Question : Problem: Palm Treo can't sync anymore!

I have a Palm Treo 600 that I synchronize with the Palm Hotsync Manager.

I recently installed two applications which affect hotsyncing:
    Adobe Reader for Palm (the latest version to date)
    Versamail 3.5

Versamail messed up my treo pretty bad, an infinite reboot cycle. I hard resetted, deleted as many databases as I could identify as versamail related (there were a lot), and attempted to uninstall it from my pc, which proved to be difficult, had to boot into safe mode, and it left the start menu folder behind >_O.

Later on I uninstalled Adobe Reader from my pc, and removed it from the treo.

Now when I hotsync, this happens:

        - Hotsync starts
        - Hotsync manager on PC wakes up and connects
        - Treo goes to "identifying user" stage
        - Treo immediately goes to "cleaning up" stage
        - Treo finishes and gives error message: "Hotsync operation was interrupted. Some of your data was NOT backed up. For details, tap Hotsync Log on the HotSync screen".

The hotsync log on the Treo reads:

"HotSync operation was terminated. Some of your data was NOT backed up. An Application on the PC failed to respond to a confirmation query. This appliation may need to be restarted".

Also, in Palm Desktop (although I don't use it), if I go to the HotSync menu and look at the log, it says:

"HotSync operation started 01/10/08 01:34:27
HotSync Error:
An application failed to respond to a
HotSync notification. Please check the Palm Desktop for details.  (8009)
HotSync operation complete 01/10/08 01:34:27"

There's also a menu item called "File Link" in the Hotsync Menu on Palm Desktop. When I click it, it says

"An Application on the PC failed to respond to a confirmation query. This application may need to be restarted".



Does anyone know what the heck I can do to undo the damage and get my treo to hotsync properly again?

Answer : Problem: Palm Treo can't sync anymore!

It sounds like you will need to reset your device and reinstall all software.

THIS GUIDE WILL RESET YOUR DEVICE TO FACTORY SETTINGS.
READ THIS GUIDE COMPLETELY BEFORE STARTING.

Before you do this, you will probably want to BACKUP ALL OF YOUR DATA (calendar, contacts, etc).  I don't know what (if any) 3rd party software you have installed, so I'll just cover the basics.

(1) Open Palm Desktop
(2) Select the Calendar.  If the calendar looks strange (with weird symbols and characters) then the data is corrupt and it is too late to save your data.  Just proceed to step 6.  Check each area for corruption and skip it if it is corrupted.
(3) Select "Export" from the "File" menu.
(4) Enter a filename for the export file and make sure you save it to a location that you can easily find later (My Documents is a good place).
(5) Click the "Export" button.
(6) Repeat steps 3-5 for Contacts, Tasks, and Memos

Now you should have 4 files in My Documents that contain all of your data (hopefully).

Next, uninstall all Palm software from your computer.  Do this from the "Add/Remove Applications" tool in the Windows Control Panel (the entry in my list entry just reads "Palm").  If you have any 3rd party add-ons, uninstall them too (backing up their associated data as needed).  Restart your computer once the software has been removed.

While the computer is re-starting, you need to do a HARD RESET on your Palm device to restore it to factory settings (a soft reset will not do it).  This differs by device, but it normally involves holding the power button down while pressing the reset button on the back of the device (check your manual).

Once that is done, you basically have a new, empty device.
Finally, follow your device's documentation to reinstall the software.