activesync crashes often and creates duplicates

hi there,

I am experimenting with several differeny ways of syncing, and regardless of
whether its via USB, or via the internet and using wireless active sync ...
i am finding the following behaviours.

1) Activesync completely freezes.
2) Activesync sits at "looking for changes" FOREVER.
3) Activesync creatse duplicate, triplicate, and sometimes quad entries of
all that it is syncing.

A full reset of the device, a nightmare time cleaning up after, completely
resetting up from scratch, and then it goes and does it again, time and time
again ... usuaully after something like a lost internet connection causes a
dropout, upsetting the activesync process.

This software has over the past been criticised repeatedly for this type of
behaviour, and it would seem that even the most recent version, in either
3.8 or 4.x variety, is STILL behaving extremely erratically,
unprofessionally, and hardly fit for the enterprise.

What can be done about this? What IS being doen about this? What is
Microsoft doing to realistically make the whole active sync / pocket PC
class of device, fit for the enterprise?

Cheers,

Brad.

 

Hi,
ActiveSync is only as stable as the quality of combination of the testing of
the Pocket PC hardware and ActiveSync together that the OEM is responsible
for testing.

So if you have problems like this you need to contact your Pocket PC OEM for
assistance. They have signed a contract with Microsoft to provide support
to you since you bought their product.

Some suggestions on things to try include:

1. Make sure your Pocket PC is running the latest ROM release from the OEM.
Each release generally gets more stable.
2. Unplug all other USB devices. Do not use a USB hub with the Pocket PC.
3. Try just setting up a basic partnership with NO SERVICES selected to
sync. If it is unstable at this point do not select the options to sync
with Outlook or you risk duplicates.
4. Do not use 3rd party backup routines to backup to flash. Generally you
must setup a new partnership if you use one and risk other problems with
e-mail sync.

Also, Slipstick.com has a duplicate remover that can assist you with
removing duplicates.

BTW when asking for help, you should tell us what device you have, what
desktop you are using and what desktop OS.

Sincerely,

--
Chris De Herrera
http://www.pocketpcfaq.com
http://www.tabletpctalk.com
http://www.pocketpctalk.com
http://www.mobilitytalk.com

 

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the reply.

I am talking about a wide range of issues, that encompasses various physical
devices, all with the latest firmwares, many connecting to an exchange 2003
or exchange 2000 backend wirelessly via the internet. The common
denominator is the activesync architecture.

Problems such as theres no way to "overwrite" a device thats stuck in a rut
(and you cant even modify its settings until a successful sync is done,
which defeatse the purpose as it keeps duplicating, triplicating an exchange
mailbox's contents.) ... youve either got to hardware reset, or wipe your
partnership, setup a dummy local profile on a USB connected PC, get a
successful sync, then delete everythign from outlook to "wipe" the device,
and then reset it up for your wireless or USB sync ... all will run OK for a
period of time until *somethign* upsets it, and then it reverts to its very
time consuming behaviour.

Other gripes are the "conflict resolution" ... and "resolve items". It
basically amoutns to you guessing which one of your 9,000 calendar
appointments is upsetting it, or inbox, or whatever. Resolve items just
goes around in circles, with no information whatsoever, even if set to
"overwrite the device" etc.

I'm just having a gripe that in general thsi application, in its various
forms and versions is shakey at best and is about as reliable and well
thought out as windows ME.

Some quality control needs to be introduced , especially now that activesync
is becoming a widely used part of exchange server backends and "road
warrior" workforces. The general feeling is that its still a technology
emerging, perhaps it needs to be branded "beta"

I'm sure there are workarounds to most situations, it'd be nice if these
applications worked without so much bandaiding and hand holding. (and time).
When mobile activesync works, it is great.

Cheers for the tip on slipstick, im going to check that out now.

Brad.

 

Hi,
I agree that ActiveSync should work better. However it is up to Microsoft
to take the initiative to fix problems.

In the meantime, I have been working very hard to identify workarounds and
fixes external to Microsoft to resolve issues with ActiveSync. This is why
I wrote the ActiveSync information on Pocket PC FAQ -
www.pocketpcfaq.com/faqs.htm (there's many articles on ActiveSync - all
versions).

--
Chris De Herrera
http://www.pocketpcfaq.com
http://www.tabletpctalk.com
http://www.pocketpctalk.com
http://www.mobilitytalk.com