DVR crashes 38 times in one month, 5 units replaced so far

[Mr Tony]

guys lets cut out the flaming each other.

 

[Astrovel]

I spoke too soon, guys! I had no problems for 3 weeks after I used the suggestion to go to a 2 prong adapter and cut off the ground wire. Then it started crashing one time per night, then 2 times, then 3 times. Yesterday, New Years Eve, it crashed 7 times between 6 pm and 10 pm. Today it crashed 3 times when I first turned it on. We have checked everything including the outlets etc. If there was a grounding problem or current fluctuation, why wouldn't my lamps, my DVD player etc. flicker or go out?
I had a suggestion to get an uninterruptible power strip to plug it into but I hate to invest $50 and find that doesn't help either. Dish keeps saying the LNB could not be the problem but it seems to me, that might be a logical thing to malfunction.They also said the reason why my DVD player or lamps etc. doesn't fail is that they don't have a hard drive. I don't get that....hard drives are storage devices. They don't act on their own.
Anybody got any other suggestions? I know that Dish is not going to replace another unit. They will upgrade equip but I have to sign a new 2 year contract. I am afraid if I do that, and I have the same problem I will be locked into a new long term contract and will still be dealing with the same problem.
Thanks for your suggestions, guys!
I'm back to square one.

 

[Hall]

Most if not all of the questions you're re-asking have been answered. I'm not positive but the LNB can cause issues that you wouldn't think it could, but causing the receiver to reboot ? That I can't answer... As for the DVR having a hard drive, well, they're close. Remember, the DVR is nothing more than a computer with a satellite tuner(s) built-in. Things like lamps or to some extent a DVD player can handle drops in electricity to a larger degree than a PC or DVR can. The power supplies in PCs or DVRs requires a minimum voltage before it will drop out.

Why can't you let Dish replace the LNB ?

You could buy a UPS and worst case, return it if it doesn't "work". Do you have a Sam's Club or Costco membership ? They're very lenient with returns...

 

[Lord_Vader]

Where is your DVR? In a cabinet or someplace?

 

[Astrovel]

I know this is so repetitive but I figured brainstorming might come up with something. I wanted Dish to replace the LNB but they refused because they said that couldn't be the problem. Yes, I have a Costco membership, I might look at their prices. Online the prices vary between $20 and $2500.
Lord Vader: The DVR is in an open bookcase with nothing crowding it. I have tried changing plugs within the house and even on a different electrical service with nothing running on it but one light (my workshop/studio) and it still crashes. But I noticed New Years Day, I turned it on in the morning to watch the rose parade. I rarely do that as it usually isn't turned on until about 6 p.m. But on New Years, as soon as I turned it on, it crashed 4 times within 50 minutes but then as the day went on, watching the bowl games etc and into the night there were no more crashes. I am wondering if it might be that it has to be warmed up good before it will quit crashing. But the strange thing is that the day before, it crashed 3 times within 30 min then waited 4 hours before crashing 4 more times. So it probably isn't a warmup problem, then...huh???.
I am going to call the electric company and ask them for some help and see if they can tell if there is any fluctation in current into the house to cause loss of power long enough to cause the crashes. Seems to me if that were the case, my computer would reboot also which is across the room and is always on during the Dish crashes.
I will see about an UPS (if I can find one I can afford) and will let you know what I find out. Thanks for your help and interest in solving my problem.

 

[andy_horton]

I have had similar issues and bought an uninterupable power supply. My dvr doesn"t crash but my hd channels freeze up for a few seconds every so often. I have read your problem and the only thing I know to do is switch to a non dvr receiver. No hard-drive in it, etc. I"ve had over 3 techs out and an electrician and moved my receiver to an open area to avoid overheating. But I have thought about switching to a receiver that doesn"t have a hard drive in it.

 

[Hall]

There is no warming up as your DVR is never off, unless you unplug it when not in use.

If a PC on same circuit doesn't reboot at same time, I'm at a loss...

 

[Lord_Vader]

Maybe unplug the satellite connections and watch some recorded content? I'm not a Sat tech, but maybe something is wrong with the coax? At least you could isolate the issue to the dvr or the system.

 

[whatchel1]

A bad coax or a bad LNBF can cause the problems you have been having. Why. well if there is too much current being pulled from the power supply it will cause problems for the hard drive.

 

[hyperguy]

The damage that was done to the DVR before you tried the fix may be causing it. I would replace it one more time this time since the ground wire is already cut it should be okay. A short in the coax well I am not going to say there is no way but its very slim chances the same with a bad LNB one way to check it is feel it if you can safely reach it a lot of times you can feel the LNB will feel warmer than the ambient temp around it.

 

[whatchel1]

The damage that was done to the DVR before you tried the fix may be causing it. I would replace it one more time this time since the ground wire is already cut it should be okay. A short in the coax well I am not going to say there is no way but its very slim chances the same with a bad LNB one way to check it is feel it if you can safely reach it a lot of times you can feel the LNB will feel warmer than the ambient temp around it.

Doesn't have to have full short. It can have gotten rust in the connection and that will start pulling TOO much voltage & cause problems for the pwr supply. That will also over time work it's way into the electronic parts and make corrosion and make the LNBF unusable. You are correct that once damage has been done; it's too late.

 

[athensguy]

Crashing VIP 622

I have a VIP 622 on Dish, and it has a reproducible crash problem. Actually, I searched for this problem because I missed the first touchdown in the Sugar Bowl due to this. However, if I have two items recording of differing lengths and I go to skip something that is on after one of the items is over, it crashes all the way. It may happen in other cases, but I'm pretty sure it happens in that case every time. First it goes blank, then it pops up with a screen warning talking about loss of signal, then it goes all the way down and comes back up through the boot sequence, missing several minutes of whatever is recording. Once it does get back up, it still takes another 2 minutes or so to start recording again. One of the recent updates caused this problem. In addition, it takes on the order of minutes to skip or resume shows, even if it doesn't crash.

 

[magnum2066]

I smell a bad LNB. Do us a favor and post a pic of the following screen:

Press menu on remote
press 6
press 1
press 3
select details


Now for the signal strengths are there any large variations between the signal strengths in each row? If so I'd suspect the lnb.

As for the tech not wanting to climb the roof that is company policy that once we set foot on a roof/anchor and harness is required. Most are smart enough to work off a ladder although some situations require the tech to get creative with the dish placement. The fact the tech doesn't have a harness is an excuse to not do the job since he/she is too lazy to get a replacement.

Worse comes to worse, request a rewire and if they're hesitant ask to speak to the loyalty team.

 

[nmiller6683]

Simple answer. Any sat receiver must send a constant uninterrupted current to the lnb whether it has a dvr on it or not lnb still needs power. An lnb not switching properly can cause rebooting problems however doubt it is that. My bet is on the power lamps, tv's, drills, vacuums, and even some computers r more tolerant to power fluctuation than any satellite receiver with or without a dvr r. Bottom line electrician needs to come out and check ur house. My bet is on a polarity problem I know u said it's been checked but not by an electrician