Need help with Ricoh 3224c firmware issue

[Leif]

sorry, I'ment where you apply your network cable... (network interface card/ nib--> nettwork interface board)

[Philinghorn]

Hi,
Have you checked to make sure in service mode 5-985 1 & 2 are enabled ?
I know on other machines after clearing the nvram these are disabled (On board Nic & On board USB) & need to be turned on. If disabled the printer & scanner items in user tools etc don't appear.
These m/c are pos but better than the 1224 !
All the best

Philinghorn

[a1454]

Leif:

I've printed all the logs from 5-990-004 and it looks like the firmware I have is 1.07, I believe someone told me if the firmware is above 1.08 then I can update firmware just from the web monitor, but since I'm at 1.07, I don't know what's the procedure for updating firmware.
The NIB lights do light up amber when I turn on the machine.

Again, thanks for the reply


Philinghorn:
Yes, both of these are enabled, I've tried to disable both of them, restart, enable both of them, restart, but it seems like the problem just won't go away.
yeah, I've already spent more than 3 months on this machine, but since I know it was working before the SD card problem, I'd really hate to throw away a mechanically good machine.

Thanks for all the help!

[Leif]

hi again, I posted a replay but i seems like it's gone. Sp mode 78xx (don't remember) there is an menu to see all firmware. There you will find nib and scanner firmware. If you want to upgrade your firmware true web image monitor you have to have the the firmware files om your computer when doing this or you can upload it to a sd card under the folder romdata on the sd card before you put it in your copier any way you have to have the firmware on your computer. (remember to switch off the copier before you insert or eject the sd card or else your controller stalls!!) use slot 3 --->service slot and slot 1 --->system card

[jonhiker]

if your friend is a ricoh dealer, then they should have access to the firmware online. you take a blank SD card, create a folder on it called "romdata" and load the files onto the card. With the machine powered OFF, you remove a cover on the controller and insert the SD card into the lowest slot, power on the machine, and follow the instructions on the screen. Important... do not power off during the update process or you will have a large plant stand.

[Leif]

be sure to use a card you know is working. We had big problems with new sd-card`s that caused the machine to go into sc when trying to update the firmware..

[Iowatech]

Using the SD card to update the firmware is the easiest and most reliable way, just format the card before you load the firmware with an approved program (not the Windows formatter). We used SDFormatter V2.0 from Panasonic with great success.
Oh, I think you can put 30 MB or less on the card at a time, the machine can't handle more than that. At least that's the size of the SD card I've been using.

[a1454]

Thanks for the tips Leif, Jonhiker, Iowatech

That was very helpful, I will get the firmware from my friend for this machine then, but just one more quick question.
It sounds like the machine has several "individual" firmwares in it that each controls the printer, scanner or some other part of the machine, as well as a control panel firmware. Do I have to get each individual firmware or am I looking for one master firmware that will just update everything?

Again, thanks for the reply!

[a1454]

Iowatech:

Is that SDFormatter V2.0 something I can find from the internet? or is it a special software only Panasonic dealers have access to?

If that's the case, could you kindly tell me what block size that software is formatting the SD card with? also what format is it using? FAT32? FAT16? NTFS? Unix?

Thanks!!

[teebee1234]

Thanks for the tips Leif, Jonhiker, Iowatech

That was very helpful, I will get the firmware from my friend for this machine then, but just one more quick question.
It sounds like the machine has several "individual" firmwares in it that each controls the printer, scanner or some other part of the machine, as well as a control panel firmware. Do I have to get each individual firmware or am I looking for one master firmware that will just update everything?

Again, thanks for the reply!

You will need individual firmware for each component. On the SD card you will create a root folder named "romdata". Into that folder you will place all of the individual firmwares (you don't need to create sub folders for each one). With the power off and the mfp disconnected from the network, insert the SD card and reboot the device. The display will bootup to the firmware update screen where you can compare what versions are on the card versus what is already on the device. Then select which ones you want to update (there may be a second page if you have more the six-seven different firmwares).
Don't disturb/power off, be patient - sometimes it can take a while. Particularly when doing the LCD update, if you lose power in the middle you will have to replace the control panel.
*On some models (not sure if this is one of them) you can't update the System and Engine at the same time - it will tell you if it can't. If this is the case then just update one of them and do a 2nd instance of the update for the other.

Here is the link to the format software that Ricoh recommends Panasonic SD Formatting Software
Our standard Ricoh supplied SD card is 64MB. I've used a 256MB before but it takes forever for the update screen to populate, probably has to scan the whole card. Attached is the official Ricoh paper on SD cards.

[neergish]

My advice is when doing a firmware upgrade procedure, always upgrade the Engine firmware first by itself. This should be followed by the System firmware. After which all the other firmware can be done. Personally, I will do one firmware at a time. I know this will take a longer time but better safe than sorry.

[a1454]

Thank all of you very very much, I'll contact my friend to obtain those firmware.

I'll post again once I've done firmware update to let you guys know the result. Again, thanks for all the help, without you guys or this forum I couldn't have got anywhere near where I'm now. Especially when Ricoh is very reluctant about giving out technical information to non-dealer individuals.


Thanks!!!

[teebee1234]

One more thing, when you do the LCD (control panel) update, the screen will turn off and only the start button will flash red. Don't do anything until it completes (goes green).

[Iowatech]

SDFormatter V2.0 is available for download from the 'net, just Google that and make sure to pick the one from Panasonic.
As I never had to deal with the block size, I'm pretty sure that isn't an issue. I've only run this in Windows 98 /XP though, hope that helps.

[a1454]

Okay, I've finally got those firmware from that friend of mine, and I followed the instruction collected here, I used a 32MB SD card and formatted it using Panasonic SD Formatter (full format + erase), then, I created a folder named "romdata" inside that SD card and just drop all the firmwares in that folder.

However after I've insert that SD card into the machine and turned it on, it tells me "No Valid Data" on the SD card and I only have one button to press which takes me back to the normal copy mode screen.

The files I received are a collection of zip files, each labeled what they are for, and inside each zip archive, is a single file with the extension .rru and also a pdf file that tells me how to perform remote firmware update. Is the files used for Remote upgrade and SD card upgrade different?

Thanks for all of your helps, appreciate it!!!