Palm Desktop 6.2 fails to start properly

[davewoodr]

The following has been happening to me on two different PC's.  Windows Desktop will run well for a while,
then suddenly without warning it opens up in a state in which you can only use 'Media'.  No other functions,
such as memo or contacts can be accessed from the 'View' pull-down menu. The following error message appears
at starting up Desktop:

   "Some components required for playing and editing video clips are not installed. 
    Please install WMP/DirectX and Apple QuickTime from Web."

and you need to click 'Okay' to get into Desktop, but, as mentioned above, only 'Media' can be accessed.

Twice I was able to overcome this error for a time.  Once by updating from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1, and
another time by totally uninstalling Windows Desktop and reinstalling.  I had to delete the Desktop database
to get this to happen... a simple reinstall won't help. (I have lost the instructions on how to do this.) 
But neither was a permanent fix... the problem comes back.

My configuration: Palm Desktop by ACCESS 6.2.2 on two machines, one running Windows 7 and the other
Windows 8.1.  Both are 64-bit.  I have installed the Aceeca Ltd 64-bit Palm sync driver on both machines.

[mikemillburn]

Ihave the same problem.  It worked once on installation but only gets media afterwards...

[WyreNut]

Try this:  Right-click on the shortcut for Palm Desktop, then choose "Run as Administrator".  The data should appear.

To Run as Administrator every time in Windows 8/8.1:

(EDITED) I now have a Windows 8.1 loaner from HP, and composed this help file!

Close Palm Desktop, if open.  (This is a very important thing to always do when using 6.2.2 - it has been known to lose data when a computer is shut down without closing the program!)

Right Click on the Palm Desktop Icon in the Metro screen, then choose "Open File Location".  You will now see the actual file for the shortcut.

Right-click on the "Palm Desktop" shortcut file, then Properties.  Now pick the Compatibility Tab at the top.

At the bottom of the Compatibility Tab is a checkbox:  "Run this Program as Administrator", Click OK .

Try opening Palm Desktop, all the parts should appear.  You may see a box open when you close the program asking "Did the program run correctly?"   I picked "Yes", and it's been working fine since then!

WyreNut

[WyreNut]

---

@davewoodr wrote:

The following has been happening to me on two different PC's.  Windows Desktop will run well for a while,
then suddenly without warning it opens up in a state in which you can only use 'Media'.  No other functions,
such as memo or contacts can be accessed from the 'View' pull-down menu. The following error message appears
at starting up Desktop:

   "Some components required for playing and editing video clips are not installed. 
    Please install WMP/DirectX and Apple QuickTime from Web."

and you need to click 'Okay' to get into Desktop, but, as mentioned above, only 'Media' can be accessed.

---

I saw this also, but it seemed to go away.

See my edited post above for the solution to the problem!

WyreNut

[nycmeg]

Dean,

Your solution seems to work for me but I have additional questions.

I think I am on Windows 8 but I can't seem to figure that out (please forgive me... I was reasonably competent in Windows XP but often at a loss in Windows 8... I live in the old desktop mode).

1.  Now when I open (as administrator), I get a very annoying pop-up "User Account Control" warning me that the pgm wants to make changes to my system.   I usually get this only when installing a new program.  I looked through help text but I do not see a way to identify a particular program as "safe" to bypass this warning.  Are you getting this message and/or do you know how to eliminate it?

2. At some point in my problem determination/reinstall etc., I got a pop-up about "windows compatibility mode" test and it seemed to suggest running in XP SP3 compatibility but I don't see difference.  Are you using a compatibility mode?

3. What made you think of running the program as Administrator?  Is this often a workaround for problems?  Should I add it to my basic problem determination procedures?

4. What could have happened that caused this solid old program to fail?  Given that there must be a somewhat limited number of Palm Desktop addicts left, there are an extremely large number of views of this new problem in the last couple weeks.  So some auto-update to Windows 8 must have caused this.  YOUR THOUGHTS?  (This is important to me as I hope to use this program for the rest of my life; with CompanionLink to support my smartphones, it seems far better than other address book/memo apps I have seen.)

Thanks so much for devising and sharing your solution to this problem. 

Meg

[WyreNut]

Do you have the "Metro screen" on your computer - the one with all the live tiles?  That indicates you have Win8.

1. Palm used to recommend turning UAC off (User Account Control).

In Win8.1, go to the Control Panel/User Accounts and look for "Change User Account Control settings".  Move the slider all the way down to "Never Notify".  

This should make the annoying "Do you want to allow <this program> to make changes?" too.

2. Not using compatibility mode.

3. Palm has used these two suggestions since the debut of Palm Desktop 6.2.2.

4. Microsoft Updates have historically broken Palm Desktop HotSync connections, but an uninstall/reinstall usually fixed it every time.

WyreNut

[Vasia]

Hopefully I will save several lives of people who can not live without that program.

The suggestion of the expert does not work - yes the messages disappear - but desktop does not sync even though it gives a message that sync is OK.

Most likely it caused by Windows updates - so you need to restore or refresh your computer to the initial configuration (you will loose all installed programs - make sure you back up all your data) - than first thing you need to do is to go to control panel and turn off Windows updates.

So far that works for me - let me know if somebody would experience any problems.

[ManuelAcosta]

Thank you so much.

I am a die hard Palm OS user. I got it to run on Win 8.1 64 bit with the ACCECAdriver.

Suddenly I could only see Media. Thanks to your post, I am happy and running fine once again.

[davewoodr]

Thanks wyrnut!

I found the solution first on a website maintained by Chris Short who runs Short Tronics Inc.

[gidslichtje]

I  have been running Palm Desktop 6.2 under Wondows 10 since Oct. 2015, but all of a sudden today am getting the same error you described for Windows 8.1.  Unfortunately changing  the program setting to run aas administrator results  in a window popping upand asking  me if I want to allow the program to make changes to my computer (as it would do or a new installation), and saying  YES does not have any effect: The prgram does not start at all.  It's quite possible that this was caused by a Windows 10 update, since those seem to happen every week or two.

Anyone else had the same experience in Windows 10?  Any ideas for a fix?