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List:       kdepim-users
Subject:    [kdepim-users] Kpilot: Problems using "usb:"-device?
From:       Martin Bernreuther <martinbern () web ! de>
Date:       2007-01-05 0:45:08
Message-ID: 200701050145.08595.martinbern () web ! de
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Hello,

after I recently "found" a Palm TX under the christmas tree
(with a terrible WindowsOnly-forDummies-Manual...)
wanted to install some SourceForge Palm applications,
to synchronize my KOrganizer entries... and there
the fun/frustration begins.

Not long ago I did a ground-up installation of OpenSuSE 10.2
(kernel 2.6.18.2 on a i686 machine) with all the necessary software,
like KPilot and pilot-link. Looking at
http://cvs.codeyard.net/kpilot/hardware.php#tungsten
KPilot should work great with the T|X (at least with Debian using kde 3.4.3.).

With an USB cable connection my first try was
using the /dev/pilot device, which is a link to /dev/ttyUSBX.
and automatically set up by udev (see /etc/udev/rules.d/50-udev-default.rules).
Looking at /var/log/messages, the visor kernel module detects the Palm TX,
but the USB port will change  (with disconnects and reconnects), so
it's a good idea to use /dev/pilot instead of directly using /dev/ttyUSBX...

KPilot (KPilot 4.6.0 (blivit), pilot-link 0.12.1, KDE 3.5.5 "release 50.1",Qt 3.3.7)
showed "Connection established", but there was an error message like
"Could not read system information from the Pilot"
after pressing the Palm USB-cable Sync-Button and the Process stopped after 30%...
(like reported in "http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=138306" or \
"http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=126982") I managed to get a full backup after \
pressing the KPilot "Reconnect button" directly after the Sync-Button! (I'll always \
get the standard sync. method this way.) Neither the installation nore the calendar \
or addressbook synchronizations were done. I think, I simply missed the checkmark to \
activate the "run conduits with backup" within the Backup-preferences! The calendar \
synchronization didn't work with a subsequent Hotsync... \
("http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=136140"?) Looking at the Device-preferences, \
I'm still not sure what the T5...-Workaround is. The german help page does not spot \
that point. But this Workaround didn't change anything here for the TX. IMHO it would \
be better first to have some "Serial|USB|Bluetooth|WLAN..." Radiobuttons and e.g. not \
to show "Speed" in case of an USB-choice. Is the Workaround targeting a Serial or an \
USB Synchronization?

I included the "WiFiCoreLib" in the  "No Backup"-list, since I read somewhere
that this eliminates problems with the backup, although I didn't experience them \
                myself.
BTW: I assume list-items within [ ] are Creator IDs. The german help is not very \
descriptive here.


Just to install some programs, I was looking for an "Install only"-Button, which
I didn't find or doesn't exist. And since this has nothing to do with KDE,
I switched to pilot-link. But after a "pilot-xfer -p /dev/pilot -i *.prc" and \
pressing the Sync-Button, pilot-xfer was listening but nothing happend. The same \
problems again... But e.g.

pilot-xfer -p usb: -i ~/.kde/share/apps/kpilot/pending_install/*.prc

on the other hand works perfectly!
(OpenSUSE only installs the man-page of ietf2datebook, not the converter itself.
So I couldn't check, if this might offer a possibility to convert KOrganizer calendar
data to some pilot-link compatible form.)

I saw that Mandriva 2007 favors usb: over /dev/pilot and mentions problems with \
kpilot: http://qa.mandriva.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/MandrivaLinux2007ReleaseNotes#PalmOS_based_PDAs
 (found a link at the french page: \
http://forum.club.mandriva.com/viewtopic.php?p=274531)

After that experience, I changed the kpilot device also to "usb:".
But kpilot did freeze...

After that I got the SVN sourcecode with KPilot 4.9.0 (deepsix).
With kdelibs-devel, pilot-link-devel, libmal-devel... installed, it was no problem to \
build it. I managed to transfer my korganizer calendar to the Palm TX with this \
version! (Hopefully a new release will come soon to bring the improvements to the \
users.)

With this code the error message using /dev/pilot reads
[...]
  >slotHotSyncRequested
     >setupSync
       >componentPreSync
        componentPreSync: Pre-sync for builtin component_log
         >preHotSync
        componentPreSync: Pre-sync for builtin component_todo
         >preHotSync
        componentPreSync: Pre-sync for builtin component_address
         >preHotSync
        componentPreSync: Pre-sync for builtin component_memo
         >preHotSync
           >saveChangedMemo
        componentPreSync: Pre-sync for builtin component_files
         >preHotSync
           >setEnabled
        componentPreSync: Pre-sync for builtin component_generic
         >preHotSync
       >addMessage
   >addMessage
   >addError
kpilot: WARNING: KPilot error: Der Pilot-Socket (Eingabe-/Ausgabefehler) kann nicht \
zum Mithören geöffnet werden [...]
("The pilot socket (I/O error) can't be opened for listening")
The SVN-version still has some quirks here.

Using "usb:" I first had no problems at all (like with pilot-xfer). Hitting the \
Sync-Button once and that's it. I noticed that kpilot always freezes, if I start it \
and a kpilotDaemon is already/still running in the background. So after finishing \
kpilot [...]
     >killDaemonIfNeeded
and starting it again
[...]
   >startDaemonIfNeeded
the GUI will show up but won't react... (I was thinking of using an alias for kpilot \
like "killall kpilotDaemon; kpilot") But setting "PilotDevice=usb:" within \
"~/.kde/share/config/kpilotrc" also has consequences, if there's no kpilotDaemon \
running: choosing "Configure KPilot" still freezes the GUI [...]
   >configure
     >runConfigure
and no reaction again.

For a "up-to-date" Linux distribution:
Does anyone have similar experiences with kpilot+usb:?
(It might also be a special problem with my installation here.)
Is there a way to get kpilot working with "usb:"?
Or is it typically no problem to use "usb:" with kpilot?

Somehow I have the feeling, that the synchronization procedure itself is more stable \
using "usb:". But I have some problems with kpilot GUI here!

Regards,
	Martin Bernreuther


P.S.:
In the meantime I also had the first total loss of the calendar data after a hotsync.
The synchronization seems still not to be very stable with the Palm TX...

Is there also a possibility to synchronize the "pTunes"-stuff. (Starting "ptunes" \
will just crash my TX.)

Maybe one day Linux on the Palm TX will be an alternative.
(http://hackndev.com/palm/tx,https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=155828&package_id=188800)
 But this certainly takes some time and hopefully there will be also native \
                Linux-PDAs in the shops soon...
-- 
Martin Bernreuther	martinbern@web.de
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