Help Help Help Pentax S5i Help needed (Please)

I don't know if this is the correct place to ask, but My wife is
having an "A90" problem with her S5i Pentax..

We can get it into the inital mode (with the Display + DPOF + Power)

But does anybody know a way to get it into the "Secret/Service" menu?
(the Key combination that is required for that).

So we can do a system initialize

I have searched everywhere on the net, any help would be
appreciated... Thx a lot

You can reply to ericwalker"at"shaw"dot"ca if you want to mail it to
me...

The Martian.

 

On Jun 3, 8:05 pm, "BobW" <> wrote:
> "The Martian" <> wrote in message
>
> news:...
>
>
>
> >I don't know if this is the correct place to ask, but My wife is
> > having an "A90" problem with her S5i Pentax..
>
> > We can get it into the inital mode (with the Display + DPOF + Power)
>
> > But does anybody know a way to get it into the "Secret/Service" menu?
> > (the Key combination that is required for that).
>
> > So we can do a system initialize
>
> > I have searched everywhere on the net, any help would be
> > appreciated... Thx a lot
>
> > You can reply to ericwalker"at"shaw"dot"ca if you want to mail it to
> > me...
>
> > The Martian.
>
> Jheez, dude. The second google hit I got had the secret service menu
> keystrokes.
>
> Practice with google some more. Learn to use quotation marks because they
> really help.


Cut the guy some slack. He's from Mars, after all.

--
YOP...

 

On Tue, 3 Jun 2008 18:05:49 -0700, "BobW"
<> wrote:

>
>"The Martian" <> wrote in message
>news:...
>>I don't know if this is the correct place to ask, but My wife is
>> having an "A90" problem with her S5i Pentax..
>>
>> We can get it into the inital mode (with the Display + DPOF + Power)
>>
>> But does anybody know a way to get it into the "Secret/Service" menu?
>> (the Key combination that is required for that).
>>
>> So we can do a system initialize
>>
>> I have searched everywhere on the net, any help would be
>> appreciated... Thx a lot
>>
>> You can reply to ericwalker"at"shaw"dot"ca if you want to mail it to
>> me...
>>
>> The Martian.
>>
>
>Jheez, dude. The second google hit I got had the secret service menu
>keystrokes.
>
>Practice with google some more. Learn to use quotation marks because they
>really help.
>
>Bob
Sure I found it for the Pantax S, but not for the S5i.

If you would care to enlighten this poor Martian, I would appreciate
it... Just even Cutting and pasting the URL?

Thx again

The Martian.

 

<snip>

>
>I could do that, but you would hate yourself in the morning. Remember:
>
Honestly Bob.. I could work with a little self Loathing. It would
make my wife happy.. and Considering how far away she is, and She is
with her Family it would be nice.

Tried toing the Firmware update... Fails.. That is why I want to be
able to do the Reset... If you don't know... Then Don't reply.. You
have been ablsolutely no help whatsoever and I have been digging and
reading.

I may have been there and done that already. I was just curious if
you had found anything new.

 

The Martian wrote:
> <snip>
>
>> I could do that, but you would hate yourself in the morning. Remember:
>>
> Honestly Bob.. I could work with a little self Loathing. It would
> make my wife happy.. and Considering how far away she is, and She is
> with her Family it would be nice.
>
> Tried toing the Firmware update... Fails.. That is why I want to be
> able to do the Reset... If you don't know... Then Don't reply.. You
> have been ablsolutely no help whatsoever and I have been digging and
> reading.
>
> I may have been there and done that already. I was just curious if
> you had found anything new.
>

Bob will probably kill me - I mean it is just not done to have
information readily given around here, and we certainly wouldn't want
the answers to any questions made more easily available... /o:

Maybe it is the Menu button + Power on, as referred to here:
http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=105690&forum_id=24

Then again, that thread doesn't seem to have a happy ending.

But this one seems to be more promising...
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1028&message=27583911

Interesting that the simplest solution is just to take the battery out!

If none of that works, guess Bob will just take the info with him to the
grave...

Let us know how you get on, Martian.

 

Oops, and there's this one also...

http://vnphoto.net/forums/showpost.php?p=38041&postcount=3

 

On Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:22:03 +1000, Mark Thomas wrote:

> Bob will probably kill me - I mean it is just not done to have
> information readily given around here, and we certainly wouldn't want
> the answers to any questions made more easily available... /o:
>
> Maybe it is the Menu button + Power on, as referred to here:

Sheesh. Everyone knows that Mars doesn't need secret service menu
keystrokes. Mars Needs Women!*




* Yet another grade B (or lower) Larry Buchanan flick starring
Tommy Kirk.

 

On Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:28:06 -0400, ASAAR <> wrote:

>On Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:22:03 +1000, Mark Thomas wrote:
>
>> Bob will probably kill me - I mean it is just not done to have
>> information readily given around here, and we certainly wouldn't want
>> the answers to any questions made more easily available... /o:
>>
>> Maybe it is the Menu button + Power on, as referred to here:
>
> Sheesh. Everyone knows that Mars doesn't need secret service menu
>keystrokes. Mars Needs Women!*
>
>
>
>
>* Yet another grade B (or lower) Larry Buchanan flick starring
>Tommy Kirk.


LOL that is why I am trying to Keep Mine happy !!!!

 

On Wed, 4 Jun 2008 09:02:08 -0700, "BobW"
<> wrote:

>
>"Mark Thomas" <markt@_don't_spam_marktphoto.com> wrote in message
>news:g25mts$b15$...
>> Oops, and there's this one also...
>>
>> http://vnphoto.net/forums/showpost.php?p=38041&postcount=3
>>
>
>Sheesh. You guys are really letting Marty (I feel I can call him "Marty"
>since we're so close) off-the-hook.
>
>Well, since the cat is already out-of-the-bag (I searched all over the web
>and can't find what this phrase really means), here's part of what I found.
>
>Scroll down about 2/3rds of the way and read the large post by Phélin --
>
>http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=55481&forum_id=24&page=1
>
>This may be the exact procedure that Mark found, too.
>
>The bigger question is -- why are so many Pentax Optios failing like this?
>
>Let us know when you succeed, Marty.
>
>Bob
Well Unfortunately Those are all Sites I have found Myself... But
thanks guys. (Note: The Optio S Secret menu does not work for the
S5i)

As for Why? I believe in my wife's case it was caused by a small
satatic discharge. From what I have been able to gather the A90 error
is equivient to the Microsoft BSoD, only with no reset. A hardware
error on the Circuit board that once Tripped you can't turn off.
(Unless of course you know the Secret menu, and can reset the Bios) .
The Processor Works, and The Memory is fine... Looks like I will have
to take it apart (and do the battery thing) when get it back here on
Mars. (Unless I find the Secret menu between now and then).

Thanks for the Input Guys.

The Martian.

 

In case you are still floundering.. here's the text from the Bob link
- note that it seems to imply that Menu+Power is not the secret menu
thingy, but just initialises/loads the firmware. To get to the menu
you need to do the ridiculous sequence shown below at C...

Quote from http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=55481&forum_id=24&page=1

==============================
OK Guys...After fidgitting for hours on this with the bits & pieces on
this forum & on others...here's how I got it to finally work:

A- I have a Pentax Opio S hence I had to get the "fwdc110p.bin" file
here:

http://www.pentax.de/mediapool/attachments/photo/100/104/46139/fwdc110p.zip

Optio S4, S4i & S5i shall use another file. Don't really know for S4
but for S4i & S5i, there on the Pentax customer service website at:

http://www.pentaximaging.com/customer_care/software_firmware?sfFlag=f

B- Drop this file on your SD Card at the root directory (same level as
DCIM folder) or as described by the following link and then close your
camera to OFF:

http://www.pentaximaging.com/customer_care/show_firmware?firmId=1020

Attention: Do not load this file yet onto the camera i.e. the menu
+power on procedure, follow step C first...

C- Open the now infamous "Secret Menu" in order to re-initialize your
camera prior to re-installing the new firm ware:

Simultaneously press MENU + Flash symbol button + Power ON...a white
screen with data written in black should show.

Then a sequence of buttons must be pressed: 2 times the focus button
(flower, mountain, MF symbols button) followed by 2 toggles to the
Right of the "OK" button...then press MENU once and voilà...ze Secret
Menu appears !

Using the down toggle of the OK button, go to "SYSTEM INITIAL" and
press OK. Press another OK to re-initialize your camera.

Once this has been completed, turn your camera off.

D- Load the firm ware by opening your camera with the MENU+Power ON
procedure...finally this should be posting "Complete" after the
"Loading" message, instead of the "Error!" that we initially kept on
having.

Your camera should be working perfectly ! Only thing, is that you
will have to redo your personal settings on it from scratch...but hey,
this is much better than to wait for months to get your camera back
from Pentax and save that money for your next photogenic trip !

Cheers,

Phil
================================

 

In message <>, The Martian
<> writes
>
>As for Why? I believe in my wife's case it was caused by a small
>satatic discharge.

Should this read "satanic" or "static"? The answer to your question is
profoundly different depending on which is correct!

Regards,
--
Neil

 

ASAAR wrote:
>
> On Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:22:03 +1000, Mark Thomas wrote:
>
> > Bob will probably kill me - I mean it is just not done to have
> > information readily given around here, and we certainly wouldn't want
> > the answers to any questions made more easily available... /o:
> >
> > Maybe it is the Menu button + Power on, as referred to here:
>
> Sheesh. Everyone knows that Mars doesn't need secret service menu
> keystrokes. Mars Needs Women!*
>
> * Yet another grade B (or lower) Larry Buchanan flick starring
> Tommy Kirk.


Hello, ASAAR:

Oh, those Martians ain't so smart, anyway. Did you see how their evil
plans of conquering our* Earth, were foiled, in "War of the Worlds"
(1953)?

Now, I ask you: Shouldn't a technologically advanced species, such as
those aforementioned extraterrestrials, have heard of biology? :-J


Cordially,
John Turco <>


* Why do the actors, in these "Class B" sci-fi flicks, always seem
to say, "our Earth," eh?

I mean, are they trying to imply that there's >another< Earth, out
there, somewhere? <g>

 

On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:19:22 -0500, John Turco wrote:

> Oh, those Martians ain't so smart, anyway. Did you see how their evil
> plans of conquering our* Earth, were foiled, in "War of the Worlds"
> (1953)?
>
> Now, I ask you: Shouldn't a technologically advanced species, such as
> those aforementioned extraterrestrials, have heard of biology? :-J

They know much more about biology than we do. Not to disparage
Verne and Welles because after all, they did possess some modicum of
talent, but they were, shall we say, assisted. And if upon their
deaths their undertakers examined the backs of their necks, they
would have seen small X-shaped scars. Those invaders from Mars
still walk among us, invisibly, because the truth is useful as a
cover story and we accept it, because it's stranger than our oh, so
familiar fiction.


> Conspiracy theory
>
> It has been suggested in recent years that the War of the Worlds
> broadcast was actually a psychological warfare experiment. In the
> 1999 documentary, Masters of the Universe: The Secret Birth of
> the Federal Reserve, writer Daniel Hopsicker claims that the
> Rockefeller Foundation actually funded the broadcast, studied the
> ensuing panic, and compiled a report that was only available to a
> chosen few. A variation of this conspiracy theory has the Radio Project
> and the Rockefeller Foundation as conspirators.[3] In a theatrical
> trailer for his film F For Fake, Welles joked about such theories,
> jesting that the broadcast indeed "had secret sponsors".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio)

 

ASAAR wrote:
>
> On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:19:22 -0500, John Turco wrote:
>
> > Oh, those Martians ain't so smart, anyway. Did you see how their evil
> > plans of conquering our* Earth, were foiled, in "War of the Worlds"
> > (1953)?
> >
> > Now, I ask you: Shouldn't a technologically advanced species, such as
> > those aforementioned extraterrestrials, have heard of biology? :-J
>
> They know much more about biology than we do. Not to disparage
> Verne and Welles because after all, they did possess some modicum of
> talent, but they were, shall we say, assisted. And if upon their
> deaths their undertakers examined the backs of their necks, they
> would have seen small X-shaped scars. Those invaders from Mars
> still walk among us, invisibly, because the truth is useful as a
> cover story and we accept it, because it's stranger than our oh, so
> familiar fiction.
>
> > Conspiracy theory
> >
> > It has been suggested in recent years that the War of the Worlds
> > broadcast was actually a psychological warfare experiment. In the
> > 1999 documentary, Masters of the Universe: The Secret Birth of
> > the Federal Reserve, writer Daniel Hopsicker claims that the
> > Rockefeller Foundation actually funded the broadcast, studied the
> > ensuing panic, and compiled a report that was only available to a
> > chosen few. A variation of this conspiracy theory has the Radio Project
> > and the Rockefeller Foundation as conspirators.[3] In a theatrical
> > trailer for his film F For Fake, Welles joked about such theories,
> > jesting that the broadcast indeed "had secret sponsors".
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio)


Hello, ASAAR:

Hmmm. Along those lines, was Kenneth Arnold a CIA agent (or dupe),
perhaps? After all, he started this whole "flying saucer" craze,
way back in 1947!

Wikipedia - Kenneth Arnold
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Arnold>


Cordially,
John Turco <>

 

On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:54:28 -0500, John Turco, blinded by flashes
of light, wrote:

>>> and the Rockefeller Foundation as conspirators.[3] In a theatrical
>>> trailer for his film F For Fake, Welles joked about such theories,
>>> jesting that the broadcast indeed "had secret sponsors".
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio)
>
> . . .
>
> Hmmm. Along those lines, was Kenneth Arnold a CIA agent (or dupe),
> perhaps? After all, he started this whole "flying saucer" craze,
> way back in 1947!

Don't believe everything you read, especially if the source is
William Tager. Dan Rather knows this only too well. You don't pick
conspiracy theories. They choose you, if you're tuned to the right
frequency!