FIXED: K-3 bricked after firmware update attempt

sterretje · 04-17-2015, 06:57 AM - **1 Like**

I love happy endings.

vonBaloney · 04-17-2015, 07:01 AM

Originally posted by maxxxx;3224278[COLOR=Silver:

][/COLOR]

No. The original Pentax one. I had heard about problems with OEM batteries before.

That's what "OEM" means -- Pentax genuine batteries. Original Equipment Manufacturer. So non-OEM are the third-party batteries.

maxxxx · 04-17-2015, 07:11 AM

Originally posted by vonBaloney

That's what "OEM" means -- Pentax genuine batteries. Original Equipment Manufacturer. So non-OEM are the third-party batteries.

Thanks for the correction. Somehow I thought OEM parts are compatibe parts not made by the original manufacturer.

Prakticant · 04-17-2015, 07:27 AM

I believe so. OEM / OES means the same part as included with the original product manufactured/sold (OE), but you buy it i.e. through retail channel. You do not believe Pentax has a production line for Lithium-Ion batteries, or feeds cattle for its genuine leather straps?
There is a difference between OEM and AM ('aftermarket') products, with some OEQ in-between.

----

Originally posted by maxxxx

Somehow I thought OEM parts are compatibe parts not made by the original manufacturer.

reeftool · 04-17-2015, 07:27 AM

I don't have a K3 but it appears that the battery indicator on it is just as useless as the ones on earlier models. My K5 shows all 3 bars until the battery is almost dead. When it shows 2 bars, I have about 5 shots left, maybe less. This was also true of my K10D. I only use OEM Pentax batteries. To be safe, always charge up a fresh battery if shooting anything important and especially if doing a firmware upgrade. Never trust the indicator.

maxxxx · 04-17-2015, 07:46 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Prakticant

IYou do not believe Pentax has a production line for Lithium-Ion batteries, or feeds cattle for its genuine leather straps?

----

It's very tempting to Photoshop some Pentax-labelled cows on a Pentax pasture :-)

**blackcloudbrew** · 04-17-2015, 07:46 AM

Interesting and happy ending thread. I will say that I usually have two batteries in my bodies (body and base) and I have never had an issue with firmware updates. However, as I do have the power cord for my bodies, plugging that in always works. What's interesting to me is that from my original K10d when I bought the 'expensive' power module in 2008, surprisingly the darn thing still works on my new K3 as well. Wish that were true on batteries.

**davidreilly3207** · 04-17-2015, 02:59 PM

Originally posted by maxxxx

Was it charging the battery (although I had tried that last night) or taking the battery out of the camera for 10 hours

The battery charge gets my vote.

hcc · 04-17-2015, 03:43 PM

Originally posted by mdave13

The battery charge gets my vote.

+1. I always charge full my battery before I conduct an update.

I am glad that it was a happy ending. It reinforces the needs to have a full battery before update (as Adam always points) and not to trust the battery indicator.

maxxxx · 04-17-2015, 04:01 PM

Originally posted by hcc

+1. I always charge full my battery before I conduct an update.

I am glad that it was a happy ending. It reinforces the needs to have a full battery before update (as Adam always points) and not to trust the battery indicator.

Maybe Pentax should read this and update their instructions.

SpecialK · 04-17-2015, 05:02 PM

Originally posted by maxxxx

I am a happy camper again

You get the LCD to come on when the shutter is 1/2 pressed?

(Genuine Pentax batteries, like others, are made by 3rd parties. Still, some are better than others.)

maxxxx · 04-17-2015, 06:27 PM

Do you mean the back LCD ? I have that turned off most of the time.

SpecialK · 04-17-2015, 08:09 PM

Originally posted by maxxxx

Do you mean the back LCD ? I have that turned off most of the time.

Yes.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/16-pentax-news-rumors/293172-new-k-3-firmware-has-bug.html

**reduno** · 06-08-2015, 10:35 AM

I would also be concerned that the Pentax (Ricoh) service center in Sweden will only be able to replace the main board. The flash memory chips use Ball Grid Array (BGA) packages which are normally programmed in circuit on the board.

During production I would suspect the JTAG boundary scan capabilities in the main chip (basically a shift register connected to all the pins) is used to configure the address and data lines to the memory chip and program the data. For updates, the main chip loads a program into RAM, which it runs to reprogram the memory chip. If power is lost during this reprogramming the flash memory is corrupt and the camera will not boot.

Whilst it's possible the service center has the necessary JTAG programming capability, I somehow doubt they would make the investment (easier to just replace the board). I have seen other posts where the US service center simply replaced the main board (returning the original with the camera).

Glad to hear that in this case the problem was not a corrupt firmware load.

audiobomber · 06-08-2015, 12:18 PM

Originally posted by Prakticant

I believe so. OEM / OES means the same part as included with the original product manufactured/sold (OE), but you buy it i.e. through retail channel.
----

That is not what OEM means. OEM stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer", in this case, Pentax. If the battery doesn't have the Pentax logo on it, it is third-party. Even if purchased from the same company that supplies Pentax, without the Pentax name on it, it is not OEM.

06-08-2015, 10:35 AM	#29
reduno Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central NY, USA Posts: 965	I would also be concerned that the Pentax (Ricoh) service center in Sweden will only be able to replace the main board. The flash memory chips use Ball Grid Array (BGA) packages which are normally programmed in circuit on the board. During production I would suspect the JTAG boundary scan capabilities in the main chip (basically a shift register connected to all the pins) is used to configure the address and data lines to the memory chip and program the data. For updates, the main chip loads a program into RAM, which it runs to reprogram the memory chip. If power is lost during this reprogramming the flash memory is corrupt and the camera will not boot. Whilst it's possible the service center has the necessary JTAG programming capability, I somehow doubt they would make the investment (easier to just replace the board). I have seen other posts where the US service center simply replaced the main board (returning the original with the camera). Glad to hear that in this case the problem was not a corrupt firmware load. Last edited by reduno; 06-08-2015 at 10:44 AM.

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04-17-2015, 06:57 AM - 1 Like	#16
sterretje Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Roodepoort, South Africa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,561	I love happy endings.

04-17-2015, 07:01 AM	#17
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	Originally posted by maxxxx;3224278[COLOR=Silver: ][/COLOR] No. The original Pentax one. I had heard about problems with OEM batteries before. That's what "OEM" means -- Pentax genuine batteries. Original Equipment Manufacturer. So non-OEM are the third-party batteries.

04-17-2015, 07:11 AM	#18
maxxxx Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 385 Original Poster	Originally posted by vonBaloney That's what "OEM" means -- Pentax genuine batteries. Original Equipment Manufacturer. So non-OEM are the third-party batteries. Thanks for the correction. Somehow I thought OEM parts are compatibe parts not made by the original manufacturer.

04-17-2015, 07:27 AM	#19
Prakticant Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 274	I believe so. OEM / OES means the same part as included with the original product manufactured/sold (OE), but you buy it i.e. through retail channel. You do not believe Pentax has a production line for Lithium-Ion batteries, or feeds cattle for its genuine leather straps? There is a difference between OEM and AM ('aftermarket') products, with some OEQ in-between. ---- Originally posted by maxxxx Somehow I thought OEM parts are compatibe parts not made by the original manufacturer.

04-17-2015, 07:27 AM	#20
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,553	I don't have a K3 but it appears that the battery indicator on it is just as useless as the ones on earlier models. My K5 shows all 3 bars until the battery is almost dead. When it shows 2 bars, I have about 5 shots left, maybe less. This was also true of my K10D. I only use OEM Pentax batteries. To be safe, always charge up a fresh battery if shooting anything important and especially if doing a firmware upgrade. Never trust the indicator.

04-17-2015, 07:46 AM - 1 Like	#21
maxxxx Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 385 Original Poster	Originally posted by Prakticant IYou do not believe Pentax has a production line for Lithium-Ion batteries, or feeds cattle for its genuine leather straps? ---- It's very tempting to Photoshop some Pentax-labelled cows on a Pentax pasture :-)

04-17-2015, 07:46 AM	#22
blackcloudbrew Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cotati, California USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,460	Interesting and happy ending thread. I will say that I usually have two batteries in my bodies (body and base) and I have never had an issue with firmware updates. However, as I do have the power cord for my bodies, plugging that in always works. What's interesting to me is that from my original K10d when I bought the 'expensive' power module in 2008, surprisingly the darn thing still works on my new K3 as well. Wish that were true on batteries.

04-17-2015, 02:59 PM	#23
davidreilly3207 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: South Jersey Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 720	Originally posted by maxxxx Was it charging the battery (although I had tried that last night) or taking the battery out of the camera for 10 hours The battery charge gets my vote.

04-17-2015, 03:43 PM	#24
hcc Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,002	Originally posted by mdave13 The battery charge gets my vote. +1. I always charge full my battery before I conduct an update. I am glad that it was a happy ending. It reinforces the needs to have a full battery before update (as Adam always points) and not to trust the battery indicator.

04-17-2015, 04:01 PM	#25
maxxxx Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 385 Original Poster	Originally posted by hcc +1. I always charge full my battery before I conduct an update. I am glad that it was a happy ending. It reinforces the needs to have a full battery before update (as Adam always points) and not to trust the battery indicator. Maybe Pentax should read this and update their instructions.

04-17-2015, 05:02 PM	#26
SpecialK Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: So California Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,480	Originally posted by maxxxx I am a happy camper again You get the LCD to come on when the shutter is 1/2 pressed? (Genuine Pentax batteries, like others, are made by 3rd parties. Still, some are better than others.)

04-17-2015, 06:27 PM	#27
maxxxx Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 385 Original Poster	Do you mean the back LCD ? I have that turned off most of the time.

04-17-2015, 08:09 PM	#28
SpecialK Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: So California Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,480	Originally posted by maxxxx Do you mean the back LCD ? I have that turned off most of the time. Yes. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/16-pentax-news-rumors/293172-new-k-3-firmware-has-bug.html

06-08-2015, 12:18 PM	#30
audiobomber Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sudbury, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 6,806	Originally posted by Prakticant I believe so. OEM / OES means the same part as included with the original product manufactured/sold (OE), but you buy it i.e. through retail channel. ---- That is not what OEM means. OEM stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer", in this case, Pentax. If the battery doesn't have the Pentax logo on it, it is third-party. Even if purchased from the same company that supplies Pentax, without the Pentax name on it, it is not OEM.