As mentioned we'll be using the RM95 program to make a dump of the firmware, the first thing we need to do though is to reset the camcorder to factory defaults. Simply pushing the reset button on the camera with, for example, a paperclip or a pencil will accomplish this.



Fig 5. The reset button on a Sony PC4/5 camcorder is located on the right side panel, under the palm wrap.

The camera beeping and a 'Clock Set' flashing on the LCD indicates a successful reset, you do need to have power applied to the camera when performing the reset though, either the battery or AC-adapter.


Fig 6. The RM95 window after having completed a firmware dump, the firmware is saved in the factory.txt file.

The RM95 program is a command line util that'll issue all the needed commands to start dumping the camcorder's firmware, you'll only need to specify where to write the dump file to. In a DOS-box, or after booting from a DOS-boot disk, simply type 'rm95dump.exe>factory.txt' and it'll automatically start. The firmware dump can take a while to complete, from 10-minutes up to half an hour, and we'd advice you to use the AC-adapter to prevent the battery from running low, again, the camcorder is set to 'Player' mode when doing the firmware dump.