Palm V, OS 3.3 -- HotSync is ALWAYS Infrared, Regardless of Setting

October 4, 2004 7:53 AM

I have a Palm V running OS 3.3. It works fine except for one annoying problem that I cannot for the life of me solve or find out anything about: the HotSync cradle button always invokes HotSync by Infrared, no matter what the setting. Has anyone heard of this before, and if so, is there any fixing it? [mi]

I've posted this question in a number of Palm forums and the usual response is "have you installed the latest Palm Desktop?" Trust me, not only have I done so, but it doesn't make any difference. It doesn't matter what desktop software I use (Windows, Mac or Linux, I've used them all), it's related to the hardware itself, you don't even have to have the cradle attached to the desktop machine. I have the sync set to Direct Serial and it works if you tap the screen button (which always does what the HotSync setting says).

Someone once mentioned that it could be related to an interaction with an application I've installed, but no one could offer possible culprits. It's not the end of the world, but it sure does make HotSync annoying (I can't seem to break out of the habit of just hitting the button, waiting for the Ir sync to time out, and then hitting the screen button).

posted by tommasz to computers & internet (4 answers total)

Have you tried adjusting the settings in your hotsync manager, (both Palm and Desktop settings?)
posted by keswick at 8:42 AM on October 4, 2004

Yes, I have. I can set the HotSync button to anything else and it will work fine but if I set it to HotSync, it will only Ir sync.
posted by tommasz at 9:40 AM on October 4, 2004

if i right-click on my hotsync icon, it gives me a list of available hotsync methods in the pop-up menu: local USB is selected. this controls how my system tries to sync when the button is pressed. check that, see if it's set on IR by accident.

(seems to simple to be the answer but worth checking anyway. mine was once stuck on "sync via modem" until i figured this out.)
posted by caution live frogs at 2:50 PM on October 4, 2004

It's not my desktop that does this, it's the Palm itself. Once I hit the Palm's screen button for HotSync, my PC works fine. It's when I hit the hardware button on the cradle that the problem occurs.
posted by tommasz at 6:38 AM on October 5, 2004