The connection between your handheld and the desktop could not be established

The error message "the connection between your handheld and the desktop could not be established" is a generic Palm error indicating that your handheld is unable to communicate with your PC. Note, this error only occurs with Palm OS devices (e.g. Centro or Tungsten). It will not happen with webOS devices such as the Pre or Pixi.

To attempt to resolve this issue:

Make sure that Hotsync Manager is running

1. Look in the system tray (right-hand corner of your PC by the clock); it will be an icon with blue and red arrows
2. If it is running running, launch Hotsync Manager from the Start menu

Verify the correct connection type

1. Right-click the Hotsync Manager icon in the system tray; you should see some "Local" options
2. You may see Local, Local Serial, or Local USB; assuming you are not using Bluetooth, please select the appropriate option

Verify it is not a simple connection issue

1. If you are using a USB connection, unplug and replug the handheld into a different USB port, then try to sync again
2. Reboot the PC and the Palm OS device device, then try the sync again

Verify if CompanionLink is related to the issue

1. Open CompanionLink Setup, then from the file file menu, click "Reset Palm Hotsync Settings"; this will take CompanionLink out of the synching process so that you are now synching solely between the Palm OS device and Palm Desktop
2. Attempt a sync again

If the above steps do not resolve the issue

If you still cannot sync even after removing CompanionLink from the sync process, this is an issue we will not be able to resolve. Since Palm support is no long available, your options are to attempt to troubleshoot the issue yourself, or move to a handheld device with a more modern operating system. CompanionLink is capable of syncing to a variety of devices from Palm Desktop, should you wish to continue using Palm Desktop.