Comments on upgrade 3.6 to 4.0? 1

[DueE]

Does anyone have any comments on the "ease" of uppgrading from BCM 3.6 to 4.0? Just wondering if there are any issues with it and if the keycodes will need to be regenerated?
Thanks

DueE

 

[DueE]

Is it that bad? Salesman wanting to quote an upgrade and we wanted some input from someone other that our Nortel RSM.

DueE

 

[biv343]

No real magic to it - it's like any other BCM upgrade, sit back and watch.

Keycodes do need to be regenerated as part of the upgrade. If the keycodes don't exist in KRS (aka, back alley keycodes from someone at Nortel, gray market keycodes, etc) they won't make it over when you upgrade. Something to keep in mind - check KRS before you begin the upgrade to make sure that everything matches.

 

[DueE]

Thank you biv343, that sounds good. Did it take about 90 minutes to complete?

DueE

 

[biv343]

I think it was closer to two hours. I wandered away from it while it was working - I believe in the "watched pot never boils" theory.

 

[DueE]

Yeah, I can appreicate that theory! Thanks again for the info and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

DueE

 

[3Sixty]

One thing you need to be careful of is the motherboard. If you have an old motherboard you might run in to a problem when the upgrade software upgrades the BIOS. I had a problem like this and had to replace the motherboard to fix the problem.

Marshall

http://www.nortelsupport.net

 

[Firebird Scrambler]

Is there a need to increase the memory when upgrading to 4.0?. I've got a BCM 200 that has a single memory card (128M I think?). Would I be correct in thinking that it has to be increased to 256M?.

All the best

Firebird Scrambler
Meridian Programmer in the UK

http://mysite.orange.co.uk/firebird_scrambler

Useful Nortel forum at

http://www.tspforum.com

If it's working, then leave it alone!.

 

[biv343]

All BCM 200's and 400's shipped with 256MB of memory. Only systems with release 2.03 and lower had 128MB.

256MB is all that is needed unless you have a boatload of Unified Messaging clients - forgot the exact number, but I believe it is more than 100. Then you need to have 512MB.

But, if you have extra memory that matches what is already in, it never hurts to put it in.

 

[NARSBARS]

Toss in another PCMCIA card if you have a spare. The BCM is still a PC and the upgrade is not required but I have added the memory and extra card to a couple and they seem to be running faster. The BCM is a PC and PCs like more memory, even Linux.

NARSBARS

 

[bluemr2]

I haven't had any problems with the 3.6 to 4.0 portion of the upgrade, but I have had problems going from 3.0 to 3.6 on their way up to 4.0. 2 systems stopped at 41% in the last month. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

[Firebird Scrambler]

Thanks for the useful tips. I've since found out that my upgrade problem from a BCM 200 3.7 to 4.0 may be due to this..

Question
The thing that I've noticed on the BCM 200, is that there are around 5
(1 small & 4 large) green capacitors near to the front of the processor card.
One of them (the front one) has leaked onto the circuit board.
I'm assuming that this will be the cause of my upgrade problems?,
The other remaining 6 large green capacitors near to the Fan are fine.

Answer
you need a new Base Function Tray, if you have green caps, then they are faulty.... It's a known BCM problem!.

My upgrade was always failing at 30 to 32%. I've had to keep re imaging the 20 Gig hard disc each time it happens, using WinHex. Anyway I'll let you know how I get on, once the replacement Function Tray arrives.

All the best

Firebird Scrambler
Meridian Programmer in the UK

http://mysite.orange.co.uk/firebird_scrambler

Useful Nortel forum at

http://www.tspforum.com

If it's working, then leave it alone!.

 

[NARSBARS]

I stopped all upgrades to 3.7 because of multiple problems.
Upgrading to 3.6 did not present any problems.

NARSBARS

 

[Cherita1]

Upgrades that stop at 41% are usually a result of the wireless NIC not being disabled on the PC running the upgrades. If you don't disable the wireless when the first reboot occurs during the upgrade the wireless card will try to communicate with the BCM and the upgrade will halt.

 

[Firebird Scrambler]

Just to let you all know, that My upgrade failure was due to a faulty Base Function Tray. if you have green capacitors on the board, then some of them will be faulty. Power down the BCM to check them out. Look for any signs of leakage onto the Motherboard or any capacitors that are out of shape. It's a known BCM problem!.
Another thing to due is do a Backup onto your P.C. Then do a restore. If you get any restore error messages, then you will have a major problem.


All the best

Firebird Scrambler
Meridian Programmer in the UK

http://mysite.orange.co.uk/firebird_scrambler

Useful Nortel forum at

http://www.tspforum.com

If it's working, then leave it alone!.

 

[acewarlock]

green capacitors have been a known problem for at least 2 years, I have replaced at least 20 BFT's and 6 BCM 1000's for this problem. Nortel just extended the free replacement program until 12/31/07 for the BCM 200 and 400 but not the 1000.

 

[mkimmer]

My company is doing a crap load of these upgrades and we are doing good with them for the most part. I wanted to let everyone know that there is a BCM 4.0 precheck tool you can run prior to the upgrade to make sure evrything is kosher. The main issue we have run into, is the CDR files exceeding 200 meg...

 

[acewarlock]

Where can I get the precheck tool?

 

[biv343]

Download it from Nortel's website.

 

[mkimmer]

I have found that if you copy the CD's to the desktop that you are doing the upgrade from, the upgrade goes faster than running straight from the CD