Recently, I ran across an interesting problem. My boss was having issues with his brand new BlackBerry Curve. His "Desktop" or the "Home Screen", as RIM likes to call it, was not displaying any applications whatsoever. He had called AT&T to get a "push" problem with his email fixed. They had him press a number of buttons, and when he restarted, all the application icons went away. This was a brand new BlackBerry, so the problem should not have existed in the first place.

At first, I thought it was just an issue with the OS, and that I would need to reload applications. I dutifully downloaded the latest firmware updates, and the newest version of BlackBerry's desktop software. Then, I hooked up the Curve, removed, and then re-added the applications. Nothing changed. It was at this point I realized that the phone needed to be reset to "out-of-the-box" state. After a few searches on Google, it became blindingly obvious that the typical, very easy solution would not work for me.

Every single forum or post said that I just needed to enter the "Options" menu, select "Security Options", then "General Settings". Hit the "Menu" key, and then select "Wipe Handheld". Depending on your model, you may have to type "blackberry" when prompted, to confirm the wipe. It would then reboot, all clean and shiny. I gleaned this info from http://www.greghughes.net/rant/ResetABlackberryToFactoryDefaults.aspx(sorry for the lack of a shortened link, this article site won't allow me to form one with anchor text). There was just one problem with this method: I couldn't get to the options menu through the desktop, and nowhere did I find a key-based shortcut to this menu.

Now,I believe I'm on the hook for a full wipe. I searched to and fro, and finally stumbled across a command-line interface for resetting the BlackBerry. It's called Jl_Cmder. The simplicity is mind-boggling, as it has 5 easy options to choose from: You've can check the basic device info or the eventlog, take a screenshot(a worthy feature, in and of itself), restore it to the factory defaults, or wipe the thing completely.

After downloading and installing on my XP machine(also available for Mac, Linux users may be able to run it in WINE), which took all of thirty seconds, I attached the Blackberry, and cranked it up. Then, I hit option "4", let it transmit the instructions, and waited about 5 seconds. Once that was done, I removed the battery, and restarted. Unexpectedly, the device gave me a progress bar that was captioned "wiping". I waited with baited breath, as the AT&T logo came up. It had indeed, reset the Blackberry to "out-of-box" presets. The desktop was there, and all was right with the world.

Now, there was just one more thing to do. The email accounts had to be reset for the device. I went through, deleted, and revalidated the existing email addresses for the device. Then, I went to "Blackberry setup", and told it to activate the emails for the device. Now, it just works.

I would explain further, except Jl_Cmder works so well, I don't have to. I should mention, that should you wipe the device entirely, instead of doing a reset, then you will have to use Blackberry Desktop Manager to reload the OS. Between the firmware and the desktop manager, it's about an 180 MB download, so I suggest just doing a factory reset.

BlackBerries are part of our daily lives now, and when it locks up, it should be a cinch to get it back in working order. Hopefully this article has nudged you along that path. I have to check my email now, so I'll be seeing you later. Bye.