Lexia on win 10

[renagade]

Hi Guy's
Could some one help me please. I have a laptop running windows10 and want to get ride of win 10 and install win xp so as I can install my lexia . I am not all that computer savy so here i am asking for your help.
I have the xp disk and serial no.

[GiveMeABreak]

You're probably better off going for Windows 7 TBH - as support for XP has ended a while ago and you won't get any updates or patches now. You may be able to get the last XP service packs from the web, but not from microsoft anymore. Furthermore, if your laptop is quite new, you might not be able to get all the XP hardware drivers now - as support for this OS was stopped quite a while ago as I said above. This could leave your system non-funtional if you can't get the drivers for the chipset, graphics card, audio and any other peripherals your system has. At least Windows 7 is still supported for both software service packs and hardware drivers.

Your Lexia will work under Windows 7 (get the Professional version as a minimum, or Ultimate). If you don't have Windows 7 media, these can be downloaded free, but you will need to purchase a licence key if you don't already have one, for the correct version you want to install. You can purchase a key from companies disposing of old PC stock that use Volume Licencing keys, leaving the shipped OS key often unused.

I should add that although it is possible to get Diagbox to work under the 32bit version of Windows 10, you will need to be a bit IT savvy. I don't want to get too technical here as per your post, but it would mean being able to change the GPT partition to MBR - which will limit your hard drive supported capacity and number of partions. Secondly it would likely mean changing your Hard Drive controller from AHCI to IDE mode, which will degrade Hard drive performance, but would allow SATA drives to be compatible with this older standard.

Not doing this will likely cause Diagbox activation errors. So Windows 7 is IMHO your best bet. If you chance an XP install - you may get stuck trying to boot from XP media if the relevant drivers are not compatible with your system as I said - then you could end up with a non-functioning system.

[renagade]

Hi and thanks for that info. I have ordered win 7 pro. ( £10.00 ) and hopefully will be able to install it on my laptop. Then all I have to do is get me a Lexia program.

[GiveMeABreak]

Hi and thanks for that info. I have ordered win 7 pro. ( £10.00 ) and hopefully will be able to install it on my laptop. Then all I have to do is get me a Lexia program.

You'll need the Lexia hardware too of course!

[Hell Razor5543]

To make life easier, make sure to install the 32bit version of Windows 7. The Lexia system is so old it cannot work in a 64bit environment (unless it is running within a 32bit Virtual Machine).

[Gibbo2286]

I struggled a bit but I do have diagbox running on Windows 10..............but don't ask me how

[GiveMeABreak]

I struggled a bit but I do have diagbox running on Windows 10..............but don't ask me how

That's why it's a safer bet to avoid it unless you know what you are doing - as it simply isn't possible to give definitive advice here - owing to the myriad of laptops out there, each with differing hardware and of varying dates of manufacture to know how they are already configured. It's just not 'one size fits all' in this field!

[Mandrake]

IMO, its too much hassle to get modern laptops running 64 bit operating systems to run Diagbox, as you'd really need to set up a virtual machine, and they tend to be big and cumbersome to use under the bonnet of a car, not to mention not wanting to drop/break your expensive laptop while working on the car. Also diagbox installs software that runs in the background all the time (apache etc) which can slow your machine down.

So a cheap dedicated laptop makes a lot of sense if it will see regular use. The best dedicated Diagbox machine IMHO is to get one of the last generation "Netbooks" that were made before everyone stopped making netbooks, something like a Samsung NC110. (But make sure it has 2GB ram minimum, many netbooks came with 1GB ram and that is not sufficient)

Windows Netbooks all came with Windows Vista Starter 32 bit or Windows 7 Starter 32 bit, both of which will run Diagbox just fine as they are 32 bit, (which means Lexia and PP2000 will work) and the starter version of Windows is significantly leaner than the other versions so will run acceptably on lower performance hardware. Obviously given the choice I'd take Windows 7 over Vista.

The advantage over XP is that you still get windows updates for Windows 7, and the light/small netbook size is really nice under the bonnet of a car or on the passenger seat.

My Diagbox/Lexia machine for quite a while was a Samsung NC110 (10" screen) with a 2GB ram upgrade running Windows 7 Starter 32 bit and while it didn't load Diagbox as quickly as the machine I use now, once it was loaded it worked absolutely fine and navigated within the program more than quickly enough. It was small and convenient under the bonnet, battery life was great and the screen was bright and readable in broad daylight.

I'm now using a 15" Acer Aspire 5630 and whilst its a bit faster it is nowhere near as convenient due to its size, the battery life isn't nearly as good and the screen isn't as bright.

[spider]

I struggled a bit but I do have diagbox running on Windows 10..............but don't ask me how

Setting it to run as Admin and compatibility mode (I think for XP-SP3) is 2/3rds of the way there. I had mine running on W10 a couple of weeks ago but have since 'downgraded' the OS as I wanted to use something else for it.

[Gibbo2286]

Mine's quite an old laptop an HP Compaq 6715b 32bit, I upped it from Vista then Win 7 then Win 10, cleared everything else off and installed the Diagbox stuff, as I said it was a struggle to get it working and I'm not sure how but it does.

[Paul-R]

...then Win 10,...

Obviously 32 bit but what level of Win10? And was it an OE or retail version?

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes, very important - earlier builds of Win 10 it would not work on 10 for sure (I think I posted about these in the merged Lexia thread).

[Gibbo2286]

...then Win 10,...

Obviously 32 bit but what level of Win10? And was it an OE or retail version?

The free upgrade from Win 7 Ultimate which was a retail pack.
(Actually I bought the Win 7 through an Ebay seller and it turned out to be counterfeit, when I gave Microsoft the supplier's details they gave me a free legitimate copy.)

I have wondered if only the Diagbox suppliers would employ a good tech author to write the installation instructions we might all be able to get there without the hassle.

[GiveMeABreak]

...then Win 10,...

I have wondered if only the Diagbox suppliers would employ a good tech author to write the installation instructions we might all be able to get there without the hassle.

I doubt whether there would be the same problems on the genuine Actia / Diagnostic kit as these are supplied by PSA as part of the rental. We only have these problems because they are cloned units with hacked software, being installed on a multitude of laptops and operating systems with different hardware configurations. We have to accept that as a consequence and no manual will be able to cover the specific setup of every individual unfortunately. The alternative of course is £90 a pop at the dealers!

[FranklinJ]

When originally purchasing Lexia3 (Diagbox) and as the setup guide recommended Win Xp as the operating system of choice due to Diagbox being designed around it, I purchased a Panasonic CF19 Toughbook which is a ruggedised tablet with a keyboard.
These units seem to be popular for use with the police and ambulance services as the case and screen surround are made of tough aluminium and, I understand, can be driven over without withour damage which made it an ideal choice for a workshop environment. There is also no cooling fan as the processor and hard drive are heat sinked to the frame. The Toughbook can be bought reasonably cheaply (about £120.00) and is available with Win xp installed and running with all the drivers.
I Found the Diagbox installation was a bit laborious as the instructions aren’t the easiest to follow and require six successive software updates after the initial instal which are not exactly speedy due to limitations of the old xp system and probably the nature of the open source software. However, I eventually got everything installed and have been using the diagnostic successfully to explore and setup car enertainment systems.

One of the obsticals I found in using the Diagbox is that because it has been cloned from a version used at main dealers its various menus and information searches have been designed to work with the manufacturer’s network and as these can’t be accessed, vehicle software updates, service packs and data cards and for that matter user instructions, are not available.
I suppose you only have the benefit of these attributes if you are in fact a main dealer, but then you have to pay what a main dealer pays for the facility.
Whilst navigating the menus and sub menus on Diagbox is to an extent intuitive, it is not all that way and it would be helpful if any of the developers could put together a ‘how to’ guide for use with Diagbox as there are a plethorer of functions which can be accessed but it would help to know which route to take after switching on than having to rely on trial an error methods which can be quite time consuming.

When I last contacted the supplier of my Lexia Diagbox I was given to understand there was to be a Wi10 version to be released at about this time. I wonder if anyone has any knowledge of this and, if so, where it can be obtained ? Any help gratefully received.