To clarify what the command does I'll try to explain it piece by piece here...

tar is the command (actually short for Tape ARchiver originally used to backup/restore to/from tapes).

xzf are options:
x for extract (unpack).
z filters the archive through gzip (filename ends in .gz because it's gzipped).
f for file (Could also be a device. A tape drive for example). In this case the filename is modest-3.4.2-baxyp-1.tar.gz.

-C / means Change directory to / before extracting (otherwise the contents would be extracted to current directory. I.e. where you are now).

Put it all together and it gives You:
For almost any command on Linux You can write --help after the command to see the options... Like this:

ok guys, noob question

I've rooted my device, downloaded the file and placed it in the "highest" location I can (where all the main folders are), entered the code into terminal but it comes up with "tar: can't open '...':no such file or directory". So a little confused on what to do...any help?

Make sure you are in the same directory where you copied the .tar.gz file. Type ls in terminal window, to see the files in current directory. Type pwd to display the path of the current directory. Use cd to change current directory.

It doesn't matter where You place the .tar.gz file as long as You use the -C option (read what I wrote above)...

As baxyp says, just make sure You're in the same location as the file when running the tar command (or use /path/to/filename instead of just filename).

It's probably in MyDocs then... Run this:

I had to do a bit of searching because I ran into trouble following the instructions. I thought I would post what I found in case others are having trouble.

When I put in sudo gainroot I got a message that said, “Enable RD mode if you want to break your phone.” After further research I found out you have to have “rootsh” installed from the Application Manager before the sudo gainroot command will work. After I installed rootsh I tried installing.

For installation I followed these instructions (including having to install mc) from ceroberts75 on the Nokia forum: the direct link to the thread is http://discussions.europe.nokia.com/...il/m-p/731938#

"once you download the file. save it to your main memory.

then, open xterm

sudo gainroot

mc

(midnight commander will open) ---if you dont have midnight commander then type: apt-get install mc

then on the left, you will automatically be in the user/home directory, go the right window (just tap on it) and scroll down to "MyDocs" and hit enter, then scroll down until you see the modest-3.4.2-baxyp-1.tar.gz file. tap on it once to highlight it.

then tap on "copy" at the bottom right and then "ok" to allow it to copy it over to the user/home directory.

close mc

open xterm

sudo gainroot

you will see the directory go to user/home

then copy this code in: tar xzf modest-3.4.2-baxyp-1.tar.gz -C /

after you put it in, and hit enter, it should look like this on your screen:

user/home: tar xzf modest-3.4.2-baxyp-1.tar.gz -C /
user/home:

then close xterm

reboot your phone

you will notice that your pop email and even the imap is much faster at rendering and actually seems to cache the email instead of constantly having to repopulate it every time.

he said that instead of it syncing 3 times everytime you check your email, it is syncing only 1 time, making it faster. my guess is that since it is doing 1/3 the work that the battery should be slightly better too.

this is process i had to do it with as even in root, it would not find the package unless i moved it first.

this package is also supposed to make the sms better, but i didnt have any issues with sms other then the length of time to load the contacts after pressing "to" so i have not noticed any difference.

hope that helps."

The above instructions worked for me… I am very grateful I have any incoming POP3 mail because I had none. Days would pass with my N900 updating nothing for POP3. Thanks to the creator of the fix and to ceroberts 75 for his detailed instructions!

My “wish” for mail in the future – when my other smartphones pull mail from Yahoo they don’t make Yahoo’s server “unavailable” for about 4 minutes. The N900 does. Hopefully that will be fixed in the future…

Sandy

I lost something after the fix. In settings I have "Leave messages on server" which it did. But when I decided to delete a message it would then delete from the server. That feature is no longer working after the fix...

Clearly I would rather have incoming mail than the ability to delete from server... but I wanted to mention it anyway.

Sandy

The "feature" you think you lost was infact a critical bug.

Alot of people have lost emails as a result of this bug, me included. It was quickly sorted by Nokia. This version has that bug fixed, plus how it checks for emails, as the automatic checking failed.

If you only ever check emails on the phone the don't select "Leave messages on server" then each time you check for emails they will be transfered to the phone and removed from the server.

Alot of people want a record of all their emails on their PCs, but will normaly view them on there phone, then delete them after reading knowing that they still would end up on their PCs. This wasn't happening.

I think mine was doing something else...

Before this fix the mail would show up on the N900 as well as the computer (because I had "Leave on server" selected.) Just like it should. If I then deleted the email from the N900 it took it off the server (Yahoo to be more specific,) only from the Inbox as we are talking about POP3.

In other words it was doing what Outlook does - pulling mail, then deleting off server (Yahoo) when deleted from Outlook - which is in Advanced Settings in Outlook.

I was surprised I had that feature from the N900 - but I did. It's a very nice feature to have. That left after this fix... bu as I said above, it's more important I have incoming mail automatically.

What is proving to be a real bummer - the server "take out" issue caused by the N900. - it makes Hotmail/Yahoo"unavailable" (not Gmail)... and if you try to access your mailbox via the web you can't for several minutes (up to 5.) In turn it affects Outlook, if you have Yahoo/Hotmail through Outlook (which can crash if you decide to pull mail when it's unavailable) and the Blackberry can't pull anything either. It's making things harder...

Sandy

Thanks for this....performance certainly seems to have improved....I can access my mails a lot faster.

After further thought I realize what I call a "feature" you call a "bug."

In other words... nobody like it. I did though.

So "Leave on the server" means the mail will ALWAYS remain on the server whether you delete it from the N900 or not.

I wanted it to be left on the server when pulled onto the N900 - but then I want it deleted from the server when I delete from the N900.

Really, most 3rd party email clients have the ability to delete from server - Outlook, Windows Mail, the Blackberry... it's usually in settings. I have attached a printscreen of Outlook settings. On the Blackberry it asks you if you would like to delete the email from "Handheld" or "Handheld and Mailbox" - the "mailbox" being the server.

I liked that feature - it would be nice if their was a further option to enable it...

Sandy