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I would say if it was working before, it's definitely com ports.
There is a very specific set of COM ports you must use for it to work. For example you need DAS to be looking at COMx within the VM session, then VMware needs to redirect that to COMx which is a 'physical' serial port on your machine.
Get either of these settings wrong, and things won't work. I believe the serial port speed and baud rate/parity plays a part too.
I looked around and finally found a post with the settings when mine wouldn't work. There is also some kind of test program in your DAS image (I think it's called CAESAR) that will tell you if the com ports are wrong. It isnt' too helpful in fixing things, but it will tell you if DAS can communicate with the multiplexer or not.
Also you have the ignition in the II position right? (I being accessory, II being run, III being start). All the lights on your dash should be on, and if you were to turn the key one more notch, the car would start. It needs to be there or DAS won't work properly. I don't believe the C3 is powered up by OBDII unless the car is in II or III position.
Thanks for taking the time to help guys--I know it is very difficult by remote control. At least I'm learning all of the details of the system throughout all of this. I am testing with the ignition on and I am matching the com ports (all Com1 in this case) but I'll try reseting them and see what happens. I'll get there but it sure is frutrating.
Thanks for taking the time to help guys--I know it is very difficult by remote control. At least I'm learning all of the details of the system throughout all of this. I am testing with the ignition on and I am matching the com ports (all Com1 in this case) but I'll try reseting them and see what happens. I'll get there but it sure is frutrating.
What do you mean by 'matching' the Com ports?
One port is what DAS is 'connected' to in VMWare. So VMWare is creating a 'fake' port and DAS connects to that.
The second port is what your laptop 'connects' to the physical port on the back of your machine.
Are you saying they're both the same? They probably shouldn't be. There are values that both of them need to be set to. I'm sure mine are not the same at all.
For example, DAS will only run if set to a certain com port. That's the one you should have 'inside' VMWare.
It's also important to know which version or VMWare software he's using. Sometimes you have to allow the VM host to delegate control of certain hardware (i.e. CD-ROM, Sound, etc) and updates to the program or VM itself can wipe these out.
The best way to think of VMware is that it's a bubble. Things inside the bubble and outside the bubble may be connected, but they may be called different things.
VMware sessions run inside the bubble, and the bubble runs on your laptop.
COM1 inside the bubble (that DAS thinks is a serial port) may be called COM2 outside. In that case, COM2 is connected to the physical serial port of the machine.
The key thing to remember is that there needs to be a relationship between COM1 (inside the bubble) and COM2 (outside the bubble) in my example above. If not, DAS will break as it can't connect to the physical serial port.
As RobCL mentions, this could even change based on the VMware version..VMware can get involved in adjusting things inside the bubble if you let it.
I would say if it was working before, it's definitely com ports.
There is a very specific set of COM ports you must use for it to work. For example you need DAS to be looking at COMx within the VM session, then VMware needs to redirect that to COMx which is a 'physical' serial port on your machine.
Get either of these settings wrong, and things won't work. I believe the serial port speed and baud rate/parity plays a part too.
I looked around and finally found a post with the settings when mine wouldn't work. There is also some kind of test program in your DAS image (I think it's called CAESAR) that will tell you if the com ports are wrong. It isnt' too helpful in fixing things, but it will tell you if DAS can communicate with the multiplexer or not.
Also you have the ignition in the II position right? (I being accessory, II being run, III being start). All the lights on your dash should be on, and if you were to turn the key one more notch, the car would start. It needs to be there or DAS won't work properly. I don't believe the C3 is powered up by OBDII unless the car is in II or III position.
It looks like there are about 3 places where you can check and set the com ports--on the host computer, on the virtual machine settings as well as the device manager on windows of the virtual machine. I noticed that setting one will usually change the other as well. I also ran the diagnostics and all it does is show a communication error. I suspected the USB adapter for the serial interface, but I borrowed a laptop with the serial port and it made no difference. If anyone has one up and running with a USB hdd, I'd love to know what your com settings are when it is running. I suppose it could be a hardware issue but I'm suspecting software. What's frustrating is that when I got it, all I did is plug it all together and it worked. The second time it wouldn't. I may have screwed something up in the settings--who knows. Thanks again everyone !
I have a question. I want to change the speed limitation, but I wonder whether the normal mb star can do it. It is cheaper than super one, and can the super mb star can change speed?
I looking to get a C4, HD and cables. I have been looking at Alibaba and there are plenty of sellers. I want to ask for seller recommendations and how you paid them.
The ones I have email with are asking about $520 delivered to the US. They are asking for a money order or what is called T/T. I don't really feel comfortable just sending money to China so have anyone any suggestions on how to handle payment? I am thinking about some kind of escrow service.
I don't really feel comfortable just sending money to China...
I took a leap of faith and purchased an item from China 9 years ago. Since then I have purchased goods on 6 other occasions, including $1000 for a Star Diagnosis kit back in '08. I have never experienced any problems.
I took a leap of faith and purchased an item from China 9 years ago. Since then I have purchased goods on 6 other occasions, including $1000 for a Star Diagnosis kit back in '08. I have never experienced any problems.
I found a seller that accepts Paypal so I went that route.
I found a seller that accepts Paypal so I went that route.
Is there anyone in the Phoenix area that has a Star Computer? I'm still having trouble with mine and suspect the cable to the multiplexer, but it would be great to compare software and cables to get to the bottom of why mine won't work anymore.
I keep hearing that if you have a 2009 and earlier car, the C3 version is the way to go. If you have a 2010 and above the C4 is the way to go. The C4 allows either wireless connectivity to/from the Multiplexor or RJ45 Ethernet wired connectivity to/from the multiplexor.
@ next2pool
Mercedes Benz star c4 and star c3 ( with Moveable Hard Disk) have to work with a computer that is serial port.
If your computer is not serial port, use PCMCIA TO RS232
With regards to the slowness of the VM external HDD solution I take it that is mainly due to the slow throughput of the USB connection.
Has anyone run the VM natively on a SSD based laptop with a USB to Serial converter to connect to the MUX. I guess this also allows you to keep a backup of the software on the external HDD and with VMWare you can stop the VM from accessing the Internet.
Also with a C4 do we no longer need a serial port as it is we now have Wifi and Ethernet connections to the laptop?
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