gage for a week and it's already not working...😮 😱
No way as far as i can see to edit arc files.
USB ftp you must be dreaming!
PC suite without bluetooth again you are dreaming!
when i said 'getting data off drive c' i meant my having access to my contacts notes etc. myself-not through nokias proprietry pc suite and their encrypted backup.arc (now identified-just got to crack the encryption!)
you see, i come from a linux background where most things are in flat text or xml or some other accessable format. i am reluctant to buy a bluetooth dongle just to be able to edit my contacts on the pc! i fill find some way of ziping c: onto e: then move to pc, unzip and edit! (like i always could with the 9110, ah! my beloved brick!)
anyway, just got back from visiting orange shop who were totally perplexed by the phone itself (even though they sold it) and how to use it, couldnt get their heads around the idea of apps 'disappearing' then 'reappearing in the menu, and after a few 'words' gave me a replacement! still not v.happy - their attitude, product knowledge and customer service skills stink, but the carrier bags are nice...
Well i finished a degree in computer science so i know exactly what you meant by trying to dencode the backups trust me that is one of the first things i tried. The problem is I have neither the acces to nor the ability to guess the encoding and then write a program to use to access the backup files. As far as I know the only program you can actualy edit the backup from is pc suite. If you know any other prog then I would love to have it. Also why not get a bluetooth dongle. Besides using pc suite you can use your n-gage to control your pc. If you spend a bit of time messing with a bit of symbian code and a bit of manual reading which i am sure you are used to (Linux) presto you have a ready made n-gage to pc interface. Also what else can you expect from the people who sell you the phones. Some may have a clue but the majority are clueless bless them they have no interest in hte phones they sell(majority of the time) they are just there to earn a bit of money and get by. If they knew the ins and outs of all the phones they wouldn't be in the shops selling them they would either be out there designing them or here talking about them 😉. I dont want to offend any of you phone retailers out there it is a general statement and i am sorry if i have offended you that was not the intention. Good luck writing or finding the prog to decode the backup file.
your MP3 player uses your mem card, so all the apps on your MMC will not show in the menu while listening to music. when you turn off the MP3 player, go to the main screen wait a few seconds then go into your menu then you can see your APPS.
Really never noticed that. Cool thanks.
I guess you needent have returned your device.
I am useless😞
Originally posted by Shadow12
Some may have a clue but the majority are clueless bless them
AMEN!
I'm just too cheap and mean-minded to buy a dongle - besides i used to have a little app on my 9110 which turned its com port into a real com port with ppp and psuedo-ftp so any dumb xterm type prog could attach and do, well whatever you wanted to its poor little insides!
And regarding the mp3 player - yes i had noticed that, but the apps still wouldnt appear after closing (or occasionally crashing) the mp3 player! In fact, it happened in the shop trying to demonstrate the problem (how rarely does that ever happen...) that even the demo nokia space thingie and sync apps disappeared - and they were installed on the phone memory!
Anyway, got it sorted now, and seems to be much happier and 'smoother' to operate than old one, so starting to believe it was genuinly faulty not just screwed-up!
Thanks for your comments guys!
Decoding the backups?! Oh my that would be really tricky. Also have a degree in ComSci here here and from what I believe the .arc thing is not a standard archive file. It's more like a "snapshot" or an "image" of the whole device's files... more like WinXP's System Restore. I've tried restoring the backup once and it's like going back thru time... icon placements, bg, oplogo, contacts, messages, etc. is all restored. Please correct me if Im wrong since I dont know much about Symbian - I think it also has a system registry just like Windows where app infos are stored. And It is also being restored by the .arc file.
If you want to decode this, you might need propriety info from Nokia and the makers of the Symbian OS about the inner workings of the latter.
Hey guys. I enjoyed this post, the 'keep it cool and to the rules' banter. I am interested in comp science and also new to the forum.
I have to say that on discovery of this forum, the help has been exceptional. Just type in 'symbian' and you'll get all the help (including source code) within this site. My prob was hardware and USB devices. But I eventually got it sorted, so good luck guys.
Welcome to the forum muzicstar!
I am new here on a few months and indeed it is a great forum.
Originally posted by talnaqib
---8<---
i put some apps on (blz, fexplorer, some other stuff) onto mmc, install the apps, and they appear in the meny (yeah!) then after a while-say an hour of listening to the mp3s- i go back to the menu - no additional apps, just the baiscs! power off-and back on and they are there working fine! tried installing blz and fe on the c: drive, same (so i dont think it down to the mmc)anyone else had similar, or should i return it as 'faulty'?
--->8---
Try killing the Menu app with some app manager. Btw, do you have all apps installed as .sis files (blz...)?