Help! Categories messed up my iphone

[xfsasx]

well my phone wont even boot now!

wish i saw this thread before i installed

[BigBoss]

The problem I had was that I messed around with the configuration without really knowing what I was doing, and slid on the "Allow Hide Icons", which I read somewhere that you identified as a bug and turned it off as default.

This defaults to "ON" now. It has been stable for a couple weeks. Everyone I know is running it on.

Once that was on, and I did something else (cant remember, was half-asleep in bed... NOT a good idea!) then the screen went blank like the others described.

Again, were you running the latest version the whole time?

Anyway, here's my 'corrupted' M68AP.plist file if it helps you to further iron out bugs. My iPhone is a v1.1.1. http://pastebin.com/m7d449a82

Your display order file was unique. In the "hidden" section, you don't have any of the normal hidden apps such as field test and demo app. Instead of having an "array" after the "special" key, you have "array/". I'm not sure what could have caused that. But if the hidden section was empty, it could have been that way for a very long time without any ill side effects. I added to my plist validator routine to check for that so in the future, it would error out and not write your plist. Instead it would tell you that your file was corrupted and needed to be fixed first.

well my phone wont even boot now!

wish i saw this thread before i installed

This thread started a few weeks ago on the original version and all known issues have been since ironed out. Please identify what you mean by "won't even boot" and also what exactly you did. Remember in order to help you or to fix problems we need details beyond 'it doesnt work'. Also, if you can provide your display order file, your firmware version, if you're running a touch or a phone etc would be great.

[Rollwith]

well my phone wont even boot now!

wish i saw this thread before i installed

I too wished I also read this thread before installing Categories 1.52 that was in my Installer Categories called 'Recent Packages'. I wasted a hour coming up with a solution to fix the problem based on other posts of course. Copying 'plist' file solution didn't work for me.

MY STORY WITH THE 'CATEGORIES' App. - Jan. 8, 2008
I installed Categories and started by Adding a 'Games' folder like so many before have done. Only game apps were moved. Sure enough when I rebooted, all I get was only my wallpaper displaying without any of my icons. All gone!!! I only see the header with 'iPod', WiFi icon, time and battery icon on top.

I'm on 1.1.2.

Again it took some figuring out with help from prior posts but I managed to get back my icons and restored exactly before I installed Categories. There is more work to be done with this app.

This is what I did so I hope it helps anyone who's using a PC and firmware 1.1.2 . Must of you will know what to do without me even explaining with steps 4 and 5. Basically, use whatever SSH access to IPhone and run 'Installer' to uninstall 'Categories'.

1) Use WinSCP or whatever SSH program to get access to your iPhone / You need WiFi access.

2) You must first know what the IP address your iPhone is linked via your wireless router if you use one. I found this by logging into my router. It displayed it as 192.168.1.xxx.

3) With WinSCP, I supplied the IP found for the hostname, providing login: root and password: alpine (since I'm 1.1.2).

4) I located the Installer program located in the directory '/Applications/installer.app/installer and then executed it by highlighting it, right clicked, picked 'Customer Commands' and 'Execute'

5) You should see on your iPhone that the Installer program will be running. Once on the Installer main page use the 'Uninstall' button, locate the 'Categories' app and uninstall it.

6) When you reboot the iPhone, all your icons should be restored and luckily for me it came back to what it was before I even installed "Categories'

I'm going to wait quit a while before I reinstall the 'Categories' app again.

Good luck!

[BigBoss]

I too wished I also read this thread before installing Categories 1.52 that was in my Installer Categories called 'Recent Packages'. I wasted a hour coming up with a solution to fix the problem based on other posts of course. Copying 'plist' file solution didn't work for me.

You must have copied it incorrectly though because when you run the uninstall, the copied plist that is in /var/root/Library/Categories is copied back into place by the app called "remover" in /Applications/Categories.app folder. Unfortunately, without the corrupted plist file, there will be no way to investigate this. And since I cannot reproduce ....

[maxstock]

I wish I never had install this app. I installed the new version appearing today under Installer, Recent programs and it ruined my iPhone. The system freeze while I played with this program, I restarted the iPhone and now I have the 1.1.1 screen to restore my iphone!!. Never happened before with any other program.

Does this means I need to restore my iPhone?. There is no way I can access the iphone with Cyberduck or any other tool.

Any help will be appreciated.

Max.

[Exthero]

Most definitely the last app by this creator that i will install, don't get me wrong the idea was great, but obviously the coding was under "par".

[xfsasx]

i had to restore.

But for other people that might have this problem,

I installed categories and then made 3 groups and then named one Services, it said that there was already a folder with that name and then the program closed. So i then restarted the program and finished making categories and used Service, instead of Services. I then hit restart SB and it took me to one of the categories add screens and then froze. Then i tried to hold power and nothing so i held home and power and it rebooted and stayed on the apple logo for about an hour and did nothing. I then tried putting it in restore mode and it would just reboot but never go to restore mode. After about 30 reboots i put the phone in the dock to see if that helped and it would just stay on the apple logo and vibrate twice quickly every 30 secs or so and so i tried the put it in restore mode with the dock plugged into my computer and that seemed to get it to go into restore mode. I had a 1.1.1 phone using att. I now have 1.1.2 unjailbroken phone cause it wouldnt let me restore without updating so i think im gonna hold off unlocking to see what happens at macworld.

anything else needed just let me know

[BigBoss]

I wish I never had install this app. I installed the new version appearing today under Installer, Recent programs and it ruined my iPhone. The system freeze while I played with this program, I restarted the iPhone and now I have the 1.1.1 screen to restore my iphone!!. Never happened before with any other program.

Does this means I need to restore my iPhone?. There is no way I can access the iphone with Cyberduck or any other tool.

Any help will be appreciated.

I'm sorry but you really did not explain the problem in any manner that I can help. I need to know a lot more than "I played with the app and now I need to restore". If you can provide some specific details on what the problem is you're having, what exactly you did do, what you see now etc, then I'm sure we can help you. No one has ever had to restore.

Most definitely the last app by this creator that i will install, don't get me wrong the idea was great, but obviously the coding was under "par".

By all means do not install anything written by me. Did you have a problem with it? If so, you certainly didnt say what it was. It's not like I'm getting paid for this. What do I care if you install my stuff or not. By all means please don't.

I write the stuff I write for myself. I fix every problem that I can see. I cannot reproduce any problem that anyone here is describing. I've been using the app for 4 weeks. If people want the problems solved, I will need to have specifics. "It doesnt work" is really useless. I need a detailed description of what what happened, what you did exactly, and would be great to get a copy of your display order file. There's most likely one thing everyone that has a problem has in common, and that needs to be figured out.

[maxstock]

xfsasx,

You could had restore to system 1.1 downloading the 1.1 firmware (if your phone was under 1.1) (and then clicking "alt option" in Mac and you will be prompt to choose from your hard drive the 1.1 firmware. Clicking on restore will just update to latest firmware. I know you already update it but I said this in case other people visits here for help.

Going back to this problem, programs like this should not appear on installer. I created three single folders, none of them with strange names or anything and it just ruined everything.

I had to restore. What I did was to restore using firmware 1.1 (my phone was an unlocked phone under 1.1 (originally was a 1.0.2 but there is not need to go back to this). And then I follow the simple guide from http://iphone.unlock.no/ ("first by pass activation" and then the next step "unlock the sim". Always remember to install BSD susbsytem before using Any sim).

Luckily, my phone is ok now, I did a backup and reinstall applications again.

Never again install this app again.

I'm sorry but you really did not explain the problem in any manner that I can help. I need to know a lot more than "I played with the app and now I need to restore".

What I did was not rocket science. i created three folder, one call "games", then installed three games. Another folder call "Utilities", and installed 4 programs, last, a folder call "Various". Click "done", press "home" and my iPhone goes black, restarts by itself, and I got the 1.1 screens where you need to restore (the one with the iTunes icon and the white cable). As you can see, I was not doing anything strange with the app, just doing what is supposed to do.

What do I care if you install my stuff or not.

You don't need to provide an answer like this. If you don't care about other's peoples iPhones installing your app, so don't make it public. If I put something up, even if I do it for free or not, I will try to be responsible about it and avoid to unnecessary get get mad with people like us here trying to get some help.

No one has ever had to restore. .

Count me in please as the very first person then (and someone else here who has the same problem)

I know you are trying to help BigBoss but don't get mad with us who downloaded the software. Its a great app, it just needs some more work.

Max.

[Exthero]

maxstock and I are in the same boat, I did the exact same thing just had slightly different names; Games, Utilities and other where the cat names i did.

I too had to do a restore.

[sterickson]

Going back to this problem, programs like this should not appear on installer.

I added it to Installer after reading this entire thread. I saw that it has had issues. I also saw a developer who has been working hard to address every issue reported that he has been able to replicate. I also see a developer asking people to clearly detail what they did, so that he can attempt to replicate problems and fix them. He's doing everything he should.

I saw that the program improved substantially. I tested it on my 1.0.2 and 1.1.1 iPhones. I have not had any serious problems on either phone. If I had, I would not have made it available in my repository.

It was downloaded nearly 14,000 times yesterday. Neither the developer nor I have been flooded with email from people reporting problems such as these. Of course, that doesn't mean it is bug-free.

If you have a problem with the app, the very worst you'll have to do is restore your iPhone - which is NOT the end of the world, no matter what anyone says - but I don't believe that even that is really needed in most cases - just ssh in and fix it up, usually. If you don't want to install it again, fine. But leave the emotion out of your posts, folks. Either work with the dev to help him replicate and fix any problems or don't use the app, but people need to stop bashing him.

-ste

[xfsasx]

xfsasx,

You could had restore to system 1.1 downloading the 1.1 firmware (if your phone was under 1.1) (and then clicking "alt option" in Mac and you will be prompt to choose from your hard drive the 1.1 firmware. Clicking on restore will just update to latest firmware. I know you already update it but I said this in case other people visits here for help.

Oh i know how to do it, but i wasnt at home and had downloaded 1.1.2 already through itunes awhile back, and didn't have internet access to download 1.1.1. so i did the restore cause i absoluetly needed my phone to work. I'm just glad i had a backup from Dec. 20

[calciumlithium]

i'm on jailbreak 1.1.1 and after i installed the latest version of categories, my springboard is now messed up! the lock screen that usually displays the large font time and date/day settings is now missing the day text string.

what can i do to get it back?

also, how can i reset my display order of the icons on my home screen? i have since uninstalled categories.

Am highly disturbed by the missing day on my lock screen. HELP much appreciated!

[BigBoss]

also, how can i reset my display order of the icons on my home screen? i have since uninstalled categories.

You can install customize and reorder your icons. You installed categories v1.53 or v1.52? The "latest" version will be different based on the day that you installed. Categories 1.53 makes a backup of your display order *before* it does anything else the first time you run it. When you uninstall, this backup is restored so your display order should be exactly how it was before you installed the app.

Am highly disturbed by the missing day on my lock screen. HELP much appreciated!

I understand this is disturbing, but I am not sure how categories can be at fault with this one. It for sure does not mess with any of these sorts of files. The only file is messes with is the display order file and its own files in its own directories. I asked other developers and no one knows which file this is to edit or change. I'm sorry I am not sure how to fix that problem without a restore

i'm on jailbreak 1.1.1 and after i installed the latest version of categories, my springboard is now messed up!

Was anything else messed up besides the time/date? Like the icons? (The icons being gone can be fault of the app)

[gottabeandrew]

Ok, i've just installed this on my iPod Touch, version 1.1.2. I moved all of the icons (i thought) into folders then all of the icons dissapeared. I'm only left with Videos and Photos.

Now please, no bulling, is there a way to get all my icons back or will i just have to restore my iPod Touch? Damn, i really wish i had seen this before i installed it.

I have iPhoneBrowser on my computer, can i do anything with that?

Thanks.

[aahandagr8]

Most definitely the last app by this creator that i will install, don't get me wrong the idea was great, but obviously the coding was under "par".

I understand that everyone's upset about their iPhone getting hung, but don't make such comments about the developer.

-He didn't force you to install it.
-Its not as if its on a community source. It was on his source all this while. You added his source at your own risk.

Also, I'd like to bring people's attention to the tremendous effort BigBoss has put in this. He's released 8 updates in the past week. The changelog proves my point. This just proves how hard he has been trying to make the app more efficient and bug-free.

--------------------------------------------

I'm running Categories v1.53 on my 1.1.2 iPhone. Its working fine. My categories are proper...there aren't any bugs. I think its maybe because I haven't made any new categories since 1.31...but still, I'd like to say, its a job well done.

[gottabeandrew]

I downloaded it from installer.app.

[BigBoss]

k, i've just installed this on my iPod Touch, version 1.1.2. I moved all of the icons (i thought) into folders then all of the icons dissapeared. I'm only left with Videos and Photos.

Now please, no bulling, is there a way to get all my icons back or will i just have to restore my iPod Touch? Damn, i really wish i had seen this before i installed it.

I have iPhoneBrowser on my computer, can i do anything with that?

If you still see *any* icons at all, then your display list is not corrupted and it is just that you moved everything somehow into categories including the category apps into each other. This is not the dreaded bug that was being reported, although the effect is about the same. If you have iphonebrowser installed copy /var/root/Library/Categories/N45AP.plist to /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app overwriting the one in that folder. Restart your phone and you should have your original display back. Re-set up your categories the way you want again. If you need more help fire me off an email at mark_mon at verizon dot net.

I understand that everyone's upset about their iPhone getting hung, but don't make such comments about the developer.

Thank you.

[aahandagr8]

You're welcome.

I feel that what people don't see here is the effort you've put in to try to make Categories a better app. Whenever I start Installer everyday, the first thing I see that there's an update for Categories. I think that no developer has ever put so much effort in one app as you have. Hats off to you for that.

[gottabeandrew]

If you still see *any* icons at all, then your display list is not corrupted and it is just that you moved everything somehow into categories including the category apps into each other. This is not the dreaded bug that was being reported, although the effect is about the same. If you have iphonebrowser installed copy /var/root/Library/Categories/N45AP.plist to /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app overwriting the one in that folder. Restart your phone and you should have your original display back. Re-set up your categories the way you want again. If you need more help fire me off an email at mark_mon at verizon dot net.

Thank you.

Thanks man! It's back!

And yes, i'm against the "hate the developer" thing. It'd be ok if you just released it and kept it out with no updates or help or anything and nobody ever heard from you again but since you're constantly helping people out (i only posted here cause i thought you would be likely to help me out) and releasing new versions, i couldn't say that at all.

Ok, now what happens is everythings back and all the categories work and everythings displaying on the main screen BUT when i click on "categories", it just shows a black screen with the usual time and connection status at the top. The only way to get out of this is completely turning off the ipod and turning it back on again.

How can i fix this?