palm won't connect

[don hinkle]

My Palm used to connect ok in hot sync with my ibook when I was in OS 9.
Now, in X, I can't get a connection.
Everything *seems* to be turned on okay--the Palm connects with a serial 
to USB. System Profile recognizes the USB>serial connection.
User names are the same on iBook and on Palm.
But each time I try I get a failed-to-connect message, it says:
"The connection between your handheld computer and the desktop could not 
be established. Please check your setup and try again."

Any help?
thanks...