[KarenAmelia]

Just got my first DSLR: Pentax K5 IIS and very excited to learn how to use it! I just thought I'd update firmware first, and followed instructions given on this website. When I put the card back into my camera after copying .bin file to it, and then turned on while holding menu button, all I got was the normal opening screen, telling me I have version 1.0. Then the camera went into normal use mode. No loading of file from card.

Any suggestions as to what I'm missing? Thanks!

-Karen

[Adam]

You probably copied the .bin file to the wrong folder. It needs to be in the root of the SD card, outside the DCIM folder.

[KarenAmelia]

I put it both inside and outside the DCIM folder. So I just deleted the one inside the folder and left only the one outside the folder. Same result in the camera - nothing happens. What else can I try? Possibly I have the wrong firmware file? How can I determine that?

[C_Jones]

Hi,

You mentioned you have the K-5IIs. I too have one and updated my firmware to the 1.07. Below are part of the instructions listed on the Ricoh/Pentax site. So, if you are going according to the instructions and I am assuming you are using the Windows version of the files, you would download the appropriate folder for Windows, double click it to extract the fwdc218b.bin file, then copy the fwdc218b.bin file to the root of your SD card. After you do that make sure your camera is off and that the battery is removed and you are not hooked up to your computer. Then start with the no. 2 instruction stated below starting with inserting the battery and go on through the other steps. I did not have a problem. Of course please be careful, and like I stated I am assuming you are using the Windows version of the download, if not please make sure to use the appropriate one (other is Windows/Macintosh). One more thing, make sure the SD card you are using has been formatted in your K-5IIs also prior to doing the procedure. That way it should be user friendly to your camera.

These are the two choices of self extracting file folders that are available, one for Windows and the other for Windows/Macintosh. After moving the appropriate one to your desktop, double click on folder to extract bin file, move bin file to root of SD card.
[K-5IIs]
•For Windows : k5_2s107.exe 10,134Kbytes, LHA type, self-extracting files
•For Windows/Macintosh : k5_2s107.zip 10,064Kbytes, zip type

Good luck.

Casey

Updating Procedure
1.Provide a formatted SD memory card for the update software.
The download file is self-extracting. The following file is extracted. •[K-5II] Fwdc216b.bin: This is the updated firmware.
•[K-5IIs] Fwdc218b.bin: This is the updated firmware.
Copy the above Firmware file [fwdc216b.bin] or [fwdc218b.bin] to the root directory in the SD card.
If your computer does not have a card slot, you can copy the firmware update file by inserting the SD card into your camera and then connecting the camera directly to your computer.

2.Insert the the D-LI90 battery into the camera and confirm the battery is full by battery level indicator then turn the camera off.
3.Insert the update SD card (prepared in step 1) into the camera and close card cover.
4.Turn the camera power on while pressing the MENU button.
5."NOW LOADING" appears in the LCD monitor, and will change to the "PROGRAM UPDATE". At the bottom of the LCD monitor,
CURRENT VERSION 1.00/1.01/1.02/1.03/1.04/1.05/1.06
UPDATE VERSION 1.07
will be displayed.
6.Press the four-way controller to select "YES" and press the "OK" button.
7."UPDATING" appears on the LCD monitor and updating starts.
Please do not under any circumstances switch off the power before the update is completed.
It will take approximately 150 seconds to complete update.[COLOR="Silver"]

---

Last edited by C_Jones; 11-27-2014 at 03:39 PM. Reason: Additional Information

[KarenAmelia]

You know I hate to be rude but the reason I started this thread is that I follow the instructions exactly and nothing happened in my camera. I don't think I would be so stupid as to try to do a firmware update without following the proper set of instructions, so those who are just reposting the instructions for me doesn't really help.i'm still stuck without having any success in updating the firmware and I don't know him to contact. It seems I can't contact the company that manufactures the camera. And I called Adorama, from whom I bought the camera, and they say they can't help me with it. I thought maybe someone on this forum could.

---------- Post added 11-29-14 at 03:46 AM ----------

Sorry "whom", not "him".

[G and T]

Hello Karen,the problem could be that you have copied the unextracted downloaded file to your SD card. The downloaded file must first be opened in your computer and the .bin file will be extracted to a folder of your choosing then copy this file to your SD card. Your computer may ask if the file installed correctly when it is extracted,ignore this. I hope this helps.
Glenn

[Nakedgun]

I had no luck with the Windows version of this update for my 5IIs on my 8.1 machine, but, the Windows/Mac version worked flawlessly.

[C_Jones]

You probably already know this, but just in case you don't, the Pentax Customer Service Number is 800 877-0155 and they are open Monday through Friday. Their hours are in a different time zone than me, so when I have called I have waited a couple of hours or so since I am in the Eastern Time Zone.

[KarenAmelia]

Excellent! I did not know there was a real customer service that might help. Thank you C_Jones!

[csa]

Karen, please let us know when you get this solved. I'm getting the K5IIs soon, and am NOT computer savy, so this has me worried. I don't even know what is meant by the "root directory in the SD card". I'm going to be in trouble!!

[Just1MoreDave]

The computer will show an SD card as a disk. What you actually see depends greatly on how your computer is set up, and how much information it's hiding from you. So the instructions get all vague right about the time when you hope for extreme clarity. Then you get help from computer people who changed their computer on day one to show everything, so they don't even see the same stuff.

A long-winded explanation for Windows, still a little fuzzy but OK for Windows 7 which I have:

You need a fully charged battery, camera and an SD card. Any recent SD card will have enough capacity. A reliable one is enough.

Download the update. It will quickly disappear into a Downloads folder. You need to find that update, called "k5_2s107.exe" or just "k5_2s107". If you only see "k5_2s107", it is because by default, Windows wants to hide the file extension, the last three letters and the dot. That's supposed to help you! (I'll keep using the extension name here.) Double-click on it to get it to run. It will produce two files. One of these is the same instructions as on the web site. The other one is "Fwdc218b.bin" or just "Fwdc218b", the actual firmware update. Keep the window open with that file in it - I'll call it the extracted window.

The K-5 IIs will format an SD card and name it "K-5 II s" so that is predictable. Format a card in the camera. It will add a folder called DCIM to conform to the "Design rule for Camera File system". Inside that folder, it'll add another folder. The default name for this folder is 101_mmdd, where mmdd is the month and day of the format. If you take a shot, the file is stored here. By default, a new folder is created for every day you shoot some photos.

Computers used to display and refer to the card images like this: "B:\DCIM\101_1201\IMGP0001.JPG". That was not considered user-friendly. The disk drives (first part of the reference, left of the colon) all had single-letter names, "A" through "Z". The actual letter doesn't matter and can vary a lot on recent systems. The user-friendly update allowed more useful names like "K-5 II s". TheThe user-friendly update changed the name of "directory tree" to "folder". Users are nearly always using folders or files within folders. But "in the beginning", the folders all start somewhere. The old term makes more sense here" the root directory, the base of the directory tree. The root directory was simply the name of the disk, a colon, then a reverse slash.

You want the old-style name of the card to be "K-5 II s (B):\Fwdc218b.bin". On your computer, the letter B is almost certainly something else. When you plug in the card (by itself, don't plug in the camera), Windows will try to do something useful with it first, so it will look for photos or music. You want to bypass that step and "explore" the card. You may get a list of options where "exploring" is an option. Or try accessing the "Computer" icon on the desktop, or choosing "Computer" in the Start menu. The "Computer" window should show you a list of drives with letters and names. You want the "K-5 II s" one; that's your formatted SD card. Open that and you should see a single basic folder icon called DCIM - don't do anything with that folder. This window is the elusive root directory for the SD card.

Now you just have to place the file named "Fwdc218b.bin" in that root directory. You should be able to drag it from the window you kept open to this window. Or select the file in the extracted window, click on Organize, then Copy. Then switch to the root directory window, click on Organize, then Paste. When the file looks like it's in the root directory folder, you can eject the card from the computer.

Now your card is ready. You can follow the rest of the steps:

2.Insert the the D-LI90 battery into the camera and confirm the battery is full by battery level indicator then turn the camera off.
3.Insert the update SD card (prepared in step 1) into the camera and close card cover.
4.Turn the camera power on while pressing the MENU button.
5."NOW LOADING" appears in the LCD monitor, and will change to the "PROGRAM UPDATE". At the bottom of the LCD monitor,
CURRENT VERSION 1.00/1.01/1.02/1.03/1.04/1.05/1.06
UPDATE VERSION 1.07
will be displayed.
6.Press the four-way controller to select "YES" and press the "OK" button.
7."UPDATING" appears on the LCD monitor and updating starts.
Please do not under any circumstances switch off the power before the update is completed.
It will take approximately 150 seconds to complete update.

[alfa75ts]

I don't even know what is meant by the "root directory in the SD card".

The Root directory is simply the first level of the directory structure. On a freshly formatted card it would be the only level.

On a card which has been used in a camera it would look like this with FIRMWARE.bin being the firmware file you are trying to update your camera with. But don't change the name of your file!

[Just1MoreDave]

It's already the future in Australia!

[C_Jones]

Excellent! I did not know there was a real customer service that might help. Thank you C_Jones!

You're welcome.

[KarenAmelia]

I've decided not to make the update. I talked with a customer service rep at Ricoh and she said she's heard from many Pentax owners who have permanently destroyed their cameras by attempting this process. Since I tried it and it didn't work, even though I did everything correctly, I think it's wisest to err on the side of caution, and not worry about th e latest updates. The camera works fine as it is. Better a working camera than a dead one.