The wireless issue was bad enough.. Need to reboot a couple of time and search a few with connection failure before getting online but not getting any connection in Nokia upgrade software irritates the friggin crap out of me. I am able to connect with it when I have it powered on so the usb cable is ok..
I start the upgrade software and do what it tell me to.. fully charged battery, connect usb, hold in the swap key (button on the front looking like a house) and then power on. I get the usb symbol on the N800 and the upgrade software search and search not finding anything.. and finally it tell me to retry again..

I have no idea on how to get this thing work again.

Instead of the magic key combo to power it on, instead just plug in the charger cable at that point. It'll turn on the device and then do the rest of the flashing. Simpler than hitting the right key combo.

I just thought.. What if I used the original Nokia cable in the box when trying and it works :-D
Strange it worked with the other cable the first time