Ipaq 3950 won't sync

[zt001]

Guys, first time poster here, figured I'd ask for some help.

My mother used to have this part-time job where she'd go to a store and inventory a certain brand for what's in stock. They gave her this Ipaq with a specific program on it for this. Well she did this job and then it phased out. They didn't ask for the Ipaq, so, it just kind of got dust. I just busted it out and would like to use it for work/games/videos etc etc. I have this sync cable I bought from ebay, it's a belkin and has both USB/serial ends on it. It says "3800" on it but i thought it was compatible with this Ipaq series also. I hook usb or serial up, and try syncing (via active sync 4.5 i believe). The Ipaq acts like it's connecting, says connected, but the computer says trying to connect. 60 seconds later the Ipaq says disconnected and the computer says it can't sync.

Is it cause of the cable? Very odd. I did get the ipaq to sync to my laptop via infrared but I'm limited on transfers using that.

Could that company put a block on syncs? I did a "hard" reset on it so it should be clean install.

Any ideas/suggestions are welcome. I may try a new cable but I have to order it online I guess cause no store around me has them (near a major city so that's crazy).

Thanks in advance,

- ZT

[LWesson]

It could be a couple of things. One is the cradle itself, but unlikely.

The second thing is the connector on the ipaq. Take a close look at it and see if it appears to be distorted or loose.

[zt001]

Well it's not a cradle, it's just a cord. It's a Belkin, it has 3800 on it, but I "think" it's compatible with 3900 series too?

The connector on the Ipaq looks fine also.

It's weird, when the USB portion of the cable is plugged in, it only does power. When the serial connector is in it does this in activesync: I get it to try a connection, the PDA says "connected" but the activesync goes straight back to the previous screen. 40 seconds later, the PDa says "Connection has been dropped. Try reconnecting your device. If the problem persists check your serial cable and any user name, password, or domain that you are providing."

[LWesson]

Well it's not a cradle, it's just a cord. It's a Belkin, it has 3800 on it, but I "think" it's compatible with 3900 series too?

The connector on the Ipaq looks fine also.

It's weird, when the USB portion of the cable is plugged in, it only does power. When the serial connector is in it does this in activesync: I get it to try a connection, the PDA says "connected" but the activesync goes straight back to the previous screen. 40 seconds later, the PDa says "Connection has been dropped. Try reconnecting your device. If the problem persists check your serial cable and any user name, password, or domain that you are providing."

Yes, the 3800 cable is the same for the 3900.

There is one more thing it could be. If the unit has been dropped, there is an connector on the mainboard that will crack. If cracked, you will get your symptoms.

We should be able to repair your unit.

[zt001]

This thing was hardly used, I don't think it was dropped. Then again I have a hard time believing a cable is bad. When you say we can fix it, do you mean there's a diagram somewhere or I sent it in?

I know someone that has a ipaq3600 series, do those connectors work as well with the 3900 series?

[LWesson]

This thing was hardly used, I don't think it was dropped. Then again I have a hard time believing a cable is bad. When you say we can fix it, do you mean there's a diagram somewhere or I sent it in?

I know someone that has a ipaq3600 series, do those connectors work as well with the 3900 series?

You would need to send it into us for repair. It is not a user installable repair.

The 3600 series is a different connector.

[zt001]

Well, I don't need it as a tool, so I don't know if it's worth dumping money into.