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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Unfortunately, my phone is now 6 weeks out of date with Syncing (also due to the laptop being in repair!).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

Active Sync question

Does anyone remember how Active Sync would create a folder for you on your desktop or where ever with your files from your phone in it? Did that go away with 4.5 or am I just not looking hard enough or in the right places. It's like as soon as I installed 4.5, all of my old info got erased (especially my contacts) Am I seeing things....or maybe not seeing things? Please tell me my wife wrong and I'm not going blind.

connect phone to activesync
look in activesync pulldown menu : tools> options
there u can set file sync and such..
its called sync toy in windows vista and its not part of the mobile device center
when u update the rom of the mda u can connect to activesync and it will ask for you to setup
the device... just press next and next and dont change anything and it will work as long as your
phone has the same name in it... (owner name )

Can activesync deal with more than one phone?

Hey i'm kind of new to syncing I wanted to know if activesync for pocket pc can handle more than one phone and if it can have 2 sets of data, because my brother has a pocket pc and I also do and he says if I sync my phone on our computer, it can erase all the contacts off of his phone the next time he syncs, is this true?
and I had my phone at one point synced to another computer, is there atleast a way that I can copy it to this computer? like is there a file or anything that can be coppied?
I just flashed my phone and all my contacts and appointments etc. were on that computer
can anyone help me?

throwback1718 said:
Hey i'm kind of new to syncing I wanted to know if activesync for pocket pc can handle more than one phone and if it can have 2 sets of data, because my brother has a pocket pc and I also do and he says if I sync my phone on our computer, it can erase all the contacts off of his phone the next time he syncs, is this true?
and I had my phone at one point synced to another computer, is there atleast a way that I can copy it to this computer? like is there a file or anything that can be coppied?
I just flashed my phone and all my contacts and appointments etc. were on that computer
can anyone help me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, just set up partnership for each phone. So when activesync will recognize each phone when plug the usb in.

i apologize i meant to say that I have done that before, but more or less if outlook can have two sets of contacts......
and is there a file that I can copy from the other computer to this one with all the contacts and other info?

throwback1718 said:
Hey i'm kind of new to syncing I wanted to know if activesync for pocket pc can handle more than one phone and if it can have 2 sets of data, because my brother has a pocket pc and I also do and he says if I sync my phone on our computer, it can erase all the contacts off of his phone the next time he syncs, is this true?
and I had my phone at one point synced to another computer, is there atleast a way that I can copy it to this computer? like is there a file or anything that can be coppied?
I just flashed my phone and all my contacts and appointments etc. were on that computer
can anyone help me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I know of. I have 3 ppc's and if I let them all sync contacts, tasks and such they all have the same info.
You would have to set up seperate profiles for each phone and just uncheck the parts you dont want contacted.
If you absolutely must sync them both to outlook you can set up a seperate user account that way outlook will treat that particular log in as a seperate user and you can have him sync on one log in and you on another windows log in.
-Asb

okay I may have to set up another windows user, but is there atleast some sort of file that I can copy? i have no contacts on my phone and I need to atleast get them on this phone...
the computer with the info isnt syncing to my phone since I tried to update it to activesync 4.5
PLEASE help me

I think the problem, is that it isn't very clear what you want to do. Are you looking to copy the outlook data file to another computer? Or are you trying to copy the outlook data file directly to your phone w/o syncing? If you are trying to copy the outlook data file from one computer to another, then yes...that is the Outlook.pst file. It is located in C:\Documents and Settings\{Profile Name}\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\
Simply copy this file from one computer to the next replacing the old outlook.pst, or if you want to merge it b/c you have info on the other computer perform an import.

Can't connect to activesync anymore

I am running WM 6.1 (Michyprima Full) and I wanted to flash to another ROM, however for some reason my phone will no longer connect to activesync on the desktop (tried two pcs). It can sync just fine via exchange.
Nothing has changed on the mobile device or the desktop; ActiveSync on the mobile device is set to allow connection via USB and activesync on the desktops is set to use USB to sync.
I know the underlying connection is ok because the device will start charging from the USB cable when it is hooked up.
What can I do to fix this situation so I can flash to a new ROM? I do not need to save anything on the device... I have tried soft-resetting.
EDIT: Also when I list USB connected devices on the desktop PC, I see one called "Windows Mobile-based Device"

did you use a ram cleaner
i used a ram cleaner and my device dosent get recognised by pc.let me know if you find a solution.

padanfain said:
I am running WM 6.1 (Michyprima Full) and I wanted to flash to another ROM, however for some reason my phone will no longer connect to activesync on the desktop (tried two pcs). It can sync just fine via exchange.
Nothing has changed on the mobile device or the desktop; ActiveSync on the mobile device is set to allow connection via USB and activesync on the desktops is set to use USB to sync.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tied going to Start/Settings/System (or Connections) and running USB to PC? Try unchecking 'Enable enhanced network' then OK back to the start screen and try reconnecting.
If that doesn't work, try a hard reset with the current ROM, and see if that fixes it. If so, you can then flash the new ROM.
If it still doesn't work, I think you can flash using a memory card or the Flash Drive without needing to access the PC.

padanfain said:
I am running WM 6.1 (Michyprima Full) and I wanted to flash to another ROM, however for some reason my phone will no longer connect to activesync on the desktop (tried two pcs). It can sync just fine via exchange.
Nothing has changed on the mobile device or the desktop; ActiveSync on the mobile device is set to allow connection via USB and activesync on the desktops is set to use USB to sync.
I know the underlying connection is ok because the device will start charging from the USB cable when it is hooked up.
What can I do to fix this situation so I can flash to a new ROM? I do not need to save anything on the device... I have tried soft-resetting.
EDIT: Also when I list USB connected devices on the desktop PC, I see one called "Windows Mobile-based Device"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried completely uninstalling ActiveSync from your computer, reboot, download and re-install ActiveSync. Its worked for me - sometimes the USB drivers become corrupt.

When I try and hit ok to commit the change of unchecking the advanced network functionality (it was checked before), the device just sits there with the spinning thinking wheel. Doing a soft reset and going back into the usb to pc shows the box still checked.
I will try a hard reset.

padanfain said:
When I try and hit ok to commit the change of unchecking the advanced network functionality (it was checked before), the device just sits there with the spinning thinking wheel. Doing a soft reset and going back into the usb to pc shows the box still checked.
I will try a hard reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think thats the only answer at present- the inability to change the A/S settings on the device suggest something's got corrupted somewhere

I was able to get it to sync after a hard reset.
However, when I attempted to load Michy's light ROM the device rebooted and sat at "Loading..." with a white screen. The wrapper then said error connection failed.
If I soft reset the device it comes back to the loading... screen; if I hard reset the device, it comes back to the loading screen after the hard reset. How can I fix this?

blast. left the stupid sd card in while i did the first flashing.
Removed SD card, re-hard resetted, then re-ran the ROM updater.

Sometimes its OK, sometimes it isn't- just one of those little mysteries I guess!
Glad its OK now. Michy's Lite ROM is excellent

Solution for deleted active sync notification called replog
YES...you guys definitely ERASED your Active sync NOTIFICATION file called replog. As someone suggested...he ran his CLEANER...then the problem begun.
It is true that Hard Reseting the device will get you back that file, but there is an easy way to do it...I can't find the original article but this file I will post will RE-CREATE that deleted replog notification file that is needed by active sync to work.
So next time you try and clean-up...just make sure you won't delete any file named replog
To use this FIX, just place it on your SD Card and run the file. If you want you can create an icon at Windows>Start Menu>Programs>to whatever folder... that will work too for easy access.
Just a word of caution...DON'T RUN THE FILE MORE THAN ONCE...why? Because it will re-create the file again. Although it won't hurt in any way except eat up internal memory, but you don't want any duplicated file... right?

[Q] Zune - Cannot connect to phone

I got my Samsung Omnia 7 yesterday and have been unable to get Zune to recognise it.
My Windows 7 PC recognises it, the drivers are installed fine. I've read about the issue with the corrupt certificate but no certificate ever gets created.
I've followed the advice on a blog which was to delete the folder at C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\, the folder get's recreated but still Zune fails to see me phone.
Is there anything else I can try? My phone is pre-NoDo status and is telling me there are updates but I can't get it hooked up to Zune to transfer music, update, etc

sparkymark75 said:
I got my Samsung Omnia 7 yesterday and have been unable to get Zune to recognise it.
My Windows 7 PC recognises it, the drivers are installed fine. I've read about the issue with the corrupt certificate but no certificate ever gets created.
I've followed the advice on a blog which was to delete the folder at C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\, the folder get's recreated but still Zune fails to see me phone.
Is there anything else I can try? My phone is pre-NoDo status and is telling me there are updates but I can't get it hooked up to Zune to transfer music, update, etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This may sound a little strange, but I saw several posts where similar problems have been solved this way:
did you try a different usb port?

dkp1977 said:
This may sound a little strange, but I saw several posts where similar problems have been solved this way:
did you try a different usb port?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, tried all 3 USB ports on my laptop. The phone is picked up in Windows by all of them but still the same in Zune If I plug the phone in then Zune starts so it's detecting the phone but doesn't get any further.

Updated Zune?
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

munkeyphyst said:
Updated Zune?
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded Zune on Saturday so I thought I had the latest version. I'm going to try the password solution. My account is a domain account so getting it back to using my original password is a bit of a pain because of the password policy on the domain but the net admins are going to let me reset it tomorrow.
My password hasn't changed since I installed Zune but it has changed once since I got this laptop.

OK, so I've had my domain password set back to what it originally was but still no joy. The folder get's created in C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA but no certificate gets created in my personal store.
Is there no way to manually create the cert?

SOLVED: Turns out it was a piece of software called CoSign which is installed on my work laptop which deals with digital signatures. It had taken control of my personal cert store.
Uninstalling it has resolved the issue.

No Need Hard Reset!
Hi all who has this problem.(Even to myself before I did this.)
New fix WITHOUT A HARD RESET LIKE ABOVE SOLUTIONS!
Hope you are looked at this before doing a Hard Reset.
1) Start up diagnostics
OR
Call ##634# (if you dont got the diagnostic "app" in the apps homepage
2) UNPLUG IF YOU HAVE THE PHONE PLUGGED
3) with the Diagnostics Menu, press *#7284#
4) Press an option that is not Zune Sync(E.g. Micro USB or Modem)
DONT KEEP PRESSING THE OPTIONS. PRESS ONCE ON ONE OPTION ONLY AS IT SOMETIMES GETS F-ed Up.
5) Wait for the reboot when prompted
*AFTER REBOOT, REPEAT STEPS 1-3, At Step 4, press Zune Sync again this time, and Wait for REBOOT when prompted again. Tedious, but rewarding.
6) On the Zune software on your Windows, Press Settings at the top Right
7) Press Software in main-menu ---> General in sub-menu
8) UNCHECK "Start the Zune software when I connect a compatible device
9) Hit "Ok", exit Zune
10) CONNECT PHONE TO WINDOWS
11) Connect Phone, not in locked screen(dont know if it affects)
12) Start Zune Software.
BOOM ***** YOUR DONE!

Found solution.
1.
If it is running, close the Zune software and disconnect your phone.
2.
Open Certificate Manager. To do this, clickStart , type certmgr.msc , and press Enter.
3.
ExpandPersonal , and then expand Certificates .
4.
Click the heading for theIssued By column to sort the column, and then look for one or more certificates that is issued to "zune-tuner://windowsphone/...".
5.
Right-click that certificate and then clickDelete . Click Yes .
6.
From theFile menu, click Exit .
7.
Start the Zune software and connect your phone to create a new certificate.