Which mini-VCI (out of dozens available) on Amazon?

I created this thread from a separate thread (DTC P0A90/DTC C1241) before I actually make a purchase. Patrick Wong kindly provided the information I needed to enable me to use my existing laptop running a 64 bit version of Windows 10 via download of Windows 7 (the file contains 32 and 64 bit versions of the OS).

Question 1) My existing HD has a capacity of nearly 600 G and I've used only 1/4 of that. Should I partition and install Windows 7 or download it to an external HD?
2) Will a 32 bit version of Windows 7 work on a 64 bit machine?
3) Which particular company and/or brand of mini-VCI cable has worked the best as far as performing Techstream diagnostic functions with the least amount of headaches and the least risk of malware gumming up my laptop? There are at least 25-30 choices ranging in price from the teens to around $70. I would sure like to get this right the first go-round. I'm initially inclined to believe that the products which are prime-eligible would be the better choices; this belief is offset by the ratings of these. Most are rated 21/2-31/2 stars; further reading of specific posted ratings reveal serious problems (incompatibility, lack of tech support, and inability to get product to work as stated). Many have been returned for a refund. There are also several units available which appear to be recent postings; I define recent by the lack of customer feedback as evidenced by no ratings displayed.

I'm no certified computer nerd, but I can do things like disassemble and clean the insides, change the hard drive, and add RAM, as well as troubleshoot basic issues involving the OS, network/router/modem, and software. I am able to follow directions well, so any help related to any of your experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

 

On Amazon, the vast majority of available mini-VCI's, including devices that qualify for free prime 2-day shipping, are only compatible with 32 bit systems. However, Amazon has dozens of ELM327 unit priced reasonably, but I don't believe that these units can give me the subcode for P0A90, and thats what I really need to narrow the diagnosis. There are several mini VCI's on EBay that are compatible with windows 10 64 bit systems, including a unit with a lifetime warranty for 39.95. Some of these have to be shipped from China or Hong Kong, and the delivery time can range up to 3-4 weeks. There is a business that has multi locations here in America that offer 3 different levels of the mini VCI that can deliver in less than a week and includes the device, driver/software disk, and the ability to download the drivers and software from the internet, An extended warranty is available for $1 and prices range from $15-$34, with free shipping. There are several vendors that have >99% ratings; using highly rated vendors has worked for me so far, Chap, I really have to watch my funds with this pending issue with the car, so I need to be careful with my spending right now. I almost have it narrowed down and I'll take a screenshot of the actual device when I buy it, and report on this thread it's performance and the ease in which I installed the drivers on my machine, as well as how it works and any problems or issues encountered. A couple of these vendors apparently have a high-volume operation and do not want negative or neutral ratings (it seems that a neutral rating is considered a negative rating with many sellers on EBay). Thanks for all the responses and I will be back later with the info. on the one I purchased.

 

Looks like it's gonna be a week before I get the device, but here is the information for those who don't happen to have a 32 but windows machine. Hopefully the car will be a good car and not strand me in undesirable places or inconvenient times LOL. BTW, I checked the individual neutral/negative ratings and none were related to any of the miniVCI units they offer.

 

Patrick Wong, the media did not load describing your mini-VCI purchase, but I have one on the way and hopefully it will be similar to yours. Just to be proactively "safe" (or as close as I can be), I read all of the negative and neutral ratings for the seller I purchased my mini-VCI from (EBay) and there were no complaints involving this particular product. They have a 99.1 positive rating. I took it one step further and answered an E-mail they sent me thanking me for my purchase I asked them about any possible issues that other buyers may have had with installing the drivers/software and/or getting the product to work on a Windows 10 64 bit system. They promptly replied and assured me that they have sold quite a few of these and have had no complaints logged - either directly with them or with E-Bay. So it's now a waiting game. I also purchased the 1-year warranty for $.99 for added measure---it's less than a Snickers bar, so why not LOL?!

Thank you to all who have taken their valuable time to respond. For those who haven't seen my other recent thread, I need this diagnostic cable/software to expand a DTC code P0A90 to include the 3 digit INF number, since my scanner doesn't delve that deep into the workings of the hybrid system. There was also a C-1241 code The strange thing about this is the red triangle/CEL/ ( ! ) symbol/ reddish car on the touch screen all came on as I lost power. Then the car ran fine a few seconds later. The lights all stayed on after powering down/up 3 different times. 12 miles later, the lights turned off after one more power off/on sequence, and the car has driven fine and acted normal since then. It's been driven approx. 150 miles since the lights mysteriously turned off. I have not cleared the codes, even though I've been tempted to do so LOL. Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

All right, the mini VCI and software disc have arrived. I scanned the text stream software with my antivirus and it's clean and it's from this year. One thing that sucks is half of the instructions are in Chinese on the video. I will keep y'all posted. Techstream is installing as we speak.

User---user
Passcode--- China

Isn't that original?!

 

My apologies for the ghosting. My mother suffered a broken hip and came to my house to live full time afterwards. She passed away on 2-2-2020. My Prius has not been having any further issues, but I did not clear the codes. The MIL has not come back on since my last posting here.

As for the Mini VCI/Techstream, I never could get the software to finish loading on my 64 bit windows 10 machine, despite repeated attempts and corresponding with the seller, who tried his best to give me additional information to make it work. During a subsequent virus scan, several files that managed to load from the VCI software disk were quarantined. I didn't want to take any more chances with my only computer, so I put the device and the disk in my desk and abandoned my efforts...........Until recently! My apologies for leaving y'all hanging, but this thread continues because this has turned into a mission of sorts. My ABS actuator is now having prolonged run times, and it's going to eventually set a code(s).

Kindest regards to those who lent their expertise, and I'll post tomorrow evening to catch everyone up. I've used advice from several of y'all during the last week. I hope to be able to use this Mini VCI on a 32 bit Toshiba laptop with a fresh copy of Windows XP Pro that I picked up on EBay last week. This copy of XP is missing several drivers, so I'm working on finding those now. Figures there will be something like this to delay progress, but for $50, I shouldn't be surprised.

 

The copy of techstream on my disc was missing a critical .dll file (versatile.dll), si I'm gonna need another copy of the software. The Toshiba laptop is ready to go, otherwise. I may look into VxDiag if this otherwise falls through. Updating the drivers on this XP machine was more work than I originally thought because there not in just one place anymore. Microsoft has taken down most downloads r/t XP except for the .NET updates. Toshiba also was helpful. I'm searching for a copy of Techstream that can be downloaded and I'll keep y'all posted.