Hikvision NVR not booting up

[diesel dog]

I've got a Hikvision 4ch DS7604NI hooked up to 2 dome cams. It's been working fine until yesterday. It has power but it is not booting up. Before I could use it in Internet Explorer, phone apps and through my TV monitor. Now I can't see it anywhere. It's not in SADP, IVMS, my BT modem and showing offline on the Hik connect page.

There is power getting to the NVR. The left light is on and the right light is flashing. On the back where the cam cables plug into the box these are both on amber. I'm pretty sure these were green before.

Any suggestions?

 

[alastairstevenson]

Any suggestions?

With no visibility either via the LAN or the VGA/HDMI interface, your next trouble-shooting step would be to try a firmware refresh, or hook up to the serial console connector on the main board to see what it shows for status.

A few weeks back I bought the same model for a pittance 'spares and repairs' from eBay, just for something to look at.
The serial console showed the main part of the firmware failing to fully load due to data corruption.
A few files were available that allowed me to date the firmware as August 2014.
A firmware refresh fixed it up and it worked normally.

I speculated that the device had never had a firmware update since new, and it had suffered a firmware fade after about 6 years.
The type of flash chips used claim a typical 10-year retention period.
I suspect this one faded a bit early.

It would be easy enough to try a firmware recovery using the Hikvision tftp updater, ideally using the same or later firmware as was in use.
Files and instructions here :

TFTPServ

Hikvision IP Camera Emergency Firmware Recovery TFTP. Check this thread for info on how to use this tool to un-brick your Hikvision camera.

ipcamtalk.com

Firmware here:

DOWNLOAD EU PORTAL

www.hikvisioneurope.com

If that doesn't work - connect to the serial console :
You will need a USB to TTL serial convertor.
And a wired 4-pin 1.5mm JST ZH connector.
Both widely available on eBay
The serial console connector is shown in this post :

TFTPServ

Hikvision IP Camera Emergency Firmware Recovery TFTP. Check this thread for info on how to use this tool to un-brick your Hikvision camera.

ipcamtalk.com

 

[diesel dog]

Thanks for your quick reply and advice. It did have the latest firmware (at least it did when I last checked which is often). That little lot that you explained is probably a bit over my head. I'm ok doing firmware upgrades and that's about it. I think if I have to throw some money at getting convertors and connectors, I may as well put that money towards a new one.
I've spoken to the company I bought it from and they are more or less saying "it's no good as it's not booting up and not showing online"

I guess my next question is do I stay with Hikvision or buy an alternative budget make and model.

 

[alastairstevenson]

I think if I have to throw some money at getting convertors and connectors

That might come to a fiver.
Plus your time, and the interest of experimenting with it.

 

[alastairstevenson]

That little lot that you explained is probably a bit over my head.

The tftp updater is easy enough to try.

 

[diesel dog]

Once again, thanks for your replies.

I got as far as disconnecting the LAN cable from the NVR and plugged it into my laptop. The next thing that happened was the wizard screen came up on the monitor. I had to log back in and hey presto everything is back to how it was. I can now see the NVR via IE, phone apps, SDP, IVMS, etc.

The only thing I can think that happened was I had a short power cut and the NVR had logged out. Usually when I reset/restart the BT modem the date reverts back to 1970 for some odd reason. Meaning it won't record (this happened a while ago) and I also appear to have the latest firmware although the picture on both cams don't seem as sharp as they were when new.

Thanks to Alastair for his double prompt as I would have just bit the bullet and bought a new NVR.

 

[alastairstevenson]

I got as far as disconnecting the LAN cable from the NVR and plugged it into my laptop. The next thing that happened was the wizard screen came up on the monitor. I had to log back in and hey presto everything is back to how it was. I can now see the NVR via IE, phone apps, SDP, IVMS, etc.

Wow!
That's an unexpected but welcome result.
Quite weird though, not something I've seen or heard of.

 

[diesel dog]

I spoke too soon. I turned it off to change the cams back to position and now it won't switch on. At best I get the start where the NVR is setting up then it dies.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Oh dear. That's disappointing.

 

[diesel dog]

It's an odd one for sure. I switched it on last night and it started to boot up with the intro then I heard a click from inside the NVR then the intro to Hikvision embedded vanished. I turned it on this morning and hey presto It's back on and fully working again.

The firmware version installed is V3.4.2 build 160129
encoding version V5.0 build 151120
web version V4.0.1 build 151210
plugin version V3.05.43

This is on a Hikvision DS-7604NI-E1 / 4P/A

 

[lewic]

Few things to check... Disconnect the cameras from the built in POE. Does it boot up properly? Open the case and unplug the hard drive power cable. What we are doing here is troubleshooting to see if it is a power issue if the power supply to the unit is weak.

Try both the VGA and HDMI ports for video. It may be sending the video out to the other output. If you can log in using the web browser, check the resolution of your video outputs. This is under "Configuration/system". I have had instances where the resolution was correct but I dropped the hz from 60hz down to 30hz and the image showed up on the screen.

For the DS-7604NI-E1, that is an older firmware. You are quite a few firmwares behind. The latest one should be 3.4.96. There is I believe four firmwares you would need to load before you get to the latest. 3.4.5, 3.4.92, 3.4.94, 3.4.96. If you are using the Hikvision DDNS though then don't do any of the upgrades as the 3.4.5 will take away the DDNS option and you will be stuck with going with a 3rd party DDNS or go with Hikconnect.

 

[diesel dog]

A big thanks for taking your time out to write that reply with some very useful information.

It all seems to be working fine at the moment although I will get around to doing those checks and reply once I've done them.

Great website forum this one