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Not merely has BMW electrical architecture adjusted around the final 10 years, but so has the equipment to company them. The gear has transformed, the interfaces have changed and in addition the complexity of set up and use. More info Got Integrity.
Early equipment
Again inside the 1990's, the Group Tester 1 (GT1) was released. There were a couple of versions, like DIS In addition (stationary setup), nevertheless the GT1 is the most typical and it is what's going to be referenced here. The GT1 is a portable gadget which contained a chargeable battery. It's a touchscreen display for straightforward use. It contained software package for Diagnosing and in addition had computer software referred to as TIS (Technological Information Exhibit) which can be the Support & Repair Details. Early variations of Diagnostics also contained software program known as Coding, Programming & Individualization (CIP). So from the same tool, you could Diagnose the problem, look up how to replace the component and then perform the needed initializations for the new part. Two interfaces were being used: EDIC (yellow interface) and the OPS (orange interface). Later versions of the OPS were referred to as OPPS, since they carried additional diagnostics for the Byteflite system and they were being also yellow, but much bigger than the EDIC. Authentic GT1s are on the transportable touchscreen unit. There are many "cloned" units out there, adapted to work on a PC. Either genuine or cloned, the interfaces work the same and connect via an Ethernet port.
Later versions of the GT1 software removed CIP, and moved it to a separate computer (for storage), but still accessible from the GT1. This new software was called Progman (short for Program Manager). This new computer software contained all of the CIP functions and added new features like multiple car programming and dual channel programming for each car (DIAGBUS and MOST bus simultaneously).
Third Generation tools
Fast forward to about 2008 when the Third Generation (3G) of devices was released: ISIS. The contents of ISIS are so large, that dedicated servers are installed at the dealership. An online version is available to the aftermarket for a fee, known as OSS. It can be found at BMW's tech website. With the introduction of ISIS comes a new interface, called ICOM. Previous interfaces (EDIC & OPS) won't work with ISIS. ISIS consists of a number of parts, since it completely replaced GT1 & Progman. The main part of ISIS that is used inside the shop is known as "ISTA", which can be further broken down into two parts: ISTA/D for Diagnosing vehicles and ISTA/P for Coding, Programming & Individualization.
Comparison
GT1s can be found just about anywhere, including eBay for very cheap. BMW realized that the tool was easily cloned and sold worldwide. Many levels of security have been put into the creation of ISIS to prevent this, in both resident servers and online versions. This makes it much harder for non-dealer shops to work on the newer cars. A single would think that since the GT1 was discontinued in 2009, you could just keep using that for several more years until the newer system became more available, nevertheless, BMW stayed a single step ahead! Whenever a car is programmed with the new ISTA/P, it upgrades the software program beyond the level of what Program can recognize. That means, once a car has been updated with ISTA/P, you can NEVER use Progman on it again, rendering the "cloned" variations useless on that particular car. Also, when a new module is installed, the software program that is pre-installed on that module is also newer than what Program can recognize, which can stop the entire programming process, forcing the car to be programmed by ISTA/P.
