Died during Firmware Update Options

[hessmo]

My WDTV Player accepted the first firmware update fine, but failed when another version was offered. The instructions say not to disconnect or power down during the firmware update, but after 24 hours I was quite certain that it had already failed. Now it shows the WD logo, and that's the only sign of life.

WD cannot determine how old my player is because the serial number printed on the side of the player is apparently the wrong format for a WD player, according to WD email support.

No great loss, though. We're much happier with our Patriot Box Office than we ever were with the WD. I'll sell the dead WD for $20 - someone else might be able to use the remote control and power supply.

[nosti]

Might be a little late to save you from ditching the WDTV, but I had a similar problem. My player was stuck on the WD logo, I was going to throw the thing, but I gave it one more try. I did a firmware upgrade, and this is where I stuffed it up previously. When you download the upgrade and extract it from the zip, you should end up with a folder containing 2 files, .bin and .ver, copy those 2 files to an empty flash drive, not the folder containing the files, but the files individually. The player needs to read those. Plug your drive in, THEN power on. My player went into upgrade mode straight away (let it do it's stuff) and is now working as before.
So copy the files not just the folder.
Hope this helps anyone with similar problems.
I used a cheap generic 8Gb thumb drive, can't really see the difference in drive brands nor size, as long as the 2 files are there. NOT the folder.
Oh yeah, one other thing, make sure you download the correct firmware for your model. Might seem obvious, but the wrong firmware has no chance of connecting with your player.