Just Replaced Bad Hard Drive - Dial MSN OS Still v3.7

I thought I would start a new thread for this instead of hi-jacking the hard drive sale thread...

For those who want to / need to replace a hard drive, version 3.7 is still available via a dial out to the MSN servers.

I just replaced a hard drive in one of my UTV's this weekend. The unit had the following symptoms: freezing picture, tick/tock sounds, erratic hard drive spin up/down sounds and powering itself off.

I installed a retail boxed, Maxtor 160GB PATA - Model L01V160. The jumper on the drive was set to cable select from the factory. I changed that to master and installed the drive.

It took 4 tries to dial out and get the OS fully loaded from the MSN servers on 9/23/07. ( still 297 parts and is version 3.7 ) I forgot to check this morning and see if v3.8 loaded overnight from the stream, but I'd be willing to bet it did.

I lost a bunch of shows that I had yet to watch and some that I wanted to keep. Just a reminder, if you want to keep / watch your recorded shows, back them up to DVD or a PC on a regular basis. You never know when a hard drive will fail.

My main UTV is back to working like new again...

I dialed in and loaded the OS on a Sunday afternoon around 4pm CST. Trying to dial in late at night as mentioned in the above post should also help. I believe the UTV is pre-programed to dial a couple of MSN numbers. When one fails to connect it should try and dial another number. It would be handy if the dial out splash screen indicated the number it was dialing to confirm.

You guys may want to try and pull the phone cord while the UTV is trying to dial in to MSN. This may allow you to enter your own dial-up ISP phone number, then the UTV should connect to the MSN servers that way.

Also, try the trick that lgodave often mentions, plug your UTV right into the phone box on the outside of your home. This direct connection may help eliminate bad jacks or wiring inside your home that could cause interference or packet/data loss in the connection.

If letting the unit call out from your friends or family's homes fail, your last option is to load the OS image manually. There is a thread up now that contains a modded version of the OS with complete instructions on how to load the OS from a PC. If you just want the regular 3.7 or 3.8 image, just ask here and some one will post it. Also check the FAQ thread for more info.

tomkranz, you enter the code with your remote. While the UTV is powered off, press 2,1,7 (or any other code) on the remote, the UTV lights will flash indicating the code was successful, then power up and display the menu/options for which ever code you entered.

The 217 code will allow you to enter your own ISP's number and change the call waiting settings. I had forgotten about that code earlier. This will be easier for you then pulling the phone cord, while the UTV is dialing out, to force another number to be used.

Some people in the past reported that you needed to press the menu button on the remote 3 times, then enter the code of your choice, but I have never needed to do that to get the codes to work.

Let us know how you make out.