upgrade from Clie to Palm T/X: OS concerns

H

Holly =]

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We are likely going to get a PALM TX to replace my wife's aging Clie. The Clie handheld is configured Palm OS4.1 and she is running the Palm Desktop vers. 4.1.4.

Will it be as simple as plugging in her TX and hitting the sync button?
OR - must I first install the newest version of PALM desktop software that will come with the new unit and THEN sync with the new unit?

Will the new 5.x desktop software "see" all of her information that is presently in the 4.1 world? I am very concerned that the installation of a newer Palm desktop app onto the laptop will expunge her existing files as well as all of her add-on .prc applications (as well as things such as Epocrates).

Am I just paranoid (well yes I am but does it now have to extend to my Palm concerns as well?)

Feel free to e-mail be directly with any and all guidance and advice.

Thanks in advance

Theo
[email protected]
 
Install the software and give the Tx the same user name as the Sony. The install process will correctly set aside any software that should not be put onto the Tx. It will put this into a subdirectory and provide you with a name of that subdirectory.

Her PIM information should be pickedup. At worst case, you'll be able to beam it to the TX.

Don't just plug it in and hit hot sync - that will cause a ton more problems.

The Tx will require updated versions of any software that you might want to keep that's currently on the Sony anyway so be prepared to download the new versions and then look for their data files in that aformentioned subdirectory - or beam them over as well after you've updated them for OS5.

Simply stated - install the Palm Desktop and let it do the work.
 
You definitely do NOT want to just sync your Clie apps over to your T|X -- unless you love hard resets and doing things the hard way that takes 10x as long. You'll need to reinstall. The only thing that can come over as-is will be your PIM stuff. Be prepared for a lot of your apps currently installed on the Clie to not work on the T|X. There are several software compatability lists for the T|X floating around the internet. I would check those first. If you app(s) isn't on those lists, I would get a good backup (or at least a good Hotsync) prior to trying it. Some older apps have been known to produce hard resets on the T|X.

I upgraded from a Palm Tungsten|C to a Palm T|X, which is only like a 0.XX difference in OS version numbers, yet I encountered significant problems with two apps that worked fine on my T|C, but would kill the T|X. You're likely to encounter more with a full version number difference between the two OS.
 
PIM
Personal Information Manager - ie Address Book, Calendar, ToDo list, Memos.

As I mentioned the installation process will set aside any applications that shouldn't go on the TX.

If you want to list your apps on the Sony - between Pilot and me - will be able to tell you but the Palm Desktop installation has a database of apps and their current versions to reference and it will kick out any that shouldn't be on the TX - frankly - it will kick them all out because they are on an OS4 device so that right there eliminates them.
 
Having upgraded devices on numerous occasions in recent years as well as dealing with all sorts of hard resets, crashes and other glitches I would STRONGLY recommend the following in addition to all other advice.

On the PC with which the handheld is normally hotsynced, find the Palmone or Palm folder (normally under Program Files on the C: drive). Within this folder find the subfolder with the hotsync name of your device. In other words, if your device is called 'MyClie' look for a folder called something like 'C:\Program Files\Palmone\MyClie' Copy this subfolder and all it's contents to somewhere safe i.e. another folder before you do anything else.

If everything goes pear shaped during the installation of your new software/handheld device, you should be able to restore almost anything from the folder you've copied.

This has saved me from a number of minor disasters.
 
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