How to establish e740 partnership with WinNT 4?

[John]

Currently running a PC with Windows NT 4.0 SP6a Workstation OS connected to a small Ethernet LAN. I would like to add a 802.11b WAP to LAN to sync & surf with the Toshiba e740 PDA. I understand that to to do so, it is first necessary to establish a "partnership" between PDA & Host NT PC. For creating a "partnership", the only Toshiba PDA to host connection is via the supplied USB Cradle. NT does not support USB. Is there a 3rd party host PC to PDA RS-232 serial cable available for the e740? Can I use the e570 cable? Or can I use an IrDa port on NT box to make this partnership? Thanks for any input/experience. :?:

[Jason Dunn]

Yeah, you're caught in a classic scenario here: you need to establish a partnership, but Microsoft chose to allow local connections only when establishing it for security reasons (makes sense - you don't want someone hitting your IP and sucking down all your contact info). I'm somewhat sure that with Pocket PC 2002, IR is now considered "local" - you should be able to establish a partnership using that. If that doesn't work, you'll need to seek out a serial connector. Did the box claim it would work with NT? I'm a little curious why you'd get a USB Pocket PC knowing that USB support under NT was non-existant... :-)

[JohnnyFlash]

Jason - thanks for response. I like the e740 product. I have not sprung for it yet. Toshiba tech support and their wireless group told me it's not officially supported under NT (ie: a non-usb method for creating partnership) - but may work with a third party usb driver. bsquare - which has developed a limited USB driver for NT (works w/ipaq & Jornada) - has not compiled one for e310 / e740 (yet).

[JohnnyFlash]

Don't even attempt using the sync via IR! It is slow and VERY unreliable! So unreliable in fact that I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

I too have a work PC with NT 4.0 and I had a Casio E-200 which did not offer a serial cable/cradle. I wound up dumping the E-200 (for quality reasons) and went with a Jornada, which I knew offered a serial cradle for the 560 series.

I know that when I decide to upgrade to an X-Scale device, that one of the deciding factors will be whether the vendor offers a serial connection solution. I need to sync both at home (usb) and at work (serial).

FYI - among the new devices coming so far, I know that HP (Ipaq) and Loox will offer serial connectivity.

HTH!

[JohnnyFlash]

Looking only for an interface to make partnership. From then on - wifi.

For serial device - Perhaps Pocket Loox? In spec's refers to serial feature. "IrDa, USB, RS232, power jack, Bluetooth™ (ver. 1.1) integrated (Class 1, Voice and Data; Point to Multipoint)"

[foldedspace]

Can't you get a USB to Serial adapter?

[John]

Thanks for suggestion. Please (anyone) correct me it I am wrong - but my understanding is that those adapters hook up to the host PC USB and then output a RS-232. I do not think they work with Serial on host PC with USB output to device.

[Jorj Bauer]

Yeah, you're caught in a classic scenario here: you need to establish a partnership, but Microsoft chose to allow local connections only when establishing it for security reasons (makes sense - you don't want someone hitting your IP and sucking down all your contact info). I'm somewhat sure that with Pocket PC 2002, IR is now considered "local" - you should be able to establish a partnership using that. If that doesn't work, you'll need to seek out a serial connector. Did the box claim it would work with NT? I'm a little curious why you'd get a USB Pocket PC knowing that USB support under NT was non-existant... :-)

I've done this before. It's not difficult to fool ActiveSync into creating a new partnership if you've already got one to use as a template. As a matter of fact, I've got an e740 that has never been physically connected to my machine... but syncs via 802.11b just fine.

The procedure is fairly simple, and I've been meaning to put this onto my web site for some time.

1. Get your CE device on-net.

2. Download a regedit client, like this one (http://www.phm.lu/Products/PocketPC/regedit.asp).

3. Tricky bit: manually create the ActiveSync partnership. To do this, you'll need a random number to be your partnership ID (PId). In my example here, I've used "1171522532", which is hex 0x45d403e4. (You'll need it in hex later.) My computer's name is 'probity3'. Anywhere that you see one of these values, substitute the one that you would be using instead.

3a. On the CE device, create these reg keys:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows CE Services\Partners\P1\
PId : DWord : 1171522532
PName : SZ : PROBITY3

3b. On the desktop computer, you need to do a little more work. Find any existing partnership in this key:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows CE Services\Partners\

(They're listed by the hex partnership ID.) Export the partnership's registry key to a text file. Edit the text file with your favorite text-editing device. Replace all instances of the old partnership ID (in hex) with your new partnership ID (there will be a few dozen entries, all without the leading 0x... so in my case, they're all 45d403e4).

Then find all of the paths that point to your old sync folder, and point them to a new sync folder. (Be sure to create the folder.)

Update the 'OemInfo' value in the partnership. The OemInfo for the e740 is "TOSHIBA e740".

But wait! Don't import that registry file yet. You need to delete some information about your other device. The only values that I left in the top-level partnership key are:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows CE Services\Partners\45D403E4
"Schedule Option"=dword:00000000
"DisplayName"="Jorj_e740"
"DeviceType"="PocketPC"
"Description"=""
"DataFolder"="C:\\Documents and Settings\\jorj\\Application Data\\Microsoft\\ActiveSync\\Profiles\\Jorj_e740"
"Processor"=""
"OemInfo"="TOSHIBA e740"
"NoSubFolderIn"="\\My Documents\\"
"Backup Flags"=dword:00000008
"Backup File"="C:\\Documents and Settings\\jorj\\Application Data\\Microsoft\\ActiveSync\\Profiles\\Jorj_e740\\backup.stg"

... the entries that I deleted are mainly tied to the old hardware, and will cause ActiveSync to be stuck in a guest mode when syncing. (Sound familiar to anyone?) If you delete the extraneous (and incorrect) entries, they'll be re-created on a new connection.

3c. Save your updated .reg file, and import it back into the registry.

4. Restart your PC (or just ActiveSync if you're savvy enough to be able to restart just ActiveSync). Soft-reset your e740.

Assuming that you've updated the registry file correctly, ActiveSync should now show a partnership for your device on the desktop machine.

5. Run the 'ActiveSync' program on your PocketPC. Under Tools->Options, you should see "Include PC when syncronizing remotely and connect to..." with your desktop's machine name listed. (Note that it's a NetBIOS name, from what I can tell.)

6. Hit the 'sync' button in ActiveSync on the PocketPC.

If you get messages about having to change your connection settings, then you probably want them set (in order) to "Internet Settings," "Internet Settings," "Work." Other orders may not do what you want.

On the other hand, if you don't have an existing partnership to start with, then you've got more work to do. I've never created one completely from scratch, but it should be possible. Just very, very tedious (since ActiveSync keeps an incredible amount of junk in subkeys under the partner's key).

HTH,

-- Jorj Bauer, DejaVu Software, Inc.
http://www.dejavusoftware.com/
http://binky.seas.upenn.edu/~jorj/

[Jason Dunn]

Wow - impressive response Jorj! Thanks for contributing. :D

[John]

Jorj - thanks. Now that's what I call determination! In your note " ... if you've already got one to use as a template ... " Do I understand that I need to sync a PC2002 device (such as a ipaq via serial) to make a valid template? Or can I just install activesync on my Host PC (WinNT) (w/o physical connection to any pc2002 device) to make a template?
Thanks - John

[Jorj Bauer]

Jorj - thanks. Now that's what I call determination! In your note " ... if you've already got one to use as a template ... " Do I understand that I need to sync a PC2002 device (such as a ipaq via serial) to make a valid template? Or can I just install activesync on my Host PC (WinNT) (w/o physical connection to any pc2002 device) to make a template?
Thanks - John

You understand correctly. The only way I've ever done this is by taking an old sync partership and using it as a template to create a new one.

It's probable that you can do a vanilla activesync install and create a partnership without a previous template. There's no resaon why it shouldn't work. There's just a lot of stuff under that registry key, and I don't know if ActiveSync will fill in the subkeys that are missing if you don't create them all by hand. It would be an interesting test, though; let me know if you try it!

-- Jorj
http://www.dejavusoftware.com/
http://binky.seas.upenn.edu/~jorj/

[John]

Thanks Jorj. I have an update on NT USB: Bsquare developed an NT USB driver that worked with a limited number of devices. The most recent driver now works with the Toshiba e310. When I inquired about compatability with the e740, they said it has yet to be tested. Do you know if both Toshiba devices appear the same (electronically& sw) to the Host PC?

[Jason Dunn]

Do you know if both Toshiba devices appear the same (electronically& sw) to the Host PC?

I'm 99% confident that it will - go for it!

[Jorj Bauer]

[quote=John]Do you know if both Toshiba devices appear the same (electronically& sw) to the Host PC?

I'm 99% confident that it will - go for it!

I concur. These two devices are nearly identical to the host computer (except to ActiveSync itself, where they differ by a number and a string).

-- Jorj

[foldedspace]

Socket makes a I/O CF Serial card....although it's kinda pricey

[John]

Don't think you can establish partership using a CF card.

[Jorj Bauer]

Don't think you can establish partership using a CF card.

Doesn't work. ActiveSync won't use a serial port that's not built-in (at least I've never been able to make it do so). If you insert a CF serial card (I have one), ActiveSync->Tools only shows "USB" as an option under "Enable sync when cradled using:". No serial at all.

It's possible that you can go registry-diving and make it use the CF serial card (which does register itself as COM1: because of the lack of built-in serial port). I'll check it out later and post my results.

-- Jorj
http://www.dejavusoftware.com/
http://binky.seas.upenn.edu/~jorj/

[Jorj Bauer]

Don't think you can establish partership using a CF card.
It's possible that you can go registry-diving and make it use the CF serial card (which does register itself as COM1: because of the lack of built-in serial port). I'll check it out later and post my results.


Answer: big fat negatory. I found the reg entries and populated them, but I can't get ActiveSync to actually move any data onto the serial port. (It doesn't even assert carrier, for those that might understand what the heck I'm talking about.)

The format of the registry entries is very obfuscated, so it's still possible -- if you understand the 900+ bytes of registry junk. :?

[John]

Folks - Thanks for all your help & input.

I ended up going with an e310 and bsquare's NT USB driver. bsquare had yet to program the e740 ID into their USB driver.

All sw loaded w/o issue & now works like a champ. Migrated all my data from Palm to OL2002 using PocketMirror V2 on shipped Palm CD. I am sold on PC2002!

[Jason Dunn]

I am sold on PC2002!

Awesome! Welcome to the family! :D