OK. couple of questions to recap... - When/How did when all this start? - Other than the most recent 'invalid argument', what are the symptoms? i.e. What are the error messages and where/when do they occur? If the problems can't be diagnosed/rectified, it's not the end of the world but you might need to resort to Space Oddessy 2001! In which case, the bad news is that if the problems exist in /home/user/MyDocs, then you need to reflash the eMMC as well as the kernel. Uugghh! The good news is that it is highly likely that you will be able to extract most data from your phone to a pc, when the device is connected in Mass Storage Mode and I think pc suite can extract texts as well as contacts and diary items. Backing up is tiresome but the result of a full flash is a fresh new device (so long as you do it right!). Edit: Regarding Mass storage mode seeing just the sd card and not the N900 itself: Removing the sd card before plugging in the usb cable resolved it for me.