Database Info

Office Re-install - (ActiveSync Question!)

Hi
I have a complex situation, that probably has a very simple answer. I am probably being paranoid, but hopefully someone knowledgeable about ActiveSync will be able to quickly sort me out.
My laptop was recently repaired, (with a replacement motherboard fitted). When I got it back, Windows XP & Office XP of course both asked to be re-activated.
Windows succeeded, however Office asks me to insert the Office CD to be able to activate. When I do this the activation notification disappears, but Office is left in Reduced Functionality mode (eg I never get to the phone Microsoft to activate bit!)
Unfortunately, my phone is now 6 weeks out of date with Syncing (also due to the laptop being in repair!). I haven't run an ActiveSync since I got the laptop back as I have been worried about running an ActiveSync whilst Outlook is in reduced functionality mode. I was concerned it might lose data (as most Outlook features become read only!), so I have kept them out of sync (and getting more so daily) until I know the best way to proceed.
So, I need to either fix Office re-activating, (which doesn't seem possible) OR to find out how to get ActiveSync to work, with an Office re-install from scratch, without losing or duplicating any of my data. I just don't know enough about ActiveSync to know if it will just work without a problem, or if I need to do things in a certain order.
The current thinking is that I will have to manually remove Office XP (as the uninstall process also doesn't work!), before reinstalling it again, and re-activating the new copy.
So lots of possible paths to the solution, but I'm not sure which order to proceed in.
I ultimately want Office re-activated and fully working again and want the phone fully synced and no lost or duplicate data in either the phone or Outlook.
So some direct questions:
Can the phone Sync with Outlook in Reduced Functionality mode? (or might I lose data?). It seems that if they are synced before I uninstall Outlook, then everything becomes a lot simpler.
Failing that....
What will happen if I forceably remove Office by a manual uninstall. When I re-install Office and put in the my PST files, will ActiveSync cope OK, just pick up where it left off, and happily cope with the data currently being out of Sync? (might I get missing or duplicate data?)
What would be the suggested method to achieve my end result with minimum grief and hassle? And which order should I take these steps?
Thanks for reading this far.
Details:
Windows XP; Office XP Pro (the Product key is valid, I just can't get the software to get far enough to the actual activation screen);
Activesync 4.1; XDA Mini-S;
Mike

If you have a backup program for your phone just make a backup to your memory card. You will now always have a copy of where you are today. Set your active sync in your phone (activesync, menu, options, select your computer, settings) to 'keep the item on your device' and sync away. The worst that could happen is you may have to restore your phone to where it was today when you made the backup. Most likely all will go well and you'll sync up normally. My outlook information on my computer was accidentally erased and fully restored this way. Made my day!

I've always treated active-sync as my backup of the phone, and I am quickly realising why this a foolish approach to have taken!
Your advice seems to be spot on and is what I will do. However, as I don't currently have a backup program for my phone, which would you recommend? I guess it needs to be something that I can install without Active-Sync?
I suspect that a backup to the memory card is a better plan than running an activesync with a new computer (temporarily) as a means of backup - is that right?
Thanks for your help.
Mike

Try putting the office cd in while the PC is booting, so that when it asks, it's already there, which it may or may not detect?
Also, you could do set-up an account on http://live.mail2web.com to sync your contacts, calendar etc too, but you will lose any mail on there. Hopefully this isn't something you are desperate to keep though?

When I to do a "detect & repair" of Office, it actually says "source not available", but it doesn't give that info when I try to re-activate with the CD. However it doesn't give me an option to find the source. I've tried leaving the CD in when booting up, but sadly it made no difference. Certainly if I can just get Office to re-activate without any un-installing then there are no other problems, however that is looking increasingly unlikely. I do have one suggestion to follow there, which is to remove various registry entries before doing another "detect & repair", which might sort itself out.
Failing that I am on a backup PDA, then mannual removal route.
I will look into http://live.mail2web.com and see what it can offer me by way of a backup.
Thanks for your help.
Mike

Final update.
Thanks everyone for your help. I have finally got it all sorted. It turns
out I probably WAS being overly paranoid (but better that, than losing all my
data because I didn't think first!).
What I did:
1) I got a trial copy of SPB Backup for my Phone. (you get 5 runs of the
program before you have to buy - but I will be buying it anyway as I am very
impressed with it). The big advantage of this program is that it can be
installed directly on the storage card which some others can't. It could even
be downloaded as a CAB file (directly in Pocket Internet Explorer) and
executed on the device directly without needing an ActiveSync install. This
was the clincher for me, as I needed to take a backup before running
ActiveSync.
2) Took backups of the phone with SPB and of the PST files from Outlook.
3) Tried an ActiveSync with Outlook in reduced functionality mode. It worked
mostly fine. Came up with some "support code 1" errors for a handful of
contacts, but nothing major. So it appears that ActiveSync mostly works fine
with reduced functionality mode (hence I was probably being paranoid for not
trying this sooner!).
4) With the phone & Outlook now back up to date, there was less of an issue
as to what happened next. However I decided to see which bit of the various
instructions solved my problem. I did this by trying them bit by bit, and
testing with re-activation, re-install, detect & repair etc at every stage.
By process of elimination, I found out that removing the program files folder
made no difference, as did deleting the two Office reg key branches. The
crucial part was the Windows Installer Cleanup. So I restored all the reg and
program files back as they were before the tests, and ONLY ran the Windows
Installer Cleanup program.
5) I was then able to re-install Office over the top of itself, and I was
pleased to note that by keeping the files and reg keys all my settings were
retained.
6) Office happily Activated by the Internet. Hurray!
7) Connected to "Microsoft Update" to get SP3 and all subsequent updates &
patches for Office (re-installing over itself loses all the updates
previously installed)
8) Checked my email accounts, rules, etc and ActiveSync are still working
correctly. Which they are!
So, it seems that if I'd had the guts to go for it, I could have JUST done
the Windows Installer Cleanup trick keeping everything else intact ready to
sync. OR equally I could have just run ActiveSync to get the up to date and
them blown Office all away for a complete re-install. As it happens I am VERY
pleased with the route I took and the end outcome. It is far better than my
expectations of the hassles I would face. The hardest part was gathering all
the information to make me happy enough to proceed... oh and finding the
guts! The actual re-install was totally painless.
Anyway, I hope my findings of using JUST Windows Installer Cleanup, help
someone else who wants to try keeping their settings in the future.
I also hope my findings that ActiveSync mostly works in reduced
functionality mode, also helps others.
Anyway, so thank you to everyone who patiently shared their knowledge with
me. Without you all I would have gone into a flat-spin and struggled to get
my head round it all.
Thanks again

Fuze & ActiveSync 4.5

I just bought an AT&T Fuze today. I'm ready to take it back to the AT&T store, throw it at them, and buy a Tilt. I've used an 8525 for the last two years, and it works well. However, the Fuze looked like a great improvement. . .until I tried to sync. Here's my system:
XP Professional
Fuze
Lotus Notes email client
Small consulting shop: two workstations, one server
I'm just trying to get AS 4.5 working so I can load some third-party software (Commontime's mNotes5), sync my Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, etc., and be done. The first time I tethered the Fuze to my workstation, ActiveSync kicked right up and ran Connecting for > 30 minutes before I gave up, turned it off, downloaded ActiveSync again from the Macroshaft website, and reinstalled it (because I thought the version I had might be out of date - it wasn't - it was EXACTLY the same Build [5096] as what I had before).
Well now, my workstation thinks the Fuze is a USB Storage Device, responds accordingly, and NEVER launches ActiveSync. When I launch it, it just sits there showing Not Connected.
Folks, I'm no technogenius. I'm just a self-employed financial guy trying to get a piece of new equipment to work. I have no idea why this thing isn't working, but I'm about at my wits' end.
If anyone has any ideas, I'd really appreciate hearing them. Again, I'm no tech guy, so please assume I know nothing (you'd be right) and try to lead me accordingly. Thanks in advance for your help.

beckmill said:
I just bought an AT&T Fuze today. I'm ready to take it back to the AT&T store, throw it at them, and buy a Tilt. I've used an 8525 for the last two years, and it works well. However, the Fuze looked like a great improvement. . .until I tried to sync. Here's my system:
XP Professional
Fuze
Lotus Notes email client
Small consulting shop: two workstations, one server
I'm just trying to get AS 4.5 working so I can load some third-party software (Commontime's mNotes5), sync my Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, etc., and be done. The first time I tethered the Fuze to my workstation, ActiveSync kicked right up and ran Connecting for > 30 minutes before I gave up, turned it off, downloaded ActiveSync again from the Macroshaft website, and reinstalled it (because I thought the version I had might be out of date - it wasn't - it was EXACTLY the same Build [5096] as what I had before).
Well now, my workstation thinks the Fuze is a USB Storage Device, responds accordingly, and NEVER launches ActiveSync. When I launch it, it just sits there showing Not Connected.
Folks, I'm no technogenius. I'm just a self-employed financial guy trying to get a piece of new equipment to work. I have no idea why this thing isn't working, but I'm about at my wits' end.
If anyone has any ideas, I'd really appreciate hearing them. Again, I'm no tech guy, so please assume I know nothing (you'd be right) and try to lead me accordingly. Thanks in advance for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to Start->Settings->Connections->USB to PC.
What's selected there? If you want the option between ActiveSync and Mass Storage every time you connect, check the box on the bottom. Otherwise, make sure ActiveSync is selected. Also, try turning off Advanced Network Functionality if you are having problems with it turned on.
I'm assuming the Fuze is set up the same way in this area as the Sprint Touch Pro, I apologize if it isn't. When I had my Mogul, it would never connect through ActiveSync for me if I had the advanced network functionality turned on.

Banzaiwolfe, all I can say is thank you, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, a million times over. You're an absolute genius. I did exactly as you suggested, and my Fuze is now synching my Notes emails, Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks. I can't thank you enough. But I will definitely make a donation to this Forum immediately, and if there's a place where I can mention you, you can be sure that I will.
I'm so grateful. So grateful. Thanks a million.
Warren Miller
Beckmill Research, LLC
Lexington, Va.
[email protected]

WM6.1 - I'm asked for a password, but I don't have one!

Hello.
I recently got a Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 (with Windows Mobile 6.1), and I set a password on it.
Sometimes when it would ask me for my password, the shift or fn keys wouldn't work, so I couldn't enter it. I would have to soft reset the device to be able to type in my password.
Frustrated, I decided to disable password protection entirely. I then found that after leaving the device alone for a period of time (while sleeping, for example), it would lock and ask me for a password - but since I no longer had one, I couldn't. I would have to soft reset the device to bypass the password screen.
I searched around, and found that this was a bug in Windows Mobile, and the only solution was to hard reset and never enable password protection. After a while of putting up with it, I flashed my device to use itje's Touch-IT v7, and I performed a hard reset. It was fine for a while, but now it's doing it again: it's asking me for a password when I leave it alone for a period of time, but I don't have one. I never set a password this time.
Is there any real solution to this? It's incredibly frustrating. Thank you in advance.

you mean the security password that is enforced when using exchange email? there is ap app that will enable you to turn it off, but you should read this thread (the app is listed here but you should take heed of the warning from deedee). I leave it up to you.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=358695

Try "hard reseting" it

I'm not using Exchange email, and the checkbox to disable password protection isn't greyed out (like it is in that thread). Thanks for the link anyway though, I'll have a look around the registry.
Anyone else know anything about this?
Edit: As I said in my original post, I already tried a hard reset when this problem originally appeared. I hadn't touched the password protection settings at all since my hard reset, but it's happening again.

Does nobody have a solution for this?

are you sure someone isn't messing with your phone and setting a password? I've been using windows mobile for 6 years and never had that problem.
And you said something about a bug.... can you link me to whatever you found?

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it.
I just tried searching for that again, but unfortunately I can't find it. It was a thread with somebody saying that they have no password set, yet the device asks for one so they can only bypass the screen by soft resetting - and that's the exact problem I'm having now. There was no solution posted so I didn't bookmark it or anything.
I am the only person that has had access to my phone, so nobody has messed with it. The password setting is definitely disabled, and the HKLM\Security\Policies\Policies\00001023 registry value is set to 1 (disabled). My phone doesn't ask me for a password when I first start it (so I can get past it each time via a soft reset), it just seems to happen after 10 hours or so - I'm not exactly sure what triggers it.
Edit: I'm not sure if this is what I read before, but it seems to describe the same thing.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=291567
nuclear said:
Thats the question: is it really time for WM6?
So far i believe that the device cannot digest what we have so far of WM6. Too many non-functional things or bugs if you would like to say =_=
Device auto-locks and asks for password and if you dont have a password you cannot get into the device other than by soft reset. Asks password even for activesync! PDAViet has problem with activesync in vista as it disconnects after 5 minutes. WiFi only turns on from Comm center. Hang up's on 25MB free RAM. A lot of memory leak! 10MB to run SPB Time -_-...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit 2: Here's another one... No real solution posted.
http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsmobile/thread/88834ba5-b64a-45c3-8dc4-378ffc3a40d6
seckin38 said:
I have recently purchased HTC Touch with WM6. 2 days ago, it suddenly locked. I couldn't unlock because it asks for password. Because I didn't set a password, I couldn't unlock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

This is really wierd, i have been using wm since 5 was on the scene and ive never come across your issue. I appreciate that your not using exchange but did you try the zeynee unlock app? It might stop the lock screen, you never know. If it doesnt work then nothing lost huh??

I didn't try it, no. I was concerned about the posts saying the application used up too much battery power, and thought checking the registry would be good enough (since nothing should be changing the value). I'll install it now and see if the problem still occurs. I don't have much hope that this will help though.

Okay, it just happened again. The application didn't help.

Ok, worth a try...
Have yoyu considered flashing to a different rom to see if this works? Is there a new stock Rom available?
Ill have to look more into this, maybe msdn has something on it.

Well, I had this problem with both my original Vodafone ROM and the custom one I'm using now. I'm reluctant to flash it again due to the hassle of reinstalling everything again.
I think it may be related to notifications. It just happened again as I got a text message, and last time it happened just before I received a Skype call. When I'm away and come back to find it locked, there tends to be a new icon in the notification area. It definitely doesn't happen every time I get a notification though...

Does Raphael (or any ROMs) have a Safe Mode?

Does the HTC Raphael have any kind of Safe Mode that you can boot into which would disable any auto-run programs and allow you to use the device in a "plain vanilla" mode?
My specific problem is that I've managed to install a program which apparently sets itself up to auto-run at startup, and which has effectively bricked my phone. The device isn't completely unresponsive. Using keyboard shortcuts I can run certain programs such as Opera or the mail client. Unfortunately, I can't get into the Remove Programs settings applet.
I also can't get it to sync with my PC, which would be another way to remove a program. When I plug the USB cable in, I get the "Choose a connection type" dialog, but the PC doesn't recognize that the device is plugged in. So that's a dead end.
I've done multiple soft resets, to no good effect. The phone hangs at the same place each time, which is before the Today screen appears BTW. I'm viewing a hard reset as a last resort, since I really don't want to spend the rest of the day reinstalling and reconfiguring applications and system settings.
Any ideas would be appreciated. I've been searching the forums and wiki for about an hour, but haven't found anything relevant except for something for a different HTC device. I've spent several hours trying different things that I've thought of with varying results, but the basic problem remains. And finally, while I'm new to this forum, I'm definitely not a noob. I've been a serious PocketPC user back to the days of the Casio E-100, and a mobile device user starting with the original Newton.
Thanks in advance.
Scott Trotter

i know the older versions of spb mobile shell had a safe mode, i havent use spb since my nike tho so i dont know if its still included
obviously as you cant install programs in your current state i suggest u try a hard reset

it was wkTask or ILauncher that had it. Check it out

What did you install? And how does it run at startup? Is it just a link in the windows/startup folder, or a reg entry? If you can launch a file explorer, reg editor, or sk tools, you should be able to disable it.

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that the culprit is SPB Wireless Monitor. I had a discount coupon for SPB software that expired last night at midnight, so I installed a couple of trial version programs to check them out. Everything worked fine until I tried Wireless Monitor, which apparently bricked the phone. I say "apparently" because its possible that the problem is caused by some type of interaction between Wireless Monitor and something else. In any event, I'm not able to run anything on the phone that will help me diagnose or fix the problem...whatever it is.
I'll probably wait until tomorrow to see if anyone comes up with a reset-saving solution, then throw in the towel and do a hard reset. Probably take the opportunity to try a different ROM while I'm at it.

SPB Pocket plus brings a safe mode to every windows mobile device; it deactivates all autostart proggies & has helped me a lot of times. i have one more cab to install safe mode, but i dont know where its from, and i remember that it does not work so good as SPB Pocket plus does ...
hope it helps
Boris

In my own situation, I ended up having to hard reset and start from scratch. Oh well, such is life.
To wrap up, based on the responses above or the lack thereof, it appears that the following is true:
1) There is no "safe mode" capability in the Raphael, neither as a hardware feature, nor as an operating system feature.
2) There are some third-party software alternatives which offer this capability, but you need to have the foresight to have them installed so that they are available in an emergency situation.
Thanks for everyone's help.

Very much bolting the stable door etc etc but
Get a decent backup client and schedule it to backup every day (week, hour, month - depending on how often you change the data on the phone).
If you envisage more than a few hard reboots in a year (changing / testing roms, trying software you might decide you hate, or just a geek etc etc) spend a little time creating a UC setup (there are a few different versions / ways now so i wont prejudice by linking to any one).
I know its not a fix, and requires a little preperation, but for a few $$ and a handful of hours, its can save a whole load of grief later on.

borisku said:
SPB Pocket plus brings a safe mode to every windows mobile device; it deactivates all autostart proggies & has helped me a lot of times. i have one more cab to install safe mode, but i dont know where its from, and i remember that it does not work so good as SPB Pocket plus does ...
hope it helps
Boris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeeah spb pocket plus not mobile shell thats what i ment lol

Beeble said:
Very much bolting the stable door etc etc but
Get a decent backup client and schedule it to backup every day (week, hour, month - depending on how often you change the data on the phone).
If you envisage more than a few hard reboots in a year (changing / testing roms, trying software you might decide you hate, or just a geek etc etc) spend a little time creating a UC setup (there are a few different versions / ways now so i wont prejudice by linking to any one).
I know its not a fix, and requires a little preperation, but for a few $$ and a handful of hours, its can save a whole load of grief later on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've given that lecture many, many times myself. Its embarrassing to be on the receiving end.

I'm surprised that the Safe Mode feature isn't in SPB Mobile Shell. After having it in Pocket Plus, and it being so useful, why take it out?

Is there an app/option/regfix to make passwords visible while typing?

First off, no I'm not trying to find out other peoples passwords.
We have, at work, a shedload of Smartphones of different types. Nokia E71's/E72's, Treo Pro's, HTC Touch Pro's, Touch Pro 2's and HD2's. I'm the lucky guy who gets to support them and help users set them up to connect to the exchange server.
Here's the thing. The Nokias are great in that when typing in their password for Mail for Exchange, i rarely have to get them to try more than once, because the password is briefly visible letter by letter as they type it in before it ****. As you know thats not the case for winmo Outlook. They only see **********.
So I'm handing most users a device they have never seen, with an unfamiliar keyboard, and the first thing they type is a complicated password that they can't see. Makes my life he11. And for an added bonus, Active Directory policy requires a password change every 60 days, which means they have to change the password on the phone too.
In addition, as you know, if Outlook gets messed up during setup/editing, its often a hard reset to fix. Great fun, especially on a Treo.
So, i am wondering if there an app/option/regfix to make the password visible while typing it in. Even briefly, like the Nokia's.
Any advice, suggestions would be great. Thanks.

So that'll be a no then?

Doesn't make passwords visible but if you can connect to the PPC via ActiveSync/WMDC then you could use MyMobiler which would enable you to use your PC keyboard to type the passwords.