HAND HELD HALO DATALOGGING
There are a number of reasons why the software may be unable to establish and maintain a connection.
Please check the following in the order they are listed:
1. Is your car listed on the relevant compatibility list? Please check the product listing to confirm compatibility. If not, did you check compatibility with HHHD before ordering?
2. Please ensure the datalogging cable is securely in place and connected correctly in accordance with the instructions provided on your accompanying Hand Held Halo Datalogging CD. If you have the Serial OBDI Kit, when fitting the short length cable, please double check the position and orientation of the 12-PIN OBDI port before connecting the spade connectors. The spade connectors must be firmly pushed onto the correct pins. Occasionally it is possible to assume you have pushed the spades on correctly but the OBDI pins are in fact gently trapped between the spades outer plastic cover and the spade connector itself. There is a reassuringly firm and secure feel to the connection when it has been made correctly.
3. Is the battery fully charged as the ECU requires power and under low charge conditions the ECU will fail to maintain a consistent connection?
4. Please ensure the ignition is on and any immobilisation is off when trying to connect?
5. Please ensure at least one sensor is selected at all times otherwise the software will auto-disconnect?
6. Do you run any Pocket PC/Palm Desktop managers or any other serial devices as they may need to be disabled to correctly free up the com port and avoid conflicts?
7. Our Software will only work with USB->Serial adapters that support the vehicles baud rate. Baud rate compatible USB->Serial adapters are available separately from our online store.
8. Is your ECU completely standard? If you are running piggy-back devices or redline modifying chips our software may fail to establish a connection as these devices can change the communication baud rate. Our
OBDI and Hybrid OBDII Software have timing options in the Preferences Dialogue to allow for the most common ECU overclocking modifications but if your ECU is running at a different baud rate our software will not connect.
9. If the connection problem remains unresolved our OBDII Software has the facility to create an error log. By default logging will already be switched on so when you next run the program as long as you have everything connected correctly a transaction log will be created of the attempted connection. Simply use the automated Tech Support option on the Help drop-down to email the log to us. If at all possible please create and email at least 2 error logs. To do this simply close the program and then open it again and email the newly created log from the Help menu.
10. If you have a USB Datalogging Cable and Windows allocates a Com Port above 10, the software will not connect to the ECU? To check this please open the Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager/Ports and then plug your cable into the USB Port. You should see a new Com Port appear stating "USB Serial Port (Com xx). If it is above Com 10 or above 20 for our standard OBDII Software please see below for information on how to clear available com ports.
11. If you are still unable to connect after trying all of the suggestions above, please contact us quoting the connection error message that you receive?
Your new software is copy protected to prevent the illegal sale and distribution by unauthorised 3rd parties. The product is therefore shipped as a disabled Demo with only 3 active sensors. In order to activate the full product you must enter your registration details and activation code exactly as supplied. You might find it easier to accurately cut-and-paste the details into the Registration dialogue. To confirm or view your registration details, select the ‘View Registration Details’ from the ‘Help’ menu. If this dialogue appears blank your product has not been successfully registered. Point (2) below is the most common reason for an Invalid Code Message, so please delete any space characters from the end of either the name or activation code fields. Also please make sure you are copying everything after the colon. If you are using Windows Vista, Win7/8/10 please refer to points (4) and (5). If using a 64-bit Operating System please also consider points 6 & 7 although full compatibility with newer Tablet PC's has not been confirmed:
1. The datalogging cable must be disconnected before attempting to register the software.
2. Occasionally due to its length the activation code is split over two lines. The line break can insert an unwanted space character which must be deleted.
3. If you have any low-level windows security settings, anti-virus programs or anti-spyware please try disabling them before registering.
4. You must have full administrator permissions to successfully register the software. If you are logged into Windows Vista/Win7/Win8/Win10 as an Administrator, it may still be necessary to change the session permissions of the program. To do this, simply right mouse button click on the HHHD Desktop icon and select the Properties->Compatibility tab. Tick "Run Program As Administrator". If this doesn't work please go to the "Compatibility" tab again and tick "Run Program in Compatibility Mode" and choose WinXP Service Pack 3 from the drop down menu.
5. If all the above fails please restart your computer in SAFE MODE and register the product. This will always work on PC's running Windows Vista and Win7/8/10.
6. Our software is fully compatible with all versions of Windows except CE & 64-bit versions. If you are running a 64-bit Windows OS please see point (7) below.
7. If running a 64-bit OS, please use the very latest drivers from the UPDATES section of the forum and activate in Administrator Mode. You may also need to run the software in Administrator mode.
Once the program has been successfully registered, I would recommend having a quick read of the User Manuals, Quick Start Tutorial which explains how to get started from selecting extra sensors in the "NEW" Profile dialogue to importing compare sessions.
Our software can only use a Com Port below 10. On occasionas your PC will have no available Serial Com Ports in this range i.e they are assigned to other devices. Serial Com Ports are generally paired 1 & 3 and 2 & 4. Not all serial or port handling devices free up the port when not in use and Windows will continue to assign a new com port for each additional device. These com port allocations can get into the 100's.
To check which Com ports have been assigned and used by Windows:
1. Go into the Control Panel and select System/Device Manager.
2. Click on Com Ports and then select Com 1 Properties with your right mouse button.
3. You should now see a number of tabs, click Port Settings/Advanced. Use the Com Port Number drop-down to see which com ports are in use by your PC.
4. If all your Com parts specify they are In-Use you will need to free some up by editing the Windows Registry which is unfortunately beyond our remit as it is Microsoft Windows issue however at your discretion you try the following:
There is a difference between hidden and nonpresent devices.
To see nonpresent devices in Device Manager, open a command prompt (Start/Run/Command):
C:\>set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
C:\>devmgmt.msc
Then on Device manager click | View | Show hidden" devices | and your nonpresent devices will appear. You can then delete nonpresent devices like an old USB adapter or USB storage.
To embed this environment variable permanently, open Control Panel->System Properties->Advanced tab-> Environment Variables (button)->System Variables->Edit and add the following line:
DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
5. It is sometimes possible to use a compatible Serial to USB Converter and force it to take a Com Port lower than 10, although this may prevent another serial device from working. If com ports are available in normal use our Software will typically show Coms 2, 4 or 5 in the drop down menu on the Connection Dialogue.
1. This is not a commonly reported issue but some owners who experienced this problem reported an improvement when they turned off Windows Updates in the Control Panel.
2. Another owner suggests the following which we would always recommend:
"In order for the HHH Datalogger to work under Windows Vista/Win7/Win8, you will have to install and register the HHH Software in Safe Mode. If you do this it will load and work fine. I have had no problems with my Laptop and it connects every time to my OBDI 1993 Stealth RT (Non Turbo)."
3. If using a HHHD Approved USB Adapter the issue may relate to Windows USB port handling. Another USB device driver may be creating a conflict with the HHHD Approved USB Adapter. The only way to really check this would be to uninstall any other USB device drivers and then clear out any assigned USB ports as described earlier in this FAQ. The only other thing to consider is whether there are any programs that are running at the time or are active in the background because they Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR).