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| Mobile Computing Software |
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Handheld/Mobile Computing October 2005 • Vol.9 Issue 6 Page(s) 59 in print issue |
Mobile Computing Software | ||
  Problems & Solutions Problem: HotSync or ActiveSync refuses to connect with my PDA. Solution: When the software that lets your computer communicate with your PDA (HotSync for Palm OS, ActiveSync for Windows Mobile) acts up, always check the cables and connections first. Is the USB or serial cable connected securely to the PDA (or cradle) and the PC? Is the PDA seated properly in its cradle if it uses one? If everything is in place, visit the Palm Support Downloads Web site (www.palm.com/us/support/downloads) or the Microsoft Windows Mobile site (www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile) and download the latest version of the HotSync or ActiveSync software that is compatible with your PDA and Windows XP. Keeping this software up-to-date is important because newer versions fix compatibility issues and often add new features. If you have a Palm OS PDA that uses a USB connection, sometimes incompatibilities exist between Windows and the software that you can resolve only by running a special USB utility found at the Palm download site. Select your hardware from the drop-down list and click the USB Registry Utility link. Download the USBRegClean.exe file, navigate to the downloaded file, and double-click the icon to install it. Reboot your computer and reinstall the Palm Desktop and HotSync Manager. If the connections check out, your software is up-to-date, and the problem still exists, there’s a chance that Windows has an internal resource conflict with the ports HotSync is trying to use. Click Start, right-click My Computer, click Properties, select the Hardware tab, and click the Device Manager button. If you see a yellow circle with a black exclamation mark inside next to any of the entries, that device is experiencing a resource conflict and is not functioning. Right-click the entry next to the icon, click Properties, and click Uninstall. Agree when Windows asks if you are sure you want to remove the hardware and reboot the computer. Windows should detect the removed hardware and either install it automatically or prompt you for an installation disc. It should eliminate the resource conflict in the process. If it doesn’t, contact the manufacturer of the troublesome device to ask how to install it differently, so it doesn’t generate the resource conflict. Problem: The software that came with my Treo 650 seems to have a lot of bugs. Solution: Early Treo 650 releases were troubled with software bugs, so a number of patches and hotfixes are available for each wireless carrier’s Treo 650. The Palm Web site (www.palm.com) includes an active and vital support page. Click Support in the top-level navigation to go to the Support page. From the Support page, choose Treo 650 and your wireless carrier to go to the Treo support page for your wireless carrier. The support page includes a bevy of downloads and support information. Regardless of your wireless carrier, because the Treo 650 is still new, it’s good to get into the habit of visiting the Palm Web site to stay on top of patches and hotfixes. You download the patches to your computer hard drive as per the documentation on the site. Then, select them with the Palm Quick Install tool and synchronize your Treo 650 to install the patches on your device. Problem: I usually connect my Pocket PC to my PC using the cradle and USB hub, but suddenly my computer doesn’t recognize the device. Solution: The problem may be the result of a bug that occurs either when you connect the device to a USB 2.0 hub or while the device is connected to the USB 2.0 hub and has been turned off and back on preventing Windows from recognizing the hardware. If this problem still occurs, it’s time to update the service pack. For more information visit the Microsoft Help And Support Knowledge Base at support.microsoft.com/search, type 838989 in the search field, and click the arrow button. Questions & Answers Q I wanted to download an application for the Pocket PC, and I was asked to choose between ARM, MIPS, or SH3 processors. Which one do I need? A All modern Pocket PCs (2002 to present) support StrongARM and XScale processors. So for these you’d select ARM (Advanced RISC Machine). Pocket PC CE 3.0 and Windows CE Handheld PC 2000 support StrongARM, MIPS (Multiprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages), and SH3. In this case go with ARM because it’s the latest processor. Your choices are limited to MIPS and SH3 if you’re using Windows CE 2. Q Is there a way to run Palm OS applications on my Windows Mobile Pocket PC? A Yes. Many PDA software developers develop products for both the Palm OS and Windows Mobile platforms, but each platform has software the other doesn’t have. StyleTap Platform (www.styletap.com) is software that makes it possible to use Palm OS-based applications from version 5.2 and earlier on your Windows Mobile device, including Windows Mobile 2003, Pocket PC 2000, and Pocket PC 2002. StyleTap Platform does have some limitations, however. It does not, for example, support hacks using the HackMaster API, conduits, or Bluetooth; it also can’t make hardware register changes in the Motorola 68000. Q I’m using the Blazer Web browser in a Treo smartphone. How do I clear the browser’s cookies and cache? A While in the Blazer application, click the Menu button. Select Options and then Preferences. In the Preferences window, tap the Advanced button. (If you have a Treo 600, when the Advanced window appears, click the Memory Management button.) In the Memory Management window, tap the Clear button next to Cookies to clear cookies or next to Cache to clear the cache. Click Done. 
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