Hi, I have been using HotSync and PocketMirror to transfer data from my Palm to my PC's Outlook for over a year. For the last 3 weeks, whenever I press the HotSync button on my Palm's cradle, my Palm attempts to perform a modem sync. I have my HotSync manager on my PC set to 'local serial', and my HotSync on my Palm set to 'local' and 'direct serial'. If I open HotSync on my Palm and press on the square sync icon while the Palm is in its craddle, the sync works like it should. This problem just began occurring -- I can't remember changing any setting before this problem began. I have upgraded to Win XP, but HotSync worked for several months under XP. I have uninstalled and reinstalled my Palm Desktop and PocketMirror, but the problem continues. Any suggestions appreciated. System: Palm IIIxe HotSync Manager 4.0 on PC HotSync 3.5 on Palm Palm Desktop 4.0.1 Win XP Pro

Not sure if anyone is reading this, but I'm still having the same problem. I tried performing a hard reset on my Palm, thinking that the problem may have been related to something on the Palm OS... but no luck.

Yep, Sound sfamiliar. Here's what I did. Be sure to backup your Palm data. Uninstall Palm desktop and Poacket Mirror. Remove all Palm and Pocket mirror directories (that's the trick!). When using Windows XP, download Palm desktop 4, available from www.palm.com (free). Install Palm Desktop 4. Don't start it after installation. Now Install Pocket Mirror from the CD that came with your Palm. It is in one of the subdirecories psw\chapura or something like that. Install Pocket mirror but again don't start anything. Go to the Chapura Website and download the new Pocketmirror for XP. I think it's version 3..something. Download and install this update, reboot your machine and check your Hotsync Icon in the taskbar for the aprpriate settings. Good luck.

I called the Palm support line last week, and after troubleshooting the issue the tech, he told me that it was a defective hardware issue. I'm under warranty, so I sent my Palm in for a replacement. If the problem persists with the new Palm, I try what you've described. I appreciate the tips.

Lex, You were right on. I received my "new" (I think refurbished, actually) Palm and popped it into my craddle. Tried a hot sync, and viola, same modem sync error nonsense. (It amazes me that Palm support doesn't know their own product well enough to distinguish a hardware issue from a software issue.) I followed your steps to uninstalling Palm Desktop and Pocket Mirror, deleting all Palm folders, and re-installing new versions. Unfortunately, it didn't work and I'm still getting the same error. Any other ideas? Or other forum to look to? Thanks.

There is a registry hack that will allow you to specify which COM port that your Palm is connecting to. If you assign this directly then the connection errors will go away.