K-1 Upgrade Concern

5r82 · 03-14-2019, 12:36 AM

Originally posted by cpoteet

I have not upgraded the K-1 firmware from ver 1.0 since I bought the camera.

I am a bit trepidatious about updating as the instructions on the Ricoh site say to make certain a full battery is in place before starting (no problem) and that if the "camera turns off due to lack of battery power, the camera will become inoperable. If this happens, a charge will be made for repairs even if within the warranty period (problem)".

If I use a full battery, should I be concerned; in other words, has anyone had a battery fail during upgrade?

Thank you.

If you still have any concerns regarding firmware update you should definitely have someone more experienced to that for you, either a friend or send it to service center. There are improvements with new firmwares, such as square crop mode and night vision LCD colors and other hidden improvements...

cpoteet · 03-15-2019, 02:39 PM

Originally posted by 5r82

If you still have any concerns regarding firmware update you should definitely have someone more experienced to that for you, either a friend or send it to service center. There are improvements with new firmwares, such as square crop mode and night vision LCD colors and other hidden improvements...

According to the instructions on the Ricoh website for upgrading firmware to the K-1, I should insert the memory card with the downloaded file into the camera while off. Done.

I then should hold down the "Menu" button and turn on the camera. I should see "Update the camera firmware on the camera monitor". No. I see the regular standby screen.

My workflow: formatted a new 32gb SanDisk memory card, I download the upgrade file to the memory card, I verified that the file was on the memory card and I placed the memory card in slot 1 with empty slot 2. I then turned off the camera and inserted the memory card into slot 2 with empty slot 1, followed the same start-up procedure, same failure resulted.

Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong and how to remedy the problem so I can update the firmware to the latest will be most appreciated.

rawr · 03-15-2019, 03:03 PM

Originally posted by cpoteet

I download the upgrade file to the memory card

Did you place the unzipped firmware binary (fwdc228b.bin) on the SD card?

jefan · 03-15-2019, 03:11 PM

Originally posted by cpoteet

According to the instructions on the Ricoh website for upgrading firmware to the K-1, I should insert the memory card with the downloaded file into the camera while off. Done.

I then should hold down the "Menu" button and turn on the camera. I should see "Update the camera firmware on the camera monitor". No. I see the regular standby screen.

My workflow: formatted a new 32gb SanDisk memory card, I download the upgrade file to the memory card, I verified that the file was on the memory card and I placed the memory card in slot 1 with empty slot 2. I then turned off the camera and inserted the memory card into slot 2 with empty slot 1, followed the same start-up procedure, same failure resulted.

Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong and how to remedy the problem so I can update the firmware to the latest will be most appreciated.

Please confirm you have copy the firmware file ".bin" (not the .zip file you downloaded from Ricoh website) into the root directory in the SD card.

With full battery and camera powered off, insert the SD card into Slot #1. Turn on camera while holding down MENU button. Follow on screen instruction to initiate update. Turn off camera when "COMPLETE" is displayed on screen.

cpoteet · 03-15-2019, 03:40 PM

Originally posted by cpoteet

According to the instructions on the Ricoh website for upgrading firmware to the K-1, I should insert the memory card with the downloaded file into the camera while off. Done.

I then should hold down the "Menu" button and turn on the camera. I should see "Update the camera firmware on the camera monitor". No. I see the regular standby screen.

My workflow: formatted a new 32gb SanDisk memory card, I download the upgrade file to the memory card, I verified that the file was on the memory card and I placed the memory card in slot 1 with empty slot 2. I then turned off the camera and inserted the memory card into slot 2 with empty slot 1, followed the same start-up procedure, same failure resulted.

Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong and how to remedy the problem so I can update the firmware to the latest will be most appreciated.

I solved the problem, one which I am 99% responsible for.

The fact is the upgrade file has to be copied to the root, repeat root, directly of the memory card. My Win 7 using Mozilla Firefox browser automatically created a DCIM file on the blank memory card and copied the upgrade file into the DCIM file.

The instructions on the Ricoh website do, indeed, say to copy the downloaded file to the root directory of the memory card. My brain did not fully appreciate that statement.

I say my error in not reading literally the instructions caused 99% of the problem. I will stand by my conviction that if the instructions had said something such as "...be sure to copy the downloaded file to the memory card's root directory and not to a folder," my brain would have absorbed the message correctly as I am used to seeing DCIM folders on my camera memory cards.

I thank those who have tried to guide me and I shall try to be more careful in my reading and interpreting in the future.

rawr · 03-15-2019, 04:08 PM

Originally posted by cpoteet

if the instructions had said something such as "...be sure to copy the downloaded file to the memory card's root directory

They do already:
"Copy the above Firmware file [fwdc228b.bin] to the root directory in the SD card."
Latest PENTAX K-1 Firmware Update : Software Downloads | RICOH IMAGING

I think one simply needs to slowly and systematically follow the procedure outlined.

Note that once you've successfully done it, all future firmware upgrades are a breeze.

BTW, Pentax firmware upgrades are easy. Some manufacturers make it much more clumsy and annoying.

VSTAR · 4 Days Ago

Originally posted by cpoteet

I have not upgraded the K-1 firmware from ver 1.0 since I bought the camera.

I am a bit trepidatious about updating as the instructions on the Ricoh site say to make certain a full battery is in place before starting (no problem) and that if the "camera turns off due to lack of battery power, the camera will become inoperable. If this happens, a charge will be made for repairs even if within the warranty period (problem)".

If I use a full battery, should I be concerned; in other words, has anyone had a battery fail during upgrade?

Thank you.

Stop worrying! Just follow Ricoh’s instructions step by step. The actual upgrade time is really short. A full battery charge could do more consecutive upgrades than you could count. I have done all K1 updates, easy as can be.

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03-14-2019, 12:36 AM	#16
5r82 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Photos: Gallery Posts: 64	Originally posted by cpoteet I have not upgraded the K-1 firmware from ver 1.0 since I bought the camera. I am a bit trepidatious about updating as the instructions on the Ricoh site say to make certain a full battery is in place before starting (no problem) and that if the "camera turns off due to lack of battery power, the camera will become inoperable. If this happens, a charge will be made for repairs even if within the warranty period (problem)". If I use a full battery, should I be concerned; in other words, has anyone had a battery fail during upgrade? Thank you. If you still have any concerns regarding firmware update you should definitely have someone more experienced to that for you, either a friend or send it to service center. There are improvements with new firmwares, such as square crop mode and night vision LCD colors and other hidden improvements...

03-15-2019, 02:39 PM	#17
cpoteet Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Posts: 41 Original Poster	Originally posted by 5r82 If you still have any concerns regarding firmware update you should definitely have someone more experienced to that for you, either a friend or send it to service center. There are improvements with new firmwares, such as square crop mode and night vision LCD colors and other hidden improvements... According to the instructions on the Ricoh website for upgrading firmware to the K-1, I should insert the memory card with the downloaded file into the camera while off. Done. I then should hold down the "Menu" button and turn on the camera. I should see "Update the camera firmware on the camera monitor". No. I see the regular standby screen. My workflow: formatted a new 32gb SanDisk memory card, I download the upgrade file to the memory card, I verified that the file was on the memory card and I placed the memory card in slot 1 with empty slot 2. I then turned off the camera and inserted the memory card into slot 2 with empty slot 1, followed the same start-up procedure, same failure resulted. Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong and how to remedy the problem so I can update the firmware to the latest will be most appreciated.

03-15-2019, 03:03 PM	#18
rawr Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: GMT +10 Photos: Albums Posts: 11,526	Originally posted by cpoteet I download the upgrade file to the memory card Did you place the unzipped firmware binary (fwdc228b.bin) on the SD card?

03-15-2019, 03:11 PM	#19
jefan New Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 8	Originally posted by cpoteet According to the instructions on the Ricoh website for upgrading firmware to the K-1, I should insert the memory card with the downloaded file into the camera while off. Done. I then should hold down the "Menu" button and turn on the camera. I should see "Update the camera firmware on the camera monitor". No. I see the regular standby screen. My workflow: formatted a new 32gb SanDisk memory card, I download the upgrade file to the memory card, I verified that the file was on the memory card and I placed the memory card in slot 1 with empty slot 2. I then turned off the camera and inserted the memory card into slot 2 with empty slot 1, followed the same start-up procedure, same failure resulted. Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong and how to remedy the problem so I can update the firmware to the latest will be most appreciated. Please confirm you have copy the firmware file ".bin" (not the .zip file you downloaded from Ricoh website) into the root directory in the SD card. With full battery and camera powered off, insert the SD card into Slot #1. Turn on camera while holding down MENU button. Follow on screen instruction to initiate update. Turn off camera when "COMPLETE" is displayed on screen.

03-15-2019, 03:40 PM	#20
cpoteet Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Posts: 41 Original Poster	Originally posted by cpoteet According to the instructions on the Ricoh website for upgrading firmware to the K-1, I should insert the memory card with the downloaded file into the camera while off. Done. I then should hold down the "Menu" button and turn on the camera. I should see "Update the camera firmware on the camera monitor". No. I see the regular standby screen. My workflow: formatted a new 32gb SanDisk memory card, I download the upgrade file to the memory card, I verified that the file was on the memory card and I placed the memory card in slot 1 with empty slot 2. I then turned off the camera and inserted the memory card into slot 2 with empty slot 1, followed the same start-up procedure, same failure resulted. Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong and how to remedy the problem so I can update the firmware to the latest will be most appreciated. I solved the problem, one which I am 99% responsible for. The fact is the upgrade file has to be copied to the root, repeat root, directly of the memory card. My Win 7 using Mozilla Firefox browser automatically created a DCIM file on the blank memory card and copied the upgrade file into the DCIM file. The instructions on the Ricoh website do, indeed, say to copy the downloaded file to the root directory of the memory card. My brain did not fully appreciate that statement. I say my error in not reading literally the instructions caused 99% of the problem. I will stand by my conviction that if the instructions had said something such as "...be sure to copy the downloaded file to the memory card's root directory and not to a folder," my brain would have absorbed the message correctly as I am used to seeing DCIM folders on my camera memory cards. I thank those who have tried to guide me and I shall try to be more careful in my reading and interpreting in the future.

03-15-2019, 04:08 PM	#21
rawr Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: GMT +10 Photos: Albums Posts: 11,526	Originally posted by cpoteet if the instructions had said something such as "...be sure to copy the downloaded file to the memory card's root directory They do already: "Copy the above Firmware file [fwdc228b.bin] to the root directory in the SD card." Latest PENTAX K-1 Firmware Update : Software Downloads \| RICOH IMAGING I think one simply needs to slowly and systematically follow the procedure outlined. Note that once you've successfully done it, all future firmware upgrades are a breeze. BTW, Pentax firmware upgrades are easy. Some manufacturers make it much more clumsy and annoying.

4 Days Ago	#22
VSTAR Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Toronto Posts: 49	Originally posted by cpoteet I have not upgraded the K-1 firmware from ver 1.0 since I bought the camera. I am a bit trepidatious about updating as the instructions on the Ricoh site say to make certain a full battery is in place before starting (no problem) and that if the "camera turns off due to lack of battery power, the camera will become inoperable. If this happens, a charge will be made for repairs even if within the warranty period (problem)". If I use a full battery, should I be concerned; in other words, has anyone had a battery fail during upgrade? Thank you. Stop worrying! Just follow Ricoh’s instructions step by step. The actual upgrade time is really short. A full battery charge could do more consecutive upgrades than you could count. I have done all K1 updates, easy as can be.