I've used my 7290 as a pda and cell phone since last February with no problems. Yesterday the hourglass appeared out of nowhere and began spinning. It is still going 24 hours later. The only way it stops is to remove the battery. It starts again when the battery is replaced. I see no reset hole in the rear or under the battery, and I see no Alt kep to try a soft reset. I am not a techie, but sure could use the help of one. Thanks for any helpful input.

Removing the battery for 10+ seconds will hard reset any Java based BlackBerry. If that is not solving your issue, I would reload the Blackberry OS.

Doug

Thank you for the suggestion, d_fisher. The battery out for 10 secs. or 1 hour made no difference. Since I am in Cingular's warranty period, they are replacing my unit. How would I reload the Blackberry OS on a unit like mine that is not responding?

You should wipe the device using javaloader and re-install your os using desktop manager. Here is some javaloader info from "BlackBerry Guides"
You should use the "javaloader -usb wipe" command

Sorry but the formatting is a bit screwed up - the file has been copied a few times.

Using JavaLoader

Purpose:

To use the JavaLoader.exe file to perform low-level, debugging, or loading operations on a BlackBerry


Reason:

JavaLoader.exe is a powerful tool that can be used for various administrative tasks on the BlackBerry, however most users (and admins too) find it difficult to use.


Models:

Relevant for all USB java models (in theory serial/com port models are the same, but you must specify the port the device is attached to rather than USB)


Firmware:

All Java versions


Prerequisites:

none.


Notes:


0.
0. This guide only covers those JavaLoader utilities which we have experience with, if you have experience with the other utilities we'd be glad to add the use here (contact us please).
0.
0. We use output redirection to save some of JavaLoader's output to a text file, to display on the screen rather than save to a file remove the "> file.txt" portion of the command.
0.
0. These commands must be run from a Command shell (Win9x: Start --> Run --> command, Win2000+: Start --> Run --> cmd) and in the directory (folder) where javaloader.exe exists (typically: C:Program FilesResearch In MotionBlackBerry JDE 4.0bin).
0.

WARNING: The Javaloader.exe tool should be handled with extreme care, particularily when used for wiping devices, loading modules, or removing modules. BlackBerryGuide.com (and its affiliates) take no responsibility in the use of this tool, use at your own risk. Please read our disclaimer for more information.


Details:

Obtaining JavaLoader.exe

JavaLoader.exe comes with the BlackBerry JDE, you can download it here: http://www.blackberry.com/developers...ls/index.shtml

Description:

Usage: JavaLoader [-usb] [-p] [-b] [-d0|-d1] [-w] [-i] [-q]

is one of dir [-d] [-s] deviceinfo load ... ?save ... info [-d] ... wipe [-f | -a] erase [-f] ... debugmode eventlog settime radio on|off enum siblinginfo ...

Examples:

Load a .cod file to the device:javaloader -usb load

Note on dependencies: If you are loading many modules, load the child-modules first

Erase a module from the device (caution is urged):javaloader -usb erase

Erase a module from the device (force if in use, extreme caution is urged):javaloader -usb erase -f

Wipe the device (considered a low-level format, caution is urged):javaloader -usb wipe

Save the device info to a text file (device.txt):javaloader -usb deviceinfo > device.txt

Save the eventlog to a text file (event.txt):javaloader -usb eventlog > event.txt

Save a listing of all modules on the device to a text file (dir.txt):javaloader -usb dir > dir.txt

Save a listing of all modules & Dependencies on the device to a ?text file (dir.txt):javaloader -usb dir -d > dir.txt

Save a listing of all modules & sub-modules on the device to a text file (dir.txt):javaloader -usb dir -s > dir.txt

Turn the device radio on:javaloader -usb radio on

Turn the device radio off:javaloader -usb radio off