Mac OS X v10.5, v10.6: Resetting the SyncServices folder

Resolution

Reset the SyncServices folder with these steps

Important: Prior to resetting the SyncServices folder, it is strongly recommended that you back-up any important data that you Sync regularly.

• For information about backing up in Mac OS X, see this article.
• For information about backing up your MobileMe Sync data, see this article.
• For information about manually backing up Sync-related data, see this article.

Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard

1. If you see this Sync menu extra   in your menu bar skip to step 2. If you do not have this icon, you need to enable it in System Preferences:
   
   • From the Apple () menu choose System Preferences.
   • Click MobileMe and then click the Sync tab.
   • Select the option to "Show status in menu bar."
2. While holding down the Option key on your keyboard, click the Sync icon in the menu bar (if you see the Sync menu extra but you are unable to open it, skip to step 5)
3. Choose Reset Sync Services.
4. Click Reset Sync History.
   If this does not resolve your issue or if you are unable to open the Sync menu extra, follow these steps:
5. In the Finder, choose Utilities from the Go menu.
6. Open Terminal.
7. In the Terminal window, type or paste the following command on a single line:
   /System/Library/Frameworks/SyncServices.framework/Versions/A/Resources/resetsync.pl reset
8. Press Return.
9. When the operation is complete quit Terminal.

 Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard

1. Open iSync.
2. Choose Preferences from the iSync menu.
3. Click Reset Sync History.

If this does not resolve your issue, or if you are unable to open iSync, follow these steps:

1. In the Finder, choose Utilities from the Go menu.
2. Open Terminal.
3. In the Terminal window that opens, type or paste the following command on a single line:

/System/Library/Frameworks/SyncServices.framework/Versions/A/Resources/resetsync.pl full

4. Press Return.
5. When the operation is complete quit Terminal.

Re-enabling Sync-related Settings after Resetting the SyncServices folder in Mac OS X v10.6 and Mac OS X v10.5

After you have reset the SyncServices folder, you may need to re-enable some Sync-related settings. Resetting SyncServices resets your Mac OS X User Account's Sync settings and any local history of updates and changes to Sync-enabled data. It won't change your current data sets, but it does delete the history of how the data arrived at its current state and disables some Sync-related settings. Here are a few things you should check and may need to turn back on if you plan on using them with Sync again:

• If you are syncing with an iPhone or iPod via USB and iTunes, you will need to re-enable any settings for Syncing data in iTunes, such as Bookmarks, Calendars, Contacts etc. You can check these settings in iTunes the next time you plug your iPhone or iPod into your Mac.
• If you are syncing Mail Rules, in some cases Mail Rules will become deselected. Your Rules are still there, but you will need to re-enable any Rules you wish to use actively by selecting the checkbox next to them in the Rules pane of Mail Preferences.
• If you are syncing with MobileMe, you will need to re-enable MobileMe Syncing in the Sync pane of the MobileMe System Preference. 
• Mac OS X will see your next Sync as the first sync ever in your User, so you the next time you sync with MobileMe or via iTunes, you will most likely see a dialogue asking if you would like to: Merge Data, Replace Data on MobileMe/Device, or Replace Data on your Computer. In general, Merge is the default behavior for this dialog and is the preferred choice on first sync, unless you have a specific reason to choose one of the Replace options.