Vcds
- Thread starter H-M3
- Start date
audifan
A2OC Donor
Well as VCDS will run on any Windows laptop running XP or later and a USB port take your pick. If however you go for a full VCDS version instead of Lite you can get the Hex-Net which is a WiFi version of VCDs so this could be run from a PC. The cables for VCDS almost make it totally impractical to use the USB versions of VCDS on a PC.
So the choice is yours and does come down to budget and there are many good used laptops out there at very reasonable cost. It may even be worth while a cheap laptop and a higher spec of VCDS as unregistered Lite is less informative than the registered version. The full fat versions also give more ability and can work on later cars than the basic Lite can. There is very little difference in the speed of operation of VCDS between an old Windows XP laptop and an all singing Windows 11 version. One tip is ONLY use that laptop for the car software and stay of the internet to prevent issues.
As for the BMW software you would have to see if that has any particular computer demands....
Note although designed for Windows VCDS will apparently work on a Mac using Windows emulation.
So the choice is yours and does come down to budget and there are many good used laptops out there at very reasonable cost. It may even be worth while a cheap laptop and a higher spec of VCDS as unregistered Lite is less informative than the registered version. The full fat versions also give more ability and can work on later cars than the basic Lite can. There is very little difference in the speed of operation of VCDS between an old Windows XP laptop and an all singing Windows 11 version. One tip is ONLY use that laptop for the car software and stay of the internet to prevent issues.
As for the BMW software you would have to see if that has any particular computer demands....
Note although designed for Windows VCDS will apparently work on a Mac using Windows emulation.
2work
Well Known Member
Morning,
Graham @audifan is spot on above.
Just to add my tuppence worth if you prefer a Mac, I’ve got a registered HEX-NET unlimited which is running on a 2012 i5 MacBook Pro 13” that utilises Windows 10 via Bootcamp. Windows 10 is free so I have the best of both IT worlds. I tried a Virtual Machine in the guise of VirtualBox (Windows XP) and it wasn’t very good to be honest so went ahead with the correct way of doing things.
The 2012 MacBooks are quite cheap (£100) and easy to upgrade the RAM (2x 8GB sticks @ £16 each) and HDD to a SSD (256GB roughly £30-40 second hand) for improved boot up and application opening.
A little online research reveals that many BMW users have INPA (not sure if this is your software of choice for the BMW) working on Windows 10 via Bootcamp. For well under £200 you can have a very capable MacBook Pro that should be able to run all the software you mention including very demanding application like Photoshop etcetera.
Hope this helps if you’re more ‘Apple than Microsoft’.
Kind regards,
Tom
Graham @audifan is spot on above.
Just to add my tuppence worth if you prefer a Mac, I’ve got a registered HEX-NET unlimited which is running on a 2012 i5 MacBook Pro 13” that utilises Windows 10 via Bootcamp. Windows 10 is free so I have the best of both IT worlds. I tried a Virtual Machine in the guise of VirtualBox (Windows XP) and it wasn’t very good to be honest so went ahead with the correct way of doing things.
The 2012 MacBooks are quite cheap (£100) and easy to upgrade the RAM (2x 8GB sticks @ £16 each) and HDD to a SSD (256GB roughly £30-40 second hand) for improved boot up and application opening.
A little online research reveals that many BMW users have INPA (not sure if this is your software of choice for the BMW) working on Windows 10 via Bootcamp. For well under £200 you can have a very capable MacBook Pro that should be able to run all the software you mention including very demanding application like Photoshop etcetera.
Hope this helps if you’re more ‘Apple than Microsoft’.
Kind regards,
Tom
Tomscar
Member
Hi H-M3 ... I run the full fat VCDS on a Windows 7 Asus Eee Netbook (an eBay purchase £30) without any issues.
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2work
Well Known Member
Evening,
Here’s some eBay links for what has been mentioned so far:
2012 MacBook Pro 13”
ASU’s Eee Netbook
Thinkpad X200
Microsoft Surface Pro
Work out which option you’d prefer and conduct enquiries for the best bargain. There will be many other options of course, you could start your own search on the usual websites for any particular make/manufacturer.
Main thing with dated IT is reduced battery life so search for genuine new battery prices before commuting to any purchase of a laptop.
Kind regards,
Tom
Here’s some eBay links for what has been mentioned so far:
2012 MacBook Pro 13”
ASU’s Eee Netbook
Thinkpad X200
Microsoft Surface Pro
Work out which option you’d prefer and conduct enquiries for the best bargain. There will be many other options of course, you could start your own search on the usual websites for any particular make/manufacturer.
Main thing with dated IT is reduced battery life so search for genuine new battery prices before commuting to any purchase of a laptop.
Kind regards,
Tom
2work
Well Known Member
Additional link added
PlasticMac
Admin Team
The battery in my old HP was not lasting very long, but swapping the old hard drive for an ssd (solid state drive), improved the battery life, by using much less power. Doesn't need to be very large, as vcds is a pretty undemanding bit of software.
Mac.
I have had VCDS working on basically any computer since it is not HW intensive. I have used Surface 1 for years. I have used it on a Chinese laptop with some low spec Celeron processor without any problem.
Currently I use it on Macbook Pro 2017 with Bootcamp that has Windows 10 installed, which gives me enormous battery life.
If you are buying only for this, check the battery life if you will be mobile. That is the most problematic part with old laptops.
But if you can stretch to Macbook: that is really quality stuff. I have few other computers, but from buying this Macbook, I use it almost exclusivelly. If you buy newer Macbook, you will need quality USB-c to USB converter if you do not go for VCDS Wifi version.
Currently I use it on Macbook Pro 2017 with Bootcamp that has Windows 10 installed, which gives me enormous battery life.
If you are buying only for this, check the battery life if you will be mobile. That is the most problematic part with old laptops.
But if you can stretch to Macbook: that is really quality stuff. I have few other computers, but from buying this Macbook, I use it almost exclusivelly. If you buy newer Macbook, you will need quality USB-c to USB converter if you do not go for VCDS Wifi version.
PlasticMac
Admin Team
Licensed VCDS Lite will only work on the pc you nominated at sign up. You can make one change, in the event of pc failure.
No idea on other, non Lite versions.
Given that you can have the free version of VCDS on any pc, requiring a lead at under a tenner, why would you spend lots of pennies on a non VAG specific reader?
The free version will report every error on your A2.
Mac.
Edwrai
Member
Not if you run it on a Virtual machine… then you can use it on any machine
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PlasticMac
Admin Team
I guess that's not an option for most of us though.
Is it the "virtual machine" along with it's ID, that is portable?
Mac.
Edwrai
Member
Yes. Either use hyper-v which is free with windows pro or virtual box which is also free.
I like VMware workstations but that is licensed.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Congrats, vcds is a really great tool.
Just install Bootcamp with Win10 on your Macbook and you are good to go
.
If you want to spend some money, buy whatever you want and it best suits you. Vcds is not HW intensive and it will run on any computer. Of course it needs to have USB port. Btw. I paid for my Macboox used 500 eur.
If I remember correctly this goes also for 3 or 10 VIN limited versions.
If you are talking about cloned versions, that is a different story. Usually they require internet access to be turned off, so they do not lock the cable. But mention this to avoid missunderstanding and confusion.
Just install Bootcamp with Win10 on your Macbook and you are good to go
.If you want to spend some money, buy whatever you want and it best suits you. Vcds is not HW intensive and it will run on any computer. Of course it needs to have USB port
. Btw. I paid for my Macboox used 500 eur.I do not understand why would anyone bother with virtual machine if using genuine VCDS. License is in the adapter and it does not care on how many computers you install vcds and use it. I have used my cable on at least 15 different computers without a single complication.
If I remember correctly this goes also for 3 or 10 VIN limited versions.
If you are talking about cloned versions, that is a different story. Usually they require internet access to be turned off, so they do not lock the cable. But mention this to avoid missunderstanding and confusion.
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steve_c
Grumpy OAP & A2OC Donor
I believe that the advantage of using a virtual machine is for those people who have registered copies of VCDS-Lite. With VCDS-Lite, there is no official connecting cable, and certainly not one that contains licensed firmware. There is, however, a very tight restriction on the number of PCs a registered copy can be run on.