[Sunspark]

Problem: Formatting the Pocket Pro's internal memory can result in a condition where all computers can see the internal memory and read and write to it, but the device itself cannot see it's own files. Firmware update will not fix this.

Impact: User frustration, money wasted on shipping of devices, devices exchanged, etc.

Parts needed: SDHC card with firmware file on it and inserted in device.

Solution: When flashing firmware, we are taught to hold down the topmost page turn button (arrow pointing to the right) on the left side of the device when held in a vertical orientation. Instead of doing this, hold down the button immediately below it with the arrow pointing to the left and while holding it down then press the power on button.

The device states that it will clean the flash memory (yes, it actually does have a format memory functionality).

It is actually flashing in the firmware so you will need your SDHC card with a firmware file on it, but in addition to the flashing of the firmware it is also erasing the partitions right off the internal memory.

When I plugged it into a Windows 7 laptop, it offered to format the internal memory. State yes and accept the defaults, which are FAT, 8192 block size, etc. For whatever reason (maybe the device, maybe the OS, or the laptop) this took almost 10 minutes instead of a few seconds (I have never seen it take this long before). The device was flashing it's green light, then it would stop and do nothing while flashing the orange charging light, then it would do the green light again and the bar would advance.

Once process is completed, safely remove device, disconnect cable from device, then turn it off, and then back on.

Connect it to any computer, transfer a file over for testing purposes, and do the usual disconnect, reboot, etc. routine et voila!

Observation: Checking the device itself in OS X's disk utility, where it says partition map scheme it says "unformatted", which is different from before when I was trying to do it, and having it say MBR, etc. So this is a key difference compared to before. Incidentally, for OS X users, to safely remove hardware on the Mac, you need to unmount the drives in disk utility before pulling the cable, otherwise be good at timing it after you hit the eject button before they come back.

Probable cause of issue: Deleting partition and recreating it on the drive in a manner it doesn't like, rather than merely erasing the filesystem without deleting the partition.

Statement: My geek-fu is strong.