Linksys BEFSR81 router wont update formware

I'm going to throw this question out to other Fixya people, and maybe someone else has run into this issue.

I picked up a Linksys BEFSR81 8 port router at a yard sale for $1, and figured I would tinker with it.

I tried updating the firmware to the latest (I am assuming I have a version 1, as no version number is even on the label, which usually means the first release).

When I try, I get a "Failed to update the flash data into ROM" when using IE, and different error when using Firefox (i don't recall the exact error, but it was something to do with the flash path). I even tried to use their flash installer, and even different versions, with the same negative results.

There are a few hits about this problem on the Linksys support site, and they say to use IE, and a few other generic stupid things to try (resetting, etc).

It's not a huge deal, as it still works the way it is, and after all, i DID only pay $1 for it.

Just wondering if anyone has ever seen this.