2006 XC70 - Vida Dice vs Super Volvo Dice Pro

[Metallo]

Well, I read a lot on the Internet during the last days and it appears that there are devices that provide multicolor LEDs Vs blue LEDs like mine.
I have only seen two blue LEDs on mine:

Firmware status
Vehicle interface status

The other two LEDs are off.
Regardless, I never succeeded to get the device to be seen by VMware/XP SP3, it should connect once you plug it in, it does not give any error either, this means to me no communication at all.

I have already sent a message to the Chinese supplier... let's see what happens.
For sure I am astonished by the number of people mentioning they had to buy 2 or more before getting one working properly... I was born in an era when quality did matter (no too long ago though ), I cannot get used to this level of degradation.

Thanks
Alex

[coflynn]

For sure I am astonished by the number of people mentioning they had to buy 2 or more before getting one working properly... I was born in an era when quality did matter (no too long ago though ), I cannot get used to this level of degradation.

In fairness you could buy 5 illegit DiCE units, and it's still cheaper than the real one. So yes quality is lower, but thats because it's much much much cheaper...

[Metallo]

I am not sure I agree with you, but it is an opinion.
I am aware the price of the original DICE is sky high, I can stand with lower quality Vs price, but here there is no halfway, either it works or not and considering they still make high profit on the item, people should not go through this pain and buy multiple ones, also because this is a cost for them too.

Just my 2 cents...
Alex

[precopster]

Once the design of the original Dice is copied by a talented electronics engineer and the Vida interface is hacked by another software engineer the cost of production is super low; probably as low as $10-15 when produced in high volumes.

We aren't exactly paying the Chinese producers for any engineering excellence; Volvo engineers deserve most of the credit both in admiration and financial ways.

[quahog pearl]

I bought my DICE unit on ebay. Hardware was OK, but I could not install. Tried everything I could think of. Seller (bestbuyercn) claimed they would send a replacement disc(oh, so sorry, etc), never did. So I bought just a disc from a reputable seller for $28. Arrived in 2 days, installed without a hitch, works great. Just mentioning this for those of you who can't get it working, but the problem could just be a bad disc

[Metallo]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I am using the image suggested on top of this thread.
I have received a disc with 2013A but when I try to install it on a VMware XP SP3 and it comes to install Vida I get: Vida is not OK
At least the virtualization has got Vida in it, but DICE does not want to connect.

Cheers
Alex

[Metallo]

The issue with the disc 2013A is fixed.
The reason why it did not install on VMware is because SQL did not install automatically when executing the disc.
I installed from the same disc both SQL2005 and updated to 2008, then I did again the VIDA installation and everything works fine now, including DICE.
For completion, everything is running on VMware with XP SP3.

Thank you for your support in this thread, but I am about to open a new one because I need your opinion on the results

Thanks
Alex

[jenkinskg]

I can sell anyone working laptop with vida interface
On my second one, will just buy another and install on another laptop
I currently have an hp, loaded with win7 pro, grey vida hardward, all working

$350

[raducris]

After using my DICE for 18 months without any issue (except known VIDA installation nightmare), I tried to read a friend's car, a 2000 S80. The same laptop that worked fine a day before on my Volvo won't detect the DICE anymore. I reinstalled the laptop with another Windows 10, then Win7, then WinXP... then all 3 again, on an SSD... nothing! VIDA installs just fine, but the DICE is no longer detected. The error I get is "USB device malfunctioned previously; unable to install driver".
So now I'm an expert in installing VIDA. But that error got me thinking: what if there really is a hardware issue?
So I opened the box. The mini USB plug came off too easily but I said that shouldn't be an issue, as it was held in place well by the side cover and screws. I examined all solderings and... surprise! The USB connector has all 5 pins LOOSE! They all move sideways. I can't wait to see what happens, if I can solder them back.

Update: A few hours later and my DICE is back in business. I was lucky this time, I guess...

[mf70]

If you had a very new car you might want the latest version... otherwise I don't think it really matters. As mentioned it's MUCH easier to find the VMWare image, since you don't need to do any funny business during install (since you aren't actually installing VIDA). I think VIDA is really meant to be run on a dedicated computer (e.g. as at the shop), so if you've got a lot of other stuff running as services on your computer, conflicts do happen. With the VMWare image VIDA is running on a virtual compute.r

I second coflynn. The VMware image is WinXP, and I'm running it no problems on several Win10 machines. I did install the DiCE drivers on the "mother" Win 10 computer, as I was a little leery about doing a DiCE flash update from the virtual machine. As others have said, the "latest greatest" doesn't really help with a 2006 car.