I thought I would post my solution that I found for fixing my Activesync 4.1
and 4.2 problem. My issue dealt with the fact that whenever I plugged in my
Samsung i730 (upgraded to WM5) pda using a USB port, Activesync would get
stuck in the "connecting" state. I would see the created network adapter, and
if I did an ipconfig, it shows that it has an ip address and that it was
pingable. I had Windows firewall disabled and for some reason was able to
connect using Infrared.

Well, my solution was that on my laptop I was running Cisco VPN client
software. Typically I am always using my laptop in the office, but I had
traveled outside of the office recently used my VPN client. Upon arriving
back in the office my problems starting occuring. Turns out that the problem
was stemming from my VPN Client software. By default, when using the VPN
client, it automatically turns on its Stateful Firewall. But when you are not
using it, it doesnt turn it off. You must manually turn it off. So that is
what I did. There is an options menu on the VPN client software that has an
option to turn on/off stateful firewall. When I did that, I was able to get
activesync connected again.

Hope this helps anyone else.