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      03-25-2019, 02:50 PM   #1
kimiraikkonen
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ISTA D/P/+: pardon the newb questions

So am thinking of getting an ISTA setup to do some basic diagnostics on my M3 as well as doing some basic programming/etc.

Lots of info out there of course, but wanted to get some pointers from folks that have gone down this route.

1) First, to confirm, ISTA/D is for diagnostics only?...and if I wanted to register my battery, I have to go with ISTA/P?

2) ISTA+ is just the updated version, which adds in capabilities for the F-series platform?

3) I hear a lot about people saying to go with an external power supply in order to have clean power during coding. Is this recommended only when flashing the DME?...or is a power supply needed for basic coding of individual modules?

4) What setup are people using........a) I've seen shareware versions of ISTA that people are downloading, b) and then of course a bunch of SW available for sale on Ebay, and c) some more ISTA kits that some folks are selling, that include the SW and cabling.

For example,
https://rheingoldusa.net/conc/index.php/buy-now

5) BTW, is there a difference when people talk about "programming" their M3 vs. "coding" their M3? Am I to assume programming means changing basic settings on the vehicle (like those available on a standard drop-down) vs. coding means programming in features that are not normally available on the car?

Appreciate any advice in advance.....and at least I'm posting this to the right forum and not trying to spam the General session on this.
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      03-25-2019, 06:41 PM   #2
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The most efficient combo is ISTA/P and Standard Tools (NCS, Tool32, INPA, etc).
I downloaded the above from bimmergeeks.net and routinely update my SP Datens for coding.

This will cover everything you'll need to do minus updating the entire car's I-Level - something you'd likely never need to do in your entire ownership anyways.
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      03-25-2019, 08:50 PM   #3
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1) ISTA/D can perform service functions like registering the battery. ISTA/P is for updating modules.

2)ISTA+ is just the new name, there is still a Diagnostics and Programming separation. You should be fine with what BimmerGeeks has or if you look harder online you can find the latest and greatest.

3)A power supply is always recommended when programming a car. Coding which is more in line with configuring parameters already there will require less time and you may get by if your battery is adequately charged.

4)I'm currently using Rheingold 4.16.4 ISTA+ D only with BMW standard tools 2.12 with the latest DATEN we have for our cars which is v60.

5)The opposite. Coding = changing basic settings, programming is updating modules.
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      03-26-2019, 07:03 PM   #4
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Ista/D can do more than just register a battery. Try multiple cylinder fuel injector deactivation for fault tracing, you can engage gears, activate solenoids, schedule test plans. The list goes on and on, if you get it try to pay the money and get Rheingold it’s worth money.
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      03-26-2019, 08:58 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amrazM View Post
Ista/D can do more than just register a battery. Try multiple cylinder fuel injector deactivation for fault tracing, you can engage gears, activate solenoids, schedule test plans. The list goes on and on, if you get it try to pay the money and get Rheingold it’s worth money.
Rheingold is the old name of ISTA/D. From what I know after version 4, it was called ISTA+ and also has the ability to program F and G cars without ISTA/P.
ISTA/P is legacy now for E series cars.

What would be the benefit of a paid version vs the freely available ones out there now?
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      03-27-2019, 03:32 PM   #6
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OP - I just setup ISTA+ (ISTA-D) this week and registered a battery last night.

I used the torrents (via uTorrent program) here to download ISTA 4.15.31:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showp...84&postcount=8

This is the K-DCAN cable I bought... had decent reviews and seems to work OK so far:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...yo_dt_b_asin_t

B/c there is a lot of different info, programs, versions, etc out there I've been documenting my steps to get it running so let me know if you need help getting setup.

It really isnt that hard to setup once you get it figured out, but it is definitely confusing. There are a handful of other tools out there I keep seeing mentioned (and even came with the K-DCAN cable) that I want to learn more about... BMW tools, INPA, to mention a few.
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      03-27-2019, 04:55 PM   #7
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I will agree that it's all very confusing initially, but once you run through the process a few times it gets easier ...make sure you buy a quality cable...bimmergeeks is quality and the owner has great support. His downloads come with all that's needed as well as instructions on how to install it properly!
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      03-29-2019, 03:34 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeyDawg View Post
OP - I just setup ISTA+ (ISTA-D) this week and registered a battery last night.

I used the torrents (via uTorrent program) here to download ISTA 4.15.31:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showp...84&postcount=8

This is the K-DCAN cable I bought... had decent reviews and seems to work OK so far:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...yo_dt_b_asin_t

B/c there is a lot of different info, programs, versions, etc out there I've been documenting my steps to get it running so let me know if you need help getting setup.

It really isnt that hard to setup once you get it figured out, but it is definitely confusing. There are a handful of other tools out there I keep seeing mentioned (and even came with the K-DCAN cable) that I want to learn more about... BMW tools, INPA, to mention a few.
NCSExpert + NCSDummy is the best thing for changing those cool parameters like comfort close mirrors and etc.

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ert&styleid=50
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      04-18-2019, 04:24 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeyDawg View Post
OP - I just setup ISTA+ (ISTA-D) this week and registered a battery last night.

I used the torrents (via uTorrent program) here to download ISTA 4.15.31:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showp...84&postcount=8

This is the K-DCAN cable I bought... had decent reviews and seems to work OK so far:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...yo_dt_b_asin_t

B/c there is a lot of different info, programs, versions, etc out there I've been documenting my steps to get it running so let me know if you need help getting setup.

It really isnt that hard to setup once you get it figured out, but it is definitely confusing. There are a handful of other tools out there I keep seeing mentioned (and even came with the K-DCAN cable) that I want to learn more about... BMW tools, INPA, to mention a few.
Hi. How did you get your K-DCAN to connect ....what settings did you select in the VCI config table? And to confirm, if I want to start, I just need ISTA and don't need to install the BMW Standard tools, correct?

Name:  Ista+.png
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      04-18-2019, 04:29 PM   #10
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On a separate but related note, I did download the BMW standard tools from the Bimmergeeks download site. However, when I try to extract the .7z file, it hangs and the computer freezes....anyone experience the same issue?
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      04-18-2019, 06:19 PM   #11
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Extract with the 7Zip program. It should be fine.
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      04-18-2019, 06:22 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kimiraikkonen View Post
Hi. How did you get your K-DCAN to connect ....what settings did you select in the VCI config table? And to confirm, if I want to start, I just need ISTA and don't need to install the BMW Standard tools, correct?

Attachment 2034162
ediabas.ini
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      04-18-2019, 06:27 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kimiraikkonen View Post
Hi. How did you get your K-DCAN to connect ....what settings did you select in the VCI config table? And to confirm, if I want to start, I just need ISTA and don't need to install the BMW Standard tools, correct?

Attachment 2034162
From my understanding, you need to install BMW standard tools which usually includes the FTDI drivers for the K+DCAN cable.

Your attach screen should set to Ediabas.ini



C:\ediabas\bin\EDIABAS.INI
Code:
Interface        =STD:OBD
C:\ediabas\bin\OBD.ini (edit this to your COM number in device manager)
Code:
Port=COM1
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      04-22-2019, 04:26 PM   #14
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Got it working...finally!!!

First, a big thanks to DERBO, MIKEYDAWG, ITSGARY, etc.

Finally got this thing to work. Am doing a quick write-up for folks to share my experience:

1) First, there are multiple ISTA+ files floating out there, BMWStandard Tools, etc. Most are legit I think, but there's so many other windows registry tweaks and .NET installs that one needs to potentially do that it can be frustrating, as often times "install instructions" you find on the web don't necessarily match the nuances of the files you've downloaded.

I initially downloaded from the links on the Bimmergeeks.net website, but while I got the ISTA+ to install correctly (downrev though), the BMW Standard Tools install was a bit f*'d up and in the end, was not able to get my K+DCAN to connect properly.

2) So I went and installed the files from here:

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh....php?t=1023698

Came with a complete Rheingold install kit, .NET executables, registry change scripts, etc. It also came with the EDIABAS and standard tools

3) Download was fairly straight forward from the Megaupload link. There's a 4GB cap on downloads, so you'll find yourself having to wait a few hrs to continue the download or to pay to remove the cap limit. One trick I found was that if you have access to a corporate vpn, you can try downloading first and when you hit the limit, log-onto your corporate vpn and restart the download. This tricks the service on the IP address.

4) Once downloaded, just follow the instructions....a bunch of executables and scripts that you need to do. Where I got hung up though was that it requires a Windows .NET 3.5 to be installed, and my corporate laptop has a policy restriction that just didn't let this go through (even despite trying some online tricks to remove the restriction in the registry).

5) So Plan B was to install this on an older personal laptop that I had, which was fairly straight forward, however, it had a smaller hard drive, so definitely need to free up at least 50 GB of hard drive space to handle the install.

6) As for the cable, I picked up the Bimmergeek's cable. To be honest, wasn't necessarily impressed with the cable (i.e., in that it's a premium over the other cables you can buy off Amazon). In the end, everyone is buying from the same ODM reference design from a few factories in China. There's a toggle button on the Bimmergeek cable that switches left/right (supposedly you flip this for older E-model cars). That button on my was already flopping about in the housing, still attached to the PCB but probably will get loose at some point. In any event, I found that for the E9x models, you don't need to touch this toggle and just leave it in the "right" position.

7) Final step was to fire up the ISTA+ and then try to get the car to communicate to it. This is where it got a bit confusing. The BMW tools install creates a EDIABAS folder in the C:\. Instructions there are to make sure your cable COM # (e.g., 1) matches the setting in the OBD.INI file. Then to make sure your EDIABAS.INI file inteface is set to STD:OBD. I made both these changes and when I tried to connect to ISTA+, I was still getting the connection host error.

Turns out, there is another EDIABAS folder that was created under the \Rheingold install folder. There was no OBD.INI file in this folder, but there was another EDIABAS.INI file. Changed the setting to STD:OBD and low and behold everything worked. Funny though even though there were detailed instructions on everything, this last step was failed to be mentioned.

----------------------------

Anyways, now that ISTA+ is working, went ahead and registered my recent battery change. The ISTA interface is a bit kludgey and many drill-down menus that require "Continue" confirmation, but one thing I've noticed is that Error Code scanning is very quick, like 5 sec. max vs. the typical 1 min+ that you would see on a Carly scanner or even Foxwell scanner.

Definitely in the end, am very happy I went through this process, albeit frustrating at times.
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      04-22-2019, 04:58 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kimiraikkonen View Post
First, a big thanks to DERBO, MIKEYDAWG, ITSGARY, etc.

Finally got this thing to work. Am doing a quick write-up for folks to share my experience:

1) First, there are multiple ISTA+ files floating out there, BMWStandard Tools, etc. Most are legit I think, but there are so many other windows registry tweaks and .NET installs that one needs to potentially do that it can be frustrating, as often times "install instructions" you find on the web don't necessarily match the nuances of the files you've downloaded.

I initially downloaded from the links on the Bimmergeeks.net website, but while I got the ISTA+ to install correctly (downrev though), the BMW Standard Tools install was a bit f*'d up and in the end, was not able to get my K+DCAN to connect properly.

2) So I went and installed the files from here:

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh....php?t=1023698

Came with a complete Rheingold install kit, .NET executables, registry change scripts, etc. It also came with the EDIABAS and standard tools

3) Download was fairly straight forward from the Megaupload link. There's a 4GB cap on downloads, so you'll find yourself having to wait a few hrs to continue the download or to pay to remove the cap limit. One trick I found was that if you have access to a corporate vpn, you can try downloading first and when you hit the limit, log-onto your corporate vpn and restart the download. This tricks the service on the IP address.

4) Once downloaded, just follow the instructions....a bunch of executables and scripts that you need to do. Where I got hung up though was that it requires a Windows .NET 3.5 to be installed, and my corporate laptop has a policy restriction that just didn't let this go through (even despite trying some online tricks to remove the restriction in the registry).

5) So Plan B was to install this on an older personal laptop that I had, which was fairly straight forward, however, it had a smaller hard drive, so definitely need to free up at least 50 GB of hard drive space to handle the install.

6) As for the cable, I picked up the Bimmergeek's cable. To be honest, wasn't necessarily impressed with the cable (i.e., in that it's a premium over the other cables you can buy off Amazon). In the end, everyone is buying from the same ODM reference design from a few factories in China. There's a toggle button on the Bimmergeek cable that switches left/right (supposedly you flip this for older E-model cars). That button on my was already flopping about in the housing, still attached to the PCB but probably will get loose at some point. In any event, I found that for the E9x models, you don't need to touch this toggle and just leave it in the "right" position.

7) Final step was to fire up the ISTA+ and then try to get the car to communicate to it. This is where it got a bit confusing. The BMW tools install creates a EDIABAS folder in the C:\. Instructions there are to make sure your cable COM # (e.g., 1) matches the setting in the OBD.INI file. Then to make sure your EDIABAS.INI file inteface is set to STD:OBD. I made both these changes and when I tried to connect to ISTA+, I was still getting the connection host error.

Turns out, there is another EDIABAS folder that was created under the \Rheingold install folder. There was no OBD.INI file in this folder, but there was another EDIABAS.INI file. Changed the setting to STD:OBD and low and behold everything worked. Funny though even though there were detailed instructions on everything, this last step was failed to be mentioned.

----------------------------

Anyways, now that ISTA+ is working, went ahead and registered my recent battery change. The ISTA interface is a bit kludgey and many drill-down menus that require "Continue" confirmation, but one thing I've noticed is that Error Code scanning is very quick, like 5 sec. max vs. the typical 1 min+ that you would see on a Carly scanner or even Foxwell scanner.

Definitely in the end, am very happy I went through this process, albeit frustrating at times.

Glad you got it working!


Here are my notes in comparision to yours

1. I download from rutracker.org for the latest and greatest Rhiengold on torrents. I use BimmerGeeks Standard tools download as EasyMikes seems to not be complete for most of the install.

2. rutracker.org

3. If you download Mega App for Desktop, you can leave it on and it will auto-resume after the 6hrs...it will take weeks to get it though.

4. .NET 3.5 is a pain since it isn't installed from Windows 10. You can get it from the Windows 10 ISO <iso>\sources\sxs\ as the alternate install path when you install window features. There is full installers lingering on Microsoft's website but a little harder to find.

6. BimmerGeek cable has an updated firmware (which I do not know if any other Chinese ones have yet) that allows you to update the DME with WinFKP should you want the 241E DME update.

7. Interesting! my Rheingold\EDIABAS\EDIABAS.ini is untouched and set to REMOTE.



I also use something that isn't listed on here, called Ediabas konfigurator 2.0. It allows me to reconfigure Ediabas on the fly as I also work with Fxx cars that require the ENET cable.
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      04-23-2019, 11:31 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derbo View Post
6. BimmerGeek cable has an updated firmware (which I do not know if any other Chinese ones have yet) that allows you to update the DME with WinFKP should you want the 241E DME update.
This. The BG cable is much faster and stable when handling flash protocols for module updates (not just coding).

I had the same problem with the switchboard epoxy coming undone. They replaced my cable and I haven't had any such issues with the replacement one. Worst case I suppose one could use a dab of JB Plastiweld and there's no way it comes off again.
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      04-24-2019, 02:18 PM   #17
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kimiraikkonen

Sorry for the late reply but glad you got it working.... was away on biz the 1st 2 weeks of April and playing catch up ever since.
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      05-14-2019, 12:03 AM   #18
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Programming Could Not Initialise

Running ISTA/D 4.15.16 and getting an error "programming could not initialize" error when connecting to my '13 535i. From combing through forums it appears it could be missing files, such as psdz's or it could be from using an E-sys cable.. but then I've seen people say you can program with an E-sys, but is that only with ISTA-P using the ICOM emulator? I have ISTA-P but it gives me an error saying "programming no longer approved with connected vehicle" and directs me to use ISTA 4, which is what I have installed... I'm stuck! I need to clear the crash data from ACSM and it'd be nice to code a few things...
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      10-08-2023, 05:09 PM   #19
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ISO link for IstaP/D

is there any chance i can get a link? my account is new and wont let me PM. Shaw.dog1@yahoo.com
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