Bizarre ActiveSync behaviour

[terrypin]

On my iPAQ 2210 I've run into a baffling problem on which I'd appreciate some insight please. So far my posts in microsoft.public.pocketpc.activesync and microsoft.public.pocketpc have not resulted in a solution.

On 24th Dec I installed a program and, because it caused problems with AS, I promptly uninstalled it, both on my PPC and XP PC. But I then got AS saying it 'Cannot connect' when I placed PPC on cradle. I then restored PPC to a BU before 24 Dec. AS could then connect and sync. However - and this is the bizarre part - if I then uninstall any program, even a trivial, old one, then the AS problem re-occurs.

What in darnation can be causing this please? I'd like to avoid a hard reset if possible, but a solution seems elusive ;-(

--
Terry, West Sussex, UK
Using iPAQ 2210 with WM2003.

[Darius Wey]

Firstly, what was the original program that caused the problems? Secondly, was this backup file a complete backup in that it included the registry, file system and databases?

[terrypin]

I deliberately avoided getting into details of the original installation that precipiteted the problem because
a) I thought it would muddy the water
b) it has been completely unistalled from PPC and PC (and neither registry shows any trace of it).

But, as you ask, my son installed a D-Link DCF-660W wireless card. This communicated with a ZyXEL Prestige 600 Wireless Router (which is still installed and working fine). The DCF-660W did not work reliably, so I was set to uninstall it even before I found this strange AS side-effect. Now, of course, it will be along time before I try it again!

Yes, backup file was a full one.

--
Terry, West Sussex, UK
Using iPAQ 2210 with WM2003.

[Darius Wey]

Okay, what ActiveSync components do you have running (e.g. Calendar, Notes, etc.)? Other things you could try are uninstalling ActiveSync and reinstalling it. Also, do you have another PC you can attempt synchronising with?

Another thing I suggest is that I'm assuming all your essential PIM data is already in Outlook, and if you have any sensitive files, that would be in the backup file? If so, when restoring the backup file, select the options necessary for restoring only the essentials. For now, I'd avoid restoring any of the registry and program files, since it seems that may be that that's causing these synchronisation problems. I suggest you just hard reset, and restore only what you need. I know it's a pain, but from what I've read thus far, it's actually quite hard to pinpoint the exact solution unless I'm in your shoes looking at it myself.

[terrypin]

Thanks for the follow-up. I finally went the hard reset route, and took the opportunity to also update my iPAQ ROM. I was apprehensive, but happily that went OK.

But of course I was faced with a blank sheet. After an hour or so I yielded to the temptation of trying a restore. I copied a 10 month old self-executing Sprite BU from PC to CF card, and used the built-in File Explorer to execute it. However, I got a severe warning that, because the backup had been made on a different version of the OS, it would be highly risky. So I quickly canceled that and am now in the early stages of re-building ;-(

In case you or others remain curious about this AS puzzle, I should add that before this I tried a hard reset (no ROM upgrade) followed by a restore to a yesterday BU (of a state in which AS was working OK, with my PPC syncing correctly). This is what I did:
- entered user details
- deleted and recreated partnership (all a bit foggy that, but bumbled
through it and came out OK; I thought I'd already deleted existing
partnership, but apparently not, so I had to do it again.)
- used built-in Explorer to find 28th Dec Sprite backup and executed
it, restoring everything (including registry)
- let AS sync, and tidied up duplicates etc (still a few around, with
names like "Changed copy of xyz...", so I deleted those manually)

Then came the acid test. I uninstalled a program, (using SKTools on the PPC) and then removed and replaced in cradle. AS connected! So I thought all was well. Premature optimism. An hour or so later, after uninstalling a few more programs, but this time mainly using AS on the PC, I removed and replaced PPC on cradle - and got the familiar error message.

I suspect this was something to do with partnership data in the respective registries, but not too fussed now that I'm on the road to recovery!

One final trivial query: what is the 'correct' way to hard-reset an iPAQ 2210 please? At one stage, after the hard reset but before the ROM upgrade, I got into a dreadful mess. It seemed I was not even able to hard reset again. Many operations did not work. For example, Programs came up with a blank screen. Somehow, I eventually got it hard reset again, but for future reference I'd like to know precisely how others do it please.

--
Terry, West Sussex, UK
Using iPAQ 2210 with WM2003.

[Menneisyys]

One final trivial query: what is the 'correct' way to hard-reset an iPAQ 2210 please? At one stage, after the hard reset but before the ROM upgrade, I got into a dreadful mess. It seemed I was not even able to hard reset again. Many operations did not work. For example, Programs came up with a blank screen.

Are you sure you DID hard reset it? I've hard reset my 2210 really a lot of times. I love testing programs on it, and, therefore, I even hard reset it 1-2 times a day. I've never encountered a behaviour like that.

Are you sure you pressed the iTask + Calendar button, then, while keeping the two app buttons pressed, the Reset button for 1-2 secs, until the backlight switched of and the contents of the screen gradually faded away? And, only then release the two buttons + the Reset hole. After waiting 2-3 secs, you can restart the PDA with a simple reset.

[Menneisyys]

BTW, to avoid messing around with generic backup programs / ActiveSync to backup/restore contacts (and, incidentally, other WinCE databases), one of the best ways is using Pocket dbExplorer ( http://www.phatware.com/hpcdbex.html ). Just go to the DB named "Contacts Database", tap-and-hold it, choose Backup. Save the exported file to somewhere and do the HR.

After that, you can choose Restore after the hard reset to restore it, and only it, to avoid overwriting other databases.

It also knows exporting databases as CSV/TSV files in a human-readable format. They're very easy to post-process with any database tool.

[Darius Wey]

But of course I was faced with a blank sheet. After an hour or so I yielded to the temptation of trying a restore. I copied a 10 month old self-executing Sprite BU from PC to CF card, and used the built-in File Explorer to execute it. However, I got a severe warning that, because the backup had been made on a different version of the OS, it would be highly risky. So I quickly canceled that and am now in the early stages of re-building ;-(

Yes, you should avoid a cross-ROM version restoration job as it will not work and may render your device unstable.