Solving Synchronization Problems

The most common problem is the firewall. In particular, ZoneAlarm will block the necessary supporting programs in ActiveSync from working. So, the first suggestion is to disconnect the network cable, then turn off the firewall and then try to sync with the PocketPC. If the firewall is on, its probably that you will be able to see the files on the PocketPC but contacts, calendar, and tasks will not synchronize.

If the problem is the firewall, then try adding the local subnet to the trusted zone which corresponds to the PocketPC (i.e. When using a USB connection to a desktop computer, many PocketPCs use the 169.254.0.0 IP region. You can check this by looking quickly at the ZoneAlarm networks. By default, ZoneAlarm will initially put the PocketPC subnet as Internet Zone. Reboot then immediately add the IP region to the Trusted Zone. Then you can probably also switch the ActiveSync programs to only Trusted Zone also.

ActiveSync 4.2:

Supports Outlook 2000, Outlook XP and includes a built-in troubleshooter which is actually useful for once. OS: PPC2002-WM5, Win2000-XP

ActiveSync 4.5:

Does not support Outlook 2000. Supports Outlook 2002, XP and 2003. A bit more professional than version 4.2. OS: PPC2002-WM5, Win2000-XP <