[icandolikeyoo]

Hello everyone, 

   the last time I was here was in 2015 and since then I had for BMW diagnostics and coding only those programs: 

- BMW Scanner
- INPA
- NCS Expert

We all got E models from around the year 2000 in our family so there was really no need to change anything about that and I got really good at those 3 apps over time. Before that I used Carsoft so you can imagine how uplifting that change was. Recently my brother bought a slightly damaged F model for cheap and asked me if I could get a reader for that too. After making myself smart on the internet I found out that the best way would be to just jump right in  and I bought an ESYS cable with the ESYS SW and ISTA+. I got it all working and did my first diagnose of my E46 model on a DCAN cable in ISTA+ no problem. The program found even more errors then the BMW Scanner and INPA would. 

I educated myself a bit about the ISTA versions but I still lack a bit of knowledge. Could please anyone tell me what the difference is between P and D and +? Is the + a combo of D and P? And what exactly can I do in expert mode (P version has it, D version no idea and + probably has it but nobody knows how to access it yet)? Or better yet: can the expert mode replace the NCS coding for me or is there someting I am missing? 

Sorry if this is too long to read, just tried to shortly introduce myself and be polite   Thanks for any replies in advance

[2013m5]

As I understood the ISTA/P is for programming/coding for E, and early F, I series up to version 3.63.x but after that you may need IBAC code. 
BMW move all F and I program software to ISTA-D.
ISTA-D is use for Diagnostics E series but can’t program because boardnet 2020.
The E-SYS cable you bought is for F, I and G series.
F, I and G series are boardnet 2020, ISTA-D is able to Diagnostics/Program.
May someone chime in.

Hope this help.

[Levanime]

So, after BMW Standard Tools (INPA, NCSExpert, Tool32, WinKFP, etc) BMW developed new software called ISTA
at the beginning there was ISTA/P (P stands for Programming) was for programming
ISTA/D (aka Rheingold) was for Diagnostics

after version 4, ISTA/D became ISTA+
in ISTA+ there was added programming functionality for F/G/I series
E series(and F01) Programming stayed in ISTA/P

Hope it makes sense

[icandolikeyoo]

Perfectly. Thanks a lot That was what I assumed but I was missing a few pieces of the puzzle I left the whole story when i first reached up to ISTA P and I didn't consider it a must have for me. Just a last question. Can I install ISTA P along with ISTA+?

[2013m5]

Yes, you can install without license as stand alone, see these and hope this help.
For ISTA-P https://cartechnology.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=25664
For ISTA-D https://cartechnology.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=45774
and https://cartechnology.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=53044

[Matthew53]

One important thing. Do not use K+DCAN to programm, because it's not safe. To programm in ISTA+, you can only use ICOM, Enet won't work, because there are no voltages on KL15 and 30. To programm with Enet, you can use ESYS.

[icandolikeyoo]

One important thing. Do not use K+DCAN to programm, because it's not safe. To programm in ISTA+, you can only use ICOM, Enet won't work, because there are no voltages on KL15 and 30. To programm with Enet, you can use ESYS.

Okay thanks for the heads up. But just to understand you correctly. ISTA+ does not allow me to code anything right now so I only use it to check for errors and delete them if nescessary. I would like to move from NCS to ISTA-P for coding but on E46, E39 etc. cars. So far as I know it should be okay to use a D-CAN (I do not insist on that statement since I might be wrong about that). For any newer model like the F10 I would use only the Enet cable along with ESYS....which is completely newland to me for now but I'll get there over time Does all that go well together or am I somewhere off track?

---

There is one thing I'd like to ask if nobody minds. I recently used the ISTA+ on my fathers E39 and a lot of the error codes I clicked on had no information. Just a number like 00038 and even Google didn't know about half of them. Some errors have a nice and decent description thou. Am I possibly missing some files which contain those descriptions or is it possible that some errors simply lack any text and I should switch back to a different SW for diagnosis where I may have more luck? BTW I wanted to try the last one but my dad had little time so he had to go. Otherwise I would have tested that myself