We have received reports from a few users who are having difficulty synchronising to their desktop. The error below is reported on the PDA after clicking the Sync icon
Error Code: 6
Message: Specified SQL Server not found: your server name/SQLExpress
Class :20
Procedure: ConnectionOpen (Connect()).
Source : .Net SQLCLient Data Provider.
This error means that a connection could not be made from the PDA to the SQLExpress database on your PC as defined in the PDA preferences. There are many possible causes for this, below is a list of things to check.
1. Check you have installed the Times Desktop application and database
2. Ensure your PC is connected to a network or has a loopback network adapter installed
3. Check that the SQL Server (SQLExpress) and SQL Browser Services are running on your desktop (use Start/Run and type SERVICES.MSC and ensure the status is Started for both services)
4. Check that you have configured the server name and instance preferences on your PDA correctly. The server name can be the DNS name (fully qualified or partial) or IP address of your PC. To determine the IP address of your PC:
a. Click Start/Run and type CMD and click OK
b. In the command windows type IPCONFIG/ALL and press return/enter
c. Scroll through the results and make a note of the IP Addresses. You may have multiple IP addresses, try each one as the server name preference on your PDA
5. Ensure that a firewall is not blocking the connection from your PDA. Try turning all your PC firewalls off or adding the IP address of your PDA to your trusted list. If using Windows Firewall try turning protection off for Mobile Device. Open Windows Firewall from Control Panel, click Change Settings, Advanced tab and uncheck Mobile Device. Review the Microsoft help for Active sync network connections at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/help/activesync/default.mspx
6. If using Active Sync to connect to your database (as apposed to WIFI or other direct network connection) you must be using Active Sync V4.0 or above. Also ensure you have set the connection type to Automatic in the Active Sync/File/Connection Settings and you are using the USB cradle to connect to your PC (not Bluetooth or Infrared). If using an IPaq or similar device check the Sync modus (Start / Settings / Connections). There are 2 options, RNDIS and USB/Serial, ensure that RNDIS is selected. If using a device other than an IPaq ensure you enabled advanced network functionality in the same location.
7. Use vxUtil from www.cam.com to ping your server name from your PDA and check you get a response
8. Check that SQLExpress is configured for TCP/IP connections and SQL Signons. By default the SQLExpress installation included with our setup is configured to use TCP/IP connections and SQL Signon. If you already have SQLExpress installed before installing Times then you may need to perform the following:
a. Use the SQL Server Configuration Manager to enable the TCP/IP protocol for the SQLExpress instance (or the instance you are using for Times). Alternatively use regedit to change the value of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQLServer\SuperSocketNetLib\ Tcp\Enabled to 1. Note the 1 in MSSQL.1 may be different on your PC if you have multiple instances of SQL installed.
b. Refer to the Times Desktop User Manual FAQ section User Not associated with a trusted SQL Server connection error message when you try to connect to SQL Server for details on enabling SQL Signon
c. Restart the SQLExpress service for the changes to take effect
9. Check you can access the internet or any other network resource from your PDA
We welcome any further comments or suggestions you have related to connection issues.
For the Pocket PC to connect to the desktop database it has to open a communication port on the desktop to communicate with SQL Server. To determine which port to use the PDA first connects with the SQL Browser service on the desktop which informs the PDA of the port which SQL Server database is listening on. If using the default install of SQL Express this can often lead to problems if either the SQL Browser service is stopped or a firewall blocks connection from the PDA to the SQL Browser service.
SQL Server can be configured to use the same port all the time and thus the PDA can be setup to always use this port. This bypasses the SQL Browser service and simplifies any firewall modifications. To configure SQL Server on a fixed port follow these steps:
If configured correctly the sync will start. Otherwise please make sure the network connection is available by using the vxUtil.
Once set up this synchronisation technique can be used for Active Sync, WIFI, Bluetooth or internet (though you will need to set up a port forwarding in your router)