I have the Documents To Go conduit set to do nothing. I have no other conduits that would hosync things directly to the card, and I always use a card reader to transfer files like pictures to it, rather than using the glacially slow hotsync approach. So although I do regularly hotsync my TX, it's only to back up main memory or to install a new application if I decide not to use MyInstall from the card instead. When I back up my SD card, I do so by copying its contents to my PC via the card reader.

So I'm reasonably sure my experience is not of much use in helping understand what your issues are, now that I understand better how you are using hotsync. I'll keep quiet now - at least about this..

FerdFerd, you shouldn´t be quiet :). With the programs I mentioned, hotsyncing is the only way [besides wireless update] of providing them with the data they need (Quicknews) or at least a lot more comfortable than manually copying files, since the corresponding desktop application automatically takes care of that (SmartlistToGo, iSilo, ListPC), i.e. updating a SLTG table and having it automatically scheduled for sync on "save". So the convienience is not so much the physical action of copying a file, but avoiding the hassle of having to find out which one of all those files is the most recent.

As for DocsToGo one could just copy the files over to some directory on the card, all right, that would be easier and faster, but what you´re missing is the feature of having it track which version is the most recent and keeping both sides up-to-date automatically. I do not use it on a regular basis, but I do have some excel sheets which I use as sort of an database file, at which I´d like to take a look on my palm and even be able to change them (a little). And it happens to be those files for which I would see some use to have them on an encrypted drive :)

Besides, even if it should turn out that it´s not possible to have DocsToGo sync files directly to the crypted volume (which is a nice-to-have, but no must-be) I don´t think it´s just an issue of DTG, but a more basic one.

I am an Avantgo user, but I didn't even install its conuit. I sync it wirelessly instead, when I want to.

I see your good points about DTG, which isn't much of an issue for me, since I mainly use DTG to view documents I keep for reference, not for those I want to alter. But for users who regularly compose or edit documents on their PDAs, keeping things coordinated with the desktop would be really important.

I also can believe that there is a more basic issue at stake too. I don't know what it is, though.

(So I guess I wasn't quiet after all.)

CryptDrive seems to sit on the same expansion slot all the time for me.

OK, but why does hotsync tell about new slots then?

Maybe it checks by volume number? It shouldn't, because volume numbers can change, but maybe it does?

Did you try 0.29?

I am now testing full card encryption. The benchmarks are as follows:
VFSMark for encrypted drive: 451 (read: 192%, write: 48%)
VFSMark for unencrypted drive: 592 (read: 493%, write: 56%)

I have been trying to hotsync files to the encrypted drive (downloaded as version 0.30, reports itself to be 0.29), with the following results.

First, in no case so far have I experienced any corruption of the encrypted drive.

I started with a 50MB encrypted drive, which on the root has DCIM, Documents, and Palm directories. The Palm directory has Palm/Launcher and Palm/programs/DXTG subdirectories.

With the main card hidden with CryptDrive's option to do that, I attempted to hotsync a Word file and a jpg image by dragging them to the Expansion Card window of Palm Quick Install. Hotsync produced alerts for both files that said no card was found. The Hotsync log indicated that there had been a change in card numbers and that files may not have been transferred. However, the jpg was in the DCIM directory of the encrypted drive, where it should have been. The Word file was missing altogether.

With the main card unhidden, I did the same thing again. There was no message in the Hotsync log and both files disappeard from the Quick Install Window with no alerts. The jpg was in the DCIM file on the main card, not the encrypted drive. The Word file again was missing altogether.

I tried a text file, and it did not hotsync over either, although there was no message to show that it failed to transfer.

I have not tried the Documents To Go conduit. If it's important, I guess I'm game for turning it on and giving it a try. Perhaps that's necessary for transferring the Word and text files by hotsync? I am not in the habit of using this conduit or of hotsyncing anything to the card, so I am not familiar enough with what to expect to know for sure what's going on with the text and Word files with Hotysnc alone and no DTG conduit active.

Let me know if there are other things I should try.

I ran VFSMark on my Kingston 1GB.

For the card itself, VFSMark is 886. File Write is 15%. File Read is 545%.

For the 50MB CryptDrive, VFSMark is 364. File Write is 12%. File Read is 191%.

There is quite an overall penalty for encryption by this test. And the write speeds seem to be deceiving to me. I say so because if I copy a file to the main part of the card via a file manager, it moves quickly. The same file takes quite a bit longer to move to the encrypted drive. Perhaps the delay is the encryption process, not the writing itself?

Here is a report of the transfer of a native Word document, via the D2G conduit, to the external card, either to the main card or to the encrypted volume. All transfers have been done by dragging the file to the External Card window in the desktop part of D2G, followed by ordinary Hotsyncing over WiFi.

I have had no incidents of corruption during any such transfers. With the card containing the encrypted drive hidden, the file transfers to the proper directory on the encrypted volume. With the card not hidden, the file transfers to the main card, not the encrypted drive. With the CryptDrive application turned off, obviously the file goes to the main card as expected.

But I have had no corruption of the encrypted volume, whether the main card is hidden or not.

The Hotsync log reports when the number of volumes changes and says files may not have transferred, but in every case they find their way to the expected place on the card.

First of all, thanks for your excessive testing!

This happens if you set the file to be transferred to the "next card available" within DTG. What I´d like to do is the other way around: Have the file transfer to the crypted drive and nowhere else. Have you tried to set the file to get synced to the crypted drive?

@pruss, no, i´ve not tried 0.29, but I will as soon as I´ve found it (changed my main computer last week and was busy transferring files & settings).

I don't see where to set the option to transfer to the "next card available." And even if I did, how would I control whether it was the main card or the encrypted drive that is "next?" I have the version of D2G that comes with the TX (7.006) and have never updated.

It does go only to the encrypted drive if the CryptDrive option to hide the card is selected. But of course then you can't get at the unencyrpted part of the card at all.

In looking around, I did find a place under Tools to Manage Cards. It lists several (nine right now) instances of CryptDrive and only one of the name of the card itself.

sry, I semm to have missed this one.


Dunno about v7, but it´s there in v8 and v9 (I´m using the latter).


Yes -> problem. I.e. QuickNews is set to sync it´s contents to the card, and having it sync some video podcasts to main memory would come close to RAM suicide :)


;)
That´s what I am talking about - where do those 9 instances come from? I´d suppose you didn´t create a crypted drive 9 times, but just enabled/disabled it in between (or had it disable itself automatically, that is, i.e. with a soft reset). I think this is the cause for DTG not finding the card - it´s always being fooled that the card named "crypted drive" or whatever did not exist before this particular sync.

btw, I´d like to follow pruss´ advice to try 0.29, but I don´t find it any more. Anybody has a copy?

Yes, I do understand that to be a problem. Alex Pruss reported a few posts up that he's working on full card encryption. That would solve this, but then everything would be encrypted, not necessarily desirable either.
The version in the freeware section says it's 0.30, but it identifies itself as 0.29 when you load it up. Thi is the version I've been using.

Could you try to turn on the option to hide the original drive? This will show the encrypted virtual card but on the card it's on. Maybe this would help?