Can't really help you but can you explain to an old Auto Mechanic who is now a Unix system admin, what the logic is behind buying something new that needs so much work done to it to function well?

Would it not have been better to buy a product that works out of the box without the need of "Upgrades"?

Couldn't you just cancel the order since the manufacture does not respond to your query, why buy something that has no support?

I wish you luck with your project, seems like you will need it!