camz383

I am in need of an older laptop with a 9 pin serial port on it... as long as it works right and is not slow as molassas (sp) i will take it...
Just looking for a laptop to use tuning software on, nothing special...

nothingeined

They have adapters now where you can turn the serial cable to USB if that is what you are looking to do. Just a thought.

camz383

yea except ive tried two on my laptop and neither would work

nothingeined

Did you try all of USB ports? Did you load the drivers correctly? What type of Windows you running?

camz383

i tried 2 or the 3 usb ports and still nothing, i believe i did install the driver correctly? this is what i sent to andrew, let me know what you think

I recently bought an ALDL cable from you and the usb adapter from you guys also. Well I have installed the usb adapter and everything then I went to test com on Datamaster and it said it passed and pcm detected, but when I try to run Datamaster it says "no pcm sync, recycling"

So then I went out and bought Radio Shack's usb adapter and when I go to test com it says "The ALDL adapter is working, and unknown data was detected. This may be an unsupported PCM type" Does anyone have any answers to this?

troywg

I work at a local computer store and I here that the USB to Serial port conversion rarely works. I have been suggesting to people that they try a PCMCIA card that gives them a serial port. This is a way to create a port instead of trying to convert one. We sell them for about $50 at our store, so they are probably a little more expensive than the adapters you have been trying. It's worth a try atleast.
I have an old 486 notebook I am getting ready to drop into my car. I can check the store for an older notebook if you are interested - give me a price you are looking to spend.

camz383

i'm looking to spend no more than 150, i dont need anything special, just something that will help me with tuning... thanks for the advice, does places like office max sell those cards>?

camz383

well shoot i just realized your only like a 1.25 hrs away from me... i can come pick it up if you find me one...
also if i go to a computer store, what should i ask for, a PCMCIA serial card or something?

troywg

I don't believe office max would, you might try best buy but I'm not real sure. I could ship you out one - the ones here are $55 + Shipping. It's just a PCMCIA Serial Card. Adds a serial port (RS232) to Notebook Computers. This one is a Manhattan Mercury Card. I'd just hate to ship one to you and then find out that it doesn't work and have to ship it back. I'll check around for a notebook for you.

gb95zconv

This is what you need for a newer laptop. If you want a older laptop with a serial port dont get anything less than a P2 166. Check Ebay.

camz383

p2 166? too much computer lingo for me ... but does that pcmcia card work with windows xp?

simple

if you have a Staples store around you, they usually have excellent deals on used laptops, not quite $150 but i picked up a HP Pavilion for $500 2 years old with all kinds of goodies installed plus all the bells and whistles
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something to look into maybe

camz383

Yea I have a staples, but i was just looking for a very basic old laptop only enough to run programming software on it... I have a brand new hp laptop, and dont really want to spend more than the $150 or so on another one... thanks though, i may check that out

gb95zconv

Yes

troywg

Yes, it's designed for Windows 9X or Windows 2000 or Windows XP