I have a VXDIAG and had no problems installing on a Windows 7 laptop when I followed their instructions exactly. I haven't tried it on a VM.
It works fine with VIDA and reads codes with VDASH but I have heard the same that they aren't good for cracking CEMs etc.
One of the things that swayed me to VXDIAG was that I often hear of people with faulty Chinese DICEs but haven't heard of common faults with VXDIAGs.