Com Port

[MaceyVRS]

Couple of problems when selecting COM port on VAG-COM....Yesterday it let me select COM 4 and VAG-COM worked fine but today all it will let me select is COM 3 and nothing works at all on it, I haven't paid for software licence yet and reluctant too until I am sure that it works ok. Can anyone help??

[Theresias]

Our original interface hardware doesn't use virtual/fluctuating serial/com ports, you'd just select USB and work with it. In your case you may want to contact the seller of your hardware which is most likely responsible for your problems.

[edwardob]

this is a common issue...on the forums many times....you've managed to get it working so that's a bonus....it's a pain changing port all the time.
couple of reasons for this....i assume it's an ebay version or similiar of the cable...
windows xp....will handle differently than vista.....the port is been used by something else...
i found vista not to work to easily with these versions.

you might have to experiment with your operating system to make it fix to one port.

or simply just change it each time you use it[a pain]

the reasons you get answers like the last one is because of some are selling or involved in the product...but sadly they don't help,but actualy know the answer...which is really not in sync with this forum
i quote" This site was created to become a resource of information for Skoda owners, and a community of people that share information and assist each other"

[DGW]

Originally Posted by edwardob

the reasons you get answers like the last one is because of some are selling or involved in the product...but sadly they don't help,but actualy know the answer...which is really not in sync with this forum
i quote" This site was created to become a resource of information for Skoda owners, and a community of people that share information and assist each other"

I assume that you mean Ross-Tech, without whom VAG-COM software would not exist?! Do you seriously expect them to support third party interfaces, one at least of which enable users to make full use of VAG-COM software without paying a licence fee?

[skudmissile]

Originally Posted by edwardob

]

the reasons you get answers like the last one is because of some are selling or involved in the product...but sadly they don't help,but actualy know the answer...which is really not in sync with this forum
i quote" This site was created to become a resource of information for Skoda owners, and a community of people that share information and assist each other"

Yes but its vag com who spend all the money developing a product only to find that rip off companys are making copys and selling them much cheaper.

Why the hell would anyone expect ross tech to help someone who hasnt purchased something from them.. Its like buying some eggs from asda and taking them back to morrisons to complain they were rotten

I however have a third party interface, but i like to think that i am supporting ross tech as i am a fully paid up liecenced software member.

I only got the third party interface as money is abit tight at the moment, and i certainly wouldnt expect any support from ross tech with my 3rd party lead.

As soon as i can afford ill be buying a genuine cable, because its a bloody brill product and has already saved me a fortune in dealer repair bills

p,s i needs help coding in the fuel gauge


John

[edwardob]

i perfectly undestand ross tech position.......but as i said "which is really not in sync with this forum
i quote" This site was created to become a resource of information for Skoda owners, and a community of people that share information and assist each other"

if your not going to assist ..better to say nothing!!

[VRStu]

Sebastian does provide excellent support to members of this and many other forums. Quite obviously this does have commercial interests however his courteous and constructive advice is not normally provided with financial gain in mind but merely to support users and owners of the software. What he doesn't do is support Third party copies of the cable, which I think is perfectly acceptable.

Whilst I appreciate that you and many others have had success in making these devices work, please don't do or say anything that may jeopardise our very fortunate position.

[MaceyVRS]

All I wanted was some help from anyone who may have experienced a similar problem themselves.

As it happens I have looked through a few other threads and found the answer to my problem.....Just had to change a couple of settings on my laptop and it works fine now

As I know that it works fine now I shall be purchasing the software licence so that I can make full use of VAG-COM and, should I find it to be of great use to me I shall go to Ross-Tech and buy a genuine interface so that I can have the current, most up-to-date version of VAG-COM.

Thank you

[edwardob]

excellent!!!!!that's what these forum are for!.....and the bonus is that ross tech are going to benefit at the end of it all!
see the bigger picture lads.......ebay is not competiton..just a starting point for beginners
help these new ones get started is the best advert you can get!

[bearthebruce]

Uhh... why do you think we have the shareware versions available?

The reason we do not help with the 3rd party interfaces is that we do not know the hardware you buy. Exactly how do you expect us to know the answers for those products? Should we go out and buy them so we can support their install for you?

Why don't they participate here and help all you guys? Why do they hide and not bother to assist? Could it be that the cost of doing so is prohibitive and all they really want to do is make money off of someone else's engineering? Is it possible that they don't love Vdubs as others do?

I am the Director of Operations for Ross-Tech. There are few companies left in this world who have the attitude of Uwe Ross, owner of Ross-Tech. This man is passionate about his love for Vdubs and he passionate about wanting to support the worldwide Vdub community. A product of the level of VAG-COM should retail for $10K yet he makes it available to you for $100. For you to come along and make the comments made here is a slap in the face.

We'll do as you asked. Since we won't help with the installation of 3rd party cables, we'll keep our mouths shut in the future.

[edwardob]

the man simply asked for computer help........the answer he got did'nt help...so why answer if your not going to help...that's all i'm saying.!!!!
most people who get ebay versions end up buying original anyway....i did!
if some asked for genuine vag com help then by all means answer....that's what they paid for.

sooner or later someone will come up with alternative ......in business if you make one customer happy...you gain four customer.

i'm flattered that one idiot like me will make you run away from forums...one britskodian like me in thousands with an observation[opinion] has such an effect.i think i'll run for president...
lighten up it's only a forum!!!

[Theresias]

I feel really sorry that my reply had caused such a discussion and resulted in people starting arguing about stuff that didn't really help either.

The original idea when I posted my comment was to make clear that the VAG-COM internal USB setting is not meant to be used with 3rd party hardware, this was intended to help the topic creator since he wouldn't continue searching for a solution at that point. Additionally my statement contained a note that the manufacturer/seller is the person this question should be asked since nobody here has a real clue what has been bought and what the most common problems with that specific hardware are.

Based on our experience with 3rd party hardware there are many different problems which we have seen users ran into. It started with incompatible drivers which manufacturers/sellers delivered their product with, we also saw enough cases where there were no drivers at all delivered with the product. Especially with this knowledge my original statement about VAG-COM's USB function and 3rd party interfaces implies that our USB drivers are not compatible with 3rd party hardware either which leads again to contacting the manufacturer/seller for proper drivers. Of course one can always try and search for the drivers oneself, depending on ones computer skills that may be tricky though.

To understand why the drivers and also their setup is important one needs to know what happens on the way from the control module to the PC. A control module talks on a serial communication basis, while USB is packet based. the conversion from serial (control module) to USB adds some latency to the communication which is in principle a bad thing, so one tries to keep this latency as low as possible. Depending on the interface hardware and USB components being used this will work either good or create problems with certain control modules which totally dislike high latency's. As most people here already know 3rd party USB interface use a virtual serial (COM/RS232) port, so an additional point is being added to the conversion and now it's serial (control module) to USB to serial (virtual com port). Of course higher latency included and hard to avoid. Some drivers do have special latency setting which one can try to tweak, others don't.

Most virtual com port drivers try settle themselves as low as possible, but if a PC already has it's 1st 4 ports used (i.e. by a modem or a cellphone cable) the driver will reserver a port higher than 4. Since VAG-COM doesn't allow using any port higher than 4, the user may need to alter the port number manually in the driver options. Another point where certain computer knowledge is helpful and the untrained user already gets frustrated because this is getting complicated.

We have seen a couple of other problems which are really hard to figure out unless you know what to look for and what specific hardware you are using. So what I would suggest to end future discussions like this is to make sort of a FAQ for 3rd party interfaces, known problems & issues and their solutions.

Maybe this reply was more helpful and brings a little piece in here.

[DGW]

A very helpful reply, Sebastian. Thankyou.

[edwardob]

that answer is why this is a great forum and website!

[Gizmo68]

Actually it says more for Ross Tech's great CS (even when they aren't their customer!)

Personally i think they should be applauded for even spending any of there time trying to rectify a 3rd party's problem.

Think about it, you design a product, a 'competitor' then rips off your idea, sells their own cable to a Mr. Green, that is not 100% compatible with the software you designed and then when there is a problem Mr. Green comes back to you for advice!!
then rather than giving the appropriate response of Ross Tech then try to help out.

I like everyone like a bargain (eBay too), but this was the reason i bought a genuine Ross Tech cable rather than a £20 copy.