http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=955174
connection order is important:
“Swapped my 3250HD for a 4250HD this morning. It seems like the key to get it going again was having everything plugged in and powering up in the right order. With your PC turned on, connect the firewire cable, then STB power cable, and 2-3 seconds after the ‘click’ hit the POWER button on front. Before the GUI comes up, it should negotiate a firewire connection with your PC. The ‘COPY PROTECTION’ screen in diagnostics now says ‘1394: Unavailable’ on every channel instead of ‘1394: disabled’. For future reference on SA boxes, that’s what to look for to determine if your firewire connection is active.”