MobileMe: Troubleshooting Windows syncing

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Make sure you can connect to the internet
Open a web browser and make sure you can visit Apple.com and Me.com. If you are able to browse to some web pages but not to the Apple or MobileMe websites, contact your network administrator or Internet Service Provider for further assistance.

Make sure you are running latest version of iTunes and the MobileMe Control Panel
For the best experience and reliability when syncing contacts or bookmarks to MobileMe, make sure you are using the latest version of iTunes and the latest version of the MobileMe Control Panel.  

Make sure you are using compatible software
Contacts must be stored in one of the following compatible contact managers:

• Outlook Express (Windows XP only)
• Windows Contacts (Windows Vista only)
• Outlook 2003
• Outlook 2007
• Outlook 2010 (32-bit)

Bookmarks (or Favorites) must be stored in one of these compatible web browsers:

• Safari 3 or Safari 4
• Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8

Make sure your settings are correct
Open the MobileMe Preferences Control Panel and verify that you are logged in. Click the Sync tab and make sure that settings are configured correctly.

Check your data on MobileMe, an iPhone, or an iPod touch
If you are syncing contacts, log in to MobileMe and verify that the data online is correct. You can also check your data from an iPhone or iPod touch. If your MobileMe data is not in sync with your computer, reset the sync data on MobileMe. If the data is correct on MobileMe, you can resync the data on your computer with data from MobileMe.

1. Open the MobileMe Control Panel.
2. Click Sync.
3. Click Advanced.
4. Click Reset.
5. Choose to replace the data on your computer with data from MobileMe.

Note: After a reset from MobileMe to your computer, you will see, at most, the contact info in Outlook that you can see on the web. For example, if you have a number in the ISDN field of a contact in Outlook, it won't appear in the MobileMe Contacts on the web after a sync, and it will be erased from Outlook after a reset from MobileMe to your computer. See the following article for more information: MobileMe: Syncing data between Outlook or Windows Contacts and MobileMe Contacts may result in some fields missing.

Reset Sync History
If you find that some of your data syncs to MobileMe but you see an unexpected number of changes, you may need to reset your sync history. This causes MobileMe to prompt to Merge or Replace information the next time you sync your information. To reset your Sync History:

1. Open iTunes
2. Choose Preferences from the Edit menu.
3. Click the Devices tab.
4. Click the Reset Sync History button.

Disable third-party Outlook add-ins
Outlook add-ins created by other manufacturers may interfere with the communication between MobileMe and Outlook. If you are using Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007 and your contacts are not syncing properly to MobileMe, disable any third-party Outlook add-ins that are installed.

For Outlook 2003, follow these steps to disable third-party add-ins:

1. Open Outlook 2003.
2. From the Tools menu, choose Options.
3. Click the Other tab.
4. Click the Advanced Options button.
5. Click the COM Add-Ins button.
6. Determine whether any third-party (non-Apple) add-ins are present in this list. The add-in "iTunes Outlook add-in" is made by Apple and can be left alone.
7. Deselect the checkbox for each third-party add-in in this list.
8. Click OK.

For Outlook 2007, follow these steps to disable third-party add-ins:

1. Open Outlook 2007
2. From the Tools menu, choose Trust Center.
3. Select Add-ins from the left column.
4. Look at the list of add-ins beneath "Active Application Add-Ins" and disable any add-in other than the "iTunes Outlook add-in" and "MobileMe Outlook Add-in."
5. In the Manage box, click COM Add-Ins, and then click Go.
6. In the COM Add-Ins dialog, deselect the checkbox for each third-party add-in in the list.
7. Click OK.

For Outlook 2010, Follow these steps to disable third-party add-ins:

1. Open Outlook 2010.
2. Click the File menu.
3. Click Options in the left panel of the Outlook window.
4. Click Add-Ins in the left panel of the Outlook Options window.
5. Look at the list of add-ins beneath "Active Application Add-Ins" and disable any add-in other than "iTunes Outlook add-in" and "MobileMe Outlook Add-in."
6. In the Manage box at the bottom of the Outlook Options window, select COM Add-Ins, and then click Go.
7. In the COM Add-Ins dialog, deselect the checkbox for each third-party add-in in the list.
8. Click OK.

Reinstall the iTunes and MobileMe software

A bad installation of the iTunes software could prevent your contacts from syncing to MobileMe properly. To reinstall the necessary software for syncing data to MobileMe you will need to remove the MobileMe Control Panel, Apple Mobile Device Support, Apple Application Support, and iTunes from your system before installing the latest version of iTunes.

Windows XP

1. Quit iTunes.
2. On the Start menu, click Control Panel.
3. In Control Panel, open Add or Remove Programs.
4. Select iTunes from the list of currently installed programs, then click Remove.
5. When asked if you would like to remove iTunes, select Yes.
6. After the uninstallation is complete, do not restart if you are prompted to.
7. If other entries were present for iTunes remove those as well.
8. In Add or Remove Programs, remove the MobileMe Control Panel, Apple Mobile Device Support, and Apple Application Support in the same fashion as iTunes was removed.
9. Restart your computer.
10. After the computer restarts, open Local Disk C: in My Computer or whichever disk programs are installed on.
11. Open the Program Files folder.
12. Right-click the iTunes folder and select Delete and choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion. Note: This folder may have already been deleted if iTunes was successfully removed in steps 1-7.
13. Right-click on the Recycle Bin and on the shortcut menu, click Empty Recycle Bin.
14. Restart your computer.
15. Install the latest version of iTunes from http://www.apple.com/itunes/download.
16. Install the latest version of the MobileMe Control Panel from http://support.apple.com/kb/DL769

Windows Vista or Windows 7

1. Quit iTunes.
2. From the Start menu, click Control Panel.
3. In Control Panel, click Uninstall a program. The Programs and Features control panel opens.
   Alternately, in Classic Panel of Control Panel, click Programs and Features.
4. Select iTunes from the list of currently installed programs, then click Uninstall.
5. When asked if you would like to remove iTunes, select Yes.
6. After the uninstallation is complete, do not restart if you are prompted to.
7. If other entries were present for iTunes remove those as well.
8. In Programs and Features, remove the MobileMe Control Panel, Apple Mobile Device Support, and Apple Application Support in the same fashion as iTunes was removed.
9. Restart your computer.
10. After the computer restarts, open Local Disk C: in My Computer or whichever disk programs are installed on.
11. Open the Program Files folder.
12. Right-click the iTunes folder and select Delete and choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion. Note: This folder may have already been deleted if iTunes was successfully removed in steps 1-7.
13. Right-click on the Recycle Bin and on the shortcut menu, click Empty Recycle Bin.
14. Restart your computer.
15. Install the latest version of iTunes from http://www.apple.com/itunes/download.
16. Install the latest version of the MobileMe Control Panel from http://support.apple.com/kb/DL769

Attempt to sync content as a new Windows user

It can be useful to determine if the issue affects a specific Windows user account or all accounts. Follow the steps below to create a new user account in Windows XP:

1. From the Start menu, choose Control Panel.
2. Open User Accounts.
3. Select Create a new account and follow the instructions to complete the account setup process. Note: Make sure you only use standard ASCII characters for the new user name.
4. Once the new account is created, choose Log Off from the Start menu.
5. Log into the newly created user account.

In Windows Vista or Windows 7, follow these steps instead:

1. From the Start menu, choose Control Panel.
2. Open User Accounts.
3. Select Manage another account.
4. Select Create a new account and follow the instructions to complete the account setup process. Note: Make sure you only use standard ASCII characters for the new user name.
5. Once the new account is created, log off.
6. Log into the newly created user account.

Once you are logged into the new user account, create a few test contacts in your compatible application of choice and attempt to sync that data to MobileMe. Does this newly created data sync properly? If so, you likely have an issue with your content in the original user which you will need to isolate.

Isolate your affected data

If the new user account's data syncs properly, then it is likely that the issue is related to the data in your original user, and you should try to find the affected item(s). While Apple cannot provide you with specific instructions for troubleshooting your data in Windows, here is some general information to help you get started: Split-half troubleshooting can be a useful method for managing large sets of data. If an issue occurs with only half of the data, the other half of the set probably does not contain the source of the issues, and you have cut the amount of data to test in half. When you use this approach, you isolate the data into smaller and more manageable sets until you find the source of the issue.

Important: To help avoid data loss, make a backup copy of your data before proceeding with troubleshooting. For assistance with backing up your data, refer to the built-in help for the application or visit the application's support website. For help with Microsoft products, visit: http://support.microsoft.com.

After you have verified that your data is backed up and stored it in a safe place, you can troubleshoot with this general split-half technique: