Before you start... 

This troubleshooting guide is intended to resolve significant problems with Activesync 3.8, not to resolve single quirks of the application. It is wise to upgrade to ActiveSync 4.x, since version 3.x is officially replaced by this version.

Before we start to do more serious things, please check the most obvious problems:

• Is the cable between your device and desktop/laptop connected? Make sure that the cable is plugged in correctly and is stuck there solidly.
• Did you have any USB-hubs between the PocketPC and desktop? If so, remove these hubs and check if that solves the problem.
• Does the desktop see the PocketPC? You can check this by looking in the desktop, going to the Device Manager (under Control Panel, System). The PocketPC will manifest itself as a Windows CE USB device. If the device is correctly installed, you will see something like this:

If your problem still occurs, it is time to start the real troubleshooting.

Activesync does not connect

Firewall conflicts

Also check if your firewall settings are not blocking Activesync. Activesync has the following components: WCESCOMM.EXE,  WCESMGR.EXE, RAPIMGR.EXE, and CEAPPMGR.EXE. These components have to be allowed to communicate in your firewall settings. Also the following ports have to be open:

• 990
• 999
• 5679

For specific firewalls, there are specific manuals available:

• Chris de Herrera's manual for Activesync and Norton Firewall
• Chris de Herrera's manual for Activesync and ZoneAlarm Firewall
• Chris de Herrera's manual for Activesync and the Windows XP SP2 firewall

Antivirus applications

Another explanation for Activesync not working is that an antivirus applicatin is blocking access to critical Activesync processes. The following :

• McAfee virusscanner has a HAWK-email opion that could block the access to specific parts of outlook, resulting in unresolved items or "network error".

Activesync synchronizes, but finishes with errors

Unresolved items

There are several reasons why Activesync could end up with unresolved items. Here are few of them:

• McAfee virusscanner has a HAWK-email opion that could block the access to specific parts of outlook, resulting in unresolved items or "network error".

References

• Chris de Herrera's Activesync Troubleshooting guide