First!
I have finally given up on activesync and no longer use it plus have
no
plans to ever install Vista, so, I have, and will have, zero
information on WMDC... which appears to be even worse than
activesync... (would have never thought that was possible)
ActiveSync Alternatives???!!!
I have just finished transferring all of my contacts and calendar to
Google and I am now using Google's
free microsoft exchange sync.
It's not perfect, but it is transparent and trouble free, plus, much
more reliable than Async or wmdc. Two major considerations;
Don't expect help from google... however, I have posted extensive
notes from my research and experiments on setting up and using google
sync at http://BevHoward.com/GoogleSync.htm
So!
In it's questionable wisdom, microsoft has killed it's best source of
tech support by shutting down all of it's public NNTP newsgroup forums (summer
of 2010.) Since the web interface that has
replaced these forums is excellent and squandering the time that
regular responders need to post help and suggestions to user questions
posed about windows mobile, I'm fresh out of suggestions on where to go
for help... if you find a good forum, especially if it's an nntp forum,
drop
me an email.
There is now a Microsoft NewsGroup "web interface" web based interface, but my experience with it is that I am too dumb to use it.
Please!
Don't email me asking about activesync as the only advice I have to
give any longer is to find a good windows mobile help forum... praise,
on the other
hand is always welcome ;-)
There are, however, a number of other ActiveSync problems and issues and I am really a victim rather than a rescuer in this arena. Activesync is exceptionally terrible, poorly managed software which MS has refused to addressed and allowed it to become the Achillies Heel for the entire mobile platform.
On every release of activesync since the original PPC was introduced, people installing the latest version of simply to "have the latest version" in turn generate a huge amount of problem postings, often with no option to revert to the earlier version which may not be a simple process.
The result of almost a decade of experience with WinCE devices, I _strongly_ recommend to any and all users that they _only_ install the activesync version that shipped with their device and upgrade Activesync only if they are having a specific problem which that upgrade has specifically addressed.
Activesync 4.x is a completely different animal from 3.x versions of activesync and is required if you have a Windows Mobile 5 (WM5) or above device.
If you have devices running 2003se or earlier ppc os' you should NOT upgrade activesync to version 4.1!!! Version 4 drops a number of features available in 3.x versions (such as the ability to sync via wifi) and uses none of the new connectivity methods to connect non WM5 devices. At the time of this writing, the best place for AS 4.x problems is the Microsoft Public Activesync forum and Chris DeHerra's site FAQs. Google Groups offers good simple web access to the Microsoft Public group at http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.pocketpc?hl=en
Note, also, if you install Activesync 4.x over
3.x,
you cannot revert to 3.x without manually deleting dll files and making
registry modifications... details on doing so can be found on Chris'
site.
Also, might try technet
sysinternals for some additional suggestions pn killing the ASync
processes.
Still got problems? Do asearch
for POCKETPC ACTIVESYNC TROUBLE (just click that Google logo) to find
most
of the currently available knowledge and solutions.
imho, Chris DeHerra's site at www.pocketpcfaq.com
(formerly WindowsCE.net) contains the most accurate information, but,
there
is so much there, it may take a while to uncover your specific
solution.
I feel very strongly that Microsoft has failed in their responsibility to address the significant problems that do exist in this critical software, but feel even more that they should release information that would allow skilled individuals or third party developers to create solutions and tools at no cost to Microsoft... it's been over three years and no appreciable help has been forthcoming.
The following are some personal thoughts on addressing several very
sticky problems;
It is a good time burning exercise that will succeed in frustrating a high percentage of the users to the point where they will go away and never come back... in other words, a true tool of tody's tech support phone agent.
A gentler attempt is to use Outlook's well hidden "Detect and Repair" You'd think it would be under the "tools" menu, but, no, it's found under the "Help" menu.
At one point, I simply quit syncing because I could not get the process to work at all... I tried everything including complete uninstall and reinstalls of Outlook and ActiveSync and even threw in a cold boot of the Jornada... but, nada.
Finally, saw a post on the newsgroup about the file mapi32.dll
I did a search for mapi32.dll and found not one, but three copies on my PC, all with different dates and file sizes. Per the posting instructions, I renamed all of them and restarted Outlook which promptly informed me that there was a problem and it could fix it... I said yes, and while significant sync problems that had developed over the months that I was unable to sync remained, I was finally at a point where I could begin to address and fix them.
Recently (May 04) Peter Corry added more information about dealing with this nagging problem if you are running Eudora.
"Every time Eudora runs, it replaces the mapi32.dll file to its own, so my "detect and repair" of Outlook 2002 and the extraction of the original system file gets overwritten."
"The simple solution for Eudora users using ActiveSync, go to Eudora's Tools_Options_MAPI dialog box, and change the MAPI setting to "Never". Eudora replaces the mapi32.dll file with the Windows original and ActiveSync works fine." For more info from Eudora click here
The solution is to manually purge all references to the old device that exist on the PC, so start by;
Delete the desktop folder shortcut that Activesync created for the original partnership
Move or remove the folder that the shortcut pointed to
Assure that your PC's file explorer is set to view "hidden files"
Search for the "device name" and remove the backup folder that bears that name
So you have done everything possible and finally decided that the "Disconnect and Reconnect..." message was composed by a programmer who didn't have a clue and had not received nearly enough dope slaps, then;
back up
sync to point of only "Unresolved Items"
remaining
disconnect
Activesync/options/rules/always replace items on this computer
connect/sync
resolve items
While in one test it took a couple of syncs+resolve item attempts, I finally got a textbox that included the name of the file that could not be resolved.
When I looked for the file that was named, I found it on the pc but not the ppc, so I moved the file outside of the PC's sync folder, then synced again and the unresolved message disappeared.
Important!!! immediately reset as/options/rules/ to "ask me"
Finally, if you need that file, put it back in the sync folder and sync again.
The above appears to be a reasonably reliable way to quickly pinpoint unresolved items without manipulating all items which is another option... specifically remove all of the items int the PPC's storage memory "My Documents" folder and the folder pointed to by the destop shortcut that ActiveSync creates when it establishes a partnership, then re-sync.
Once you re-sync, then replace the folder contents on either the PC or the PPC and re-sync again.
This is doubly strange as I have yet to find any way to access a Notes (.pwi) file on the PC using any app including Outlook.
First, assure that the notes you are maintaining on the PocketPC are in RAM and not stored on a memory card... those that are not in RAM will sport a tiny image of a diskette on their icons. If they are on the card unintentionally, notes/tools/options has the ability to set the default storage location for new notes.
When I ended up with an ActiveSync that refused to sync notes after a cold boot, my solution to this was to remove (move them to a backup location or delete them) all of the Notes Files.
Move them completely out of the two "My Documents" folders on both the PC and PPC. Don't put them in lower level "My Documents" folders either, as these folders sync even though you can't see them in most PPC apps.
Sync and Disconnect with no notes files and confirm.
Create a dummy note in Outlook on the PC
Open activesync and see if you can re-check the Notes sync
If so, sync again.
Once Notes sync is re-established, you should be able to move the Notes files back _on the PPC only_ and sync again.
While it is normally not an issue with the notes sync process, alsot check the forms installation to assure that that is not an issue.
Fortunately the solution to this one is simple... To read ink and
voice
notes on Outlook, you need to install the
corresponding forms, by simply running the exectuable file
"forminst.exe"
that can be found in your ActiveSync installation folder.
The incorrect files are WCEUSBSH.INF and (for XP) WCEUSBSH.CAT. Do a search on the CD that came with your device for files with the above names, then search for files with the same names on your hard drive.
If the files on your hard drive are different (different size or date) move or rename them and copy the files from the CD to the same directory.
If simply replacing them does not fix the problem, with the device connected, open the PC's device manager, find the PocketPC entry and remove it, the disconnect the PocketPC, power it down and reconnect it... and keep your fingers crossed... we all assume that this one will be a short term problem, but until it has been addressed... ;-/
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows CE Services\AutoStartOnConnect
You have heard it before, but when you are trying to pin down elusive problems, always begin with a clean slate by doing a "soft reset" on your PocketPC before you begin any diagnosis.
On the PC, open ActiveSync, then click File/Connection
Settings.
Make sure that your method of connection is checked.
Then click the "Get Connected" button. Once it finishes it shows a report that contains enough information on where you need to look for the problem.
In this report snippet, "Not Available" indicates that COM1 is being used by another program. In many cases other programs such as cellphone or pager utilities that use serial connections may have the port open without your knowledge... even if you never used them, so the solution is to track down what else is using the com port and shut that program down in order to connect using activesync.
If you were connected to COM2 in the above case and couldn't connect, one possibility is a bad cable or even a bad serial port in the PC. Here's a tip... get ready to run "get connected" with your PPC disconnected and turned off. Just before you start "get connected" connect the PocketPC to COM2... it should turn on and display a connection dialogue... if not, you have a hardware problem somewhere and it could be the cable, wrong connector, a PC or PPC serial hardware problem. Before giving up, soft reset the PPC and give it one more shot.
The "Not Installed" message is applicable to other ports as well... the IR result message shown above indicates that the PC either doesn't have that port or doesn't believe that the port exists. If you know that the port exists, you may have to turn it on in your PC's bios, and you may have to prod the computer into "finding" the port by running "Add New Hardware" in the control panel and get the PC to search itself again.
Note that there is no reference to attempting a Network connection. Network Sync connections must always be initiated manually on the PPC and ActiveSync will never try to initiate a network connection from it's end.
However, if the sync cable is plugged into a different USB port on the PC or the hub that was used initially, or if a hub is plugged into the PC port that was used and the connection made through a hub, the problems arise. It would be my guess that Activesync "sees" the connect on the new port, but attempts to communicate out through the original port, not only precluding a successful connect, but potentially disrupting any device that is now connected to that original port.
The solution is to;
Connect PPC and confirm that it is on.
Open the PC's "device manager"
Find the PPC device
Remove that device.
Disconnect the PPC
Turn PPC OFF
Reconnect the PPC
Assure that the PPC is always connected to the same port in the future.
On the PC...
In some cases, the IR port may have to be turned on in the laptop's bios.
Check the Device Manager, find the IR port and confirm that it is "working properly."
IRDA has to be up and running on the Laptop (Icon's in the systray and there is no "X" showing) Go to START/CONTROL_PANEL/INFRARED and activate it with the defaults.
On the PocketPC...
Make all attempts with the PocketPC and PC's IR ports pointed directly at each other and less that 3 inches apart.
Activate some type of IR action such as sending a file with IR from Explorer and put the ports together and confirm that the laptop "see's" the CE device by checking the IR icon in the systray. If not, this must be resolved before going any further!
Next, start the PocketPC and select the Start/Connections/"IR ActiveSync" icon (2000) or "Tools/Connect Via IR" (2002)
Immediately power down the CE device and place it on the desk with the PPC's IR port aimed directly at the laptop's IR port, no more than a couple of inches apart. (we are not ready to begin until the following steps are taken on the PC)
On the PC...
Start ActiveSync on the Laptop and go to
file/connection
settings, confirm that the "Com" box is checked.
Click on "Get connected" When the
process
finishes, check the result dialogue and confirm that the IR port was
available.
If the IR port reports "Not Installed" or "Not Available" the problem
is
on the PC and needs to be resolved before continuing. Again,
there
are a whole series of reasons why IR might not work on the PC side,
from
not existing to the port being used by another app that you don't even
know is running, so, until this screen shows IR as "Available"
concentrate
your efforts on the Laptop/PC.
Once the "Get Connected" result shows IR as "Available," it's time to power up the CE device, confirm that it is attempting a connect and at the same time click the "Retry" button on the "Get Connected" results screen. If the connect fails, immediately click the "Retry" button once more in case the attempts were "out of sync."
The reason for the "power up" on the PPC, on startup, the OS checks to see if an ActiveSync "connection" is occuring, and since you previously selected IR, the AS process on the PPC will attempt an IR connection.
Once the first IR sync is achieved, you should
be able to simply select "IR Sync" on the CE device and put it near the
IR port on the laptop for future connects.
Move the file to the sync folder
Right click on the file
Create a Shortcut
Move the shortcut to the folder where you needed the
file to be
Name it the same as the file
It will show up as a file in apps such as Word and Excel and can be
opened and edited as if it were a file.
First, know that you can use <Ctrl-Alt-Del> to bring up the current tasks at any time and "End Task" the Activesync module in memory named WCESCOMM at any time that the pocket pc is not connected without doing any damage. Depending on your system, this action may make a significant improvement on your available system resources, in particular on any other comm port app that you may need to run. To reload the module, simply click on the "Activesync" icon that was installed on your desktop... or, reboot your computer. This information has an extra added benefit if you use a USB connection in that it will "clear" a current session and allow you to reconnect your device without rebooting.
If you are familiar with MSCONFIG, you may have already discovered
that
even if you "uncheck" the Activesync entry in the startup options, it
will
re-appear the next time you reboot. Actually, it will appear
before
you reboot. Every time any sync action, including the
installation
of third party PocketPC software, is run activesync generates a
registry
entry that absolutely assures that it will load and run every time the
computer is started.
With the advent of ASync 4.x, Microsoft has brought Windows Media Player into this fray.
Installing Activesync 4.x "Patches" WMP10 to automatically launch
Activesync if it is not already running when WMP starts. With
WMP10, you can download and reinstall media player to get rid of the
patch, but WMP11 has it built in, so there are no options to prevent
this behaviour.
Note... the following involves registry edits and batch files... if you are one of the many who are not comfortable in such territory, take a look at the prepackaged options available such as ASToggle. (At the time of this writing, if you are using AS4.x, you will need the "beta" version of ASToggle)
Run REGEDIT then find the key and value;
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"H/PC Connection Agent"=""
and edit the value so that the string is empty as above.
Export the above key and name it something like "KILL_ASync.reg"
Put it in the DESKTOP directory. When you double click on this .reg file, it will remove the registry entry generated by Activesync... but, remember, the next time Activesync is run, the entry will be re-created.
You can polish the exectuion of this registry file by creating a shortcut to it that reads something like;
C:\WINDOWS\REGEDIT.EXE /s C:\windows\desktop\Kill_ASync.reg
and it will execute without asking you if it's ok to revise the registry.
Finally, if you are one of those computer users who has sufficient intelligence to click the Activesync icon when you need it, make a copy of this shortcut and place it in your "StartUp" folder... it won't get the next session, but it will stop subsequent sessions until you run Activesync again.
onward... XP has a dos utility named TASKKILL that allows you to kill current tasks from the dos command line.
TASKKILL /IM WCESCOMM.EXE
With "TASKKILL" you can also create a batch file that will both kill the current process and fix the registry so that activesync will not reload on the next reboot
======step 1======
Export the "KILL_ASync.reg" registry file as shown above
=======step 2======
create a "batch" file containing;
taskkill /IM WCESCOMM.EXE
taskkill /IM rapimgr.EXE
rem the rapimger line takes care of AS 4.x as well... won't hurt if
you are running 3.x
C:\WINDOWS\regedit.exe /s C:\<path>\KILL_ASync.reg
exit
======step 3=====
place the batch file on your desktop or create a shortcut to the batch
file on your desktop so that it is easy to run.
Still got problems? Hit Google using the words POCKETPC and
ACTIVESYNC
to expose a raft of other sites that attempt to deal with Activesync's
failings... imho, Chris DeHerra's site at www.pocketpcfaq.com
(formerly WindowsCE.net) contains the most accurate information, but,
there
is so much there, it may take a while to uncover it.
For some reason, I am finding that I have to run the above batch
file
twice to have it take effect... pretty hardheaded. In addition,
even
if you don't connect a device, I have found that there are other events
that will reload activesync without your knowledge or consent, so, if
your
system "slugs out" for no apparent reason, open taskmanager and check
for
WCESCOMM's reappearance. Opening Windows Media Player or other
programs
such as Audible manager which use the AS pipe will reload Activesync as
well.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows CE Services\Partners\**********\Services\Synchronization
Set the following values correspond to 0 in hexadecimal value.
- Continuously Update
- Update on docking
Thanks and a tip of the hat to Raj Pillai MS MVP - Mobile Devices for this find.
Once this desktop shortcut is on your pc, you can <right-click> it and select "Disable" which will break the activesync connection _until you re-enable it!_ (remember to check this setting before you post that you can't sync)
When the RAPI network connection is set to DISABLE, it will stop AS4's insistant syncing... however, the following facts should be read and understood before you elect to use this approach;
If RAPI connection is "Enabled"
device syncs every 5 min
device charges
device will turn itself on if turned off
If RAPI connection is "Disabled" and
PPC
is "ON"
device stops syncing
device does not
charge (a penalty fee? ;-)
suggestion... set "on external power" setting
to "power off" at 10min to prevent
a dead ppc
If RAPI connection is "Disabled" and
PPC
is "OFF"
device stops syncing
device charges
PlugNPlay bongs occur at random (turn them off...
see below)
Again, the emphasize, it looks to me that in the case of the second senario above, it is possible that a WM5 could completely discharge the battery while connected to the Sync PC