I am now looking into getting the aldl connector from Dodgerunner, downloading the software and purchase a used laptop with a serial port to evaluate the engine in my 85 gt.

I wanted to know which Microsoft operating system was required for this. Also what is a good laptop, I never owned a laptop?
Sparx22

WinALDL does not require a lot of computing power. Probably an old Pentium II laptop with Windows 98 will work.

I use an old Pentium III Dell Latitude, running XP Pro, but just about any old (read "cheaper") laptop will work.
I don't care too much for the consumer grade Dell stuff, though. (The Latitude is a business model. A bit more rugged.)
If I was going to seek out a laptop and had a number of choices, an HP or Dell Latitude would be my first choice. Toshiba would be second.
Don't care much for Compaq, NEC or IBM. (Just personal preference.)

I have an old Dell C800. It is a PIII 850 MHZ sporting Windows XP Pro. Worked great. Dodgerunner's cable worked right out of the box.
I built the Dell from scrap parts off of E-Bay. I have about $100.00 in it. The new battery was half of that.

I use Winaldl with Win98 and XP.

I'm sure I could get it to work with Vista but don't have any hardware at home that meets the spec to even load Vista being the hog that it is...

You can get a $20 laptop that will run 98 and it would work just fine.

I run WinALDL with Win98SE on an ancient Toshiba Satellite Pro 430CDS utilizing a powerful... P 120 MHz processor.

Works great! .......

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 12-28-2008).]

quote Originally posted by Dodgerunner: I use Winaldl with Win98 and XP. I'm sure I could get it to work with Vista but don't have any hardware at home that meets the spec to even load Vista being the hog that it is... You can get a $20 laptop that will run 98 and it would work just fine.

I can get a laptop for $20.00?
I have built several desktop computers but not a lap top, can't be any harder just need parts.

TY all for the info.
Who got a cheap laptop for sale?

[This message has been edited by sparx22 (edited 12-28-2008).]

craigslist you can find a like 500mhz system w/ OS for cheap im sure.

I've run winaldl and a obd2 program and adapter on 33 mhz 486 system with w95 and 32 meg of ram.
if you can run w95 or better on a laptop, you can run winaldl. I have a couple of old lappies laying around that need batteries, but run fine on ac adapter. maybe I should sort em out nd put them up in the mall. batteries are the problem with older laptops tho. ou either can;t get em or they are more than the laptop is worth.

Sent you several PM's with ebay laptops. Depends on the power you want or just of using on a Fiero.

quote Originally posted by tjm4fun: I've run winaldl and a obd2 program and adapter on 33 mhz 486 system with w95 and 32 meg of ram.

Whoa... I feel like I'm running a Quad-Core here now.

quote Originally posted by Patrick: I run WinALDL with Win98SE on an ancient Toshiba Satellite Pro 430CDS utilizing a powerful... P 120 MHz processor.

quote Originally posted by Dodgerunner: Sent you several PM's with ebay laptops. Depends on the power you want or just of using on a Fiero.

Got them
Ty

im using winaldl on a thinkpad 1.6ghz pentium M.....
its my normal laptop, takes abuse well, and it works perfect for streaming music from my wimax card and dataloging

I have tried to use winaldl on my laptop which is running vista :/ was a while ago so maybe there is a update because i was never getting the data from the cable to the laptop. I think the serial port adaptor i have had a vista driver issue or some crap. Stick with XP if you can life is much easier !

I just checked on this last week.

Win ALDL runs on any 32 bit windows os, (Win95 or higher), there is an issue with USB adapters, WinALDL and the adapter drivers don't play nice, so its best to get a laptop with serial ports.

As for building your own laptop, there was a company that you could buy a bare bones laptop for around $100 and then get the mem, HD, and cd/dvd drive you wanted. You then had to install those parts yourself. The company was profiled in an issue of MaximumPC a few years ago, but when that issue came out in print the company had stoped offering the bare bones system.

Nick

WinALDL works by looking directly at specific pins in the physical serial port, this requires that the application, WinALDL, has direct control of the serial port hardware (the chip on the motherboard that actually handles the voltage conversion at the pins). Operating systems from XP and up add a software layer between an application such as WinALDL and the actual physical serial port hardware, frequently preventing WinALDL from functioning. The same issue exists when using a USB to Serial adapter on laptops that don't have a physical serial port; these laptops frequently can't be made to work with WinALDL.

JazzMan

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: WinALDL works by looking directly at specific pins in the physical serial port, this requires that the application, WinALDL, has direct control of the serial port hardware (the chip on the motherboard that actually handles the voltage conversion at the pins). Operating systems from XP and up add a software layer between an application such as WinALDL and the actual physical serial port hardware, frequently preventing WinALDL from functioning. The same issue exists when using a USB to Serial adapter on laptops that don't have a physical serial port; these laptops frequently can't be made to work with WinALDL. JazzMan

odd... i use a serial adapter, and it works just fine...

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: WinALDL works by looking directly at specific pins in the physical serial port, this requires that the application, WinALDL, has direct control of the serial port hardware (the chip on the motherboard that actually handles the voltage conversion at the pins). Operating systems from XP and up add a software layer between an application such as WinALDL and the actual physical serial port hardware, frequently preventing WinALDL from functioning. The same issue exists when using a USB to Serial adapter on laptops that don't have a physical serial port; these laptops frequently can't be made to work with WinALDL. JazzMan

That's why I started building my cables with a dual voltage source to power the cable.
It can use the power from the laptop port or from the fuel pump power if the laptop port does not supply power on it's pin 4.
As long at the USB adapter allows the data through to Winaldl it should work. (in theory)

[This message has been edited by Dodgerunner (edited 04-28-2009).]

quote Originally posted by the reverend: I just checked on this last week. As for building your own laptop, there was a company that you could buy a bare bones laptop for around $100 and then get the mem, HD, and cd/dvd drive you wanted. You then had to install those parts yourself. The company was profiled in an issue of MaximumPC a few years ago, but when that issue came out in print the company had stoped offering the bare bones system. Nick

I built mine from Dell "C" series parts. In have their repair manuel. The C800 & C810 share most all of the same parts and memory . The main difference was the C810's had a 1 Gig or better PIII, the C800's were 750 -900 mhz P III. The C840 looks like the others, but it is different inside, PIII 1.2 or above. Different memory needed also.

I look for "Dead" ones on E-Bay. Most folks dont know that if a laptop dont come on to the BIOS, often time you just need to remove and reinsert the memory. I have saved 4 just by playing with the memory stick. Dead ones often sell for dirt cheap, and sometimes with the charger.
Joe Crawford