Anyone heard anyhtin about the USB problems with AXIM w. PPC 2003?

[Diquito]

I wonder if anyone heard anything about this. Apparently this is an issue that DELL knows about and nothing is done about it.
I’m talking about the problem when the AXIM is not recognized by the computer. I read a lot about this in different forums.. But there’s no general fix for it. According to DELL the problem came due to lack of power in the USB ports of the computer and they recommended buying a powered USB hub??? WHAT kind of crap is that… I have an AXIM and a DELL INSPIRON 8500 this is not an old computer… so it shouldn’t be any problems. But I’ve read in the same forum that other people actually bought powered USB hubs to try it out and it did not help… they still have the same problem.. I’ve noticed that if I uninstall a mouse driver and perform a hardware scan the AXIM is found again so I thought that it was a conflict with the mouse driver but other people have the problem without an USB mouse… so logically it seems to be some kind of mismatch between the USB drivers and the PPC 2003 because I haven’t heard anyone with PPC 2002 with this problem. When I called DELL support they promised to come back to me with some answer twice but nothing… and the last time I talked to a tech from DELL he said that he didn’t know anything about this.. I even pointed out the thread on the DELL forum with this… so my question is does anyone know anything? It’s really frustrating not to be able to undock the AXIM and to dock it again without having to either reboot or uninstall drivers to be able to connect it to the computer.

[bsteiss]

I haven't had any problems what so ever with my AXIM and docking and undocking, including moving it to and from a powered hub vs direct to my pc. Are you using the cradle or the sync cable?

[chamberc]

Huh, I've got an 8200 and an 8500 that I sync my Axim with without any problems.

[RobertCF]

Although I have had no problems with my X5, which came with WM2k3, nor has my wife with her X5, which came with PPC2k2 and was upgraded to WM2k3, ours are both connecting to machines I built using top-of-the-line components, including the USB 2.0 cards. However, some friends of mine bought an X3 (not impressed with it, by the way) and tried hooking it up with their year-old Dell Dimension running WinXP. We even tried installing a third part USB 2.0 card (as was commonly the suggestion on the Dell forums) and it still didn't work. We could install it just fine on a plain vanilla PC running Win98se! Dell finally said they believed it was a cradle issue, so we're waiting for the new cradle to arrive.

So, if you have access to a fairly new generic PC with USB 2.0, temporarily install on that setup just a Guest partnership. If that works, a cheaper solution would be to buy a third party card and install it on the Dell. If that fixes your problem, then great. If not, I'd be knockin' on their door for a cradle. I'll post again on whether or not the new cradle fixes my friend's problem.

[Nancy Stanphill]

Are you using ActiveSync 3.7.1? This newest version is supposed to improve USB connectivity.

[RobertCF]

Of course, no sooner do I post and I get a call from my friend who received the new cradle today. After completely uninstalling AS and reinstalling (yes, it's 3.7.1, build 3244), and inserting the X3----no joy. Dell has responded by informing them they will send a new X3 (I somehow doubt the connector on the X3 could be bad, but it couldn't hurt to try a different device).

Anyway, Dell Dimension, Windows XP, USB 2.0 AND Belkin 5-port USB 2.0 card just flat out won't work with the X3. The X3 works just dandy with a generic box and Win98se. So, if the new X3 arrives and still no joy I'm going to just have them permanently install it on the Win98se box and be done with it. Pretty sad, eh?

[wired57]

Originally posted by RobertCF
Of course, no sooner do I post and I get a call from my friend who received the new cradle today. After completely uninstalling AS and reinstalling (yes, it's 3.7.1, build 3244), and inserting the X3----no joy. Dell has responded by informing them they will send a new X3 (I somehow doubt the connector on the X3 could be bad, but it couldn't hurt to try a different device).

Anyway, Dell Dimension, Windows XP, USB 2.0 AND Belkin 5-port USB 2.0 card just flat out won't work with the X3. The X3 works just dandy with a generic box and Win98se. So, if the new X3 arrives and still no joy I'm going to just have them permanently install it on the Win98se box and be done with it. Pretty sad, eh?

thay bytes, I wouldn't want that, more then half my stuff won't even work in 98se, or winme, I need the nt core to run my software, so that sucks

[Diquito]

Well it's USB 2 on the laptop I use and DELL has suggested to send me a new AXIM but reading about so many persons having problem I said no to getting a new on if it would come with the same proble,m.
The laptop I have is not more than a couple om months old and I ordered it with everything that DELL had to offer on this particular model.
So it's pretty lame to try to say that it's a weak USB port... Specially when other people bought USB powered USB hubs with no result.. I hope that DELL comes with a fix soon though otherwise I have to ask them to send me another one and hope that it works... but anyway that sucks.. I really got the AXIM right the way I want it configured as i want and now I have to do it again....

[Synth]

I recently upgraded to PPC2003 and ActiveSync 3.7 and I have noticed that the connection is dropped occasionally. With PPS22202 and ActiveSync 3.5 the connection was as solid as a rock.

[stefagro]

I've noticed that the problem here is only with USB 2.0. The first I should do is trying to sync on a USB 1.1, it's possible that there is some incompatibility between 1.1 and 2.0. Other suggestion is finding new drivers for your USB 2.0 that maybe can solve the problem. I have here also update my axim and don't have any problems. I have an USB1.1 and I have test it on powered hub and direct linked with cradle and sync cable. Same result it's working great. I have here 5 USB devices so I know that everything is working great:)

[docsmooth]

The big thread at the dell forums is 11 pages long now, this is the top of page 11. I might have solved my problem last night with step 2 from the "disconnects after syncing is finished" problem.

Crosspost begins:

OK, I want to recap what I've read here, THEN post my thoughts (it'll also be kinda nice for people newer to the thread). (by "users" I mean, "what I'm seeing from people posting on these boards")

1) Dell Tech Support has been telling people that their USB ports aren't supplying enough power. It appears that 1/3 or so of users say that this works for them. Glad to hear it.

2) Many users are complaining about these "disconnect" problems only AFTER upgrading their ROM. It appears as though almost all of these upgrades are from PPC2002 to WM2003. I think I remember reading 1 or 2 updates from PPC2002 to PPC2002, however, which is odd. The important part, though, is that every break is from a change: an upgrade provided by Dell, whether part of the warranty (free ROM upgrade), or purchased (WM2003 upgrade).

3) There's *2* kinds of disconnects: those happening during sync, and those happening after sync is finished. I personally have only seen disconnects after sync, so I don't have firsthand knowledge of the first kind.

I think that's a pretty neat bare-bones recap. Now here's my thoughts:

First: you have to determine which of the 2 disconnect problems you're having. That will likely determine what your fix is. You may be having BOTH, in which case, you'll require BOTH troubleshooting trees.

For people with the "sync works fine, but then the Axim disconnects, which it never did before" problem (the one I've seen). Do the following, report where you get succes, and where it fails, and if you're a laptop or desktop user.
1) On your Axim: Start -> Settings. Tap the "System" tab at the bottom, then tap "Power". Tap the "Advanced" tab, then uncheck "On External: Turn off device if not used for". Post if this fixes your problem.
2) On your PC: Right-click "My Computer" and choose "Manage". Click "Device Manager", then click the "+" by "Universal Serial Bus Controllers". Double-click EVERY "USB Root Hub" you have, and go to the "Power Management" tab. Uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". Click "OK" (no restart required). Sync, and see how long you stay connected. Post if this seems to fix your issue.
3) On your PC: Click Start -> (Settings ->) Control Panel -> Power Options (If you're a laptop user, make sure the pull-down is on "plugged in"). Change "System Standby" to "Never" and click "OK". See how long you stay connected. Post if this seems to fix your issue.

We'll see how many people are still busted after these steps, and re-attack the problem.

For people having the "loses connection while synching" problem, these are my suggestions:
1) On your Axim: Tap "Start" -> "ActiveSync". In ActiveSync, tap "Tools", then "Options". Tap the "Options" button, and change "When syncing remotely" to "Maintain connection". Also, tap the "Server" tab, then tap the "Options" button, then the "Rules" tab. Change "Logging Level" to "Brief". You may not have the ability to change all these options, but try anyways.
2) On your Axim, tap "Start" -> "Settings". Then tap the "System" tab, and choose "Memory". Tap the "Running Programs" tab, and choose "Stop All". Tap "OK" and try syncing. Post if this works.
3) Upgrade your PC to ActiveSync 3.7.1
4) Post your system details, laptop or desktop? laptop on a docking station? is your cradle powered? Have you tried synching with the laptop out of the dock, but plugged into the wall? Is it more likely to happen after the PC's been running a while (does a reboot seem to make it more likely to work ok?)

Sorry I don't have as good suggestions for the 2nd problem, but let's get some info in here, and try to solve it ourselves, since we're getting little help elsewhere.

[Synth]

Good first post docsmooth.

I have just tried the unchecking the ‘Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power’ boxes. Lets see if it works.

[Diquito]

Really a good first post docsmooth. But the problem I've seen in some forums and the one I have is that the AXIM is not recognised by the system and the only way to remedy this is either by a reboot or uninstalling the correct USB root hub and after this perform a scan for hardware changes. I even tried to change USB emulation mode in the BIOS to see if it had any effect but no... so now im so tierd of reinstalling the USB driver (around 2-5 times a day depending on how many time I remove the PDA from the cradle) so as a last resort I asked DELL to replace it with a new one to see if it helps. This is my last option. Hope it helps.

[JakeRich]

This thread has a post from me with a sequence of steps that fixed my dropouts completely. You might want to try that if the others don't work.

[Diquito]

Tried it but nope no result??!!