Software problems - software obsolete?

Hi. I have 1.42B on my laptop. It is the same laptop, connectors, and software I have used many times before without problems. The last time I used it was prior to taking my boat to the shop a year ago to troubleshoot a problem I was having which ended up being a loose TPS. Today I ran my outboard and hooked up the computer. It would not make the connection. Either off with the key on or with the outboard running. I double checked everything and there was nothing any different than any previous time. My software said it could not connect and if I went into the different menus it said I needed to update my software to communicate with this EMM, or something like that (I didn't write the exact message). The only thing I can think of is the shop ran the outboard on their software. Is it possible that their newer or current software would render my 1.42B obsolete? I'm reaching here...

Thanks.