You can get a disc with all on it from cable shack on eBay I purchased this from him seemed to work well. Here's a link

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-USB-OBD-Cable-lead-Ediabas-Inpa-GT1-DIS-SSS-Progman-/281101114471

 

DIS is old but fairly user friendly. A little outdated for a 2008 car. Rheingold is the same thing as ISTA D. It's the current dealer software, very powerful but not quite as user friendly as DIS.
ISTA needs an ICOM to work 100% but will still work with a cable, if a little slower. I have DIS and INPA and a few other programmes.

ISTA P is programming, D is diagnosis.

 

Thank you for the replies.

Ian83w - thanks for the link. I already have an interface cable on order that comes with a CD. I'll check it out when it arrives.

AP1 - thanks for the useful information. It looks as though I should start using DIS or INPA and then progress from there if necessary.
I don't think my current Laptop is powerful enough for ISTA/D. Also not sure yet that I fully understand what ICOM is or does.

 

The latest is that I've used BMW Standard Tools 2.12.exe to install INPA, EDIABAS and NCS EXPERT on my laptop. With additional files from other sources, INPA sort of works but I think that I need the correct script file for the E87 chassis with N43 engine. I've searched around but so far been unable to find a E87.ENG file that has reference to the N43 engine in the [ROOT_MOTOR] section.
Does anyone know where I can find such a file or have a link to a suitable source?

 

Hi, I don't know if this will be of much help. There is a guy called Beemergeeks on e90post that does remote coding and software installs/updates. I have used him to install all the programs on my laptop, code and update software on my car for about £35.

 

hi
you need to get the updated files - datens I believe....

 

Zutum710 - Thanks for the tip, but I would prefer to sort it myself as I've done it for other cars I've owned. There seems to be masses of information available for BMW vehicles which makes sorting useful stuff from not so useful stuff quite time consuming.

sammyspider - can you point me towards a reliable source of updated files?

 

What to look for when purchasing a cloud based automobile dealership management software online.?