Question on USB to Serial adapter settings in Device Mgr

[flyfishvt]

I have DIS working just fine on my serial connector so I decided to try it with a USB adapter. I installed the driver for my Prolific USB/Serial adapter and it only shows up in device manager as exactly that. I thought it was supposed to show up as a USB to Serial Bridge. All I know is that DIS does not work propery with this setup.

Is anyone else using an adapater with the Prolific chip?

I have other usb/serial adapters but unfortunately I bought them a long time ago and I've lost all the driver cd's and I can't seem to fnd one that works for any of them.

[riverrats97]

Just my opinion but with the serial port working that's the only thing I'd want to use. Since the software was originally designed for it I wouldn't want to add the risk of any type of adapter, even known good configurations like the PCMCIA serial adapter. It's just adding the risk, however small, that the adapter could have even a slight hiccup while communicating with the ECU.

[flyfishvt]

The problem is I have a Dell D600 series laptop and I'll never get it to auto detect my car because of the way Dell installed the serial ports on these D600 units. So I'm just trying to get a USB adapter working.

[riverrats97]

Ah that explains it. Is it an option for you to sell the D600 and upgrade to a D610/D620/D630? In the next week or two I'll be putting up a FS thread for 4 D630's that I'm in the process of testing and upgrading to be used for DIS if you'd be interested in one, or you can find used D630's & D620's in their original condition for as low as $100 on eBay and D610's for a little less. Only one of mine are reserved for a forum member at the moment. Upgrading from the D600 would be the way to go IMO so that you have 100% working COM1 serial port hardware.

[flyfishvt]

I have a D610 and I was told it was an issue on all Dell D600 laptops. 610,620 etc. This issue is pin 9 is not connected and pin 9 is apparently where the "ignition" signal is supposed to go. I just got this one last weekend. I have it all up and running just fine. I'm just trying to get auto detect to work.

[riverrats97]

Just the D600 is unusable junk. The D610 (and I believe the D620 as well) may occasionally have minor issues. The D630's are perfect. The auto-detect issue might be solved by using a file that forum member David MC modified for the D600's. Can't recall the file name off-hand as I've never used it, but I think I can find it in a subscribed thread.

ads32.dll is the file. David Mc modified it but it might only be for D600's, I'm not entirely sure. Most, if not all, people that I've seen with D610's and D620's say they can use all the dealer software and have zero issues. Perhaps there are some settings you can change that will do the trick. In any case, if you search for that on here I'm sure the info/instructions/etc will come up as well as David Mc's download link on 4shared. If I were near a computer I'd check myself but can't right now. Just make sure that it's not only for the D600. I believe David Mc also has a guide for configuring these laptops if you hadn't seen that already.

[flyfishvt]

Thanks. The info I got on the Dell laptops was from the INPA FAQ file. It gives a few workarounds and one is to use a USB adapter. I just posted another thread on my ADS adapter. I think its configured wrong. As soon as I confirm the ADS adapter is wired correctly I'll move forward with the rest of this.

I have a D630 for work that I love but its company owned and I cant install this stuff on it. That's why I got the D610....$95 and its got XP Pro and Office.

[riverrats97]

Hard drives take ~ 1 min to swap in those laptops if you'd be comfortable having your own hard drive to use in the D630 and swapping between the work HD and your own HD with the software installed. But that would just be something to consider if things don't pan out with the D610. Since you just got the dedicated D610 of course you'd want it working 100%. What cable do you have? Have you heard of Gert's ADS cable here on the forums?