Agfa Drystar 5302: hard disk full message
What happened
The printer repeatedly reported that its internal hard disk was full and showed a general system failure message, so normal printing stopped. During recovery attempts, a message about not being able to go to a lower software version also appeared.
What was checked
- The engineers first compared the two options — formatting the old drive in place versus reflashing the same software version with settings preserved — and decided to back everything up before intervening.
- The full configuration and network settings were saved to a memory card before any work on the unit.
- Suspecting the drive itself, they prepared a replacement 2.5-inch SATA drive (a laptop-type unit, reported in the case as 250 GB) with all partitions removed.
Cause
The engineers found that the original drive — reported in the case as more than ten years old, with its condition tracked by the printer's Linux-based system — had probably degraded to the point where the disk appeared full. It was therefore treated as a failing drive, not a genuine capacity problem.
What was done
They replaced the drive and reinstalled the printer software from the memory card at the same version. When the lower-version message appeared, it cleared after the printer itself repartitioned and formatted the new drive during the reinstall. The configuration and network settings were then restored from the saved card via the front panel, and the printer returned to normal operation.
Safety
Disconnect the printer from the mains before opening it to swap the drive, and because the software was reinstalled, verify print calibration and quality and complete an electrical safety test before returning the printer to clinical use.
Lesson: On long-serving printers, a disk-full message can point to a dying drive, so back up the configuration first and be ready to replace the drive and reinstall the same software version rather than simply formatting.
Covered in the course: Medical Imagers and Film Printers — Level 2: Fault-Finding →
Written from an anonymised case shared by service engineers. It is not a manufacturer instruction and grants no authorisation. Independent note; names are trademarks of their owners.