Just now it finally saw the USB on power up

Message reads: Searching for the updater......NG

Press INC/Yes to retry

Pressed the INC but nothing happened.
It is locked in that message.

Yikes!! Back in "bidneth" 2 hrs later. Finally read one of the 4 sticks. I did re-initialize the whole system a few times.
Have no idea what that was all about

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger, It took me 2 weeks to get it in and I still don't know what I did different to get it to work. I loaded MOTIF XF Performances today and had same situation. But at least after 4 tries today it finally did something when I hit the buttons instead of looking like mule at a new gate. Now to load the 1152 extra files. I'm thinking that the touch screen is not being activated on every touch. Just a thought but it seems that way. I've never had so much of a time as I have had with this.

I find that small USB sticks (4GB) that are USB 2.0 work best. There's a compatibility listing that shows compatible flash drives for those who do not want to gamble. The drives I have used are not on that list.

Formatting on Montage is a step I have never done - but it is recommended as the partition tables of some sticks can be unsuitable for Montage even though your computer (PC, Mac, etc) can read it.

Sounds like you got the buttons figured out. I generally hold them down while the power switch is off. Then turn the power switch on while holding both buttons. And hold on to the buttons (pressed) until the firmware program screen shows up.

If you get an "NG" - try again after leaving Montage unplugged from the wall for several (10-15) seconds. Meaning the power cable is disconnected from the back of Montage's trapezoid connector or your power outlet/strip on the wall/floor. If that still doesn't work - try formatting the media (USB stick) and start over after copying only the PGM file over to the root of the flash drive. If that still doesn't work, use a different stick.

Once you find a stick that works - go buy a few of those and label the active working one as your firmware update stick. If that one goes "dead" switch off to one of your backups and retire the "bad" stick from Montage firmware update use. These devices do wear out from writes. Buying one fresh from the store and only writing the firmware PGM file - then erasing - then writing a new one when the next firmware is released does not stress the part out too much to run through the write cycles to "kill" a stick. However, not all sticks are created equal. If yours is a no-name or low-end, then there's a chance the quality is poor and your stick will wear out sooner or even not work at all due to quality issues.

I haven't had any problems with recognizing the USB stick and avoiding the "NG" error by using the formula of 4GB + USB2.0 + purchase from a reputable source (brick and mortar store with liberal return policies).