Are you getting any error mesages when trying to sync?

Go through the following guide to see if you can resolve the issue.

Click on the following link to the kb.palm.com webpage for the article regarding HotSync troubleshooting: Start here.

http://www.palm.com/cgi-bin/cso_kbURL.cgi?ID=2630

For reference purposes, click on the following link for the support page for your device on the kb.palm.com webpage.
http://kb.palm.com/wps/portal/kb/na/m-series/m515/unlocked/home/page_en.html

There are links on the page to the user guide, troubleshooting, how to's, downloads, etc.

Yes the error message reads:

"The connection btw your handheld computer and the desktop could not be established.  Please check your set up and try again."

I sync using the icon on my pda because I don't have a button on my usb cable.  Could this be the problem?

The lack of the button should not make a difference. You should still be able to initiate the hotsync from the handheld.

The error message you are reporting will have nothing to do with the hotsync button.

Go through the guide in the link I posted. For the connection issue, this indicates the USB drivers are not loading. You may need to remove Palm desktop and re-install.

The issue is that the USB software driver is not loading in order to establish the communication link with your handheld.

The next step is to "clean" uninstall Palm desktop and re-install. I will provide the "clean" uninstall instructions for Vista.

During the install of palm desktop, do not sync and skip that process. After the install is complete, change the hotsync conduits to handheld overwrites desktop and then sync. This will prevent losing any data on the handheld.

You should first make a copy of your data to have just in case something
happens. You can find your data files by going to Start --> Documents -->
Palm OS Desktop. Highlight your Palm Desktop username and right click and
copy. Then go to your PC desktop right click on a blank spot and select paste.

If this is the first time you are installing Palm desktop and encountering a problem, skip the previous step.

Now you want to uninstall Palm Desktop and remove everything that has to do
with Palm Desktop from your computer.
Go to the following locations on the PC and delete the folders listed below.
C:\Program Files\Palm or Palm One
C:\Users\[Vista Login Name]\appdata\local\virtualstore\Program Files\Palm or
PalmOne
C:\Users\[Vista Login Name]\appdata
*Note you may need to view hidden folders to get to appdata. To do that go
into your control panel and open folder options. Go to view tab and uncheck
hide hidden files.
Once this is done you will need to delete some registry keys from your PC Operating System.

Word of warning, going here and deleting the wrong thing can cause your PC
from starting up, crashing and deletion of programs and data. If you feel
you are unsure of yourself, see if you have a friend that can help you or a
PC technician that you can pay to help you. This procedure will show them everything they need to delete. To make sure we have a good copy of the current registry, we need to do a backup of the Registry.

Go to start on the PC, in the search field type "regedit.exe" without quotes.

Highlight COMPUTER, go to File --> Export. Should pop up with a Save As box.
Current location is fine, should be in My Documents or save to a location you will remember. In the file name on the bottom type "backup[todaysdate]" i.e. backup07072008. Next, the hard part.

The easiest way to make sure your working with the correct key, highlight the key i.e. palm quick install, and press delete on your keyboard. It will ask you, are you sure. Say yes. Do the same thing for all keys below.

If you make a mistake, stop what you are doing. And call a PC technician.
BUT do not turn off your computer.


The reg keys are as follows (Note: some of theses reg keys will not be here
but if they are delete them)

* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\U.S. Robotics\Palm Quick Install
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\U.S. Robotics\PalmOne File Transfer
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\U.S. Robotics\Pilot Desktop
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Palm
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Palm, Inc.
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\PalmDesktopAutorun
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\palmOne
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\PalmSource
* HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\PalmSource or anything else that says palm

Next reboot your computer.

Then reinstall your Palm desktop from the CD and do a hotsync. If it asks
you for a username, enter the name that is on your device in the upper right corner of the hotsync screen.

After you have sync'ed your data into palm desktop, export the data for backup and disaster recovery. Here is a procedure.

The best way to preserve your data is to export the data in each category in Palm Desktop to a seperate folder on your PC.

Create a new folder on your PC somewhere that is convenient. Name it something like Palm Desktop Data. Click on the link below and follow the instructions on that page for the export procedure.

http://www.palm.com/cgi-bin/cso_kbURL.cgi?ID=28734

Make sure you select all for the range in the export window.

With the data saved in the folder you created, make a copy of that folder and save to a flash drive, cd-rw or external hard drive.

Anytime you make a change in Palm Desktop, export the data that was changed to that folder and save again to the external media.

With this process you can always import the data back into Palm Desktop anytime you have a problem with the data in Palm Desktop or if your computer/hard drive/device crashes.

Have you determined that the Hotsync Manager is running?  You should see the little Hotsync icon in the tool tray of the PC.

Have you set the Manager to the method you're using to HotSync?

WyreNut

Here is a link to the article regarding hotsync manager and how to enable it. As Wyrenut stated, this must be enabled in order to start a sync. If you don't see this, follow the steps in the article to enable hotsync.

http://kb.palm.com/wps/portal/kb/common/article/26457_en.html

Well I deleted all of the files that you instructed me to. Then I tried to reload using the original CD and got this error message:

An installation support file

c:\users\owner\appdate\local\temp\{ba0f44c2-a883-11d1-ad0a-0060979d15e2c}\Vbrundo60.exe

could not be installed.

data error (cyclic redundancy check)

I have also tried loading the software from the website (6.2). It seemed to load fine but when I went to perform the hot sync I got the same error message that I originally got:

The connecton btw your handheld computer and the desktop could not be established.  Please check your setup and try again.

The hotsync manager is running.

The next step to try is to soft reset the handheld and try to sync again. Press the reset button on the back of the handheld to reset and try a hotsync.

If you cannot get the connection established, try cleaning the connector on the bottom of the handheld. Power off the handheld, take a lint free cloth and dampen with rubbing alcohol and clean the connector. Let the alcohol dry and then power on the haneheld nand try a sync.

Have you tried another cable? That woldbe the last thing other thatn something on your PC that is nbot allowing the connection. Try a different USB port if youhave nto tried that already. Use the port that is on the back of your PC. This is typically the main USB port.

The other option is to hard reset the handheld which erases all data on the handheld.