Connecting to a PC via a USB cable

Connecting to a PC via a USB cable
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Connecting to a PC via a USB cable

This is somewhat more complex than we would like. There are three ways in which you can connect a Zaurus using a USB cable. These methods are determined by the setting in the PC Link settings applet (accessible from the Settings tab of the Home page).

Treat the Zaurus as a USB mass storage device – no additional software needs to be installed on Windows or Mac/Linux
Use a traditional USB connection (USB - I/O) – a WDM driver needs to be installed on Windows
Use a TCP/IP-based connection – a driver needs to be installed on Windows and Mac but not on Linux.

Using the Zaurus as a mass storage device

First run the PC Link applet, make sure the selected Mode Setting is Storage and press OK.

Then connect the Zaurus to the PC with the USB cable. The Zaurus' screen display changes to show that it is communicating. During this time, you are unable to use it for anything else.

We have found this method of connecting somewhat unreliable. Sometimes when you connect, various warning and error messages will be displayed instead of the communicating screen. On Windows if you disconnect the cable and reconnect it does seem to work. On the Mac it is even more unreliable and you are almost certainly better off connecting to the Zaurus as a network drive see “Using a TCP/IP-based connection”.

Using a TCP/IP-based connection

To use a TCP/IP connection, for Windows and Mac you need to install drivers “Installing USB drivers”. Once this done you will be able to access your Zaurus as if it were a network drive.

Connecting to the Zaurus using Windows

With the Zaurus connected to the Windows PC using the USB cable, go to My Network Places and browse to the Zaurus under the WORKGROUP domain, as shown in the screenshot below. There is no need to enter a username and password when requested – there is no authentication performed over a local USB connection.

Connecting to the Zaurus using a Mac

With the Zaurus connected to the Mac using the USB cable, go to the Mac's Finder and select the Go->Connect to Server option. When the Connect To Server dialog is displayed type in smb://zaurus as the Server Address.

Then you will be presented with a dialog to select the media. To select the internal drive/memory choose Documents as shown in the diagram below.

A dialog requesting you to enter a Domain, User Name and password will be displayed.

You don't need to enter anything in any of these fields, just press Enter. There is no authenticaton when locally connected to the Zaurus over a USB cable.

Finally, you should see your Documents folder in the Finder application.

	Note
	You can create multiple connections to your Zaurus and copy between storage areas – say from your SD to internal memory.

Connecting to Zaurus using Linux

The exact method of connecting to the Zaurus will depend on the distribution and applications that you are using, but essentially you should be able to go to the 'File Manager' application and type in smb://zaurus in order to be able to view and access the Zaurus' internal memory, CF and SD cards.

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