Creo IC-304 print controller stolen, desperate for help

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  • TheMechanic
    • Nov 2024

    Creo IC-304 print controller stolen, desperate for help

    Hey guys whats up. Im looking for options as my office was broken into and my IC-304 controller was taken. I need suggestions badly as im completely down and without the 16,000 needed to replace it.

    I am planning to build a server and run it inside a virtual machine. However, what keeps me is the SCSI controller Creo uses. Can anyone give me any information on it? The fusionin board alone costs 15k and i frankly cant come up with it.

    Anyone that has any sort of info or experience, please help. I am thinking of buying a third party solution for the scsi interface and hope it will work the same, but want some info before i commit. Thanks

    Eddy Breton
  • KenB
    Geek Extraordinaire

    2,500+ Posts
    • Dec 2007
    • 3946

    #2
    Sorry to hear that you were robbed - that sucks.

    Unfortunately, the fusion card is a whole lot more than a SCSI card; it does most of the processing for printing and scanning.

    The license for the Creo software is contained on the fusion card. Ever notice that there is no license string or dongle anywhere? (Other than the XP license string.)

    The PC that the Creo runs on is merely a host - in fact it only has just enough RAM to run Windows - 512MB (504 actually, as 8MB is used for the video display.)

    Your best bet may be to see if you can find a used Creo somewhere.
    “I think you should treat good friends like a fine wine. That’s why I keep mine locked up in the basement.” - Tim Hawkins

    Comment

    • TheMechanic

      #3
      wow sucks >_< Thanks for even replying KenB. Fiery has a solution for the 6501 and it looks somewhat doable. It's approx. $6,000 but what card does it use? Any idea? I frankly cant afford another IC-304 >_< Hates to get your stuff stolen

      Comment

      • KenB
        Geek Extraordinaire

        2,500+ Posts
        • Dec 2007
        • 3946

        #4
        Any Fiery would use its own interface card, much like the Creo does. It would also be totally proprietary.

        Is it an X3eTY2? That one attaches to the back of the copier. The S450 series is a floor standing model.

        Hopefully, you're not referring to an X3e, which is the internal Fiery. You'd be really disappointed in it after using a Creo.

        BTW... What's really stupid is that your now hot Creo has pretty much zero street value. The PC itself without a fusion card is really lame. (I have one that I use as a training server in our service department.)
        “I think you should treat good friends like a fine wine. That’s why I keep mine locked up in the basement.” - Tim Hawkins

        Comment

        • RRodgers
          Service Manager

          1,000+ Posts
          • Jun 2009
          • 1950

          #5
          I wonder if the guys that took it had any idea what they were stealing? Did they take other PC's in the office? It's pretty useless without being attached to something.
          Color is not 4 times harder... it's 65,000 times harder. They call it "TECH MODE" for a reason. I have manual's and firmware for ya, course... you are going to have to earn it.

          Comment

          • HORSE
            Trusted Tech

            100+ Posts
            • Mar 2008
            • 186

            #6
            Have you not got Contents insurance?
            Laughing......

            Comment

            • TheMechanic

              #7
              Im going to look into insurance but i dont think im covered for robbery. Only fire ect. I have surveillance videos of the kid that broke in. What bothers me is he went straight for the IC which was behind the machine all the way in the back of the office. Someone close mustve sent this kid. However, it seems without the cable the person can't do much. The fusion card is what hurts >_< If anybody knows a place where i can get the fiery or the card a bit cheaper, please send me a PM or post the phone number here.

              I thank everyone for replying, thanks for the support =)

              Eddy Breton

              Comment

              • TheMechanic

                #8
                The guy that stole the unit has been found in the nearby projects =D Now police is interrogating him on the whereabouts of the units. Hope all this goes well, what a crazy last 24 hours

                Comment

                • KenB
                  Geek Extraordinaire

                  2,500+ Posts
                  • Dec 2007
                  • 3946

                  #9
                  Talk about Grand Theft!

                  How about 16 Grand Theft?
                  “I think you should treat good friends like a fine wine. That’s why I keep mine locked up in the basement.” - Tim Hawkins

                  Comment

                  • Stirton.M
                    All things Konica Minolta

                    1,000+ Posts
                    • Oct 2009
                    • 1804

                    #10
                    It is possible this thief knew what he was taking. You might be able to narrow down the possible destination by calling the the local KM to see if anyone queried about replacing their Creo.

                    If he didn't know what it was he was taking, chalk it up to another moron thief. Go check out the pawn shops closest to your store.

                    As for fiery controllers, the embedded (mounted on the back) controller, IC-408, is the best bang for the buck. It has no CD/DVD drive, but does support both PS and PCL drivers. It does not look like a computer, so would not likely be taken by a moron. The IC-303/305 (Pro tower) has a DVD tray, but does not support PCL drivers.

                    In general, I haven't seen a whole lot of difference performance wise between the two fiery models. The lack of a DVD drive is of little consequence. The lack of a PCL driver can be a significant issue for some users.

                    Primarily you need the interface card (20BF K102 00) and a basic PC, along with the fiery installation DVDs. I am not certain if you need the little display panel that is part of the controller case.

                    Good luck beating the daylights out of the scumbag.....
                    "Many years ago I chased a woman for almost two years, only to discover that her tastes were exactly like mine: we both were crazy about girls."
                    ---Groucho Marx


                    Please do not PM me for questions related to Konica Minolta hardware.
                    I will not answer requests or questions there.
                    Please ask in the KM forum for the benefit of others to see the question and give their input.

                    Comment

                    • HORSE
                      Trusted Tech

                      100+ Posts
                      • Mar 2008
                      • 186

                      #11
                      Really I have not met anyone who has threw together a Fiery from old PC bits and a Interface board and had success, I know a few people who tried and they said it didn't work. I know it looks like a PC and runs windows Embedded but I imagine there is something different about that hardware and BIOS which is the sticking point. I was told by a guy from EFI that it wouldn't work but then again I would expect that answer wether it worked or not.

                      Personally I have tried to put a video card in a IP901 a few years ago and that didn't work.


                      CREO is a different animal like KenB says thats a Bog standard Dell server nothing special, the Fusion board does everything.
                      Laughing......

                      Comment

                      • KenB
                        Geek Extraordinaire

                        2,500+ Posts
                        • Dec 2007
                        • 3946

                        #12
                        The Fiery RIPs use Tyan motherboards, but with a special EFI BIOS. That's why the Fiery RIPs require an option (the FACI, or Fiery Advanced Controller Interface) to be able to use a monitor, mouse and keyboard. The FACI is actually a one-time use BIOS flash for the specific model of Fiery.There are other "secret" differences between the Tyan and EFI versions of the BIOS, but that's a guarded secret, to which nobody is privy.

                        Just like the Creo, the Fiery uses a proprietary interface card to connect to the engine.

                        The Creo uses "off-the-shelf" components for everything other than the fusion card.

                        Some black and white Fieries use a 100Mb/S crossover cable going to the network connector on the engine. They can do this because with black and white there is much less data to pass as there is with color.

                        Some of the newer Fieries don't have an interface card, but rather use a crossover cable going to a special gigabit controller installed in the engine.

                        So much for my dissertation..
                        “I think you should treat good friends like a fine wine. That’s why I keep mine locked up in the basement.” - Tim Hawkins

                        Comment

                        • HORSE
                          Trusted Tech

                          100+ Posts
                          • Mar 2008
                          • 186

                          #13
                          Originally posted by KenB
                          special EFI BIOS. That's why the Fiery RIPs require an option (the FACI, or Fiery Advanced Controller Interface) to be able to use a monitor, mouse and keyboard. The FACI is actually a one-time use BIOS flash for the specific model of Fiery.There are other "secret" differences between the Tyan and EFI versions of the BIOS, but that's a guarded secret, to which nobody is privy.
                          Yeah like I said... thats what I was told by EFI thats why I didn't even bother wasting my time trying, I know a few Techs who fiddled around with a standard office PC, interface card & Preloaded HDD and it didn't work . (I did tell them but did hey listen?).

                          There are other rules and trick to do with replacing mother boards, BIOS, Dongles and swapping System HDD but it would be too long winded to to post and I am also pretty careful as what information I can post here.

                          This Fiery stuff is my bread and butter & I only deal with Production machines I don't waste my time with office kit.
                          Laughing......

                          Comment

                          • robotnz1

                            #14
                            Fiery s450 - so many models and all the posted specs don't match mine!! Weird machine

                            Hi all,

                            Is there a GOOD EFI / Fiery forum somewhere??

                            I find this Fiery HW stuff pretty interesting as I just spent hours trying to install a USB floppy (for emergencies??) and a sound card (for a little monitoring without staring at the screen??). Some success, via MS Add Hardware Control Panel I now have the add HW wizard afloat in the XP Embedded. This installed the USB floppy instantly, but the sound card is proving a pain. All the Creative SB drivers fail to load due 'incompatible with platform'. Adding sound to s450 is far harder than using torrents on pirate bay! Any cracks I see these EFI people don't like. Since when is sound a crack?

                            My fiery is a s450, however I still have not found any of the EFI hardware PDF specs on the net that are correct. :-( Man these things are weird. 2x512 ram stix equates 320 mb in system properties. Yet 1024mb in bios and in HWinfo. So the XP Embedded just cannot see the rest??

                            This s450 XF is apparently from a Canon 8000 LFP printer. The EFI software appears to support nearly every wide format printer.

                            Aside the soundcard and ram issues, I have a few other queries - like how can a 3.2ghz Intel P4 HT cpu suddenly only show as one core in the task manager - when in all other Tyan boards I have, the HT cpu's always show as 2 cores, like dual HT Xeon's show a quad window in task manager? One window section for each HT 'core'.

                            I am so perplexed over the no sound I think I will try the $4 USB sound sticks listed on auction sites, since the machine picked up the USB floppy it may pickup the sound this way I am thinking. I haven't got to print with this machine yet, since my printer is awaiting new heads. Some of the mobo spec for my s450 is as follows - ex HWinfo:

                            HWiNFO32 Version 3.65-1065
                            IKON-CPP500 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                            [Current Computer]
                            Computer Name: IKON-CPP500
                            Computer Brand Name: TYAN Computer S5167
                            [Operating System]
                            Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Build 2600
                            Service Pack: Service Pack 2
                            Central Processor(s) ------------------------------------------------------
                            [CPU Unit Count]
                            Number Of Processor Packages (Physical): 1
                            Number Of Processors Cores: 1
                            Number Of Logical Processors: 1
                            Intel Pentium 4-3200 ------------------------------------------------------
                            [General Information]
                            Processor Name: Intel Pentium 4-3200
                            Original Processor Frequency: 3200.0 MHz
                            Original Processor Frequency [MHz]: 3200
                            CPU ID: 00000F49
                            CPU Brand Name: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz
                            CPU Vendor: GenuineIntel
                            CPU Stepping: G1 / B0
                            CPU Code Name: Prescott
                            CPU Type: Production Unit
                            CPU Platform: LGA775 (FC-LGA4)
                            Microcode Update Revision: 3
                            Number of CPU Cores: 1
                            Number of Logical CPUs: 1


                            :-)

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