Eureka !!!!
Yippeee
After weeks of head scratching and numerous dumb questions to Steve I have finally got it all working.
Key takeaways:
1 I seems to have a car with the old ECU but new style 16 pin plug installed - a cross over hybrid.
2 Don't buy the cheapest USB to 16 pin converter plug you can find on EBAY - it will probably have the wrong chipset and not work. The system is set up to work with the FTID chipset - many of the cheaper plugs have a Chinese chipset
http://wch-ic.com/product/usb/ch340.asp
When using these cable even with the drivers correctly installed the drivers will not be used since they do not recognize this different chipset.
I got my (third!) cable direct from Sander who wrote the Unidiag software and is super helpful. This plug even has a dip switch so you can start to explore the airbag and ABS but that's way too much fun for me right now. Its only EU33 and would have saved me 3 weeks of messing around !!!!!!
3 FTID were also super helpful in debugging someone else's chipset. They provided a great tool to check the characteristics of any connected USB devices
http://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities/usbview.zip and a great guide to get things reset and reinstalled if you get into a complete tailspin. ( to continue inept IT trend can't get doc to attach !!)
4 Turn the ignition on before you connect the laptop and with the latest software version it automatically select the correct definition file to use.
So what did I finally discover - well 3 error messages
P0110 Intake Air Temperature Circuit Malfunction -fault present
0x1172 item not found in list - fault this cycle
P0500 Vehicle speed sensor malfunction - test inhibited
Anyone seen these before / know what 0X1172 is / in which system the vehicle speed sensor resides?
Do you take these as issues to fix or clear them off the system and see if they recur on the basis that it may have just been a bad day when they appeared?
I assume hitting the clear DTC's button on the Diagnose tab will actually wipe these errors off the ECU and re instate the test cycles?
Delighted to have such a great tool - just need to decode the comms now.
Many thanks once again to Steve for having the software made available and fielding all the dumb questions
Ian
PS
The lovely 3 pin to 16 pin converter I made up with the *** lighter power plug is now not needed so available to a good home ......