Having previously had the "Fails to start and trip counter resets" problem I decided to fix it now that I've got my Mongoose Pro and SDD up and running.

I ran through the diagnostics and sure enough it recommended LTB00093 as the fix. When it uploaded the software to the BCM it asked a load of questions one of which was whether I had a High line or Low line Instrument Cluster.

What's the difference, how do I tell what I've got?

As you were folks.

This is how you tell https://www.freel2.com/gallery/albums/user...luster.pdf

Hello moleshome
Can I ask how you are finding the mongoose, which windows are you running
Thanks Martin 😃

I'm running Windows XP SP3 in Virtualbox.

I got it working to the point where SDD started and told me that the Mongoose was connected but it wouldn't read the VIN. I downloaded new drivers from the Drewtech website and had a brief moment of terror when it updated the firmware on the Mongoose but after that it connected to the car, started a session and downloaded everything from the car. I've managed to update the BCM and I'll do the other 2 modules tomorrow.

The unit seems to work ok and is obviously compatible enough that Drewtech recognises it as a genuine device so, apart from being nervous not knowing my way round the software and being paranoid about doing something that's going to leave me with a dead car, I'm quite pleased with it.

I tried to set up a dual boot on my laptop so that I could have a proper XP installation to work with but I couldn't get past a BSOD when I tried to install XP. I'm thinking about buying a cheap 2nd hand laptop from fleabay so that I've got a dedicated machine.

lol, why did I not think off buying a s/h laptop just for the car
So with Xp do you think it's ok or better to buy Hawkeye or similar

Well I'm no expert but at first sight the Hawkeye looks to be a far less capable device. I could be wrong but I don't believe that the Hawkeye will allow you to enter the symptoms and then based on a combination of symptoms and downloaded codes guide you through the fault finding process.

The Hawkeye for Freelander looks to be going for about £280 and if you decide to buy a Disco or some other LR at a later date it'll cost another £150 to be able to use the Hawkeye with it. For half the price of the Hawkeye you could get the Mongoose pro and a 2nd hand laptop which you can use on Defenders, Range Rovers, Discos, F2s, Evoques and a ton of Jags.

Looks like a no-brainer to me.

For £50 and some fairly simple instructions I reckon we could have it running on your existing laptop before spending the extra on another laptop.

So I could run it on windows 8.1 ?
How would I go about it
I have not ordered thr mongoose yet because when I emailed them, they told me it would not run on windows 8.1
So I ordered a elm, which is rubbish
Thanks
Martin

You'd need to go here and download the VirtualBox platform package and the extension pack.

Get those installed and then you'll need a copy of Windows XP SP3 (preferably an ISO image but if you've already got a real disk that'll do.

Follow the instructions here to install XP although I'd set the RAM size to 1024.

So that the Mongoose is recognized in the VM you have to add it to a USB device filter. Plug in the Mongoose and then follow the instructions here but obviously you'll need to select the Mongoose from the list. You just need to do the bit in 'Set up Your Virtual Machine'. Ignore the fact that these instructions are for Ubuntu, the process is the same. Unplug the Mongoose.

Download the drivers from the Drewtech website and install them. Plug in the Mongoose and let the driver update the device. Unplug the Mongoose again.

Now follow the Mongoose video but skip the bit where they install the drivers since you've already done that.

Install a copy of Adobe Acrobat and, fingers crossed, it should all be working

Moleshome you are a star
Thank you very much, you have put a lot of effort in to helping me 👍👍

Hi am in the process of buying windows Xp, can you tell me should I buy 32 bit 64.
Thanks

32 bit. Drewtech only provide 32 bit drivers for the JLR Mongoose.

Thanks
I have down loaded virtual box 4.3. '18
It's been loading for 30 minutes now says might take several minutes lol
Again thanks for your help 👍

Just found this. It seems like Microsoft's own virtualization software is installed by default on 8.1, either go to add/remove features and turn off Hyper-V support or follow the instructions in the link.

So if I turn hyper v support off I should be able to load the mongoose ? If so would I leave it off
I looked at the other instructions on the link, way above my head lol

Turning off Hyper-V won't let you install directly onto windows 8, you need to turn it off to make virtual box work.