Safety Precautions to
ensure that your KeyMaker Board and ThinkPad are not damaged
In order to avoid damage to your KeyMaker
Board as well as the ThinkPad you are using it on, there are certain
precautions you MUST observe.
If you ignore these
precautions you will join the 3% of customers who bought a KeyMaker
board - ignored these precautions and damaged their KeyMaker Board
by being careless - then had to pay to have it replaced - and lost a lot
of time in the process.
Your KeyMaker has electrical contacts on
both sides, you must ensure that no part of your KeyMaker USB board
comes into contact with any conductive surfaces such as bare metal or
bare wires.
You should place down a piece of paper
and place your KeyMaker USB on top of it in order to avoid any
electrical contact which may damage your KeyMaker.
There is no danger of receiving an
electrical shock from your KeyMaker USB as the highest voltage anywhere
on the board is 5 Volts which is a safe voltage to touch.
If you prefer you can place your KeyMaker
USB board inside an Anti-Static plastic bag during use, the board
does not get warm at all, so there is no issue with ventilation.
The same precautions apply to your
ThinkPad when you are performing any operation and BEFORE your ThinkPad
is switched ON, you must ensure that nothing can short out by coming
into contact with other parts, you can use sheets of plastic or plain
paper to make sure things remain electrically isolated.
You MUST NOT allow the SDA and SCL
leads from any KeyMaker KMX1 or KMX2 to come into contact with ANYTHING
other than the correct SDA and SDA EEPROM connections points and ONLY
AFTER;
You have traced the
wire you are using for your probe right back to the label on the I2C
header on the KeyMaker board which reads SDA for YOUR SDA lead and
reads SCL for YOUR SCL lead.
You have absolutely
confirmed that you have correctly identified the SDA and SCL
connection points on your ThinkPad System Board.
3% of customers who purchased a
KeyMaker Board have somehow managed to damaged their KeyMaker board.
NOT ONE of those customers can tell me
exactly what he or she did to damage it.
I have tried all sorts of seriously
ridiculous ways to damage a KeyMaker board and I have NOT BEEN ABLE TO
DAMAGE ONE !
I only tried MILDLY STUPID THINGS like
connecting a solid 9 Volt source to SDA and SCL - theoretically that
should have damaged the I/O pin on that KeyMaker powered from 3.3 Volts,
IT DIDN'T.
Your KeyMaker board is a delicate
piece of equipment, treat it with respect.
Do NOT experiment or connect to
anything if you are not certain you have the correct connection points
identified.
There are voltages much higher than
3.3 Volts inside your ThinkPad, in fact up to 20 Volts.
20 Volts is not a danger to YOU but it
is to the KeyMaker KMX1 or KMX2.
Connect SDA and SCL leads ONLY if you
have double checked and are CERTAIN you have correctly identified SDA
and SCL connection points
The above is VERY IMPORTANT - don't ignore it else
you WILL damage your KeyMaker KMX1 or KMX2 board and that is expensive,
wastes a lot of time and is not much fun.
All of Joe's KeyMaker KMX2,
KMX2 PRO and KMX2 PRO S are shipped NOT Activated.
Before you can use your KMX2, KMX2 PRO
or KMX2 PRO Plus KeyMaker board first you must Activate it.
The Zap SVP will NOT work until after
the KMX2 board has been Activated.
Put simply, do not waste
your time trying to use the KMX2 board until it has been Activated.
The videos below show
Activation of a KMX1. Activation KMX2 is exactly the same, the board is
different.
NOT activated KMX1 flashing Green LED
Activating a KMX1 board
Activation involves using a PC or Laptop - another
PC or Laptop, NOT the Locked ThinkPad which
obviously cannot run any programs.
On that other PC or Laptop you will need to
install Drivers, unless you are using Windows 7 which does not require any
drivers, it already knows all about the KMX2 USB interface.
You will then need to install a Terminal
Program and connect the KMX2 board via a mini USB cable to that PC or Laptop so
that you can see on the PC or Laptop screen messages displayed by KMX2 and
type in commands and serial numbers which will be received by the KMX2 board.
Installing Drivers
If you are running Windows 7 either 32 or 64 bits,
you do NOT need to install any drivers as Windows 7 will automatically
recognize KMX2 and install the correct drivers.
FTDI the manufacturer of the FTDI FT232RL USB
chip used in KMX2 has drivers as well as comprehensive guides to install
those drivers in all the applicable Operating Systems.
There is not a lot more I can add about drivers that
FTDI don't cover in their USB driver guides except to WARN YOU;
Please review ALL the instructions from FTDI
first before doing anything. When you have a clear picture of the
entire process, only then follow the FTDI instructions.
If your operating system is OLD and you have not
kept up with all the latest service packs, then;
You should install the FTDI drivers BEFORE you
connect your KMX2 to a PC, if possible.
Temptation is to just connect the board to a PC and
assume that Windows knows all
about it.
WRONG! if your Operating System is outdated
If you let it Windows will automatically install
some drivers which may be old and not the correct drivers.
If possible, it is best to install FTDI DRIVERS FIRST before you plug
your KMX2 into a PC USB port,
DO NOT just blindly say OK to everything Windows suggests, first read
what is being suggested.
If you have the latest Operating System and it is
up to date then it should easily find the FTDI FT232RL and install the
correct drivers automatically.
All you need to install on your PC, MAC or Linux
Personal Computer is;
FTDI USB Drivers are compatible with the following
operating systems;
Windows
Server 2008 R2
Windows
7
Windows
7 x64
Windows
Server 2008
Windows
Server 2008 x64
Windows
Vista
Windows
Vista x64
Windows
Server 2003
Windows
Server 2003 x64
Windows
XP
Windows
XP x64
Windows
2000
Windows
ME
Windows
98
Linux
Mac
OS X
Mac
OS 9
Mac
OS 8
Windows
CE.NET (Version 4.2 and greater)
Terminal
Software
Before
your KMX2 can do anything useful, you need to connect a mini USB cable to
it, the other end of the cable should be plugged into a PC or Laptop that
is switched ON.
KeyMaker
KMX2
The
same board is used for KMX2, KMX2 PRO and KMX2 PRO PLUS, the differences
arise depending on which product keys are used to Activate it to enable
various levels of functionality.
Once
the KMX2 board is powered by the mini USB cable plugged into a PC or
Laptop that is switched ON, you should see;
The
Green Power LED [just to the right of the RESET Button] light up and
stay ON.
A
few quick flashes of the Red TX and RX LEDs
The
Green EEPROM activity LED flashing continuously which indicates that
this KMX2 has NOT been Activated yet.
Your
KMX2 is switched ON and ready to be Activated.
To
Switch your KMX2 OFF you unplug the mini USB cable.
There are a lot of different Terminal Software
programs out there, most are free.
Windows
comes with a Terminal Program called Hyperlink which you can access by
Start - All Programs - Accessories - Communications - Hyper Terminal.
The
choice is yours, almost any Terminal Software should work with
KeyMaker KMX2
I
prefer to use a program called Tera Term which is available for Download
here tera
term
save the downloaded file to your computer then run the exe file just
like any other Windows program to Install it.
If
you run another operating system then you will need to search the net
for a suitable Terminal Software program for your Operating System.
The
following is about Tera Term running under Windows however you can use
this as a guide for most Terminal Software.
The
USB interface on the KMX2 board and the FTDI Drivers act as a USB
Serial COM Port to which Windows assigns a COM Port Number.
This
is a good time to be introduced to the switches and buttons on your KMX2 board
Let's
start with those 2 slider switches on the left side.
Top
one should always be over to the left as in the above photo.
The
next switch should always be over to the left as in the above photo.
Down
the bottom left, you have the RESET Button, labelled RST which we will be using further
down this page, above the RESET Button is the green Power LED labelled PWR
which lights up whenever the KMX2 is powered up.
On
the right, the 4 wire cable has been plugged in over the I2C Header pins,
NOTE: the RED wire goes over the VCC pin.
On
the middle right you have the ZAP SVP button.
Just
left of the Text on the board 'v1.22' is a Green LED labelled L, that is the Green EEPROM activity LED which is used to
signal EEPROM activity, it is lit and stays lit while the KMX2 board I2C
cable is accessing the EEPROM connected to the other end of the I2C cable.
The
Green EEPROM Activity LED is also used to indicate if the KMX2 has been
Activated or not as well as to signal success or failure of EEPROM
operations.
If
the KMX2 has not been Activated the Green EEPROM Activity LED will flash
constantly.
After
the KMX2 board has been activated when you power up the KMX2 board the LED
will flash 4 times and then remain OFF to indicate the KMX2 board has been
Activated and ready to be used.
I
should mention at this point that it is better to power up [plug in the
mini USB cable connected to a PC or Laptop which is switched ON] before
you run your Terminal Software.
The
reason being that until KMX2 is turned on its COM Port doesn't exist,
so your Terminal Program would not find it which can be frustrating if
you don't realize what's happening.
So
power up KMX2 ON first, then run your Terminal Software.
Select the COM Port that was allocated to KMX2 during the USB Driver installation.
If you are not sure which COM Port KMX2 is
attached to, see further down this page for help in finding the
right COM Port
Set up the Serial Port on your Terminal software to;
COM PORT:
Baud rate: 115200
Data: 8 bit
Parity: none
Stop: 1 bit
Flow control: none Transmit delay: 0 msec/char 0 msec/line
Save all these setting so you don't have to do this
again.
On some Terminal programs you also need to CONNECT
before anything useful happens.
The drop down screen for making these settings in
Tera term is shown below
You get there by - Setup - Serial port..
Each of the settings has a drop down menu which
allows you to chose the correct settings, click OK when done.
To save those settings, you would chose - Setup -
Save setup - type in a name and click Ok, now each time Tera term is
run it starts up with all the correct settings.
Press the Reset button on KMX2, Bottom left of board
black coloured push button labelled RESET.
You
should see the KMX2 Product Activation Screen with the cursor blinking
ready for you to type in your KMX2 Activation Product Key, the
background and Text colours will vary depending on your settings.
If
what you see is like the image below - a random bunch of characters - DON'T
PANIC, it is OK, that simply means that you have not set the Baud Rate
correctly, KMX2 Baud Rate is 115200
Or
maybe you are on the wrong page - This page is for KMX2 -
Don't
concern yourself with Activation right now that is fully covered later,
for now lets get KMX2 to display something
If
nothing appears on your PC or Laptop screen.
Watch
the KMX2 board while pressing and releasing KMX2's RESET button which is
next to the illuminated GREEN Power LED.
Each
time you press and release the reset button you should see a RED LED on
middle of the KMX2 board flash very briefly, that is the TX LED which
flashes any time serial data is being sent out by KMX2 to your computer
via the USB Port.
If
the RED LED flashes it confirms all is well as your board is indeed
sending out the Initial Activation Screen to your computer but you are
not seeing it.
The
usual cause for not seeing anything on the screen is you have NOT
selected the correct COM Port connected to the KMX2 board.
Finding
the COM Port KMX2 is attached to
The
easiest way to find out which COM port KMX2 is on is to
Click
on START, Right Click My Computer - Properties
The
System Properties window should appear.
Select
the Hardware tab by clicking on it, then click on Device Manager
In
the Device Manager Window, scroll down until you see Ports (COM &
LPT)
Click
on the + symbol on the left of that line + Ports (COM & LPT)
Which
call cause it to Expand and display all available Ports.
Watch
that list while you unplug the mini USB cable from your KMX2 board for a
few seconds then plug it back in again.
The
COM port that disappears each time you unplug the mini USB and
re-appears when you plug it back in is the COM Port assigned to KMX2 by
Windows and the FTDI Drivers.
Now
you know for sure what is the correct COM Port, go back to your terminal
Software and select that COM Port.
On
my PC, when KMX2 is connected, USB Serial Port (COM21) is displayed
.
When
KMX2 is unplugged, USB Serial Port (COM21) disappears, so my KMX2 is
attached to COM Port 21
NOTE:
In the images displayed below, THE BACKGROUND is NOT from a KMX2 so ignore
the background.
Setting
Tera Term colours for background and text can be customized by clicking
Setup - Window..
To
set Text colour, click the Text Radio Button and move the R G B Sliders,
then click OK
To
set Background colour, click the Background Radio Button and move the R G
B Sliders, then Click OK
Now
that you can interact with KMX2 by using a Terminal Program it is time to
Activate your KMX2 board
Activating the KMX2 board
Press the Reset button on KMX2, Bottom left of board
black coloured push button labelled RESET.
You
should see the KMX2 Product Activation Screen with the cursor blinking
ready for you to type in your KMX2 Activation Product Key, the
background and Text colours will vary depending on your settings.
The KMX2 Serial number in the example above is KMX2-92157
The Serial Number of the KMX2 you are Activating
will be a different number it will NOT be KMX2-92157.
Every KMX2s has a Unique Serial Number and a Unique
Activation Product Key that ONLY works on that Serial Number KMX2.
You need to email me the serial number displayed
by the KMX2 you are activating.
DO NOT email me the sample serial number
KMX1-92157 as that is NOT the serial of the KMX2 you are activating.
You email me the Serial Number
displayed by the KMX2 you are activating.
You must send that email from theemail address that is registered to the PayPal account you used to
purchase your KMX2
Send your email to
type
KMX2
Activation in the Subject line
of your email
By return email. to your
PayPal registered email address. you will receive
your unique 8 alpha character Activation Product Key
that you can type in at the Initial Activation menu.
IMPORTANT !!!!
YOU need to ensure that YOUR ISP or YOUR email
SPAM filter is not blocking my reply from
Once you have received your Unique
Activation Product Key by return email:
Press the Reset button on KMX2, Bottom left of board
black coloured push button labelled RESET.
You
should see the KMX2 Product Activation Screen with the cursor blinking
ready for you to type in your KMX2 Activation Product Key
If you typed in an incorrect Product
Activation Key you simply wait 5 seconds before you can try again
Depending on which KMX2 you purchased.
Your Product Activation key will
Activate your KMX2 to that level of functionality.
See example below for KMX2 Activation.
THEN READ ALL THE WAY DOWN THIS
PAGE - THERE ARE MORE INSTRUCTIONS
Successful activation of KMX2 typed in KMX2
Product Key HINRPEMV result is PASS
Activation ONLY needs to be performed
once and remains in effect forever.
With your KMX2 Activated now is a good
time to become familiar with how the SVP Zap button works.
It is safe to operate the Zap SVP button without any EEPROM connected.
It will fail almost immediately and give a
short burst of fast flashes on the Green EEPROM Activity LED which indicates a failed
Zap SVP operation, in this case it fails because obviously it can't find an
EEPROM since none is connected.
You will notice there is a 5 second DELAY
count
down, that is the default delay count down setting, you can change
this later to 0 [no delay], 5, 10 or 15 seconds using the 0 command -- Delay
Following the delay the Green EEPROM
Activity LED will stay lit steady briefly and when the Zap SVP operation
fails you will see the Green EEPROM Activity LED display a burst of
quick flashes [signalling failed operation] then go out, you also see this
error message displayed.
If
you purchased the KMX-LCDyou
will see this on the KMX-LCD attached to the KMX2 board
Top
line of LCD displays the status of the 5 second delay countdown
Bottom line displays EEPROM Type, currently set delay time and
Keyboard Country.
Zap SVP procedure failed LCD display
It is recommended that until you are
thoroughly familiar with using your KMX2 that you use KMX2
with a second PC simply because you will benefit from the detailed
instructions and detailed error messages displayed on your PC. Once
you are familiar with your KMX2 then you can use it with only the Zap
SVP button or with the KMX-LCD
After Activation has been completed AND
you are familiar withe the operation of your KMX2 then - you do
NOT need a second PC or laptop when using the KMX2
Zap SVP button or when using KMX2
together with the KMX-LCD
I make no warranty that any of my
information is correct, or safe, or does or does not breach any warranty
clause, or anything else, it is up to you to decide if you will
follow all or any of the instructions to recover the Supervisor Password
from a TP. It is up to you to decide, I am not responsible for the
results or for any consequential or incidental damages whatsoever.
