I can image that you are desperate. Not intended wrong, sometimes it is better to know nothing about IT. I can nearly image that something is wrong with that firmware, It must be something else
I'll tell you this.
I have tried the following.
Re downloaded the firmware (several times)
Used four different computers
Also two different fibre connections to the internet
Different ISP's
Different browsers
Different operating systems
Different SD cards
Different SD card readers
Different SD card adapters
Different SD card partition types (FAT32 and exFAT)
The only thing that isn't different each and every time is the firmware!
All modules on the Inspire have been updated apart from 17 00 and 17 01. These numbers point to the VPS. I have also checked that the VPS cabling is securely attached, I can hear the VPS making a noise so I know it works.