Compaq Aero and Windows Vista

I can't connect my Aero to my laptop.

I have a Dell running Vista and it has no serial port, only a USB to serial
adaptor. Windows Mobile Device Center will not recognize the PDA when
connected. I suspect it's something with the Belden USB to serial adaptor,
but don't know how to check. All I can think of is to look for updated
drivers from Belden.

My desktop computer which runs XP Professional, hooks it up and synchronizes
without difficulty.

The obvious solution would be to use the desktop computer, but I don't want
to wait for it to boot up and, since my laptop is always on, it's the
preferred solution. The card reader in the laptop is also too small to read
that giant memory card from the aero.