Registered: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 108

Will Visors HotSynch with Windows XP?

I just got a great deal on a Toshiba Notebook PC. Then I realized it comes with Windows XP. I have my Prism's USB cradle set-up on the desktop PC at home, which runs Windows 2000 Professional, and a serial cradle on my NT-based PC at work.

Before I go out and buy a HotSynch cable for my new notebook, I would like to know, will my Visor even synch with it? On the Handspring website none of the Visors' specs list Windows XP compatibility, whereas all of the Treos' do, even the ones running Palm OS 3.5. Is that just because the Visor's webpages were set up before XP hit the market, or is is there a real compatibility issue?

And don't tell me to load another operating system into my notebook, because I got it very inexpensively, and I am not going to add the expense of downgrading the operating system!

Besides, have there been any substantial problems with XP like there were with ME? I have not heard anything bad and our MIS guy at work says XP runs great and all the new machines he buys are on it. I still have NT because of a perceived compatibility issue with out AutoCAD software, but I think that will change soon, since we upgraded last year.

What do you know, my geeky friends?

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The Prismer

"I am not a number, I am a person!"

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 143

I have synced both my Prism and my wife's Deluxe with our Dell laptop running XP Pro and PalmDesktop 4.1. I used the usb cable. Trying to get the IR port working now.


P.S. Wooohoooo! Post #100!

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: bright side of the moon.
Posts: 996

got in on the Best Buy deal eh?

i've been syncing my edge with my work laptop running xp pro via IR for about 5 months now.

I actually bought a USB cable thinking i would need it to sync as many were having trouble with IR syncing on XP/XP pro. Handspring has an upgrade to help you do this, but i managed to luck out and it worked with the Hotsync manager that came with my visor! (didn't need to download the 'patch'!!)

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Ever feel like the train left while you were busy reading the paper?

Stealth-Mod.

Registered: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 108

quote:

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Originally posted by Hoser_back_home
got in on the Best Buy deal eh?

i've been syncing my edge with my work laptop running xp pro via IR for about 5 months now.

I actually bought a USB cable thinking i would need it to sync as many were having trouble with IR syncing on XP/XP pro. Handspring has an upgrade to help you do this, but i managed to luck out and it worked with the Hotsync manager that came with my visor! (didn't need to download the 'patch'!!)

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Thanks Hoser and HindeR!

I knew the true geeks would rise to the challenge! <grin> Actually, a pretty lame challenge, I guess, but thanks anyway.

Yes, Hoser, I saw the Ad Saturday, tried all night to get through to their computer department to verify the store opening/start time for the sale the next day (ad said 10 units minimum per store) but no answer. The automated message system said Holiday hours on Sunday began at 10:00, so I thought, so what if I am not the first in line, if I get there 1/2 hour before opening, I should get at least one of the ten or more units, right? Wrong (almost)!

The store actually opened at 9:00 am, by 9:30 when I arrived they had already sold 7 and had a list with 7 more names on it, I became number 8. The guy with the list said, "well a few people were here overnight waiting outside, others got here at 4:00 and 5:00, and before the store opened we sold one to everyone in line." I was a bit agitated at possibly losing out, through no fault of my own, and the guy with the list seemed to sense that. "Relax", he said, "I think you got the last one, but I won't know for sure for a few more minutes."

Well, that is when my nightmare began. You see, unbeknownst to me I was coming down with an intestinal virus. I started sweating and was so weak, but there is no place to sit in BB, so I leaned on several nearby product racks. I had to wait and wait and wait and wait. And then the big D hit, but how could I go to the restroom all the way on the other side of the store and miss my chance when they called my name? So I found a bench at customer service and hunkered down. Lucklily, I had my trusty Prism to play Bejeweled and Solitaire! After another hour (yeah, I could have gone 10 times by then!) I approached the list guy again. Oh, yeah, he said, you are next after this guy. So I waited again, and waited, and waited. FINALLY, a clerk came up to the list guy and said, "who's next?" Did he call my name? NO, he called another guy. I looked at the list and told him, THAT is the name of the guy before me, you already sold him one! Oh, yeah, I guess you're next, he said, with a smile.

To make a long story a bit shorter, I spend another hour with the clerk reviewing my options (CH-Ching!), in-store tech start-up? NO! Well, it has been checked out anyway already, the clerk said. BB 3-year extended warranty covering screen and battery? Heck, yes! Purchase accessory value bundle? Maybe, but they ran out of cases, he would go check if they could upgrade me for the same price. More waiting. Yes, but the upgrade would cost $5 more! Sure, why not, saving $30 anyway on a case, lock and optical scrolling mini-mouse. Free 1-year financing? OK, let's go see this nice young lady.

"Hi there", said the hottie finance girl,"So you want a Best Buy Gold MasterCard?" No, I just want the one year free financing! "Oh, but to do that you need to apply for the Card! And, you get a free BB $25 gift card when you make your first purchase" I thought this was my first purchase, no? I got to buy at least a pack of gum on the card? OK, sign me up. "Sign here, here, here, here, here,....." Now we just have to wait for approval. tick..tick...tick...tick... gurgle, gurgle,gurgle gurgle......."Well, you are approved! (big surprise) and your limit is XXXX (three times the PC purchase price) Let's go check out!"

Remember, I have been holding it now for almost 3 hours!

So, after another 10 signatures, my receipts starts to print out, but the machine jams up! The clerk inserted it backwards! Taking the chance that they have this sale pretty well bottled up, I tell her, Look, I have GOT to use the restroom. I'll be back in a few minutes. "OK, I'll have it all straightened out by then, sir!" Good girl.

Another two minutes of excruciating pain as I hobble across the sales floor diagonally, well, OK, zig-zag-onally, in and out of the aisles, avoiding the crowd of other shoppers as best I can, to the restroom.

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

"Thank you for shopping Best Buy, and have a nice day!"

I go home, wife says, "Why'd it take you so long, get to work, I have been working since 5:00 AM, I have guests coming in two hours, you need to vaccuum the house. " Yes, dear. VVVVVVVVOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!

I check my temp, 100.5 degrees, not life threatening, but I am not going to attend any party. I collapse on the bed, not to move again (except to move my bowels and empty my bladder) for roughly 24 hours.

But, I got my new notebook PC!

__________________
The Prismer

"I am not a number, I am a person!"

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 143

Thanks, Prismer2, you've made me feel really good about my day, compared to yours that is. Sorry to hear about the troubles.

Getting the IR port to work should not be a problem. I just have to find the time to call Dell and get the IR port's manufacturer/model so I can load the correct device driver. XP lists a dozen or two for me and the gerneral IR port driver does not seem to work (gosh, this is starting to sound like a Mac commercial). "My name is Chip and I am a Chemical Engineer."

Registered: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 108

Well, my new notebook PC does not have an IR port, but it does have 3 USB 1.0 ports and two PCMCIA type 2 and 3 slots.

Any thoughts on an IR port accessory which would work well for low $$$$$ with my new Toshiba Notebook? I guess a USB Hot/Synch cable would work just as well, just way lower on the coolness scale.

__________________
The Prismer

"I am not a number, I am a person!"