Hi everyone,
I'm trying to get a guess about the nature of a potential problem with a USA Ford WDS machine. I don't yet have my hands on the machine, but I want to get a jump on troubleshooting so details will be vague for the moment.

First, I'm not completely clear on what the boot-up procedure is. I've used a WDS, but it was long in the past so my memory on the process is faint. I've thoroughly read through two of the major WDS threads in this forum and I roughly understand the role of the A/B/C disks, but I need some clarification. Please tell me if I'm mistaken in my understanding.

As I understand it, the red and blue (A and B) disks are only used for situations like a fresh install, update, or to repair a corrupted drive. I'm not as clear on the black disks. Are they only used 'once' during an initial install/update, or do you need one of them in the CD-ROM drive at every startup. I seem to recall something like this in my brief experience with a WDS at a Ford dealership, but like I said, my memory is foggy. I could just be confusing this with the vehicle-specific disks which were constantly swapped in and out.

Please set me straight on this: Do the 'C' disks just get used for install/update or are they needed for every boot-up?

Thanks!

 

Secondly, does anyone know how the WDS will behave during boot-up if the CD drive is missing/broken or the machine can't detect the drive for some other reason?

Assuming all of the correct software (A6, B42a, B43, C5-1&2) has previously been installed successfully, will a missing/broken/undetected CD drive affect the ability to boot, load Windows, and run the WDS software?

Thanks again!

 

I'm not sure how the WDS would boot up without identifying a CD Drive. It certainly doesn't need to have any CD inserted upon startup. I would suspect it would boot up ok.

If the software has previously been installed properly, then you should be ok. No C Disk is necessary to startup, or boot up the WDS.

 

The WDS "tablet" itself does not need a CD drive or a CD to boot itself after the installation was done. Only for a new installation a docking station and CD drive are necessary.

 

I actually installed Jaguar software (WDS 43) without a docking station.
I DID use a CD drive with a power supply and adapter IDE cables.(40 pin to 44 pin)

The PTU is a 'stand-alone' unit but it will need the 'A204' cable (12V power wires) to keep the battery charged.

 

What a perfect and simple solution. Just use the Master-Slave IDE feature. Thanks for that hint.

 

WDS is fine for it, teaser for More details. Br, tlindi

https://1drv.ms/v/s!AiEAhAEXbv5zx8t2CCAC9xE73C_Pwg

 

Link update. see to zip