Restore Rackmount SSD Image (Win7)

If you are re-imaging a machine that's still accessible, then recover the following files from the hard drive and store them on another machine:

C:\Streambox\license_hd_93002.lic (and any other *.lic files)
C:\Streambox\mobile.lic
C:\Windows\win.ini
(do not back up C:\Streambox\win.ini-- that is a default settings file)

Do not store them on the USB drive that you'll be using for the imaging process, as that drive will be erased in order to create the bootable image-loader.

Download this image file: 

https://download.streambox.com.s3.amazonaws.com/restoreUSB_windows_rackmount/ws7e/latest/SBXWS7E.iso.zip

The password for the zipfile is Stre@mb0x

Create a USB boot flash drive (UFD) with the free ISO to USB Windows utility: http://www.isotousb.com/

  • When creating an UFD, make sure the File System is set to FAT32 and the "Bootable" checkbox is checked. Otherwise the machine wont be able to boot from it.
  • If the utility doesn't detect your USB drive, try formatting it to FAT32 and then trying again.

Remove any and all personal files, stored videos, etc. from the Streambox drive that will be written to-- this process will format the drive and wipe all data. Physically eject any additional storage, hard drives, etc. in or connected to the unit.† Only the boot SSD and the USB drive should be in the Streambox.

Disconnect the Streambox from the Internet during this process.† Leaving it connected can dramatically increase the time it takes to run.

Connect a USB keyboard.† (There's one USB port in back, or two in front that're hidden behind a metal face that folds down.)

  1. Set Boot Order in BIOS to boot from the SSD before it boots from any USB device.
  2. While the unit is powered off, connect the UFD and insert/connect the SSD. Remove or disconnect all other drives.
  3. Power up the unit while tapping the "Select Boot Order" key, which varies by motherboard:
  • MSI IM-Q35 (5300/9300; serial number ends in .7) F11
  • Ibase MI935 (5300/9300; serial number ends in .9 or .9b) F10 followed by selecting Hard Disk, then USB-HDD0†: Generic Flash Disk
  • Ibase MI956 (5300/9300; serial number ends in .1) F7
  • BCM MX81H (9200) F11†

The machine will complete its bootup process and a blue Windows logo should appear on an otherwise black screen. This indicates the imaging procedure has begun. The re-image process takes 20-30 minutes to complete.†

Following that, set your IP address (and other network addresses) into the system.† Note that the Windows login password will be reset to Stre@mb0x (username: administrator) following this process.

Download and run the latest installer for your Encoder and/or Decoder software.† Restore the files you recovered at the start of this process.

Finally, run Windows Updates and keep running it until there are no more important updates to install.† If you get an error related to Disk Space, then disable the File-Based Write Filter using this procedure, and try again after your reboot.


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OSX INSTRUCTIONS FOR UFD:

= Creating a UFD (Bootable USB) in OSX =

* Log in to OSX as an Administrator user.†
* Use the OSX Disk Utility (in /Applications/Utilities/) to format the USB drive
** Set Scheme to 1 Partition
** Set Format to Free Space
* Open the OSX Terminal (in /Applications/Utilities/)
* Navigate to the folder containing the ISO file†
* Use the following command to convert the ISO file to the UDRW image format (using†SBXWS7E.iso in this example):
**†hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o SBXWS7E.img SBXWS7E.iso
** This process will create†
* Identify the USB drive's key with the following command
** diskutil list
** The key will look something like /dev/disk1 or /dev/disk2; be sure to select the correct drive
* Use the following command to write the image to the USB:†
**†sudo dd if=./SBXWS7E.img.dmg of=/dev/disk2 bs=1m
** You will be prompted for your OSX password
* remove the drive and use the drive as the boot device on the Windows 7 Embedded device (Encoder or Decoder, usually).