If you are seeing the error 85010014 (a general error) then try uninstalling and reinstalling Outlook. The error in ActiveSync is actually from the Outlook APIs. You will need to reconfigure Outlook unless you backup your settings. To uninstall Outlook click on the Control Panel -> Add or remove Programs -> Office 2003 and chose to modify the installation by adding or removing components. Uncheck Outlook and updated it to remove Outlook from Office 2003. Then click on Office 2003 again and re-check the option to install Outlook to add it back to Office 2003. You may need your Office 2003 CD. Then reboot.

If you are seeing the error 85010014 (a general error) and are using Exchange 2003 and folder redirection with Outlook, you may have to turn folder redirection off to sync or upgrade to ActiveSync 4.1.

If you are seeing the error 85010014 and you are using Outlook in off-line mode with Exchange, you must be online with Exchange to sync.

If you are seeing the error 85010014 and you have Outlook script blocking setup with your antivirus or anti-spyware program enabled you must configure your antivirus or anti-spyware program to allow ActiveSync to send scripts to Outlook.

If you are using an unregistered or illegal copy of Outlook you may see the 85010014 error.

If you see an error from ActiveSync for 8XXXXXXX where X is any digit, that error is actually from the Outlook APIs. I suggest that you perform the following sequence and test synchronization between each step.
a. Run ScanPST to check the PST for errors.
b. Open Outlook and click on Help - Detect & Repair to fix Outlook. This requires the Outlook CD.
c. Create a new folder in Outlook and move all the data of the type that is not synchronizing to the new folder. Then move it back until you find the item causing the error.
d. Create a new PST file (File - New - Outlook Data File) and move your data into that PST. Then set that PST as the default PST in Outlook (Tools - Email Accounts - Next. Then select the new PST as the default email delivery location). Close the old PST in Outlook.

If you install patches, service packs, Outlook or Windows Media Player 10 you may need to repair ActiveSync 4.x for it to work correctly. To repair ActiveSync, click on Start – Control Panel – Add/Remove Programs and select Microsoft ActiveSync 4.x. Then click on the Change button. The wizard will walk you through the repair process. You will need to close all your applications and reboot to complete the repair.

If you are developing using Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 and a Windows Mobile 5.0 device, you can debug using TCP/IP. A Microsoft blog explains how "Debugging on CE5.0 device without ActiveSync". Please note that these procedures will not allow non-developers to sync via TCP/IP. Also, the timeout of 3 minutes to connect may be frustrating for some developers.

If you have to uninstall ActiveSync 4.x and want to reinstall ActiveSync 3.x, you need to use Add/Remove programs to uninstall ActiveSync 4.x. Then you need to delete the files C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\RAPI.DLL and C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CEUTIL.DLL. Then you can install ActiveSync 3.x normally. Please note that uninstalling ActiveSync 4.x will delete all your partnerships.

If you are connecting as a Guest connection only, try reinstalling ActiveSync 4.x. Make sure you are using a local administrator account on the PC..

If you are using Windows XP and install the patch KB902400 (MS05-51) you may experience a problem with ActiveSync 4.x logging in to use COM. This is caused by the %windir%\registration security being changed from the default. The folder security must be set to allow Administrators and System Full Control and Everyone Read. See Microsoft KB 909444 article for details.

If you are using ActiveSync 4.0 and another e-mail client besides Outlook and you do not want to see the prompt to change Outlook to the default e-mail client when you sync, install ActiveSync 4.1.

If you are using 802.11b or 802.11g with WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption on your PC, you may be able to sync your device with your PC however 802.11g connection may be disconnected. Other users have been able to reconnect after rebooting their PC without their device connected. A workaround would be to use WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and MAC address filtering in lieu of WPA. In some cases upgrading the 802.11g card driver resolves the problem. This is known to work with Intel's 2200BG driver and Intel PROSet/Wireless version 9.x or 10.x including 10.1.0.3.

If you delete the partnership in ActiveSync on your PC you should delete the partnership on your mobile device(s). To delete the partnership on your PC, open ActiveSync and click on File - Delete Partnership. On the Pocket PC, open ActiveSync. Then click on the Menu button. Then select the Options menu item. Then arrow down to the Windows PC. Then click on the Delete button. On the Smartphone, open ActiveSync and then press the Menu button then select the Options menu item. Then arrow down to the Windows PC. Then press the Menu button and select Delete.

If you want to sync your Pocket PC or Smartphone with 2 PCs with Outlook and the 2 PCs are both synchronizing with different Exchange servers, you need to use a registry editor on the mobile device and set the following key:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ActiveSync\EnableNonLocalCrossPollination]
= (DWORD) 1
Please note that modifying the registry on your mobile device or PC is not supported by Microsoft or your OEM.

If you synchronize your calendar and change the setting to sync more than 2 weeks to sync all and then change it back to sync 2 weeks, you will see duplicated calendar events for the events longer than 2 weeks. The recommend approach is to not reduce the amount of time you select for synchronizing your calendar.

If you have SSH Sentinel installed this can prevent you from synchronizing. If you uninstall SSH Sentinel you will be able to sync.

Some users have reported a problem synchronizing with Outlook 2000. Installing Outlook 2002 allowed them to synchronize. Since Outlook 2002 is shipped with Windows Mobile 5.0 devices I recommend installing Outlook 2002 unless you have Outlook 2003 installed. Windows Mobile 5.0 devices have more fields that Outlook 2000 so users may experience some data loss if they perform a hard reset of their device.

If you are unable to sync or your connection to ActiveSync is dropped after you begin to sync and you use Verizon Wireless E-Mail or Vodaphone Mail, you need to stop them from downloading your e-mail. This can be done by turning off the wireless connection, changing the schedule synchronization to manual or uninstalling the software. When these applications attempt to access the wireless network, they force ActiveSync to terminate. Other applications that automatically connect to the internet may cause similar behavior for users.

If you are using Symantec Antivirus, you may need to turn off the "File System Auto Protect" and "Internet Worm Protection".

If after you connect via ActiveSync, your network connection is ended, try unchecking the option for File and Network Sharing in the RNDIS adapter for the Windows Mobile 5.0 Device. The Windows Mobile 5.0 Device must be connected to the PC via USB to make this setting change.

If ActiveSync does not complete when you attempt to install it, this may be caused by a program that has replaced the MAPI32.DLL file on your PC. You can use C:\Windows\System32\FIXMAPI.EXE (Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003) to resolve the problem. See http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;ko;820865

If ActiveSync does not connect on your Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC try checking the amount of free ram using Start - Settings - System - Memory. ActiveSync requires approximately 6 MB of free ram. You can end programs by clicking on the Running Programs tab, select the application with the stylus and click on the Stop or Stop All button.

If you are seeing slow synchronization of files or unable to complete synchronization of files using ActiveSync 4.x, you may have a large number of blank files in \Windows\Temp on your Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC. After performing a soft reset you should be able to safely delete these files. If you are using a Treo 700w the temporary files issue is resolved by upgrading to AKU2.

Consider installing ActiveSync 4.2. If you run into a problem with the installation or use of ActiveSync 4.2, you can report it to Microsoft at ASTell@microsoft.com.

If you are installing ActiveSync and see an error from InstallShield that lists all the command line options, try clearing your TEMP directory. See Installation displays InstallShield window with Command Line Parameters.