BlackBerry Forums Support Community

dpelissier · 10-14-2006, 09:00 AM

i just got my 8100, i have a mac book pro.
nothing happens when i plug in my pearl, sometimes.. but not all the time i receive a message on the bb saying that the usb power is not enough.

how do i get pocketmac to recognize my bb?

please and thanks

richardhurst · 10-14-2006, 10:17 AM

make sure you have your phone setup to show as a mass storage device then connect your 8100 via usb, ignore that message if it comes up and wait for it to show on your desktop. the run pocketmac and choose your device. should work then

bbmike · 10-15-2006, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richardhurst

make sure you have your phone setup to show as a mass storage device .........

how do you do this exactly?

mr_kitty · 10-15-2006, 06:15 PM

if you have a media card installed, remove it, then sync.

bbmike · 10-15-2006, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr_kitty

if you have a media card installed, remove it, then sync.

i have not been attempting to sync with a media card installed...

could it be an issue related to Intel Macs?

lkb · 10-15-2006, 11:11 PM

No, see my thread (no device) and know that I have a DP G5 2.0 GHz, and also a G4 iMac and a DP G4 800 and it doesn't show up on any of them. Pocketmac simply sucks, that's all. It's a kludge at best when it does work, then there's people like us who can't even connect.

bbmike · 10-16-2006, 06:29 AM

I feel your frustration, for sure. There is no logic to this "on" and "off" minimal functionality. However, I have only been succesfull to do one sync. Which is better than none. At least I don't have to enter all my contacts and appointments individually or use a PC. However I'll have to use the PC to manage my PIM until RIM decides to "fully" support PocketMac. They should have left well enough alone. Why bother taking control of it, if you're not going to do it fully or until ALL devices are fully functional. C'mon RIM, we're waiting????????!!!!!!!!

bbmike · 10-16-2006, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lkb

No, see my thread (no device) and know that I have a DP G5 2.0 GHz, and also a G4 iMac and a DP G4 800 and it doesn't show up on any of them. Pocketmac simply sucks, that's all. It's a kludge at best when it does work, then there's people like us who can't even connect.

and by the way, DP G5s are not Intel are they? nor are the G4s? hence, you don't have Intel based machines....what am I missing?

lkb · 10-17-2006, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbmike

and by the way, DP G5s are not Intel are they? nor are the G4s? hence, you don't have Intel based machines....what am I missing?

It's not a processor issue, it's crappy software in general

RIM lacky · 10-17-2006, 11:08 PM

Whoa, whoa, whoa.. hold the phone (not literally)

We don't "own" PocketMac. We entered into a deal where we would support their software. We have nothing to do with the software except troubleshoot it. You think you guys are frustrated? Trying being us, when we're asked "how do we do this?" or "why does this not work, when it says it should?" and you have NO answers for people.. why? because we have god damn documentation on anything! We get shit on as reps because "someone" thought this would be a good idea.

I could deal with the software, since I can VNC into about 20 macs and use the freakin stuff, but those macs have no BlackBerry handhelds connected to them, but not knowing what ANY errors mean, how to fix it, how to even find where stuff is or what it does, pisses me off.

I have about 10 PocketMac cases in my que right now that i'm dealing with, and I'm trying my best to find the CORRECT answers for those people (and i'm sure some of them are on this site) but we have NOTHING to go on. It sucks.

EDIT: spelling > me

mr_kitty · 10-18-2006, 02:24 AM

Dear RIM Lacky...

i used to run RealNetworks "acquired and killed applications that they still sell" queue, so i know all of what you are experiencing and more. you shouldn't take our frustration at the software personally; we do know that blackberry support reps didn't have anything to do with the programing or (lack of) QA of PocketMac.

However, our frustration at the crappy support -- and by crappy i am not referring to the not knowing the answer, but rather the blatant dismissive attitude i've gotten from 3 of the 5 reps i've dealt with, the complete lack of comprehension from another and what i believe to be out and out lying about what he has done to cover his ass from the final one -- should be personal. You obviously have some ethic causing you to go the extra mile to come up with correct answers (otherwise you wouldn't be on this forum), so you've obviously seen the bullshit answers some of your less eager colleagues send to customers. Don't blame us because they suck. We're just trying to make this $400 handheld have the data on it that we need.

Further, if you don't have equipment to test on... well, now. That's a management issue. While i can sympathize with not having the equipment you need to effectively do your job -- because i HAVE been there -- i can't excuse it. The cost of two blackberries will cover the cost of a Mac mini and a firewire drive (use the firewire drive to make a clean OS image to restore onto the mini after you're done killing the OS... and it is easy to kill the OS with pocketmac and the blackberry's usb drivers).

There are more than two of us trying to use these devices with that system. When I was at Real (6 years ago), we figured every email response cost $3 to process (and they were done in India, your costs are likely at least double), I've got an email chain 7 responses deep. So far I have to have cost RIM anywhere from $20-$100+... What do you suppose is their profit margin per handheld?

Don't blame us if your boss doesn't know how to monetarize support costs and get an adequate budget for hardware. It's not really that hard.

Activator · 10-18-2006, 11:32 AM

Here's my experience with an 8100 and PM 4.0.

1st time I plugged the 8100 in via USB, it gave the "not enough power" error. I unplugged the USB from the phone and then right back in and, what do you know, no more error!

So I set up PM to sync my Mac Address Book and iCal only as a "1st time sync". After two attempts, I got the "connected to desktop" screen on the 8100 and a succesfull sync of all my Address Book contacts, complete with email and notes! Of course, PM gave an error that "not all data was transferred", but the Address Book looks 100 percent complete, as far as I can tell.

BUT, iCal did NOT "sync" that time, nor have I been able to get it to sync in about a dozen attempts, after relaunching, re-plugging, etc. No luck.

This is the error message I get after attempting to sync ONLY iCal:

[12:22:04.580] [NOTE: this exception originated in the server.]
Invalid parameter not satisfying: [[NSFileManager defaultManager] fileExistsAtPath:_ISDDataDirectoryPathForClient(_d ataDirectory, nil)]
Merging local records with device records failed. Will not continue.

I was NOT "merging" any data and had PM "advanced options" for iCal set to overwrite the 8100 calendar only. Not a two way sync, and the 8100 has nothing in the calendar which would be deleted.

Oh well, Address Book is the biggie, but iCal is a close second. I need this to work or the whole BB idea is going to be a problem.

Activator · 10-19-2006, 07:49 AM

OK. As I wrote above, Contacts worked, but iCal was "doing nothing".

A couple of things I've figured out by trial and error:

1. The "Not enough USB power" seems to go away if you unplug the BB then immediately re-plug it (using the phone end of the USB plug).

2. It seems to be better to plug the BB in and THEN start PM.

3. I was FINALLY able to get an iCal sync by setting the "Advanced Preferences" in the Calendar/iCal Calendar sync pane to "Sync all categories" and "Two-way sync". Setting to "Two-way sync" was the difference that enabled the sync. It seems that PocketMac NEEDS to set up a "PocketMac" calendar category in iCal on your Mac. Once it made it's folder, sync now seems to work reliably.

4. Sometimes it seems that just running the sync routine one more time fixes things and sync works.

I've only synched the Address Book and iCal, so I can't comment on any other PM features. These are really the only two things I need working at this time, so I'm fairly happy now.

bbmike · 10-20-2006, 06:39 PM

well, after upgrading from OS 10.4.7 to 10.4.8 I can now sync iCal and Address book! who'd have thunk it????

theuberprof · 10-24-2006, 08:45 PM

I'm having the same problem as everyone else. I have almost 5000 contacts I need to sync, and not one ends up on the BlackBerry. However, the few contacts I entered manually on the device show up in Address Book. Any solutions? Any workarounds?

RIM lacky · 11-09-2006, 06:46 PM

I just wanted to TTT this, because I got fired today because of my post. It was unfortunate that it happened, and totally my fault, but it goes to show that when you are frustrated, keep it to yourself, lol.

Good luck with the support at RIM for PocketMac, we (they) are really trying.

schuey100 · 11-09-2006, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIM lacky

I just wanted to TTT this, because I got fired today because of my post. It was unfortunate that it happened, and totally my fault, but it goes to show that when you are frustrated, keep it to yourself, lol.

Good luck with the support at RIM for PocketMac, we (they) are really trying.

That's terrible!!!!!! But from experience, keep the moaning in house. The fact is, it seems RIM are a little sensitive about this. I hope for my 'our' sakes they really are trying to fix these issues.

At this point in time I'd pay £50 just to get the thing working consistently.

theuberprof · 11-12-2006, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schuey100

At this point in time I'd pay £50 just to get the thing working consistently.

Hear hear! ($ for me, though)

bolitz · 12-04-2006, 08:55 AM

I bought the new Cingular 8100 yesterday and I am having the same problems as described in this thread...USB power error goes away but there is no recognition between the device and my Mac. PocketMac worked perfectly yesterday with my 7130 (guess I should not have changed BlackBerrys). Support keeps telling me to do things (reload software, hard resets, disable media card which I do not even have, etc.) but still nothing. Does anyone have any new thoughts?

lucyl · 12-05-2006, 03:25 AM

I also just got my Pearl today. I have a macbook pro and in the beginning I couldn't sync up anything. I just give a try 5 mins ago and it works. I got my both my mac & entourage contacts and calendars to sync. Strange thing is I did nothing different.

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8100 Pearl and Pocketmac 4.0: nothing happens?!?!