We’ve had a few people asking us how to upgrade the firmware on our range of the popular ACARD duplicators. It’s fairly simple, so here goes!

1. Find Out Your Current Firmware Version

The first thing the drive does when you turn it on is to display the version number of your current firmware on its LCD display. In most cases, you’ll want to upgrade with a newer (higher-numbered) version of the firmware. (Although there are sometimes valid reasons for downgrading hardware to an older firmware revision, we won’t go into that here).

2. Download New Firmware

Next, download the updated firmware files for your specific controller; the following list contains drivers for the duplicators that we stock or have stocked. (These are the latest versions as of 5 June 2008):-

• ARS-2022 Firmware
• ARS-2022D Firmware
• ARS-2030A Firmware
• ARS-2030T Firmware
• ARS-2035A Firmware
• ARS-2037P Firmware
• ARS-2039A Firmware
• ARS-2040P Firmware
• ARS-2053P Firmware
• ARS-2055P Firmware
• ARS-2057 and ARS-2050 Firmware

If your duplicator isn’t listed, you may be able to get the latest firmware direct from ACARD’s own firmware download page.

3. Unzip BIN File and Copy it To Data CD

The firmware update comes in the form of a .bin file. (Usually this has been zipped for reasons of space, and you’ll have to extract it first. Later versions of Windows support zip files automatically- they treat zip archives as “compressed folders”, so you can simply open that, then drag the .bin file onto your Desktop or wherever).

You should burn this .bin file so that it is the only file on a data CD. (The “.bin” file is not a CD/DVD image file). The resulting disc should contain one file- something like “FW123S_D.BIN”, or whatever the version for your duplicator is called.

4. Install Firmware

Now turn the duplicator on. Once it’s booted up, hold down the escape button for a few seconds. The duplicator gives a light beep and enters the hidden menu.

Then you select “UPDATE FIRMWARE” using the arrow keys. Put the firmware disc in, wait until the drive’s read/recognised the disc, and then press OK.

Your duplicator will read the disc; if it’s been burned correctly, it’ll tell you it’s found the firmware, and update it. If the disc *hasn’t* been burned correctly, it’ll say “No Firmware Found”.

Once the firmware has been installed, the duplicator reboots, and that’s everything done!