It sounds like it is time to reload that laptop. Prefereable with XP if it can support it.

 

it still won't load up? I know what that is like, when I was discovering the fun of interfacing he was kind enough to give me a couple hours of his time. What I did was get everything in the garage in front of me (cables pluged in, lap top on line etc.) then called , he does make it seem easy.......then again he's been down this road enough times. There must be something here you are missing ....not sure where to suggest as it sounds like you are doing the right things. Give Craig a call , or, have you emailed Marc yet (certainly another real guru on the software)?

 

Not yet. I tried to save and open the file around midnight last night. I will call his this afternoon. He said today would be a good day for him to help. But I have to be at work at 6p.

 

No still can get anything done even with the new driver for windows 98 on his website. The previous laptop had windows XP and a CD came with the cables when I purchased them. That install was a little confusing because it was my first time.

The only thing I have to do is to save the driver file to a location and open the file. From there I need to plug the cable in and install the cable to the driver I saved. The look in the Control Panel under systems and see if it's there. It should be either COM3 or COM4 and show the cable is installed. Go connect the ALDL in the car and run TunerPro RT. Set my bin files and connect. Not that difficult, but I can't get the driver file to open. Something is wrong somewhere.

I'm not sure how to contact Marc, but would like to know in case.

 

instead of trying to download, right click over the link, and from the drop down, use the "save target as" - select the directory, and you will have much more success.
Tom

 

Tried it that way as well. I can save it, but not open it. Also when I save it, the file doesn't show up when I try and install the cable by clicking "browse".

 

Just talked to Craig and told him the problem. He says I need to reformat my laptop and reinstall Windows 98.

Never done it before. Anyone here willing to walk me through it or I could ship the laptop to you?

What a damn cluster****.

 

If your laptop can support it I would highly recommend reinstalling with Windows XP. Huge improvement.

Here is a walkthu for Windows XP.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...p/install.mspx


If not, below is some info on Installing Windows 98. This will completely wipe out everything on the laptop. Some computers come with restore disks that you need to boot to. (Depends on the manufacturer)

If you just have a regular 98 CD and boot disk see below instructions.

http://www.windowsreinstall.com/win9...exfullpage.htm

http://www.windows98.windowsreinstal...STALL%20GUIDES

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/221829/EN-US/

If you have any further questions I am happy to assist.

 

Given that you don't have a CD drive, installing windows is a rather advanced operation. Doable, but a bit of a PITA.

Given what I perceive as a fairly low comfort level with this stuff, I think you should take it someplace and pay them to reinstall windows for you.

Or take what they would charge you and buy a used laptop that has a CD drive and perhaps XP.

 

I just read that you don't have a CD drive. Windows 98 was available on floppies without all the features if you have a floppy drive. The laptop is probably too old to boot to a usb drive. Whats the specs on the laptop?

 

He is a member here on the forum and on occassion responds in scan and tune.
After reading the update, and Criag's recomendation was to re-format, I would tend to believe his diagnosis. I don't consider it difficult (computer to computer) to reformat, depending of course on your laptop), however in general, there isn't much around to support 98. The part here I don't care for is to be constrained to only a floppy drive (no disc drive ? other specs?). 98 version 2 is a very stable OS (even more than XP, some may argue, lol) BUT, XP has more features, and it is has more "user friendly" abilites, and obviously more software product availabilty. Oher considerations would be if the laptop is that much older, then the prossesor and ram maybe rather limited (not to mention the lack of disc drive). If this is the case, I would consider looking at ebay and finding a more current laptop. IMO, this would be probably the best solution which would allow future changes and better compatabilty with an emmulater, LM-1, and or, other tuning software.

 

Well, I got my car runnig right yesterday...finally. I will probably hold off on scanning it. I have a friend that might could use this laptop and I will morethan likely get a newer one with Windows XP and a disc drive. It would probably be cheaper and more hassle free in the longrun. I appreciate everones help.

rickreeves1, I will have to look the specs up.

 

Not a bad idea. Check the weekly ads for rebate deals. Office Depot, Best buy, Circuit City, etc.. I picked up a toshiba for just over $400 about a year and a half ago. I maxed out the ram to 1gb for $130. It's perfect for surfing the net and scanning/programming the car which is all I use it for. It's actually pretty damn fast with the maxed out ram for what I use it for. It's not for gaming or graphic intense programs though. If you want something a little better make sure it's compatible or comes loaded with Windows Vista, the new Microsoft OS. The video card requirements seem to be the main issue with Vista. There are still plenty of drivers that are not released yet, especially for use with DirectX 10. I had Vista on my laptop for about a month before it's public release. It worked ok but not all the new graphics features were available and there were some video issues with DVD's. I think these will be fixed when updated video drivers are released. Hopefully you shouldn't have any problems with a new laptop that is Vista ready. Another thing to look for is the design of the laptop. You may want something thats pretty well made if it's going to be in and out of the car a lot. Check the power plug in the back where it connects into the laptop. These are know to break off internally. Make sure it's sturdy, as well as the screen hinges. Vista ran fine with tuner cat I did not test it with datamaster TTS or any other Tuning software.

 

While the pressures off, look at cleaning up your laptop, use the accesories, and do a hard disk defragment & check disk.
you may have a USB port if so use a "USB thumb drive" to move your software from your desktop. Then just use that laptop for your scanner.
It sounds old, stay with win 98.

If you get yourself a decent laptop, you will have to get a USB to serial cable.
because most new laptops do not have a serial port, I have tried "my own" serial cable with a Belkin USBtoserial adapter and it would not sync with the 160 ECM, buy a cable from Craig. IMO
Tom