Registered: Sep 1999
Location: New Mexico, USA
Posts: 112

Text of email sent to [email protected] 10/25 13:30

Dear tech support:

First, let me say that I am a computer troubleshooter by profession, so please don't put this down to "naive user syndrome".

I receive a Visor Deluxe with both the USB and the serial cradle. I already love the Visor Deluxe, and would miss it terribly if we had to part without a replacement in hand.

However, I have been unable to establish a synch. I have tried...

-USB under Windows98 with a Gateway PII-400. I have tried both USB ports. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the software. I have tried after booting in Safe Mode. I have tried the USB synch w/ various settings for other ports in the hotsynch manager. I have watched the USB listing under device manager for recognition of the Visor Deluxe.

-Serial under Windows98 w/ a Gateway PII-400. I have tried Com1 and Com2, every speed. I didn't systematically change the 8/none/1/xon/xoff parameters of the serial port, and have an email in to Handspring tech support asking if these parameters need changing.

-I tried the same sets of attempts on a Gateway PII-350.

-Serial under Macintosh System 8 on a Power Computing 604/120. All extensions, only Handspring and various and assorted serial port extensions, no extensions.


At no point in any of these trials have either the Visor or the desktop computer made any indication of recognizing each other. The only 2 constants across all trials have been the user and the Visor. Since the user is relatively technically literate, I'm hestitant to put the problem there.

That leaves me w/ a defective Visor, I fear.

In light of your current backorder status and semi-chaos regarding order placement and tracking, I am hesitant to do the standard "Get an RMA, send the device back, wait for replacement" drill. Would you consider the Gateway model of customer support, i.e., send me a new unit, I'll send the defective one back, ding my credit card if you don't get the return shipment in 30 days?

Thank you for your attention and assistance.


... Personal info snipped...


Credit card number available upon request to either phone number or, perchance, via email.

j.

*** END OF EMAIL QUOTE***

Other users are awaiting a replacement cradle to solve synch problems. I hope it works for you; however, did I really get 2 bad cradles? 3 bad computers?

Denial wasn't working- the problem has not gone away. Oh well.

And I still can beam stuff over from my buddy's PIII. Just can't back up my stuff.

I'll be real interested to hear if other folks find their way through the synch problems.




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"Vaya con Visor!"

-john

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: New Mexico, USA
Posts: 112

UPDATE:

I got a rapid, polite and gentle response from a tech fellow at Handspring. He complimented me on my thoroughness, made a couple of obvious suggestions and one not-so-obvious-to-me suggestion.

Try a soft reset.

After doing this, a synch request via USB from the Visor to the PC prompted the PC to ask for the Win98 disk and installed a USB diagnostic device.

After a couple of resets of both the Visor and the PC, I still can't synch, but I feel we've made progress. Now it's just run-of-the-mill Windoze USB wierdness, I suspect, which I can flail at. I left the serial cradle at home, however, so I can't try that yet.

But I'm confident something will work, and I'm encouraged at the rapid tech response via email.

I'm fully aware that the only possible solution for the problem is public humiliation, so I will continue to post the saga here.

Onward.




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"Vaya con Visor!"

-john

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Lake Geneva, WI, USA
Posts: 3

I has having problems syncing on two machines (same cradle) and tried the soft reset and it cleared the problem up. Kinda ugly that I had to reset it. If it turns out to be a widespead problem that they go on to fix I'll probably ask for a new Visor.

-Matt

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 431

Mildew,

It's not going to harm your Visor to do soft resets occasionally. Nor does it mean that there's anything wrong with your Visor. If you install hacks, you kind of get used to having to do it...

[This message has been edited by kalahari (edited 10-26-1999).]

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: New Mexico, USA
Posts: 112

Oh yeah, better stop playing w/ the darn thing long enough to update this thread.

After ripping out and reinstalling the USB guts, I'm sunk. Er, synced. Er, whatever.

I'm happy. AvantGo is a gas. It's time to finally read Moby Dick via TealDoc or Mobibook.

Phew.

5945k left, and still downloading stuff. Oh boy.

------------------

"Vaya con Visor!"

-john

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 38

I've done several hotsyncs with no problems. This morning, however, the Visor just sat there and did nothing.

I restarted Windows and did a soft reset on the Visor, and everything was back to normal.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 159

This sounds like an important troubleshooting solution (and so the first for Visors). It sounds like it could hit more than a few Visor owners.

Hey VC Staffers: I suggest this 'soft reset to sync' issue get some front page coverage, possibly a nice article rewrite?

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Posts: 24

Sweet Screaming Monkeys! It's Working! Soft Reset! My Visor SYNCS!

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Reston, VA USA
Posts: 9

I think there is a problem with Visors associated with beaming and then syncing.

Example:
My friend with a Palm IIIx beamed me an address book entry and then I tried to Hotsync my Visor but it would just timeout. I then did a soft reset and repeated the Hotsync and it worked just fine. I then had him beam me the address entry again and sure enough the Hotsync failed. Soft reset seems to clear something.

I then had another friend with a Palm III beam me some info and the Hotsync worked fine.

I'm not sure why beaming could affect the Hotsyncs.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Cheers,
Wes

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: az
Posts: 4

just to add add more points to the plot....

when I first got my Visor I couldn't synch either until I did a soft reset at which point everything worked fine.

I went through 4 or 5 synchs and about 5 days later and I couldn't synch again at which point a soft reset allowed me to synch.

Although I can think of a lot worse problems this is something that should be fixed. I don't feel like having another "Windows" type OS where stuff breaks and the fix is to "just reboot".

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Mt.Vernon, IN, US
Posts: 18

Are those with USB synch problems running Windows 98 Second Edition or the original release? Are you using a USB PCI card port or is the USB port off the motherboard? If using a USB PCI card do you by chance have an IRQ sharing issue with the USB PCI card? Are you able to run other USB devices from that USB port? Or, in light of all these conditions, is it just the Visor that doesn't work right? I'm awaiting my Visor and getting prepared. ;-)

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 12

I've been trying to sync too--using a USB cradle at work as my serial cradle is backordered. Have tried the reset trick and it didn't help. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

I like the Visor but it's not going to be much good if I can't sync.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Anaconda MT
Posts: 1

My visor hotsynced fine for a while, then stopped. I then went to Handspring site, nothing useful. I knew I had changed nothing on my computer. My USB settings worked at one time, and still should. Then I soft-reset my visor as suggested, and....success!
Come to think of it, I had beamed files into my visor between hotsyncs.

Handspring should fix this. It is clearly a visor problem.
Mike

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 17

Oh Lord....

I hope people are hounding Handspring with this information....

I hope I haven't spent all this money on a lemon

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Park Ridge, IL
Posts: 3

I went through the same synch problems when I first got my Visor. Finally, a call to tech support resulted in the suggestion to soft reset. Yeah, it fixed the problem... but is this an indication of a broader problem?

I loaded up a bunch of software and hacks that worked great on my PalmIII only to get a FatalError that required a hard reset. I thought I narrowed the issue down to HackMaster. After installing only licensed software and no hacks, it worked for several days, but then I got another hard lock today.

I'm getting nervous!!!

Any thoughts?

Thanks.



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JohnB

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 4

I have problems with USB sync as well. At work (under NT), I have a serial cradle, and it works quite reliably. However at home where I have USB with Win98, I have to soft-reset about 30% of the time to make sync work -- in some cases two attempts in a row will result in the first one working, but not the second one. Argh.