Here is a link to down load the OEM / stock v3.8 OS image. This site claims that the link will be valid for 60 days from the last download date. The file is 32MB.

For those in need click here:

http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=38386932afe432464a7fbfe32148ae0c

You will need WinHex or similar to load onto a hard drive. See FAQ thread or use the search feature of this forum for instructions.

what ?

YOU WILL NEED WINHEX OR SIMILAR TO LOAD ONTO A HARD DRIVE. SEE FAQ THREAD OR USE SEARCH FEATURE OF THIS FORUM FOR INSTRUCTIONS..

Had a brown out on 1/1....happy new year... box wants to dial web tv...it does

so sucessfully then contacts msn to proceed with download ..the furthest I've

gotten is part 83 of 297.. then a report about the connection being interupted

pops up or reconnect message. I am a field tech for phn company....call waiting

is disabled and line is in good condition.... had this unit (rca490) since it came

out. don't want to give it up.. I'm now trying to use this image with a new

drive (tried a new drive with the dial-up update and encountered the same

problem.)I got the 30 day tool posted by Guitars911 (thanks) as well as the

utv.bin file.... I have winxp... I have placed new drive in desktop ...opened

the hex edit tool .. navigate to the physical drive.... select all the bytes and

replace them with the UTV bin file.... I get an "incorrect function" "physical

drive 1 (149 gb)...Please help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're doing something wrong....


<snip>
goto tools then disk tools then clone disk
on source file select read sectors from image file and select the file you saved from before. select your destination drive and start sector will be 631811 (this is lba 13480600 or sector 09a403 in hex...which is sector 631811 in decimal)(make sure you select copy entire source) and click ok it will write the sectors and you and the drive should be showing the data starting at 13480600 now disconnect the drive install it in the utv plugin the power cord utv should now come up to the welcome to utv screen.

NCL,

"then a report about the connection being interupted

pops up or reconnect message"

Via the UTV Modem download method this usually means you can "resume" from where it left off.

Reconnect then Continue (I was concerned once when it wasn't "resuming", forgot to press continue when I was connected, it picked up where it left off) it should try and resume the download. My most recent experience around New Years too... I had maybe two "drop outs" and it let me resume both times. I'm usually good at getting a download in one call... but it all depends on conditions.

So if you haven't already explored this option and/or you continue having problems with the UTV Image Method this might resolve the issue.

You might also consider a UPS (Battery Backup) Power Strip for your UTV. UTVs love clean/uninterrupted power sources.

It might also go without saying but do make certain the drive is configured properly for the UTV. (Single/Master/Primary mode is best. Each drive is different so if you get a "repair" error during the update try the jumper settings first.)

Don't forget your Access Card. Leaving it in when opening/closing the UTV can lead to several hours of realigning bent contact pins. I should know I had to do it once... a pain.

Good Luck,

Thanks for all the help but that UTV is still dark. I am following all advice given but nothing is working... beginning to think that more is going on...

Here's what I want to try. I have another WORKING UTV in my living room. Is there a way to use that one to write to my new drive ... would I be able to put the newly updated drive in the (dark)bsmt UTV... will the old utv drive still work in the living room utv?

Via Modem Download method:

Since you have a working UTV (w/UTV OS 3.8) you might see if the "drop out" issue (up to part 83 of 297) is also happening on that working UTV.

Using the download UTV code 8675309 it can force a UTV to download the OS (if it needs it or not). Since the UTV is working with 3.8 the download will not make any changes after the download completes. MY SHOWS/Recordings/Settings should all remain as they are. Just be sure to run the download when the UTV doesn't have any scheduled Recordings to avoid not getting them.

Hard Drive Swap:

I know there are several places you can "buy" a hard drive with the UTV OS pre-installed and supposedly you can "Plug and Play" the New Drive WITHOUT having to dial out or do anything special via a PC...

Somebody that knows more about this option may want to comment. It's probably just the Winhex OS option and the UTV "LOCKS" the Drive once it is installed.

NCL, go to the FAQ thread and find the link to the free hex editor.

Then go here for instructions on how to load the OS with that hex editor. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=957988

Thanks to ultimateguy for the instructions using that program.

Thanks Guitars911. I just read the post...great info.. I will try tom after and post my results... Great place!

Hey guys.. good news and bad news.. The good news is that I got the image on the drive and was exicited when I saw the utv startup page when I hooked everything back up.. Big relief after all the web tv screens... Folks I was writing to the ADDRESS rather than SECTOR...foolish... so I set everthing back up placed card back in watching New England game for about 10 plus minutes... then black screen...after 20 seconds the utv kept resetting over and over...I removed power and when connected back ....oh no... web tv screen...Could this mean that the "mother" board or the bios is gone... Is there a way to "reflash" or write to bios... remember this all started with a sudden loss of power (thanks LIPA) and the return of power moments later. I was using a surge protector. On another note... the new drive I purchased to remedy the situation is a maxtor thin type PATA... I get timeout issues when using mhd on it. The version I'm using is 1.0... was reading that 1.1 fixed these issues. anyone know where I can pick that version up... should I even bother to try again... it the utv lost?

thanks for your time.

When you get "errors" like the WebTV/MSNTV dialup issue after a "good" copy of the OS has loaded... many would point to a hard drive related issue.

I wouldn't say the UTV's Motherboard or Bios is "dead". I'd look into a UTV/Hard Drive interface issue... When others have this problem upgrading/replacing the drive usually does the trick. I can't say if the issue is with the Image transfer (software) or with the new PATA (or EIDE) drive (hardware).

If you have the "old" UTV drive (which you recently upgraded/replaced) you could try and swap that drive back into the UTV and see what happens.

Good Luck,

I am looking for the 3.8 image. I have a dead drive so I can't download from MSN. The MSM down load faile early never getting past 67. I have even tried disconnecting my dsl, for the noise on the line possibilty.
Thanks in advance
Ronald

I don't know why I have a copy of it because I don't really know how to use it, but I downloaded it when it was available and I'm uploading it to rapidshare now....will update with url asap...

here you go: http://rapidshare.com/files/118707399/utv_3.8.bin.html