Frequently Asked Questions
If you find you are having problems with any of your newly purchased equipment, please find below a list of the most commonly asked questions.
If you are still having problems then please contact our technical team. Please have your details at hand such as your invoice number &/or delivery address.
Q. My DVR says "NO HDD” but I received the DVR with the Hard Drive already installed.
A. Restart your DVR. When it boots up again it should prompt you to clean the HDD (depending on the model of DVR).
If it says “Clean HDD” select “Yes” and the HDD will be formatted.
If your DVR does not ask you to clean the HDD, then go to the menu and locate the HDD settings.
You may need to refer to your DVR manual for more information.
When you find the HDD settings menu, you should be presented with an option to format or clean the HDD.
If none of the above suggestions have worked then please contact the company that you purchased the DVR from.
Q. I have purchased a DVR and installed my own hard drive, but the DVR says “NO HDD”
A. First, make sure that the HDD complies with your DVR. For example, if it is a SATA HDD make sure that the HDD is a SATA 3.5 INCH HDD, the same as a PC would use, if its IDE (RIBBON CABLE) then you need to make sure you have a IDE 3.5 INCH HDD the same as the old PCs would use.
Double check all of the connections on both the HDD socket and the DVR socket.
Make sure you are using a brand new HDD. Used HDDs may not work in a DVR as they use a unique format. If you are using a HDD from a different DVR you may have the same problem. In this case you will need to purchase a brand new HDD.
Check the brands compatibility with the DVR by checking on your DVRs manual or the manufacturers’ website. Try and stick with more recognised brands such as Seagate; Western Digital; Samsung etc.
Q. My DVR has suddenly started showing the “NO HDD” label at the top right and there is a clicking noise coming from the DVR.
A. This generally means that the HDD has turned faulty. If your HDD is under warranty then contact the company that you purchased the DVR from for more information.
Q. My DVR wont show the HDD and it restarts itself for no reason every few minutes.
A. If you have purchased a full CCTV package then double check your DVRs power supply. Some DVRs run a power current of 19 Volts, but most CCTV cameras run on a 12 Volt basis. If you have got them the wrong way round you can cause damage to your equipment. If the DVR has a 12 Volt power supply when it requires a 19 Volt it will cause the above symptoms as its being under powered.
If you have connected a 19 Volt power supply to your cameras you may cause irreparable damage to them that is not covered by warranty. Be careful!
If this is not the solution to your problem then please contact the company that you purchased the DVR from.
Q. The IR remote control for my DVR wont work.
A. Double check for equipment that may interfere with the connection (even a microwave could cause some interference).
Replace the batteries that may have come with the remote. The manufacturers sometimes use low quality batteries that are not very good. Purchase some alkaline batteries like Duracell.
If you have changed the batteries and the remote is still not working then refer to the manual where it will explain how to link the remote to the DVR. This varies among different models but is a common issue.
If none of the above steps have sorted the issue then contact the company you purchased the DVR from for more information
Q. The IR remote control for my DVR was working, but now it’s not.
A. Refer to the manual for instructions on how to re-link the remote to the DVR. Sometimes remotes have a button that resets them and if you accidently press this it will disable the remote.
Try changing the batteries. Have you added any equipment to the room that may cause interference? Double check.
Q. I have set my DVR to motion detection but now it doesn’t record anything.
A. The DVR will have an option that allows you to enable motion detection. Make sure this is enabled. Some DVRs have a “Manual Record” option, this means “Continuous Recording”. Make sure that this option is disabled otherwise the DVR may become confused and not record at all.
Refer to your DVRs manual as they may use different terms to the ones above.
Q. When I try to back up via USB, the DVR just says there is an error with the USB device.
A. Insert the USB device into a windows computer. Then go to “My Computer” and locate the device. Right click on it (Usually appears as E:/ or G:/), select “Format” and select “FAT32” as the format value.
Plug it back into your DVR and try again.
PLEASE NOTE THIS WILL DELETE ALL ITEMS ON THE USB DEVICE SO MAKE SURE YOU BACK UP YOUR MATERIAL!!
If the above has still not worked, try another brand of USB device. Try and stick to more recognised brands as they usually work quite well.
Q. When I back up my material and put it onto a computer, there are some files that my computer cannot read properly.
A. You need to get the CD that your DVR came with and on there you will find some software. Install that on your computer and open the files with that program. That will allow you to view the files and save them as a different format that can be read by all major media players.
If you do not have the CD for the DVR, please go to the manufacturers website, it is usually available there. If you cannot find it then contact the company that you purchased the DVR from, they should be able to point you in the right direction.
Q. When I plug my DVR into my monitor through VGA, the monitor just says “Unsupported”, “Out of Range” or “No Signal.”
A. Use the DVR on a couple of different monitors. If it works on a different monitor then reduce the resolution of the DVR (refer to the manual on how to do this) and plug it back into the original monitor. If it is still not working then try some different resolutions. If none of them work with this monitor then that means it is not compatible.
If it does not work on any of your monitors and they are all different then contact the company that you purchased the DVR from.
You can also use the BNC output and connect the DVR to a television through the AV input. You will have access to the VGA resolution there as well.
Q. I have my DVR set to motion detection, but the beeping noise it is making is really annoying!
A. You will need to refer to the manual on how to do this as it varies across different models. Go to the settings and look for an option called “Alarm or Beeper”. It is usually under something similar to that. Go into that option and it will allow you to disable the beeper for certain alerts but enable it for others. For example, I have disabled the beeper for motion detection, but if a camera is disconnected it will still beep. Some older DVRs may not support this function. You could open the DVR and physically remove the beeper, however, this will without a doubt void your warranty.
