Windows CE Utilities for Visual Studio .NET 2003 add-on resolves some Pocket PC connectivity problems (816826)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft .NET Compact Framework
  • Microsoft Visual Studio .NET (2003), Enterprise Developer Edition
  • Microsoft Visual Studio .NET (2003), Professional Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Powered Pocket PC 2003
  • Microsoft Windows Powered Pocket PC 2002
  • Microsoft Windows Powered Pocket PC 2000

SYMPTOMS

When trying to connect to a Pocket PC device or emulator from Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003, you may experience one of the following problems:
  • Deployment to a Pocket PC device or emulator fails with a sharing violation error that is seen in the Output window in the Visual Studio .NET IDE. This error occurs when you press CTRL+F5 soon after you have closed the application (by tapping the window close button on the device or the emulator) that was earlier started from the Visual Studio .NET 2003 IDE .
  • You receive an error message about missing files when the emulator is being started.
  • After the emulator is started with the Connect to Device button or menu option, the first deployment attempt fails with a message box that is similar to the following:
    There were deployment errors. Continue?
  • Emulator debugging fails if the desktop PC does not have a network connection. The Visual Studio .NET 2003 IDE status bar displays the status as Deploy started, but Visual Studio .NET does not deploy beyond that point. Having the Microsoft Loopback Adapter installed does not help.
  • Visual Studio .NET 2003 IDE cannot deploy to Pocket PC devices through ActiveSync. The Visual Studio .NET 2003 IDE indicates that it is trying to connect, but it does not succeed in making a connection to the device.
  • Visual Studio .NET 2003 IDE cannot deploy to a Pocket PC device that is connected to the desktop Windows computer by using ActiveSync through an ethernet connection. This problem does not occurs if the device is connected by a USB connection.
  • Visual Studio .NET 2003 IDE cannot deploy to Pocket PC devices through ActiveSync after you completely remove and then reinstall ActiveSync. You must reinstall Visual Studio .NET 2003.
  • Deployment to Pocket PC devices fails if the logon user is not in the Administrators group. This behavior occurs in Microsoft Windows XP and in Microsoft Windows Server 2003, but not in Microsoft Windows 2000.
  • A message appears in the Output window when the emulator is used for the first time on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003.
  • Localized (non-English) computer names or user names may cause failure of deployment to Pocket PC devices.
  • The Pocket PC emulator in Visual Studio .NET 2003 does not work if the equivalent emulator in Microsoft eMbedded Visual C++ is running at the same time
  • Debugging fails when the Toolhelp.dll file is missing on the Pocket PC device
  • The emulator starts but it does not load the image into memory if the emulator uses a COM port. The emulator window shows a black screen.
  • Visual Studio .NET 2003 IDE cannot deploy to Pocket PC devices when the number of network protocols that are installed on the desktop computer exceeds 50.

RESOLUTION

The Microsoft Windows CE Utilities for Visual Studio .NET 2003 Add-on Pack may help to solve Pocket PC device connection and emulator connection problems that are similar to the ones that are mentioned in the "Symptoms" section of this article.

To use the Add-on Pack, follow these steps:
  1. Download and then install the Windows CE Utilities for Visual Studio .NET 2003 Add-on Pack to the computer that is running Visual Studio .NET 2003.
  2. For a specific identified problem, check the Readme file that is installed with the Add-on Pack, and then follow the specific configuration instructions for that problem.
The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:


DownloadDownload the Windows CE Utilities for Visual Studio .NET 2003 Add-on package now.

For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

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MORE INFORMATION

Certain users on the desktop computer may notice that the deployment to a Pocket PC device that is connected with ActiveSync is not successful and you receive the following error message:
Could not establish a connection with the device. Please make sure the device is connected and working properly.
Other users on the same computer may be able to deploy and to debug by using the same device, may find that ActiveSync is working correctly, and may find that the file \Windows\ConManClient.exe is not copied to the device when they try to deploy or to debug. These symptoms indicate a possible corrupted security key container.

On the computer that is running Visual Studio .NET, run the DelDesktopCryptKey.exe utility from the command prompt to clean the security key container for the current user. DelDesktopCryptKey.exe is installed with the Windows CE Utilities for Visual Studio .NET 2003 Add-on Pack. By default, DelDesktopCryptKey.exe is located in the Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\CompactFrameworkSDK\WinCE Utilities\DelDesktopCryptKey folder.

REFERENCES

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

818207 Windows CE Utilities are required for .NET Compact Framework development for non-Pocket PC devices

For regular updates on products and downloads, view the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/mobility/

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:12/8/2004
Keywords:kbprb kbinfo KB816826 kbAudDeveloper kbAudOEM
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