Running TIS 2000 on Windows 7/8/8.1/10

[southsidesmoka]

To Whom It May Concern:

The accompanying document took approximately three weeks to construct. It is a first draft and will probably need and receive some revisions...anywho, the attached PDF is intended to teach its' readers how to successfully install and run TIS 2000 on Windows 10...with a little ingenuity, of course. I'm open to constructive criticisms, suggestions and just plain bad mouthing, if you feel it necessary. If the need arises, ask. I'll try and answer to the best of my capability. I do hope this will become a community document that we can all share, reference and learn from. The PDF is restricted from editing and content theft so spammers and the like won't be able to take the crown jewels. I'm sure the HTML version will be ready soon. Thank you for your time. Best wishes in all of your General Motors adventures!

Edit: Version 1.3 has been replaced with version 2.0. Please download and use the newer version located here.

- southsidesmoka

Mod edit: 2018/09/29: Latest version linked below.
Mod edit: 2019/03/27: Latest version linked below.
Mod edit: 2019/05/29: Latest version 1.3 linked.
Mod edit: 2021/06/17: Disclaimer and link to ver. 2.0

 

[djthumper]

Looks good, now someone will need to see if it works for them and let us know.

 

[mrrsm]

Bravo ...Brother... BRAVO!

One very small observation that you can easily correct...

Under "Requisite Hardware" in the first Bullet Line:

A Windows 10 PC of modern decent

...would be ignored by all Spellcheckers ... since both of these words are legitimate when spelled either way. The line should read...

A Windows 10 PC of modern descent

 

[southsidesmoka]

Bravo ...Brother... BRAVO!

One very small observation that you can easily correct...

Under "Requisite Hardware" in the first Bullet Line:

A Windows 10 PC of modern decent

...would be ignored by all Spellcheckers ... since both of these words are legitimate when spelled either way. The line should read...

A Windows 10 PC of modern descent

D'oh! Thank you, sir. I'm on it.

- southsidesmoka

 

[southsidesmoka]

Ladies and gentleman...our first revision! I do believe I'll need to pay more attention to the grammatical details in order to keep the errors to a minimum as I don't want to stuff the site's storage with a bunch of duplicate files. Aside from correcting spelling errors, I'm in the process of adding some links to the document, as an undecided afterthought, that folks who are unfamiliar with the software and hardware side of things just might find very useful...I would hope. In the meantime, here is the corrected PDF. Thank you all for your assistance, attention, inspiration and time.

- southsidesmoka

 

[Mooseman]

Very nice work! Too bad I can't try it as I don't have a Win10 machine.

One question. Would using Virtualbox on another version of Windows (i.e. 7 or 8) still work as it seems to support them? What about Mac and Linux?

 

[southsidesmoka]

Very nice work! Too bad I can't try it as I don't have a Win10 machine.

One question. Would using Virtualbox on another version of Windows (i.e. 7 or 8) still work as it seems to support them? What about Mac and Linux?

Right you are, good sir! Running Oracle VM VirtualBox on Windows 7/8/8.1 should - one word disclaimer - work. Once inside the virtual environment, the software - OS, applications, etc... - all see the same emulated "motherboard" and "chipset" - so there is no variation between virtual platforms regardless of the underlying physical hardware.

Of poignancy is the fact that your actual processor ID does show through to the virtual environments(s) running on your computer. So, an i5 running Windows 7 will show up as an i5 in Windows XP.

My Windows 10 machine and your Windows 7 machine will perform in the same manner when running virtualization software. So, perhaps the title should be revised to TIS 2000 on Windows 7/8/8.1/10? That is a mouthful, but it's great that we can utilize some free software (VirtualBox) and an old or "borrowed" copy of Windows XP to perform modern day electronic miracles with our trucks.

I am actually quite interested to see if our little technical document is applicable under Windows 7...if there is anything I can do, please don't hesitate.

As far as macOS and Linux are concerned, as long as an Intel or AMD chip is the brains, the only problem I foresee is with drivers - particularly with Linux. Some commercially viable USB-to-Serial port adapters ship with drivers for Windows and macOS...but Linux can be a nightmare as far as drivers are concerned. As such, I'd be hesitant to try anything with a Linux box - I'm not that adventurous.

- southsidesmoka

 

[southsidesmoka]

It's ALIVE!!!! This document won't stop growing...this is Revision 0.3. Modified steps and wording to be applicable to Windows 7/8/8.1/10. Also, added a troubleshooting section. Go ahead, try it...I would simply love to know if this solution is viable for more than my own Windows 10 machine! PM me if you get stuck and need assistance...I'm more than glad to help a fellow GM owner.

- southsidesmoka

 

[southsidesmoka]

A BIG leap forward for our Running TIS 2000 on Windows 7/8/8.1/10 technical document - from Revision 0.3 to Version 1.0! This release includes a new "Online Resources" section that I'm sure some folks will find valuable, as it lists some distribution points for some of the crown jewels you need to successfully use your new "GYMKO" Tech 2 (J2534) Diagnostic Scan Tool clone to its' fullest extent! Cheers! As always, I'm open to constructive criticisms, suggestions and requests.

- southsidesmoka

 

[mrrsm]

FWIW... as more and more people search the 'Net with TAG lines and find your Thread... they may grab the very first thing they see (PDF) in desperation from Post #1 as being "The Gospel on TIS2000 for Windows Computers" and reflexively do likewise over time through each New Revision. It would be very helpful if you placed a Highlighted Update Line at the Top of Post #1 with the Latest Link to this Living Document as it continues to improve ...thanks to your esoteric imagination. The readers can then catch up on how each new idea evolved and avoid downloading the vestigial PDFs in between.

 

[southsidesmoka]

FWIW... as more and more people search the 'Net with TAG lines and find your Thread... they may grab the very first thing they see (PDF) in desperation from Post #1 as being "The Gospel on TIS2000 for Windows Computers" and reflexively do likewise over time through each New Revision. It would be very helpful if you placed a Highlighted Update Line at the Top of Post #1 with the Latest Link to this Living Document as it continues to improve ...thanks to your esoteric imagination. The readers can then catch up on how each new idea evolved and avoid downloading the vestigial PDFs in between.

@MRRSM I like your idea and am ready to run with it - but I can't seem to edit post #1, any longer. I had my link copied and went to add the Highlighted Update Line and, much to my dismay, no more Edit link! Any suggestions? Thank you for your contribution, bossman. I await your reply.

- southsidesmoka

 

[mrrsm]

This site lives and breathes only by the persistence and willingness of the Founders, the Members and the Supporters who contribute enough funds to "Keep The Lights On"... and recently due to need... different Membership Tiers for this monetary support have been set up to sort of " Help To Keep The Wolf From The Door...".

Members with the ability to offer support comes with "bennies" that are worth having. If I am not mistaken... this might explain why there may be a limit on how many edits can be made for content contributors who are not among those with the Tier Level Access.

Every Man and Woman must follow his or her conscience and "pocket capacity" of course... but just as @Mooseman 's "CYGIL" explains..."If you saved Money on Your Repairs... Please consider becoming a Member and Subscriber to GMT Nation.com...". For those of us who are allowed to make a lot of idea contributions... I think it is a privilege to be allowed to have a place to stand... and to speak one's mind... and to compete in a healthy and productive manner among many other Members for the Best Ideas for Repairs and Upgrades for the GMT360 Vehicles. And that Brother... is well worth paying for.

 

[mrrsm]

Bravo.... And... Welcome Home, Brother...

 

[southsidesmoka]

Bravo.... Welcome Home, Brother...

Thank you, my brother. It feels good to be here. One of the better investments I've made; monetarily, socially and academically.

- southsidesmoka

 

[Mooseman]

Congrats on the "investment".

As stated by @MRRSM , the ability to edit is tied to memberships and the amount of time available, IIRC, is tied to each tier. Anytime you need something edited (or any other reason), just hit the Report button and one of us can make the changes.

Personally, I think once you settle on one, the others should be deleted to eliminate confusion, duplication and redundancy. If there is ever another update later on, we can always replace it.

 

[southsidesmoka]

Congrats on the "investment".

As stated by @MRRSM , the ability to edit is tied to memberships and the amount of time available, IIRC, is tied to each tier. Anytime you need something edited (or any other reason), just hit the Report button and one of us can make the changes.

Personally, I think once you settle on one, the others should be deleted to eliminate confusion, duplication and redundancy. If there is ever another update later on, we can always replace it.

@Mooseman OK...my privileges don't allow me to "clean house"...would you mind assisting me with said task or do I need to hit "Report" for each post that is to be deleted? I'm sure you would know better than I as to what should stay and what shouldn't. I think a permanent intro post would be appropriate; your thoughts? Thank you for your time and assistance, sir.

- southsidesmoka

 

[Mooseman]

Thread cleaned up. Only the latest version is in the top post.

Edit: Ah crap. accidentally deleted the last version from the database. I'll re-upload when @southsidesmoka sends it to me.

 

[mrrsm]

@southsidesmoka ... Just an FYI... I downloaded the latest 'Running TIS2000...' PDF, courtesy @Mooseman 's permanent placement in your Thread... and while using Linux Mint 19 Document - PDF Reader and while addressing the links to related sites highlighted in pale blue... Right Clicking on them does not allow for them to be opened up directly in the Firefox Browser. However... I was able to highlight and copy- drop them in the FF Browser URL Entry Line and gain access... so it is not that great of an impediment... Just letting you know about this artifact.

 

[southsidesmoka]

So much for protecting the integrity and intent of our tech document...I didn't put the protections in for my benefit; I did it in order to, ultimately, prevent content theft and bring folks over to GMTNation. I'm wandering if I should just ditch the protection mechanism all together and "open 'er up"...your thoughts, @MRRSM ? @Mooseman ?

 

[Mooseman]

I don't think protection anything works anymore. Just print, OCR and you're off. What I did was put the manuals in a password protected folder on my domain so it forces people to at least see the GMTNation name so they know where they're from. I know the links have been posted on other sites but at least it's something and prevents hot linking. Unfortunately we can't do that here but I think you have to register to download.

 

[mrrsm]

The other aspect is that for all intents and purposes... Thanks to your creative solution (and Membership here at GMTN with the Name of @southsidesmoka) you and your efforts have already become memorialized and Water-Marked at GMT Nation.com for all time to come. But the problem with being the "Originator of any Intellectual Property" is this: How you present it to the world only has one of two avenues to follow: Either you Copyright the material from the start ...or you freely offer your creative thinking and solution to everyone.

As a copyrighted published author... and also as a public idea creator... I can personally appreciate that you might bristle a bit about this dichotomy. But this problem is something akin to crossing the Arctic Sea in Spring and having one foot each ...on different melting Ice Bergs. Eventually ...you will have to decide which one to land both feet upon. So far... your decision to share has thankfully added new information and a new technical solution unique in all the world.

There are too few places available on the Internet that cover the subject of the GMT360 Vehicles concerning the Use of the GM "GYMKO" Tech 2 Scanners... and fewer people still who can improve upon what has already been discovered for its use by those of us concerned. You will NOT get any criticism about your generous decision to come to GMTN and 'share your mind' with us all.

 

[southsidesmoka]

I've decided to err on the side of caution and stand on the side integrity by properly owning any intellectual property in process creation and documentation. To protect our little technical document, I filed a copyright application and, of course, would expect it to be approved in several weeks.

The scenario in my mind is that some entity takes what we have provided for free and makes a profit off of it. I don't like that one bit. I propose nothing should change. This distribution model and legalese have been, thus far, adequate - "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Gentlemen...any approvals or objections to said action? Any comments or suggestions? Thank y'all for your time.

- southsidesmoka

 

[Mooseman]

I don't see anything but good coming out of this and I applaud your efforts.

 

[daaburb]

I'm giving this a shot. Anyone know where I can find XP SP3? Also, what type of virtual disk space do you create in virtualbox?

 

[mrrsm]

You might consider jumping all over THIS eBay Deal on a Complete Dual (32 Bit and 64 Bit) Installation Disks Set of Genuine Windows 7 Professional for around $90.00. You better HURRY... There are Only (2) Sets Left On Sale!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-...=item4d745cde29:g:9owAAOSwzaJX5CDW:rk:19:pf:0

 

[southsidesmoka]

I'm giving this a shot. Anyone know where I can find XP SP3? Also, what type of virtual disk space do you create in virtualbox?

Use .vhdx for best results...

- southsidesmoka

 

[John in RI]

Recently got a Tech2 and don't have an old enough laptop hangin' around to run TIS 2000. It's going to take me a while to start diving into the Tech2 and figure it out,...... but I'll re-post here with any feedback after following the info from your PDF. Pretty cool of you to figure this out and share the knowledge; THANX !!

 

[southsidesmoka]

Thank you for the kind words, sir. It's easier to get a Tech 2 nowadays than it is the specified hardware to run TIS 2000; hence, our little document. Comments, suggestions, etc... are always welcome. If you need assistance, just ask. Let us know how it goes...

- southsidesmoka

 

[southsidesmoka]

To Whom It May Concern:

It's come to my attention that VirtualBox, now at version 6.x, has been broken, due to issues with the operating system, in recent Insider Builds of Windows 10. Honestly, there is no telling how long this issue might persist; as such, I'm working on an implementation of a work-around using Microsoft's built-in hyper-visor, Hyper-V, for all those cut-throat, gotta-have-it-now types in the Windows 10 Insider Preview program ...we shall see what materializes in the coming hours and days. I'll keep all those interested updated via posts, here.

NOTE: Oracle is dropping 32-bit host support from versions of VirtualBox later than 6.x. This will effect our usage of VirtualBox, going forward.

Thank you kindly for your time.

- southsidesmoka

 

[southsidesmoka]

To Whom It May Concern:

Oracle HAS ALREADY DROPPED 32-bit host support from future versions of VirtualBox including 6.x. However, the previous version (5.2.x) should continue to suffice for our purposes and varied user-available hardware spectrum. If we stay static with our software setup, I don't foresee any issues...yet. This will affect our prescribed software setup of VirtualBox, going forward; that is, we WILL NOT be upgrading our utilized versions of VirtualBox to those later than 5.2.x.

On that same note, I'm currently downloading and updating to a just released Insider Preview of Windows 10 (18361.1) that MAY or MAY NOT address the virtualization issue. I am hoping the Hyper-V work-around I mentioned proves to be an unnecessary complication . I'll keep everybody posted.

Once the dust settles, I do believe I'll update our technical document to indicate software version specificity, etc... To be continued...

Thank you for your time!

- southsidesmoka

 

[southsidesmoka]

To Whom It May Concern:

UPDATE: Unfortunately, the 18361.1 Windows 10 Insider Preview update I previously mentioned DID NOT fix the virtualization error. Microsoft has released another update today , 18362.1, which I am installing as I type this. I suspect this release was another attempt at the requisite fix. Just tested it to no avail...I'll post new updates as they are available.

NOTICE: I can not currently recommend using a Windows 10 Insider Preview machine as the host for a Techline Information System 2000 installation using the methods cited in our gmtnation.com tech doc due to the virtualization issue that currently exists in recent builds.

Thank y'all for listening to me babble.

- southsidesmoka

 

[southsidesmoka]

To Whom It May Concern:

We've posted an update to the "Running TIS 2000 on Windows 7/8/8.1/10" tutorial and guide. She is now at version 1.2, up from 1.1. The updates reflect recent software version update precautions and a few aesthetic changes in the document layout to aide in improving reader clarity and usability. As always, I'm open to suggestions, comments and criticisms. You can find a link to the new revision of the guide at the top ⬆ of this thread. Now, on with the GM adventures...

Thank you for your time!

- southsidesmoka

 

[southsidesmoka]

To Whom It May Concern:

We've updated the GMTNation TIS 2000 on Windows 7 - 10 technical document to version 1.3; it features additional hyperlinks and revised minimum hardware requirements for a running Techline machine. It's available at the top of this thread. Thank you for your time.

- southsidesmoka

 

[Dillhotrod]

How about using this with an mdi instead of tech 2

 

[southsidesmoka]

How about using this with an mdi instead of tech 2

You can run the official Bosch MDI software on Windows 10. Hence, no need for a VM. It's available here: Bosch MDI Software. If I've failed to divulge pertinent information, feel free to ask. Hope this helps!

- southsidesmoka

 

[Dillhotrod]

You can run the official Bosch MDI software on Windows 10. Hence, no need for a VM. It's available here: Bosch MDI Software. If I've failed to divulge pertinent information, feel free to ask. Hope this helps!

- southsidesmoka

If I do all of this, can i do module programming through my mdi. I have mdi clone (works great) and tech2win on my windows 10 laptop.

 

[southsidesmoka]

Yes, you'll be able to program ECUs using your MDI box and this software. It's an easy and short install.

- southsidesmoka

 

[Dillhotrod]

Ok thank you. Will the newest mdi manager not work on a Co laptop. I have good laptop with xp and tis2000 but can’t get mdi manager to install keeps telling me a dll file is missing.

 

[southsidesmoka]

Ok thank you. Will the newest mdi manager not work on a Co laptop. I have good laptop with xp and tis2000 but can’t get mdi manager to install keeps telling me a dll file is missing.

I believe the problem lies in compatibility. I think the Bosch MDI Manager software requires a minimum of Windows 7 to operate.

- southsidesmoka

 

[Mramses]

good afternoon friends, greetings to all. Would you be so kind to help me regarding the installation of the tis2000 for Windows 7 please. Thank you