Hi,
You think I would have learned after the first time this useless expensive brick bricked (from literally a couple drops of water), and the second time when it fell from a height of around 7-8 feet and wouldn't switch on at all, and the third time when it got stolen from out my hand......not to use the internal memory for anything but music/films.
Anyway, I went out the other night, the phone stayed in my pocket most of the night, then my jacket pocket on a chair for the rest.
When I got home the phone was dead, just ran out of juice, or so I thought. I put it on charge and went to bed.
In the morning I tried switching my phone on and no buzz, just the initial white screen comes on for about 10 seconds or so, then goes off like the battery power just ran out or the battery was removed (you know, light goes out often leaving a fading dark line).
Then it comes back on after 20 - 30 secs for around 10 secs, and then dies again. It does this a few times before beeping once, then staying off.
If I plug the charger in, the on off white screen thing continues indefinately, no charging indicator and no beeps, except for every now and again (about once every ten minutes or so).
There seems to be no evidence of water damage and there are no more dents/nicks/scratches than usual/before.
Please, is there any way I can get my vids and photos off the phone? I did back it up last month, so its not too disasterous, but there are some photos and film I would really like to keep (kids birthday etc). If I could rescue the contacts too.......
If there is no way of doing this with out taking apart the phone, there must be a way of directly accessing the memory chip somehow? I don't care if I void the insurance, I just want that data, there are lots of other things I could do with recovering too. Is there some kind of data cable to the board/chip?
Any and all help most appreciated, thanks.
Forgot to mention, I tried it with 2 other batteries, one knackered one (only holds a charge for an hour or so) and a known good one (genuine and fairly new).
Also it came with the firmware update already installed in the shop when I got it.
Or is there a way to reset it without loosing the data saved on the internal memory?
Update:
I have just tried my phone again and the first time, the wsod came up as usual, but it eventually (about 5min) booted to the "nokia" logo (the words, not the hand shake). It then went black again after around 30 seconds or so.
The second attempt saw the above happen, but instead of going black, the 'desktop' appeared, but with a message stating "Phone start-up failed. Contact the retailer".
Every other attempt is met with this. Sometimes there are beeps where there where when it worked, once it even vibrated when switching it on.
Does this sound like a loose component? Or just fuched?
Does it need re-flashing maybe, and could this be done with out wiping the memory?
There is some life . It might be a hardware issue , likely the screen or the connection . The last will most likely be moist . Place it behind a sunny window , with battery removed . And give it some time .
Otherwise connect it to PC with Nokia PC Suite installed . You need a standard USB to microUSB cable .
PIN or password might be next issue though .
😊 Regards jApi NL
I should have mentioned that I had the phone apart shortly after starting this thread and could see no evidence of moisture (usually you get corrosion around contacts, smd components etc, or stains where the moisture has dried, I have had a lot of liquid damaged electronics apart before - young kids!). i also took apart all the connections, cleaned them then reconnected.
It does seem like it may be a loose contact/component issue.
I tried plugging it into the computer without having been switched on and the computer (xp) recognised it a nokia-rom device. Yet I seem to have no acces to it nor can I find mention of it anywhere in "my computer" nor "system - devices".
I haven't been able to try it in ubuntu (linux) yet as that hdd crashed and I am in the process of recovering that data whilst awaiting a new HDD.
It is usually much easier to manipulate/see devices in ubuntu than xp.
I when I switch the phone on and plug it in, there is no reaction at all from xp it doesn't show up anywhere in the system I can find.?
Does the three finger salute (hard reset) wipe the internal user storage memory partition?
I have found elsewhere that once the phone is at the "phone start-up failed. Contact the retailer" stage, its bricked and requires an internal data cable and box to fix. Although I have only seen this in relation to flash updates that have gone wrong.
Thanks for the reply.
The files you want to save are on the device memory , isn't it ? So don't do a hardreset , unless the files are stored on the MemoryCard .
See my posts here : http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum//forum/thread/81021/
Another suggestion : install Nokia PC Suite on your Computer and try to read/save the files while in PC Suite .
Files on MemoryCard would have made the issue less complicated , since you can use a compatible microSDHC cardreader .
😊 Regards jApi NL
As I understand it, the N96 has "internal memory" (128mb) and "internal storage" (16gb). I am not sure if they are separate as is often inferred in nokia ads/descriptions, or just partitions on one chip/array.
if they are separate, I see no reason why the storage should be erased. I though the point of a hard reset was to restore the operating system back to factory. User installed programs that are `installed` into the storage, still have aspects installed onto the internal memory, so the operating system knows its there and where to call parts of the program, if its like any other os. So on a hard reset, user installed programmes that remain on the storage would not be seen as installed by the os.
I think:-
soft reset clears/restores to factory the ram
hard reset clears/restores to factory the rom
format clears/restores to factory the storage
The data I want to recover is on the "storage memory"
(please correct me if I am wrong)
But, I need to know this for fact, as opposed to conjecture.
Files on MemoryCard would have made the issue less complicated
Tell me about it!
Right nokia pc suite has just finished dl, i'll try that and look at your posts.
Thankyou very much for the help
Thanks for the advice.
I installed nokia pc suite and upon connecting the phone (had switched it on first), it beeped, the "Phone start-up failed. Contact the retailer" message and screen became lighter, like (when it was working) it would when switching applications or something.
I tried the hard reset thing you suggested on your post in the other thread and it came up with the keypad locked user slider or unlock (something like that).
I opened the slider and the "phone start-up ....." message and the background screen beneath it gained its proper intensity (not faded).
but nothing else has happened.
I wonder if its running some of the basic os functions/programs but not showing them on the screen. maybe when I plug it into the computer it is waiting for me to select which mode to put it in.
What is the order of the `modes` list and which one does it focus over as default?
Thanks again
1) After a hard reset the phone is asking for several settings to be done . Like PIN code , password ( after hard reset default code is 12345 ) time , date , etc. and in some cases language .
Since the screen doesn't show information it is hard to tell .
I was wondering though , since the N96 has TV-out , when you connect the videocable (CA-75U) , which is supplied with your phone , to a second screen if the information is displayed ?
2) Memory . The N96 comes with C: 256MB in wich is a protected partition the Z: or ROM . The rest of C: is used for a hidden partition like settings , contacts , calendar , C-drive applications and personal data like pictures etc. found in folders in Filemanager .
D: drive = RAM . I'm not sure , but I think it is physically a separate flash memory , that runs the actual operating demands and holds e.g. clipboard .
The E: drive of the N96 is the 16GB "mass storage" , which is fixed into the device + a second , removable microSD memorycard that must be bought separatedly and inserted in the memorycard slot . This is what I ment . It can be pulled out and inserted into a compatible cardreader to your computer . Sadly I understand you didn't use one ?
The hard reset and vulcan death grip deletes all data from C: , except Z: (ROM)
😊 Regards jApi NL
Thank you very much for the continued support and helpful replies.
`ll try the tv out thing when i get a chance, and once I have re-installed (got new hdd) ubuntu, I`ll have a go with that for attempted data recovery.
Failing that, am I correct in understanding then that the "vulcan death grip" will not result in the user memory (the 16gb E: drive) being wiped? Either way I think that will then be my only option left. Failing that too, it will be a �50 excess insurance jobby.
I`ll let you know
I KNOW that this has been questioned and answered before, but i cant find it since I cant seem to be finding the search button on this forums...
So does anyone have a solution for this:
A white menu, the one that appears after the loading screen.
Thank you in advance.
PS Can anyone point me to a search button, if there is one?
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Young drivers