Phone startup failed

After installing a couple themes for my N75, I seem to have messed up
the boot process. When I start the phone, I get the message "Phone
startup failed, contact the retailer". It does this in something of a
constant loop. I open the phone, get the message for about 15
seconds, and then goes off. Rinse and repeat.

I could take it to the AT&T store, but I am curious if there is a way
to just flash the device. If possible, I would like to have a more
"generic" Symbian system installed, rather than the Cingular-branded
default.

I am new to symbian phones, so am unsure if this is possible.

thank you for your help,
K


--
In Vino Veritas
http://astroturfgarden.com

I have found some resources and figured our part of this:

On 2008-02-03, Kevin T. Neely <ktneely@astroturfgarden.com> wrote:
> After installing a couple themes for my N75, I seem to have messed up
> the boot process. When I start the phone, I get the message "Phone
> startup failed, contact the retailer". It does this in something of a

The people at the AT&T store gave me the warranty number. Evidently,
they will ship a new phone to replace the current one. What I don't
understand is why I cannot simply flash the phone to its original
state with the firmware. This is what I would do with a palm or a
Nokia Internet tablet. I realize that those are different operating
systems, but normally, this is what is done with embedded devices.


As to the question of replacing the Cingular/ATT branded image with a
more generic Symbian one, I came across this site:
http://www.thegogglesdonothing.com/a...firmware.shtml

which does a great job of explaining the situation and offering a
solution.

thank you for any help you can give me,
K


--
In Vino Veritas
http://astroturfgarden.com

In message <muednUtG_uKGqDvanZ2dnUVZ_ternZ2d@comcast.com> "Kevin T.
Neely" <ktneely@astroturfgarden.com> wrote:

>The people at the AT&T store gave me the warranty number. Evidently,
>they will ship a new phone to replace the current one. What I don't
>understand is why I cannot simply flash the phone to its original
>state with the firmware. This is what I would do with a palm or a
>Nokia Internet tablet.

In general, flashing a device (especially one not in working order) is
beyond the capabilities of most users.

It's probably cheaper to just deal with exchanging hardware then to try
to handhold people through a self-repair before eventually performing an
exchange anyway.

On 2008-02-04, DevilsPGD <spam_narf_spam@crazyhat.net> wrote:
> In message <muednUtG_uKGqDvanZ2dnUVZ_ternZ2d@comcast.com> "Kevin T.
> Neely" <ktneely@astroturfgarden.com> wrote:
>
>>The people at the AT&T store gave me the warranty number. Evidently,
>>they will ship a new phone to replace the current one. What I don't
>>understand is why I cannot simply flash the phone to its original
>>state with the firmware. This is what I would do with a palm or a
>>Nokia Internet tablet.
>
> In general, flashing a device (especially one not in working order) is
> beyond the capabilities of most users.

users, sure, but I was surprised that the support people at the AT&T
"corporate" store couldn't just flash the device with some fancy piece
of flashing hardware "in the back".

No worries, the new phone will be shipped within 5 days.

cheers,
K

--
In Vino Veritas
http://astroturfgarden.com

In message <slrnfqkg87.4jl.ktneely@piglet-int.astroturfgarden.com>
"Kevin T. Neely" <ktneely@astroturfgarden.com> wrote:

>users, sure, but I was surprised that the support people at the AT&T
>"corporate" store couldn't just flash the device with some fancy piece
>of flashing hardware "in the back".

Other stores might be better, but at the stores I have visited, you'd be
better off selecting someone from Cinnibon to do it.

On 2008-02-07, DevilsPGD <spam_narf_spam@crazyhat.net> wrote:
> In message <slrnfqkg87.4jl.ktneely@piglet-int.astroturfgarden.com>
> "Kevin T. Neely" <ktneely@astroturfgarden.com> wrote:
>
>>users, sure, but I was surprised that the support people at the AT&T
>>"corporate" store couldn't just flash the device with some fancy piece
>>of flashing hardware "in the back".
>
> Other stores might be better, but at the stores I have visited, you'd be
> better off selecting someone from Cinnibon to do it.


lol, true enough. I discovered that there are "corporate" stores, and
then the other ones. These corporate ones are supposed to be more
in-line with what AT&T is doing, and have at least one technically
knowledgable member of the staff. When I've run into strange problems
in the past, I've had to drive a bit further to one of these stores to
get the issue resolved.

Even they couldn't do it.

On the plus side, I received my replacement yesterday: 2 days
in transit for a "5-7 day ground" shipment. not bad. The new N75
came nice and clean, and was an AT&T branded one, rather than
Cingular. At least it's not as hard on the eyes as the Cingular one.

cheers,
K

--
In Vino Veritas
http://astroturfgarden.com