1. First change the settings on the PC in ActiveSync - Tools - Options to not synchronize any of the options.  If ActiveSync still fails then read down further for assistance. If it does not fail then re-enable the different types of data to sync one at a time to identify where the problem is occurring.

2. If you get a 628 error while connecting your Pocket PC, Handheld PC, or Palm-size PC to your Windows NT desktop, you need to use the guest account to sign in instead of the user you used.

3. If you run the Aventail 3.21 VPN client then you need to make the following changes to avoid hanging in ActiveSync whenever you remove your Pocket PC from the USB cradle:.

   Run the Aventail config tool. Select the "Advanced" tab. Check "Secure all applications except listed" check box in the "Applications to Secure" group box. Click "Modify List". Add "wcescomm.exe" and "WCESMgr.exe" located in the ActiveSync program directory. Most likely "C:\Program Files\Microsoft ActiveSync". Click "OK" then "File -> Save" and then reboot.

4. If you are using the HummingBird's SOCKS client, you must add a direct statement in your SOCKS.CNF file in order to allow the addresses used by the Pocket PC, Handheld PC, or Palm-size PC's serial connection to connect to your PC instead of sending them to the SOCKS server:
   DIRECT 192.168.55.0 255.255.255.0

5. If you are connecting via the serial port with your Pocket PC, Handheld PC or Palm-size PC, and you are having errors synchronizing, consider reducing the baud rate from 115.2k to 19,200 or 9,600 on your device.   ActiveSync will adjust to the correct baud rate.  I have found that this is especially true for Handheld PC 2.0 and Palm-size PC 1.0 devices.

6. If ActiveSync gets stuck, you can end the program using the Task Manager and end the tasks WCESCOMM and WCESMGR.   To restart ActiveSync, just click on the ActiveSync icon on your desktop. You can use the free utilities KILLSYNC to end the tasks or RESYNC to end the tasks and restart ActiveSync.

7. If you see the error "Synchronization cannot be started because you are not able to log onto the network and access information. Restart your desktop computer and synchronize again. If the problem persists, contact your network administrator. " in Outlook 2000.  You will need to reconfigure Outlook.   See Microsoft Article Q243029 for details.

8. When synchronizing via the network or RAS the Pocket PC automatically disconnects when done.  If you want to stay connected when synchronizing via a network or RAS then on your Pocket PC click Start - ActiveSync and select Tools - Options from the menu select the Schedule tab.  Uncheck the box labeled "When synchronizing remotely with my PC, disconnect when complete".  This option just affects PC synchronization.
9. If you see the following error in Windows 2000 or Windows XP:
   WCESCOMM.EXE - Error in application
   The application couldn't be initialized correctly (0xc0000142)
   a. See Elron Software's fix for this.  You will need to search Elron's support database for the error code to see the fix.
   b, If you have Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition version 8.0.x upgrade to 8.1.x.
10. Your PC attempts to connect to the internet whenever you synchronize. This is caused by ActiveSync attempting to start internet passthrough.  You can disable this by launching ActiveSync, clicking on File - Connection Settings.  Uncheck the option "Allow Network and RAS..."  Also if you have an Inbox POP3 or IMAP4 account on your Pocket PC 2002, select the ActiveSync profile.  This will prevent your Pocket PC from using the PC for internet pass through to access e-mail.
11. If you keep seeing the Add/Remove Programs window this is because a desktop installation has not been completed to your Pocket PC.  If you want to eliminate this, you need to uninstall the last program you installed from the list of installed applications.  There may be more than one application that has to be uninstalled if you do not recall when this started to occur.
12. If you installed ActiveSync 3.5/3.6/3.7/3.8 and then upgraded your desktop OS to Windows XP, you may not be able to synchronize. You need to check and see if ActiveSync is running in compatibility mode by right clicking on the program or shortcut.  If it is, then remove these settings and you should be able to sync.
13. If you are unable to sync and you have installed McAfee and are getting "unresolved items"  where you are synchronizing or receive "network error", disable the HAWK e-mail option. 
14. If you see a message "There was no response from your mobile device while checking for out-of-date appointments" and you have Resco Picture Viewer (the Axim has this in ROM), delete the file picViewSync.dat in the \Windows directory on your Pocket PC.  Then you should be able to sync again.
15. If you see "Attention Required" and you are using Windows 98, Outlook 2000 and see "Error Number:0x80070725 Description: Incompatible version of the RPC stub" when attempting to uninstall an application you have a problem with a corrupted DLL such as OLEAUT32.dll, Olepro32.dll, Asycfilt.dll, Stdole2.tlb.  file. See InstallShield's KB article.  This issue is related to installing the wrong operating system/ version of DLLs for DCOM.
16. If you have McAfee Virusscan or McAfee Clinic installed with the Privacy Service and you cannot sync, try uninstalling ActiveSync and then the Privacy service.  Then reinstall ActiveSync and then the Privacy service according to McAfee support.
17. If you see the error "A synchronization partnership cannot be created because the source database name is too long. Choose OK to copy the database without synchronizing it or choose Cancel to end this operation, rename your source database, and try again later." then you need to login as an Administrator to synchronize the Access database.
18. If you are unable to sync using Wi-Fi or Ethernet it could be because you have an open connection to a server on your network.  If you are using Windows Media Player, File Explorer or other 3rd party network share application, ActiveSync will attempt to connect using that connection and fail.  You need to disconnect from network connections to sync.
19. You cannot sync database  files because the option to select the database files is no longer displayed in ActiveSync - Tools - Options.  1. Perform a full backup of the Pocket PC so you can restore in the event of a failure 2. Remove the Pocket PC from the cradle/cable and select File - Delete Partnership on ActiveSync on the PC. 3. Perform a Detect and Repair on Outlook using the menu item Help - Detect and Repair 4. Reboot your PC 5. Hard reset your Pocket PC 6. Once the reboots/resets are complete, reconnect your Pocket PC to your PC and setup a partnership.
20. If you see "Cannot start communications with the desktop computer. Winsock services could not start due to critical error 10054" then try soft resetting your Pocket PC.  Then attempt to sync.
21. If you see a message from McAfee VirusScan about a script that wcesmgr.exe is running, allow it to run.  This is ActiveSync opening Outlook.  See the McAfee Script Issue for details.
22. If you are using a Windows Mobile 2003 and you are seeing an error with database file conversions or applications that use database files on your Pocket PC that are expecting the files in the Pocket PC 2002 format, then you may need the Database Conversion Wizard Power Toy.
23. If you have more than one partnership and you wish to sync via Ethernet or Wi-Fi you need to make sure you have selected the correct PC to sync with. This is done on the Pocket PC by launching ActiveSync and clicking on Tools - Options and selecting the PC you wish to sync with.
24. If you are using Ethernet or Wi-Fi to synchronize you need to make sure that the network connection in the Connection Manager is setup to use Work as the default connection.   The Connection Manager is available at Start - Settings - Connections - Connections (and Advanced on Windows Mobile 2003).
25. If you are using Windows XP and you see the message “TCP/IP Network Transport Not Installed” then  click on Start -> Run and enter the command “netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt”, click OK.  You must your computer for the changes to take effect.
26. If you install McAfee Virusscan version 7.0 (without the firewall support) on a PC with Windows XP it may prevent all TCP/IP from working. Using Windows XP rollback does not reconfigure TCP/IP.  McAfee recommends that users uninstall Virsscan 7.0 with a CSLSPREG /UNREGISTER.  You may need to contact McAfee support to obtain this program since I am unable to find it as of 11/23/03.
27. If you are using Word 2003 and are trying to synchronize files or copy them to your Pocket PC you may receive an error when ActiveSync attempts to convert the .DOC files to Pocket Word format. To work around this problem configure ActiveSync to not convert the .DOC files since the Pocket PC can open them directly.  This is done by clicking on Tools - Options - Rules - Conversion Settings and selecting the Desktop to Device tab.  Then select Microsoft Word Document and click on the Edit button.  Then click on the drop down menu and select No Conversion and click Ok, Ok, Ok. 
28. If you encounter the CoolWebSearch  spyware on your PC and use Norton Antivirus 2005 to remove it ActiveSync will stop working.  Instead use Spybot Search and Destroy to remove CoolWebSearch and ActiveSync will work properly.  If you used Norton Antivirus 2005 already then try reinstalling ActiveSync.
29. If you have Panda Software BusinessSecure Antivirus installed you may not be able to synchronize with your Pocket PC.  Please contact Panda Software for a patch that will allow you to sync. 
30. If you have upgraded your Panda Antivirus from an older version to Panda Titanium or Platinum 2005 you may not be able to sync. Panda has changed the way Outlook scanning is performed, but did not properly un-register a DLL. So you have to go to http://cexx.org/lspfix.htm and download the tool "LspFix". When you start LspFix, you will see a list of dlls, one of which is "pavlsp.dll". Check the "I know what I am doing"-box (nice thing to provide that, indeed!) and move the dll from the "Keep" list to the "Remove" list, press finish, reboot, and ActiveSync is fixed.
31. One user has reported that they are using Panda Platinum, and they have disabled the options 'Protection against unknown attacks'-> 'detection of unknown virus' -> ''Behavior analysis' in order to sync.
32. If you are synchronizing your Pocket PC and you are unable to use File - Explore you may have the Shell Extension Security enabled.  The key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\EnforceShellExtensionSecurity.  If this key is set to 1, then you must trust the ActiveSync Explorer Extensions.  This can be done by editing the registry and adding the following key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Approved\{49BF5420-FA7F-11cf-8011-00A0C90A8F78}=Mobile Device  This is documented in Microsoft KB article 836152.
33. If you are using Windows XP and install the patch KB902400 (MS05-51) you may experience a problem with ActiveSync logging in to use COM.  This is caused by the %windir%\registration security being changed from the default.  The folder security must be set to allow Administrators and System Full Control and Everyone Read. See  Microsoft KB 909444 article for details.

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