Category: Projects Related to Palm OS PDAs

How to rescue a LifeDrive by replacing a dead MicroDrive

Published on: 2022-05-06

The Palm LifeDrive, also known as "Mobile Manager," is the only Palm PDA with an actual hard disk drive. This has the advantage of (for the time) massive storage capacity, but also some downsides. The drive is very slow, and since the OS itself is stored on the drive, every task (e.g., starting an application) can take quite some time. Additionally, the drive has moving parts, so over time, it can crash.

A broken MicroDrive does not mean a dead LifeDrive. Of course, the data is lost if no backup was created, but the device itself can be repaired.

A LifeDrive can be equipped with a CF-Card. This tutorial describes how to do this with a working LifeDrive. However, this tutorial is about repairing a broken one.

For the repair, some parts are necessary:

You can find a list of compatible cards here.

If you know how to use "dd," you can save some time and continue with the "short version" of the tutorial. Otherwise, the short version is followed by a longer version with more steps.

Short version

  1. Unzip the file from the link above and run these commands:
  2. dd if=table.sct of=/dev/sdc conv=notrunc
  3. dd if=rom-partition of=/dev/sdc seek=134079 bs=512

(Replace “/dev/sdc” with your CF device.)
Place the newly flashed CF-Card in your device, and you are done.

Long version

  1. Boot up your favorite Linux distribution, e.g., Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 64-bit. (A VM should work, too.)
  2. Insert the CF-Card you want to flash into your computer.
  3. Find the CF-Card device with the "lsblk" command (just run it in a terminal). The easiest way to identify the CF device in the "lsblk" list is to compare the size. The name is e.g., "sdc," but we need the complete path, which is always "/dev/sdc". (It can be "/dev/sdb," "/dev/sdd," etc., in your case.)
  4. Unzip the file from palmdb.net and navigate in the terminal to it. (e.g., "cd ~/Downloads/ && unzip lifedrive_rescue_for_crashed_MicroDrive.zip && cd lifedrive_rescue_for_crashed_MicroDrive" – You may need to change the "Downloads" directory to "Desktop" or something else, depending on where you downloaded the zip file. The “~” is a shortcut for your home directory: “/home/<USERNAME>/,” where your Desktop, Downloads, and Documents folders are stored.)
  5. Now, run "ls -la" to make sure that the files "rom-partition" and "table.sct" are shown.
  6. Run this command first: 
    dd if=table.sct of=/dev/sdc conv=notrunc
    Replace "/dev/sdc" with your CF-Card/MicroDrive device from step 3. If the command does not work, write "sudo" before it: "sudo dd if=..." and enter your root password, which you defined during the Linux installation.
  7. Wait until the command has finished.
  8. Run this command next: 
    dd if=rom-partition of=/dev/sdc seek=134079 bs=512
    Again, replace "/dev/sdc" with your CF-Card/MicroDrive device from step 3. If the command does not work, write "sudo" before it: "sudo dd if=..." and enter your root password, which you defined during the Linux installation.
  9. Wait until the command has finished.
  10. Shut down your Linux machine with 
    sudo shutdown -h now
    (It is easier than unmounting and ejecting the CF-Card.)
  11. Or you can execute "sync" in the terminal, wait for the prompt to return, and then remove the CF-Card. (Thanks to FennecTECH from Discord for this hint.)
  12. Connect the CF-Card to your LifeDrive and be careful with the MD-Connector in the LifeDrive, it can be very fragile!
  13. The last step is, of course, to power the LifeDrive on. It should boot without problems. If not, check if the CF-Card is supported and the connector cable is not damaged.

In the end, you should have a working LifeDrive. Since the CF-Card has no moving parts, it should last longer than the MicroDrive. Also, it provides better performance and consumes less power, which means better battery life.

This article is also hosted on PalmDB. Big thanks to PalmDB for hosting the needed files and a copy of this article!