Your Pocket PC has been made very friendly in synchronizing with your desktop pc. However, we find many having troubles in synchronizing, including us actually. A simple sollution we strongly recommend is to use the same version of Active Sync that was originally shipped in the cd with your pocket pc device. Proceed to upgrades only if you require any new feature in it, else downgrading is also not as easy as upgrade!

The way Active Sync work has been changed in 3.x and 4.x versions. Activesync 4.x is required if you have a Windows Mobile 5 (WM5) 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.

The following are some fixes for several common problems

Trashing the .PST File Alternatives

With any search for Activesync solutions, repairing or replacing the Outlook ".PST" file seems to top the list of fixes, but I beg to differ that it is unlikely to be the cause of the problem in a high percentage of the cases. 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 fix them.

Reusing the Original Device Name

When you re-establish a "partnership" between your device and ActiveSync, it will refuse to allow you to use the same device name because it feels that this new relationship is with a different device and it is needlessly protecting the assets of the old device. 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

Those Unresolved Items

This happens on the PIM database items such as contacts and events as well. In the past, I have also noted that on pim items, that I have, on occasion, seen the name of the contact or appointment that was causing the problem, but never known why the item id was not consistantly presented.

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 should probably solve the issue. 

Getting connected

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.

USB Connecting problems

There are constant reports of inconsistant USB connect problems with all of the PocketPCs.  From my observations of a number of my own connect problems, I have concluded that information specifying exactly which USB port was used for the initial sync connection is referenced in subsequent sync connections, so, as long as the USB connector stays in or is always plugged into exactly the same USB port, there will be no problems.

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.

Kill WCESCOM

It's hard for me to understand a programmer or company that feels that they have to take such absolute control of user's systems that they refuse to allow users the option to control when and how their software loads and consumes resources that the user has purchased with their own money.  Activesync is a prime example of such programming arrogance in that it goes well beyond the arrogance of most other offensive programs.

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.

Note... the following involves registry edits and batch files... if you are one of the many who are not comfortable in such territory

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.

XP has a dos utility named TASKKILL that allows you to kill current tasks from the dos command line.

taskkill /IM WCESCOMM.EXE
or
taskkill /IM WCESCOM*

With "TASKILL" 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.

Stopping WM5 Async 4.x' Five min sync interval and constant wakeups

There are some frustrating behavioural problems with Activesync 4.x and since it's new, approaches to deal with 4.x's specific problems are still evolving... the following two approaches deal with two different needs... first, throttling 4.x's insitance to sync constantly which is not only unnecessary in most cases, it robs the sync computer of valuable resources neeeded for other apps and tasks... second, connecting a device in need of a charge triggers it to "turn on" even if turned off... not only irritating, but, since juice from a USB connection is limited, it significantly extends the time needed to charge the device.

Restoring manual sync option

Use Regedit and find the key;

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

Controlling manual SYnc in WM5

With the device connected, open network connections, rightclick the Windows Mobile Devices icon and create a desktop shortcut.

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 

    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
    PnPlay bongs occur at random (turn them off)

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 still connected to the PC.

If you still have any more troubles, address it in our forums and we will help you out.

Finally, a special thank to Bev and Rebecca for providing these great Tips.