K-7 FIRMWARE Version 1.12 KILLED MY CAMERA

TomGarn · 08-19-2014, 07:44 AM

Happy News:

Thanks to my local Pentax manager I got an exchange K-5 for my first dead-after-firmware corpse.
I had not even dared to ask Pentax, because my local repair-shop said I was out of any warranty at all !
I am happy now with two K-5. One at least serves as a back-up now ... or even a second unit maybe ?

Thank you Pentax !

EDIT: Only that repair-shop in Hamburg took 40,- € for nothing - just to tell Pentax officially the camera was irreparably dead - but
the Pentax manager insited on that prodecure. Well, that was worth it ... I manage to say to myself ... even if this demand was
completely needless ...But nothing in this world is free - except the one and only true love ..

Last edited by TomGarn; 08-20-2014 at 07:08 AM.

radeon7750 · 08-28-2014, 11:43 AM

Add me to the list, I bricked my K7 today after I tried to update to v 1.13. It s dead now.

TomGarn · 08-28-2014, 02:37 PM

One more death:
Now 4 (almost 5) users in this forum with sudden death of their Pentax after corrupted firmware-update.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - Dead K-7:
Electric Eye (TO)
Ex Finn.
radeon7750

- - - - - - - - - - - - - Dead K-5
TomGarn

+ + + + + + + + + + Repaired failures on K-5 and Q
p38arover

Ask your friendly local Pentax caretaker for goodwill, for this is needed. I was lucky - even without any warranty at all.
The root cause for sudden death (if not an empty battery) can be a corrupted file - bad unzipping - or a hidden problem
on the memory card - or the camera hardware has got a problem you may not have been aware about yet.

These two threads now have got 16.000 views - and only 4 dead cameras listed yet.
So be realistic please - take it easy - relax ... Or add your case to the two lists

Read more at:
New K-5 firmware version 1.16

**Ex Finn.** · 08-28-2014, 03:33 PM

Originally posted by radeon7750

Add me to the list, I bricked my K7 today after I tried to update to v 1.13. It s dead now.

Sorry to hear that.

Electric Eye · 09-18-2014, 02:13 PM

Originally posted by radeon7750

Add me to the list, I bricked my K7 today after I tried to update to v 1.13. It s dead now.

...Sorry dude!,I am still quite steamed over my untimely cam death!.When I replied to my ungodly repair quote and told them they could keep the camera,I never even got a Thank You or any kind of acknowledgement what so ever???.Its not like I got the camera for free you know?,perhaps even a little fake empathy was warranted....Pretty rough customer service!

uttam.hathi · 09-28-2014, 10:30 AM

as far as i think the way the firmware update operates is:
its a Eprom, an update flashes over the earlier version afresh, thus the earlier version is erased, till here its fine, but the upgrade firmware needs to identify the installed firmware viz model no and version no, only if it finds this will the update continue (its the header after the copywrite data?). thus in the process of bad update if the readable model and version no is deleted, the update firmware do not find a code to replace.
Of course there existed a time when the firmware was first installed - OEM firmware code, THIS PENTAX DOES NOT PROVIDE even to service centres, it can be done only in japan.
So much for open source, METHINKS the company which goes opensource will be head over shoulders above its competitors, this ought to be in the highend DSLR models, but what then happens to creaming in service/ need for update- well me thinks thats dumb as a dslr is locked to a manufacturer, thus with the gear one will update when a consumer requires, its "hotel california" yet for DSLR users, thus i think opensource is a good idea and manufacturers will get grt insights how a DSLR can be used or are being used.
atleast hope that pentax uses this first mover advantage, they need it badly with dipping revenues and Hoya mess

aiaiai · 05-20-2016, 06:07 PM

Hey guys just thought should mention my experience here .This mornning I decided to update the software of my oldy but goody K7 and resolve hopefully some annoying issues to find my horrific histerical realization that camera won't turn on after after update { update 1.13 } After agonizing hour of reading forum threads and trying other options- i just closed the latch door { card slot cover} of the camera ready to give up and duuuh! - camera LITS UP READY ! I am pretty sure that previous firmware allowed operating with open cover ! ....It actually says it in the readme file - close card cover . So there you go - i know it is silly , but for those like me who skipped thru the manual and not following steps properly it can be pretty dramatic .

uttam.hathi · 05-20-2016, 11:40 PM

i still dont understand why dont the service centres have fresh insallation firmware. imagine this to your computer, it would have killed the computer market. i think we need something like ubuntu.
maybe camera market needs disruptive perspective on software front.

radeon7750 · 05-21-2016, 07:45 AM

Two years later my K-7 is still dead after that bloody firmware update mentioned earlier.... Unfortunately here in Romania the only Pentax dealer refused to fix my camera even if I offered to pay for it. My only option was to buy a new K-3. Looking on the bright side, the new camera is a big leap forward compared to the K-7, but at the time it was rather expensive.

landstrykere · 03-04-2018, 04:23 PM

interesting thread. I had the other day what I did believe was a partially flashed firmware and bricked K-30, but which in fact was easily solved with a debug modset to clear and reset the system:
Bricked K-30 - PentaxForums.com
I bought a used K-5, which I am going to keep and sell the K-30. Initially wanted to flash the last firmware on the K-5, but after I read the misadventure of TomGarn I hesitate. SD cards have not the level of unreliability of the floppy disks of old computing days, but yet read/write failures and glitches are not so uncommon.
I guess I could do a flash only with a newly bought SD, formatted on the camera itself before transferring the file. It could be nice too if Pentax had checksums for their bin files, so check integrity after the file is on the SD, prior to processing. But then my K-5 seems to work nicely, and i don't use any of the latest nice shinny smart lenses, so no need to upgrade I guess.

MarkJerling · 03-04-2018, 05:55 PM

Originally posted by landstrykere

I bought a used K-5, which I am going to keep and sell the K-30. Initially wanted to flash the last firmware on the K-5, but after I read the misadventure of TomGarn I hesitate. SD cards have not the level of unreliability of the floppy disks of old computing days, but yet read/write failures and glitches are not so uncommon.

Pretty uncommon. Only 4 users. My K-5 has handled every firmware update no problem. Don't try to install K-5II firmware into a K-5 or vice versa.

09-18-2014, 02:13 PM	#80
Electric Eye Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 238 Original Poster	Sorry Dude! Originally posted by radeon7750 Add me to the list, I bricked my K7 today after I tried to update to v 1.13. It s dead now. ...Sorry dude!,I am still quite steamed over my untimely cam death!.When I replied to my ungodly repair quote and told them they could keep the camera,I never even got a Thank You or any kind of acknowledgement what so ever???.Its not like I got the camera for free you know?,perhaps even a little fake empathy was warranted....Pretty rough customer service!

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08-19-2014, 07:44 AM	#76
TomGarn Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Hamburg Posts: 339	Happy News: Thanks to my local Pentax manager I got an exchange K-5 for my first dead-after-firmware corpse. I had not even dared to ask Pentax, because my local repair-shop said I was out of any warranty at all ! I am happy now with two K-5. One at least serves as a back-up now ... or even a second unit maybe ? *Thank you Pentax !* EDIT: Only that repair-shop in Hamburg took 40,- € for nothing - just to tell Pentax officially the camera was irreparably dead - but the Pentax manager insited on that prodecure. Well, that was worth it ... I manage to say to myself ... even if this demand was completely needless ...But nothing in this world is free - except the one and only true love .. Last edited by TomGarn; 08-20-2014 at 07:08 AM.

08-28-2014, 11:43 AM	#77
radeon7750 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Romania Posts: 96	Add me to the list, I bricked my K7 today after I tried to update to v 1.13. It s dead now.

08-28-2014, 02:37 PM	#78
TomGarn Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Hamburg Posts: 339	One more death: Now 4 (almost 5) users in this forum with sudden death of their Pentax after corrupted firmware-update. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dead K-7: Electric Eye (TO) Ex Finn. radeon7750 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dead K-5 TomGarn + + + + + + + + + + Repaired failures on K-5 and Q p38arover Ask your friendly local Pentax caretaker for goodwill, for this is needed. I was lucky - even without any warranty at all. The root cause for sudden death (if not an empty battery) can be a corrupted file - bad unzipping - or a hidden problem on the memory card - or the camera hardware has got a problem you may not have been aware about yet. These two threads now have got 16.000 views - and only 4 dead cameras listed yet. So be realistic please - take it easy - relax ... Or add your case to the two lists Read more at: New K-5 firmware version 1.16

08-28-2014, 03:33 PM	#79
Ex Finn. Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern Maryland. Espoo. Kouvola. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,975	Originally posted by radeon7750 Add me to the list, I bricked my K7 today after I tried to update to v 1.13. It s dead now. Sorry to hear that.

09-28-2014, 10:30 AM	#81
uttam.hathi Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Photos: Albums Posts: 621	as far as i think the way the firmware update operates is: its a Eprom, an update flashes over the earlier version afresh, thus the earlier version is erased, till here its fine, but the upgrade firmware needs to identify the installed firmware viz model no and version no, only if it finds this will the update continue (its the header after the copywrite data?). thus in the process of bad update if the readable model and version no is deleted, the update firmware do not find a code to replace. Of course there existed a time when the firmware was first installed - OEM firmware code, THIS PENTAX DOES NOT PROVIDE even to service centres, it can be done only in japan. So much for open source, METHINKS the company which goes opensource will be head over shoulders above its competitors, this ought to be in the highend DSLR models, but what then happens to creaming in service/ need for update- well me thinks thats dumb as a dslr is locked to a manufacturer, thus with the gear one will update when a consumer requires, its "hotel california" yet for DSLR users, thus i think opensource is a good idea and manufacturers will get grt insights how a DSLR can be used or are being used. atleast hope that pentax uses this first mover advantage, they need it badly with dipping revenues and Hoya mess

05-20-2016, 06:07 PM	#82
aiaiai New Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 1	Hey guys just thought should mention my experience here .This mornning I decided to update the software of my oldy but goody K7 and resolve hopefully some annoying issues to find my horrific histerical realization that camera won't turn on after after update { update 1.13 } After agonizing hour of reading forum threads and trying other options- i just closed the latch door { card slot cover} of the camera ready to give up and duuuh! - camera LITS UP READY ! I am pretty sure that previous firmware allowed operating with open cover ! ....It actually says it in the readme file - close card cover . So there you go - i know it is silly , but for those like me who skipped thru the manual and not following steps properly it can be pretty dramatic .

05-20-2016, 11:40 PM	#83
uttam.hathi Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Photos: Albums Posts: 621	i still dont understand why dont the service centres have fresh insallation firmware. imagine this to your computer, it would have killed the computer market. i think we need something like ubuntu. maybe camera market needs disruptive perspective on software front.

05-21-2016, 07:45 AM	#84
radeon7750 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Romania Posts: 96	Two years later my K-7 is still dead after that bloody firmware update mentioned earlier.... Unfortunately here in Romania the only Pentax dealer refused to fix my camera even if I offered to pay for it. My only option was to buy a new K-3. Looking on the bright side, the new camera is a big leap forward compared to the K-7, but at the time it was rather expensive.

03-04-2018, 04:23 PM	#85
landstrykere New Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Nittedal Posts: 24	interesting thread. I had the other day what I did believe was a partially flashed firmware and bricked K-30, but which in fact was easily solved with a debug modset to clear and reset the system: Bricked K-30 - PentaxForums.com I bought a used K-5, which I am going to keep and sell the K-30. Initially wanted to flash the last firmware on the K-5, but after I read the misadventure of TomGarn I hesitate. SD cards have not the level of unreliability of the floppy disks of old computing days, but yet read/write failures and glitches are not so uncommon. I guess I could do a flash only with a newly bought SD, formatted on the camera itself before transferring the file. It could be nice too if Pentax had checksums for their bin files, so check integrity after the file is on the SD, prior to processing. But then my K-5 seems to work nicely, and i don't use any of the latest nice shinny smart lenses, so no need to upgrade I guess.

03-04-2018, 05:55 PM	#86
MarkJerling Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wairarapa, New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 20,423	Originally posted by landstrykere I bought a used K-5, which I am going to keep and sell the K-30. Initially wanted to flash the last firmware on the K-5, but after I read the misadventure of TomGarn I hesitate. SD cards have not the level of unreliability of the floppy disks of old computing days, but yet read/write failures and glitches are not so uncommon. Pretty uncommon. Only 4 users. My K-5 has handled every firmware update no problem. Don't try to install K-5II firmware into a K-5 or vice versa.