looking to buy a star diagnostic reader for my 03 s600. which one? from who? with or without laptop? thank you in advance.

 

ebay? get C3 or C4 - cheaper if u have the laptop or sold bundled with a laptop

 

Found it WAYYYY cheaper at http://www.dhgate.com/.

Keith

 

+1megamillions Keith

also too guys, u could control star remotely via logmein.com on your device itouch/ipad if its collecting dust, thanks to oxygen for the idea - i do recommend to have a stable connection, u dont want any mishaps in values of actuators lolol

 

+1megamillions Keith

also too guys, u could control star remotely via logmein.com on your device itouch/ipad if its collecting dust, thanks to oxygen for the idea - i do recommend to have a stable connection, u dont want any mishaps in values of actuators lolol
thanks guys, will the c4 work with any laptop?

 

theres like 50 of them for sale with different prices, which is the right one?

 

Just look for the Star C3 that comes with multiplexer, all the cables, WIS, DAS, and EPC. I found one for $288.

Keith

 

and any laptop with a "db9" aka serial connection (9-pin, NOT vga 15-pin) - do NOT use serial to USB adapters!!!

 

i thought only the c4 works with any laptop using the db9 connector?

 

sorry yeah i made it sound confusing, but pretty much what i meant..

 

what can this machine do , and how well it work. are they Chinese made?

 

USB to Serial RS232 Adapter with the FTDI Chipsets work. Just google it to find it.

 

I have a usb to serial converter "U232-P9" labeled " Tested to comply with FCC Standards for HOME or OFFICE use"

Think it would work?

 

Doubt it.

 

On closer inspection of all the wrapped parts received with the order,I found not only a cable for a DB9, but also another a cable to go from the C4 multiplexer to USB.

Of course there is no instructions, but it says Windows XP Professional required; I only have XP Home.

Any ideas?

thnx

 

These are the only instructions with it

 

7 - 11

 

12 - 15

 

I guess this is not hijacking a post, since the subject is the same.

After some previous posts, I will try to give my full history of getting a Chinese Star Diagnosis C4 system going; it is a painful process that is still not finished.

To start off: I have had tremendous help from Howard haoz129, who has had experience with the Star system, and is very capable of using it and fixing his car. See his thread at XXX (will update). Some of the following will be cut-and-paste from PMs we have had.

Beginning of this saga:
I already have a 2009 E350 4M, still under warranty, so I really cannot touch it. I also have a garage full of tools (too many), and know how to use them. I am now looking for a used S-Class, so I have something to play around with, and, I know you cannot do anything on these cars without a Star Diagnosis System (SDS).

Howard haoz129 has been kind enough to advise me on the source of such a system from China, which I ordered. His advise "If you can source IBM T30, for this computer the seller has pre-installed hard drive (system and software). Kind of plug and play. This is a fast route." - I ignored his advise, because I already have laptops of other makes. Stay tuned and read on.

I ordered the external HDD version instead, for which Howard cautioned:
"I see C4 works on all kinds of computers if you are going to run the Star on a Virtual Machine.
But to make it work in a Virture Machine the installation is bit more complex. If you are a computer guy than you are most likely fine.
That's why I mentioned IBM T30 which run Star natively without hassles about Virture Machine.

The two solutions come with different Hard Drive. Remember ask for the correct Hard Drive when you order." - well too late, I had already ordered (and paid).

The package arrived failry quick, with hardware of good quality, but with installation instructions and requirements in a PPT on the HDD that in principle excluded my Toshiba A110 laptop. See previous posts above.

Howard wasn't sure if any of this would work on my laptop, since it runs XP Home, but advised it wouldn't hurt anything if I tried. I did, and the installation of the Virtual Machine from the supplied hard disk worked, although not in the steps of the supplied PPT, but with many more iterations. Finally, to my surprise, everything came up in VM, and all the Star modules WIS, STAR UTILITIES, StFINDER etc.are working ok, except the XENTRY SIM and XENTRY; I get ‘NO ACCESS AUTHORIZATION CODE – PLEASE CONTACT THE SDS CENTER’.

There is no separate button for DAS, thus the unit is useless at this stage.

I then tried the Star C4 multiplexer (MUX) hook-up; since the Toshiba laptop has no DB9 connector, I first inquired about a USB/DB9 converter I have lying around, but most advise was it probably wouldn't work.
To my surprise I found in the cable package in addition to the DB9 - MUX a harness USB-to-MUX. With it connected, the host computer immediately recognized it as 'Future Systems Star C4 interface (or something like that) on COM2'. Nothing else is hooked up. Amazingly, the Virtual Machine player allows to switch this accessory between 'host' and 'VM Player'.

None of this of course is doing any good, because at this point XENTRY does not work, and DAS is not available.

Current status:
1) I have entered a DISPUTE with Alibaba (the seller/agent) about payment and rectification (i.e. give me software that is unlocked)
2) I have now played it safe and obtained a (cheap) IBM T30 (should have listened to Howard in the first place)
3) I have requested the seller to provide me the IBM T30 version of the software as a settlement (but I am not holding my breath here).

Stay tuned!

 

So all you need to do is get a SERIAL for the XENTRY. There is a forum online dedicated to this and gives you serials within the hour for free..

My XENTRY wasn't working either but I was happy with DAS. I got the serial and put it in and it worked fine. Ask your supplier for a serial..he has a keygen.

 

So I just got the C4 in the mail. I'm still waiting for the T30 to arrive from ebay. I did tell the seller that I'd be using a T30 with the C4. Is there something I should be looking for in the kit to know if it is the correct C4 to use with the T30?

I'm still figuring out how to hook all this stuff up and how to install the software onto the laptop.

Does anyone have any tips?

 

It's plug and play with the T30. One cable. No problems.

C4=Wireless.
C3=Wired.

My star computer is just sitting around. I might want to get rid of it. I have no use for it.

 

Easy to figure out: for the T30 it comes with a hard disk that you install in the laptop to replace the original.

BTW: The Chinese C3/C4 don't seem to be wireless, mine says C4 but is most certainly wired all the way laptop to Multiplexer to OBD plug.

Post a picture of your kit!

 

Have you guys had an issue with internal HDD not being recognize by computer? Thanks

 

I Purchased a Star C3 with external hard disk from seller carobd on DH Gate.
The only instructions were a powerpoint, it was written for an earlier software version. It was pretty much incorrect, incomplete and useless.

I installed the VMWare player from the hard disk, but the virtual machine on the hard disk would not run because it was created with a later version of VMWare player.

I've been trying to get help from the seller. They seem to not understand (or just ignore) the specific problems I outlined in my e-mails to them, and their replies were extremely slow. Now they seem to be just ignoring me completely.

I managed to get the software running, including Xentry.
I was able to make that happen either by using a newer version of VMWare player, or modifying the *.vmx config file to run on the older version supplied. (and getting the Xentry key)

I was able to establish communication with the multiplexer using a usb to rs232 adapter, but it was unreliable and the mux could not communicate with the control modules in the car.

Now I'm trying to use the computer's physical serial port, but I cannot get the guest machine's virtual com port to communicate with the host machine's physical com port. The ports are mapped correctly in the virtual machine settings, and they appear to connect, but an RS232 loopback test fails.

This project is really snakebit.