[weedahoe]

You do not have to hard reset to get into BL mode and there is no other way to know other than to go into to BL mode. Getting into BL mode does not force you to load anything and you can get out of BL simply by pressing the reset button with your stylus.

Remember to get into BL mode (since you say its been 3 yrs) you have to press both soft keys (minus keys) and hold them while pressing the reset button.