Fast sync versus Slow sync

The standard Palm conduits to the desktop applications support slow and fast syncs. The differences are outlined below;

• Fast Sync
  If, and only if, the handheld device was last synced with this PC, then the conduit will use a fast sync logic to accomplish the record synchronization. In simplistic terms, a fast sync limits the data transfer from the desktop to the handheld by only comparing records that are new, have changed, or were archived or deleted.
• Slow Sync
  If a fast sync is not possible, because the handheld device was hotsynced with a different PC the last time it was synced, then the conduit will use slow sync logic to accomplish the record synchronization. Again, in simplistic terms, a slow sync requires a record by record comparison of three databases; the handheld's, the desktop's, and the desktop's BAK version (which represents the last good sync with that PC). Because every single record on the handheld must be transferred during a slow sync, it's, you guessed it, slow....

Note that this description applies only to the Palm supplied conduits. Third party conduits may handle synchronization in a non-standard manner.