I dropped the .tar file into the update folder 2 times and I got the "no kernel or system" error. I went back and checked the .tar file and saw the files in the target folder, so I tried again and it worked.
The easier way was to just drop the update .tar file into the 'updates' samba share on the OE box and reboot. Clean reinstall doesn't achieve much if you dirty it up straight away by restoring everything from the backup
Awesome! Thanks for making it so easy! I will give this a try tonight. I was growing tired of waiting for an OE update. ZZZzzzzz