What scan tool?
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From: Under the hood.
What scan tool?
Just wondering what you guys reccomend in terms of scan tools. I'd like to get WinALDL, but I don't have a laptop to carry out to the car to run it so I'm going to go with a good scan tool. Can you guys shed some light on whats available for me please? Thx
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From: The Bone Yard
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Why not look around for an older W95/W98 laptop? Because they are so old and won't run most of the newer software, they generally can be bought dirt cheap. Just make sure that it has the original "install disk" so you can "start fresh", and then use it just for "scanning" and possibly eprom burning (if you decide to get into that).
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From: Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
Glenn I would like to do exactly that. When looking for a cheap laptop, what are the minimum requirements/processing speeds to look for in the laptop? And would bigger be better? Or will it be pointless to go bigger and faster due to the ecm’s constant output speed? (Excuse my computer terminology) thanks in advance….Dan
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Dan, it really depends on the software you plan on running. Some of the scan tools, including Craig Moates' run in DOS. So you can go really cheap. But I would recommend a W95 or W98 notebook. Look at some Second-hand/used stores for computers.
Actually, many of the guys using newer/faster Windows XP machines have problems with a lot of the different software.
But if you plan on buying something like "Ease" (which I haven't tried), that's suppose to be one of the better Windows Based scan tool software, the newer machines would be better suited.
I personally have a Compact 266mhz W98 machine that I use for ALL my eprom burning. I also have a cheaper Toshiba 75mhs W95 that also runs all of my eprom burning stuff, but much more slowly. As a scan tool, I use Diacom Plus, but since it is Dos based and cannot display faster than the ALDL's 8192 baud rate - you don't need anything faster than the Toshiba and won't run any faster on the Compact.
So I use the Toshiba 75 mostly for scanning - but that's because Diacom is Dos Based. I picked up the Toshiba cheap at an auction for office supplies.
Actually, many of the guys using newer/faster Windows XP machines have problems with a lot of the different software.
But if you plan on buying something like "Ease" (which I haven't tried), that's suppose to be one of the better Windows Based scan tool software, the newer machines would be better suited.
I personally have a Compact 266mhz W98 machine that I use for ALL my eprom burning. I also have a cheaper Toshiba 75mhs W95 that also runs all of my eprom burning stuff, but much more slowly. As a scan tool, I use Diacom Plus, but since it is Dos based and cannot display faster than the ALDL's 8192 baud rate - you don't need anything faster than the Toshiba and won't run any faster on the Compact.
So I use the Toshiba 75 mostly for scanning - but that's because Diacom is Dos Based. I picked up the Toshiba cheap at an auction for office supplies.
Last edited by Grim Reaper; Apr 9, 2003 at 07:36 PM.
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From: Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
i plan on getting a 100 to 200 dollar laptop off ebay. I started reading alot more into this prom burning stuff, and it gets less and less intimidating as i go. I'll be on my way to burning my chips in a couple of weeks. thanks for the reply...Dan
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