SVR-HDT500 usb firmware update problem

[romcdon2821]

I have an 18 month old Sony SVR HDT500 hard disk recorder with old firmware/software v. 4.10.r7993. I have been trying many times to update the firmware to v. 4.21.r8585 by USB. I have downloaded the update zip. file many times on to 3 different PCs, unzipped the downloads sveral times using the 3 different PCs and transferred the unzipped files to a root directory folder on 3 different USB sticks (2 of which are Sony USB sticks). However when I follow the online instructions to the letter for updating the firmware on the machine by USB (not Over the Air) the update always fails and I get a message saying " Invalid updates. Please check your update files" What is going wrong and how can the problem be rectified? Also are Over the Air firmware updates still/currently available for this machine and if so how do I set my machine up to download these? If I choose the option for OTA updates it carries out a 3-4 min scan and just says updates not available. I should add that the size of my downloaded update zip file for update v. 4.21.r8585 is always absolutely correct in terms of Nos. of bytes. The only suggestion Sony telephone support could give was to return the machine to them for a firmware update. Not really very helpful.

[romcdon2821 · Accepted solution]

Well, I did finally get a reply from Sony, telling me to do virtually all the things I had already done and to return the item to them for REPAIR (i.e. firmware update) if not successful. However I did finally manage to get the machine to accept the USB update by opening the unzipped update download folder on my PC and copying all the individual files (not the intact unzipped folder) on to my USB stick.  My SVR-HDT500 then recognised and loaded the firmware update. Neither Sony support nor the online firmware update instructions explained that was what was necessary, They all gave the impression that the intact unzipped update download file/folder, rather than the individual files therein, should be copied to the USB stick.

[Thalamus.]

Hi  romcdon2821,

glad to read that you were able to find a solution & thanks for taking the time to share it with the community..:smileyhappy:

[oldboy75]

Thank you. I have been trying to do exactly the same on my SVR-HDT500. Have just followed your advise abd copied the files within the folder only and it worked.