– Many hardware vendors (especially from the early 2000s to mid-2010s) distributed firmware updates as TAR files on CD-ROMs or FTP servers. The a145fw.tar file would be placed directly in the root directory of the recovery media.
tar -cvf a145fw.tar my_folder/
: Upon powering on the device with the USB drive inserted, the printer detects the firmware file and enters a specialized maintenance mode. This allows a technician to: Reset the Administrator Password to the factory default. Unlock the Service Mode if it has been restricted. Clear specific "CE" (Customer Engineer) passwords. Technical Importance a145fw.tar