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As mentioned in another thread, I've setup a laptop with IDS v118.5 and got it working with a genuine Rotunda VCM1.
I'd like to also be able to run SDD (motorcarman will probably tell me I'm wasting my time ), but think I saw a warning here somewhere that the VCM1 can get corrupted if used by some of the later SDD versions. I can't find the thread now, maybe I just dreamt it?
Anybody know?
I think you are wasting your time!(sorry, I just had to)
IDS 118.5 is good to 2009 so I don't see the need unless you want to use SDD on cars later than that.
Your 2004 XKR certainly does not need it.
I don't know if you can run IDS and SDD on the same computer without issues?
I knew I could count on you!
No, I don't think you can run the two side-by-side on the same OS, but I have a dual-boot setup with two different Windows 7 32bit installs.
I really got into it once I started learning this stuff, so now I want to try and understand everything. Very typical of my personality, call it a combination of curiosity and stubbornness.
FWIW, V130 shows a picture of what appears to be the Rotunda when it asks you to connect it:
It will offer to read the VIN from the car (which it should be able to do for yours), after which you will get to see the modules listed and their comms status.
It's prettier than IDS, but IMO it's still the same horrid software. I know it's necessarily complex, but - buggy and unintuitive.
ymmv...
Last edited by michaelh; May 12, 2026 at 07:57 PM.
It's prettier than IDS, but IMO it's still the same horrid software. I know it's necessarily complex, but - buggy and unintuitive.
ymmv...
One of our knowledgeable members who is a software programmer told me that SDD is basically a huge library of HTML web pages, which is why it is so resource-intensive and painfully slow.
Aye, SDD is a 'webified' IDS with a java engine. There are quite a few background processes running which doesn't help.
Somewhat off-topic,but some of the older laptops can be spiced up by changing the mechanical disk drive for an SSD device. Not sure about the Toughbooks. The Compaq CQ58 I'm using got a useful improvement from that change, and SSDs are cheap nowadays.
Last edited by michaelh; May 13, 2026 at 03:49 AM.
Hello,
I’d like to follow up with a quick question. Version 131.x always includes both IDS and SDD, doesn't it? Depending on the VIN (model year), SDD is indeed launched initially; however, for vehicles up to around 2003, the system only offers the option to launch IDS, whereas for newer vehicles, it offers only SDD.
Does Version 118.5 not include SDD? Since I have exclusively worked with Version 131.x up until now, my only experience is that SDD is always installed alongside it.
And since SDD can be a nuisance with newer vehicles, would Version 118.5 actually be the better choice—given that it would allow one to work on vehicles up to the 2006 model year using IDS?
Can Version 118.5 also work with the Mongoose clone? Or Version 125?
I have a WDS in my garage for reprogramming control units.
Regards, Willi
Last edited by Jag_Willi; May 13, 2026 at 06:48 AM.
No, IDS v118.5 does not include SDD. The reason v118.5 is preferred by many, at least as I understand it, is that it was the last IDS version to not rely on hacks to circumvent verification of user credentials.
My Mongoose clone, ordered before I found a good deal on a Rotunda, does work with SDD v130, but not with IDS.
I do intend to learn how to use both programs, but IDS does seem like the better choice.
DVD 119 was the introduction of SDD. (DVD IDS 118.5 was the last IDS)
The first version of SDD that will run WITHOUT VCM is SDD 125. That is when Jaguar allowed a generic J2534 pass-thru device.(Mongoose)
To run SDD119 to SDD124 you NEED a VCM, Starting with SDD 125 you can get the cheap 'dongle'.(or continue using VCM)
Somewhat off-topic,but some of the older laptops can be spiced up by changing the mechanical disk drive for an SSD device. Not sure about the Toughbooks. The Compaq CQ58 I'm using got a useful improvement from that change, and SSDs are cheap nowadays.
Have you seen the price of SDDs recently? They've doubled or tripled... They're still the best way, with RAM, of speeding up an old laptop but not as cost-effective as it used to be
TBH I hadn't checked recently - the last I bought were Samsung 250GB quite some time ago at around £120. I see there are Crucial and Kingston SATA drives of that capacity between £50 - 80 on Amazon.
Rotunda VCM1 Compatibility with SDD?
), but think I saw a warning here somewhere that the VCM1 can get corrupted if used by some of the later SDD versions. I can't find the thread now, maybe I just dreamt it?
