More Activesync Problems - hardware?

06-18-03, 11:18 PM

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.

ceej13 · 06-19-03, 12:38 AM

Yes I remember your dilemma, Shrink. you posted once in New ROM Update A03 Posted - Replaces A02
It really sounds like that AS is still running in memory whenever you try to syc thru the USB cradle. And that is my problem now. I have to make sure I don't have ActiveSync running in my memory (I have to keep going into my settings just to stop it). That is why it works after a soft reset. It's clearing AS from the memory. Clearing and starting new partnerships won't work. Changing AS versions won't work. Hard reset is definitely a waste of time. I've tried a lot of scenerios except for reformating my harddrive, reinstalling windows and such. Check and see if ActiveSync is in your Running Programs area before you call for an RMA.

richmds · 06-19-03, 03:44 AM

Ok this might be a pain to try but how about testing the cradle in the office too. See how that goes. If it does the exact same thing such as sync 2 times and then cant complete. Then its possible its the cradle. But if it works fine in the office it narrows it down to possibly your home machine or the USB ports of the home machine.

Im sure you have but have you installed the Dell driver on the Dell website even though it says you dont need it?
I dont think it will help, but when things are not working I try anything.

06-19-03, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by richmds
Ok this might be a pain to try but how about testing the cradle in the office too. See how that goes. If it does the exact same thing such as sync 2 times and then cant complete. Then its possible its the cradle. But if it works fine in the office it narrows it down to possibly your home machine or the USB ports of the home machine.

Im sure you have but have you installed the Dell driver on the Dell website even though it says you dont need it?
I dont think it will help, but when things are not working I try anything.

It synchronizes over and over again at the office. Unfortunately, I can't take the USB cradle into the office because they are still on NT4 there. However, I tried a USB cable on another computer at the office and it couldn't synch at all though this could have been due to other reasons.

As to the dell driver, I tried it with 3.6 but the driver that comes with 3.7 is the same as the dell so I removed it. It didn't make any difference :-(

ceej13 - even trying to sync with activesync out of memory (so that it has to reload), it still does the same thing. Like I said, a soft reset rarely fixes the problem.

06-19-03, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by star50fiveoh
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You could try a variation of THIS, it's always been a favorite thing to try, for me!;).
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(only works with a Blue Moon).

No kidding - that seems to be how to deal with Activesync problems a lot of the time! :)

06-20-03, 12:41 AM

Does anyone else have any ideas?

I tried the USB cable on my computer at home and the problem is exhibited with the cable as well as the cradle so it is most likely some problem with the axim. Just in case, I also tried clearing the temp files to see if there was something in there that activesync was choking on but there is not.

I've emailed Dell but I think I will wind up calling them. Any other tips would be much appreciated. Thanks!

richmds · 06-20-03, 12:46 AM

Maybe its your home computer. If the Axim syncs all the time at work but doesnt work at home it may not be the Axim.

06-20-03, 09:16 AM

My HP Jornada synchronized with absolutely no problems on the home computer. This is a fresh install of XP and activesync was reinstalled (see above). Further, I have no other usb problems, nor have I ever had any with this motherboard. No processes are running in the background that could conceivably interfere with the Axim. Further, when I tried to sync with a win98se box at my work with the serial cable, it exhibited the same behaviour.

On further investigation of what is happening on the Axim, when it is disconnecting, Activesync is spontaneously shutting off on the Axim! AS will be loaded (checking in my task switcher) but the moment is disconnects, it spontaneously exits and is no longer loaded in memory. That is very strange.