ProductsServicesDownloadsSupportAbout UsBuy Now

Home » Support » Quick Help » Troubleshooting Tips

Troubleshooting Tips

These troubleshooting tips are for general issues and issues that, based on our experience, commonly occur to many users. For specific issues, please see the relevant areas for your handheld, contact manager, and type of our software.

General Tips

These are general steps that you should do which can resolve many common issues. You will usually be asked to do some or all of these if you end up deciding to contact our Technical Support department directly about your issue.

Tips for General Problems


Tips for Common Problems with Specific Handhelds/Programs


Tips for General Problems

Duplicate records.
Common causes of duplicate records include:
  • Having data in both the handheld and contact manager on a first sync. By default, the way that our software works on a first sync is that all of the data in the handheld is synched to the contact manager as new records and all of the data in the contact manager is synched to the handheld as new records. If you have similar data in both places, then your data will appear to have duplicated. We recommend clearing out the handheld, the contact manager or selecting the purge and reload option in our software in order to prevent this.
  • Uninstalling and reinstalling our software. This process can delete the .dat files that our software uses to tell it which files have been transferred. When these files are missing, our software will read all files and transfer them. You would need to take specific steps to make sure that duplicates do not occur.
  • Using the Outlook Activities feature in ACT!. This tool synchronizes your ACT! activities into Outlook and can result in duplicates if you are using our software to also do the same thing.
  • Using other synchronization software. If you have another program in addition to our software that is also synchronizing the same data, this may cause duplicates. (Note: ActiveSync, Palm Desktop and HotSync Manager are necessary in order to sync your handheld. They would NOT be a source of this problem.)
  • Syncs not completing. If the synchronization process does not complete (for instance, if there is an error or if the process is cancelled partway through) then the .dat files are not created. This results in all the records before the sync was cancelled being duplicated. If there is an error, please contact our Technical Support department.
  • Changing transfer methods. If you change your transfer method, this can cause duplicates. For example, if you have your transfer method set to 'Add ACT! info to Palm' and then change it to 'Synchronize changes both ways', all records that are in the handheld which were not synchronized to it by CompanionLink will synchronize back into ACT! as new records. Because of this, we do not recommend changing transfer methods once you have decided how you want your data to transfer. If you do need to change this setting, we recommend backing up your data first as well as either selecting the purge and reload option in CompanionLink or creating a new database in your contact manager.
  • Using Palm Desktop 4.1.2/4.1.4. If you are doing the two-step sync and experiencing duplicates, please update your software to 2.0, build 2591 or higher. The ability to do a one-step sync with these versions of Palm Desktop was added in build 2591.

Note: ALWAYS back up your data before making a change in your synchronization.


I can't find my database.
Please see Finding your database for help in finding your database.


Items I delete on the handheld don't delete from my contact manager.
By default, it is not possible to make deletions from the handheld. You can change this setting on the Primary Database tab in our software.

We do not recommend changing this setting as, with it changed, it is possible to delete your entire contact manager database if you somehow lose the data in the handheld and do not realize it before synchronizing.


My calendar items are all an hour off.
Typically this is due to the settings on your desktop computer. To check your settings, please do the following:

  1. Right-click the time in the Windows system tray.
  2. Choose Adjust Date/Time.
  3. Click on the Time Zone tab.
  4. Make sure your time zone is selected.
  5. Make sure that there is a checkmark in the box for 'Automatically adjust clock for daylight savings changes.
  6. Click OK
  7. If you have changed anything, synchronize again. When the synchronization finishes, your calendar items should now be at the correct time.

My data is not transferring.
Below is a general outline of steps to take when determining why your data is not transferring. If you can determine where the problem is occurring, this is usually helpful in determining what is causing the problem and how to fix it. If this outline does not help, please see the relevant sections of the FAQ for the configuration of the type of our software that you have, your contact manager and your handheld (if any) for specific help with this issue.
  1. If you have a handheld, check the handheld's ability to sync to the computer.
    • If you are synching a Palm, is your data synching between the Palm Desktop and your handheld?
    • If you are synching a Windows CE/Pocket PC/Windows Mobile device through Outlook, is your data synching between Outlook and your handheld?
    • If you are synching a Windows CE/Pocket PC/Windows Mobile device direct, is ActiveSync able to connect to your handheld and are the clx- conduits present in the ActiveSync window?
  2. What kind of data is not synching? Is it all data, contact data, activity data, changes to data or something else? If it is an activity, what kind of activity is it?
  3. Check your settings in our software.
    • If you are using CompanionLink, check the Transfer Method tab and, if you are able to access the Category Manager, what transfer method is selected there and whether any categories are excluded. Check the Options menu on the main screen and make sure that the reread options are not selected.
    • If you are using DoubleLook/DoubleNotes, check the Transfer Method and Applications tabs and make sure that the program is not paused. Also, as these programs only look for changes after the computer has been idle for one minute, please make sure that you are allowing enough time for these programs to begin looking for changes.
  4. Create a test record and try to synchronize this. If your test synchronizes, but your pre-existing data does not, then you will most likely need to either select one of the reread options or the purge and reload setting to sync your pre-existing data.

My handheld won't connect.
Connection problems are not due to CompanionLink. CompanionLink does not connect your handheld to the computer. Below are general steps you can take to try to get your handheld to connect. If these do not help, you will need to contact your handheld manufacturer or the maker of your synchronization software.
  1. Soft-reset your handheld.
  2. Disconnect and reconnect the cable that connects your handheld to the computer.
  3. Reboot your computer.

My sync goes on endlessly and just keeps counting records.
Typically this is due to setting CompanionLink to sync a Windows CE/Pocket PC/Windows Mobile device to sync to Outlook or setting a Palm handheld to sync to Palm Desktop. You cannot do this, as it will cause precisely this problem.
Slow syncs.
There are a number of causes for slow synchronization. These include:
  • If you are using a Palm handheld, the System conduit in HotSync Manager must be set to an action of Handheld Overwrites Desktop. Any other setting will cause slow synchronization. Please see What should my HotSync Manager be set to? for more information.
  • In CompanionLink Setup, on the Options menu, there are two reread options. Having either of these selected will slow your sync.
  • If you have selected the purge and reload setting, then your sync would be slow.
  • If you are doing your initial synchronization, then your sync would be slow.
  • Our software can log the sync process. If this logging is turned on, your sync will be slow. To check this, open the setup for our software and press Ctrl-Shift-L. This is a toggle that turns logging on and off. Make sure that this says 'Automatic logging disabled'. By default, logging is disabled.
  • Antivirus or system utilities can make the synchronization slow.
  • The number of records being synchronized can make the synchronization slow. This is particularly a problem with DoubleLook and DoubleNotes, as they are designed to run constantly on the computer. If you are experiencing performance problems, we recommend limiting the number of records being synchronized.
  • Using an old version of our software. We constantly make improvements in our software. If you are on an old version of our software, than this can cause slow syncs.

Tips for Common Problems with Specific Handhelds/Programs

ACT!

My ACT! data is not transferring.
Please see No data transfers from ACT!.


My calendar is not synching to ACT!.
Please see Activities not synching.


BlackBerry

My calendar is not synching.
Please see Calendar not synching.

I'm getting an error that I need to setup/configure the handheld before synching.
Please see Please setup this handheld before synchronizing.

I keep getting the CompanionLink USB wizard when I try to sync.
Please see I keep getting the CompanionLink USB wizard when I try to sync.

DoubleLook/DoubleNotes

Records that I delete and activities that I complete don't synchronize.
DoubleLook and DoubleNotes do not automatically synchronize records which are completed or deleted. In order for these to synchronize, you should first check the setting of the Master Database tab in DoubleLook Setup to make sure that this is set to allow deletions in the direction you want. By default, this tab is set to only allow deletions from the contact manager. Deletions from Outlook/Lotus Notes would be ignored.

To synchronize deleted records, you would need to right-click the DoubleLook/DoubleNotes icon in the lower righthand corner of the computer screen by the time and choose Advanced, then click on Clear Deleted Records. DoubleLook/DoubleNotes will look to see what records have been deleted since the last time this option was selected or the first synchronization with DoubleLook/DoubleNotes, whichever comes last. If you have not done this in a while, this process can take several minutes. It will then give you a prompt with the number of records deleted and will ask you if you want to delete these. This prompt will come up for each area synchronized.


GoldMine

My recurring activities are not synching to GoldMine.
Please see Recurring activities not synching.


My filter is not synching properly.
Please see Explanation of the Filter/Group tab.


Outlook

I can't find my activities in the Outlook calendar.
Sometimes when you can't find your activities in the Outlook calendar, the data is actually there. This is because Outlook has several different ways to view your records and to customize these views. If you are looking for missing calendar data, changing the view to show all of the activities in a list can make it easier to find your data.

Please see How to see all records for instructions on how to do this.


Palm

How do I know which Palm username is the right one?
It is possible to have multiple Palm usernames in your Palm Desktop program. This will cause CompanionLink to see multiple Palm usernames. The correct Palm username is the one in your handheld. For instructions on how to find this, please see How do I find the right Palm username?


My Palm won't sort my addresses by company.
Not all Palm handhelds have the capability to sort the Address Book by company name. Typically, Palm phones do not have this capability.

If you wish to view or change this setting, please see How do I sort the contacts on my handheld by the company name?.


Windows CE/Pocket PC/Windows Mobile direct

I'm trying to set up my handheld to sync direct, but there aren't any boxes for the clx- conduits in ActiveSync.
Please see There's no boxes for me to check in ActiveSync.


My settings are right in CompanionLink, but the data on my handheld isn't right.
Generally, this happens when CompanionLink Setup or CompanionLink Synchronize are run while your handheld is connected. You cannot do this with the direct sync. Please see Why can't I open CompanionLink while the handheld is connected? for an explanation of why.

To correct this problem, please see I opened CompanionLink while the handheld was connected. Now what?


What are the correct ActiveSync settings?
Please see What settings do I need in ActiveSync?.