Building a Cheap but Capable Security Camera Recording System

So i have some experience with security systems and security cameras. Well recently i wanted to make a cheap setup for monitoring a small office. So i started with the required research to compare products.

First, you need two things. Standalone DVR to record what the cameras show and a couple of Security Cameras. You can search eBay for Standalone DVR and you can easily pick one up for $200 with network capabilities and a few Cameras for around $30 a piece. Now i wanted a 4 camera system, so this came to close to $320 for me. I thought, there has to be a better way.

Well i found something cool. Wireless cameras, these new breed of cameras work with your existing wireless network and will record directly to your hard drive eliminating the need for a DVR.

Searching and comparing products, i found the best ones will cost in the range of $200 each. Which is still to expensive for my taste. So i continued to search, here is what i found:

AirLink101 AIC250W Wireless Color Network Video Camera

http://www.buy.com/prod/airlink101-aic250w-wireless-color-network-video-camera/q/loc/111/210941311.html

These usually cost $70 but are available for a short time for $55 with free shipping and no tax.

AirLink101 SkyIPCam 250W AIC250W Wireless Color Network Video Camera General Features:

Connection: IEEE 802.11g Camera Sensor: 1/3-color CMOS Camera Resolution: 640 x 480 Focal Length: 6.0 mm Aperture: 1.8 S/N Ratio: 57 dBm Video Format: Image Compression: JPEG Resolution: 10 fps @ 640 x 480 (VGA), 25 fps @ 320 x 240 (CIF), 30 fps @ 160 x 112 (QCIF) Capable of still image captures, video recording, and e-mail notices Web browser viewing on any computer Intruder detection Use up to 16 cameras for complete area monitoring (only one camera is included) Security: Admin/User protected Password authentication WEP 64/128bit Protocol: TCP/IP UDP ARP ICMP BOOTP RARP DHCP PPPoE SMTP FTP HTTP DDNS Support Camera Dimensions: 1.5 x 2.6 x 5.3-inches (H x W x D, approximate) Regulatory Approvals: FCC CE

Has all the features one would need, for a fraction of the cost. I would recommend this over building a cheap system.

Dell Mini 9 – Vista on 4 GB SSD – Get rid of constant low space warning message

So i installed Vista on my Dell Mini 9, which has only a 4 GB SSD. However the problem i had was constant annoying low space warning messages. Here is a fix to get rid of it, took me less than 2mins.

 

Here's How:

1. Click on Start, type the following command in the search box, and then hit the Enter key.

   regedit

   This command will load the Registry Editor program.

   Note: Changes to the registry are made in these steps. Take great care in making only the changes described below.

2. Locate the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder under Computer and click on the (+) sign next the folder name to expand the folder.

3. Continue to expand folders until you reach the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

4. Select the Policies key under CurrentVersion.

5. From the Registry Editor menu, choose Edit, followed by New, followed finally by Key.

6. After the key is created beneath Policies, it will initially be named New Key #1.

   Change the name of the key to Explorer by typing it exactly as shown and then hitting the Enter key.

7. With the new key, Explorer, still selected, choose Edit, followed by New, followed finally by DWORD (32-bit) Value.

8. After the DWORD is created beneath Explorer, it will initially be named New Value #1.

   Change the name of the DWORD to NoLowDiskSpaceChecks by typing it exactly as shown and then hitting the Enter key.

9. Right-click on the new NoLowDiskSpaceChecks DWORD you just created and choose Modify.

10. In the Value data: field, replace the zero with the number 1.

11. Click OK and close Registry Editor.

    Windows Vista will no longer warn you about low disk space on any of your hard drives.

Serious Dell Mini 9 Bios Upgrade Bug/Flaw Problem that will Brick your system

So you get your Dell Mini and find out that it has Bios A00 on it and the newest one is A05. So like me, you will want the latest version too. I put in the windows firmware on my USB flash drive and plugged it into the computer, i then decided to run the bios update from the floppy drive to make sure that the version was out dated. It was, so i clicked cancel and my computer started beeping and hung up. This is a bug dell has, even if you click cancel, the bios starts to auto update. I thought it was windows crashing and not the bios update, so i tried to shut the computer, when nothing worked, i pulled the battery out.

Now when i press the power button, the power light came on, but there was a blank screen. Nothing else. The system was bricked. Dell support was no help.

After days of searching i found the solution. You will need a External Floppy Drive for this to work.

Here is the fix:

1st: Get a USB Floppy (I don't know if you can use a USBKey but a floppy worked for me)

2nd: Go to http://mydellmini.com/forum/possible-experimental-bios-to-address-video-memory-p11787.html and download the file named 268076.exe.zip

3rd: Unzip the file and run the 268076.exe to create your boot floppy
4th: Get the most recent Dell bios Rom file from the dell support site.
5th: Rename it to "BIOS.WPH" and copy it to your new boot floppy (Overwrite the one currently there)
6th: On the mini...Connect USB floppy drive and insert disk
7th: Unplug the power, Hold fn+b and plug power back in, 2 lights should flicker (Watch, they flicker fast)
8th: If the machine does not power on at this point hit power
9th: Walk away.... The system should start accessing the floppy drive and you really need to walk away.
10th: The Floppy will stop reading but still do not touch, it will eventually reboot itself (10 - 15 minutes in my case)

On reboot there will be a checksum error press F1 NOT F2 and let the bios run at least one time, it will figure it all out.
And you should be fixed.

Dell needs to fix this problem. It is serious.

Updates to Dell Mini 9

If you have the base model of the Dell mini like me. Have no fear. I will teach you all i know.

1. Windows 7 – Too big to install on a 4GB SSD. Just Forget it. I vlited to almost nothing.

2. Windows XP – Size is small enough to fit. However without an external CD/DVD Drive, forget it. It will take too long to figure it out.

3. Windows Vista – Now we are talking. This fit in exactly 3GB Space. Leaving me 500MB to play with. Keep in mind that Dell only gives you 3.5GB/4.0GB space to use.

 

To install Vista

Required:

• USB Flash Drive (4GB+)
• Microsoft OS Disk (Vista / Windows 7)
• A computer running Vista / Windows 7

Step 1: Format the Drive
The steps here are to use the command line to format the disk properly using the diskpart utility. [Be warned: this will erase everything on your drive. Be careful.]

1. Plug in your USB Flash Drive
2. Open a command prompt as administrator (Right click on Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”
3. Find the drive number of your USB Drive by typing the following into the Command Prompt window:
   diskpart
   list disk
   The number of your USB drive will listed. You’ll need this for the next step.  I’ll assume that the USB flash drive is disk 1.
4. Format the drive by typing the next instructions into the same window. Replace the number “1” with the number of your disk below.
   select disk 1
   clean
   create partition primary
   select partition 1
   active
   format fs=NTFS
   assign
   exit
   When that is done you’ll have a formatted USB flash drive ready to be made bootable.

Step 2: Make the Drive Bootable 
Next we’ll use the bootsect utility that comes on the Vista or Windows 7 disk to make the flash drive bootable.  In the same command window that you were using in Step 1:

1. Insert your Windows Vista / 7 DVD into your drive.
2. Change directory to the DVD’s boot directory where bootsect lives:
   d:
   cd d:\boot
3. Use bootsect to set the USB as a bootable NTFS drive prepared for a Vista/7 image. I’m assuming that your USB flash drive has been labeled disk G:\ by the computer:
   bootsect /nt60 g:
4. You can now close the command prompt window, we’re done here.

Step 3: Copy the installation DVD to the USB drive
I went to Mininova.com and downloaded a Vista Ultimate Extreme install disk that worked for me. Download was around 1.3GB and install was 3GB. Best pain free method ever.

Step 4: Set your BIOS to boot from USB
This is where you’re on your own since every computer is different. Most BIOS’s allow you to hit a key at boot and select a boot option.

Dell Mini 9

Super cool netbooks. Well at least for the price. I got it from the Dell Outlet center using a 15% off coupon for $150 shipped. Specs were bare, 4GB HD and 512MB Ram with Ubuntu. So i plan on putting a 2GB Ram stick i have lying around. I did buy a 8GB SSD Card for additional storage. Lets see how it all goes.

Finally getting this Blog up and running…

Took me a while. Close to two years. That’s when i registered this domain name for Blogging, however i never got around to it. Finally today it is all set up and ready to go. I have a few posts that i planned to post way back, so am going to have a few new ones at one go. Then hopefully i can sustain it with a few posts a day. I basically plan to post whatever is on my mind here. Nothing specific, just some new idea i have or a task i accomplish. So lets see how it sounds and how it all goes from there on.