PCM Hammer P01 and P59 flash tool v015

They go by many names, P01, P59, VPW, '0411 etc. Also covering E38 and newer here.
draz53
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Re: PCM Hammer P01 and P59 flash tool v015

Post by draz53 »

Connecting by bluetooth, and the OBDX is paired. The driver is installed, and the device manager does show the OBDX. The DM shows two COM ports, but I don't see a way to tell which actual devices those ports are allocated to, but neither one works for connecting to the OBDX, at least using pcmhammer.

Update: Tried it yet again using COM4 but again can't initialize. I think the 2 ports showing are for other devices on the laptop, keyboard or mouse or touchpad. Again I get the popup from windows after selecting COM4 in pcmhammer, saying to tap to create a new device, and when I tap it then goes to a control panel type screen that says "that didn't work", and when I try to "Add Device" via the control panel it scans for a device for awhile, then says no new devices found. This is all with the OBDX plugged in and powered on, and the leds are on and blinking. Before this I'd re-installed the driver but that made no difference, and didn't show any errors. I'm suspecting a problem with the driver or the OBDX itself.
Last edited by draz53 on Mon Mar 01, 2021 4:23 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Gampy
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Re: PCM Hammer P01 and P59 flash tool v015

Post by Gampy »

You can use this technique to look and see if you have any broken ports.
For Windows versions less then 10.
Find the "Command Prompt" shortcut and Right-Click on it,
Select: Run as administrator
If required, Enter: Password
At the command prompt type (or copy paste) the following two commands,
set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
devmgmt.msc
For Windows 10 and greator ...
In the Search box type
devmgmt
and select Device Manager.
When Device Manager opens,
Select: View
Select: Show hidden devices
In the Device Manager Tree view,
Expand: Ports (COM & LPT)
On any ports you want to remove,
Select: Right Click
Select: Uninstall
In the Confirm Device Uninstall dialog,
Un-Check: Delete the driver software for this device
Select: Ok

The next time you plug the device in, it will re-install ...

I personally Uninstall all virtual COM ports and just allow them to reinstall in the specific order I plug the devices back in ... That way I get what I want on the ports I want them on.
Intelligence is in the details!

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draz53
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Re: PCM Hammer P01 and P59 flash tool v015

Post by draz53 »

Gampy wrote:You can use this technique to look and see if you have any broken ports.
OK have tried this multiple times:
- Uninstall the 2 COM ports (the only ones) COM3 and COM4, except there's no "Delete the driver software" box to uncheck. Bring up the device manager again to confirm they're gone.
- Try PCM hammer, it shows no ports to select, so doesn't do anything.
- Reboot. Check the device manager, COM3 and COM4 are back! Try PCM hammer, now I can select COM3 or COM4, but neither one works ("can't initialize") like before.

What I see in the bluetooth control panel is 3 paired devices: mouse (works, but not currently on), keyboard (works, but not currently on), OBDX (doesn't work). Windows creates 2 COM ports on reboot if they're not already there, so that's probably for the first 2 paired BT devices (just guessing though). Maybe the COM port for the OBDX is never created? Yet the OBDX does show in the device manager.

UPDATE: I'm wrong about that last part, discovered that COM3 is the OBDX "outgoing" port, COM4 is the OBDX "incoming" port. This is from another bluetooth control panel dialog. Yet COM4 still won't initialize (pcmhammer), and often crashes when trying to do so.

UPDATE2: Also have noticed that sometimes the OBDX tries to pair again, after it's already paired.
Last edited by draz53 on Mon Mar 01, 2021 7:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Gampy
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Re: PCM Hammer P01 and P59 flash tool v015

Post by Gampy »

I have never heard of an OBDII device that uses two COM ports, incoming and outgoing ... That does not mean there is not one, however, it would not work with PcmHammer!

PcmHammer connects to a single port that is already installed, it installs nothing.

Have you tried unpairing and uninstalling OBDX Pro, disconnecting it from all power (so it cannot be seen), clean the COM ports, and reboot to see what ports are installed by other devices if any.

I would agree it seems something has gone wrong with the creation of the COM port, I believe it should create only one COM port.
Intelligence is in the details!

It is easier not to learn bad habits, then it is to break them!

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kur4o
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Re: PCM Hammer P01 and P59 flash tool v015

Post by kur4o »

I have seen older pc bluetooth modules to create 2 com ports for a single device, while newer ones create one port for the same device. I guess it depends on the PC.

Maybe manually selecting one of the com port might work.
draz53
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Re: PCM Hammer P01 and P59 flash tool v015

Post by draz53 »

Gampy wrote:I have never heard of an OBDII device that uses two COM ports, incoming and outgoing ... That does not mean there is not one, however, it would not work with PcmHammer!

PcmHammer connects to a single port that is already installed, it installs nothing.

Have you tried unpairing and uninstalling OBDX Pro, disconnecting it from all power (so it cannot be seen), clean the COM ports, and reboot to see what ports are installed by other devices if any.

I would agree it seems something has gone wrong with the creation of the COM port, I believe it should create only one COM port.
Yes I have tried that multiple times, doesn't change anything. Yeah I thought the 2 COM ports was weird, but it seems determined to create them no matter what. There are no COM ports existing or being created for any other devices except the OBDX (unless windows is just reporting incorrect info).
draz53
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Re: PCM Hammer P01 and P59 flash tool v015

Post by draz53 »

kur4o wrote:I have seen older pc bluetooth modules to create 2 com ports for a single device, while newer ones create one port for the same device. I guess it depends on the PC.

Maybe manually selecting one of the com port might work.
If you mean deleting just one of them, I haven't tried that. Windows says one is for incoming, one is for outgoing. Pcmhammer requires selecting one of them. Also, why don't my other bluetooth devices (that work) have COM ports?
The PC is a Toshiba laptop, a couple of years old, running windows 8.1.
One other thing, when pairing the OBDX windows asks for a passcode. I didn't get one with the device, so I just leave that blank, that works and it's paired. If I enter a number like 0000 it won't pair. Should there be a passcode?
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Gampy
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Re: PCM Hammer P01 and P59 flash tool v015

Post by Gampy »

Just to clarify, you unpaired and uninstalled the OBDX, unhooked it from power, deleted COM3 and COM4, rebooted the laptop and COM3 and COM4 were gone ??
Intelligence is in the details!

It is easier not to learn bad habits, then it is to break them!

If I was here to win a popularity contest, their would be no point, so I wouldn't be here!
draz53
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Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2020 1:11 pm
cars: 2000 Camaro SS

Re: PCM Hammer P01 and P59 flash tool v015

Post by draz53 »

Gampy wrote:Just to clarify, you unpaired and uninstalled the OBDX, unhooked it from power, deleted COM3 and COM4, rebooted the laptop and COM3 and COM4 were gone ??
Yes, that's correct. If I then re-install the OBDX driver and reboot, COM3 and COM4 show up again. The only way I can get rid of COM3 and COM4 is to un-install OBDX from the device manager, uninstall the ports, and delete the paired OBDX bluetooth connection. If I just un-install the driver and the COM ports and don't delete the paired connection, then reboot, the ports will show up again and OBDX will still show as paired, then if I delete the paired connection and reboot the ports are now gone, no COM ports whatsoever. My bluetooth mouse and keyboard are still working though.
ColPaul
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Re: PCM Hammer P01 and P59 flash tool v015

Post by ColPaul »

draz53,

What drivers are your comm 3 and 4 showing when you open DevMgmt? It may be helpful to right click on each, select properties, click the Driver tab and then post screen shots of the results. Also, have you tried to connect to either of the comm ports using a terminal program? ODBX (I assume VT Pro) should respond to the generic ELM commands. If not, I would suggest you contact the OEM for support.

I used an OBDX VT Pro USB on my dad's truck and it worked great (did take some improvements to PCM Hammer v14), but it was USB.
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