JohnHappy

I have a DM BX2P DVR and a DM DS2A DVR. I also have two DM/KBS3 remote keyboards. Each keyboard works fine with my BX2P but my DS2A will not find the KBS3 keyboard. I plug the keyboard into the 485 port on the back of the DS2A and then into the keyboard and all the lights start flashing and the lcd screen displays what appears to be a firmware version number but then the lcd screen goes blank. I press a key on the keyboard and the lcd screen says " Keyboard not found " and I get a warning or error beep. At this point ... and I'm guessing here ... my DS2A will only work with the DM/KBS3A keyboard. Your thoughts?

What is the most common reason a DM motherboard goes bad? Perhaps a better way to ask the question is, "When a motherboard gets 'fried' what is the part that normally is damaged?" What is the part on the motherboard that normally wears out first? I have the opportunity to buy a DM motherboard. It does not have the two codec 'sticks' that look like RAM sticks inserted in the slots on the board. I'm thinking to myself, "What is the likelihood that, should my existing motherboard go bad, that the codec 'sticks' that I presently have on the 'bad' board will work in the replacement board I purchased?" I did a Google and eBay search for DM codecs and got nothing. Perhaps the term 'codecs' is not the right term for those two RAM-like sticks standing vertically on my DM motherboards. If not, please let me know.

Just picked up a Dedicated Micros DS2P 16DVD 1.5TB dvr. Plugged it in, hooked it up to my monitor, turned it on and watched the lights begin flashing on the front of the console. I think I heard a beep that did not sound good. I got nothing on my monitor (yes, it was on) and after about 30 seconds all I was left with was a flashing red light under the Camera 9 button. Nothing ever appeared on my monitor. I think the red light is the power LED and from what little I can find about flashing red lights on Digital Sprites, it appears I have a serious problem. I checked the 2 hard drive connections and the CD writer's connection to the motherboard and those were OK. The fans were working fine. Everything looked good inside the box. If you had my situation, where would you start to try to get this dvr fixed?

After a some private messages with Adamxp12, calling and emailing Dedicated Micros USA tech support and some more Googling for answers, I got each of the following dvrs upgraded to the latest available firmware / software. In each case it was the NetVu Observer capable version of the software. DS2P 16Dvd 1.5T (DM/DS2PD1T5/16) BX2P DX16C - 64 (DM/BX2P/640) DS2A DX09C - 160GB (DM/DS2A/160/09) Regarding the password trouble that can present a large problem to those who purchase their used dvr off of ebay, I did not have too much trouble. In one case the dvr came with the user and installer passwords disabled. Another came to me with the installer password set. I guessed what it was ... "999999999". Lucky guess. As I recall the third got to me with the installer password set as well. It was the dvr that I could upgrade using the dvr's cd drive. I think I had to use a serial connection (via Putty) and use the 'ipcfg' command to find out what the network ip configuration was and I used the dvr's cd-rom drive to do the upgrade. The upgrade caused the dvr to reset its passwords to the default settings and then I had no trouble with passwords. If you need an unlock code to make the software work correctly with the DVR, like I did, it's best to call and speak with a tech support person first and email the syscode and username to that person. An email response with the unlock code might take a few business days but it will get to you. At least that was my experience. Before I had installed the unlock code I had successfully installed the upgrade software for the DS2A and could configure it via the web pages served by the dvr but I could not see a camera image on my monitor nor could I see/use the user and installer menus. I 'installed' the unlock code via a telnet session and reset the dvr. After the reset I could see my live camera image on my monitor and rather than seeing an 'unregistered>" prompt during a serial or telnet session I got a "DS2 DVR>" prompt ... I no longer had an unregistered version of the NetVu capable software. The user and installer menus selectable via the front panel buttons were now visible and working. The 'username' that DM needs to generate an unlock code may not be what you would expect. I thought it might be one of the default usernames preconfigured on the dvr to access a configuration menu. It's not. To put it in simple terms, it the name, usually the default name, given to the dvr. It is usually "DS2" or "BX2". The username can be queried and/or set via a telnet or serial session (connection to the dvr). A few more tips; assuming you know the dvr's ip (like 192.168.0.2), sometimes with the help of a router you know how to configure, you can connect to the dvr and configure it using telnet (username = dm and password = telnet). You don't need the ip to connect via a serial connection. You have the same configuration choices using either method. Using the ip you can also use an ftp client to connect to the dvr to transfer the upgrade files to the dvr. You can also take the drive out of the dvr, make sure that drive is set up as a slave drive, and install it in a desktop computer and upload the upgrade files to the drive that way. Once the zipped up folders are installed on the drive you can use the unzip command (telnet, serial) to unzip the uploaded folders. Within those folders are a few more folders that must be unzipped. In my case they were the MainDvtx.zip, web.zip, and PCApps.zip folders. Unzip these zip folders to get your dvr working correctly. In each dvr upgrade situation I unzipped the zip files into the root on c drive. If you're wondering which older DM dvr model to buy, look for one that has DVTX on the motherboard, or something newer, and look for one that has a built-in CD ROM drive in it. Note: some dvrs are set up to use their CD drive only to record video clips onto disk and not to use during an upgrade process. Get a dvr that can use its CD drive for upgrading the dvr. One of the three dvrs I upgraded had a cd drive that could be used during an upgrade and, from experience, I can tell that doing an upgrade using the CD drive was much easier. If you don't want to go to the trouble to upgrade your older DM dvr to NetVu Observer capable software (not all older dvrs can be upgraded to work with NetVu Observer) you will need to rely on the web-based software that the dvr serves in order to see camera images via the Internet. These older dvr's like to play with Windows XP. They do not like 64 bit software. They might play nicely with Windows Vista but I'm not sure about that. I also don't know if they work well with the 32 bit version of Windows 7. Also, do not despair if the steps you take do not initially produce the result you want or produce the results you were supposed to get according to directions you hoped you were following correctly. I got into a few unexpected situations during each of the three upgrades. In one situation I was pretty sure I had damaged the motherboard to the point it had become unusable. Fortunately, I found some help and with some perseverance it all worked out. It appears that DM makes a pretty sturdy product. I'm still having trouble getting the NetVu Observer app for my iPhone 6 to play nicely with each of the dvrs. I don't have any trouble opening NetVu Observer on my Windows 7 (64 bit) computer and connecting to any of the three dvrs BUT the only dvr I've successfully connected to using my IPhone and its NetVu Observer app is the DS2A. Hopefully, this mystery will be solved soon. I need some help getting this done.

Regarding the BX2P ... I made some progress, I hope, on the upgrade to version 4.0 (86) I used the serial connection to get the existing network details ... the IP of the dvr ... and then connected to the dvr using telnet. I had to get the ip because during the previous incomplete upgrade attempts, I noticed that the DM upgrade routine/program changed the dvr ip and gateway ip. I saw this during my look at the upgrade progress via a serial connection. I mentioned in my previous post that I had ftp'd three zipped up folders onto the c drive as I followed the BX2P upgrade instructions. I unzipped them using the unzip command to c drive. Once that was done ... I checked the c drive directory to see the new file structure and I reset the dvr. I saw 'initializing bootloader' and then some good stuff appeared: Erasing ............ Erased Programming ... Completed Verifying.......... Verified Flash successful Loading application from disk That's reason enough to say I was on the right road, right? Well, I gave the process one and one half hours, thinking that since there were 4 drives (3 working drives, drive f failed) perhaps there was some large-drive, not quick formatting going on and other stuff taking a long, long time. I decided to reset the dvr using my serial connection and I saw nothing change on the monitor although the dvr was obviously resetting according to the data flying by on my serial connection. The text on the monitor continued to let me believe that the app was loading from disk. I turned the dvr off, waited a bit, and then back on and no text appeared on the monitor although I saw lots of data flowing on the pc connected to the dvr via a serial cable. Not so good. Obviously, the software was having trouble getting a signal to my monitor that presented something like words. Perhaps the trouble with the video output is a sign of a 'fried' motherboard but I'm not going to give up yet. I did noticed a few bits of data via the serial connection that were of interest. I saw something about drive 0 not having the proper FAT32 format. I also saw the trouble with drive F. The program tried and tried to get the 'user interface' working but did not succeed as far as I could tell. Lots of serial connection lines of data about attempting to do something with the user interface. Perhaps the video signal to the monitor trouble and the user interface issue are related It was getting late so I decided to address the potential wrong Fat32 format issue on drive 0 by using the serial connection format command on the three working drives. That, of course, removed the unzipped files and folders that I had ftp'd to and unzipped on c drive. I am going to try it all over again after I get a replacement hard drive for drive f. I don't expect to have any drive format issues since I let the DM program do that itself. I ordered the replacement drive over the Internet. It's going to be awhile before I post something else about the BX2P. I also have a DS2A (DVTX) which is stuck in 'halted in bootloader' mode based on an incomplete or incorrect upgrade attempt. Perhaps once I get the BX2P dvr upgrade figured out I will be able to easily get the halted DS2A (DVTX) working.

Regarding the BX2P ... I don't remember if the BX2P was working with NetVu before I started the upgrade process. It might have been. In any case I simply wanted to get the latest firmware version working on it and from what I've read my BX2P (DVTX) qualifies to be upgraded to version 4.0 (86), a NetVu Observer compatible version of the operating system. My BX2P stats: Model: BX2P DX16C – 640 Pin: DM/BX2P/640 System Software 3.1 (164)-Net (DVTX) (the software version running on the dvr when I bought it) I tried, as described in a previous post, reformatting the dvr's c drive in Fat32 ... no problems with that ... and I tried in a couple ways copying the upgrade folders and files onto the c drive, putting the c drive back into the dvr and turning it on .. hoping it would figure out what I wanted it to do and complete the upgrade. No joy there. I just finished trying to follow the written DM upgrade steps for version 4.0 (86). Drive c was Fat32 formatted, the files I had copied onto it were deleted and I referred to the upgrade instructions found on the DM website. The comments section of the firmware version description on the website told me the following: NetVu Connected upgrade for the BX2 DVTX. Please follow instructions in the NetVu Converter File first followed by the Application and PC Applications. Please note that this release is not suitable for use with the BX2 CA I printed out the file located within the Converter zip folder. The heading on that page stated: Converting a DS2 to a NetVu Connected DS2 You can read the instructions I followed via the following link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CC8QFjACahUKEwji7p757NHHAhVCQZIKHb7FDX0&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dedicatedmicros.com%2Fsoftware_release%2Fdownload.php%3Ffile%3D484&ei=GYPjVaL-DcKCyQS-i7foBw&usg=AFQjCNEYqeoc4iQHguXKENG4tATu6-zdTw I successfully completed Steps 1 thru 10. I tried Step #11 buy typing 'm\username\XXXX' (I typed BX2 rather than DS2) and I pressed enter. Nothing happened. None of the steps asking me to type something starting with m\ got me any upgrade-related response from the dvr. I skipped to Steps 15 and 16. When the unit rebooted it halted in bootloader. I read that I needed to ftp the other upgrade files onto the dvr. I found upgrade instructions in the other Zipped up folders and followed those directions. I ftp'd files onto the dvr's C drive. I used my serial connection to check the contents of C drive on the dvr. The following screen shot of the output of my Putty serial connection software tells the story: I thought to myself ... so far so good; except for the calling DM for an unlock code stuff, and I reset the dvr hoping to complete the upgrade. Again, no joy. Even though the upgrade files exist on the dvr'c C drive, upon rebooting (reset command) all it did is halt in bootloader again. I am stuck at halted in bootloader. Before I move onto my next attempt at getting a working BX2P, I thought I'd post this to see if someone can help me get the upgrade to 4.0 (86) done. If not, I will try to get it going again by installing the software that was running when I got the dvr. The software the BX2P's came with from the factory.

Regarding the BX2P ... Your upgrade instructions for the BX2P seemed simple but ... I'm having some trouble. The upgrade software on the DM site that I think is appropriate is the one shown in the screenshot below. In the DM website product selection drop down window it is listed as the "NetVu Connected BX2 DVTX". There is a BX2 (DVTX) version available (no mention of NetVu) which is the version that was installed on my dvr ... until I reformatted the C Drive. I don't think that version includes the limited NetVu Observer files. On my first attempt to upgrade I reformatted the C: drive using Fat32, unzipped the three downloaded Zip folders and copied all those folders and files to the dvr's C drive. I put the drive back into the BX2P and turned it on. I saw "Initializing Bootloader" and eventually I saw something about opening a unzip utility and the upgrade process stopped when it could not extract a file called boot.bin. BTW, I did not use the DM Fat32 formatting tool and their suggested HP formatter. I did not have the dvr's C drive attached to my pc via a USB connection. It was installed as a slave drive internally in a Windows XP box. I did use my Windows XP command prompt tool and used the format command. Reformatting the 160GB drive with the FAT 32 file system went off without a hitch. Back to the drawing board ... On my second attempt to upgrade I deleted all the files I had copied to the dvr's C drive on my first upgrade attempt and copied the 3 unzipped zip folders to the dvr's C drive, the three zipped up folders that I downloaded from the DM website. I put the drive back into the BX2P and turned it on. Eventually I saw: Initializing bootloader The disk check results (apparently my "F" drive has a read/write problem) Loading application from disk Halted in bootloader That's where my second upgrade attempt stopped. The bootup / upgrade install process halted in bootloader and that's where it stayed. I gave up after about 10 minutes without any further notifications on the monitor and without seeing any C drive activity. Your instructions told me to "...download the latest firmware for your DVR (BX2 DVTX on dm website) and copy all the contents of that zip file onto the c drive ..." Your words implied that there was just one zip file to unzip and then copy the unzipped folder and files to the dvr's C drive. Perhaps your previous BX2P upgrade involved installing the previous NetVu version of the software 4.0 (73) which has a zip file referred to as the "... BX2 Full CD Upgrade." Whatever the case, I'm wondering if it remains possible to install the 4.0 (86) version of the software without using a serial connection?

Regarding the DS2P ... I was able to connect to the DS2P via Putty. The 'help' command was useful in getting me to the existing network details. I was able to delete the user.db file but that did not get me any closer to getting me through the installer password. I ended up following the CDROM upgrade directions that can be found by clicking on the following link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAAahUKEwi5wLPi_s3HAhVFE5IKHV5wDEI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dedicatedmicros.com%2Fsoftware_release%2Fdownload.php%3Ffile%3D2806&ei=6nzhVbmjDcWmyATe4LGQBA&usg=AFQjCNH1l6ARyGEKmODB3r3kZKiXBHKAdg I choose the 'format all drives' option and after the upgrade finished, I got into all the menus via the front console buttons (where I changed the network configuration) and then took a look at the web page configuration tool available by opening a browser and typing in the static ip of the dvr. It was interesting to note that the DS2P menus did not have the word 'user' or 'installer' on them but I still had to hold down the menu button for a bit to get into the installer menus. The web page based configuration pages were great. Much quicker than using the buttons on the front of the dvr. I discovered the 'save' button in the lower right-hand corner of the web page and noted that the 120 second countdown clock on the 'reset' web page was about 30 to 40 seconds to short in light of the time it takes for my DS2P to reboot. The desktop NetVu Observer software on my Windows 7 Pro (64 bit) pc worked fine. I don't have any cameras hooked up to the dvr yet so using NetVu is not much fun at this point. I am still working on getting the NetVu Observer app on my iPhone to work with my DS2P. I can't seem to get it to authenticate when connecting to the dvr, aka image server. I tried using dm/web as the username/password and the login for a user I created, but neither of those two logins worked within NetVu Observer on my iPhone. I found no useful info in the NetVu Observer iphone app setup manual. Now, onto my DS2A and BX2P and getting them upgraded with the latest software. Will the BX2P's cd-rom drive help me to upgrade it or is it useful only to write video clips for evidence use?

Regarding the DS2P ... I hooked up both of the DS2P drives to an XP box and looked around the file structures of each, again. I searched each drive for a file name that had 'user' in it. All I found was a software documentation pdf file on the system drive. The folder named 'dbase' on the system drive had one file in it. The extension was .dbf and it contained alarm event data. So, even though, on bootup, the monitor displayed that it was loading the application 'from disk' I didn't see any files that would be helpful to me. There is not a disk in the CD-ROM drive. The system hard drive has one partition and I made sure that XP was not hiding any system files nor any file extensions it was not familiar with. At this point, I'm betting that the files or data I'm looking for are stored in a non-volatile fashion on some kind of flash memory chip. Could they be hidden from me on the drives when trying to find them via Windows Explorer? http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CC8QFjADahUKEwi19fq6rMvHAhVGB5IKHXxKDrM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dedicatedmicros.com%2Feurope%2Ffile.php%3Fpath%3D%252Fvar%252Fwww%252Fvhosts%252Fad-group.co.uk%252Fdedicatedmicros.com%252Feurope%252Ffiles%252Fsupport_docs%252Fuk%252Ff2588%26filename%3DDS2PD%2520Programming%2520Training%2520Notes.pdf&ei=LBrgVbWvE8aOyAT8lLmYCw&usg=AFQjCNH8aSulJp2GebT-HZrOFd0ov4vaYA&sig2=hEE9LSy239s08dt-KbxZPw The link, above, takes you to a Dedicated Micros pdf document that states the following: The DM document referred to above gives a name to their flash memory 'chip'. It has the word 'disk' in it. This is probably the 'disk' mentioned during the bootup procedure. I would try using telnet to get into the DS2P but, without the installer p/w, I cannot easily determine the IP. I'm betting there is some kind of command, when connected to the dvr using a serial connection, that would display the ip. I'll look into that. Thanks for your patience and for putting up with my DM newbie efforts.

Regarding upgrading the firmware on the DS2A, I got to the point in the instructions where I would be "tapping" three plus signs and expecting to see what was described as an Unregistered> prompt. See Step #9. I was definitely in the halted in bootloader mode. I had just changed the serial connection baud rate in Step #8. Perhaps I did not successfully change the baud rate. I'll retry it sometime today. Rather than a c drive prompt, C>, I expected to see Unregistered>. I Googled "unregistered prompt" but found nothing useful. Perhaps I should not be looking for ... Unregistered> ... rather just ... > or ... ?>. I've not heard the term "unregistered prompt" before so I'm taking the instructions at face value and expecting to see ... Unregistered> and then being able to type fdisk in order to format both drives. I'll disconnect the DS2P and install the DS2P system drive in another pc in order to search for the file you mentioned. I am heading to the hospital now to check on my granddaughter. I might not be able to reply for hours.

A bit of good news this morning regarding the DS2P. I checked the codecs and found them all seated nicely. With the top of the case off the dvr I tried to boot it up again. I was watching the monitor, which did nothing initially, and then watched the solid red and flashing red lights on the front of the console and on the motherboard. At some point I glanced down at the led under the camera 9 button and it was no longer flashing red; it was green. Soon after that my monitor displayed "initializing bootloader." I did not see anything about the bootloader version which was odd as words telling me about the bootloader software version appeared each time when I boot up my other DM dvrs. The monitor screen turned a green color briefly then the words 'initializing application from disk' appeared and then a multi camera view appeared on the monitor. It did not boot up into the first user menu. I was able to get to the three user menus by pressing the 'menu' button and then discovered that an installer password had been set. I tried a few easy to guess 9 digit passwords without any luck. I rebooted the dvr and it did pretty much the same thing. Both times I booted it up it took much longer than I expected to boot up. The flashing red light on the front of the console eventually turned green and it did boot up. It did flash red one or two more times but nothing bad happened after it booted. I wondered if that led light under the camera #9 button also represented the hard drive state ... flashing red when the hard drive was working. Given that I've tested the two hard drives from a hardware perspective and did not find any issues, I'm leaning toward a software problem. Perhaps it's a "little bit" corrupted even though it does eventually complete the boot up process. I'm just guessing. I read somewhere that if the DM DVR has a CD-ROM it might be possible to use it to reload software. I'll do some more reading and eventually I'll get a handle on reloading software and upgrading firmware. Getting an unlock code from DM tech support still remains a mystery. When booting up the DS2P (described above) the monitor told me that the application was being initialized from the disk. Are these files hidden? A couple days ago, when testing the hard drives, I found 8 folders and a couple of files in the root of the system (master) drive. See the uploaded image file. I opened each folder and did not find any files or sub-folders that appeared to contain system files. I was hoping that I might find a file that helped me understand what passwords were set and what the passwords were. Now I know the installer password was set and not easy to guess. I will try reloading the firmware upgrade files on my DS2A. I recall changing the serial connection baud rate at the appropriate time so I don't think that was an issue. Perhaps the second time will be the charm, so to speak. Assuming you opened the firmware upgrade instructions text file I sent you, perhaps you can suggest changes to the instructions that will help me get it done. Is there a better way to do it? Perhaps I did it wrong because the directions are open to misinterpretation; not clear enough.

Adamxp12, thanks for helping. You might have noticed my other recent postings to the Digital Video Recorders forum. I wish I could have responded quicker buy my granddaughter was admitted to the local hospital's icu ward very early this morning and for the next couple days ... at least ... I'll be spending much of my time near her. I hope you won't mind a bit of background info ... I am the building and grounds guy at a local, small church. Our grounds keeping shed was broken into a few weeks ago so building security rose a few notches on my list of important things to consider. We have four interior dome cameras (non-ptz) and one older SPECO PTZ exterior dome camera. The exterior camera looks over our parking lot and one side of the building, including a view of our sheds. The SPECO camera has a built-in web server and works fine. The dvr/monitor combo we had bit the dust a couple years ago. It's time to replace it but we can't afford new gear. The Dedicated Micros dvr equipment appeared to be a quality product and some of the stuff available on eBay appeared to do what we wanted and it was affordable. Our dvr wish list: 1) Record multiple streams of video. 2) Live video viewable via the Internet via a desktop PC. We still have a few XP boxes available. Does the Internet viewing software work on the 32 bit version of Windows 7? 3) Live video viewable, via NetVu Observer, on existing Android and IOS cell phones. Over the past few weeks I have purchased three Net-Vu Observer capable dvrs, they are: DS2P 16Dvd 1.5T (DM/DS2PD1T5/16) BX2P DX16C - 64 (DM/BX2P/640) DS2A DX09C - 160GB (DM/DS2A/160/09) You already know that I have a DS2P and that it won't boot up. It's got the NetVu logo on the front so, when I get it working, I won't need to upgrade the firmware to make it NetVu capable, right? The BX2P and DS2A can each be upgraded to NetVu capable. Documentation says they would be NetVu capable but on a limited basis. I tried to do the firmware upgrade on the DS2A using the instructions found in the firmware upgrade files. I got the dvr halted in bootloader and the new bootloader software loaded but when I got to Step #9 where it says to tap +++ and expect to see an Unregistered> prompt I never saw that prompt. So that dvr is stuck in "halted in bootloader" mode and I don't know what to do next. I hesitated to try the firmware upgrade on the BX2P fearing that I would run into the same problem. In preparation to successfully get the new firmware loaded and working I contacted DM for unlock codes via email but they have not responded. Is there any hope of getting unlock codes for my DS2A and the BX2P? I might want to upgrade the firmware on the DS2P and would probably need an unlock code for that dvr. To answer your question ... No, I have not tried reloading the firmware on a spare hard drive to see if it will work (on the DS2P). I'll have to look around for a spare drive that will work, do some homework and give that a try. I'll check the codecs to see if they are firmly mounted. Do they look like RAM sticks? Again, thanks for your help!

Update to my original posting regarding my DS2P ... I tested the two 750GB, 16MB cache, Seagate hard drives a few minutes ago. Using a tool called "SeaTools for Windows", both drives passed all the tests without an issue. So, the cause of the flashing red light problem lies elsewhere. If the problem is not the drives, what is the second most probable cause of a no boot situation? Also, I did not see any of the bootloader files on the hard drives. They must be stored in another memory location. Given its no boot status, do you think I can successfully connect via a serial connection? I'd like to find out what IP address was assigned to the dvr and look for password details. One of the log files had this entry: "CW0: Host: 04.5 (040) M2IP / Slave: 01.3 (069) C2DM" Numerous log entries included "Restart reason: Unrecognised error code." Since a motherboard replacement is a possibility, I looked for what appeared to be the part number. I think it is M2IPC2.

Thanks for your reply regarding the dvr unit number. I found the explanation in the setup manual. After posting the initial message I remembered that the DM DS2A I was connecting to the KBS3 remote keyboard was in 'upgrade limbo'. A couple weeks ago I made it part of the way through the upgrade process and ran into a problem ... and, additionally, I still need an upgrade unlock code from Dedicated Micros. So .... for the time being ... my DS2A is "halted in bootloader" mode until I get the software upgrade finished. I'm guessing that the keyboard will not be recognized by this dvr until the dvr boots up successfully.

I have a DM DS2A and a DM BX2P that I want to upgrade to make them NetVu capable. I've done my homework. Each unit can be upgraded and I have the upgrade instructions but I am not getting an upgrade unlock code from Dedicated Micros. Rather than hoping I get an email response, should I call DM tech support and ask for an unlock code?

I own the 4 camera and 8 camera version of this Sentinel 21" DVR/Monitor 'combo' product. I tried to set up an RS232 (serial) connection between my PC and the devices and, using the brief RS232 documentation, control the devices. I've spent hours trying to get a response from the units. Don't know what I'm doing wrong. Has anyone out there discovered how to communicate with these Sentinel devices via RS232? Sentinel SC21FD3044-161 (8-camera version) Sentinel SY21CD5444UQ-A80 (4-camera version) Lorex Technology purchased Sentinel years ago. Lorextechnology.com

Soundy .... vague is the appropriate word for it. I tried a null modem cable, a straight cable, building a custom cable. While testing each cable I tried every way to send the commands I could come up with and used HyperTerminal and a couple other RS232 command software programs. Would you do me a favor ... take another look at the list of commands page. Pick a command and let me know what string of command code you would send via HyperTerminal. BTW, I called Lorex Technology, the company who bought Sentinel. Their technical support team could not help me. My DVRs are considered discontinued and very few people try to set up RS232 control. The brevity of the documentation would lead one to believe it should be a no-brainer. The part of the documentation which states that I should be able to press "R" on my keyboard - press just one key, using readily available RS232 command software to stop my DVR is hard to understand.

The RS232 connection was designed to control the DVR on the devices in question. I've posted the user's manual for my 4-camera DVR on my website --- http://www.johnhappy.com/DVR/manual.pdf The pertinent RS232-related pages are page 11 and page 29 according to the page numbers printed on the PDF file pages. Your version of the Adobe Reader might refer to the pages as page 15 and 33 should you use the page up and page down arrow buttons to navigate the file