OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle GRM+ Memberand UberDork
8/1/24 9:38 a.m.

Continuing my recent trend of buy first investigate later.. 

This morning bought a supposed shop manual for my 128i using a link I found on Reddit. The website's "about" page said it sells PDFs. It was only $11 so I figured what the hell. Paid via PayPal - then I got an email with handful of links to a Google drive.
 

After making the purchase (oops) I googled the site and found lots of reviews with lengthy rants about useless files and general sketchiness.

I haven't clicked any of the links yet but I'm curious if there is a safe way to do so.... just to see what it is.

WWGRMD?

 

EchoTreeSix
EchoTreeSix New Reader
8/1/24 9:53 a.m.

Yeah, that sounds.. odd. I would open on a system you can rebuild, like a virtual machine. Even then, if you're able to download manual(s), scan them with an updated antivirus software. Not fool proof, but will get you most of the way there. 

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle GRM+ Memberand UberDork
8/1/24 10:35 a.m.

In reply to EchoTreeSix :

The seller advised that it isn't PDF in this case - and I need to remain connected to the internet to use the files once they are downloaded and uncompressed.

F that. $11 lesson. 

02Pilot
02Pilot PowerDork
8/1/24 10:41 a.m.

Just buy the Bentley E90 manual - most of the important stuff is the same on the E82.

procainestart
procainestart SuperDork
8/1/24 12:11 p.m.

Assuming you'll buy a Bentley but that you may still be curious: if you're on Windows, you can pretty easily create a temporary virtual machine that is completely separate from your actual computer and won't allow anything in the VM to interact with it.

It's called a "sandbox," and was created so you can test stuff without wrecking your actual computer. 

You first need to enable Windows to create sandboxes (link below), then create one, which is no harder than opening an app. (If you're on a work computer, it's pretty likely you won't be able to enable sandboxes.) 

Next, go to the Google Drive and see what you see. Edge browser will be loaded in the sandbox, btw. 

Open the files, poke at them, download them, click links in them. Windows Defender is on by default, will likely tell you that someone is trying to do Bad E36 M3. 

Once you're done, when you close the sandbox, everything in it is deleted. So if you're able to get standalone files, after all, you'll want to store them on your own cloud site, or email them to yourself.

Also note that PDFs can have JavaScript in them, so they aren't necessarily safe. If you use Print to PDF in the sandbox to make copies, they won't have JS in them.

This link has sandbox instructions:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/application-security/application-isolation/windows-sandbox/windows-sandbox-overview

Slippery
Slippery GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
8/1/24 12:12 p.m.

In reply to procainestart :

That looks like a great solution ... otherwise, its time for a library card!

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle GRM+ Memberand UberDork
8/1/24 12:55 p.m.
Slippery said:

In reply to procainestart :

That looks like a great solution ... otherwise, its time for a library card!

Now this is an interesting thought.. 

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle GRM+ Memberand UberDork
8/1/24 12:55 p.m.

In reply to procainestart :

Thanks for the roadmap. I'm going to find an old laptop and try this when I get back home. 

Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter)
Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) UltraDork
8/1/24 3:38 p.m.

I had to get some weird sw for my e46 and got a separate laptop and installed a vm. Same with my honda scanner. More common than it would seem. I just try and keep it separate from anything that has sensitive files on it and keep it off when not using it. 

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle GRM+ Memberand UberDork
8/4/24 6:29 p.m.

To bring this to conclusion, I fired up an old laptop and downloaded the (benign) "risky" files. Scanned with MS Defender before and after unpacking the .rar file - and found the files I bought for $11 was a download of this freely available website:

https://charm.li/BMW/2009/

A handful of the links in the download are dead but still there is a lot of good info. TQ values, part numbers, diagrams, shop time estimates. I was unaware of the site beforehand. About the site:

Operation CHARM

The Collection of High-quality Auto Repair Manuals spans almost all makes and models from 1982 through 2013. Our data will be available free of charge, permanently. You are entitled the right to repair, understand, and upgrade what's yours without paying extra for a workshop manual.

Navigating the site.Navigating our manuals can be unintuitive. Keep in mind that multiple pages, with different URLs, may point to pages with the exact same content. This is normal. Also, the blue boxes occasionally overlaid on images are links you can click.

Slippery
Slippery GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
8/4/24 6:31 p.m.

Sooo ... safe to click and have a look?

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle GRM+ Memberand UberDork
8/4/24 6:47 p.m.

In reply to Slippery :

Yes believe so! Interesting resource for cars of a certain age. 

11GTCS
11GTCS SuperDork
8/4/24 9:12 p.m.

In reply to OHSCrifle :

I'm glad this worked out for you.  Risky Click would be a good band name, just sayin....

Duke
Duke MegaDork
8/4/24 9:16 p.m.

I haven't visited the website but I applaud their mission.

I have a couple old shop manuals I could donate, if they accept hard copies for scanning.

 

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter)
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/5/24 6:37 p.m.

In reply to Slippery :

I took the risk for you.  I have multiple safety systems on my work computer (plus... it's not actually my computer, so who gives a E36 M3).  I clicked on all three of my cars and was able to navigate around without any questionable activity.  YMMV

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter)
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/5/24 6:38 p.m.

In reply to Duke :

Agreed.  Seems like an awesome resource.

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle GRM+ Memberand UberDork
8/5/24 8:19 p.m.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Slippery :

I took the risk for you.  I have multiple safety systems on my work computer (plus... it's not actually my computer, so who gives a E36 M3).  I clicked on all three of my cars and was able to navigate around without any questionable activity.  YMMV

I wasn't worried about the site. The site is where the person who SOLD me a bunch of files.. got the files.. for free. I only found this out after downloading and opening the compressed file and within them found a readme file from the website above. $11 lesson that I'm sharing with everyone else. 

stuart in mn
stuart in mn MegaDork
8/5/24 9:50 p.m.

A pretty reliable source of free repair manual pdfs for BMWs is http://wedophones.com/Manuals/BMW/  They have them for various models from 1982 to 2006.

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