@Waddizzle wrote:
@ladybrayton wrote:
OK...stupid newb question. Where do I find the EOS solution disk image? Thanks for the help!
If you can navigate to the screen that I posted earlier, select "Software", and select "Windows XP" for the operating system. You should see the "EOS Digital Solution Disk" as one of the choices. I currently see it as the second choice.
That is the basic disk that came with the camera, square zero. There has been a succession of updates. In fact, there is an update on the same page as the EOS Digital Solution Disk download. It is recommended that you download updates in the order in which they were released. Remember, you would catching with a decade's worth of updates.
A bit of background may be helpful in understanding what is, after all, a rather arcane process.
Canon's original methodology for distributing its proprietary software was to provide, with each camera, a "Solution Disk" containing installable images of the various programs. Subsequent updates were posted online, but those were not freestanding images and would install only if you already had the base version installed. If you lost your Solution Disk, you could continue to install updates, but you couldn't do any more original installations. If you wanted another solution disk, you had to buy another camera.
Then a few years ago, ultra-thin laptop and tablet computers became popular, and many of those had no provision for reading a CD, rendering the Solution Disk useless. Users complained, of course, so Canon conceded and posted a version of the Solution Disk (I believe it was no. 29A) on their Web site for download. It's still there for those who need access to earlier versions of Canon's software.
But for their newer software, notably EOS Utility V3 and DPP V4, Canon has adopted a different paradigm: All software releases, including updates, are fully installable, obviating the need for a Solution Disk. But to download them, you're required to provide the serial number of a Canon camera that the software supports.
Most of the confusion that one sees, in this forum and elsewhere, regarding Canon software installations is due to the two different, but coëxisting, distribution methods.
Bob
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA
