E.P.C. Alternatives

[Adriel]

For us, $75 a year is not mean the E.P.C. is available. Worse, where is that money going to since was told by the Classic Center they no longer update the E.P.C.?

Online there are a couple sites with W123 M110 diagrams and part numbers:
Mercedes Benz EPC 123.093 Chassis Information Everything Benz
https://www.niemoeller.de/en/w123t/

However, seem to be lacking some information. Does anyone else have any other sources?

Hopefully can turn this into a forum resource, so thank y'all for making it happen in advance.

[Graham]

Go to ebay and look for epc/wis for Mercedes. It will say it is just for later models, but the epc is the full epc. Costs about $15-$20. Works fine. Not updated, but not a problem for our old cars.

[Adriel]

Originally Posted by Graham

Go to ebay and look for epc/wis for Mercedes. It will say it is just for later models, but the epc is the full epc. Costs about $15-$20. Works fine. Not updated, but not a problem for our old cars.

Graham, thank you so very much!

Mind me asking how one avoids being scammed? Or is there a sell or sellers that are better choice?

[crazy4diesel]

Originally Posted by Adriel

Graham, thank you so very much!

Mind me asking how one avoids being scammed? Or is there a sell or sellers that are better choice?

I think you are protected by ebay.

[1983/300CD]

If you're in a hurry, you can visit the MB of South Atlanta website.

[Mxfrank]

I bought one that had a bad disk. Seller evaporated.

Be aware that these copies run as XP virtual machines. That means:

1) unless you run a separate installation of your antivirus software, they are superb tools for distributing Trojans and worms.

2) the base operating system is a very old copy of XP. Even though XP is out of maintenance, there are years of fixes on the MS site that should be applied.

3) you will require a ton of disk space, memory and cpu bandwidth to make it work.

All that taken into consideration, it works well.

[Graham]

There was a long discussion about these on BW.

Electronic Parts Catalog IS NO LONGER FREE - Page 4 - Mercedes-Benz Forum

Starting at about post#38. No problems it seems with the first linked eBay seller in that thread.

Some other options in posts 28 & 30 of this link:
Free On-Line EPC parts lookup - includes Euro models - Page 3 - Mercedes-Benz Forum

There have been several posts about the dangers etc of using these eBay EPC disks. But haven't heard of anyone actually having a problem.
If concerned, there is no need to be connected to internet while using the XP virtual machine that gets installed.
If concerned about viruses on disks, make sure you run your virus checker.
Buy from vendor with a very high feedback rating.
If disks do not install properly at first, give them a good clean. I and at least one other owner had to do that.

[dude99]

I baught a copy of epc/wis before I got my xentry system. It too came with a bad disk, but the seller was very helpful and set up a private download for the disk so I didn't have to wait for shipping again.

All that being said, there is a lot of buyer protection on eBay.

[dude99]

I too would suggest getting an old lapto to run this on and not letting it connect to the internet. As said above they are notorious for having malware in them.

[Adriel]

Originally Posted by dude99

All that being said, there is a lot of buyer protection on eBay.

As for eBay protection:

Originally Posted by Mxfrank

I bought one that had a bad disk. Seller evaporated.

eBay does nothing, been ripped off several times mounting to over $1,000. Now what I do is don't use Paypal, instead go direct so if an issue, can dispute through the Credit Union and hopefully get resolution.

[Adriel]

Originally Posted by Graham

There was a long discussion about these on BW.

Somehow missed those in my E.P.C. search, so thank you Graham for informing us of them.

Read it and saved the one for Macintosh if so desire.

Originally Posted by Graham

There have been several posts about the dangers etc of using these eBay EPC disks. But haven't heard of anyone actually having a problem.
If concerned, there is no need to be connected to internet while using the XP virtual machine that gets installed.
If concerned about viruses on disks, make sure you run your virus checker.
Buy from vendor with a very high feedback rating.
If disks do not install properly at first, give them a good clean. I and at least one other owner had to do that.

Originally Posted by dude99

I too would suggest getting an old lapto to run this on and not letting it connect to the internet. As said above they are notorious for having malware in them.

Somewhere (lot of stuff jammed into every crevice), have a XP desktop that because of a glitch on the motherboard, can't hook up to the internet, so that be a good machine. However, would have to find it...

Instead, just not use the internet while running the virtual machine. Heck, don't have any antivirus on the Microsoft desktop (oft not hooked up to the internet) or the Macintosh laptop, as haven't found a free one that trust. So far, nothing noticeable.

But, if did have an issue, can clean up and then run it on the other machine. In short, good ideas, thank you.

[ROLLGUY]

For some reason I thought the EPC only worked on Windows machines. I never subscribed for that reason. I too am a Mac user, and would like to have the EPC available. I have an old Mac laptop that is not connected to the internet, and wonder if that would work?

[Adriel]

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

For some reason I thought the EPC only worked on Windows machines. I never subscribed for that reason. I too am a Mac user, and would like to have the EPC available. I have an old Mac laptop that is not connected to the internet, and wonder if that would work?

The E.P.C. on C.D. runs as a virtual machine, like VMWare, thus how doing it here in post 50: Electronic Parts Catalog IS NO LONGER FREE - Page 5 - Mercedes-Benz Forum .

Apparently also can run it on VMWare, but don't quite understand that.

My MacBook Air was a gift by a deceased relative, but like to find a way to purchase the 32gigabit Pro supposedly coming in Winter. As of now, only have 4 gigabytes in each, so not going to be running it for now. But, with 16 gigabytes, that should be enough.

Oh, and 8 gigabytes is barely enough to run eQuest (energy and E.C.M. simulation software), especially with AutoC.A.D. open. Rather than gaming as probably intended. 4 gigabytes gets interesting when using VMWare...

And Rich, if not using VMWare, do suggest it. Find easier than Bootcamp. Which on the 2013 Air I have, wouldn't run, kept crashing and deleting itself. That is how have run E.P.C. when it was free.

Hoe this helps...

[ROLLGUY]

Interesting: Mercedes WIS / ASRA & EPC Service Repair Workshop Manual Guide (software) | eBay

Works with ALL 32 and 64 Bit versions of all Windows!

Supported Operating Systems:
Windows XP (32 or 64 bit)
Windows Vista (32 or 64 bit)
Windows 7 (32 or 64 bit)
Windows 8 (32 or 64 bit)
Windows 10 (32 or 64 bit)


System Requirements:
2GHz Processor (If you have a Pentium 4 Processor, it needs to be a 600 Series or Newer)
2GB RAM
65GB Hard Drive Space
DVD-ROM Drive
The photo in the listing shows a MacBook Pro running the software, but no where in the listing can I find Mac OS as an option, all are Windows.....Rich

[Junkman]

On a tangent about how to get the disk to run: My 126 FSM quit running after XP.

I have the files extracted and stored with the default folder structure. Mercedes breaks the FSM up into Body, Chassis, Electrical etc. There is a htm file and a swf (Flash) file for each vehicle for each category. The htm file is simply there to look pretty and hold the embedded swf file. The swf has the actual menu to help locate the individual pdf files.

ie 300SD body, chassis, electrical .htm & .swf.

You only need to find the correct swf file and run it. The swf is essentially a menu that causes the FSM pdf file to download via your default browser into the download directory. Simply open the pdf and you have the FSM.

Perhaps the epc works the same way. Send me a PM if you want a link to the FSM.