When I try to run Bejeweled 2 I get an error message "997070"

All Palms have two types of memory, "Storage" (the memory in which all your programs are stored) and "Heap" memory, which is hidden from you by Palm OS because you normally never need to worry about it.

For a full description of heap memory and what it is, please refer to this knowledgebase article.

On the PalmOne Tungsten T, Tungsten T2 and Zire 71, the amount of heap memory available to the device is unfortunately very close to the amount Bejeweled 2 requires to run! While all three devices are more than capable of running the game, quite a few programs use the heap memory that should be available to the application even when they shouldn't.

A typical example of this sort of program is actually a custom "Launcher" program, such as MegaLauncher, ZLauncher, Launcher X, or Silver Screen. All three of these programs remain in heap memory even when an application is running, and in the case of Bejeweled 2 may be preventing you from running the game!

1. The first thing we suggest trying is to download and install Bejeweled 2 Lite instead. The "Lite" version of Bejeweled 2 includes all the gameplay and game modes of normal Bejeweled 2, but with slightly reduced sound effects and background graphics in order to reduce the memory required by the game. In particular, users with a PalmOne Zire 71, Tungsten T or Tungsten T2 are recommended to use this version, due to the the fact that those three devices are known to sometimes have difficulties finding enough free memory to run Bejeweled 2.

   Click here to download Bejeweled 2 Lite



2. The next thing to try if Bejeweled 2 Lite doesn't help, is always to exit from any launcher software you may be using, and try to run Bejeweled 2 from the "default" Palm interface. This helps solve the problem in quite a few cases!

There is another possible cause for this error message to occur, called "heap memory fragmentation", where the heap memory of your Palm is divided up into smaller and smaller chunks by various programs run on the Palm, until Bejeweled 2 cannot find a single large enough chunk of memory in which to load some of its (quite considerable) graphics.

3. If exiting from any launcher software did not work, we suggest that you try a "soft reset" of your Palm to get it to reorganise the heap memory of your Palm. A soft reset should not affect your data, but we always advise performing a HotSync or other backup first before doing one!

If those steps don't help, please read our other knowledgebase article on troubleshooting issues with heap memory, as it gives a few more pointers on other software to watch out for!

Finally, if you've tried everything and still aren't getting anywhere, contact us. We will need a description of the problem and what you have tried so far, and we'll do our best to help solve it! It may also help us to know which programs you have installed on your Palm, so we might need to ask for a complete list of the software you have installed to look for any potentially troublesome programs!

Please Note: As of version 1.2, Bejeweled 2 includes a screensaver mode with two options, "demo" and "screensaver". Screensaver mode is unavailable in Bejeweled 2 Lite, because the Lite version has had the backgrounds removed to reduce the file size and memory requirements.

You may also find help on this subject from other users on our forums, alternatively you can contact our support department via e-mail at support@astraware.com