I tried to update from OS 2007 to the latest for my N800, and now it will not boot up. I downloaded the Update Wizard from Nokia and followed the instructions. I selected Diablo_5.(etc) as the OS to install. (That was the default offering.) According to the wizard, the file downloaded, but then the write process failed. It said something like Write Failed, check your USB cable or drivers. I'm using a laptop with the USB cable plugged directly to it. I don't know if it is USB 1.1 or 2.0. I can find out, if it matters.

Anyway, now the N800 will not boot up. The logo screen appears, then the blue progress bar starts moving rightward across the bottom of the screen. When it gets about 95% of the way, it stops, reboots and repeats the cycle, endlessly. I've taken the battery out, put it back in, same thing. Now the battery is out.

I took out the internal sD card, same result. It is possible the card was not formatted before this all started, if that matters.

I don't know anything about this tablet, and not too much about PCs. I know how to install software using wizards! Or so I thought.

Please help. Where do I go from here? Thanks.

PS: I did some searching here before posting. I didn't find the same issue. It's probably here somewhere.... Thanks for any assistance.

The best thing you can do, is to download the install image beforehand and store it locally (the download section of the Maemo site has all the images available, but you will be prompted to enter your device identification code, AKA its MAC address). The Windows update wizard offers the option to select an image (the "browse" button).

As to the reboot cycle, just start the installation over, following the instructions from the update wizard. This should overwrite the faulty install and give you a usable tablet again.

You should do a couple things:

1. Charge the battery full. So plug it in again and forget about it for a couple hours.

2. On you laptop, download the latest firmware for your N800 so you can flash it later w/o asking the wizard downloading the firmware again each time you want to flash the device.

3. Check if you have the latest wizard or not.

4. Try to flash again. If fails again someone here will help you.

The Windows "wizard" (what an inappropriate name, in view of this) does tend to fail regularly. Or, to be more precise, Windows' USB management is b*ll*cks, so one shouldn't draw too heavy a conclusion from a failed upgrade; it's mostly just Windows' way of saying: "So sorri. Ai soild maiselvs agen. Plz to ficks an trai new".

I went to maemo.org and downloaded the file RX-34_Diablo_5.2008.43-7_PR_COMBINED_MR0_ARM.bin. When I tried to wizardly update, it failed, saying The software on your Nokia N800 was not updated because the update file is invalid.

Did I grab the wrong file at maemo?

PS: I tried the online update again, and it worked. All's well that ends well I guess. Thanks for the help!

You may have a flaky internet connection.

You have learned the lesson I learned some time ago: Online Updates Suck. Always download first, then update locally. That is also why I deeply mistrust this new "feature update" for the tablets: The Intertubes just aren't solid enough to let them handle a potentially brickable operation, but with incremental updates, you just don't have a choice anymore (well, other than updating the old way, that is).