The first time d7x or d7II.exe is launched without an existing registration file, the user is prompted to create the “Technician Password“, which is NOT related to the d7x Account (aka dCloud) credentials.

This password is used as an encryption key for your customized d7x/d7II configurations, when stored in the dCloud portal or on your own self-hosted FTP server.

It is also used for various d7x functionality (e.g. “Main” menu > “Lock Screen”) so rather than receiving a randomly generated password from us, it should be familiar and easy enough for any techs using the product to remember.

Potential problems:  

Unexpected registration prompt on d7x (or d7II) startup, indicating a blank configuration; occurs after updating a config from dCloud/FTP.

If a different “Technician Password” is used to register multiple copies of d7x (including d7II) and these copies are in use, especially when using the same config name (such as the Default) this will cause config data previously encrypted by earlier copies of the software (such as your dCloud/FTP stored configurations and branding customizations) to be unreadable in other copies of d7x or d7II, including the SFX Mini and d7xRDT tools used for remote deployment.

If multiple configs encrypted with different Technician Passwords are saved/uploaded to dCloud/FTP overwriting a previous config of the same name (note your settings may be configured to auto-save during End Session) then any other copies of d7x/d7II/SFX Mini/d7xRDT configured with the other Technician Password will also update to a blank configuration.

Solving these problems:

We can decrypt your password from the Reg.Settings.dat, however we can do nothing without obtaining this file from a registered d7x (or d7II) configuration.  Without the password itself, there is no way to gain access to your encrypted config archive on our servers, nor can we retrieve it from the remote deployment tools (d7xRDT or d7II SFX Mini.)

Without an existing config and the Reg.Settings.dat file, you will simply need to reconfigure d7x from scratch.  Be aware the issue WILL reoccur when you use older copies configured with the older Technician Password, so especially with the remote deployment tools, you should destroy all older copies of these and d7II/d7x that would be using the old password.

Avoid these scenarios:

For new subscribers, if the account credentials and registration/product key are given to multiple techs instead of copies of the registered software, then they will create the issue by using different Technician Passwords when registering separately.

For existing users, registering a new copy of d7x (or d7II) or “fresh download” can lead to this problem.  If the tech has never (or rarely) used certain features in d7II requiring the Technician Password to proceed (e.g. “Main” menu > “Lock Screen”) they may not remember the password created during initial registration, or even what it was for, and use a different password when registering a new copy.

Additionally, relying entirely on the remote deployment tools (d7xRDT or d7II SFX Mini) can lead to loss of your configuration, should this problem occur.  Not only do they slow down initial startup and always require internet access, but they will also fail to extract your config if it is ever saved/uploaded by any copy using a different Technician Password.

Best Practices:

Register d7x one time only, and make copies of the d7x folder for any other technicians using the product after registering.

Always keep fully configured copies of d7x on tech bench computers, network shares, and flash drives; avoid using the remote deployment tools unless actually working remotely.

When you need to register a new copy of d7x (or any fresh download of any d7II product) then please use the Browse button at the registration prompt to find/import your existing d7II compatible license file (.\Config\Reg.Settings.dat from d7II, or .\d7x Resources\Config\d7II.License.dat from d7x), which ensures the exact same “Technician Password” is used.  This does NOT import your entire configuration, but instead only imports account credentials, registration data, and the “Technician Password” itself.

If you do not wish to import the registration file, keep in mind that while you may copy/paste your registration information manually, you must be certain to type in the exact same “Technician Password” (case sensitive) to avoid these issues in the future.  While we can decode this password from an unencrypted d7II based settings file (if you had one available to send us) we cannot retrieve the password from an encrypted configuration archive (either on our servers or in your possession) since that very password was used to perform the encryption!