Syncing with Outhouse

Bear with me. I avoid using MS for everything but my OS so it's all strange to me

With my 6651, Casio and borrowed 720 I need to keep it all in sync. It's getting out of hand.

To sync my hpc PIM data and my desktop I need Outhouse97/2k/2k3 installed on my desktop, not the Express version, correct? (you know what I really mean, after all.....)

If I don't have any version of Office and my hpcs never came with disks am I SOL? (lol, Outhouse, SOL, I think it's funny) Is Outhouse on the Office CDs? Or is it somewhere on the W2k CD? (if I can find my W2K CD, found it)

I poked around the MS site and found Outhouse updates but no downloads for the whole shebang. I found a link to buy the 2003 version for $24 but are where are the freebies?

Suppose I manage to get Outhouse on my desktop. Will the PIM data on my hpc sync to the desktop? Somewhere I read the desktop is dominant and doesn't accept updates from the hpc. That seems a bit retarded to me, even by MS standards.

How about my hpcnotes pro data? Will it sync somewhere in Outhouse? Or do they get flushed? (flushed, lol)

Am I even close to being on the right track? Or am I standing at the station long after my train has left? Show your stuff and point me in the right direction

Edited by wallythacker 2005-08-16 4:01 AM

Wallythacker,

I'm frowning at the double post

May be we should take another stab at resolving your AS problems if we can, get what ever is blocking that up out of the way.
As to what you need to sync. You need Outlook like you said, (98 or above), ActiveSync 3.8 and SP4. Not Outlook Express.

Windows 2000 will be quite happy after that. As to which Outlook, well it's always advisable to head for the latest, but that comes with a horrendus price tag - so much so that I've not boethered with it. I'm still on 2000 myself.
You found it for $24

You have 97, 98, 2000, XP (2002) and 2003 to choose from. If you have the CD's for your Intermec, then Outlook 2000 should be on one of them. It also comes with any MS Office version from 97 onwards.
If you don't have the CD's then these CESD's may be of some use, to use 0023 as per the EULA you should have Office 97 somewhere, but everything stated in the document is true.

http://www.hpcfactor.com/support/cesd/s/0023.asp
http://www.hpcfactor.com/support/cesd/s/0028.asp
http://www.hpcfactor.com/support/patching/outlook98/

Otherwise if you do have the CD's
http://www.hpcfactor.com/support/patching/office/

As to the sync, you just need to tell ActiveSync to pull from the device, rather than push from Outlook.
HPC Notes Pro doesn't sync with outlook, it has a standalone host app - but can import/export into ut. Drop your HPC Notes installer down to HPC Notes standard and it'll outlook sync... I know, it's odd.
http://www.hpcfactor.com/qlink/?linkID=81

It may be a double post, but I wish it had been me who came up with the appelation "Outhouse."

Never seen that before,
Jake

Also, what data is important for you to synchronize. If you only want your Outlook Express phone numbers and info, then use Syncexpress. If you are using Lotus Notes, ACT, or some other desktop PIM, then check out Intellisync.

I keep getting those stupid $25 offers for Windows XP and other software as well, from those unknown companies. But there is no doubt they are pirates of some type. I do see numerous eBay sales of Outlook 2003 for around $25 though, so perhaps that isn't such a bad way to go. Some of the Outlook 2000s are going for $5.

However, I always thought that the packaged Outlook could only be sold with the device it was intended for. Goes to show what I know....

Rich

I agree with Rich, you may not necessarily need all the pim sync stuff or want to go with another client then there are other options available to you.

You have to watch out for OEM stuff, as well as pirated.
You are not afforded much room to move with OEM bits, especially in this age of activation.
Packaged Outlook you can move around devices, the one that ships int eh box is supposed to move with the Device. However people enver actually do that, they get funnled off.
Most large (second hand) H/PC or PPC device sellers on eBay (in my experience and observation) actually cyphen off the software CD's, and sell Outlook stand-alone - when it should legally be in the box.

Sorry if I somehow doiuble posted, IIRC my first post was a muddled mismash of questions in an existing thread. I reposted with as much detail and thought as I could muster and you gentleman responded in spades.

Some background info. I had an Outhouse 2k disk when my 690 arrived. That vendor was honest and included all the bits the 690 originally shipped with, down to and including the bit of tape that kept the backup battery from activating! When I sold my 690 I only thought it right to include all the bits that I had received, so off went the Outhouse disk.

I had a trial copy of Office2K, used it to expiration, didn't like it and passed it on to a friend who eventually tossed it. However, all last night my brain keeps insisting there is an OH2k disk somewhere in this house.

After digging through all my obsolete stuff, I stumbled on a SBS Server kit I bought for $20 during a MS promotion some 5 years back. The seal was intact and my first instinct was to bypass it and keep looking. Something nagged me to break the seal and look inside.

Eureka! Outhouse 2000 cd complete with registration key !!! Oh happy days.... Now let's hope it's not some weird time limited thing. IIRC, MS said the SBS kit would run forever.

I have my work cut out. I need to first restore my desktop from a stable ghost image, then add the updates since that image. The add Outhouse and the security updates I got from MS. Then figure out Outhouse. (It can't be that difficult can it?, everyone but me seems to use it.)

Then I free up my serial port, hook up my 6651, cross my fingers and pray I can create a partnership. Then, reading it right, I push all my PIM, except hpcnotes, to the desktop.

If that works then I disco my 6651, connect the 720 and pray to create another partnership.Then I pull sync all the PIM info from the desktop to the 720?

Finally I connect my Casio via USB, pray again to create a partnership, and push sync the desktop data to the Casio. Wow, that's a lot of finger crossing.

I still have a key question tho before I start.
Should I create the cesd manual partnership backups *after* each partnership is created? or when all is said and done?

The trick is, when on the partnership wizard, and it asked you what you want to sync.

DESELECT EVERYTHING

Complete and it'll try and sync nothing up. Once it is ready go into options select manual sync only and on conflic resolution tell it to replace items on the host with items on the device - THIS ISN'T GLOBAL, do it for each H/PC - then simple select the things you want to sync and watch it pull down.

Ty, you just saved me ton of potential aggravation. I'd never think of doing that.

What did I say about desktops being a pain in the arse? Geez, I just wasted another evening of my life to MS.

So, before installing Outhouse I thought I'd do a little maintenance. I restored from a 2 month old ghost image. That went fine. Then AVG needed an update, fine. Then I checked AS and it was 3..71? Weird, I swore I installed 3.8 recently. OK, update AS, all is well. Hmm, while I'm here what else is old? MSN, Nero, DVDecrypter, Firefox, Mozilla all needed minor updates. (Hey, I said I avoid using my desktop and I meant it).

So now my desktop is updated (forgoing Windows update, I haven't done that in months) and ready to go. A quick ghost (I ghost a lot, experience makes me) and time to do some real work.

I unplug my UPS from COM1 and plug in the 6651 cable. (Can you guess where this is going?)

I launch AS and click through and fail to connect. Hmmmph. MS crap. So I tried to initiate the AS from my 6651. Failure. Grrrr. I decide to read the screen and see I have COM3 and USB as available connections. WTH???? Where is COM1? At this point many hpcs would go on ebay or back into the drawer to collect dust.

To the desktop console I go and net stop the ups to regain COM1. How many normal users would ever figure that out? Very few I'll bet. Launch AS again, wait, wait, wait, failure. Soft rest the 6651 and try again. Wait wait wait, get connected and get prompted to create a partnership. So I do.

My firewall nagged me several times during all this. And it's password protected so each nag I enter OK for a connection and my password. Does AS open random ports each time or what? I was nagged about 4 or 5 times.

Time to explore my 6651 from AS. Hmm. What's this? A shortcut in my 6651 root to my documents. What gives? My documents should be inside the 6651, right? Well, yes and no. I click it and nothing happens. My 6651 desktop "my documents" points to a network share. So I can't browse it through AS without first logging onto the network from my 6651. Weird but expected from MS.

I set everything to manual sync, and unchecked everything to sync. I waded throught the menus and found the network sync option and turned it on. Remove my 6651 from the cable, soft-reset it and run AS from the hpc, choosing network. Good thing I was still in the room, the firewall nagged me again for permission. Ok, enter my password one more time. Cripes, when am I going to finish?

Can I repeat a connection? Let's see. Reboot the desktop, login. Reboot the 6651, run AS, choose network. Connected !!!!! Disconnect, fine, retry a connection. Connected!!!!

Why does AS insist I need to sync between two connections 30 seconds apart? What kind of retarded code is that? Oh well, worry about it later.

2nd last task. Ghost the desktop one final time to capture my partnership and all the updates I've done. Whew. That was fun. Hmmm. There was something else I was gonna do. Oh yea, Outhouse.

Grab the Outhouse CD, pop in it, enter the reg key, tell Outhouse I don't have email, install. Well, at least that part was painless. One more ghost image and I'm done here for now.

Ok, I'm off to create a manual partnership backup from the cesd. My 6651 is a bit messy and after I restore it I'll want to get my partnership back. Cripes, no time to play with the 720 today. Tomorrow maybe. After I establish a partnership. Cripes, no cable for it. The owner still has it.

I still have to partner my Casio on USB, reinstall hpcnotes to standard on my 6651 (or install the phatware desktop companion) , restore the PIM info on my 6651 from a file, update Outhouse with my hpc data and then sync that data back to my Casio. Are you kidding me?

Well, it looks like you have been having fun.

I'd strongly advise you to patch your system from Windows update, or just straight download the update files for both Windows and Office.
There are some nasties about at the moment - just ask CNN.

If you tell me what OS you're running, I can tell you the QFE list without needing a trip to Windows update.

If AS is saying you need to sync it usually means that there is an unresolved item in the queue. Did you set AS back to 'prompt' on conflict rather than drag from device?

The chances are that COM1 wasn't available on AS because you didn't unload the UPS driver - you may have turned it off, but the USP service was still running, which takes its own COM port.
As AS is lower down the process order than the driver, it plays second fiddle and wont mount it - it's an intrinsic limit to RS232 communications & is why Microsoft completly changed the IR stack in Windows 2000+ so that IR connections could 'multitask' if you will.

I have been having fun? Ya, ya, it's been fun !

Actually, doing anything on the desktop for the first time seems like such a pain.

My desktop OS is Wk2, sp2, and I won't go to SP3 becuase I won't accept the EULA. SP3 grants MS the right to enter your machine at any time for any reason. I disagree with that so no sp3 for me. I don't have Office of any version. Openoffice does me fine.

I'm set to manual sync and do nothing if there are conflicts.

Now, how do I describe this? Am I right if I say the desktop settings determine if my hpc replaces the desktop data or vice versa? Is this a global or per hpc setting?

Does that imply I have to go to my desktop and change the settings to pull or push based on the device I'm syncing?

I'll give an example. FYI. My 6651 is my master store. I will use it exclusively for all new PIM data.

My desktop Outhouse has no data. My 6651 has PIM data. Do I set the desktop to pull, using the hpc data to replace the desktop data?

Then I connect a hpc with no PIM data. Do I now change the settings on the desktop to replace the data on the connected hpc?

Then I connect another ce device with no PIM data. I leave the settings alone and let the desktop push the PIM data to the CE device, right?

I use this same process in the future to keep all 3 CE devices in sync? Pull from the 1st device (the master) then push to the remaining 2 devices ( the slaves)

And my desktop will always have a copy of my master data, my 6651?

Edited by wallythacker 2005-08-18 1:11 PM

uh. does the same apply to XP?
that's really nonsense
ok, it's not really news to me, but i didn't know it's in the EULA...

sorry for being totally OT

No problem, I thought it worthy enough to mention because it matters to me.
I don't know for sure if it applies to XP, but IIRC, it does right from the initial install.

Anyway, big correction on my part. I'm set to manual sync, and in case of conflict to replace the desktop items with the hpc items.

But, does this setting allow me to push the unconflicted desktop data to my other CE devices? Or must I change the setting to "replace conflicted stuff on the hpc with the desktop data."

Sidebar: I synced, it worked. I backup up my 6651. I hard reset and reloaded my 6651 from the backup image. When I synced again it pulled all the data from my 6651 as tho' I had never synced.
It that normal? There must be a flag that is set in my 6651 registry?

Sidebar 2: Resco Explorer can't export from the registry to do partnership backups, what a disappointment. Add to that the major bug when zipping files and I've decided to ditch it. Waste of money.

ahem, nvm, i know that MS does this. and it's even legal, ahaha

so.. resco explorer? never knew anything interesting for me, i'm with total commander what's the zipping bug?

i swear this was the last OT here from my part!

Ok, last off topic here

Resco explorer is unpredictable when zipping if there are subfolders. Almost every time the zip will contain the subfolders, but they are empty , even after Resco has verified the zip and said all is well.

I found this out the hard way. I zipped a ton of stuff and erased the originals *before* I checked the contents of the zips. 'Nuff said. I never use resco to zip. BTW, this same bug is in the ppc version

Now, back to topic. It was suggested I re-install hpc notes to standard then they will sync with Outhouse. What will I lose in functionality by re-installing to standard?

Or am I better off installing the companion hpc notes desktop and syncing with that? Will it automatically sync when AS is run or is running the desktop hpc notes sync a seperate operation?