Thursday, February 28, 2008

Fixing a Gray ActiveSync

As a Windows Mobile developer, I typically work with multiple WM devices that I continuously plug in and out of our USB ports as I'm testing software. Sometimes, this confuses ActiveSync. For example, say my WM device is plugged into my desktop, ActiveSync is green. All is good. I unplug the phone to test something (e.g., GPS sensor) and walk around. Five minutes later, I stop the GPS software and plug my phone back into my desktop. However, now ActiveSync stays gray. Rather than restarting, which is what I usually do in this situation (though I hate restarting cause I usually have a 100 windows open), I do the following:
  1. Open ActiveSync and Task Manager.
  2. In Task Manager, click on the Applications tab. Select "Microsoft ActiveSync." Select "End Task."
  3. Now click on the Processes tab. Select the "wcescomm.exe" and then press the "End Process" button. Do the same thing for "WCESMgr.exe" if it's there.
  4. Unplug your device from the computer
  5. Go to Start Menu->All Programs and relaunch ActiveSync.
  6. Wait until ActiveSync starts and then plug your phone back in.