Last updated - January 20, 2003

REX 6000 and Windows Operating Systems

The REX 6000 software can be installed and run on pretty much any Windows operating system. Xircom officially supports Win 98, Win ME, and Win 2000 with the 1.01 software release.

Below are the work-arounds for those operating systems that are not officially supported:

Cross OS comment

When installing the USB Dock, when you search for the 'best' driver make sure the installation wizard ends up pointing at the right directory on the CD (the one matching your Operating System). Otherwise you may install drivers for the wrong OS (the install will go ahead and do that if you let it). Cleaning drivers off of a Win ME or W2K machine is challenging...

WIN 95 <back to top>

You will have to complete some steps to make the install run properly on Win 95, but it should work normally after installation. There have been reported problems w/installing and using the USB cradle on Win 95 - you may have better luck with the serial cradle or PCCARD slot syncing on Win 95.

To get the program to install, you need to:

  1. Copy the setup files from the CD over to your hard drive. If you are using an install file downloaded from the Xircom REX NET site, place the file in a folder and run it to create the install folders and extract the install files into it automatically.
  2. Search for all the setup32_en.ini files -- there are four of them, in the EN subdirectories in the following folders: IntellisyncforRex, PIM, RexHWandDocs, and RexTools
  3. To "comment out" the line that says "ForbidOS = 95|95R2)" put a semi-colon in front of it.

    Looks like this when you first open each file:

    [Version] FileVersion = 1.12
    ;ForbidOS = 95|95R2|NT4|ME
    ForbidOS = 95|95R2
    ForbidOSMessage = The Operating System on your computer is not supported by the Rex.

    Looks like this when you're done:

    [Version] FileVersion = 1.12
    ;ForbidOS = 95|95R2|NT4|ME
    ;ForbidOS = 95|95R2
    ForbidOSMessage = The Operating System on your computer is not supported by the Rex.

  4. After editing and saving each setup32_en.ini file, run the SETUP.EXE file in the parent directory

We have had multiple reports from users that the REX 6000 will install and sync on a Win 95 PC. A few users have reported problems, but given the general success of Win 95 installs it is likely the majority of Win 95 users will be successful.

In some cases there may be some difficulties syncing both your PIM and REX.NET at the same time under Win 95. From Nico:

"I wanted to report that my installation of Intellisync on my Win 95 office computer seems somewhat less stable that my installation on my Win 98 home PC . . . on my Win 95 machine Intellisync consistently (close to 100% of the time) crashes if I try to do both a PIM sync and a Rex.net sync. The workaround is simple, I do a PIM sync, close Intellisync, reopen Intellisync and do a Rex.net sync. Not a big hassle and 1000 times easier than the Outlook (Win 95) to Truesync.com to Outlook (Win 98) to Rex 6000 sync ordeal I had been going through before I found out how to get Intellisync to work with Win 95."

WIN NT4 <back to top>

As of the 1.01 release of the REX software, most NT users have reported success in both PIM and REX NET sync. That's a great improvement over the 1.00 software. See our Software Updates page for more info on the 1.01 release. But - the USB cradle won't work, due to limitations of NT.

This just in from Robert, regarding REX NET sync on Win NT:

"I am running NT 4.0. Using 1.01 of the sync software I was able to PIM sync but not Rex.Net sync. But then I discovered that the sync software depends on Internet Explorer. I had never updated IE (I'm an Netscape and Opera user). Updating IE to 5.5 solved my Rex.Net problem. Robert."

You should be able to install the REX software on NT by using the "Forbidos" process detailed in the Win 95 section above. If not, there are other options detailed below.

NOTE: After you have successfully installed the REX 6000 software, if you find that REX NET sync still does not work, it is important to turn off sync with REX.NET when you run Intellisync for REX to sync your PIM so you won't crash Intellisync each time you sync your PIM. Again, as of the 1.01 release the REX NET sync under Win NT seems to work for the majority of users.

Also (yes Virginia, it is complicated in NT land!), here's some info on using the PCCARD slot in NT4:

"NT4 - thanks to the person who has also installed on NT4 - this encouraged me to do the same and, much to my surprise, it worked. I can synchronise and access the 6000 without any problems...until I removed it and replaced it again whereupon the PC couldn't find it again. This set me thinking and I remembered a comment back in the past about NT4 only supporting the bare minimum of PCMCIA functionality and not being able to support 'hot-plugging' A bit of a shame really since my PC takes about 3.5 minutes to boot each time (!), plus the synch time...

This little snippet confirms it: PC-cards (PCMCIA) NT 4 installs PC-card support natively. Unfortunately, this support is limited. For example, it is necessary to close the system down before replacing PC-cards under NT 4. This is an important difference between NT 4.0 and Windows 98/2000. 'Hot’ (Plug and Play) PCMCIA card inserts and removals are not supported natively in NT 4.0.

You can see http://sprysgi.sghms.ac.uk/~cspry/computing/tecra_nt.html#PC-cards for more information.

This may be why Xircom do not actively support NT. Can they see hoards of angry NT users with dead 6000's in their hands - or dead PCMCIA slots on their PC's?

Always doublecheck with the manufacturer of your PC to make sure that you have the most up to date version of the PCCard Card Services software for your machine. Yes, NT's native support for hot-swapping of PC cards was extremely limited, but some manufacturers (Dell for one) managed to support the ability through their driver software."

Another old NT4 user advised (and who is old, him, or NT4?):

"As an old NT4 user, I would advise use of third-party pcmcia software. I used "CardWizard" with success with my Thinkpad 770 and NT4. CardWizard allows hotswapping with nearly all pcmcia cards. Some exceptions were certain LAN cards. I dunno if REX was an exception, but a check of the SystemSoft website which lists supported cards may clear that up. anson"

From Marcus on Cardwizard & NT4:

"I was having trouble getting my rex to sync w/ my laptop running Windows NT 4.0. It just seemed like it didn't want to accept the hardware correctly. After looking in the operating systems section of your site I saw someone had recommended trying to use the third party software CardWizard. I did a quick search and found the software here:

http://www.amrel.com/asi/download.htm

The software worked beautifully! I installed it, restarted, and to my suprise it detected the rex immediately. I am now able to sync the rex w/ intellisync 1.01 without any problems at all."

Still more stories from another NT user:

"I bought my REX 6000 on a recent trip to Dubai.

At first I could not get the Intellisync software to install on my NT4 dell laptop, although I kludged the rextools to work in a limited way (defrag worked, and I could set the user info etc). I have now got round this by installing the software on a Win ME desktop where the sync worked through the serial port. I then copied the installation to the laptop and it then worked (!?).

The sync now works with the PCMCIA slot (autodetects as a modem) and the serial port. I have not got the rex.net to work yet, but having looked at your web page I am going to attempt to put on some extras. I was disappointed with the lack of info on the rex/xircom web pages, but I had not realised that the 6000 was such a new product. Sarah"

Manual installation tips for systems where the install program fails (thanks Dave, for posting this)

Installation of the REX software in NT was not working on Dave's system. Commenting out the "ForbidOS" lines in the ini files did not help. The installation appeared to finish successfully, but went by very quickly and didn't actually install a single file except for creating a few empty folders. He attempted the installation many times and got the same result.

In the end, Dave got a successful install and found REX6000 PCMCIA sync success in NT4.0! With the 1.01 Intellisync update released on March 7, 2001, Dave has been able to sync with REX NET. His install steps: :

"My Dell Latitude notebook came with Softex PC Card services which are able to detect the REX and allow me to sync through the PC Card slot. I saw that the REX was detected as a standard modem on Com2 in my case. Then I added a "Standard 28800 bps Modem" on Com2 in Control Panel - Modems (others may work also), and changed the max speed to 115200.

After that, Intellisync and REX Tools detected REX on Com2 and synced just as fast as the serial dock I had been using. The Softex services allow hot-swapping of PC cards, so I can insert and remove the REX anytime.

I finally:

  • Installed on a Win98 machine and looked at the Setup.log files in the |REX6000|Help, IntellisyncForRex, and RexTools folders.
  • Manually copied all files onto my NT machine, performing all the steps shown in the logs. It was a matter of copying the entire Rex6000 tree over to NT, plus copying rex*.* files from |Windows|System on Win98 to |WinNT|System on NT.
  • Ran FileRegistrationUtilityViaRegsvr32.exe from the IntellisyncForRex folder to complete the manual install.
  • Open a command prompt window and change to the C:|Program Files|REX6000|IntellisyncForRex directory and type "comocx.bat C:|Program Files|REX6000|IntellisyncForRex" (or whatever your install path actually is). This registers a couple more ocx's.

Make sure sync with Rex.net is NOT checked each time you sync."

Windows 2000

The REX normally installs on Win 2000 without fanfare. We have had a report of USB cradle driver confusion. A work-around if you face that situtation (from Frederik):

"I also have a tip for installation on win2k. I failed to install it despite spending one day plus support from our pc-support people.

When installing the device drivers (USB serial port driver), windows claims to have found a better device driver (c:\winnt\inf\oem8.inf) than the one provided with the rex. When installing with this one the cradle fails to work. The workaround was to rename this file to something else (change suffix .inf to something else). This makes windows not able to find this file anymore and forces it to use the Xircom file instead and then it works!)"

Windows XP <back to top>

REX in the PCCARD slot w/XP:

Problem: "I have a problem with My Rex 6000. (rex6000_101 installed) I have happily been using it with my Toshibe laptop/Windows ME/PCMCIA Slot/Outlook 2000 with no problems. I have now a Compaq laptop/Windows XP PRO/PCMCIA Slot/Outlook XP and am unable to get it to syncronise with Outlook. When I try to configure the available translators (MS Outlook) and click OK I get the following message: (The file or database associated with MS Outlook is missing, invalid,or points to a file of zero length. Use the browse button to locate the file or database you wish to use with this application.) When I do this, I get an error message saying: (You do not have any folders configured. You must have at least one folder configured) I have tried uninstalling and installing again selecting "none" for a PIM etc,etc but still get the same message."

Solution: "For your information (and that of others), I found another solution early this morning. The Intel website indicates that some Xircom products work ok with Windows XP if we use the drivers for Windows 2000. So, I copied the drivers from C:\Xircom\WIN2K subdirectory into the C:\WINDOWS\DRIVERS subdirectory in my Windows XP machine. Now my Rex seems to sync fine." (From Paul)

REX in USB cradel w/XP:

Users have had mixed results with Windows XP with the REX 6000 USB cradle. We haven't heard of any problems for users of the serial cradle, and I am using Windows XP and Office XP w/the PCCARD slot with no problems. Given the larger potential for problems w/the USB cradle and XP, since there is no speed difference between the serial and USB cradles, if you have a choice, GO SERIAL!! Note: Don't miss the story about combining the approaches listed below for success.

And...things might install just fine, as Todd and Laurens discovered:

"I just installed the Rex 6000 with the USB cradle into Windows XP Pro without any problems. My computer crashed, so I figured this would be a good time to upgrade to WinXP. After I got XP running and got all the critical updates for it, I went to the hardware manager (right click on my computer -> properties -> harware tab -> device manager) and chose "update driver" for the USB Device that it had a question mark next to it. It ran through setup 3 times by itself, each time I just selected the <cd drive>:\win2k folder and that went without a problem. I then double-clicked the setup.exe in the CD and went through the installation there without a problem. Reboot and I can sync to yahoo (I use "intellisync for yahoo") without a problem, besides the usual issue trying to get the proper mappings between the two applications."

"Hate to do a 'me too'-post but well, in my case it just worked aswell. I did, however, attach my USB cradle only after installing XP. It then asks for a driver. If you then insert the Rex CD, you will (just like you said) have to select the Win2k - directory a few times. Ignore some blah about unsigned drivers, et voila .
It worked flawlessly, up to now I only synched it to Outlook XP."

Click here to jump to the REX 3/Pro/3000/5000 section on XP.

Update - April 18, 2002: Fix for REX 6000 USB install problems on XP?! (From John)

"Hi! Short story: I bought the Rex6000/USB for my wife, about a year ago; but ever since I upgraded her machine from WindowsME to WindowsXP she was quite unhappy over the fact that she could not sync her Rex anymore. So finally I spent some (a lot) time testing:

I am not quite 100% convinced, but over here, on 3 differente machines (two running XPPro/English, and 1 running XPHome/English), I think I found the solution (or better make that "a" solution) to the installation problem:

Every time things appeared to go fine, but at the end of the install things would bomb out; this appeared to be because of the installation of the USB <-> Serial port installer; this was overwriting kernel memory. (probably some poorly implemented hook or so).

Just trying to not have the kernel disallow that, appeared to work! Agreed, 3 different machines is not much of a real-world testbed, but at least for me it worked.

So, open up the registry editor [Start/Run/regedit], and go to:

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

Now add a REG_DWORD value name "EnforceWriteProtection" (sans quotes, ofcourse), and set that to 0 (which is the default for a newly created value anyway); it this value is already present, just change the (most likely value of) 1 to 0 ... reboot, and you should be able to install fine (with or without Windows2000 compatibility mode)..

I hope his works for others as well...."

If that doesn't do it for your, below are five sets of troubleshooting advice for USB cradle users on Windows XP. Also:

"Having read the latest news on your page, I wanted to share a very good ressource for USB- related problems with all others: www.usbman.com. It's a general resource, but some of the tricks there may be useful for all who are experiencing problems with the USB cradle; -updating the BIOS is one of the first things they advise."

1. Using compatibility mode to install the USB cradle on Windows XP. (From Yves)

Yves may have found a way for more XP users to have successful installs when using the USB cradle:

"I manage to install the REX software suite on an XP machine without any problem. I also installed the USB cradle and I can use the synchronisation with Outlook 2000.

The way to proceed is:

Don't connect the usb Craddle
Extract files from REX package (last version) to a folder
Before launching the installation of the package (setup) open explorer
Right click on the setup.exe file and select "Properties" [from the context menu]
Select the Compatibility Tab
Select "Run this program in compatibility mode"
Select WIN 2000 from the list of compatibility modes
Select OK to close the properties dialog
Launch setup and follow the normal installation procedure.
When done, Connect the USB cradle and XP will discover all the necessary elements to let the synchronisation work.

I had done it previously without selecting the compatibility box and I got blue screen when trying to install the cradle. Hope this will help."

USB installs are notoriously finicky. Since Yves had a failure on his first install w/out using compatibility mode, and then had using compatibility mode, is worth a try if you are installing the USB cradle on XP. Let us know how it comes out!

2. Success w/Windows XP and USB, for a change. (From Myron)

" I just wanted to let you know that I have also been able to install and synch my Rex 6000 USB cradle to Outlook XP on Windows XP. The install proceeded as described on your web site.

The only additional steps I had to take were to manually set the Com port for the driver, I used Com port 5, and to make sure I ran Rex tools before attempting a synch. Here's what I did:

    1. Logged in as administrator to Win XP professional
    2. Copied the Rex install, including the following four files, to a directory in my path:
      - rexseren.sys 2.5.0.0
      - rexserpd.sys 2.5.0.0
      - rexinst.dll 1.5.0.0
      - rexsvc.exe Unknown
    3. Ran the install from that directory
    4. After some error messages, rebooted and hardware was detected.
    5. Went into device manager/ports and changed the com port assignment, to Com 5, in properties of the USB Rex port to remove a conflict.
    6. Ran rextools and now it found my rex 6000.
    7. Manually started the Rex sync monitor and was able to sync to Outlook XP."

3. Some USB cradle problems may be relieved by BIOS updates. (From Anthony)

"I have tried for the last month to try and install the drivers for the usb cradle with Windows XP. I have tried all the tips users have suggested without any luck.

My problem was that when I would provide the driver files, my PC would automatically reboot (after blue screening a second or so).

Well, last night I decided to look for an updated BIOS rev for my desktop. After applying the updated BIOS, and provided the driver files and all was successful."

BIOS updates should not be taken lightly, but it is something to consider if you are having difficulty w/the REX and the USB cradle on your PC.

4. Win XP and USB cradle troubleshooting (From Selim)

"Hi guys, I heard that some people are having problems installing their Rex 6000 w/ the USB docking station. I'd be happy to help you out if you e-mail me with the specific problem that you are having.

One thing you have to make sure is to delete all traces of a previous driver installation. In Device Manager there are two places: One of them is under "Ports" which is called "USB Serial Port (COM3) 0080A11E29D-S1" and the other is under "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" which is "Xircom USB Rex Cradle". Make sure you delete both.

Here are the driver detail info for my installation. If you have older versions you might be trying to install from an older installation:

Under "USB Serial Port":

  • rexserpd.sys 2.5.0.0
  • rexinst.dll 1.5.0.0

Under "Xircom USB Rex Cradle":

  • rexseren.sys 2.5.0.0
  • rexserpd.sys 2.5.0.0
  • rexinst.dll 1.5.0.0
  • rexsvc.exe Unknown

Another thing I noticed is that sometimes during the driver installation the installation dialog windows may seem to hang. If this happens just reboot your system. Next time the system comes up it should recognize the device and let you choose the right file.

All driver files that you need to choose can be found in c:\xircomwin2k directory. The files rexseren.sys and rexsera.sys should have a date of 2/12/2001 and the file rexserpd.sys should have a date of 1/29/2001."

5. And another perspective on the USB cradle and XP. (From Thomas)

"I got the USB cradle working on my system running WindowsXP Professional and Office XP.

The way I got it to work was to:

  1. Completely uninstall the Rex software and drivers.
  2. I then deleted the directory as the uninstall left the directory.
  3. I then reinstalled the software. It needs to be the updated version that Xircom posted back in March.

At this point XP detected the hardware and I told it to look in the system32 folder for the drivers.

One thing to check, if you can, is to make sure that the USB ports are working."

Combining approaches listed above! (From Al)

"I installed Windows XP Pro in January and was unable to get my Rex 6000 USB Cradle installed. So, I said "to hell with it" and just let it sit idle all this time.

I finally tried again and I thought you might want to know that I had to use a combination of THREE suggestions on your web page. [Our Operating Systems page. Ed.] First, I did as JOHN suggested and made the entry in the registry to prevent the blue screen problem. In concert with that, I ran the Xircom installer file in compatibility mode as suggested by YVES.

The install went without a hitch but when I rebooted and WinXP tried to install the drivers, I couldn't get it to recognize that the drivers were already in the Windows directory. So, picking up on something MYRON said, I put the driver files in the root directory of my C: drive, which means it's "in my path," and the setup finished without a hitch.

I have since been able to run the software to setup, configure and synchronize my Rex with my Outlook 2000. Thank you!"

Setting up the REX 3/Pro/3000/5000 in Windows XP

The installation information below was generously provided by Skip. If you have any suggestions, corrections, updates, or better ideas, please let us know! See below for assistance for installing TrueSync desktop on XP.

"So, here is my "definitive" answer, as I have just completed and verified the procedure on a "clean" system. (From previous experience, I believe that it is necessary to uninstall previous attempts to load Truesync.

  1. Download the following files - numbers 1 and 3 are self-extracting EXE files. Save each file to a different folder or save them all in one folder if you prefer:

    1. 5000-TSPLUS.EXE
    2. 5000-TSCI-STARFISH.EXE
    3. 5000-REXW2K_100.EXE

  2. Run 5000-TSPLUS.EXE to extract the files in it. Then run SETUP (it will be in the "DISK1 folder that is created when you run 5000-TSPLUS.EXE). If you are running an Outlook version later than Outlook 98 you can ignore the error about Outlook 98.

  3. Run the Truesync Installer (5000-TSCI-STARFISH.EXE). This requires a web connection to run. Make the selection to "upgrade" to the next version of TrueSync installer. (This step updates the version of TrueSync installer that you downloaded from here to the current version available the Intel site.)

  4. Once the TrueSync installer has been updated follow the prompts in the TrueSync installer and choose the following components to update:

    - TrueSync Plus
    - REX PRO (if you have a REX Pro or REX 5000)
    - Outlook 2000 (or whatever version of Outlook you are using)

  5. When you reach the prompt to "install your REX card", Cancel setup.

  6. Run 5000-REXW2K_100.EXE. (This self-extracting EXE contains the Windows 2000 patch. We are on Windows XP, but the 2000 drivers work.)

  7. Run REXW2KUPGRADE.EXE (that was extracted from REXW2K_100.EXE.)

  8. Now start Outlook and insert the REX card. On the taskbar (top of screen) will be the TrueSync icon. Click it and sync the REX.

Problems with TrueSync Desktop install on Win XP resolved. (From Ira)

"Installing True Sync Desktop on Windows XP. I found the answer to my own question in a Google search...I have found it also worked for Truesync Desktop:

When I try to install for the first time, the following message appears:

Msg: "Severe This installation has detected that a previous installation or un-installation requires you to restart your computer"

Solution:

  1. Reboot your system
  2. Look for a file named Wininit.ini, in either your WinNT or Windows folders.
  3. If you find this file, rename it to Wininit.old
  4. Try the Sidekick install again."

Note to REX 6000 users: TrueSync Desktop is a REX 3000/5000 program.

Office XP users working with Off-line files may need to tweak a bit. (From JJ)

Outlook XP

It also appears that Outlook XP with (or without) Windows XP works fine. The only issues reported have to do with those connecting to an Exchange server and using off-line files when away from their network. See below for a resolution!

"I am a notebook Technical Trainer for Hewlett-Packard and do testing with multiple operating systems and applications. I recently discovered and solved this issue. I only tested this issue on Windows 2000 SP1, SP2 and the latest Windows XP Pro beta code 2486. It may not occur with Windows 95, 98 or ME.

It affects users who are using Outlook 2002 (from Office XP) with the REX6000, connecting to an Exchange Server and using Offline files. When I installed the REX software everything worked fine but Outlook would no longer synchronize with my offline files. I have seen this issue on multiple systems using Office XP.

I fixed the problem by turning off Offline file use and deleting the Offline file then rebooting and renabling Offline files.

If you're installing a new system you can also prevent the issue by not turning on Offline file use until after REX is installed and the first REX sync has occured. Of course you must be connected to the Exchange server for the first synch since you have no offline files."

Also see here in the FAQ for more on NT and the Outlook Corporate Workgroup version.

From Steve:

"...I don't know exactly what fixed all the problems because I tried so many changes/uninstall/reinstalls of Intellisync, but now everything is working. My best guess is that disabling the Outlook offline store, installing Intellisync, then re-enabling offline store, seems to be the key change for me. One additional note, when I re-enabled the offline store, I accepted the default filename and location selected by Outlook for the offline store (C:\WINNT\Profiles\MyUserName\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.ost) which was different from what I previously had."

Also note:

"Outlook 2002 introduces a new file format (.LIS = Local Information Store) that can be used instead of the old one (.PST). You are not forced to use the new format; probably it helps to keep the old format when you upgrade to Outlook 2002. Rgds Christian"

Macintosh <back to top>

Users have reported successfully using Virtual PC from Connectix to sync on a Mac, but it does not appear to work with OSX. From Dan:

"Macintosh OS X information: I have moved to Mac OS X on my PowerBook G4 and cannot get the Rex 6000 to work with it using Virutal PC 4 or 5.

Under OS 9, inserting the Rex causes its icon to appear on the desktop as "Rex 6000 ". I can then map a com port on Virtual PC to it as a "Non Modem Device" and it works.

But, inserting the Rex when running OS X causes no icon to appear. Its as if OS X does not recognize a PCMCIA card being inserted at all. After some searching, I found some information that says that PCMCIA cards are only supported under OSX through standard services, such as the file system for a memory card, or Apple Modem services for a Modem card, etc. Otherwise PCMCIA cards are not currently supported.

This may change in future releases of OSX, but for now, I need to reboot under OS 9 to access the Rex. Just thought you Mac users would want to know."

From Donald: "Virtual PC (with Win98 installed) allows me to run Windows programs on a make in a separate window. I've got a Palm Pilot and was using Palm Desktop on the Mac. However, since REX does not support a Mac and will either sync with Mobile Desktop or Outlook, I took my Palm Pilot, sync'd with the live data on my Mac, went into Virtual PC, then sync'd the data to Outlook. Once that was done, I installed the REX and set it up to sync via Outlook, thus transferring all my live data from Outlook to the REX. So to summarize, the sequence I went through is:

  1. Palm Desktop Mac --> Palm Pilot
  2. Palm Pilot --> Outlook 98
  3. Windows (Virtual PC) Outlook98 (VPC) --> REX-6000"


From Chris: "Good news for mac os 9.1 users. If you download the rex 6000 program update from march 2001 instead of using the old version on the cd that is coming with the rex, then u can sync the rex without a problem in VPC 4.0!!!! with the USB craddle. Its not quick, but it works. Be patient, because every stap takes a while!! Sync. takes about 7 minutes."

The PCMCIA slot is not supported by VPC, so sync requires the USB cradle.

And from Michael:

"You might also find it interesting that I use the REX with a Macintosh Powerbook and VirtualPC running Windows 98 through a USB PCM card. VirtualPC is not even supposed to be able to work with the card. Even though it is a slow operation, I am glad to have it. I have not had any loss of data, crashes or glitches using or syncing the Intllisync Desktop PIM."

Important point from Dan:

"Erin: I just bought a Rex 6000 and was able to get intellisync to work with it on my PowerBook G4 using Virtuall PC 4. I checked the "Non-modem Device" checkbox in the com port setup dialog in Virtual PC and it worked. Before that I got the same results you did (can't get the device ID)."

Linux <back to top>

There is no native support for the REX systems running Linux. Some users reported early experiments trying to run the REX software in emulation on a Linux PC, but no one has reported success.

REX Tools for Linux available! Released by Majek, currently an Alpha release.

"First alpha version of RexTools for Linux is out! Now there are three programs:

  1. rexdate - get/set date
  2. rexdefrag - defragmenting rex
  3. rexdbdump - dumping database from rex with format compatible with RexToolsBeta

It don't work on 50% computers which i tested on, and there is why this is alpha, not beta release.

You can dowload this from: http://rex.mamy.to/rextoolslinux.tgz"

REX Tools for Linux updated. (From Marek - 10/15/01)

Marek is one of the most active members of the REX community (Marek maintains the rex.mamy.to web sync site, created the order page for DS2 cases as well). He has released an updated version of his REX Tools for Linux:

"Hi! I updated my rextools for linux (v. 0.1.3a):

  • added three new funcions to rex.pas library: dsfr, dsfw and dsfe to read, write and erase flash memory.
  • added new tool: rexaddin - now addins developers which works under linux are able to update addins without reboot to winXX. You CAN'T add with this new addin but you can replace binary part of any standard addin (not in adder) - icon and name will remain the same.

    Updating addins with all 8 slots filled in extras takes about 50s, so this is faster than any windows tool.

You can dowload this from http://rex.mamy.to/rextools/"

More interesting developments for Linux and the REX Developer community. (From Matthias)

"I've owned my REX for 6 weeks now, and couldn't get any help from Xircom (I only have linux on my laptop, so I couldn't really use the Rex, except with Wine).

With the effords of Gerd Krahmann, I started to write a communication library for the REX6000 for linux. I know there is another guy who wrote something similar, but in pascal, which isn't really usable for me (the Xbasic-code from Gerd Krahmann isn't better).So I played around a lot the last weeks with the parameters and wrote the complete communication down in C (Ansi C), so it should run at least under every UN*X, and under windows I believe.

The code I have finished is straight forward so far: functions for establishing and closing connection with the REX, reading and writing the time, reading the firmware version and the single database records. The toolbox contains useful codes for the communication, as well as the checksum routines and convert functions.Nothing useful for someone who wants to synchronize his contents now, but interessting for developers.

I plan to build several synchronize functions for the available linux tools, as well as the possibility to backup the whole content of the REX and uploading the available extensions.

Updates on 9/23/01

Now I offer a new version, where I have fixed some issues, and extended the functions a lot. It's now possible to do a full sync of the contactlist from REX6000->linux.I spent several days the last week with editing some contacts on my REX, and then reading and printing the memory content to see what has changed.

Meanwhile I got the clue about most of the structures, and how the sync works. There are still some bytes for which don't have any interpretation so far, but I guess there will be a solution for these too.

Maybe others want to try their luck, I have tons of hexdumps now, and a lot of nice debug-routines in my software to read and print the rex-memory.

Furthermore I would like anybody using linux to try my current version of the sync, and tell me if it can read your full contactlist, or if there are any problems (the tool should output some useful debug-information in this case).

The new version is available at:

ftp://ftp.wspse.de/linux/wspse/rex6000/WSPse-Rex-0.02.tar.gz

It's written in ANSI C and should compile under any linux, and maybe windows. A makefile is included.

After compiling just run "./rex <device>", where <device> is the tty-device where your REX is connected. For me it works with the serial cradle (/dev/ttyS0) and the PCMCIA-slot of my Sony Vaio laptop (/dev/ttyS1).

For my Rex the program outputs this data:

PID: "L008MB00E208", Timezone: "France", Language: "English"
defrag: 0
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_all]: read global pointer list (page 1)
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_all]: following to contact overview block (page 51)
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_all]: overview says: next contact will be 20
currently we have 17 contacts
following to contactlist (page 4)
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: I'm on Page 4: 7 subblocks here
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: will jump to page 156 where I find record 0 and up
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: I'm on Page 156: 4 subblocks here
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #1
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #2
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #3
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #5
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: will jump to page 157 where I find record 6 and up
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: I'm on Page 157: 5 subblocks here
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #6
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #7
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #8
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #9
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #10
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: will jump to page 155 where I find record 11 and up
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: I'm on Page 155: 2 subblocks here
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #11
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #12
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: will jump to page 152 where I find record 13 and up
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: I'm on Page 152: 1 subblocks here
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #13
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: will jump to page 167 where I find record 14 and up
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: I'm on Page 167: 1 subblocks here
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #14
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: will jump to page 150 where I find record 15 and up
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: I'm on Page 150: 1 subblocks here
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #15
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: will jump to page 154 where I find record 17 and up
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_list]: I'm on Page 154: 3 subblocks here
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #17
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #18
DEBUG [rexcontacts_read_contact]: seems we found record #19

----+--------------------+--------------------+--------------------
# |first name |last name |phone (home)
----+--------------------+--------------------+--------------------
1|Holger |Kabbert |5
2|Zwei |Stein |a5
3|D |D |(null)
5|A |L |(null)
6|g |g |(null)
7|a |a |(null)
8|i |i |(null)
9|z |z |(null)
10|f |f |(null)
11|b |b |(null)
12|m |m |(null)
13|pgwiiiiihgggfdddddbb|pppojhtvddedcvbhtdcv|phoneh ffggvbnutrhfg
14|kuller |kullerchen |(null)
15|Vorname Mittelname |Nachname |phone p Heimtelefon
17|Klaus |Ridder |(null)
18|James |Bond |(null)
19|AAAAA |BBBBBB |(null)


Rex has the version "1.1.2.7"
-----

At the end of the program, the whole contactlist is printed (yes everything is right, there are many test entries I added to test my tool). The program is able to read the complete contact list, and saving it in a rexstructs_contacts structure. So far I am only missing the categories, but that should be easy. The next step will be do to the other way round -> writing to the Rex.

Sync from REX6000 -> Linux should be possible now, please test:

ftp://ftp.wspse.de/linux/wspse/rex6000/WSPse-Rex-0.02.tar.gz
(no worry, the program has only read-operations implemented so far, so it cannot destroy any of your datas :-)

BTW: the sync implemented in this program is _much_ faster, than the rextools for Windows. While studying the sync-log from the Windows rextools I saw, that the same pages are read over and over again, which takes an huge amount of time. My program holds every page it's read in a cache, so it's not neccessary to read a page again.

Hope this will be useful for you. I would be happy if someone helps me reverse engineering the sync-protocol.

Matthias, ICQ: 24719025

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