Think I bricked my NVR. Help!

[kccustom]

When I use that port with putty and my usb serial adapter all I get back is a jumbled mess.

 

[alastairstevenson]

A couple of possible causes:
Have you checked that the baud rate in PuTTY is set to match that configured in the NVR? Most common these days is 115200, 8 bits no parity.

I don't know if your NVR is using classical RS232 or serial TTL, so:
If your USB to serial adapter is a classical RS232 version (ie with bipolar signals of 3-15v) you will likely need a serial TTL (ie 0-5v or 0-3.3v positive only) adapter.
If your USB to serial adapter is a serial TTL (ie 0-5v or 0-3.3v positive only) adapter you will likely need a classical RS232 version (ie with bipolar signals of 3-15v).

Either of these things being wrong will give nonsense characters.

 

[kccustom]

Success! I cannot express my gratitude enough for all the help I have received in the last couple of days, thank you!

 

[alastairstevenson]

Well done! But what did you do?
Use the bootloader dialogues to specify a firmware update?
How did you get the serial port to work OK?

 

[djangel]

Success! I cannot express my gratitude enough for all the help I have received in the last couple of days, thank you!

Good job! Now, feel free to upgrade

 

[kccustom]

Well done! But what did you do?
Use the bootloader dialogues to specify a firmware update?
How did you get the serial port to work OK?

I did exactly what @djangel described at the beginning of this post, changing the baud rate to 115200 was the key, the rs-232 port on the back of the unit worked.

Thanks again everybody, I have 3.3.4 on it now.

 

[djangel]

Awesome. Although missing some options, I do like the new interface much better. Also, keep in mind that not all the settings are the same when using the NVR's gui and web gui. There might be some missing or disabled options when configuring, so try both. For example, when setting up VCA (line crossing) for my cameras I had to do it from the NVR, since the web gui didn't allow me. Could be due to my cameras firmware versions, but when I went into the NVR I was able to configure it without issues.

 

[kccustom]

I notice you lose virtual host with this firmware, right now I cant seem to access my nvr via the web interface for some reason it was working earlier but I ham happy its working.

 

[CoreyX64]

Glad to hear you got things working. While serial might be obsolete for many things it was used for at one time, it's the lifeline for recovering any sort of embedded device. I did this exact same thing with my 7700s and restoring 3.3.4 never seemed to work. I had to restore 3.1.7 then upgrade from there. It was really weird, but the lack of username/password stems from a security change that Hikvision has implemented in the 3.3.x firmware versions. The concept is when you buy a product from them it has no default password. Ever. As such no one can just pick up a device and get inside and tinker. This comes to mind with every old school linksys (and some others too) router that you could connect to it and admin/password you were in no question. Anymore even just saying hi to someone is a security risk, every little thing has to be locked down anymore. While I think axing default passwords is a spectacular idea to improve device security, Hikvision did a horrible job of implementing such a security feature. I'm trying to think of something they have implemented in their products that was done in such a way that makes logical sense. I can't.

And for future reference, serial and TTL are similar, but not the same. @djangel described this perfectly. If your NVR has a DB9 port on the back, it's RS-232 level and any old DB9 serial adapter will work. (I recommend ones with Proliphic chips in them, best support and compatibility IME). If it doesn't, almost certain it's TTL. I have yet to find an RS-232 enabled NVR that doesn't have the DB9 port on the back, so I'm assuming that to be the determinant.

New firmware is great. Finally took GUI design seriously. I never understood the old green leafy theme for the NVRs prior. I haven't used any of the super advanced features of the new one yet but I've read email alerts to be a touchy subject across the board. I don't have a need for those at the moment so doesn't affect me too much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CoreyX64]

Virtual Hosts weren't removed at all. Perhaps they might be toggled off by default (security reasons of course). Mine:

Here is the menu to toggle it: