Re-enabling options on an Agilent DSO81204A?

[G0HZU]

OK that's good. I'm nervous/reluctant to explore the memory or bandwidth or noise options because there are so many of them and it might confuse or even damage your scope if I unlock an incompatible option. There also seem to be options for pretty much every type of interface found on a PC motherboard or network or graphics card and plenty of other stuff I don't recognise. But some of it probably won't be for your scope so it could cause problems. Also, I don't know the correct three digit code for any of these options unless it's obvious (and safe) like the LSS code for low speed serial. I did check the datasheet and your scope does support the LSS option so I did expect it to work OK

[swperk]

I appreciate your concern. I'm curious, though, how a software option could damage the scope's hardware (I presume that's what you meant). If one of the codes were to cause a problem, wouldn't the software just object to it somehow, and then it would just be a matter of restoring the license file to its previous state?

I agree that there are lots more options available for this scope, but there are only three that would be of any use to me: InfiniiScan, Noise Reduction, and Increased Bandwidth (in that order).

To reiterate, I am extremely grateful for all the help you've given me so far, and I understand your reluctance to generate potentially hazardous codes. But having said that, if you ever do want to generate more codes I'll be willing to assume any and all risks and give them a try!

[darkstar49]

Reading this thread (and others), I don't have the impression that the key generation scheme is know (for the DSO80K), is that correct ? Or did I just miss something ??
I don't know what series share the same firmware, but I assume it's not just the DSO80K, so it should be worth the effort, no... ?

[G0HZU]

I don't have the impression that the key generation scheme is know (for the DSO80K), is that correct ? Or did I just miss something ??

I think it is known... I managed to generate two valid codes on this thread? It's something like a 1 in 281,474,976,710,656 chance to get it right each time if I had just guessed it? ... but I got it right twice with two lucky guesses? Maybe I should try the lottery 

[maxtee]

Hi GOHZU,  How one could generate their own license.dat file?
thanks'

[darkstar49]

 @G0HZU:  would it be possible to send you a PM ?? (currently blocked...)

[TRN]

Hi,

Yes the key generation scheme is known, and is based on Flexera's  flexlm licensing scheme.

Licenses for the  DSO80K are non ECC SIGN=12, and can be generated fairly easy.
The newer style licenses for the DSO90K are ECC SIGN=84 and are much more difficult

regards

[jasonbrent]

Hi,

Yes the key generation scheme is known, and is based on Flexera's  flexlm licensing scheme.

Licenses for the  DSO80K are non ECC SIGN=12, and can be generated fairly easy.
The newer style licenses for the DSO90K are ECC SIGN=84 and are much more difficult

regards

Ah ha... these definitely reminded me of flexlm licenses. Do you know if this format persists for the 3K series? I just acquired a 3KT, but havent gotten mich past turning it on so far.

-j

[Mr Nutts]

Hello Mr G0HZU,

Can I ask you to give me a hand with my DSO8064A? When I got it someone had wiped the disk, I found an image and have XP and the scope application running but there is no license file and so none of the options it should have are working.

My scope also doesn't have license codes on the back but I also got two very bad copies of the invoices which lists the product codes of the options the original owner bought for this scope (unfortunately I didn't get the license
certificates with the keys):

- N547A-640   128Mpts on 2ch/64Mpts on 4ch
- N5415A   InfiniiScan
- E2681A   EZJIT
- N5391A   Low-speed Serial Data
- N5384A   High-speed Serial Data
- N5402A   Automotive Serial Data
- E2625A   Communications Mask Test Kit
- N5392A   Ethernet
- N5416A   USB 2.0
- U1882A-001   Power measurement for Infiniium oscilloscopes
- N5430A   User-defined function
- E2682A   Voice Control

There's another invoice which lists this:

89601A   VSA software for Infiniium
89601A-200   Basic Software
89601A-300   Hardware Connectivity
89601A-AYA   Flexible Modulation Analysis
89601A-BHB   MB-ODFM

They spent nearly $45'000 on these options alone!!! Insane!! 

Anyways, I'd really like to get some (all?) of the options back.

Can you help me Mr G0HZU please?

[G0HZU]

You should be able to get all the codes from Keysight (based on the scope serial number) assuming they keep reliable records. I don't think it's a good idea for me to generate your codes for various reasons so your best bet is to contact Keysight.

Note that I think the 8960x SW uses the 21x4 SIGN system in FLEXLM and this is more secure. The version of the 8960x SW I have here uses this system so I assume they all do. That doesn't mean it isn't possible to create DIY .lic or .dat files for it but it is a tougher system. When digging inside their code I found there are extra (hidden) options within the 8960x SW that can be released with a suitable feature entry in a custom .lic file. I've done this and got these options but I never experimented with them to see what they do. They aren't documented anywhere by Keysight. I think I found about 10 hidden options but I can't remember now. I did all this stuff a few years ago now when I bought an old E4406A VSA to use with this SW.

[Mr Nutts]

Keysight was the first thing I tried but they said the scope is obsolete and that they can't get the keys for me.

I don't think it's a problem if you generate some numbers for a scope that has been obsolete for a while. I mean it's not that Keysight would lose any business.

I don't care for this VSA software whatever it does but I'd really like to get the other options back.

[Pinkus]

Keysight was the first thing I tried but they said the scope is obsolete and that they can't get the keys for me.

Oh really - even if you have the invoice? This is pretty disappointing.
So if a device is obsolete, is it no longer supported in any way?
I expected better from Keysight.

Maybe it would be helpful to contact David from Keysight  (Keysight_DanielBogdanoff here on the forum) directly. He sometimes makes the impossible possible and he is a real win for Keysight, as he adds a lot to Keysights reputation here on the forum.

[Mr Nutts]

I have *copies* of the invoices for the options which are so bad they are barely readable (propably copies of copies of copies, with scribblings and cut off heading, probably because someone wanted just the option list on it). And Keysight said they wouldn't have needed them anyways but for these obsolete scopes they can no longer get or generate option keys.

They were really nice and apologetic, but they said there's nothing they could do (one even went back to ask in the relevant department).

And I can't blame them, it's an obsolete scope after all.

Not sure what you expect, really, obsolete means obsolete for a reason. You can't expect them to keep software and databases of obsolete products around forever because if they do it still costs them money. And for what, a few hobby buyers who aren't their customer in the first place?

They could have published a last update enabling all options, but then which manufacturer would do that?

[mikeselectricstuff]

They could have published a last update enabling all options, but then which manufacturer would do that?

ISTR TEK did this for one obsoleted line of scopes

However if you can no longer buy options, then any moral objection to hacking is gone 

[Mr Nutts]

I think lecroy did it as well for some really old scopes.

I don't think anyone cares what we do with these old Infinum scopes. It's not that even if a hack was available that Keysight's customers would all start buying obsolete Infinum dcopes 

On the other side, it could well turn out to bind people to the brand (at leadt until they change name again  ) so that later in their career they buy Keysight instead of Lecroy or whatever. 

[jmiller]

Hi G0HZU,
Keysight does not support the DSO81204A anymore.
You cannot get options you have lost or even buy options.
Any chance you can help out? Please send me a PM.
Thank Joe

[TheSteve]

Has anyone else figured out how to generate actual license files? I know the binary can be patched to allow any signature but I'd really like one license generated for my DSO81204A.

It seems also I need a precision BNC to 3.5mm adapter...

edit: added a pic of the sample performance, the yellow trace is an FFT with infinite persistence, 0-15 GHz.

[Berni]

I tried to get the VSA software working before but in the end gave up. Maybe i was doing something wrong but the software kept wanting a valid license even tho i gave it a presumably valid trial key.

I mostly just wanted to play with the VSA stuff, didn't have a immediate serious need for it.

[tv84]

Infiniium 8000(0) Series, 9000(0) Series, 5485x Series, and 5483x Series - the lost options...

After creating the keygen file, patch the following byte, before generating licenses:

Code: [Select]

offset 0x2ACC9: 3A -> 3B

[nexus]

Hi all,

Reviving this old thread. I was working on an DSO81304B that had issues with the internal LVDS display card. I thought it was fixed, but it kept having software issues and causing the scope app to crash randomly on startup.

I changed some graphics settings and Infinium was able to launch normally, but it crashed on shutdown. The unit lost the license keys from what I can tell, as they have disappeared in the software.

I tried re-entering some of the keys that are on the rear panel label, but I get the error message "License installation failed. Please contact Agilent technical support".

The model # is DSO81304B
Serial # is MY46001306
Option ID number: 304B

The serial tag says options 001, 007, 009 were ordered with it. There were also a few more purchased afterwards by the original owner, as you will see in the license.dat.bak file contents:

FEATURE LOWSPEEDDEMO AGILENT 1.0 26-APR-2007 UNCOUNTED \
   HOSTID=VDH=304BMY46001306 SIGN=1E4443B21D5C
FEATURE EBWDEMO AGILENT 1.0 26-APR-2007 UNCOUNTED \
   HOSTID=VDH=304BMY46001306 SIGN=6C83D5404090
FEATURE NOISEDEMO AGILENT 1.0 26-APR-2007 UNCOUNTED \
   HOSTID=VDH=304BMY46001306 SIGN=446367B26728
FEATURE SOFTTRIGHIGHDEMO AGILENT 1.0 26-APR-2007 UNCOUNTED \
   HOSTID=VDH=304BMY46001306 SIGN=4835ACD8A28A
FEATURE SOFTTRIGHIGH AGILENT 1.0 PERMANENT UNCOUNTED \
   HOSTID=VDH=304BMY46001306 SIGN=698FE0981830
FEATURE LOWSPEED AGILENT 1.0 PERMANENT UNCOUNTED \
   HOSTID=VDH=304BMY46001306 SIGN=B3AB5F5A705C
FEATURE 54857_MEMORY AGILENT 1.0 PERMANENT UNCOUNTED \
   HOSTID=VDH=304BMY46001306 SIGN=E56B8754C2AA
FEATURE ETHERNET AGILENT 1.0 PERMANENT UNCOUNTED \
   HOSTID=VDH=304BMY46001306 SIGN=94BF5EDCB738

The sticker on the back has a few keys; I tried entering each of them carefully, and got the same "installation failed" message.

Attached a few relevant pictures as well.

Is the  "License installation failed. Please contact Agilent technical support" message normal for just entering the wrong license key?

[tv84]

Make sure that, after your changes, the ID of your scope is still:

304BMY46001306

or show us the System Menu/About.

[nexus]

Here is the about page on the scope.

It all appears normal except for missing options and "License installation failed" error message. It always says "License installation failed" no matter what I type in there, so maybe the license keys are just not valid?

Can anyone confirm if I am entering the license key correctly and if the "License installation failed. Please contact Agilent technical support" message is normal for an invalid license key?

[nexus]

Also, not sure if there is some kind of memory that was corrupted by the display driver crashing the scope app on exit.

I tried installing the latest compatible Agilent IO libraries suite, and removed/reinstalled the 5.71 scope app. I made sure license.dat.bak and any files named "license" were deleted before install.

When the scope rebooted, it popped up with the same 3 options it is stuck on now:
Enhanced bandwidth, Low noise, Ext ref clk.

I tried copy pasting a copy of the original license files into the scope/bin folder. No changes.

Does anyone know if there is some flash on the acq board or PCI scope interface card where the option config is also stored? My guess would be that this memory could be corrupt and needs to be reflashed with a good image.

I try to run the Infinnium scope app without the pci card installed, or with the front panel/acq board ribbon cables removed, but the app wont launch to splash screen so I can see if it loads options or not.

I see that G0HZU was able to run the Infiniium app from an emulator, not on actual scope hardware. How is that possible if the app requires the scope hardware to even begin launching?

[nexus]

Thought I might share a pretty picture.

While I was browsing around for other flash memory on the scope I was able to discover a few things:

• Scope app will run with front panel board completely disconnected, so I'm sure there is no config flash on there
• Scope app will not attempt to launch without acquisition board connected
• Scope app will not attempt to launch without PCI to scope interface card connected

I also did a clean install of the Infiniium scope app. I made sure all license files in the scope/bin folder were removed. Then uninstalled and reinstalled Infiniium 5.71.
When the scope rebooted after install and launched, it surely loaded with the same 3 options and I still got the "License installation failed" message.

Again, not sure if anyone else has seen "License installation failed" message or if this is normal for invalid keys (and not other issues).
If anyone could please share proper license key entry method, and normal error message for incorrect key that would be great.

So while I cannot launch Infiniium without acq board or PCI card installed to see if it will load options, I removed the bottom cover just to have a quick look at the acq board itself.
This contains all of the analog front end, digitizing, and capture memory. Good news is that I do not see any memory/flash ICs other than the acquisition DRAM itself. The rearmost board contains fancy regulators and also distributes power to fans.

Never seen a high res picture of this board online so figured I'd be the first. It sure is pretty. Layout is pretty straightforward from microwave front end, ADC, FPGAs for pumping memory into DRAMs.

Looking forward to your thoughts on the option related issues.
In the meantime I'm going to get a new PCI to scope card, as my primary suspect for external option config flash is the 48-TSOP flash IC on that board.

[PA0PBZ]

Again, not sure if anyone else has seen "License installation failed" message or if this is normal for invalid keys (and not other issues).

Try to add an option using a random key and see what error message you get.

Edit: Your license file checks out fine, apart from the fact that the first 4 are expired.