Palm Desktop for Clie 4.1

[Indigo2]

Anyone know where I can get an updated version of Palm Desktop for Clie (particularly version 4.1)? Thanks.

[Edlin]

try http://www.sonyclie.org

[Indigo2]

After I installed Palm Desktop for Clie 4.1, my NR70V won't HotSync anymore. Anyone know if it is incompatible, and if so, how to fix this? Any info would be appreciated.

[Burdie]

*Bump* - I am having the same problem. Love to hear of a solution.

Burdie

[cerberus]

What kind of error messages are you getting? Any?

[Burdie]

I am not getting any error messages. Nothing happens. The Clie acts as if it is trying to hotsync, then times out. The computer makes its noise as if a hotsync is starting - but the hotsync box doesn't pop up.

I just went back to 4.01 but I was curious if there was something I had missed that would have made 4.1 work.

Burdie

[cerberus]

Can you use MSImport to gain access to your memory stick through the PC?

[Burdie]

Can you use MSImport to gain access to your memory stick through the PC?

Yes I can (currently with Palm Desktop 4.01 - I didn't try it with 4.1).

Burdie

[cerberus]

Well, that's good. At least the PC can see the Clie - so far. Have you ever tried to watch your hardware manager when you sync to see if the Clie shows up there? That would help determine if its your hotsync driver that's fouling up.

NOTE: You might also take a look at Sony's Support site. There's a system patch for your Clie that says it fixes a hotsync issue.

[Burdie]

Cerberus:

Thanks for the help and advice. I have all the patches and updates or the T665 installed. The lack of ability to hotsync was only a factor when I changed to the new Sony Desktop 4.1. I vaguely remember hearing that it might not work with older model Clies. I thought I would take a chance when I saw it available to download on sonyclie.org.

Because my Clie hotsyncs without a problem with the original desktop I assume that there is something in the new desktop that is incompatible. I have also downloaded the hotsync drivers from sonyclie.org. Maybe, when I have time, I will try and install those hotsync drivers and desktop 4.1 and see what happens.

Thanks again,

Burdie

[MicahDG]

Indigo2 and Edlin: I believe the problem of losing hotsync ability derives from the fact that the main Palm Desktop download available on sonyclie.org is the latest version from the TH55 disc. As I have recently discovered, this version will almost always only work for TH55 users because it installs the TH55-specific hotsync driver (overwriting your NR70 or T665 driver).

I believe you can work out the problem in this manner: Install your old Palm Desktop (the one that will allow you to hotsync) then browse to the c:\windows\system32\drivers folder and look for the PalmUSBD.sys file. Copy it to someplace else (or rename it something like PalmUSBD.nr70). Now install the newer TH-55 Palm Desktop 4.1. After installation, return to the c:\windows\system32\drivers folder, delete the PalmUSBD.sys that should have been installed by the new Palm Desktop, and then rename your original PalmUSBD.sys file to the correct file name. Now, reboot the computer and give it a try.

Please remember that Cerberus and I are still trying to work these drivers out so this might not work :) but please report back to us so that we can help others or work out another solution.

[Burdie]

Indigo2 and Edlin: I believe the problem of losing hotsync ability derives from the fact that the main Palm Desktop download available on sonyclie.org is the latest version from the TH55 disc. As I have recently discovered, this version will almost always only work for TH55 users because it installs the TH55-specific hotsync driver (overwriting your NR70 or T665 driver).

I believe you can work out the problem in this manner: Install your old Palm Desktop (the one that will allow you to hotsync) then browse to the c:\windows\system32\drivers folder and look for the PalmUSBD.sys file. Copy it to someplace else (or rename it something like PalmUSBD.nr70). Now install the newer TH-55 Palm Desktop 4.1. After installation, return to the c:\windows\system32\drivers folder, delete the PalmUSBD.sys that should have been installed by the new Palm Desktop, and then rename your original PalmUSBD.sys file to the correct file name. Now, reboot the computer and give it a try.

Please remember that Cerberus and I are still trying to work these drivers out so this might not work :) but please report back to us so that we can help others or work out another solution.

MicahDG:

I did what you suggested, exactly as above. However, it still did not work when I tried a HotSync. (The T665 tried to Hotsync, the computer made its noise indicating that something was contacting it through the USB port, but no HotSync box on the computer).

Also, when I copied the old PalmUSBD.sys file back to the c:\windows\system32\drivers folder, it did not ask me if I wanted to overwrite an existing file.

Thanks for the help though. I don't know if Desktop 4.1 is much better than 4.01, but I am really curious to see if this can work, so if you have other suggestions, please pass them along.

Burdie

[MicahDG]

I meant to address my previous message to you also, Burdie. Thank you for also trying my instructions. Here's the next suggestion:

After you have the Palm Desktop 4.1 installed, take a copy of your T665 PalmUSBD.sys and browse to the location where you installed Palm Desktop. This might be in the c:\Program Files\Sony Handheld directory. When you find it, browse to this folder: USB_Driver\Hotsync and paste your T665 version of PalmUSBD.sys there. Now, this directory structure may vary according to how your T665 Palm Desktop set things up, so you might have to hunt around for the drivers with the Palm Desktop install folder.

[Burdie]

After you have the Palm Desktop 4.1 installed, take a copy of your T665 PalmUSBD.sys and browse to the location where you installed Palm Desktop. This might be in the c:\Program Files\Sony Handheld directory. When you find it, browse to this folder: USB_Driver\Hotsync and paste your T665 version of PalmUSBD.sys there. Now, this directory structure may vary according to how your T665 Palm Desktop set things up, so you might have to hunt around for the drivers with the Palm Desktop install folder.

MicahDG:

I tried this too, but it did not work. I then went and did a search on my computer for PalmUSBD.sys. The only versions of the file I could find were the ones from Desktop 4.01. In other words, after I installed 4.1, I searched for this file and could only find my old versions of it. This leads me to think that this is not the offending file. In fact, if memory serves correctly, I dion't think I saw a \USB_Driver folder under 4.1.

I played around with a couple of other files (hotsync.exe and sync20.dll) but no joy.

So, back to 4.01, which, mercifully, still works fine.

Burdie

[Burdie]

FWIW, I found the following in an older thread on this issue:

"Solution to desktop 4.1 with T series
The solution to that is to install Palm desktop for Clie 4.0.1 first, then copy the original USBPort.dll (should be in "Sony Handheld" directory) to somewhere else, install Palm Desktop 4.1 over 4.01, then recopy 4.0.1's USBPort.dll back to its original location. The problem is with the new version of USBPort.dll, the older version works fine with the 4.1 desktop on the T series."

I will try this, but Desktop 4.1 asked me to uninstall the older version. I'll see if it asked or required

Burdie

Just tried it - the instructions require me to uninstal 4.01 before I can install 4.1, so no luck here.

[lexib]

hi guys .... just wondering where i can get Palm Desktop 4.01 for my Clie PEG T615C and also the remaining drivers and software that came with the CD as i have lost the original drivers that came with the unit. Can anyone out there please help. I need this urgently ...

Thanks

[cerberus]

Hmmm....I wonder where they could be......

[buggydad]

I beleive there are two versions of the Desktop: the "Palm" version and the "Sony" version. (I remember debating some time ago whether I should "upgrade" from the Sony Desktop 4.0.1 to the Palm Desktop 4.1.)

I've been using Palm Desktop 4.1 for some time with my T665C. I just got a NR70V and it seems to work as well.

Don't know what differences there are between the two Desktops.

[Cyker]

Interesting semi-fact:

All Sony Clie's pre-OS5 use the standard HotSync protocols, and will just 'work'

All post-OS5 Clies (And Palms for that matter) use crappy propriatory Hotsync drivers, so they WON'T co-exist. Have a TH55? You need the TH55's Clie Desktop. Buy a T|3? Try to sync it? Blammo. Gotta install T|3 desktop. Same deallie with the UX, NX, NZ, T|5, and probably LD, E2 and Zires...

[RhythmDoctor]

I beleive there are two versions of the Desktop: the "Palm" version and the "Sony" version. (I remember debating some time ago whether I should "upgrade" from the Sony Desktop 4.0.1 to the Palm Desktop 4.1.)

I've been using Palm Desktop 4.1 for some time with my T665C. I just got a NR70V and it seems to work as well.

Don't know what differences there are between the two Desktops.

You can install the Palm 4.1 version instead of the Sony 4.0 version, with some caveats. First, although it worked with my SJ30, "your mileage may vary," as they say. The Palm version of the software may install some conduits and other software that are not supported by the Clie. The Palm Expense Manager is one that comes to mind. This may lead to error messages each time you launch Palm Desktop. The messages are annoying, but appear to be harmless. The only way I was able to get rid of them was to clearing their entries in the Windows Registry. (DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK.)

Frankly, I like the Palm Desktop 3.1 software much better. I don't need the alarm feature that 4 has, and version 4 has downgraded the search feature for Memo. (The version 3 search highlights the word you're searching for - version 4 just takes you to the entry, and you have to manually find the word - yuck!)

I have not tried to install Palm 5 software on my machine, but my wife bought a Zire and had to upgrade the software on her machine. Interstingly, when she created her account for her Zire, she could still see the leftover data in my account (from back when I was syncing my Clie on her machine). So it would appear that if you can copy/paste the appropriate Hotsync drivers, you may be able to get the Palm 5 software working. However, I also discovered that using Desktop 5, she could also see my private records WITHOUT ENTERING THE PASSWORD. That's a huge security flaw!

ALL of these versions of the software (and their associated HotSync drivers) are causing me to get occasional BSOD errors due to an apparent IRQL conflict with PalmUSBD.sys on my Hyperthreaded Pentium 4 system (using WinXP - both SP1 and SP2). (They all seem to work fine on non-hyperthreaded systems.)

[RhythmDoctor]

As a follow-up to my prior message, I tried disabling hyperthreading in the BIOS of my system, and the BSOD errors have completely disappeared. It seems almost unnatural to not have any BSOD errors!

However, I do see a performance hit, so I would like to turn hyperthreading back on sometime. Is there a version of Palm Desktop software that works with OS4 PDAs and does not crash the hyperthreaded systems?

[cerberus]

I would hope their original software wouldn't crash the system....

[RhythmDoctor]

No, that's where the whole problem started. As soon as I bought my hyperthreaded computer, the ORIGINAL Soly Clie Software (Palm Desktop 4.1) started causing BSOD errors when Hotsyncing. Since then every version I've tried causes the same thing. I've downloaded 4.1.4 from Palm's website. That was released after HT systems were common, so hopefully it has a bug fix. I'll try that next time I have a few hours to screw with it. Unfortunately, my experience with using Palm software on the Clie is that there are a bunch of error messages due to non-supported conduits (Expense manager) that require manual registry tweaks to get rid of. So it takes a few hours to really get it working well.

[tksToMicah]

your help is very valuable.
thanks.

[mundo]

I tried downloading the palm desktop from sonyclie.org and it installed perfectly, but when I connected my clie peg-sj30 and tried to hotsync it just didn't happen. My clie went on and on and finally the "connection could not be established" message appeared on the screen. I guess my laptop just didn't recognize my clie because not even the hotsync sound appeared after trying to do so. Can you help me with this? Did I download the incorrect desktop? I just don't get it. Thx

[MicahDG]

Assuming you downloaded this file here:
http://sonyclie.org/PC/palmdesktop/palmdesktop-sl10-sj20-sj30.zip
there is a fair chance that it will NOT work for you :) Therefore I suggest downloading the entire drivers disc, which can be found here:
http://www.sonyclie.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=114