This is an installation guide for Volvos Vida/DiCE diagnostics system.

It was composed while helping a friend install Vida for use on a personal vehicle. No warranty is implied nor given. Use at your own risk.

Vida/DiCE Unit Purchase

The unit that was ordered: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/FREE-SHIPPING-Wholesale-2011-hot-sale-Volvo-Vida-DiCE2011A/437145144.html Vendor: Shenzhen OEMScan Technology Co., Ltd. The unit from OEMScan had good reviews and ratings. See: http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?168150-DiCE-units-from-China-(non-OEM)lastest-builds-brief-summary-of-three-suppliers&highlight=vida The product ordered included Vida 2012A and a DiCE cable. I am told it arrived quickly, and the seller was available to answer pre-sales questions over chat. Purchase Date: January 2013

System Requirements
Windows XP SP3 Windows XP Professional SP3 was the recommended version of Windows for the specific version of the unit I installed (Vida 2012A). Both Both Vida and DiCE ran successfully under Windows XP SP3. Must be Professional edition, not Home. Some customers claim this requirement can be bypassed by editing the Windows registry. I have not verified this claim. See: http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?171629-Found-a-workaround-for-Vidaand-xp-home-users&highlight=windows+home+registry For easiest install, the operating system should be 32-bit, not 64-bit (though some customers report success on 64-bit systems with additional configuration/updates) Must have Internet Explorer 8 installed. Note that Internet Explorer 8 is not the default browser for Windows XP. It must be downloaded and installed prior to installing Vida. To download Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=43 Minimum of 2 GB RAM required. 40MB free hard disk space required. Windows 7 Vida is not supported on any Home version of Windows 7

For me, Vida 2012A (on its own, without the DiCE cable) ran successfully on Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, after some unexpected installation steps (see Installation, below). The DiCE unit I attempted to install did not work on Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. When I plugged it in, the driver installation failed (the status in Windows device manager read This device wont start). I tried installing the latest driver (note: driver not firmware) from Volvo, version 5.6.12, from the following location: https://www.volvotechinfo.com/index.cfm?event=info.softwareUpdates Even with the updated driver, DiCE still did not work. Some customers claim that any recent DiCE cable will work on 64-bit Windows 7 once it has been upgraded to the latest DiCE firmware. I chose not to update firmware due to reports of damage done to DiCE units during firmware updates (see Warning! Do Not Upgrade Firmware! under Installation, below). Here are some images of the DiCE driver installation failure on Windows 7 Professional 64-bit:

Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 Both Vida and DiCE worked in the free Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 available at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx. However, in Windows XP Mode, Vida ran too slowly to be usable for my friends needs. Excellent instructions for installing Vida on Windows XP Mode in Window 7 are available at: http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=48418&p=239794 To use DiCE in Windows XP Mode emulation, follow these steps: a. Start Vida. b. Connect DiCE cable. c. In Windows XP Mode, select USB > Attach DiCE Automotive Adapter. Windows 8 Support is unknown/unlikely

Vida/DiCE Installation and Setup

To install Vida and DiCE, follow the tasks in the sections below. Full installation takes 30-90 minutes.

Task 1) Install Vida

To install Vida, follow these steps: 1. If the DiCE cable is currently plugged into the computer, unplug it. 2. Restart your computer and do not start any applications, particularly Internet Explorer. 3. Adjust your computers sleep settings to never sleep so that the computer does not turn off/hibernate/sleep during the lengthy installation. 4. Insert the Vida DVD. 5. If the DVD does not auto-start, browse the contents of the DVD and run the following file: Install\DVD\Vida_dvdheader\Main\setup.exe 6. If the DVD auto-starts, permit setup to run (if requested), and then wait for the Vida Setup screen to appear. 7. On the Vida Setup screen, choose Vida All-in-one. 8. On the Select VIDA Language screen, un-check de-DE. 9. On the Select VIDA Language screen, select language (en-US or en-GB), then click Next. 10. Vida Setup now checks to see if it can be installed on your computer. If the check fails, setup quits. If the check succeeds, setup proceeds. 11. On the Choose Destination Location screen, Click Next. Do not change the install location. Vida must install to c:\VIDA. 12. On the Licence Agreement screen, click Yes. 13. Vida will now install a variety of different software, each of which has its own status message (e.g., Installing Framework35...). 14. Wait approximately 30-60 minutes (time varies from computer to computer). There is no progress bar and often no indication that the software is installing. The installer might appear to have crashed or stopped, but it is running silently. Make sure your computer does not sleep/hibernate during this part of the installation. Eventually, the screen will display the following message: VIDA installation in progress. Please wait until the installation process is completed. Continue to wait until all installer messages close. 15. Once all Vida software has been added to your computer, the Vida Configurator opens. By default, it has the Internet option selected under Location. Do not adjust any settings. Click Save. 16. On the Configuration results dialog, click Close. 17. Back on the Vida Configurator, click Close. 18. Wait for several more installation operations. 19. The final screen will appear, with the message InstallShield Wizard Complete. 20. Click Finish to restart your computer.

21. If the installation was successful, youll see Vida icons on your desktop, and a little V icon with a red dot in it in the system tray (bottom-right corner of the screen). 22. Wait for the red dot in the V icon to become a yellow arrow, then a green arrow. When the icon shows a green arrow, Vida is running. 23. Proceed to Installation Task 2, Patch Vida. If installation fails, you can attempt to diagnose the problem by looking at the installation log in the following location: c:\VIDA\System\Log

Task 2) Patch Vida

After installation is complete, follow these steps to patch (that is, modify) Vida for local use: Windows XP: 1. Browse the Vida DVD in Windows Explorer. 2. In the DVDs main folder, run the file nnn_patch.exe (where nnn is the name of the Vida software, e.g., VIDA2012A_patch.exe). 3. On the WinRAR self-extracting archive window, click Install. (Do not change the destination folder.) 4. A black DOS window will open and display some numbers. Wait until the DOS window closes (this step should only take a few seconds). 5. Vida will restart. Wait for the V icons arrow to turn green again. Windows 7: 1. Disable User Access Control. See Microsofts instructions: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-CA/windows-vista/Turn-User-Account-Controlon-or-off 2. Open the Vida DVD. 3. Right-click the file nnn_patch.exe (where nnn is the name of the Vida software, e.g., VIDA2012A_patch.exe). 4. Select Run as administrator 5. A black DOS window will open. Wait until the DOS window closes. 6. Restart Windows. This step is important. Vidas login screen did not let me type in the Login field until I rebooted Windows.

Task 3) Start Vida and Connect DiCE

Once Vida is installed, follow these steps to connect and configure the DiCE cable: 1. After completing Task 2, you should still have the Vida DVD in your computers DVD drive. Leave the Vida DVD in the DVD drive. 2. Double-click the Windows desktop icon Vida All-In-One. Vida will launch. 3. On Vidas welcome screen, for Username, enter either 1 or admin, then click OK.

4. Once login completes (can take ~30 seconds), connect the DiCE cable to your cars OBD II port, or attach a 12V DC power supply. 5. Turn the cars key to position II (Ignition). 6. Insert the DiCE cables USB cable into your computers USB port. 7. Windows will detect DiCE and start the Found New Hardware Wizard. 8. In the Found New Hardware Wizard window, select No, not this time. 9. In the Found New Hardware Wizard window, click Next. 10. In the Found New Hardware Wizard window, click Next again (leaving Install the software automatically selected). 11. In the Found New Hardware Wizard window, click Finish. 12. In Vida, click the Vehicle Profile tab, causing Vida to communicate with DiCE.

Task 4) Warning! Do Not Upgrade Firmware!

During Vidas first run, Vida may claim that DiCE is out of date and needs a firmware upgrade. Do not proceed with the upgrade! Click the X to close the upgrade window and continue without upgrading. Many users have reported destroying DiCE units through unsuccessful firmware upgrade attempts. Therefore, the general rule is do not upgrade your DiCE units firmware unless you really know what you are doing. For reports of DiCE destruction, see: http://forums.swedespeed.com/archive/index.php/t-168150.html? s=ad21ceb81b70fbf19bd25c12a7b41031 The most common cause of DiCE destruction is performing a DiCE firmware upgrade while Vida is running. Some users have achieved successful firmware upgrades while Vida is safely shut down, but in the majority of cases, the firmware is best left unchanged if it is working properly (despite Vidas claims to the contrary). In all cases, do not attempt to upgrade DiCEs firmware while Vida is running!

Task 5) Unblock Java

While you are using Vida, it might attempt to access the internet, causing a warning dialog to appear. On Windows 7, the warning will read Windows Firewall has blocked some features of Java(TM)....

To allow Vida to run, click Allow access (Windows 7) or Unblock (Windows XP).

Task 6) Disable WSL Login

While operating Vida you will eventually see a popup window that looks like this:

To prevent the above WSL Login window from launching regularly while using Vida, rename the file c:\VIDA\WslLogin.exe to c:\VIDA\WslLogin.exe-bak. The VCC Web Single Login External login is not required for standalone operation of Vida.

Task 7) (Optional) Remove Unnecessary Desktop Icons

Vida installs several desktop icons. The icon that reads Vida All-In-One starts Vida. All other icons are not regularly used and can be deleted from the desktop. All VIDA applications can be accessed later under c:\VIDA, even after the shortcuts are removed.

Basic Vida Usage

To read DTC codes from a car, follow these steps: 1. Double-click the desktop icon Vida All-In-One. 2. On Vidas welcome screen, for Username, enter either 1 or admin, then click OK. 3. Connect the DiCE cable to your cars OBD II port, or attach a 12V DC power supply. 4. Turn the cars key to position II (Ignition). 5. Insert the DiCE cables USB cable into your computer. 6. Click Define Vehicle Profile (or click the Vehicle Profile tab). 7. Click Read Vehicle. 8. Wait for Vehicle information to appear. The vehicles VIN number will be displayed along with a photograph of the model to which Vida is connected. 9. Select Transmission type.

10. Select Steeering type. This step is important. In many cases, the Diagnostics tab is greyed out and disabled until Transmission type and Steering type are selected. 11. Click the Diagnostics tab. 12. Wait for VIDA to retrieve information from the vehicle (the screen will display messages such as Verifying VIN and Reading Diagnostics Trouble Codes). 13. Click Fault Trace. 14. Click Delivery. 15. Review DTC codes listed on the Delivery tab. To clear DTC (Diagnostic Trouble Codes), follow these steps: 1. Follow the preceding procedure to read DTC codes for the vehicle. 2. On the Delivery tab, click ERASE ALL.

Vida/DiCE Documentation and Instructions Manuals

Vida User Guide http://www.eurossy.com/pdf/04VIDA-Help-en-GB.pdf Vida Online Training Course https://www.volvotechinfo.com/vtiShare/VIDATechInd/index.htm DiCE Instructions http://ddmauto.ru/userfiles/file/DiCE_20080616.pdf

Credits
Many thanks to the swedespeed forum members and online Volvo community. Most of the information in this document was gathered from various sources around the internet while trying to get Vida running. Feel free to print, republish, and redistribute at will; no credit is necessary.