422494 - PalmSync install fails with Palm Desktop 6.2 and HotSync Manager 7.0.2 - "Error loading the Conduit Manager while (un)installing the Thunderbird Address Book Palm Sync Conduit"

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(MailNews Core Graveyard :: Palm Sync, defect)

Description

[Keith Schonrock]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.12) Gecko/20080201 Firefox/2.0.0.12
Build Identifier: HotSync Manager 7.0.2 (Palm Desktop 6.2); Palmsync - palmsync-2.0.0.x-wsm.xpi

PalmSync (version 2.0.0) will not install properly into Thunderbird for use with the Palm Desktop 6.2 and HotSync Manager 7.0.2 for use with Windows Vista.  When installing PalmSync into Thunderbird the error message displayed is "Error loading the Conduit Manager while (un)installing the Thunderbird Address Book Palm Sync Conduit".  After this PalmSyc appears to be installed into Thunderbird, but does not appear in the HotSync Manager as a conduit.  Trying to install the conduit manually running the "palmsyncinstall.exe" program yields the same results.  Installing the conduit manually using ConduitBuddy causes the conduit to produce an "Error=4364" message each time.  No method I have tested will allow the conduit to be installed and work in Vista with this version of Palm Desktop.  All other conduits I have installed work fine with the exception of PalmSync.  Going to prior versions of Palm Desktop and HotSyncManager are not an option as this one is designed for Vista.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Install PalmSync XPI in Thunderbird
2. Error message "Error loading the Conduit Manager while (un)installing the Thunderbird Address Book Palm Sync Conduit" occurs
3. Conduit is not properly installed into HotSync Manager 7.0.2
Actual Results:  
PalmSync is installed into Thunderbird, but the conduit is not installed into HotSync Manager.  The conduit can not be manually installed.  No address book syncing between the Palm and Thunderbird can occur.

Expected Results:  
Install into Thunderbird and HotSync Manager and allow proper syncing of address book information between the Palm and Thunderbird.

I have tried many times over the past few weeks to figure out how to get PalmSync to install and work with Vista and HotSync Manager 7.0.2 (the new official version of HSM for Vista) and can not figure anything out.  I can not go back to Palm Desktop 4.1.4 because there are incompatibilities with other conduits that need the new Palm Desktop within Vista to work.

Comment 1

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

just a quick note that Keith and I corresponded over the past couple weeks and I have not found anything promising in palm documentation, nor in newsgroups. So some debugging of palmsync is in order.

Comment 2

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

confirming to get on radar

Comment 3

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Keith tested SM trunk and it failed. (I am presently not able to test this) 
ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/seamonkey/nightly/latest-trunk/
1.9pre version of PalmSync

The error we focus on is 
 "Error loading the Conduit Manager while (un)installing the Thunderbird
 Address Book Palm Sync Conduit"


My Vista registry for hotsync matches what the palmsync code is looking for. So I don't think the problem is the registry entry for where palm lives.

Three other possible failures are HSAPI, condmgr and the path/directory name where PS extension lives. Specifically:
- condmgr/PS not handling the extension's directory name
- incompatibility between CDK 403 on which palmsync is based and condmgr for HSM 7
- problem between palmsync and HSM API  (HSAPI)

The above 3 are called, in that order, in palmsyncinstall.cpp

And error IDS_ERR_LOADING_CONDMGR is the corresponding 3 functions - load conduit manager, install our (palmsync) conduit, uninstall conduit - in the source code 
http://bonsai.mozilla.org/cvsblame.cgi?file=/mozilla/mailnews/extensions/palmsync/installer/PalmSyncInstall.cpp&rev=1.13

We REALLY want to know if palmsync works on VISTA with an older HSM.  But is it possible to run older HSM on vista? (I don't know)  Keith "posted into the mozillazine forums and never really got much of a response."  Knowing that would eliminate the extensions directory name being a problem, and we could focus on the the HSM version / loading of condmgr and HSAPI.


The code:

load conduit manager is done first, followed by either install conduit or uninstall (not shown below) conduit. 

286               // this function loads the Conduit Manager
287 rdayal   1.2  int LoadConduitManagerDll(HINSTANCE* hCondMgrDll, const TCHAR * szPalmDesktopDirectory)

292     // Construct the path of the Palm Desktop Conduit Manager
...
295                   if((strlen(szPalmDesktopDirectory) + strlen(DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR_STR) +  strlen(CONDMGR_FILENAME)) >= _MAX_PATH)
296                       return IDS_ERR_LOADING_CONDMGR;
...
301 rdayal   1.2      if( (*hCondMgrDll=LoadLibrary(szPDCondMgrPath)) != NULL )
302                       // Successfully loaded CondMgr Library from Palm Desktop Directory
303 rdayal   1.1      return 0;
305                   return IDS_ERR_LOADING_CONDMGR;

308               // this function loads the Hsapi Dll
309 rdayal   1.2  int LoadHsapiDll(HINSTANCE* hHsapiDLL, const TCHAR * szPalmDesktopDirectory)


560                   // Prepare to install the conduit using Conduit Manager functions
...

Comment 4

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

from mozillazine, one example vista+HSM 6 works, one example XP+HSM 7 doesn't work.  (no examples of HSM 7 + Vista except reporter's)

dropout: works - Vista, HSM 6.0.1, TB 2.0.0.4 (20070604), Treo 680
  http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=3002607

AZJerry: XP SP2
         fails - PDesktop 4.2 
               - sync error retval=268461072 MozABConduit synchronization failed
         fails - *PDesktop 6.2.2, HSM 7? 
               - Tbird conduit not listed in HSM
         works? - ?
 http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=3261539&sid=e2a4fc374ac8119ece5f9c1309555d45


Just remembered I have a Vista laptop, so I might be able to test Vista+HSM 7 in a week or so.

Comment 5

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Keith, what happens if you do what is suggested in bug 182573 comment 7 regarding putting the palm directory in the path (adjust appropriately) as follows

PATH=C:\Palm;%PATH%
palmsyncinstall

Comment 6

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Keith what do you mean by "After this PalmSyc appears to be installed into Thunderbird, but does not appear in the HotSync Manager as a conduit."? Are you judging by the fact that palmsync is listed in add-ons as "enabled"?  

If so, then we may need to create a bug for that.


improve summary (happens also with trunk).

Comment 7

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Attachment: screen shot conduitconfig.exe settings from XP

keith, can you also tell us what happens if you try HSM started as
  hotsync.exe -v

There might now be more information in the HSM log - right+click HSM > view log


And a reference document ... Chapter 9 Writing an Installer of "C/C++ Sync Suite Companion" Palm OS® Conduit Development Kit for Windows, Version 6.0.1 - http://www.access-company.com/developers/documents/docs/conduits/win/CComp_Install.html#995937


including such helpful information as ... "Installation Troubleshooting Tips 

... things to look for when you have installation problems:

    * Check the HotSync log after you run your conduit. The log contains any error messages that may result. Ensure that you are looking at the log entry for the correct user.
    * For additional (verbose) logging information, exit HotSync Manager, click the Start button, then Run, and type c:\<HotSync Manager dir>\hotsync.exe -v.
    * Conduits are run by HotSync Manager only when there is a application with a matching creator ID on the handheld, unless your conduit tells HotSync Manager to run it regardless. See "GetConduitInfo()."
    * Use CondCfg.exe to view the conduit configuration settings. Double check them and watch for things like whether your conduit DLL is actually where you indicated.
    * Ensure that the creator ID specified for the conduit (use CondCfg.exe to view the entry) matches the creator ID of an application on the handheld.
    * Use the verbose log to get a list of the creator IDs on the handheld."

Comment 8

[Mark Airey]

I am experiencing this issue with HSM 7.0.2 on XP

Comment 9

[Denis]

This issue is also affecting me with HotSync Manager 7.0.2 on Windows XP.

Comment 10

[Harmoney]

Per Wayne Mery's 5/20/08 request, I ran a hotsync (after a failed PalmSync install attempt) using the 7.0.2 HSM started with "-v".  I have included the relevant portion of the logs at the end of this comment.

Possibly of additional note is that there is no more "CondCfg.exe" file.  There is a  

#   Attempting to synchronize with conduit: AddrCond.dll
#   Key is Software\PalmSource\Desktop\Component2
#   Sync type is Fast
#   Local path is C:\Users\<user>\Documents\Palm OS Desktop\Winslo\address\
#   Remote name 0 is AddressDB
#   Loading AddrCond.dll conduit
#   Conduit successful
#   Attempting to synchronize with conduit: AddrCond.dll
#   Key is Software\PalmSource\Desktop\Component3
#   Sync type is Fast
#   Local path is C:\Users\<user>\Documents\Palm OS Desktop\Winslo\Address\
#   Remote name 0 is ContactsDB-PAdd
#   Loading AddrCond.dll conduit
#   Address Book synchronized successfully

    *   Duration: 0.8 seconds

#   Conduit successful

Comment 11

[Harmoney]

(In reply to comment #10)

> Possibly of additional note is that there is no more "CondCfg.exe" file.  There
> is a  

My apologies, that wasn't ready to submit when I hit enter.

There is a "CnSwitchHelper.exe" application, but it does not have the functionality mentioned by Wayne.

Comment 12

[ez]

(In reply to comment #0)

Experienced the same error when installing with HSM 6.0.1 on Win XP.

Here is a work-around that I stumbled across through trial and error.  I don't know why it works and I'm not even sure which steps are extraneous (I'm sure some of them are).  But hopefully, it'll work for you and provide some insight into the  bug in this report.

I did this a few months ago with TB 2.x, HSM 6.0.1.

1. Installed sync20.dll v6.0.3.  It corrects some sort of problem with jsync.  Found it at accessdevnet.com.  Not at all certain that this step makes any difference, but it doesn't hurt!

2. Installed an older version of PalmSync from http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/thunderbird/extensions/palmsync/palmsync.xpi

This was dated 09 Nov 04.  It's not the latest version from this directory, but there were no conduit installation errors.

3. Installed Contacts Sidebar 0.7.  Not sure why this makes any difference, but it's frequently advised.

4. Quit Hotsync (HS).

5. From previous attempts, my Palm Address Book was empty; it didn't even have any categories.  Created category Unfiled and put a dummy entry in it.  Also created another category and dummy entry for it.

6. In TB, installed PS 2.0.0.x-wsm, the latest version I could find.  Got error during installation.  Restarted TB.

7. Started HS.

8. Set Mozilla Addressbook for Desktop to Handheld.  Synced.  It worked.


Yesterday, I noticed that my address book wasn't syncing.  I checked HSM and inexplicably, the Mozilla Address Book conduit was missing.  I uninstalled PS and Contacts Sidebar from TB.  Then performed steps 2, 3 (except I used Contacts Sidebar 0.7.1), 4, 6, 7, and 8.  It worked.  Note that at this point, I'm on TB 2.0.0.17.  Also, I tried skipping step 8 since I'd already done this previously.  This was a phenomenally bad idea.  Eventually, after changing sync options a few times, I got all my contacts on my Palm, but my TB address book was in a disarray (some contacts missing).  Even setting sync to HH->Desktop wouldn't correct it.  Fortunately, I had a recent backup.  In short, don't skip the Desktop->HH initial sync.

Thanks to all the developers and contributors for their continued work on all of this.

Comment 13

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

ez that's awesome news.

The down side is if contacts sidebar is required that's nasty, in part because no one ever figured out why/how it made a difference.  I've never heard anyone who needed it since TB 2.0 came out, perhaps even 1.6.

So, more detective work is needed.

BTW, what are you using for backup?

Comment 14

[ez]

I'm not sure if Contacts Sidebar is necessary.  I started out very methodically, making only one change at a time (e.g., different versions of PalmSync, editing the registry entries for the conduits, etc.) and trying a hotsync after each change.  But after spending many hours unsuccessfully, I took the shotgun approach and made a number of changes before trying another hotsync.  So, in the end, I got it to work, but I'm not sure which steps are wheat and which are chaff.

I'd be interested in seeing someone try the above procedure without the sync20.dll change and Contacts Sidebar installation (i.e., skipping steps 1 and 3).  I suspect (and this is, indeed, purely speculation) that the installation of the older version of PalmSync successfully accessed the Conduit Manager and the installation of the newer version brought mozabconduit.dll up to the newer version.  

Interestingly, I'm the only one on this thread that encountered this problem with HSM 6 on Win XP.  Everyone else having the "Error loading the Conduit Manager..." problem seems to be using HSM 7 and/or Vista.

Re: backup: I use Retrospect for backups (backing up my PC, not my Palm).  It does a good job with incremental backups and multiple backup sets (which I intended to do at some point, but don't).

Let me know if there's anything I can check to give you more information.

Comment 15

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

> Interestingly, I'm the only one on this thread that encountered this problem
> with HSM 6 on Win XP.  Everyone else having the "Error loading the Conduit
> Manager..." problem seems to be using HSM 7 and/or Vista.

that is interesting - I hadn't taken notice you were both XP and HSM 6. So, it remains to be seen whether this workaround will work for ppl using HSM 7.

In any event, results from your suggestions about what people can test are eagerly awaited.

Comment 16

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

(In reply to comment #12)
> (In reply to comment #0)
> 
> Experienced the same error when installing with HSM 6.0.1 on Win XP.
> 
> Here is a work-around that I stumbled across through trial and error.  I don't
> know why it works and I'm not even sure which steps are extraneous (I'm sure
> some of them are).  But hopefully, it'll work for you and provide some insight
> into the  bug in this report.
> 
> I did this a few months ago with TB 2.x, HSM 6.0.1.
> 
> 1. Installed sync20.dll v6.0.3.  It corrects some sort of problem with jsync. 
> Found it at accessdevnet.com.  Not at all certain that this step makes any
> difference, but it doesn't hurt!
> 
> 2. Installed an older version of PalmSync from
> http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/thunderbird/extensions/palmsync/palmsync.xpi
> 
> This was dated 09 Nov 04.  It's not the latest version from this directory, but
> there were no conduit installation errors.

That version of palmsync.xpi dated 09-Nov came out with version 1.0 of Thunderbird. So it is very odd that it would work with TB 2.0  But not surprising contacts sidebar extension helps it - the kb article at that time  http://kb.mozillazine.org/index.php?title=PalmSync_-_Thunderbird&oldid=20899 documents it and many people needed sidebar to get palmsync working with TB 1.0. And http://kb.mozillazine.org/PalmSync_(Thunderbird)#Installation_Notes references it.

The directory of old versions at http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/thunderbird/extensions/palmsync/ also has the xpi for thunderbird 1.5.

It would be great to hear of each person's results - both success or failure - with any version, because it might help us narrow whether a bug got introduced into newer versions.

note there is discussion at http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=629343

Comment 17

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

The use of sidebar is also noted at  Bug 234391 -  "Conduit Error: Unknown error (110C)" or "retval=4364" in hot sync log or conduit log - nothing happens syncing Palm Address Book to Thunderbird because conduit did not successfully install via palmsyncinstall.exe

Comment 18

[jcampins]

I'm working with Vista, HSM 7.0.2 and this solution did not work for me.

Comment 19

[Marc Peters]

Longish (apologies), but contains work-around & problem localization.

SUMMARY
-------
PalmSync doesn't work with PalmDesktop 6.2/HotSync 7.x.  As a side note, PalmDesktop 6.2 / HotSync 7.x were released for compatibility with Windoze Vista, so this is mostly a problem for Vista users.

The problem occurs because PalmDesktop has apparently changed some registry entries and their meanings, and consequently, PalmSync cannot find the required "Condmgr.dll".


CONFIGURATION APPLICABLE TO WORKAROUND & DEVELOPER NOTES
--------------------------------------------------------
* Palm Desktop 6.2
* HotSync Manager 7.0.2
* Thunderbird 2.0.0.x
* Windoze Vista


WORK AROUND
-----------
The work-around below is detailed so even the most computer illerate have a chance of success.  Deepest apologies for its length.  For the skilled, we suggest just reading the first sentence of the step and you'll know what to do. :)

The following work around must be employed each time PalmSync needs to alter its  conduit (e.g., installation/uninstall & possibly 'updates' to PalmSync).

Prework:
1. PalmDesktop 6.2, HotSync 7.0, & Thunderbird 2.x already installed
2. Acquire a copy of PalmSync (http://www.lehigh.edu/~wsm0/palmsync-2.0.0.x-wsm.xpi)
3. Attempt to install PalmSync into Thunderbird 2 according to the instructions (http://kb.mozillazine.org/PalmSync_(Thunderbird)#Installation)
   ==> It will fail with a "Error in loading the Conduit Manager while (un)installing the Thunderbird Address Book Palm Sync Conduit" dialog
   ==> The failure dialog is expected and okay, just close it, then close Thunderbird


Working around the problem:
1. Make certain that HotSync is NOT running
   (double check with the task manager just in case)

2. Make certain that Thunderbird is NOT running
   (double check with the task manager just in case)

3. Start Regedit
   a. START menu -> Run...
   b. In the "Run" popup dialog box, type "regedit"
   c. Hit "OK"

4. Make a backup of the registry
   We do this just in case there is a screwup--we shouldn't actually need to restore the backup.
   a. In the Registry Editor, File -> Export...
   b. For "Export Range", select "All"
   c. For File Name, supply "C:\PalmSyncModBackup"
   d. Click "Save"

5. Temporarily modify the registry to make PalmSync happy
   a. In the Registry Editor left pane, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/U.S. Robotics/Pilot Desktop/Core
   b. In the right pane, Select the "Path" item
   c. Right click on the "Path" item and select Rename
   d. Rename it to "Path-tmp"
   e. In a white area of the right pane background, right click and select New -> String Value.  Call the new value "Path".
   f. Double-click on the (new) "Path"
      ==> An Edit String dialog box will pop up
   g. For Value data, enter "C:\Program Files\Palm\"
      ==> If you have installed PalmDesktop in a non-default location, you may need to enter a different value here.  Basically, set this value to the same Data value as the INSTALLDIR entry.
   h. Click "OK"
   i. Leave the registry editor up.  We're done with it for now, but will need it again in a few minutes.

6. Install the PalmSync conduit
   a. Locate the PalmSync conduit installer
      ==> For me, it was located in C:\Users\bubba\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\fqab18f3s.default\extensions\p@m\PalmSyncInstall.exe
      ==> The path will be slightly different for you, due to the randomized string Thunderbird generates for profiles.  Also, look for your login id instead of 'bubba', above.
      ==> If all else fails go to C:\Users and do a search for "PalmSyncInstall.exe".  This is the conduit installer for PalmSync.  It was placed in the Thunderbird profile directory when we attempted to install the PalmSync addon in the Prework section of the work-around.
    b. Double click on "PalmSyncInstall.exe"
       ==> You should get a dialog box indicating that the "Thunderbird Address Book Palm Sync was successfully installed."
       ==> Click on "OK".  Do NOT do the hotsync that the dialog suggests.

7. Put the registry back the way it was to make HotSync happy
   a. In the Registry Editor, you should still be navigated to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/U.S. Robotics/Pilot Desktop/Core
   b. In the right pane, Select the "Path" item
   c. Right click on the "Path" item (the new one you added), and select Delete
   d. Right click on the "Path-tmp" item, and select Rename
   e. Rename it back to "Path"
   f. Close the Registry Editor--we're done with it
      ==> You no longer need that backup you made of the registry earlier, either.

8. Sync
   a. Start the HotSync manager
      ==> It should start normally, with no complaints
      ==> If you examine the Hotsync Manager conduits (called "Applications" now), you should see a new "Thunderbird Address Book".  Make sure it is setup properly for the sync you want to do with your Palm.
   b. Start Thunderbird
   c. Sync away!



NOTES FOR DEVELOPERS

* The PalmDesktop6.2/Hotsync7.0 registry entries for the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/U.S. Robotics/Pilot Desktop/Core" node look like the following example now:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\U.S. Robotics\Pilot Desktop\Core]
"DesktopPath"="C:\\Program Files\\Palm\\"
"HotSyncPath"="C:\\Program Files\\Palm\\Hotsync.exe"
"UserConduitFolder"="C:\\Users\\bubba\\AppData\\Roaming\\HotSync\\Conduits"
"PIMVersion"="6.1.0"
"DesktopExe"="Palm.exe"
@=""
"Desktop Language"="ENG"
"INSTALLDIR"="C:\\Program Files\\Palm\\"
"VM_Username"="Bubba Wuzhere"
"WebAddress0"="&VersaMail On The Web...;http://www.palm.com/us/support/accessories/versamail/"
"Path"="C:\\Users\\bubba\\Documents\\Palm OS Desktop"

* Given the above, it seems the formal usage definition of "Path" was changed from the Palm Install directory to the Palm-blessed 'user' area.  In place of the original "Path" definition, it looks like Palm introduced "INSTALLDIR" and/or "DesktopPath".

* Suggest changing PalmSyncInstall's GetPalmDesktopInstallDirectory() to look for INSTALLDIR first, and if it exists, use that value in preference to "Path".

* Glad to test it, but lack the development tools to actually make the change.

Comment 20

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Marc, that's awesome detective work.

Note: It was recently announced that Palmsync work has been spun off from Thunderbird. Unless someone or some people step up, there is unlikely to be an extension that works for Thunderbird 3, let alone fixing this bug in the extension. See http://kb.mozillazine.org/PalmSync_-_Thunderbird for references.

Comment 21

[Takanori MATSUURA]

This bug lies at rest in the graveyard.