I usually "hot sync" by cable between my hand held m505 Palm and my desktop without a problem, but now I get the message "The connection between ... could not be established ..." and if I explore further in "set up" the desktop comes up with the meassage COM 1 not available. Any clues?

well i had the same problem, and the problem turn to be that the latest software is ****! uninstall that software and install the palm desktop 4.14 that should do it! its sound like old but its the same thing!

If so much has happened to your handheld then the only thing left to be done is a reinstall of the firmware, as that is the only solution to a corrupt firmware because of the power glitch while it was doing something. The glitch has corrupted the firmware and thats how it needs a reinstall. Nothing serious but such things do happen i electronics.

Hi,
There is a simple fix for the problem you are having. This same thing happened to me. The first thing to do is to make sure you have the most up to date software for the desktop. Once that is done do a hard reset. Here are the directions for that:

1. Press and hold the power button.

2. While holding the power button, use the tip of the stylus ( or a similar object without a sharp tip) to gently press and release the reset button inside the hole on the back of your hand held.

3. Wait for the Palm Powered logo to appear, and then release the power button.

4. When you see the message that warns you about erasing all of the info on your hand held do one of the following:
a) Press UP on the 5 way navigator button on the bottom of your hand held to finish the reset and show the touch screen.
b) Press any other button to do a soft reset.

5. When prompted , tap to align the screen, and then set the language you want to use on your hand held. A screen appears showing the Palm logo and a progress bar. From there continue to set up your Palm and then do a hot sync. This should reset everything. Best wishes....Hope this helps.

Has synch worked before on this set up?

Try changing the HotSync settings
Select Desktop overwrites handheld for each conduit

Just sync your zire with the existing desktop! Should work fine!

I have a similar problem with my m515. I have 3 palms and 2 sync fine but the 3rd isn't even getting to the computer. There is no recognition from the computer that the palm is trying to sync even though I use the same cradle for all palms. The ensuing message is, "the connection between your handeld computer and the desktop could not be established. Please check your setup and try again". My settings are set Local and Cradle/Cable.

Something similar happened to me due to incorrect periodic entries in the Datebook, try disabling all elements in the Hot Sync, try it, and if it works, then add them one by one until you find the offending one, then focus on clearing that DB.
(Actually i simply stopped synching Datebook since i didn't wanted to loose all the history of appointments i have).

You have your Hotsync software set to use a com port instead of USB. Right Click on the Hotsync icon on the lower right part of your PC desktop and change it to USB and you should be good to go. The IBM Workpad is just like a Palm. I have the Workpad C500 which is actually a Palm M500. If you have a Workpad C505 it is a Palm M505. Anything you can buy for a Palm M500 will work with a C500 and anything you get for a M505 will work with a C505. If you do NOT have a USB Sync cable for your Workpad I suggest you do what I did... Just get a combination Sync and charge USB cable at Staples or Best Buy for your M500 or M505 and use it. It was about 20 but you can get them cheaper on the Net. I hope this helps you!

Try replacing the cradle or if you can install Palm desktop on another computer and try synchronizing on it. This is usually a sign of a week cradle or COM port on your computer.