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MelSam's Blog

Mel Sampat on Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile Device Center missing in Vista RC1?

Microsoft released Vista RC1 last week and some of you are already using it. If you use a Pocket PC or Smartphone device, you may be disappointed to find that the Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC) is missing from Vista RC1. I've seen a few posts about this on various forums so I got some clarification from the team working on WMDC.

First of all, here's how WMDC is supposed to work. When Vista ships, it will contain a "base driver", which will enable basic connectivity and some features such as browsing the device, copying files and syncing with Windows Media Player. But it will not enable full ActiveSync and RAPI features. Nor will it allow you to partner up with Outlook to sync PIM data such as Calendar, Contacts, Tasks etc. The base driver looks like this:

Windows Mobile Device Center Base Driver

In order to get full ActiveSync functionality, visit Windows Update when your Windows Mobile device is connected to the Vista machine. This will get you a free download that contains the full WMDC client as shown below.

Windows Mobile Device Center Full Client

There's just one little problem. If you try Windows Update today, it will not detect the WMDC download. This is because one additional step needs to be performed to allow this detection to take place. Unfortunately that step is restricted to internal Microsoft beta testers at this point. The friendly Program Manager for WMDC, Lydia O, sits in the office next to mine. So I asked her what was preventing external RC1 testers from using WMDC. She explained that they're still working on some critical issues which make it necessary to restrict public testing. Judging from the steady stream of people walking in and out of her office all day, it looks like Lydia's team is working as hard as possible to resolve those issues and release WMDC publicly to Vista RC1 testers very soon. We don't want to keep you from enjoying the great WMDC experience, but it simply isn't available externally at this time. When it's ready, it will automatically show up in your Windows Update list without any further action on your part. WMDC will certainly be ready in time for Vista RTM and hopefully long before that - sometime in the next few weeks.

I've personally been using WMDC since upgrading to RC1 last week and find it to be a very impressive Vista component. Thanks for your patience while the WMDC team wraps up their last remaining tasks. If you have any questions about WMDC I'll be happy to try and answer them with help from Lydia's team.

Update (Oct 9, 2006):The WMDC bits for Vista RC1 and higher have been released publicly. Click here to download WMDC.

Posted: Thursday, September 07, 2006 12:42 PM by MelSam

Comments

Kevin said:

Hey Mel, I enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for the update on WMDC on Vista. That really clears things up!

Speaking of WMDC, I generally like the design, but one gripe I had with the 5308 version was that it simply takes a heck of a lot of space. As a future feature request, maybe it would be cool to create a sidebar gadget which is more compact and shows the sync status as well as some useful UI.

Thanks for the great work you and your team are doing! WM rocks!
# September 7, 2006 4:18 PM

Daniel Moth said:

WMDC for Vista RC1
# September 7, 2006 5:40 PM

Backstage at MED said:

Thanks to Mel who sits right next to Lydia, the Program Manager for the Windows Mobile Device Center...
# September 7, 2006 6:42 PM

Kevin Daly said:

With production Vista and WMDC, will it be possible when using the device emulator to cradle the emulator as you can at the moment with ActiveSync 4.x?
And will everything play nicely with VS 2005?

Hope so, it'd be a terrible shame otherwise.
# September 7, 2006 6:43 PM

wmugperu said:

Mel Sampat del equipo de Windows Mobile explica las razones por las que Windows Mobile Device Center...
# September 8, 2006 1:05 PM

MelSam said:

Kevin Daly:
Yes, WMDC will allow cradling the emulator and full VS2005 support just like ActiveSync. Basically everything will play nicely with VS2005. There are some minor issues but have workarounds at this point. You need to manually add a couple of registry keys for some thing to work. VS2005 SP1, which will be released very soon will take care of those minor issues too.
# September 8, 2006 1:11 PM

Ben B said:

Thank you for clarifying things, because there seems to be a lot of confusion about this.

I now have to say that for a RC, this is really unacceptable. Not that you control this, but considering people are not able to use ActiveSync and have no means of working with contacts much less else (without Exchange pass-through)... I find this to be a major piece that is missing. As a developer it also is a major pain. The common RC nomenclature should mean this feature is available in some way... OR there should be a work around. Moreover, there should at least be something stated in the release notes so the many public users are AWARE they will not be able to sync their Win Mobile devices such as the Q or whatever else.

Feel free to pass on this feedback to the team.

Ben
# September 8, 2006 6:05 PM

Lorenzo Barbieri @ UGIblogs! said:

# September 8, 2006 6:42 PM

Matt Sharpe said:

I am hoping that this is released sooner rather than later - I can't wait to install RC1 on my main PC, but need activesync functionality for my Windows Mobile development!
# September 9, 2006 5:50 AM

Jack Lang said:

The inability to sync Outlook with my phone makes Vista RC1 unusable for me, and considerably lessens the utility of my smartphone. I  need to keep my diary and contacts aligned.

Why can't the workround that worked in Beta2 continue? HAving the world go backwards from Beta2 to RC1 is very sad
# September 9, 2006 7:44 PM

MelSam said:

Jack Lang:
I understand and share your frustration. As I understand it, the WMDC team made some major architecural changes between Beta 2 and RC1 based on the feedback they collected from Beta 2. So the WMDC in RC1 is pretty different than what was in Beta 2, at least underneath the hood. As I said, they will be done with the last remaining bugs very soon and have this released externally within the next several weeks.
# September 10, 2006 6:49 AM

Microsoft Vista: Enhanced sync options? - Pocket PC Addict Forums said:

PingBack from http://www.pocketpcaddict.com/forums/front-page-content/16547-microsoft-vista-enhanced-sync-options.html#post42158
# September 11, 2006 11:33 AM

Mark said:

I Cry... this is completely frustrating, and again for me, I need to fall back on xp, which is something that I have allready  begun to loath...  I need my Vistaness. (read sexy ui)
# September 11, 2006 11:48 AM

Kevin said:

Can you even give us a clue as to whether this is days or weeks or months away?
# September 11, 2006 3:52 PM

MelSam said:

Hi Kevin,
All I know is that the team is currently working on a WMDC RC1 release for the public and they're working as quickly as possible. They suffered some setbacks recently, but are working hard to get a quality release out.  It will be released through Windows Update. Customers will just plug in there devices and WU will find the updated driver and WMDC app. It can't be months away because Vista RTM itself is around 3 months away and it will probably get locked down much earlier. It could be a few days days or 2-4 weeks (just a wild guess).
# September 11, 2006 4:47 PM

Diseous said:

MelSam,
I too really appreciate the updates. I love what your company has provided for the Techies such as myself and I gotta say "Keep up the good work" We are holding our breath for the new release and look forward to the amazing things that you are going to send our way. Keep us posted.
# September 11, 2006 7:29 PM

G said:

I have only 1 major issue. I can't test Windows Vista RC1 until I get the active sync component. Any ETA?
# September 12, 2006 9:33 AM

Josh West said:

Thanks for the updates- I've got RC1 on my notebook to demo to clients and do application compatability testing on-site.  I sync my phone to my notebook, and stupidly wiped my phone after installing Vista thinking RC1 was a feature complete build with only bugs remaining.  I'm in a world of hurt w/o some sort of sync...
# September 12, 2006 5:37 PM

Tandi said:

Could you please tell me how could a WindowsCE5.0 device(under developement) to link to Vista by USB? Someone in Microsoft suggested us to use Network Media Device, we tried this, but it seems NMD only supports network linkage, do we have any other choice?  
# September 12, 2006 11:57 PM

Diseous said:

I remember back in the day when I was using XP (about 3 weeks ago) and completely loathing the update process. Getting interupted from my work to restart my computer, just to get some security updates. My how things have changed. I randomly check for the update for Sync Center every 45 minutes or so (yea i'm desperate) and I got an update for my synaptics touch pad, and it was like opening a present. I am actually excited when the little icon pops up and tell me I have an update, cause you never know when it's going to be the one you need.
# September 13, 2006 8:56 AM

William J. Ruberte said:

September 13, 2006

To Mel,

Currently, I am participating in VISTA x64 Testing.
While I have managed to re-build a PC to support
the new Operating System and circumnavigate the
annoyances of UAC & the need for Verifiable Digitally
Signed Drivers, it is dissapointing in the extreme to
see the lack release of a critical feature of WMDC
without providing an alternative to ActiveSync 4.x
Compatibility.

Are you aware of any third-party applications that
accomplish the same goals of Contact, Email, and
Task Synchronization?  Thanks.

William J. Ruberte
Senior Software Engineer
e: wruberte@msn.com
# September 13, 2006 10:56 AM

Richard said:

Thanks for letting us know. That is the one thing that I am missing with Vista right now.
# September 13, 2006 5:57 PM

Shadowscope said:

I found out why I can't sync my PocketPC with Outlook in Windows Vista RC1. For all of you inquiring minds that want to know why and when, here is the link. For all those that don't give a...
# September 13, 2006 6:00 PM

Josh West said:

Work-Around for the desperate...
Until MS decides to support the Pocket PC platform here's a work around for transferring contacts:

In Outlook go to your contacts folder, select all contacts, click "Actions" and "Forward as vCard" from the menu bar- this will export all of your contacts to VCF's which your PPC can read and embed them in an email- now send that email to yourself.  Open the received email and select all of the VCF's attached to the message and drag them to a folder called 'Contacts' to your desktop.  Attach your Pocket PC to your computer and transfer the 'Contacts' folder to the root of your Pocket PC.  Once copied, on the Pocket PC if you have a fairly small number of contacts you can tap each one at a time and import it into the PPC address book.  Otherwise if you have a ton of contacts (like I do), just leave them in the folder and import the contact as you need it.  Inefficient and ugly I know guys, sorry... but it does work if your desperate.  I can't believe MS doesn't support sync by a release candidate... scary.  Does not bode well for Vista...
# September 13, 2006 7:20 PM

Met said:

Anyone ever heard of syncing over GPRS? With unlimited GPRS today, it is possible to have it all contacts, emails & tasks sync via GPRS... files can easily be copied onto the SD Card so no probs there... have been living on this workaround for sometime now... over the air sync is fine if you are not a globetrotter... :)
# September 13, 2006 9:55 PM

toby jordan said:

Hello Mel,

You seem to be taking all the flack here - well done that man! Take it on the chin.

As you can see we are all a little frustrated and while we know we are working with Beta's of course we are all using RC1 on our primary machines - how can we go back to XP now?

On the positve side, we are all your future customers...
# September 14, 2006 12:30 AM

MelSam said:

Toby Jordan:
I would hate to go back to XP especially since Vista RC1 seems to be so stable. I've used RC1 for about 2 weeks now and although performance is sluggish, it never crashes and all my apps work. I really wish that you (Microsoft's customers) could experience the same. Again, I feel terrible about the lack of a sync solution at this time. Believe me, the WMDC team hears about this from someone or the other every day so they're working as quickly as possible and it's only a short while before they wrap it up. If you can stick with RC1 till then, great. If you really MUST go back to XP, there are a number of options - do you still have XP on a different partition? You should've done that in the first place so you can at least go back and use it when necessary (e.g. to sync data). If you only have Vista and no other XP partitions, I guess it means formatting your drive and reinstalling XP. You can do this by inserting the XP CD and rebooting your computer. You should see an option to boot from CD and then install a fresh copy of XP. Hope this helps.

-Mel
# September 14, 2006 1:09 AM

miguel jimenez said:

I am officially beta tester of Vista, and has access to all the Connect downloads, but I'm not seeing where to get in contact with Lydia to get the WMDC and test it.... is there any special mail to do it, will it do it automatically?
# September 14, 2006 5:33 AM

Angel Massa said:

The WMDC is the only thing that I'm missing now to go from XP to Vista. On Beta 2 it looked impressing compared to ActiveSync but did not worked with my iPaq Windows Mobile 2003.

I've heard on some forums that WMDC will only support Windows Mobile 5 devices. I hope this not to be true as it will upset lots of WM 2003 users.
# September 14, 2006 6:06 AM

Diseous said:

Thanks for the update Mel, by the way Toby Jordan - a good idea is to use the built in Microsoft Backup tool that vista offers, (start - maintanence - back up and restore center)  store that back up on an external hard drive or a few DVD's, then reinstall XP. When you are ready to switch back to vista, reinstall a fresh copy of RC1 and then restore your backup image from the external hard drive or DVD's. I did this with 5308 just to test out the back up feature and it seemed to work great. Good Luck.
# September 14, 2006 8:52 AM

Bertrand B. said:

Wishes for PPC in Vista

1 - Sync via Wireless
2 - Support Windows Mobile 2003
3 - Remote software for MCE

From a 5 years Windows Mobile user...
# September 14, 2006 6:21 PM

Parimal Dandekar said:

Hi, I was facing the same issue as you guys till today. I was using vista beta2 and wmdc was working fine. Then I upgraded to RC1 and it stopped working. wmdc would launch, setup the partnership and then freeze. Here's what I did and wmdc is working for me now.

I uninstalled the existing version of wmdc through control panel. Then from C:\Windows\WindowsMobile launched WMDBase. This application connected to Microsoft's website and downloaded the necessary updates. Voila... wmdc is running again. I just synchronized my T-Mobile MDA with Windows Mobile 5.0.

It will take less than 5mins on a cable connection.

I can now sleep in peace!
# September 14, 2006 9:36 PM

DNo said:

HI Parimal Dandekar
I have RC1 and i upgraded from XP so in my windows\windowsMobile\ folder there is only one exe file called
wmdSync.exe, and it does not even run.
I guess I had to have WMDC installed before
but thank you for info
# September 15, 2006 5:19 AM

Dave said:

Any help please, I tried uninstalling like the above note, but do not have wmdbase in my C:\Windows\WindowsMobile folder or in any sub folders.
# September 15, 2006 5:19 AM

Lloyd Wilson said:

Here I thought it was statuesque; you cannot run an upgrade to a Microsoft OS without something going haywire.   So I did the fresh install, and still could not get Windows Mobile Device Center working. Thanks for letting me know.
# September 15, 2006 6:59 AM

Diseous said:

For all of you that think you have a chance with the unistall process. If you notice Parimal Dandekar "Upgraded" from vista beta 2 to RC1. Beta 2 had a working version of WMDC so the necesary files were already in place. I (like many others in this blog) did a fresh install, so the files needed to delete are not there. I guess we still have to wait, or reinstall beta 2, make sure that the Sync Center is working, Upgrade to RC1, delete the files, do the update, and then maybe we can get some sleep. Any takers? I dont have the time to do all that but I would be curious to see if it works.
# September 15, 2006 8:38 AM

Parimal Dandekar said:

I have always upgraded all my MS OS thus far...right from win95 that I can recollect and never had a problem (may be once in a while i did have problems but nothing major!).
I was recently having issues with my server resolving dns since my ISP adelphia got taken over by roadrunner/timewarner. I will try and get my server up and running and host this folder in a .zip format. Once I have it up do try downloading  and running the wmdbase.msi file and see if it helps.
Hope it works for you!
# September 15, 2006 1:12 PM

Vincent Raicovi said:

Any chance of MS just letting ActiveSync work until WMDC or just supplying us with the files from Beta 2?
# September 15, 2006 3:46 PM

Ian Washburn said:

I agree with the first comment. I think a sidebar widget would be very helpful and keep WMDC tucked away but still easliy accessable.
# September 15, 2006 4:05 PM

Broken Wings to Higher Sky » Blog Archive » Windows Vista RC1?????? WMDC??? ?????? said:

PingBack from http://insoftwarehouse.com/blogs/brokenwings/archives/189
# September 16, 2006 12:37 AM

Petry Bosch said:

i guess i need to wait then. is there somehow a way to keep informed about the release of wmdc for rc1 ? or is it just a manner of clicking "windows update" each day (with the ppc connected) ?

# September 16, 2006 5:59 AM

Matt Sharpe said:

Well, because I have time to spare and nothing essential on my Vista machine, I'm gonna install Beta 2 and try the upgrade workaround. I will post back on whether I have success later. Wish me luck!
Matt
# September 16, 2006 9:49 AM

Diseous said:

Good luck Matt, keep us posted.
# September 16, 2006 10:23 AM

Matt Sharpe said:

Damn, no luck. I couldn't upgrade Beta 2 to RC1 - it said my BIOS was too old (Toshiba M200), but it's the latest BIOS.
I did save the WindowsMobile folder from Beta 2, but when i pasted it into RC1, all that worked was the program which offered the options of browsing the filesystem, setting up sync with Media Player - no actual activesync stuffs.
I guess I will have to wait the several weeks for the proper RC1 WMDC to come out.
# September 16, 2006 5:44 PM

Tom Gordon said:

Mel...

I'm patient, and I'm waiting, but I have just one question which I hope you can answer.

Will the WMDC application when released for Windows Vista RC1 be able to syncronize with a Windows Mobile 2003 SE device?

Thanks for your help... Tom Gordon
# September 16, 2006 8:55 PM

Aad Wols said:

Have fresh installed vista rc1  and with my mda vario connected I went to the uptate center; no updates available....

When is the alternative/upgrade for act sync available, so I can synchronise and test my contacts, mail and agenda?

Aad Wols
# September 17, 2006 6:05 AM

Hervidero said:

Why not release the preliminary beta of WMDC for RC1 to the public right now? So we can all test it! (as we are also in the public beta test program).

Hervidero
# September 17, 2006 9:56 AM

Diseous said:

Because the preliminary beta of WMDC has been tested for the last 6 months or so, and they are working on a major issue right now. If you would have read what Mel said you would have realized that.
# September 17, 2006 5:17 PM

MelSam said:

quoting Petry Bosch:
"is there somehow a way to keep informed about the release of wmdc for rc1 ? or is it just a manner of clicking "windows update" each day (with the ppc connected) ?"

I don't think there will be any official announcement when it is available. However, I'll surely post it on my blog and you will most likely hear about it on other Windows Mobile sites such as PocketPCThoughts.com, SmartphoneThoughts.com etc.
# September 17, 2006 11:49 PM

MelSam said:

quoting Tom Gordon:

"Will the WMDC application when released for Windows Vista RC1 be able to syncronize with a Windows Mobile 2003 SE device?"

Tom, I am currently using a version of WMDC that does not sync with WM2003. However, this is the WMDC that was released to MS employees for internal testing only. I am not sure whether the version that will be released publicly soon will support WM2003. Either way, the final version that will be available when Vista RTMs within a couple months will support both WM5 and WM2003. Hope this helps.

-Mel
# September 17, 2006 11:52 PM

arpz said:

hi,
thanks for the info as i have been browsing the net to get the required plugin for sync ing my device with vista.
well its very important ,as the whole phone book , si getting disordered.
so ill keep on checking through the update.

# September 18, 2006 2:20 AM

stevenas said:

IMHO, the release of RC1 without full WMDC functionality is a deal breaker for me. The fact that it doesn't support WM 2003 is not a deal breaker, however. If you think about how much time and effort go into a new OS, and with Crossbow on the horizon, WM 2003 is to Vista as Windows ME is to XP. Go buy a new phone. :)
For those of us who have ugraded along the way, however, and are dedicated to riding the bleeding edge of MS Tech, give us some tape and gauze! To omit this feature from the release candidate is like buying a car without a steering wheel. Unfortunately the vice grips won't work getting my apps reloaded to my WM 5.0 device!
# September 18, 2006 10:59 AM

Matt Peters said:

my brand new mobile 5 phone has just stop responding to the pen.. everything works if you use the buttons but no pen... i don’t want to take it in to get a new phone since if i do that i won’t be able to get all my contacts back onto the phone...

i so wish there had been a warning about not being able to sync to pocket pcs in the download of rc1.. i would never have switch from beta 2 if i knew that.. now I’m stuck waiting for the update..

isn’t there a way we can use the internal version since we are all aware that this is beta software and therefore will accept any bugs... really bugs are far better than no functionality at all...
# September 18, 2006 12:33 PM

Vincent Raicovi said:

I really wish that they would release something at this point.  I'm really settling in to Vista and would hate to have to roll back.  At this point, I do my syncing at home from my XP machine, but really need to be able to do it from my desktop at work.

Can we beg Lydia or send her some cookies to maybe help out with the testing of WMDC?
# September 19, 2006 9:31 AM

Robert Downs said:

I got it to sync!

I booted into Visa and connected my Axim.  After inputting my password I made both hands into fists and closed my eyes.  I then fully extended my forefingers and touched the tips of them to my temples.

I concentrated carefully  and thoroughly and within moments was watching the device sync happily with Vista RC1.

Maybe you can achieve the same results if you follow the steps above.  Let me know!
# September 19, 2006 10:09 AM

Vincent Raicovi said:

:-P
# September 19, 2006 11:35 AM

ÎÜñ|‹ø\/\/ñ [ÐëÞrëçã†ëð]'s Blog said:

WMDC (Windows Mobile Device Centre), is the new software in Vista that replaces ActiveSync and you cannot
# September 19, 2006 12:33 PM

B.N.D. Nottrot said:

Any progress on the WMDC bugs?
Hope it works out anytime soon, seeing WMDC had A LOT of potential compared to ActiveSync.
# September 19, 2006 9:34 PM

Scottycyrix said:

Will the WMDC support Windows Mobile 2003 devices when it is released to the public?
# September 20, 2006 1:27 AM

MelSam said:

Scottycyrix: yes, to the best of my knowledge WMDC will support WM2003 devices.
# September 20, 2006 3:50 AM

Matt Sharpe said:

http://shellrevealed.com/blogs/externalnews/archive/2006/09/19/Windows-Mobile-Device-Center-and-Vista-RC1.aspx

apparently it's arrived!
# September 20, 2006 9:01 AM

max ehret said:

hallo!

when will the wmdc updated for rc1? i really need it for wm software development - need to check vista compatibility

kind regards, max ehret
developer of MAC.Attack!
# September 20, 2006 9:17 AM

Hexatron said:

Just Curious, Am I the only one that checks this page like 5 times a day for updates? Just waiting for that all important update.
# September 20, 2006 9:44 AM

max ehret said:

))-: youre not ... its one of the most important feature for me...
# September 20, 2006 9:54 AM

John Luckett said:

Yep, sadly, I also check this page way too frequently and, I must admit, quite a few times more than you'd admitted to.  :-)
# September 20, 2006 10:54 AM

Jimbo said:

Me too.
# September 20, 2006 11:14 AM

Olle said:

Well, to be honest.... Vista RC1 is a heck of a magnificient update and as much as I long to sync my Qtek with Outlook I can gladly wait a few days... All we really sync are appointments and tasks. Now we got a splendid excuse for missing our appointments and forgetting what to do....
# September 20, 2006 11:39 AM

MelSam said:

Once again, I understand how eagerly everyone is waiting for the RC1 release of WMDC. Just so you know, I'm not holding back any information that I have. I'm not on the WMDC team so I cannot influence nor control their schedule. All I know is that they are working arduously to release the bits once they meet the high quality bar. Thanks for your patience and overwhelming interest.

-Mel
# September 20, 2006 11:58 AM

Matt said:

Yup I am very impressed with Vista since installing RC1 the other day, although I seem to be a step behind everyone I cannot even get Vista to recognise the device using the base driver. When I place the Ipaq in the cradle, Vista beeps to say a new device is detected but nothing happens from there on in.

This worries me that when the update arrives there will be no way of me getting it if Vista can't acknowledge the device, any help is appreciated......

Don't want to go back to XP now :)
# September 21, 2006 4:42 AM

Croooow said:

Actually, what is sad is that this blog (which Mel admits is not even associated with the WMDC team) appears to be the best (and possibly only) source of information on the RC1 version of WMDC. And that is mostly by virtue of the location of his office!

Thank you Mel for letting us hijack your blog.
# September 21, 2006 8:24 AM

Hexatron said:

True that! Mel, Your the man for keeping us updated and devoting your time to us wayward productivity fiends.
# September 21, 2006 1:18 PM

SKassam said:

You are all missing the good stuff -- check it out. It works with Vista RC1 as someone has been able to do it.

http://desigeek.com/weblog/amit/archive/2006/09/19/Syncing-your-mobile-with-Vista-RC1-with-WMDC.aspx
# September 21, 2006 7:26 PM

Hexatron said:

Wow, this makes me happy in my pants.
# September 21, 2006 7:41 PM

nsa666 said:

It installs the WMDC but i cant sync with outlook 2007. I've WM2003 device. :-(
# September 22, 2006 7:16 AM

diseous said:

It was only a matter of time. In my experience there is alwayse a back door.
# September 22, 2006 9:36 AM

Robert said:

"You are all missing the good stuff -- check it out. It works with Vista RC1 as someone has been able to do it.

http://desigeek.com/weblog/amit/archive/2006/09/19/Syncing-your-mobile-with-Vista-RC1-with-WMDC.aspx "

I think I'll keep my fingers to my temples.
# September 22, 2006 12:11 PM

Don said:

Works great....does anybody know how to pair a WM5 device through bluetooth.  I can't seem to get my Comm Ports right???  I would really appreciate somebody's help.  Thanks!!!
# September 22, 2006 1:38 PM

Jim said:

although i'm reasonably impressed with vista so far, this is not really an acceptable RC1

RC builds are supposed to be just that. a release candidate.

that means 100% feature complete

if it is NOT feature complete, it is not a release candidate, unless they really ARE saying "we think this incomplete software is a candidate for release"

i can handle lots of my hardware not working because drivers arent ready, i can handle a buggy build, THATS what RC's are supposed to be about, but would you let someone test drive a car and tell them once they'd started moving "of course, the brakes wil be fitted on the final version"

if it's not RC, then it's beta and should be marketed as such
# September 22, 2006 6:18 PM

Jim said:

and i'm NOT going to fudge it because for all I know that will stop the final windows update coming through. I presume vista will count it as aready installed?
# September 22, 2006 6:19 PM

Biff said:

Thanks Robert and SKassam, using your links I can finally sync my PDA with Vista.  :)
# September 22, 2006 6:41 PM

Josh West said:

Did the registry hack, installed the update, naturally no support for my Windows Mobile 2003 phone.  Meanwhile Vista build 5728 is out... I'm advising clients to wait til SP1 for Vista, there's just no way this product is going to be ready with one month til RTM and we don't even have a feature complete setup to start testing.
# September 23, 2006 4:37 AM

Daniel Murfin said:

You know it really bugs me when people (Josh West for instance) don't read previous posts properly. Vista is not intended to have WMDC included in it. Vista will have a base driver only supporting sync of music and browsing of the device. WMDC will be available (as it is at the moment for Beta 2 and will be for RC1) as a windows update optional extra for those Vista users with a windows mobile. Why bundle software that in reality only a small number of Windows users actually use! So Vista IS feature complete, and the builds coming out from Microsoft are getting steadily more reliable and robust. RTM is well on schedule.
# September 23, 2006 9:52 AM

Joseph said:

Just when does anyone think WMDC for Windows Vista RC1 will be available?

Needed please.
# September 23, 2006 10:16 AM

Josh West said:

I think Daniel Muffin's post highlights one of the pervasive attitudes that are preventing Vista from being a great product- the concept that the lack of Pocket PC support effects a "small number of Windows users"- even though this comments section is full of nothing but people desperate to sync their PDA's.  True, in the last few months WMDC was seperated out of Vista, and that's acceptable to me as long as it's actually available to download as an add-on (in a beta or RC state- which ever arbitrary name were giving it today).  I think people who aren't mobile users constantly checking and syncing appointments and contacts don't understand that this is tantamount to not shipping keyboard support, not publicly making keyboard support available as a download, and when you hack it, only half the letters work.
# September 23, 2006 12:22 PM

Daniel Murfin said:

Josh, I fully understand the need for WMDC I am myself a Windows Mobile user and reply on syncing my contacts/appointments. My point was that as WMDC is a separate product and it's lack of availability at this point in time does not mean Windows Vista is not feature complete. It is an add-on not a core element of Vista. I'm sure the guys on the WMDC team are working hard to make sure that the product will be ready for Vista users when it ships just as the teams working on other Microsoft programs and those from other manufacturers will be.
# September 23, 2006 1:24 PM

Ben B said:

Daniel,  the point is that the lack of this feature is not documented anywhere. Until this post was made, no one had a clue why it was not working. The Vista website has screenshots of what should happen - but with RC1 - a supposed release candidate, nothing happened.

Keep in mind, there are no work arounds. You cannot use ActiveSync.... so you are dead in the water, with no documented work-around or even notice until they release it "sometime soon."

Your assertion of it being a rarely used feature is also quite absurd. I can think of many features that are nearly useless. How about Paint? How about Journal for non-Tablet users? How about Media Center for PCs that are not media center enabled but have Ultra? How about WordPad and the various games?

Bottom line - if this is to be taken seriously as a release candidate - plumbing such as the WMDC (branded as being built of Vista by Vista's own pages) need to be available, have a workaround or a notice.

No one is asserting they are not working hard, that has nothing to do with it. A release candidate implies being nearly release ready.

Ben
# September 23, 2006 2:18 PM

agilitease said:

Use RegEdit to add a key called "WHOS" (without the quotes) under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft, connect your Windows Mobile 5.0 device and start Windows Update from the Control Panel. A 7MB update will then be available that enables WMDC in RC1.

My experience with the update was that the task bar disappeared while the update was being applied. I logged off and back on, started WMDC and it worked fine.

I humbly submit that while this will work for those of us who are desparate to use WMDC features now while testing RC1 it is counter to what the WMDC team is trying to do. If you can I recommend waiting until the WMDC team "officially" releases the update.
# September 23, 2006 3:44 PM

MelSam said:

As Daniel Murfin mentions, WMDC is in fact separate from Vista, developed by a different group in a different organization within Microsoft. It will naturally be wrapped up in time for Vista RTM, but during the beta phases our schedules do not always align.

I see the pain that you all are feeling. Although I understand the pressure the WMDC team is working under, I also see how frustrating it can be for early adopters to try out a new technology without the components they need to put it to use.

So to make things a bit better, I'll share this piece of information: the WMDC team is hoping to publicly release bits for RC1 within the next 10 days (around Oct 2) depending on stability of the build. No guarantee that this date will be met, but this is what we're shooting for. So there you have it - a ballpark estimate. I do not speak offically for the WMDC team and cannot commit anything on their behalf. I'm only sharing this information to make it easier for you to decide whether to try Vista RC1 now or wait for RTM or install WMDC with the registry hacks described above.

-Mel
# September 23, 2006 4:28 PM

Jimbo said:

Thanks a lot for keeping us filled in Mel - much appreciated!
# September 23, 2006 5:48 PM

Nik said:

Is it safe to assume that if you go with the above hack, the official release (due approx 2nd Oct) will be automatically detected by Windows Update and installed on top?
# September 24, 2006 3:57 AM

Kanon_Ayu said:

Nice to meet you.
I say Kanon_Ayu using Windows Mobile machine habitually. Because a smartphone of W-ZERO3 was released in Japan, Windows Mobile airplane swells.
Because even Vista is able to have seemed to perform synchronization with Windows Mobile airplane, I expected it, but I return it to XP SP2 now and use it because WMDC of RC1 use seemed not to be still completed at a point in time when oneself upgraded it.
A question has how old
* Will it be for Vista RC1 use of WMDC not to be completed under the present conditions?
* When you are completed, will you be in condition to be able to already use a Japanese edition?
* I use NTT DoCoMo SigmarionIII(CE.net 4.1) together with iPAQ rx3715 Japanese edition of 2,003 Windows Mobile SE airplane, but does WMDC support CE.net 4.x or synchronization with Outlook with CE 5 now?
Do work; thank you. I develop it without overdoing it, and please do its best. Then I leave.
# September 24, 2006 9:39 AM

Kanon_Ayu said:

Postscript： I'm sorry. Because a part becoming "an airplane" is a mistake of an automatic translation, I am happy if I have you ignore it. I'm sorry…
# September 24, 2006 9:42 AM

Stephen Stoops said:

While I am anxious to begin testing my PPC with Vista, I think the fact that WMDC is missing from RC1 is no "deal breaker" as others have said.  I assure you there are many other options that are new to Vista that you can spend your time on until the WMDC is released.   I am using Vista as my primary workstation but have retained a VM of my old XP so I can still sync with that.  Most of the time I do not need that because I am syncing over my T-Mobile connection.
# September 24, 2006 11:01 AM

Robert said:

Vista 5728 installed.  Much much faster on my hardware.  I like it a lot however since I've got 915 graphics, my game (Myst 4) doesn't work YET. (holding out on hope for WDDM drivers for this technically DWM capable chipset.)  Hmm.  Maybe I shouldn't imply that one had anything to do with the other... Sorry.

Anyhow, I've read elsewhere that this build may not "Windows Update" like 5600.  I hope WMDC is not the exception here when the time comes.  

Anyhow, fingers fixed firmly to my temples.
# September 24, 2006 1:54 PM

Niels Gammelgard said:

How will it work for other mobile devices, say a standard Nokia phone? Can they get the same behaviour through the Device Center, or is this only for Windows Mobile devices?

BR

Niels
# September 25, 2006 9:55 AM

Vincent said:

Does anyone here have (and would be willing to share) the wmupdate.msi file that is talked about here http://desigeek.com/weblog/amit/archive/2006/09/19/Syncing-your-mobile-with-Vista-RC1-with-WMDC.aspx?
# September 25, 2006 12:09 PM

Microsoft Daily News said:

WMDC (Windows Mobile Device Centre), is the new software in Vista that replaces ActiveSync and you cannot
# September 25, 2006 3:18 PM

Randy said:

Although the work around works(and I used it just to allow for the transfer of my emails and contacts back to my machine) it is not for the weak at heart, this release is not in any way meant to represent a finished product, and should not reflect the finished product i am sure.  This releas is fickle and can cause problems with beta versions of office i.e. worked well with office 2003 but not so well with 2007, so really use it at own risk, and remember if you cant wait you cant get mad if it doesnt work well for you. good luck and again you should only use it if you are really able to trouble shoot!!!
# September 25, 2006 4:50 PM

Don said:

Regardless of what anybody has posted on this blog...I have not had any problems with the work around for WMDC.  I did a clean install of Vista, Office '07 with Tech Refresh and then programmed the work around...no problems at all.  Then again, maybe I'm just lucky
# September 25, 2006 5:03 PM

Amit Bahree said:

Vincent,
Please send me your contact info (via my blog - www.desigeek.com) and I'll try and send you the MSI; but I would recommend using the Windows Update way to go if possible. I have not tried to use the MSI separately and I don't know if it works or how much things it will break.

And of course - this is not publicly released due to good reason - and it is not that MS does not want to release it. :)
# September 25, 2006 5:52 PM

Ashleigh said:

There is a 'work around', it's how the internal testers get the product.

have a look at http://www.nakedcleaner.com/index.php/2006/09/25/windows-mobile-device-center/

And turn it on for yourself, if it breaks anything, or decides to take over the world, then I did not tell you how to do it ;)
# September 26, 2006 6:48 AM

Amit Zinman Blog » Blog Archive » Syncing your mobile with Windows Vista RC1 said:

PingBack from http://blogs.msexchange.org/zinman/2006/09/26/syncing-your-mobile-with-windows-vista-rc1/
# September 26, 2006 9:23 AM

The Daily Ramblings of an SMS Engineer said:

The first post (below) is about the handwriting in Vista. If you use Tablet this is worth the download
# September 26, 2006 11:26 PM

Screams, Tears Hair, Rends Garments… « Forward, positively.. said:

PingBack from http://thebestbrew.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/screams-tears-hair-rends-garments/
# September 27, 2006 4:07 AM

Bertrand B. said:

See on Windows Vista Team Blog :

"A lot of folks have been pinging us with questions regarding release of the Windows Mobile Device Center.  Today I’d like to personally give you the heads-up that next week you will get your chance to download the new WMDC Beta and sync your mobile devices up with newer builds of Windows Vista."

Read more : http://blogs.technet.com/windowsvista/default.aspx
# September 28, 2006 1:34 PM

Backstage at MED said:

After cleaning my house, I needed to go through the painstaking process of getting my dev environment...
# September 29, 2006 8:14 PM

Edgar BG said:

Hi Bertrand B. could you please tell us when this week are we going to be able to download the new WMDC Beta?

Regards

# October 2, 2006 2:22 PM

Josh West said:

Sept 7th- "Lydia's team is working as hard as possible to resolve those issues and release WMDC publicly to Vista RC1 testers very soon."

It's my own fault for testing a release candidate, I realize that- but if I had known "soon" meant "a month or more" I definately would have rolled back to XP which supports the Pocket PC Platform, instead of suffering through, thinking it'd be out nearly any day.

I'm not upset at anyone in particular- Ignore me, I'm just venting- it's just really frustrating.

# October 3, 2006 6:43 PM

John Luckett said:

Don't feel bad, Josh... I think there are quite a significant number of people that feel the same way.  Just search Google/WLS for "vista rc1 wmdc" to see what I mean...

# October 3, 2006 8:07 PM

CodeSmoke said:

What's the deal??? Where is the update??? Last Thursday ya'll said it would be released the following week.... are ya'll gana make us wait till friday? Please, Please give us some sync love.

# October 4, 2006 11:14 PM

Daniel said:

Hey, wondering how and when we'll be able to download WMDC.  Will it show up in Windows Update or is there something else that we'll need to do?  I'm really struggling here without being able to synch.  Cheers, Daniel

# October 5, 2006 4:47 AM

Josh West said:

Usually it takes a hot woman to string me along with false hopes for a month...

# October 5, 2006 10:45 AM

AlainAlainAlain said:

MelSam, Windows Mobile Device Center is not released on the October 5th. But next week you will get your chance to download the new WMDC Beta and sync your mobile devices up with newer builds of Windows Vista. In addition, you are going to get a free lunch, a bottle of Champagne, and a tax shelter.

# October 5, 2006 3:02 PM

Josh West said: