USB Palmpilot or Handspring Visor working with Linpus

[mattytee]

OK, I have read every bugzilla entry and problem concerning this, and finally managed to get this working. It's surprisingly easy. It wasn't a Linpus problem, it was a Fedora and misinforation problem. So without further ado, the how-to.

GETTING YOUR USB PALMPILOT OR HANDSPRING VISOR WORKING IN LINPUS, FEDORA, ETC.

1. Install pilot-link

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sudo yum install pilot-link

2. Copy 60-libpisock.rules from /usr/share/pilot-link/udev/ to /etc/udev/rules.d/

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sudo cp /usr/share/pilot-link/udev/60-libpisock.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/

3. Fix the libpisock rules for fedora/linpus

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sudo mousepad /etc/udev/rules.d/60-libpisock.rules

Use the "replace" command in the search menu to change all instances of "dialout" to "wheel"

4. Restart udevd (I just rebooted)

5. Test for pilot-xfer success

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pilot-xfer -p usb: -l

If you get a deedle-dee from the Palm and a list of databases, you're golden. If it just sits there, use CTRL-C to kill it and try the same command with sudo. If that works, you're going to need to dig for a permissions problem. If your user is in the wheel group, you should be good to go. Some Palms, for example the m130 and z22, may NEVER work. Sorry.

7. install j-pilot (or not, you can just use pilot-xfer for backup/restore)

backing up without j-pilot:

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pilot-xfer -p usb: -b /path/to/backup/dir

restoring without j-pilot:

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pilot-xfer -p usb: -r /path/to/backup/dir

OR

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sudo yum install jpilot

If it fails, you may need fedora-release, so if you get errors, try:

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sudo yum install fedora-release

8. Set j-pilot to use "usb:" (no quotes) in the program preferences.

Hotsync should be 200%-600% faster than the kludgy old /dev/pilot method.

[nateda]

Thanks a lot for the help!

So ends around 4 months of intermittently trying to get my Treo to work.

By the way, can this method be used for Dial-Up-Networking through a Treo? Does anyone know of a way? I've tried using Gnome-PPP with device USB:, but it just says device not found.

[mattytee]

That reminds me -- if anyone is coming to this after trying the "/dev/pilot" method, which does not work in Linpus, you need to do a few things before you follow the guide above:

1. Remove the visor module.

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rmmod visor

2. Blacklist the visor module to keep it from loading again. (You will know if you need to do this, because you would have had to edit or delete this file to get the visor module to load)

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sudo echo 'blacklist visor' > /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-visor

Glad to help. I haven't delved into using a Treo as a modem, but I'm guessing the thread(s) on getting a USB modem to work might be applicable. I'm not sure if someone has them working or not. I believe the Treo responds to regular AT commands once you have the USB communication part working. This guide strictly changes ownership of the device that is created when you hotsync. I don't think it could be used to do the modem thing as it is not persistent; the device disappears at the end of a hotsync.

Another place to search would be the Fedora forums and/or bugzilla.

[ice_snow]

How do you set J-Pilot to accept USB connections? I know you said in the prefrances, but I could not find it anywhere. I don't know if this effects it, but I'm using a Palm Tungsten E.

[nateda]

Its in the Settings Tab of File>Preferences. Set "Serial Port" to "usb:"

[rand mcnally]

I followed the directions above. I never tried the dev/pilot method. I tried pilot-xfer -p usb: -l and got a list of files on the palm. So far so good. J-pilot installs fine, I changed the serial port to usb. When I try to sync I get the following error.

pi_bind error: usb No such file or directory
Check your serial port and settings
Exiting with status SYNC_ERROR_BIND
Finished

Anyone have any ideas. I there a trick or sequence I need to follow.

If it helps I am using a Palm Tungsten E.

Thanks

[ice_snow]

Its in the Settings Tab of File>Preferences. Set "Serial Port" to "usb:"

I can't see where to do that. There is a box that says "Serial Port (/dev/ttySO, /dev/pilot)" and it has a text box where I can input a location, I placed "/dev/usb" and that did not work. Can you be a little more specific (or send a picture).

Thanks,

And I'm sorry for my lack of knowledge about this, I'm usually pretty good with this kind of stuff.

[nateda]

Its in the Settings Tab of File>Preferences. Set "Serial Port" to "usb:"

I can't see where to do that. There is a box that says "Serial Port (/dev/ttySO, /dev/pilot)" and it has a text box where I can input a location, I placed "/dev/usb" and that did not work. Can you be a little more specific (or send a picture).

Thanks,

And I'm sorry for my lack of knowledge about this, I'm usually pretty good with this kind of stuff.

Nah, it's cool dude

Unfortanately, I'm not on my Aspire right now, but if you enter "usb:" into the text box, you should be good to go.

[ice_snow]

I'm quite sure that I tried that, but it did not work.

[mattytee]

ice_snow,

You're looking at the right spot. In the text field you describe, enter the text "usb:" WITHOUT quotes, lowercase letters, no / or /dev/ or anything in front. Just as below:

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usb:

If that's not working, are you able to view the databases with the command below?

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pilot-xfer -p usb: -l

Also, you might check whether Tungsten E is one of the Palms that don't work at all for whatever reason. I definitely saw the Zire 22 and m130. The bugzilla number is 280251.