Welcome to BMW World. My world.

I’m sure most of you have encountered this problem: you have a serial device that continuously sends data (such as a serial GPS) and Windows XP detects is as a serial device upon start-up. My I-Bus adapter usually does that.
As a result, Windows installs a serial mouse driver, the actual device stops working as it should and the mouse cursor behaves erratically (as the device is obviously NOT sending mouse data).

From a plethora of solutions all over the Internet, I found only 3 that actually seem to work.

Solution 1 – disable serial mouse in Device Manager
Boot Windows XP as usual. Windows installs the serial mouse driver and the cursor gets crazy. After the system finishes booting, unplug the serial device. The mouse cursor should return to normal. Open Device Manager (Start / Control Panel / System / Hardware / Device manager), expand the branch labeled ‘Mice and other pointing devices’ and there you will find the false serial mouse. Do not uninstall it, as it will be detected again upon restart. Simply disable it. Windows will remember not to use that device again.
Plug back the serial device and restart Windows.

Solution 2 – edit boot.ini file
Open boot.ini with your favorite text editor (it should be in the root of your C: drive, sometimes hidden as it is a system file). Find a line similar to multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Professional” and add /fastdetect to the end of the line. This should turn off serial mouse detection on all com ports. You can also use /fastdetect:comx (where x=actual com number) to disable detection on specific com port. You can find the details here. Note that various workarounds on the web suggest using /NoSerialMouse or /NOSERIALMICE instead. This switches will not work as they were created for Windows NT / 2000 and are not allowed in Windows XP.
Save the modified boot.ini file and reboot.

Solution 3 – Microsoft COMDIsable tool
Apparently the 2 solutions above do not work in 100% cases, so the guys at MS have come with their own solution, called COMDisable. It’s a small application designed for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP and Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later that allow you to turn off serial mouse detection via command line.
comdisable /list will list all available com ports with their status
comdisable /disable COMPortNumber or comdisable /enable COMPortNumber will disable/enable a specific com port you select.
After running the command, simply restart the PC.

As I said before, some of those solutions may not work for a particular case. The good thing is they can be applied all together, in succession. This way I am sure you can leave this annoying serial mouse problem behind for good (as I did).

When we talk about computers I bet we talk about the heart first, so guess what? The first thing I am considering is the CPU. Decision, decision, decision…. ugh…. Continue reading »

Coming back to those pesky RGsB signals, it’s time for the heavy artillery!
I managed to borrow a digital scope from a friend for a weekend so we’re back in business baby!

Continue reading »

This project is taking way too long and I am getting bored to death of my local radio stations with their every 20mins commercials and poor DJ jokes so it’s time for a quick fix: a FM encoder.

Continue reading »

Contains Technical Information System (TIS)…this includes technical literature of repair manuals (from E36), Service Information Bulletins (from 1988), Technical Reference Information Bulletins (from 1988), Technical Data, Tightening Torques It uses a 486DX2/50MHz running on a UNIX based operating system. Monitor is a touch screen type. 500mb hard drive, one 3 & 1/2″ floppy disc drive. Two CD ROM drives. Two Future expansion slots. Contains backup batteries, Air conditoning unit, printer, MoDiC station, and various diagnostic cables.

BMW group tester one (GT1) is the special-purpose tool of BMW Series.

Gt1 is supplied with a Pentium based laptop PC on a Windows platform connected to a high specification communications and measurement interface.

GT1 has complete coverage of ALL BMW systems. Many of the original electronic systems on modern vehicles can now be re programmed using software; historically any changes to rectify software problems would involve a new ECU which would be purchased from the parts department . The BMW GT1 system allows the programming of all BMW car ECU’s to fix software or to install a blank ECU to a repaired vehicle. GT1 is also the only system that provides all diagnostics and programming for the very latest BMWs.

BMW GT1 software kit comprises of five system, TIS system. DIS data system ;diagnosis system. Measuring system and manangement system. You can to test and check data information same time in GT1

Test function; Read faulty code, clear faulty code, data stream, activate state, programming, component test, maintenance data information, components location, wiring diagram etc, TIS AND DIS ARE include all of the system diagrams of all of BMW cars, Components location, maintenance methods and coding information.

This diagnostic equipment is manufactured by Seimens as a part of their SDIS Diagnostic and Information System. This is the most complete system tester for BMW’s. It reads and resets faults, reads component values, triggers components (actuator test), substitutes values, identifies computer hardware and software, performs coding and programs computers. It is also integrated into the service writers program and the parts department ordering programs. It covers all systems found in the car that can be accessed by electronic means. New versions have a satelite uplink for updating information and programs. The tool can be usually bought only by authorised dealer.

As they say, first things first. The main problem I hit was the video signal. Continue reading »

The idea of building a carPC for my E38 has been bothering me for quite some time. The fact that, as weather gets colder, my CD-changer starts to show its age by refusing the CDs one by one, is a good fuel for this burning idea. Last winter, to conclude, it had failed me completely by not recognizing ANY kind of CD. Carefully opening it and painstakingly cleaning the lens did not help.

“Well, it’s time to put that wide display to a new use, it’s time for a carPC!” I told myself. “It has been standing there far too long showing only some uninteresting OBC data”. Continue reading »