MN-700 and MN-740 setup/firmware upgrade problems resolved

I don't know if this will help other people that have experienced the MN-740
firmware upgrade problem or not but here was my experience...

The problem is that no matter how carefully you follow the upgrade
instructions the 740 firmware upgrade reports that the update failed. I
phoned the MS broadband support line, and got the distinct feeling the
support guy was thinking "oh no, here we go again..." they said "um... you
don't need to apply this patch". When I insisted that I wanted to disable
SSID transmission they (half-heartedly) tried to help and failed.
Ultimately, they told me to phone the xbox support line. xbox support was
perplexed by the direction I'd been given and told me I should have called
the broadband support line... etc.

MS support disappointments aside, I *did* manage to get the upgrade to work
.... eventually.

I bought the MN-700 and MN-740 at the same time with the understanding from
reviews etc that setup/config was practically automatic. Of course, in
typical Microsoft fashion, the software and documentation makes the process
really simple and straightforward except for a couple crucial steps:

(1) the "Base station management tool" aka web page wouldn't come up. It
took a call to MS support to find that the IE browser's "Tools/Internet
options.../Connetions/Lan Settings/Automatically Detect Settings" check box
must be UNCHECKED for this to work. Never would have guessed that.

(2) The 740 docs assume WEP on the router is not being used but the 700
setup program/docs turn on WEP by default. So, the 740 setup guide forgets
to tell you that you have to enter the (painfully long) WEP key into the
xbox before it will "connect" to the network even though it can see that
your network is there. I'm a total newbie to wireless terminology, etc. so
it took me a while to realize this step was necessary.

Next the auto-upgrade software automatically announced that both the 700 and
740's firmware needed an upgrade. Beauty! I always upgrade firmware/patch
software before using anything seriously. Generally saves alot of headaches.
The MN-700 auto-upgrade worked flawlessly but failed when it tried to do the
740. Bummer. So, I bounced over to the ms website to try and see what might
be wrong and found this page ...
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/br..._mn740_102.htm
based on that I tried the dedicated 740 upgrade program along with the new
set of directions. But it still failed. I tried disabling WEP. I tried
resetting the hardware - both the router and the 740. I tried with and
without the xbox powered up. I tried different wireless channels. etc. etc.

All of these attempts failed. I finally said screw it after many hours of
poking and prodding and fiddling and started to setup xbox live instead. I
played live with no problems for a couple hours. Afterwards, without
reseting either the MN-700 or the MN-740, I decided to try the firmware
upgrade again and ... surprise ... it all of a sudden works!?

Basically, I believe that MS has a firmware bug that causes this problem and
the support people really don't know how to get around it any more than we
do. This one has the classic signature of an uninitialized memory problem
where ... possibly ... some aspect of the setup/usage of xbox live causes
some value in memory to be set to a correct value and this is needed for the
firmware upgrade.

So my advice is to just start using the 740 with the old firmware and from
time to time try the upgrade - sooner or later it will probably work.

</Kevin>

Nice post Kevin, I'm still trying to update the firmware
with no luck...Your post does give me hope though.
I have been trying the update here and there.


>-----Original Message-----
>I don't know if this will help other people that have
experienced the MN-740
>firmware upgrade problem or not but here was my
experience...
>
>The problem is that no matter how carefully you follow
the upgrade
>instructions the 740 firmware upgrade reports that the
update failed. I
>phoned the MS broadband support line, and got the
distinct feeling the
>support guy was thinking "oh no, here we go again..."
they said "um... you
>don't need to apply this patch". When I insisted that I
wanted to disable
>SSID transmission they (half-heartedly) tried to help
and failed.
>Ultimately, they told me to phone the xbox support line.
xbox support was
>perplexed by the direction I'd been given and told me I
should have called
>the broadband support line... etc.
>
>MS support disappointments aside, I *did* manage to get
the upgrade to work
>.... eventually.
>
>I bought the MN-700 and MN-740 at the same time with the
understanding from
>reviews etc that setup/config was practically automatic.
Of course, in
>typical Microsoft fashion, the software and
documentation makes the process
>really simple and straightforward except for a couple
crucial steps:
>
>(1) the "Base station management tool" aka web page
wouldn't come up. It
>took a call to MS support to find that the IE
browser's "Tools/Internet
>options.../Connetions/Lan Settings/Automatically Detect
Settings" check box
>must be UNCHECKED for this to work. Never would have
guessed that.
>
>(2) The 740 docs assume WEP on the router is not being
used but the 700
>setup program/docs turn on WEP by default. So, the 740
setup guide forgets
>to tell you that you have to enter the (painfully long)
WEP key into the
>xbox before it will "connect" to the network even though
it can see that
>your network is there. I'm a total newbie to wireless
terminology, etc. so
>it took me a while to realize this step was necessary.
>
>Next the auto-upgrade software automatically announced
that both the 700 and
>740's firmware needed an upgrade. Beauty! I always
upgrade firmware/patch
>software before using anything seriously. Generally
saves alot of headaches.
>The MN-700 auto-upgrade worked flawlessly but failed
when it tried to do the
>740. Bummer. So, I bounced over to the ms website to try
and see what might
>be wrong and found this page ...
>http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/br...networking/rea
dme/readme_mn740_102.htm
>based on that I tried the dedicated 740 upgrade program
along with the new
>set of directions. But it still failed. I tried
disabling WEP. I tried
>resetting the hardware - both the router and the 740. I
tried with and
>without the xbox powered up. I tried different wireless
channels. etc. etc.
>
>All of these attempts failed. I finally said screw it
after many hours of
>poking and prodding and fiddling and started to setup
xbox live instead. I
>played live with no problems for a couple hours.
Afterwards, without
>reseting either the MN-700 or the MN-740, I decided to
try the firmware
>upgrade again and ... surprise ... it all of a sudden
works!?
>
>Basically, I believe that MS has a firmware bug that
causes this problem and
>the support people really don't know how to get around
it any more than we
>do. This one has the classic signature of an
uninitialized memory problem
>where ... possibly ... some aspect of the setup/usage of
xbox live causes
>some value in memory to be set to a correct value and
this is needed for the
>firmware upgrade.
>
>So my advice is to just start using the 740 with the old
firmware and from
>time to time try the upgrade - sooner or later it will
probably work.
>
></Kevin>
>
>
>.
>