INPA it's driving me nuts

[Rick G]

I have posted the same thing on the 7 Series register but will do so here to possibly get to more users.
I have been using the INPA software since I had a E36 320 then onto the E32 730 V8. I found that it didn't do everything I would have liked and was a bit clunky but helpful however when I got this current BMW a E53 2004 I found that the version I was using did not support the X5 so after some dud buys from our Chinese "friends" I purchased a complete new setup from a UK mob DJWW Diagnostics which it is claimed does work with the X5.
Apparently the version I was using did not interface with OBDII which is contrary to what I have read in some places since.
This is where my problems started (just when I should have been able to think they had been solved).
The installation instructions were to say the least problematic and difficult to follow. I have tried many times, about 12-15, to contact then via the email given in the instructions and get nowhere, as in no answer.
I am trying to install it on a relative new laptop running W10 or W8.1. I managed, after many months of trying to interpret the instructions, to get the VM Ware to install and get as far as firing up the INPA and get to the screen where it says Battery ON/OFF and Ignition ON/OFF but if I shut the laptop down which I was doing because "I will do it tomorrow" when I start the laptop up next day the Battery/Ignition ON/OFF indicators are both off and nothing will work, as in it will not interact with the car. The instructions say that if that is the case the drivers for the USB port are not installed correctly. The only way I can get it working to that stage is to do a fresh install of the OS and all the INPA VM Ware stuff then if I connect to the car without turning the laptop off it has worked once which is when it diagnosed a bad ignition switch and that is the only time it has worked.
Now the question is can anyone help here or do I just hang the CDs up on a bit of string over the veggie patch to scare the birds away and if that is the case what can I use to interrogate the system of this car so as to fix a few problems that a Icarsoft scanner wont or can't read/fix.

[Bladerunner919]

I've been using INPA, Carsoft and DIS for some years on my 1996 Z3, and they all work fine. I recently bought an E53 X5 and wanted to be able to tweak some of the options without using NCS, so I bought this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154021453500

It's the easiest of the lot to use and has all the functionality you will need, both for diagnosis and for changing options on the car (eg auto locking, whether the lights flash when the alarm is set, etc).

I'd recommend this as a solution to your problems.

[Rick G]

Thanks that is exactly the thing I have been looking for.
Even when I had the INPA stuff working it was real clunky and awkward to use.

[Bladerunner919]

One bit of advice, that stumped me for a while - when you have the software and the drivers for the cable loaded, you will get an error when you start up the software unless the cable is already plugged into the car.

I was indoors loading it all up and then trying to start the software but getting the error, and ended up reloading it a couple of times thinking I was chasing a problem. I think the cable must need to be taking power from the OBD port for the PC to be able to 'see' it properly.

[Rick G]

OK Thanks I will be ready for that.