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      VersionMaster

Customer Support > Support Database: TealMaster

Compatibility

Features

Can you put TealMaster and hacks in Flash?

General

Installation

I can't update, move, or delete TealMaster

Registering

Why isn't TealMaster free or included with other registrations?

Troubleshooting

Usage

Compatibility

Will TealMaster replace TrapWeaver? (100%)
No. TrapWeaver is a program which attempts to prevent conflicts with programs which do not follow the "hack" standard. TealMaster is compatible with TrapWeaver, but some hacks may themselves not work with TrapWeaver.

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Will TealMaster make hack [insert name] work under PalmOS5? (100%)
We have no specific information on what hacks do and do not run under OS5 except for the brief list of hacks reported to us on the TealMaster page. Please help us expand this list by letting us know your testing results. The compatibility display in TealMaster does not indicate if a hack is compatible with OS5, only if it is is known to be definitely incompatible. If a particular hack does not run under OS5, check to see if there is a newer version fo the hack. If not, it may require functionality which is no longer available under PalmOS 5.

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Will TealMaster run under PalmOS 5? (100%)
Yes. TealMaster is currently the only system extensions manager which can run selected hacks under PalmOS 5. To do so, TealMaster emulates system functions used by many hacks with equivalent functions in the new operating system. HOWEVER, this emulation does not work for all hacks, and does not fix hacks that have other OS5-compatibility issues. You can get some insight on what hacks might work by checking for warning icons in TealMaster, or viewing which system functions are used by the Hack. Even if the used functions match the ones listed under the emulation settings screen, you may probably have to test older hacks to make sure they don't fail due to other reasons.

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Will DataGator or Padlock hack run with TealMaster? (100%)
DataGator was not compatible with TealMaster versions prior to 1.40, due to assumptions on how hacks were activated and deactivated. Padlock seems to have had a similar problem with timed activation. Oddly enough, customers have reported that PadLock will work properly in TealMaster if Hackmaster is also installed (but not activated) on the Palm. Version 1.40 reported now works with DataGator, though Padlock functionality is still unknown.

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Features

Can you put TealMaster and hacks in Flash? (100%)
Yes, you can put TealMaster into unused operating system flash memory using a program like FlashPro or JackFlash. First make sure that the "Protect hacks from delete" and "Auto switch profile" options are off before you move it. Also, you CANNOT move either of TealMaster's working databases (TealMaster Extensions and TealMaster Traps) into Flash memory as they must remain writable to function properly. Moving them will give unpredictable results. Removable expansion cards like SD, MMC, Compact Flash, and Memory Stick, will NOT work, however, due to their architecture and removability.

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General

What is TealMaster, and why do I need it? (100%)
TealMaster is a manager for PalmOS standard add-on system-extensions and patches, commonly called "hacks". Some of our programs use this "hack" standard to safely extend the Palm's functionality while minimizing the possibility for conflicts. Hacks are not a nefarious products as their name might imply to some, but simply a different type of program which attaches ("hacks itself") into part of the operating system to achieve functionality beyond what standard applications allow.

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What was Hackmaster, and how does it relate to TealMaster? (100%)
Hackmaster was the original shareware system extensions manager written by Edward Keyes of Daggerware. It is still serviceable today, but it has bare functionality, a few bugs, and hasn't been updated since the 0.91 release in fall of 1997. For those particularly cost-conscious, it's still a valid alternative for pre-OS5 devices, but it is a shareware product and is not free. Known Hackmaster bugs include a display glitch on color devices and a periodic "chunk overlocked" crash.

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What are the risks/benefits of using hacks? Are hacks safe? (100%)
Hacks are no more or less safe to run on your Palm computing device than any other program. However, by their very nature, they are trying to accomplish more ambitious tasks than normal programs. They also run concurrently with the current application, and must share data space and system resource with the program and other hacks. It's possible to run into conflicts between programs and hacks if you run too many hacks that have not been designed to work together. Even properly designed hacks may conflict because they run out of system resources. We design all our system extensions to safely run with a minimum memory footprint, but other hacks may require lots of resources depending on their functionality.

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Installation

I can't update, move, or delete TealMaster (100%)
Do you have the "Protect hacks from delete" or "Auto switch profile" options on? If so, turn off all hacks and disable Delete Protection and Profile Mapping before deleting, updating, or moving (to/from flash) the TealMaster program, as these options lock the TealMaster file to prevent it from being changed. If you're running pre-release beta versions 2.08 or 2.09 of TealMaster, first turn off all hacks and the above options, then soft reset the handheld and use TealMover to delete the old version.

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Registering

Why isn't TealMaster free or included with other registrations? (100%)
TealMaster is a product which, due to its nature, was developed at considerable expense and requires a good deal of support. TealMaster replaces Hackmaster, the original but now outdated system extensions manager by Daggerware. While that product was created out of good will and sold as shareware, most people used it without paying because it has no registration reminders under the mistaken belief that it was freeware. Consequently, Hackmaster has gone without an update since 1997 despite significant known bugs and incompatibility with OS5. We believe the best way to keep software up to date and functional is to make it worthwhile for the developer to do so.

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Troubleshooting

When I upgraded my device to one running PalmOS 5, one of my hacks stopped running. (100%)
While TealMaster can run certain hacks under PalmOS 5, some classes of hacks require functionality which is no longer supported by PalmOS 5. Furthermore, some hacks may simply not be high-resolution or PalmOS 5 compatible due to system structure access or other reasons. If a particular hack will not run under PalmOS 5, contact the manufacturer of the specific hack to see if it can be upgraded to be PalmOS 5 compatible under TealMaster. In general, most hacks which use the hack mechanism solely to detect a pen stroke, button press, or other user input will work or can be upgraded to work with TealMaster under PalmOS 5. Some Hacks which require more complex functionality, however, cannot work under PalmOS 5, even if completely rewritten as separate applications.

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When I run a hack or combination of hacks I get unexpected odd behaviour. (100%)
TealMaster works by hooking hacks into the operating system and setting flags so that they know how to chain events to each other. This is done when activating or deactivating hacks in the TealMaster control screens. Once hacks are activated, however, TealMaster's role is passive, not actually running code unless you are inside the TealMaster program itself. Sometimes, bugs in the hacks, conflicts between them, or limited system resources will cause hacks or combinations of hacks to misbehave. If the behaviour doesn't occur in relation to specific actions when inside TealMaster, it's likely that a problem may exist in one or more individual hacks, and your best bet is to selectively disable them until the problematical one(s) are found. Then, you can often set up separate profiles to split up hacks that don't need to be active together, and use profile mapping to automatically switch to the correct profile depending on what app you are running.

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When running a hack or certain hacks together, I get crashes. (100%)
Commonly, when hacks don't run together, it's due to a lack of stack memory, which must be shared between all currently active hacks and the current application. If you run too many hacks simultaneously you may experience intermittent crashes because of this. Hacks can be written to best use the available resources, but there will always be a finite limit to the number and combination of hacks that can be running simultaneously. Even if the launcher app says you have plenty of free memory, hacks may still conflict because this value refers to "file" memory only. The Palm OS allocates memory between several different functions. The majority of available memory goes into file space for storing programs and data. The currently running program and hacks may actually have as little as 32k of data memory and 2k of stack space to actually run under. If you run into this situation, you might simply need to choose which hacks to run, or activate them in separate TealMaster profiles to avoid the conflict. In general, more ambitious hacks tend to use more stack space. Since we have many hack-type products ourselves, we work hard to design our products for minimum memory footprint and maximum compatibility. Then, you can often set up separate profiles to split up hacks that don't need to be active together, and use profile mapping to automatically switch to the correct profile depending on what app you are running.

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When running Launcher III, it shows hacks with the Hackmaster icon, not TealMaster's. (100%)
This is an issue with Launcher III. Hacks do not contain icon information, so Launcher III is probably using its own copy of the Hackmaster icon for files that it determines are hacks.

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When launching one of my applications, TealMaster's profile switching doesn't seem to detect that this one particular app has launched, but keeps whatever profile was active before. (100%)
TealMaster detects an application change when a new app opens up a new screen using standard PalmOS system calls. Some programs which make their own interfaces (like some games) may go around the OS and thus may not be detected as a new application. Currently, the calculator which ships on the Visor Prism is known to do this.

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When switching profiles or activating hacks, I sometimes get crashes. (100%)
Are you running TrapWeaver? TrapWeaver makes some assumptions about how programs patch the operating system. TealMaster 1.40 fixes an incompatibility with TrapWeaver in previous versions.

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When hacks are active, my HotSyncs are slow or fail mid-operation. (100%)
If you are running any keyboard drivers, particularly for the Palm Ultra-thin keyboard, make sure to turn it off, as it is known to interfere with HotSync timing, making HotSyncing unreliable normally and almost impossible if any hacks or background apps are running. You can also download a patch off Palm's web site at http://palmone.com/us/support/downloads/

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When hacks are active, the preview screen on my Zire71 camera doesn't work. (100%)
If you are running any keyboard drivers, particularly for the Palm Ultra-thin keyboard, make sure to turn it off, as it is known to interfere with the camera updating, particularly if any hacks or background apps are running. You can also download a patch off Palm's web site at http://palmone.com/us/support/downloads/

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When I try to run TealMaster, it crashes as soon as I tap on it's icon; I've recently restored it from backup. (100%)
There is a known problem with Backupbuddy incorrectly backing-up and/or restoring files which are currently locked and hooked up into PalmOS.

When run, Backupbuddy "restores" a corrupt 1k file which cannot be run or deleted by the standard system launcher. To fix it, try using TealMover or a similar file-management program to delete the 1k damaged file after turning off its protect and read-only bits and reinstall. If this does not work, please contact Blue Nomad for a fix to their bug, which has reportedly been fixed in a recent version of their program. Reinstall the program from the original download.

Incidentally, our own backup program TealBackup does not have this problem.
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When HotSyncing or copying large files, I get occassional crashes on my Tungsten T5, Treo650, lifedrive, or other device with non-volatile memory. (100%)
Make sure you are running the latest version of TealMaster, which has been patched to work around instabilities in the Palm Non-Volatile-File-System and HotSync application.
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When I open Blazer with TealLaunch and/or TealMaster installed, my Palm TX crashes immediately. (93%)
Here at TealPoint, we have observed this same problem on our TX devices. However, these crashes occur not just with TealMaster/TealLaunch, but with ANY background application. If any application that launches a background task is opened (and sometimes even without any tasks running), crashes occur when opening Blazer. We believe that Blazer may be using all the allocated stack space, so that none is left for background processing. PalmOs doesn�t have an ideal memory management mechanism for mutli-tasking, and instead leaves this up to the applications to be �cooperative� in leaving enough free resources for background applications to run. Sadly, we have yet to find a workaround for this problem. Normally, adding a �pref� resource to Blazer and using TealMover to boost stack space would work, but it�s not writable because it is in ROM. Moving Blazer to an external card and modifying a duplicate copy also does not help. Despite the lack of success, tracking down a long-term fix remains on our to-do list. In the meantime, we're developing our own browser code, since no available browser seems to have display options we think are optimal. If you're interested in participating, please visit our TealTalk forum, where discussions have been started to discuss what features should be included.
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Usage

What do TealMaster's hack priorities mean? (100%)
The hack priorities in TealMaster range from 1 to 5 and indicate how early in the trap list for each system function a hack will be hooked in when more than one hack patches the same system function. This is useful to avoid conflicts when a hack is grabbing events intended for another hack. It does not help when two hack are activated similarly but are trapping different functions, though. Hacks with high priorities (low numbers) are linked in before hacks with lower priorities (high numbers). Thus, priority 1 is first, with the highest priority, and will get called first in the chain of hacks trapping any single system function. This link priority might be reversed, however, in hacks which run after passing the system event to the next in the chain.
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What do the icons next to my hacks mean? (100%)
Under OS5, hack names may be followed by a round or triangular icon indicating which system functions are used by the hack. A red circle indicates a hack whose needed functions are all unavailable under OS5 and is thus incompatible with OS5. A yellow triangle, however, indicates that both supported and unsupported functions are used. For hacks with this icon, some or all hack functionality may or may not be affected.
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