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HISTORY:
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From
my experience the parts dealerships in the U.S. were converted from
a
microfiche based parts catalog to Unix base electronic parts catalog (EPC)
some
years ago. However, Toyota is currently in the process of
converting the US
dealerships over to a PC based system, because it's cheaper
to maintain. Many
of the other countries and some of the US dealerships
have already been
converted . So, depending upon where you live, the
dealership will have
microfiche, a Unix based EPC or, a PC based
EPC.
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CD
BURNER
NOTES:
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1) Make sure you unzip the files before burning. I know
it
sounds stupid but somebody will
do it.
2) The files have been zip straight off the CD so
make sure
your directory structure
is right for the burn.
(IF YOU DON'T USE THE RIGHT
VOLUME LABELS THE CDS WON'T WORK)
3) The EPC1.zip
files should be burned to a CD with the
label
"19950622E1"
4) The EPC2.zip files should be burned to a
CD with the label
"19950322E2"
5) Setup and installation notes are in
EPC1.zip in the
EPC\readme.txt
file
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HOW
DO I MAKE THIS $#%^ THING RUN
?
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As I stated in the previous message posted to the list. You have to
put
the images onto CDs in order to run the program. Make sure the
volume labels
on the CDs are 19950622E1 for EPC1.zip and 19950322E2 for
EPC2.zip. If you
don't have the right volume labels on the CDs the
program will install but,
won't run properly.
Once you
have the CDs, run the "setup.exe" program in the "EPC" directory
on
19950622E1. Leave all of the options as default. If you have more
than one
CD-ROM drive go ahead and set it up during
installation.
Once the installation is finished, run "EPC
for windows" from the start
menu. Select CD setup from the main
menu. Select CD setup from the second
menu. Next check the
European area version check box. Next click the add
button in the
European area version box. You will be presented with a change
status dialog
box. select CD-ROM from the radio buttons and highlight the "A1
CD-ROM"
and "A2 CD-ROM" choices in the list box (use the shift key). Then
click
the OK button. Next press F10. The program will prompt you for both
CDs
during the setup phase. Once the setup is completed, press F3 to
return to the
main
menu.
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WHAT
ABOUT PART
NUMBERS?
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Now, there are different data CDs that go with the EPC depending upon
which
country you live in Europe, Japan, etc. The version that I have is for
Europe.
However, thanks to Toyota's part numbering system you can use PNC
(not sure
what it stands for) which is the first 6 or 7 digits of the part
number to
identify which part you need. The rest of the number is
refered to as a
"locator number" and determines which country, color, trim
package, year, etc.
that you have. All of the PNC numbers that I have
checked so far, match up
with the microfiche that I have for my car (91T). If
you are concerned about
whether a given part number matches, send me the
number and I'll double check
it with my microfiche or local
dealership.
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WHAT
ABOUT
PICTURES?
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The pictures on the CDs look like they came straight from the microfiche.
In
order to access them do the following:
1) Start EPC for windows
2)
Select Part number translation from the menu
3) Enter the VIN number from
your car to only see your car's parts
or
a) Enter "supra" under model name/catalog
code.
b) Hit Enter or click search
c) pick your model from the list
or
click the search button next to model name/catalog code
for a list of all models
4) press F10
5) Pick the figure groups you
want to see or enter info into
one of the search
boxes
6) Press F10.
Presto magic you have
pictures
Once you have a picture displayed, you
will notice that the PNCs are
printed directly on the pictures and they are
listed in a column on the right
hand side of the screen. You can select a
part and get additional information
by clicking the PNC on the picture and
pressing F10. You may also select a PNC
from the list on the right hand
side of the screen and press F10. This will
display the full part
number for the item. You will notice that some parts
display more than
one entry. That's because some locator numbers change
depending upon
what color your car is and what options it
has.
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KNOWN
ISSUES &
PROBLEMS
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********************************
Why can't I see
everything?
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You must use a screen resolution of 1024x768 or higher with
small
fonts.
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I've got 6Gig of free space, why do I get
an insufficent
disk space
error?
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The EPC program is very old which means it does not understand todays
massive
hard drives. There are two solutions to this problem. First,
you
can copy random data to your hard disk into a temporary folder until the
error
goes away. You can delete the data after you install the
program. Second, you
can install to a much smaller hard drive and then
copy the program to your
larger
drive.
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Why am I
not an authorized Lexus
Dealer?
********************************
The message is
normal for the program. It just simply means that you have
not keyed in
a Lexus dealer authorization key. I don't have one and don't
know
anyone who does. The only thing it should affect is the Lexus
parts. Sorry,
you can't lookup the Lexus
AFM.
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Why can't I
get prices for parts?
********************************
From what I've been able to figure out, in order to get pricing you have
to
be on the private Toyota dealer
network.
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Will the
EPC run from a hard
disk?
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During "CD
setup" change the check box on the "Add CD-ROM" screen from
CD-ROM to Hard
Disk. Then press F10 to copy the CDs to the hard drive.