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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Bend, OR
    Posts
    22

    Default Repair manual subscription

    Has anyone subscribed to the Vadis (I think that is right) repair manual with Volvo? I am contemplating taking the 3-day subscription. I believe I can download most, if not all, of the manual to a pdf or 'print' to a file. Has anyone done this successfully? Were there any glitches in the process or did it go smoothly?

    I'd like to be able to do more on my 2003 XC, especially since the nearest dealer is about 200 miles away.

    Thanks for the info.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Devon PA
    Posts
    11,409

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Dino View Post
    Has anyone subscribed to the Vadis (I think that is right) repair manual with Volvo? I am contemplating taking the 3-day subscription. I believe I can download most, if not all, of the manual to a pdf or 'print' to a file. Has anyone done this successfully? Were there any glitches in the process or did it go smoothly?

    I'd like to be able to do more on my 2003 XC, especially since the nearest dealer is about 200 miles away.

    Thanks for the info.
    Good for smaller things but you still need a dealer to initialize electronic parts (ie, everything) as they just don't "bolt in" anymore

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Bend, OR
    Posts
    22

    Default

    So this will work for all things mechanical. Correct? Am I also correct that I can subscribe and download essentially the entire repair manual. Are there any tricks to the download process?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Bend, OR
    Posts
    22

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by JRL View Post
    Good for smaller things but you still need a dealer to initialize electronic parts (ie, everything) as they just don't "bolt in" anymore
    So the dealer is needed for electronic stuff, but this process will work for all things mechanical, correct? From your answer, it appears that this will work - just download the manual and I can use it without having to resubscribe. I will not get any updates, but that is unlikely to be a problem. Are there any tricks to downloading the manual or is it pretty straight forward?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Pittsburgh, Pa, USA
    Posts
    260

    Lightbulb

    I have never seen anyone post on this or any other forum who downloaded and printed the manual for free. Perhaps a more senior member has. Some have purchased the DVDs on ebay and other places pretty cheap ($10 - 20) and gotten them to work on their home computer. With 4 GB of information on the VIDA DVDs, you better have plenty of paper and ink on hand. You will have the necessary information for any non-electrical repair on the car. Just keep in mind what JRL said - you will still need to visit the dealer for anything electrical. (Unless you buy the necessary hardware and $1000 annual subscription in addition to the $6000 cost of the current VIDA.)
    2004 XC70 43K Silver over Graphite, Premium and Cold Weather packages.
    2001 V70 XC, 93K, 08/01 build in Torslanda, Sweden, stock except for K&N. Gone but not forgotten.
    1995 850 Turbo - great ride with 225K, not mine any more
    2004 XC90 - it's gone
    1993 850 GLT - not really missed
    1986 GMC Suburban 2500, 454 V8 - for pulling really heavy things.
    VCOA

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Belgium
    Posts
    2,404

    Default

    MY2003 is still covered by Vadis, this DVD should be fairly easy($$) to find.
    I do find it to be a big help, not only for repairs (haven't had any so far ) but
    also for insight, there is a lot of info inside about the cars, if you are interested.
    Willy
    144 GL (1974)--->244 GL (1982)--->940 GLE 2.3i (1992)--->XC70 2.5T (2004)--->XC90 T5 (2018)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Bend, OR
    Posts
    22

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Willy View Post
    MY2003 is still covered by Vadis, this DVD should be fairly easy($$) to find.
    I do find it to be a big help, not only for repairs (haven't had any so far ) but
    also for insight, there is a lot of info inside about the cars, if you are interested.
    Willy
    Thanks for the reply Willy. It looks like it might be better to try the ebay route. I'll take a squint to see what's there.

    Before I mentioned printing the manual. I wasn't really going to print it at all. I was going to 'print' it to a file and not for free, since I was going to take the 3-day subscription. However, since I might be able to buy the DVD on ebay, that might be cheaper.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Belgium
    Posts
    2,404

    Default

    Yes, I think the DVD is the best way to go. Just be shure (as has been mentioned
    here before) that you also get the necessary userid and password to get Vadis to work.
    Also remember that these DVD's are limited in time. A simple solution is to change the date
    on the PC, but it is also possible to patch some of the files on the DVD.
    Willy
    144 GL (1974)--->244 GL (1982)--->940 GLE 2.3i (1992)--->XC70 2.5T (2004)--->XC90 T5 (2018)

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    East-Central Florida
    Posts
    444

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Willy View Post
    Yes, I think the DVD is the best way to go. Just be shure (as has been mentioned
    here before) that you also get the necessary userid and password to get Vadis to work.
    Also remember that these DVD's are limited in time. A simple solution is to change the date
    on the PC, but it is also possible to patch some of the files on the DVD.
    Willy
    I bought the DVD off ebay and the only drawback is that I need to change the date on the laptop as Willy mentioned. Kind of a pain in the a$$, but if that's the only thing I find then it's worth it. I've read about a way to get around this - a simple batch file or something (don't remember), but I haven't done it yet. BTW - I only paid $15 USD for the DVD.
    Mike
    Bluegrass-XC
    (Somewhere on the Space Coast)

    2000 V70 SE Cross Country
    1987 Chevy K5 Blazer 4x4 (in Blazer Heaven)

    "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool -
    than to open your mouth and remove all doubt".

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Belgium
    Posts
    2,404

    Default

    Hello Mike,
    From what you write, I assume Vadis is up and running, the only problem being the date.
    Here is how to get a permanent fix on this problem (well, at least until 2023. After that,
    either backdate your computer or get a new car )
    I don't know if the Vadis DVD has been composed in the same way all the time,
    the following was done on a Vadis 2003 DVD:

    The software refuses to run about six months after the release date, this is the normal period a new version is released.
    To keep this from happening, you can change some data so Vadis will run until the year 2023.
    To do so, you need to install Vadis to run from HD (see configuration) so you can run the program without inserting the DVD.
    The Vadis folder will contain (amongst others) the folders vv120184, vv12022 and vvindex (the figures of the first 2 folders may differ). Each of these folders contains an ini folder. It is in these ini folders you will find the file cdinfo.ini - there you have to replace the ValidInfoDate to "2023-09-27"
    It is also possible to change the data on the DVD itself: Copy all files to HD, change the data as explained above,
    then burn a new DVD.
    If Vadis was already installed, remove it, then reinstall with the new DVD.

    It took me a while to find this solution, but given that it was not intended as a kind of copy
    protection system, it turned out to be fairly simple (apart from the time invested )
    Let me know how it went,
    Willy
    144 GL (1974)--->244 GL (1982)--->940 GLE 2.3i (1992)--->XC70 2.5T (2004)--->XC90 T5 (2018)

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