yesterday, i picked up a Matco Determinator (rebadged OTC) scanner with every cable and software for cars and trucks from 1980 to 2003. i forgot to ask how old it is, but i think it's about 8 years old, since the oldest books that came with it have a copyright of 2000.
i paid $300 from a guy that had a shop that closed last year, and it booted up when i got it, but the battery was dead since it hadn't been used for so long, so i plugged it in overnight to charge it up. now a day later, it boots up, and then the screen goes orange and it won't shut off unless i unhook the battery.
if it's something major- no problem. i can take it back to him and he will give me my money back.. but i really want this thing to work, and if it's just a software thing, then i think it's worth fixing.

no one knows about these things?

got a pic?

i don't have a pic of mine, but here is a pic of one just like it on ebay.
http://i20.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/f0/9b/87e8_1.JPG

bumpity

bumpity once more..
no one knows anything about these?

Try your local Matco dealer. He'll know more about it than anyone. Also, look through your manuals for a tech number.

called the OTC tech line, and the guy said to reformat and reload the program onto the memory card off the cd that came with it. did that, and it boots up and i can shut it off without taking out the battery. but if i try to do pretty much anything with it, it just says "loading" and freezes up. i left it sit like that for a half hour, and no change.
does it need to sit for a while as it loads everything up for the first time?
i've never played with one of these things before..

I would say to get in touch with a Matco guy also. You may end up having to spring for a newer update to newer cars. Some scanners are updated not only with model years but software updates correct past issues and features. It certainly sounds like a software problem to me also.

You should be able to d/l the newest software from OTC for it. Then update with your computer linked to it. You won't get any newer info then you've paid for, but you will get the latest update.

i did download the latest updates and installed them, but i can't do much more than look up the OTC tech help phone number in the menu. if i try pretty much anything else, it just goes to a blank screen that says "loading" in the middle and stays there until i shut it off.
it had all the software paid for up to the 2003 model year in it before and i did turn it on a few times before it went haywire on me.. and i do have the smart card thing in the side of it.. i'm thinking i might have to go to the guy i got it from and have him call whoever and get it activated or something like that.