What happens if you disable the media conduit? Does the HotSync finish on it's own?
You should see the blue/red HotSync icon in tray.
Click on the icon (if it is not present go to Start Button/All programs/Palm/HotSync Manager to start it) then choose "Settings".
In the left column of the screen that opens, choose "Applications".
Check off the little box that says "Show Details". Now you can see how each conduit is set.
To change one of them, Highlight the conduit (in your case, "Media" ) then the "Configure button will come alive. Click it, and change the setting. (I have my Media conduit turned off - "Do Nothing" ). To make the change permanent for each upcoming Hotsync, check the box that says "Set As Default" - otherwise the change will happen only once, then revert back.