[fatty335]

Since newTIS was turned off earlier this week, I'm attempting to secure an alternate means of getting diagnostic and repair info. My research led me to ISTA-D. I downloaded the torrent and followed the directions to the letter. However, when I try to start the program, it simply says "Failed to start ISTA. Please make sure your ISTA configuration is valid. In doubt reset any non standard ISTA configuration and reinstall ISTA." I'm hoping one of you programming wizards out there can assist a computer-inept old guy...

[dpaul]

Do you have BMW standard tools (INPA, NCSExpert, Tool32, WinKFP) installed and working properly?

[fatty335]

Originally Posted by dpaul

Do you have BMW standard tools (INPA, NCSExpert, Tool32, WinKFP) installed and working properly?

No, I'm just interested in running ISTA-D standalone right now so that's all I've installed.

[dpaul]

Some distributions of ISTA require Standard tool installation first. There are a lot of distributions out there and some require quite a lot of fiddling. The one I use now is the Bimmergeeks distribution, which was pretty easy to install, after Standard Tools are in place. Unfortunately, I just checked and they seemed to have removed the link from their site.

In any case, it is simple to install StandardTools and getting that working will remove the possibility of hardware or operating system impediments to ISTA function.

I'm assuming you have a suitable KDCAN cable?

[fatty335]

Originally Posted by dpaul

Some distributions of ISTA require Standard tool installation first. There are a lot of distributions out there and some require quite a lot of fiddling. The one I use now is the Bimmergeeks distribution, which was pretty easy to install, after Standard Tools are in place. Unfortunately, I just checked and they seemed to have removed the link from their site.

In any case, it is simple to install StandardTools and getting that working will remove the possibility of hardware or operating system impediments to ISTA function.

I'm assuming you have a suitable KDCAN cable?

I selected this particular installation because it advertised standalone capability. I really don't require the additional functionality of the rest of standard tools and I don't want to sacrifice the additional storage space on the ole hard drive; I really just need a replacement for newTIS. Yes, I do have a suitable KDCAN cable.

[dpaul]

Standard tools takes up very little space compared to ISTA. They provide a lot of functionality that ISTA-D does not and they load and execute very quickly compared to ISTA. I far prefer the factory tool (versus the dealer tool) for diagnostics, component testing, module updates and custom coding. Your choice but I'd install them and make sure they work first before moving to ISTA.

But if all you are interested in is a replacement for NewTis, ISTA will provide it and if does not need to be connected to the vehicle for that purpose. That's basically what I use ISTA for.

IMO, the simplest way forward for you is to wipe your current install and try different distribution. Without a lot of specific detail, it will be hard for anyone to troubleshoot your installation.

Maybe others will have better suggestions

[ctuna]

Bimmergeeks download is common and known to work..
It requires setting up Standard Tools First.

It's worth having standard tools for coding and programming.

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1581663

[dpaul]

Originally Posted by ctuna

Bimmergeeks download is common and known to work..
It requires setting up Standard Tools First.

It's worth having standard tools for coding and programming.

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1581663

Bimmergeeks has removed it from their download page

[fatty335]

Originally Posted by dpaul

Standard tools takes up very little space compared to ISTA. They provide a lot of functionality that ISTA-D does not and they load and execute very quickly compared to ISTA. I far prefer the factory tool (versus the dealer tool) for diagnostics, component testing, module updates and custom coding. Your choice but I'd install them and make sure they work first before moving to ISTA.

But if all you are interested in is a replacement for NewTis, ISTA will provide it and if does not need to be connected to the vehicle for that purpose. That's basically what I use ISTA for.

IMO, the simplest way forward for you is to wipe your current install and try different distribution. Without a lot of specific detail, it will be hard for anyone to troubleshoot your installation.

Maybe others will have better suggestions

Bummer, I was hoping that wouldn't be the consensus. I'm 99% sure I have all the correct files as I've looked at a few complete packages like mine and the ~30 or so files are all the same. The various instructions and install videos I consulted all follow the same procedures too. Are there any well known common install mistakes or specific issues with Windoes 10 that I should be aware of?

[ctuna]

If you bothered to read the link . The common windows 10 problems are not
having a full complement of the C++ excutables from Microsoft .
The other thing in Windows 10 you have to Open the Ista.exe or istagui as Admin.
Windows 10 is stingy with letting you open as admin even if you think you are
admin you may not be . right click on the istagui and make sure you choose open as Admin.

Yeah it looks like they did remove ista d

[fatty335]

Originally Posted by ctuna

If you bothered to read the link . The common windows 10 problems are not
having a full complement of the C++ excutables from Microsoft .
The other thing in Windows 10 you have to Open the Ista.exe or istagui as Admin.
Windows 10 is stingy with letting you open as admin even if you think you are
admin you may not be . right click on the istagui and make sure you choose open as Admin.

Yeah it looks like they did remove ista d

Thanks for the reply ctuna; I'm not sure which link you're referring to, however, I did right click on the .exe shortcut I created and selected "run as administrator" and I successfully downloaded and installed all files provided related to C++ as the install instructions specified.

[turbotel]

Just tried to download ista d but only managed 4gb out of 19gb with 'write error'
stopping download.

[dpaul]

Originally Posted by fatty335

Thanks for the reply ctuna; I'm not sure which link you're referring to, however, I did right click on the .exe shortcut I created and selected "run as administrator" and I successfully downloaded and installed all files provided related to C++ as the install instructions specified.

This link:
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1581663

[fatty335]

Just in case I screwed up the install procedure, here's what I did:
(Installed on a less than 1-year-old ASUSPro laptop running Windows 10)

Installed (in order):

Patched_EDIABAS_7.3.0
Java (version 8, update 261)
VCRedist x86 x64 All in One Multilingual
vs90_piaredist
net framework 4.5.2, 4.6.2, 4.7.1, and 4.7.2 (none of these actually installed, a message came up after each attempt that said something like "a higher version of the framework is already installed on your computer")

unzipped ISTA-D 4.15.16 using 7-Zip (20.00 alpha) into D:\BMW\Rheingold
extracted contents of SQLiteDBs into D:\BMW\Rheingold\SQLiteDBs (only extracted "OTHER 4.15.12" and "EN 4.15.12" because I only need English)

ran RCleaner v4.4
ran ISTA-D Reg Fix x64
created desktop shortcut of D:\BMW\Rheingold\TesterGUI\bin\Release\ISTAGUI.exe and then right clicked on the icon, selected properties, selected compatibility, and checked "run this program as an administrator"

So the above procedure is resulting in the failure message I described earlier. Additionally, after one of the steps (don't recall exactly which one), it prompted me to restart the computer, which I did.

[ctuna]

If you have windows 10 and its been updated.
The netframework you have will be well beyond what's required.
I think it was on 4.8 something the last time I checked.

The link that Bimmergeeks took down may still exist it wasn't there's
but you might need solicit one of the other members to find it.

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1681573

did you try these.

[MrSweet1991]

If all you want is the replacement for newtis then why not download the software it replicated "bmwtis" lol J0k3r5 has a mega download link to everything you could possibly need, I downloaded the DIS+TIS package and it basically installs VMWare and then you mount the image with Tis already installed. I'll miss newtis but this is a good way to get it back as well.

[fatty335]

Originally Posted by MrSweet1991

If all you want is the replacement for newtis then why not download the software it replicated "bmwtis" lol J0k3r5 has a mega download link to everything you could possibly need, I downloaded the DIS+TIS package and it basically installs VMWare and then you mount the image with Tis already installed. I'll miss newtis but this is a good way to get it back as well.

Thanks for the reply MrSweet, but the above sounds well beyond my current computer abilities. On a positive note, I think I fixed my problem: I had the base "other 4.15.12" and "english 4.15.12" partitioned in separate folders within the SQLiteDBs within Rheingold. When I pulled them all out of their individual folders, the program suddenly came to life! Now I just need to figure out how to access all the needed info. Thanks to everyone who helped out! And, if anyone else is curious, I have ISTA-D running standalone without any other of the standard tools installed.

[Hayk90]

Wanted to share how I got my ISTA working as I was having similar issues.

I have a really old PC that I kept around for stuff like this.

Core2Duo 2.4Ghz
4GB RAM
150GB SSD
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

I had BimmerGeeks Standard Tools working and tried installing their ISTA-D (got it before they removed the link). Followed all the step but the application wouldn’t open. I would just get a spinning wheel and then nothing.

So I reformatted the computer and installed Win 7 Home Premium 32-bit.

Got Standard Tools to work again.

Then followed the same instructions to get ISTA D installed, and it wouldn’t open. Now I got a pop up saying the application failed to start and I could have Windows search for a solution online. I tried getting every version of Visual Studio Redistributable from 2010 till now in x86(32-bit) that was on Microsoft’s site but it wouldn’t work. Same issues.

Then I went to this thread. “Software - Help Yourself”
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1681573

I downloaded the ISTA 4.17.41 Spider80 version. Then I extracted it using Zip7 19.00.

I deleted the BimmerGeeks Rheingold folder from my Program Files folder and replaced it with the Spider80 Rheingold folder.

I ran the registry fix for x86 from the same file.

I also copied all the files from the attached BLP 4.17.40.7z into the appropriate folder in Rheingold.

Finally I extracted the SQLiteDBs files for EN 4.17.40.7z into the SQLiteDBs folder found in Rheingold.

When I tried launching ISTA it gave me the same error as in post #1. So I knew I was getting close.

I went back and extracted the SQLiteDBs for OTHER 4.17.40.7z into SQLiteDBs in my Rheingold folder.

Launched the shortcut and it finally worked!

I put in my name, kept the email the same.
Then I pasted the License key from the Spider80 download. And finally I put in a letter “A” into the ISIS field. It gave me an error and quit.

I relaunched the application, it said it crashed last time due to a server issue but once I dismissed that, it works normally now.

I played around by entering my VIN and seemed to work ok. Lots of stuff is obviously limited but I was able to find the TIS pages which is great and some other functions like registering a new battery.

I’m gonna try connecting to my car now and see how it goes.



I hope this helped anyone in the future as I couldn’t find any clear instructions for the ISTA installation aside from the text file in the BimmerGeeks download which is no longer on their site. Also there is hardly any help with troubleshooting the issues. So I was on my own for days trying to figure this out.


I learned that VisualStudio Redistributables are very important and you may need to get every version of it in x86 and x64. And those SQLiteDB language files are also very important. Not sure what they do.

Edit: ISTA works perfectly. Was able to get rid of the pesky 54C6 VTG: Oil Wear code by resetting the oil change counter for the Transfer Case. And also register a new battery replacement. Lots of other stuff to learn, but overall very impressed coming from INPA.

[wcs531]

BMW is really on a hunt trying to get all their info taken down. Even though this is obviously their intellectual property, I can't help but think this will shoot them in the foot a bit. I assume the only people looking for this ISTA etc are true enthusiasts/DIYers who will likely avoid dealerships anyway, and this could just discourage them (and others who benefit off of their work) from owning future BMWs. The only reason I have a BMW is because the community on here is so great, always helping each other out to hunt down mystery issues or figuring out ways to improve their car.

[wcs531]

Edit: reuploaded zip file but still seem to have issues with trackers and/or ports

See attached for a Torrent link to the BimmerGeeks version of ISTA-D 4.01 / Rheingold with their instructions and various required windows framework installers.

I would use 7zip to unzip once the actual torrent is downloaded to avoid any issues. I feel like winrar and 7zip dont play well together all the time.

[J0K3R5]

BimmerGeeks ISTA(D) 4.01.21

https://mega.nz/file/o4wXBKpT#G0C3_H...o9uQ4EpxjI8oZs

[fatty335]

Once again, thanks to everyone for their help. After having ISTA-D standalone running for a few days now, I can confidently say it will absolutely replicate all the information that was in newTIS and more. It will even do some maintenance routines like steering angle recalibration and brake bleed procedure. A pain to get running and you have to learn the menus but, all-in-all, quite happy with this as a newTIS replacement.