If you own a Palm Treo 680, or any other model, you may want to check the CD that came with your device and make sure that it works. If so, make a backup copy of your CD and keep it in a safe place, as you won’t be able to get a replacement copy.

Every year I completely rebuild my PC – stripping off all files and reinstalling Windows and all software individually. I do this because I need to, as my machine starts chugging to a crawl and this complete refresh allows me to use a clean and fast running PC. One of the first programs I installed was the Palm Desktop and sync software, necessary for moving files from my Treo to my PC and synchronizing all calendar and contact information. When I put in the CD for the Palm Desktop that came with my Treo, my PC couldn’t read it. Shocked, I tried it on a number of other PCs at the office, and none could read it. I then went to the Palm Web site and downloaded a copy of the Palm Desktop and installed it, synced and had all of my data in place, or so I thought.

The version of the Palm Desktop that came on the CD is a more advanced version that what I could get online, and upon further check I could not even download this advanced version from their Web site! I first discovered this as media files – photos and videos – that I took with the camera function of the Treo were not on my PC after a sync.

I then went back to Palm’s Web site and submitted a help request to have them send me a new CD, and they responded that they do not have replacement CDs, told me to download and install the less advanced version and acknowledged that it would not sync media files. The message concluded that they wanted to be sure this issue was resolved, they would be sending me a satisfaction survey, and that I was not allowed to post their response on any public forum.

So I responded that this was unacceptable, and that I am awaiting a replacement CD. I am being courteous and not posting their verbatim message, and of course I have yet to receive the survey. In the meantime, does anyone out there have a Treo 680 and may have a CD for it that they could copy from me? Of course, I would be willing to bet that doing so violates the license of the software, but this violation is nothing compared to what Palm has done to me.

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