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How to Reset an X1700 Socket (USB Drive)

  • Updated on Sep 1, 2026
  • Updated on Jun 22, 2026
  • 5 minute(s) read
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This article explains how to reset an X1700 Socket to the factory image using a USB drive.

WARNING!

Cato has certified Socket hardware models for X1700 sites (X1700, X1700B, X1700C). Make sure that you identify the exact Socket model before installing the image on the Socket.

For more information about various X1700 Socket models, see Reimaging Cato Sockets.

Identifying the USB Port on the X1700 Socket

The X1700 Socket has two USB ports on the front panel, use the USB2 port on the X1700 Socket to install an image. This is the port that you can use to reimage the X1700 Socket with a USB drive.

1700_USB_Ports_Callouts.png

  1. USB1 port - Don't use to reimage the X1700 Socket

  2. USB2 port - You can use USB 2.0 flash drives to reimage the X1700 Socket with the USB2 port (Using a USB 3.0 flash drive will cause issues during the installation process)

Resetting the Socket to the Factory Default Configuration and Version

This is a high-level overview of the steps to reset a Socket to the factory image using a USB drive.

  1. Prepare the image - download and untar it.
  2. Burn the image to the USB drive.
  3. Install the image on the Socket.

Resetting the Socket with Add-Ons

For X1700 and X1700B Sockets with add-on modules, you must remove the modules during the entire reimaging process.

After the Socket successfully boots, reinsert the add-on module into the Socket.

Preparing the Socket Image

  1. Download the image file from here.

  2. Untar the image (see instructions below).

    After you untar the image, the file is located in the following directory: live

  3. Get a USB drive with at least 8GB. If you need to format the USB drive, use either exFAT or FAT32. If you use FAT32, the USB drive must be 32 GB or smaller.

Burning the Image to the USB Drive

This section explains how to burn the Socket image to the USB drive for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

After you untar the image, compare the file hash of the uncompressed DD image file to the Cato verified, correct file hash. This confirms the disk image integrity before writing the Socket firmware to the hard drive.

  • A file with the verified hash is attached to this article

  • Save the file to the same directory as the uncompressed disk image

IMPORTANT:

You must use the USB2 port to install the image on the X1700 Socket. You can't install the image with the USB1 port.

Burning the Image with Windows

  1. Connect the USB drive to your Windows device.

  2. Move the downloaded image and hash files to the same directory, for example c:\Cato

  3. Untar the image. From an elevated PowerShell prompt in the same directory as both files, run tar -xf <archive-filename>

    x1700_untar_image.png

    Note:

    Common decompression software (such as WinZip, 7-Zip, or WinRAR) will corrupt the image, resulting in a ~135 MB file. Extracting the file with the Windows CLI tar command should produce a file larger than 1GB.

  4. Make sure to place the hash file in the same directory as the image file.

  5. Run the following command to compare the file hash of the Socket image:

    (Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 .\IMAGE_INSTALL_socket_X1700_18960_production_socket_v21.1_20240919_2024_12_12.dd).Hash -eq (gc .\X1700-hash.txt).split()[0]

    The command returns True when the hashes are the same.

  6. Download and install disk imager software, such as Win32 Disk Imager.

  7. Write the image to the USB drive. (You may need to show all the files with *.* to see the DD file)

Burning the Image with macOS

  1. Connect the USB drive.

  2. Open a terminal window.

  3. Identify the new drive using the command diskutil list

  4. Unmount the identified drive using diskutil unmountDisk <diskN>

  5. Untar the image (double-click the file).

  6. Run the following command to compare the file hash of the Socket image:

    shasum -a 256 <archive-filename>

    Compare the output of this command with the hash attached to this article.

  7. Run the following command to write the image file to the USB:

    dd if=./IMAGE_INSTALL_socket_X1700_18960_production_socket_v21.1_20240919_2024_12_12.dd of=/dev/diskN bs=16m

    Notes:

    • For supported versions, you can append status=progress to the dd command to see the status of the write-to-USB operation.

    • Make sure you write the image on the USB drive and not on your hard disk.

Burning the Image with Linux

  1. Connect the USB drive to your Linux machine

  2. Identify which device is your USB /dev/sdb or /dev/sdc

  3. Untar the image.

  4. Run the following command to view the hash of the image file:

    shasum -a 256 /<path to file>/<image filename>

  5. Compare the output of the command to the hash attached to this article.

  6. Run the following command to write the image to the USB:

    dd if=./IMAGE_INSTALL_socket_X1700_18960_production_socket_v21.1_20240919_2024_12_12.dd of=/dev/sdX

    Notes:

    • For supported versions, you can append status=progress to the dd command to see the status of the write-to-USB operation.

    • Make sure you write the image on the USB drive and not on your hard disk.

Installing the Image on the X1700 Socket

After the Socket image is prepared on the USB drive, insert the drive into the Socket. When the Socket boots up, it installs the image and resets to factory default settings.

Note:

If the Socket is currently shown in the Cato Management Application as assigned to a site, unassign the Socket from the site (see Managing Sockets). Then, after the new image is installed, you can assign the Socket to the site again.

To install the image on an X1700 Socket:

  1. Power off the X1700 Socket.

  2. For Sockets with add-on modules, remove the entire module from the Socket.

  3. Insert the USB flash drive that you prepared in section 2 into the USB2 port.

  4. Power on the X1700 Socket.

  5. Installation starts upon X1700 boot, it should last around 1.5-2 minutes depending on USB flash drive speed.

  6. After installation is completed, the X1700 will power off automatically. So when the Socket powers off, the new image is installed on the Socket.

  7. Remove the USB flash drive from the Socket.

  8. IMPORTANT! Disconnect the power cord, then reconnect it to power on the Socket.

  9. For Sockets with add-on modules, re-insert the module into the Socket.

Verifying the Socket Version

After installing the Socket image, you can verify that the process has been successful by using the Socket WebUI to verify the Socket version.

For more about logging in to the Socket WebUI, see Accessing the Socket WebUI.

Note:

If you log in to the Socket WebUI locally after installing the Socket image, the username and password are reset to their default values.

To verify the Socket version locally:

  1. Log in to the Socket WebUI.

    You can use an Ethernet cable to connect the MGMT port on the Socket to the computer.

  2. Navigate to the About page.

  3. Confirm that the Version is the same as the image file you downloaded above.

X1700-hash.txt

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