Failed Hard Drive in BCM 400 running 3.5

[amatthewstcg]

I have read most of the information on the forum regarding this issue but I would like to consolidate it down to the best answers to the following question.

Is it better to replace the hard drive with a programmed hard drive with version 3.7 or would it be better to simply use a drive with version 4.0?

My understanding that the procedure using a 3.7 drive is fairly straightforward as long as you make sure to initialize properly and by doing a "LOAD MSC". Keycodes will work with no changes.

With the 4.0 drive it is less than clear to me how well this procedure would go mainly because some have indicated the bios may not get upgraded and the "LOAD MSC" is automated and may only work 50% of the time. Also the keycodes must be regenerated as well. Is there any way to make sure this works properly to avoid problems.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[telcodog]

If you want to do it properly, get another imaged 3.7 drive and follow the procedure in the manual.

You really need to know what you're doing putting a new 4.0 drive. Keycodes need tro be regenerated for sure and it's really a crap shoot whether it will come up properly or not. You will likely wind up having to reprogram the system from scratch and your BIOS will not get updated this way and you may have trouble getting it patched current.

Whicever way you choose, good luck.

 

[amatthewstcg]

Thanks for the response Telcodog. As you could probably tell from my original post I am leaning toward doing a 3.7 drive because of the problems you mentioned with a 4.0 drive. You post gives me more confidence that I should go that route.

One post I read was by a guy who supported numerous BCMs and he preferred 3.6 over 3.7. Do you have any preference between the two?

 

[Dasheen]

Go w/ the 3.7. U can't just put in a 4.0 HD. To go from 3.7 -4.0 u must purchase the 4.0 upgrade keycode w/ the 3.7 -4.0 upgrade kit. Upgrade kit upgrades the bios etc and preserves customer database. Upgrade keycode migrates your 3.7 keycodes to the 4.0 format.