A quick story: The Reset Button on the Treo 650
Many years ago, I had a Palm Treo 650. It was basically the precursor to the precursor to the iPhone, and the thing was an absolute piece of crap in every way. One day it actually stopped working, so I opened the battery compartment and pressed the reset button. Nothing happened. Huh, that's strange, I thought; they aren't using the industry standard press-reset-button-to-reset standard that seems unbelievably obvious. After all, the button is labeled "RESET," you'd think pressing it would, you know, reset.
Eventually, after trying everything I could think of, I resorted to that most heinous of gadget crimes: I opened the instruction book and went to page 54, which was titled "PERFORMING A HARD RESET." I read the instructions on the page. Then, for a good five minutes, I stared in disbelief at what was actually printed on the page:
Read through these instructions before attempting the reset. We made this method of zero out reset extremely awkward to perform, so that it would not happen by accident. You may need the help of a dextrous friend if you find it too difficult to do by yourself.
STEP 1: Plug the hotsync cable into the phone, but do not plug the other end into the computer or power outlet.
STEP 2: Press and hold the power button (on the top of the device) while pressing the "up" arrow on the center navigator.
STEP 3: Press the hotsync cradle button (on the hotsync cable plugged into the device [see photo below]) while still holding the "up" and "power" buttons.
STEP 4: Recruit a friend to help with this step or hold the stylus in your mouth. While still holding the hotsync button, the up button, and the power button, remove the battery compartment and press the reset button with the stylus.
STEP 5: Hold these buttons for fifteen seconds.
STEP 6: Your device will now be reset.
Below: photo of the phone and photo of the cable (with the button on it).
