Diacom Plus under Win2k/XP...Will it work?
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From: Alhambra CA
Diacom Plus under Win2k/XP...Will it work?
I finally got a hold of my own laptop (was borrowing one from a friend before), and I'm trying to link up to my '86 with Diacom Plus. However, my machine is running Windows 2000 and I am probably going to load XP within the next few days. So far I haven't been able to link up properly; when I hit enter to LINK the program just freezes. Is Diacom totally incompatible with Win2k/XP/NT?
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Re: Diacom Plus under Win2k/XP...Will it work? (USCZBT)
I don't think it is compatible under 2k/xp.
You could create a boot floppy, and run the program from that. Diacom is a small program, and will run on a floppy.
[Modified by Marcho Polo, 12:57 PM 1/29/2002]
You could create a boot floppy, and run the program from that. Diacom is a small program, and will run on a floppy.
[Modified by Marcho Polo, 12:57 PM 1/29/2002]
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Re: Diacom Plus under Win2k/XP...Will it work? (Marcho Polo)
Yeah, I kinda figured that, thanks for the reply though. My only concern with running it that way is that I'll have to store my log files on the floppy as well since my HD is NTFS. I guess if i keep the recordings short I won't have a problem, or maybe I'll set the system up for a Win 98/XP dual boot next time.
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Re: (scorp508)
Nope, tried that and it wouldn't work. The NT kernel doesn't let programs have direct access to the ports under any circumstances, everything must pass through the HAL. I tried the boot disk method with a little more sucess, however I still can't link to my ECM. It just sits at "Linking to vehicle...." but at least it isn't freezing up. I'm wondering if my system is just not compatible(too new?) with the software. My friend's Pentium laptop worked fine.
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Re: (USCZBT)
what type of laptop are you using? I had trouble with a few IBM Thinkpads on my '90. They would work on my '85 though. I had to buy a compaq to use on my '90. All of them were 486 laptops.
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Re: (Marcho Polo)
I'm using a Dell Latitude C600, it's a PIII with 256MB of Ram. I was running Diacom sucessfully in the past with my friend's piece of junk Magictronic Pentium system. I've tried setting the parallel mode to Normal, Bidirectional, and ECP but non of those modes made any difference. I also tried envoking the program with the /f switch but it didn't help. I'm going to try the old laptop tonight, but it is a real pain in the butt because the battery won't hold a charge at all so I have to use an AC inverter to run the thing in the car.
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Re: (USCZBT)
....but it is a real pain in the butt because the battery won't hold a charge at all so I have to use an AC inverter to run the thing in the car.
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Re: Diacom Plus under Win2k/XP...Will it work? (USCZBT)
My only concern with running it that way is that I'll have to store my log files on the floppy as well since my HD is NTFS.
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/fr.../NTFSDOS.shtml
That should allow you to mount a NTFS volume in dos mode.
Did you try running from a command prompt inside of windows also?
You might also try setting the process priority to real-time (if it's a timing problem with serial communications this may help - though it really should matter). Go to task manager and find the process, right click, and go to set priority.
If you have an irDA port you may try disabling that also - many times they can not co-exist properly with a serial port (com1).
Wort case you can try a USB -> Serial port replicator. Buy it locally so it's returnable if it doesn't work.
I have used TTS DataMaster under windows XP without issue (as well as the LT1 Edit program utility) so I don't think that should be a show stopper.
Did you download the compatability update from the windows update site?
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Re: Diacom Plus under Win2k/XP...Will it work? (ChrisB)
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/fr.../NTFSDOS.shtml
That should allow you to mount a NTFS volume in dos mode.
That should allow you to mount a NTFS volume in dos mode.
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Re: Diacom Plus under Win2k/XP...Will it work? (scorp508)
Doh, yep, you are correct. I downloaded a version from their site about a year ago that didn't have that limitation, so I didn't even bother to check to see if this one would.
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Re: Diacom Plus under Win2k/XP...Will it work? (ChrisB)
Thanks for the link about the NFTS util, however I think there is some sort of general incompatibility issue with my laptop under any OS. Last night I tried my friend's old system and it linked up immediately. If I could even get past the basic linking problem under command line mode running Win 98, I think the program will never run properly under Win XP/2k/NT. Unlike Datamaster which is actually a Windows-based 16bit app, Diacom-Plus is still after all these years a DOS based program.
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Re: Diacom Plus under Win2k/XP...Will it work? (USCZBT)
USCZBT,
If you continue to have problems with Diacom, you might consider switching to an Ease scan tool. Ease is written for Win95, 98, 2000 and NT4.0. It should be available for XP any time now. They also have a version for Palm and WinCE. The built in charting capability puts Diacom to shame. Check out the Ease homepage at http://www.easesim.com If you have any problem getting Ease to run on your laptop you can send it back within the 30 day no-questions-asked warranty period and get your money back. There is also 1 year of toll-free tech support. Ease makes an OBD1 and OBD2 version for all GM vehicles. If you are interested in purchasing a tool or have any questions I can answer email me directly and I'll be glad to send you actual screen captures from use on my 88 vette and info on getting a 10% rebate of the purchase price.
Mike
mike_88z51@yahoo.com
If you continue to have problems with Diacom, you might consider switching to an Ease scan tool. Ease is written for Win95, 98, 2000 and NT4.0. It should be available for XP any time now. They also have a version for Palm and WinCE. The built in charting capability puts Diacom to shame. Check out the Ease homepage at http://www.easesim.com If you have any problem getting Ease to run on your laptop you can send it back within the 30 day no-questions-asked warranty period and get your money back. There is also 1 year of toll-free tech support. Ease makes an OBD1 and OBD2 version for all GM vehicles. If you are interested in purchasing a tool or have any questions I can answer email me directly and I'll be glad to send you actual screen captures from use on my 88 vette and info on getting a 10% rebate of the purchase price.
Mike
mike_88z51@yahoo.com
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Re: Diacom Plus under Win2k/XP...Will it work? (Mike_88Z51)
Mike,
I believe we have talked before in the past about EASE, and I'd like to give it a try but I still have reservations because when we last talked there were some parameters that the software could not read in the early TPI stream. Has this been resolved?
Thanks,
I believe we have talked before in the past about EASE, and I'd like to give it a try but I still have reservations because when we last talked there were some parameters that the software could not read in the early TPI stream. Has this been resolved?
Thanks,
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From: Sacramento, CA Money can't buy happiness - but it's more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than a Yugo.
Re: Diacom Plus under Win2k/XP...Will it work? (USCZBT)
Grant,
Yes, Ease resolved all of the parameter problems some time ago. It took about 4 months after I received the program and gave them my feedback for them to get it fixed, but it was done and done right. Ease shipped everyone who had that version an update for free. There was a minor bug in the NT version (only NT) when the update installed which caused registry problems if you were running NT with Service Pack 3 or below. I was running NT with SP3 so I reported it and Ease Engineering and I worked on the fix that Saturday. They fixed, I tested. The fix was immediately incorporated into the upgrade and everything is good now. No versions of the NT upgrade version went to regular customers. It seems the Sales Reps. got the early version and Ease waited until every rep was good before sending to customers. This I think was great, because regular didn't customers get a flawed upgrade.
Yes, Ease resolved all of the parameter problems some time ago. It took about 4 months after I received the program and gave them my feedback for them to get it fixed, but it was done and done right. Ease shipped everyone who had that version an update for free. There was a minor bug in the NT version (only NT) when the update installed which caused registry problems if you were running NT with Service Pack 3 or below. I was running NT with SP3 so I reported it and Ease Engineering and I worked on the fix that Saturday. They fixed, I tested. The fix was immediately incorporated into the upgrade and everything is good now. No versions of the NT upgrade version went to regular customers. It seems the Sales Reps. got the early version and Ease waited until every rep was good before sending to customers. This I think was great, because regular didn't customers get a flawed upgrade.
Drifting
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From: Sacramento, CA Money can't buy happiness - but it's more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than a Yugo.
Re: (scorp508)
scorp,
Yes you can buy just an OBD1 tool. Since OBD1 and OBD2 are not compatible all scan tools require different software "modules" or packages to scan OBD1 or OBD2. That is one of the reasons many scan tool manufacturers make only one OBD version. Ease started out with OBD2 and saw the need for a similar OBD1 tool since they sell to major automotive fleet owners so they applied the necessary OBD1 diagnostic coding to the Windows interface already developed.
The Ease OBD1 tool for GM has a graphic of a car on the vehicle connection screen. It is a Yellow Vette like yours and mine.
Yes you can buy just an OBD1 tool. Since OBD1 and OBD2 are not compatible all scan tools require different software "modules" or packages to scan OBD1 or OBD2. That is one of the reasons many scan tool manufacturers make only one OBD version. Ease started out with OBD2 and saw the need for a similar OBD1 tool since they sell to major automotive fleet owners so they applied the necessary OBD1 diagnostic coding to the Windows interface already developed.
The Ease OBD1 tool for GM has a graphic of a car on the vehicle connection screen. It is a Yellow Vette like yours and mine.
