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02-09-2013, 04:02 PM - 1 Like   #1
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How to put firmware update on SD card?

AARRGGHH!

Ok, I'm not a computer guru at all but not a total idiot either (well, debatable...) so I need help.
Updating the firmware in my Kr. I understand how to format a SD card. I have downloaded
the firmware update to my computer (iMac). Next, instructions say: copy the .bin file to the root directory of the SD card. WHAT???!!!
How is that done? Do I drag the .bin file somewhere? What is the "root directory"? OMG, can they not make it easy for the 'common man'?

Lastly, after installing the new firmware it says if I want to use the same card to take pictures I will need to delete the firmware update from
the card. Do I do that my "formatting" the card again in-camera?


Last edited by New Englander; 02-09-2013 at 04:10 PM.
02-09-2013, 04:10 PM   #2
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Just drag the .bin file onto the SD card icon. The .bin file should then be visible in the first window that comes up after clicking on the card icon on your desktop.

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02-09-2013, 04:12 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
Just drag the .bin file onto the SD card icon. The .bin file should then be visible in the first window that comes up after clicking on the card icon on your desktop.
K. Will "give it a go".
Also, it says it will need to delete the firmware update from the card before taking pictures. Do I do that my 'formating the card' in-camera again?
02-09-2013, 04:16 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by New Englander Quote
AARRGGHH!

Ok, I'm not a computer guru at all but not a total idiot either (well, debatable...) so I need help.
Updating the firmware in my Kr. I understand how to format a SD card. I have downloaded
the firmware update to my computer (iMac). Next, instructions say: copy the .bin file to the root directory of the SD card. WHAT???!!!
How is that done? Do I drag the .bin file somewhere? What is the "root directory"? OMG, can they not make it easy for the 'common man'?

Lastly, after installing the new firmware it says if I want to use the same card to take pictures I will need to delete the firmware update from
the card. Do I do that my "formatting" the card again in-camera?
Copy the file using a file manager. I'm sure the Mac must have one :-)

Root directory - google is handy. It's the upper-most directory on a drive.

You can just delete the file, but many people routinely format the card in the camera after downloading files and before each shooting session.

02-09-2013, 04:38 PM   #5
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You technically don't need to delete the bin file afterward, but it won't hurt!

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03-29-2018, 09:37 AM   #6
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Need Help Downloading Firmware to SD Card

Hi
I know this is an old thread and a very worn out topic. But I am new to my Pentax K-50 and in an attempt to upgrade to V1.10 I get stuck on this (from the Ricoh site):


[1] Provide a formatted SD memory card for the update software.
The download file is self-extracting. The following file is extracted.
Fwdc222b.bin: This is the updated firmware
Copy the above Firmware file [fwdc222b.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.

The last part is perplexing to me. Please explain 'Finding the root directory.' AND I do not have an SD card slot on my MAC. How do I do this with the camera connected to the computer? None of the camera buttons work when connected. Not sure where I need to drag the file. This is what I did: When my camera is connected to the MAC and the DCIM file appears, I drag the .bin file to it, disconnect the camera from MAC, and then look for updates in the camera MENU, but the .bin file is not there. I reconnect the camera to the computer, go to the DCIM file, and the .bin is not there either. Any help would be appreciated.
03-29-2018, 11:15 AM - 1 Like   #7
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In computing lingo, the root is the base of the disk itself, not one of the folders like 'DCIM'.


Last edited by clackers; 03-29-2018 at 11:21 AM.
03-29-2018, 11:43 AM   #8
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You need to be one level above the DCIM folder, it looks like this on a PC (the .bin file in this example is for a K-70).

03-30-2018, 04:02 AM   #9
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Root directory on a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a Flash drive or SD Card ?

Picture a filing cabinet with space for one drawer. You can think of the cabinet as the computer, but this is a bit far fetched and is only meant to simulate the cabinet as the computer.

Now put a drawer into the cabinet and think of this drawer as the Hard Disk Drive (HDD). The drawer is completely empty, nothing in it.
For the purpose of this argument we just assume that it is impossible to chuck anything into the empty drawer without first installing some sort of rails or racking system. Installing some sort of racking system is like formatting the Hard Disk. Now, the moment you installed this racking into the drawer you can start to put things into it. Anything you put into this drawer with this racking in place is the equivalent of putting things into the root directory. So you could now chuck single pages, letters, bank statements, loan applications and so on into this "formatted" drawer which we now call a root directory. But this would not be very clever. As the drawer (the root directory) fills up it gets harder and harder to find things.

To overcome this problem you set up a system of "Folders" which you can hang from the racking you have the drawer "formatted" with. One for all your love letters, one for you loan application, one for your bank statements and so on and so forth. Now it is easy to find things.

Pentax wants you to put the update .bin file into the formatted drawer itself, in other words into the root directory and since you usually never put anything into this space, even though you can. This way the update routine of the camera can finds this update file very quickly so it does not have to go through all the folders you have established which hang in the racking. (In the camera this is where all your pictures are). If you would put this update file, say, into the folder marked with a hanging folder tab called "Love Letter" it would not find it because the update routine of the camera was not instructed to look there. It does not know this folder nor its name. It only knows a root directory and not anything of all the other folders in the drawer. It will always find the update file in the root directory because it has instructions to do this and nobody can change the root directory to another name.

In any computer, the system will always look first at the root directory before going any further. You must not forget a digital camera is only a computer with a lens attached.

As far as coping the update file to the SD Card, all you have to do is mount the SD Card in the computer (most likely by way of a USB card reader) and click on the command "copy XYZ.bin to X") where X is the drive letter the computer allocates to the SD Card. (or push the .bin file on screen to the drive letter.) I assume you are familiar with, "cut and past" or "copy". Thats it.

Clear now ?

Last edited by Schraubstock; 03-30-2018 at 04:16 PM. Reason: typo
03-30-2018, 07:34 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by clackers Quote
In computing lingo, the root is the base of the disk itself, not one of the folders like 'DCIM'.
Thank you!

---------- Post added 03-30-18 at 08:06 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by alfa75ts Quote
You need to be one level above the DCIM folder, it looks like this on a PC (the .bin file in this example is for a K-70).
This isn’t very helpful. Thank you!
03-31-2018, 03:24 PM - 1 Like   #11
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Maybe this will help.
04-07-2018, 09:11 AM   #12
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Thank you!

Thank you all for your help! Sorry for the late reply, work has been that busy and I have not had a chance to do this update. Happy to report that the firmware is installed and all is well. Thanks again to everyone. Now off to take some new shots.
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