# Hotsync/COM miscommunication



## asulca593 (Mar 16, 2004)

I have an old school palm cradle I use with my Palm VIIx on COM1 on my computer. Lately, Hotsync will post a message saying the COM1 port is not available and that it will open when the COM1 port becomes available. Thus, I can't sync. 

To fix this, I have been using the device manager to disable then enable the COM1 port (requiring me to restart Windows for both). This will work for one HotSync session, but after that it will bring up the same message over again. I'm baffled and do not know what else to try. Has anyone else had this problem and knows what might be the issue?

I'm using Windows 2K.


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## StumpedTechy (Jul 7, 2004)

Are you using any other program that may try and communicate with a com port? Also do you use any kind of modem in your PC? is it hooked up to COM 3? Com 1 and Com 3 are linked and that can be a cause of the problem.


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## asulca593 (Mar 16, 2004)

I have an APC Back-UPS Pro on COM2, but that hasn't given me any trouble.

I have a modem that has never been used on a PCI expansion slot (on COM3 according to the device manager). Since I don't use the modem, could I just disable it and maybe that would fix it?


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## StumpedTechy (Jul 7, 2004)

I would try disabling the modem and com 3 and see if the syncing works as it should... my bet is something may be trying to keep it active I.E. Modem has some fax software waiting for a call or something. COM 2 should not interfere at all.


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## asulca593 (Mar 16, 2004)

I tried disabling the modem and I had it working for one HotSync session, but I restarted my computer to check if the setting would stay. Unfortunately, HotSync went back to displaying the message on startup. The modem is still disabled, though. My guess is that something in the registry is resetting during startup. However, I am hesitant to change anything in the registry without being absolutely sure. It's walking a fine line between getting something to work properly and completely messing up my system and being unable to fix it without having to reinstall windows.

I should have noted that COM3 does not show up under the device manager, just when I look at the properties of the modem. Only COM1, COM2, and LPT1 show up under the com + port tree in the device manager. Thus, I cannot disable it.


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## StumpedTechy (Jul 7, 2004)

Have you checked Com 1 and Com 2 in device manager and made sure they have the right settings? They should have different IRQ's and Memory addresses.


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## asulca593 (Mar 16, 2004)

They have different IRQs but couldn't find where to check the memory address. I was looking under the Hardware Resources Tree in the Computer Management in My Computer.

The "I/O Port" setting has each as:
COM1: 0x03F8-0x03FF
COM2: 0x02F8-0x02FF
Are these the memory addresses or something else?


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## StumpedTechy (Jul 7, 2004)

Sorry I should not have assumed you knew that -

COM1 - 3F8 IRQ4
COM2 - 2F8 IRQ3
COM3 - 3E8 IRQ4
COM4 - 2E8 IRQ3

notice how it repeats

another thought is 3 fold 1) have you tried reinstalling the Hotsync software 2) Have you tchecked to ensure its ONLY syncing to the Com port and not to USB or the LAN 3) have you ensured your hotync configuration on the PC is set to com 1 and the 19200 setting (this second number may be off I am doing it from memory).


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## asulca593 (Mar 16, 2004)

I see. I know a lot about computers, but IRQs and memory locations I'm not too familiar with.

For 1) After reintstalling Palm Desktop/HotSync (all-in-one) I was able to sync it once. Once again, after restarting Windows, same message.

For 2) The only checked sync location is for "Local Serial." The other choices are Local USB (unchecked), Modem (unchecked), and Network (unchecked).

For 3) For the speed, I had it set "As Fast as Possible," which has not given me any trouble up until this point. So I set the speed at 19200, closed out the setup for HotSync, and yet again, same message.

I have consulted with Palm's help section on their web site, but I have had trouble finding FAQs or troubleshooting topics about this problem. I will keep researching though.


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