CF2002 - System Booting - please wait

[Guest]

Hi, we have a CF2002 obviously. Its scanning ability has become sporadic. When I turn on the controller, press utility and controller detail it seems to be stuck in the system booting phase. It was fine this AM, not so fine this afternoon.

Any thoughts on why this is happening and what I can do?

[copytechman]

Likely hdd in fiery is on its last legs.. been there, done that!

Regards!
A.

[CoastalKara]

Likely hdd in fiery is on its last legs.. been there, done that!

Regards!
A.

Can I do something about that, other than call a Tech?

[JSC]

Can I do something about that, other than call a Tech?

copytechman is correct hard drive is on the way out in the Fiery. The hard drive is easy enough to replace, but you will need to reload the software whch will probably need a tech.

[copytechman]

Yes not a fun job, (just did one on slightly newer but basically the same c350 box), requires the files (huge), the hdd, (not sure what kind goes in that particular fiery), and a special parallel cable... oh yes and LOTS of patience!

Regards!
A.

Edit: If its a cn3102 fiery then the system code alone is 551mb approx.. Just a fyi, I'd recommend calling a tech!

[CoastalKara]

Thanks guys, what kind of cost do you think I'm looking at to do that?

[aesthetics1]

If your tech has any sense he should only be there a few minutes. We just use drive duplicators and keep 1-2 hard drives on hand with the fiery system software already loaded and patched. Otherwise you will see him hooking up the ol' parallel cable and writing the software for sometimes over an hour, plus the short time re-configuring it.

[copytechman]

Jeez, hard to say, most generic hdds aren't a lot of $$$, even if it's a laptop type, however it's the time involved which can take a while. On a c350 we're talkin' several hours (of mostly waiting for it to download via the cable but still). Then, the fiery has to be reprogrammed with all of the settings it had (I hope you have a relatively current config page, makes it SO much quicker!). Largely depends on local tech rates.

Regards!
A.

Unless you have the fortune of having a tech like the previous poster! (edit!)

[Stirton.M]

Jeez, hard to say, most generic hdds aren't a lot of $$$, even if it's a laptop type, however it's the time involved which can take a while. On a c350 we're talkin' several hours (of mostly waiting for it to download via the cable but still). Then, the fiery has to be reprogrammed with all of the settings it had (I hope you have a relatively current config page, makes it SO much quicker!). Largely depends on local tech rates.

Regards!
A.

Unless you have the fortune of having a tech like the previous poster! (edit!)

Copytechman, I am assuming you are using the old method of sending system code via parallel by way of how much time it takes you, several hours, sounds to me that you are not using the parallel port utility. Use of the port utility greatly speeds up the time to copy system over to about an hour. If you are not familiar with that software, here is a link from KM Canada that you can download this utility. It includes a PDF with instructions on how to use this program. http://207.194.48.151/intranet2/down...=2036&binary=1 (should be the direct link to the file)

And as aesthetics1 mentioned, we also clone our disks ahead of time, or at the very least, keep a cloned image on hand. Ghost works well, but Acronis is even better. I can restore a cloned image in about half an hour to a new hard disk. The rest is standard fair regarding configuring user settings.

[Stirton.M]

My office charges a flat rate of $300 Cdn for a complete restoration of a failed fiery hard drive. This includes the cost of the drive plus a couple hours or so doing the image transfer, configuration and final testing. A warranty for 60 days is included.

[copytechman]

Thx for that, I do recall that but @ the time had neither the time (or perhaps the patience) to try to find it again since the # of times i've had to do a system restore are typically far and few between so basically I sucked it up and did it the old fashioned way (cust's on a contract regardless). Maybe next time (if I remember @ the time) I've try the new method again! Thanks again! Oh yeah, does it work with windows 7? I've long since stopped using windows xp.

A.

[Stirton.M]

Hmmmm....I would assume it would work with windows 7 32 bit...(64 bit may not work, it installs a 32 bit driver)...though truth be told, I haven't used it in some time. I use a netbook for work these days, and those do not sport a parallel port. This was pretty much the reason I started using imaging software...I can use a universal HDD adaptor (it can handle IDE PATA and SATA in both 2.5 and 3.5 drive sizes) that plugs in to the USB...

Depending on the power of your laptop/workstation, you might be able to run a virtual XP desktop and use this software to do the deed that way. MS provides this free for pro and ultimate versions of 7.

Another alternative is to use one of the many WinPE type CDs out there, though I cannot say if you would be able to install the PP software within such an environment. Or a bootable thumb drive with Win98 DOS, and the software unpacked on that drive, along with a suitable path statement in autoexec.bat to point to it when you call the file. Since it is a DOS based program, there is no reason it would not work in a native DOS environment.

[copytechman]

Again thx, but all things considered and the fact that I might "maybe" have 3 live x3e's left.. not sure if it's worth the w98 bother etc, my laptop has a parallel and serial port so thats not an issue. For the number of times (to date - 2) that it's happened.. I think I can stick it out if the fast driver doesn't work!

Regards!
A.

[Stirton.M]

Ya, I agree. We are in a similar situation. In fact, I think we only have two of those X3e boxes out in the field. We've written off a couple others and use those as spares. If one in the field goes south, we just take the one in the shop and do a swap of the whole fiery. A few minutes to program the user settings and we are done.

By the by, it is also advantageous to create images of newer series fiery's. I have versions 1,2 and 3 for the IC 303/305, versions 1 and 2 for the IC 408 and so forth on my laptop. As fast as it may be doing a network port system restore on the IC 408, or the DVDROM on an IC 303 it takes me roughly a half hour to install system, and that includes popping the cover on the machine and ponying up my USB adapter to it. The alternative usually an hour and some before you can have a running OS. The images were also pre-patched before I created them, so a lot of time is saved when doing any new updates. I have yet to deal with any of the office machine fierys found on the C451 series and so forth. But eventually I will have to do those and I will create new images for those machines. In the print shops, they appreciate the significantly reduced downtime.

[Chromatik]

Ya, I agree. We are in a similar situation. In fact, I think we only have two of those X3e boxes out in the field. We've written off a couple others and use those as spares. If one in the field goes south, we just take the one in the shop and do a swap of the whole fiery. A few minutes to program the user settings and we are done.

By the by, it is also advantageous to create images of newer series fiery's. I have versions 1,2 and 3 for the IC 303/305, versions 1 and 2 for the IC 408 and so forth on my laptop. As fast as it may be doing a network port system restore on the IC 408, or the DVDROM on an IC 303 it takes me roughly a half hour to install system, and that includes popping the cover on the machine and ponying up my USB adapter to it. The alternative usually an hour and some before you can have a running OS. The images were also pre-patched before I created them, so a lot of time is saved when doing any new updates. I have yet to deal with any of the office machine fierys found on the C451 series and so forth. But eventually I will have to do those and I will create new images for those machines. In the print shops, they appreciate the significantly reduced downtime.

This guy really does incredible things !!!!!