November 25, 2005
Solution to an annoying Palm Treo problem
Problems with bluetooth, hotsync, treo. Finally found a solution.
Main lesson: after all these years, Microsoft operating systems still suck. Add something slightly new, unanticipated, and all hell breaks loose and mysteries abound. In the lawless MS world, there is no decisive authority...no solution to ultimately turn too. There are unreliable vendors, MS guys, discussion boards, hardware guys. It sucks.
Here is one hint:
Thank you for contacting Palm Technical Support. My name is Rocely and I will be assisting you on this issue. I understand that you are not able to perform a HotSync® operation and receive an error message displaying 'Unable to initiate HotSync operation because the port is in use by another application’.
This issue might be caused by some other applications that is currently been using the same port with your handheld. To resolve this issue, we advise you to first disconnect the HotSync cable, reboot your computer and perform a soft reset with your handheld. Please proceed below for the detailed procedures to perform a soft reset and creating a new connection on your handheld.
Windows 2000/XP
Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager.
Double-click Ports (COM & LPT).
Double-click the appropriate COM port.
Click the Port Settings tab.
Click Advanced.
Make sure that the FIFO Enabled box is NOT selected.
Exit the Control Panel and reboot your system.
Perform another HotSync operation.
In addition, ensure the following:
The correct COM port is free on the PC through the device manager.
The Cradle is securely plugged into the correct COM port.
Local is selected in the HotSync Manager.
The correct port is selected in the HotSync Manager.
PERFORM A SOFT RESET OF YOUR HANDHELD
Important information:
Always attempt a HotSync® operation prior to resetting the device.
When performing any of the resets listed below, a 'Reset Tool' will be required. Use the tip of an unfolded paper clip, unscrew the top end of the stylus, or use a similar object without a sharp tip.
If using a Palm handheld that includes the slider feature, opening this will reveal the reset hole.
Performing a soft reset
A soft reset tells your Palm to stop what it's doing and start over again. All records and entries stored in your handheld are retained with a soft reset. After a soft reset, the Palm logo screen appears, followed by the 'Preferences' screen.
To perform a soft reset:
Use the reset tool (described above) to gently press the reset button located inside the hole on the back panel of your handheld.
If after performing a Soft Reset, you still encounter the same error, you may need to create a new connection for your handheld.
CREATE A NEW CONNECTION
To create a new connection:
1. Tap on the “Home” icon of your handheld.
2. On the upper right hand corner of your screen, make sure that “All” is selected.
3. Look for the “Prefs” icon and tap on it.
4. On the Prefs application, choose “Connection”.
5. Click on the “New” button near the bottom of the screen.
6. On the “Name field”, type PALMTOPC as the name of the connection.
7. On the “Connect to” field, select PC.
8. On the “Via” field, select CABLE.
9. Tap on the “OK” button.
10. On the HotSync window of your handheld, below the HotSync icon, tap on the pull down arrow and choose the name that you have just created
If the problems persist after performing the steps above, proceed with the steps below.
1. Delete the ConnectionMgr50DB.pdb,
q The default path would be “C:\ProgramFiles\Palm\
2. Reboot computer.
Here is another hint:
The first problem that I ran into was getting my BT adapter to work; I kept getting the error message “Bluetooth device could not be found.” I do a lot of removing this and installing that so I though I had screwed up my COM ports bad enough that I couldn’t get the D-Link 120 adapter I have to install right. It turns out, and I’m sure you’ll be surprised to hear this, it was a Microsoft issue! Today I just happened to come across this link (http://mytreo.net/forum/index.php/topic,18729.msg158400.html#msg158400) (thanks Tekara!) and the rest was downhill from there. Turns out there’s some issues with the Service Pack 2 BT stack and (insert technical mumbo jumbo here)… Long story short, if you’re having trouble getting your BT device to install or work properly and you haven’t done this yet, give it a shot.
And some of the other links I used on my quest:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=840635
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=8&TopicId=2200
http://shadowmite.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Oh it was painful.
3. Perform a HotSync operation.
