Shrink

Hi folks - i've posted this problem in a couple of other threads and have read every thread I could find about Activesync problems but no solution has worked. I've owned Pocket PC's for past 3 years so they are in no means new to me and I have never had this problem with any of the Jornadas I owned before. I am at the point where I am wondering whether it is a hardware problem related to my cradle or possibly to the Axim Advanced I have. Here's the problem:

Symptom: When I use the USB cradle connected to any of the USB ports on my computer (using an Asus P4PE mobo) and synchronize the Axim after a hard reset, it synchronizes just fine. However, after a couple of days of constant use, installation of programs (though no particular program install seems to trigger the problem), it suddenly stops synchronizing. During that time I have soft reset it a few times as I install stuff. I plug the Axim into the cradle, Activestink says Connected, I hear the pleasant trill of the Axim connecting and my computer responding in kind, then the sound of the Axim disconnecting, and I briefly see Connection Error in the Activestink window. Occasionally killing the activesync process or restarting the computer (in addition to soft resetting the Ax) will fix the problem and the device will synchronize once, maybe twice, but then the same problem is exhibited.

The Axim works without problem with a serial cradle on my computer at the office.

The Axim synchronizes at home without fail when I use my WiFi card. Just not the USB cradle. As I said, changing USB ports doesn't work.

What I have tried:

Uninstalling Activestink 3.7 and reverting back to 3.6 after clearing out all the AS files. No go. It will synch once or twice and then same problem

Reinstalling 3.7 - same as above.

Deleting partnership and reestablishing a partnership - same as above - one (maybe two) synchronizations and then it's the same thing all over again. By the way, I am soft resetting at each step.

Hard reset - consistently works to get the device to synch properly and consistently - for a day or two. I have hard reset 4 times now and have watched carefully the last two times to see what precedes the synchronization errors starting. This last time, it was copying all nonessential files from the My Documents folder in main memory to the same folder on my SD card! BAH! I hadn't installed anything for 24 hours and it had worked fine throughout that time.

I am at a loss right now. If it weren't for that fact that I am a bit of a perfectionist, I would just use the USB cradle for charging and synch at home with my WiFi card. However, considering my previous PPC (Jornada 568) rarely had any problems synchronizing (aside from the odd error that was fixed by a soft reset of the device), I have never had problems with this computer and a PPC.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I am considering asking for an RMA of the USB cradle and the Ax but maybe there's something I am missing. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to outline what I have tried before the obvious replies (e.g. did you soft reset, try different usb ports, install something that didn't agree with the Axim, etc...). All the software on this device was installed on the Jornada.

Thanks in advance!

[Edit mode] Forgot to mention, I am using the A03 rom. The unit shipped with A02 and I didn't use it long enough to see whether this was a function of the newer rom.