SST

SERVICE SUPPORT TOOL

Overview Encrypted HDD Files

HDD Not Found

When attempting to format a hard drive in a Canon ImageRUNNER such as an iR2800 you receive a message from the SST (Service Support Tool) advising that the HDD (Hard Disk Drive) cannot be found in the drives file.

The SST provides the ability to properly format new hard drives or reformat corrupted hard drives in Canon ImageRUNNERs. Sometimes you will try to format a drive and will receive a message advising you that the unit has an invalid disk installed. This message indicates that the ImageRUNNER has a non-standard (Read: Non-Canon) HDD installed and the SST does not recognize it. When you load the firmware for a Canon device into the SST part of the information provided is a list of valid hard drive designations for the model. This list of HDD's not only specifies the name of each valid drive type but also the hardware specifications such as number of read/write heads, platters, surfaces, segment sizes and other technical data describing the features and capacity of the HDD to the SST. Canon updates these lists when they use different forms of drives in the different models of copiers and when you install a more recent version of the firmware for a model into your SST you are also updating this list of HDD's.

Originally these HDD Dewcriptor Files were regular text files which could be editted to add new HDD formats when necessary. More recently Canon has started encrypting the files to prevent them being editted. As such, newer model Canon ImageRUNNER's will require that authentic Canon HDD's be installed should they require replacement. Generic drives may not be on the list of supported drives for the SST and Canon will not release a list of supported drives. Examples of Edittable vs. Encrypted files would be: Edittable: iR2200/2800/3300 iRC3100 iRC5800/6800 Encrypted: iR2270/2870/3370 iRC3380 iRC4580/5180

HDD Descriptor File

This is the file which contains the descriptor information for each HDD registered fot he Canon model. The naming of these files is important to understand as you will need to track these files down when you want to format non-standard HDD's. iRModel-XXxx####-HDFormat.ift iRModel: XX: xx: ####: HDFormat: .ift: This will be the model designation for the unit. iR2200 for example. iRXXXX files are encrypted. A double X appears in this position for all such files. This is the language designator for the firmware files. Since the HDD file is universal this is always xx. This is a version number which will correspond to the firmware version number you see in the SST. The type of file which is always HDFormat for the HDD Desriptor file. The Windows file type. This is used for all Canon Firmware files.

Modifying the HDD Descriptor

If the HDFormat file for the model you wish to format is Edittable you can create a new entry in the file to allow it to support your hard drive. You will need to determine the model of the HDD you are trying to format to begin. The model will have been displayed in the error message fromt he SST. it is also printed on the outside of most HDD's.

Steps to Modify the File

1. Find the Correct HDD Descriptor File 2. Disable Read-Only protection 3. Locate Similar HDD Descriptor 4. Create Copy of Descriptor and Modify 5. Increment Supported HDD Counter 6. Save Modified File 7. Re-Enable Read-Only Protection

1. Find the Correct HDD Descriptor File

Search the hard drive of your PC for *.ift files. You will be provided with a list of these files. Find the apropriate HDFormat file in the list. The list will be similar to the example below. The example provided is for an iR2200 and is version 13.

2. Disable Read-only Protection

The HDFormat files can be set to READ-ONLY which would prevent you from saving your revised file at the end of this procedure. Right-click on the file you will be modifying in the list and click on the word Properties in the menu that appears. If the Read-Only box is checked, uncheck it and click the OK button. If it isn't checked you can just click on the OK button without making any changes.

3. Locate Similar HDD Descriptor

Open the file in Notepad and scroll down to the HDD Dscriptors. You need to locate an entry in the list of valid HDD's that is similar to the one you need to configure to support your drive. The more similar the better. Go through the entire list and locate the best match possible. My example drive is to be a Toshiba MK8025GAS drive. I have located an entry for the Toshiba MK2023GAS drive which is very similar.

4. Create Copy of Descriptor and Modify

Highlight the block of text related to the HDD Dscriptor you have chosen and copy it using Ctrl-C. Click the mouse on the blank line below the entry and press Ctl-V to create a new copy. Make certain there is a single blank line before and after the new entry. Edit the new entry to match your drive. in this case i changed 2023 to 8025 creating an entry in the table for my MK8025GAS drive.

5. Increment Supported HDD Counter

Scroll down to the bottom of the list of supported HDD's (Note: Not the bottom of the file.) and find the entry for the number of drives supported. As you have added a new drive you must increment this file by 1. If it was 52, you change it to 53.

6. Save the Modified File

Click on File and Save to save your changes.

7. Enable Read-only Protection

If you had unchecked the Read-Only box in the HDFormat file's properties in step 2, you will now open the file's properties again and check the Read-only box to protect the file.

Now that the new entry is in the HDFormat file you should be able to format the drive on your ImageRUNNER using the SST.