I have a Palm LifeDrive. It has data belonging to the clerk that sold it to me. How can I erase it, so I can install my data (for example I need to erase all the passwords the guy put on the Palm, because I don´t know them and cannot use many features of my Palm. How do I reset it?

You need to have the 2.0 update installed before the secure erase will work properlly. You can download this from the Palmone website. It updates the hidden directory and changes some of the palm os so that it will now do a reset and restore properlly.

Thats the only thing that I can think of that fits your description.

Make sure you have the latest desktop version which was 414E When you try to reinstall the desktop software DO NOT select or allow update setting over internet. Some of the earlier versions had a problem with earlier xp versions. It is stable and works well with sp2 and sp3 versions of XP so update your windows as well.

You may be experiecing failure of the microdrive. Those are typical of it failing or having failed.

Having said that have your tried the hard reset buy holding the 5 way down while sliding the power switch? This is slightly different than the older secure but you need the update 2 to have it. This will erase and reformat and reload the entire system a bit more thouroughly than the older secure erase.
It might get you out of the cycle which is more important.

Here is the only thing I found related to your issue-

http://kb.palm.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=2,E=0000000000825355002,K=8658,Sxi=6,Case=Obj(26419)

I think this can help you:

Treo 650 only


A zero out reset will regress a device that has non-volatile memory to its factory-fresh state. When done correctly, it completely rewrites your device's internal memory with zeros and ones, ensuring that any data is expunged. It should be used only if you want all information completely obliterated (example: you're selling your handheld, or you're sending it in for repair, and want to protect your privacy). Tungsten E2 note: a hard reset (above) produces the same results as a zero out reset - completely rewrites data on internal memory. No need to perform the steps below. Warning: A zero out reset will erase everything on your device. All your data will be removed, and formats, preferences and other settings are restored to their factory default settings. Don't perform a zero out reset unless you want to eradicate everyting.

HotSync note: Some third-party applications change the way your device backs up data. Other third-party applications do not back up data. If you have third-party software on your device, please contact the developer to learn what components are backed up during a HotSync operation, and if HotSync conduits are altered. Any data not backed up will be lost.
There are two ways to perform a zero out reset.

1. 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.
2. Connect your device to its HotSync cable or cradle. The HotSync cable does not need to be connected to your PC, and it does not need to be connected to power.
3. Press and hold the Power button and UP on the 5-way navigator.
4. While continuing to hold Power and UP, press and hold the HotSync button on the HotSync cable or cradle. As you press HotSync, make sure your other finger doesn't slide to LEFT or RIGHT on the 5-way navigator; it needs to be exactly on UP during the entire process. Although you are pressing the HotSync button, a HotSync operation should not begin.
5. While continuing to hold Power, UP and HotSync, press and release the RESET button on the back panel of your device (where's the reset hole?). This is very difficult to do with only one person; you may wish to hold the stylus in your mouth and use your hands to press Power, UP and HotSync.
6. Release Power, UP and HotSync.
7. If you did this reset correctly, the screen of your device will go blank, and you will not be able to turn it on. The charging LED will not light up, even if it's connected to power. It will appear to be "dead." (any other activity — such as the Palm OS logo or a rainbow-colored Boot Log screen appearing — means the reset was performed incorrectly; try again)
8. Your device will appear "dead" for several minutes (up to 10 minutes). During this time, your device's internal memory is being reformatted. If your device doesn't appear "dead" for several minutes with the screen completely blank, the zero out reset was performed incorrectly; try again.
9. After several minutes, your device will "wake up" and the Palm and Palm Powered logos will appear as if you had performed a hard reset. Eventually, you'll be taken to a series of screens to calibrate the touchscreen and set date & time.
   
10. If you want your handheld to remain in factory state, stop here. If you want to restore data to your device, follow the steps for recovering after a hard reset (a zero out reset is a special type of hard reset).

Quick Erase, Secure Erase
LifeDrive only When you perform a hard reset on a LifeDrive mobile manager, you will see two options on the reset screen: Quick Erase and Secure Erase. Both of these are types of hard reset. Quick Erase: Perform a Quick Erase reset for a regular hard reset, to get your device to wake up and respond again. This eliminates user information on the drive in such a way that there is no info available to anyone using the device. A Quick Erase reset takes approximately 5 minutes.
Secure Erase: Perform a Secure Erase reset if you are turning the device over to a new owner. A Secure Erase helps prevent your files from being restored or recompiled by a new owner who might remove the hard drive and use a drive reader to access your information. This completely deletes all user info on the drive. A Secure Erase reset takes about 30 minutes.
Note: If you use a password to protect your device, you must do a Secure Erase when you hard reset your device; the Quick Erase option does not appear on the reset screen.

1. Slide the power switch to the right and hold it in that position.
2. While holding the switch to the right, use the tip of the stylus (or a similar object without a sharp tip) to gently press and release the reset button on the bottom of your device.
3. Wait for the reset screen to appear (it will say "Warning, Erase all data?"). Then release the power switch.
4. Choose your type of reset:
   • Press Up on the 5-way navigator to perform a Quick Erase (5 minutes)
   • Press Down to perform a Secure Erase (30 minutes).
5. During the reset process, a status screen appears with the words "Quick Erase" or "Secure Erase" and a progress bar, followed by screens showing the Palm, Palm Powered and LifeDrive logos.
6. Then you will be prompted to tap the screen to align the digitizer and select the language you want to use on your device. A screen appears showing the Palm logo and a progress bar.
7. When the "Welcome: Setup your device" screen appears, the hard reset is complete. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your device.

I think you are being a little rash by jumping to get rid of it without even looking at information like this. But if you are determined to switch back to Palm Hotsync, I would completely uninstall TMS (it has an uninstaller, and there are also instructions on the Mark/Space site), delete your current install of Palm Desktop (set your User Data file aside first), and then reinstall Palm Desktop as root and restore your data file. There might be an easier way if you could locate the disabled conduits, such as by using the Find command (could they possibly be in /Library/Application Support/Palm Hotsync/Disabled Conduits/ by any chance?), but if you don't know what you're doing, and it kind of seems like you don't, I would probably recommend just starting fresh.

I think you are being a little rash by jumping to get rid of it without even looking at information like this. But if you are determined to switch back to Palm Hotsync, I would completely uninstall TMS (it has an uninstaller, and there are also instructions on the Mark/Space site), delete your current install of Palm Desktop (set your User Data file aside first), and then reinstall Palm Desktop as root and restore your data file. There might be an easier way if you could locate the disabled conduits, such as by using the Find command (could they possibly be in /Library/Application Support/Palm Hotsync/Disabled Conduits/ by any chance?), but if you don't know what you're doing, and it kind of seems like you don't, I would probably recommend just starting fresh.

Palms sold in Europe are mulitilingual. The ones sold in the U.S. are not.

tr3 files are desktop PC files, they must be converted to .pdb files by the TomeRaider desktop program. Changing the file extention does not convert the data to Palm format, it is still PC data.

tr3 files are desktop PC files, they must be converted to .pdb files by the TomeRaider desktop program. Changing the file extention does not convert the data to Palm format, it is still PC data.