Noisy 721

[SteveinDanville]

There may or may not be an old thread on this subject, but nevertheless, my 721 is starting to sound more and more like a lathe or drill press that you'd see in a machine shop. It's getting really noisy, with a high-pitched metallic whining/grinding sound. It is definitely not the fan, and definitely not the typical hard drive clicking that you hear in a PC or on a laptop. When I'm reading the paper in the morning in the kitchen nook, and the 721 is spinning away about 18 feet away, it's incredibly annoying. Even when the refrigerator cycles on, it doesn't drown out the 721 completely. More to the point, yesterday I was watching a DVD, and during quiet dialog areas of the DVD, all I could hear in the background was the high-pitched grinding of the 721. It sounds like a 20 year old VCR in need of repair.

What do you guys think? Anybody else have a noisy 721? I cannot possibly see how anybody could have one (like mine, that is) in their bedroom!

[jerryyyyy]

There is a ton of this on the list. I am also irritated. Most attribute it to the inadequate fan and some have placed an auxiliary in it- there are photos of the innards around.

[LV2HACK]

Its not the fan. The sound described is coming from the motor in the hard-drive. If its getting lounder, sounds like a bearing about to go out.

Call Dish and have them replace the unit.

[marshalk]

Mine was doing the same thing. I went so far as to open it up and confirm that the noise is the drive and NOT the fan. I did this by unplugging the fan while the unit is turned on. The fan is actually fairly quite. Not as quite as some but not bad. The noise is definately the fan. I called dish and with almost no muss or fuss they are sending me a new unit. I was going to go to some length to sound insulate the box but decided to see what dish would say. They were VERY good about it...at least so far. I wish they would use the IBM deskstar drives with the fluid dynamic bearings. They are supposed to be quieter...and that really counts in a home environment where you want to hear the audio.

[SteveinDanville]

Maybe I'm not understanding your reply, but it sounds in the beginning that you were going to unplug the fan, and that the fan is actually fairly quiet. You then say that the noise is DEFINITELY the fan. Then you say you wish the unit used an IBM deskstar drive with the fluid dynamic bearings. Is that a hard drive or a fan? I've stood next to my 721 when the fan has turned on, and put my hand next to the gap under the unit, and could feel the warm air being purged. Believe me, in my estimation, the constant noise is NOT the fan, but the constantly spinning hard drive. So, I guess my question is: Is it the hard drive or is it the fan that made all the noise in your 721?

[SteveinDanville]

It's only a couple of minutes later, and I noticed that the fan came on, which is very quiet. It has lowered the internal temperature from 117 degrees to 100 degrees, and I can still hear the hard drive spinning in the background, but somewhat masked by the noise of the fan. So, for me, the annoying noise is definitely not the fan......now the fan is off and the temp. has crept up to 105 degrees. The whining sound is still going along strong as can be, 24/7.

[marshalk]

Sorry, just a typo. I managed to drop the NOT in the fifth sentence. My mistake. I did the critical experiment of unplugging the fan and listening and then plugging the fan back in. This was the best way I could think of to be absolutely sure I was not hearing the fan or a variable speed fan or something else. So, just to be absolutely 100% clear. The grinding, high pitched, annoying, etc etc, noise is the drive. An IBM deskstar drive is a...yes you guessed it...a drive. It is not a fan.

My suggestion is you call dish, let them tell you to do a reboot and smart card reset (the default answer to anything. kind of like the default answer to an MS operating system...reboot) and then have then send a new unit.

[SteveinDanville]

Guess what, I called Dish, and the wait for an Advanced Tech Rep was about 20 minutes, but the woman I got initially, Brynn, stopped an Advanced guy that was just walking by her cubicle, and she told him about my issue. He said, the hard drive is starting to fail, we'll send him a new 721 and give him a Return Auth. number. Boom, just like that, I'll have a new 721 next week. So, we'll see how that goes. Now I have to watch 40 hours worth of recordings by Wednesday!!!

[marshalk]

Yeah, the biggest bummer is the loss of the stuff on the existing drive. I have a bunch of programs I had "protected" and wanted to keep around for a while. I could spin them off to tape but one looses in the translation. Pitty I can't just copy the mpeg files over my home network to another machine.

[LV2HACK]

There should be a "backup" feature.

1. connect external USB drive.
2. select backup.
3. unplug.
4. send unit to Dish for repair/replacement.

This should't get MPAA upset, since its not copying for external viewing. They can keep the backup encrypted for extra "compliance"

I am on my third 721.

[marshalk]

I got my 721 replacement as promised from Dish. No muss no fuss. Return UPS shipping label inside and everything. The new unit is a whole lot quieter and was no trouble to bring up. Even though I only get 119 (please oh please put the EPG on 119) it found the software and upgraded automatically. I had to call dish to authorize the unit but that was simple enough.

While I can still hear it when everything is off and quite it is acceptable. I suspect that like all motors, or more accurately bearings, it will grow noisier over time. The previous unit that I warranty replaced however had grown so loud we could clearly hear it in another room. The original did not start out bad, it just got that way. I think the drive was on its way out fast. While I lost my saved recording it is no big deal to me. It is after all...just TV

[SteveinDanville]

Well, Marshal, I got mine yesterday and brought it onboard today, and it's as quiet as can be. Even runs cooler, 100-103 degrees, as opposed to the old one that ran 117-120 degrees. Let's see how she goes, but so far so good. Local stations haven't mapped yet, but my time is correct (not GMT anymore!).

[marshalk]

Oddly enough mine is running hotter. It was staying around 105 with the old noisy unit and is now between 110 and 115+. Oh well, as long as it doesn't fry and stays quite I am happy. Or at least as happy as I can be without the EPG on 119.

[Bob Haller]

How was the quality of the replaced 721? You do realize its a refurb?

My 721 is going to HAVE to be replaced, with 70 hours of recordings its a hugh issue, mostly Jens shows I suggested she reduce her inventory.

The refubs on other receivers I have got over the years :( A couple DOAs, dirty, scratched, although the last one looked fine. Maybe someone wised up that a new cabinet and front panel is cheaper than sending another exchange.

Its a well known fact that if something looks good a customer is more likely not to complain even if its not perfect operation wise.

Looks bad with moinor issue instant problem...

[marshalk]

The unit looks fine and so far is working as well as the first one without the noise. I see nothing to indicate it is a refurb but really that doesn't bother me that much. A component replacement like a drive is not that big a deal with these pc appliance type machines. I have been tempted to try a different drive myself like you can with some of the other pvrs to get additional capacity.

[boba]

For all of you that have had problems so far I hope you have bought the extended warranty for $1.99. With the failures that you have had under the 1 yr. warranty how many will you have after the 12 months?

[marshalk]

What extended warranty?

[James_F]

Check this out...

http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/technology/warranty/ext_warr/index.shtml

[SteveinDanville]

Originally posted by Bob Haller
How was the quality of the replaced 721? You do realize its a refurb?

My 721 is going to HAVE to be replaced, with 70 hours of recordings its a hugh issue, mostly Jens shows I suggested she reduce her inventory.

The refubs on other receivers I have got over the years :( A couple DOAs, dirty, scratched, although the last one looked fine. Maybe someone wised up that a new cabinet and front panel is cheaper than sending another exchange.

Its a well known fact that if something looks good a customer is more likely not to complain even if its not perfect operation wise.

Looks bad with moinor issue instant problem...

My unit is brand new...they never even opened the box to insert the prepaid mailing label or any of the other RA paperwork. It's being sent under separate cover. It runs better than the one it replaces, as have all the replacement receivers I've had over the years, some refurb'd, some new. Frankly, just because your experience has been that you get refurb'd replacements doesn't mean that's the law of the land. With all due respect to your almost 500 posts, your assessment that my replacement is a refurb'd unit, AS IF THAT IMPLIES SUB-STANDARD, is off-base and mean-spirited. Your tipping me off to that, in any event, makes me wonder what I'm supposed to do with that information. Should I twist off and go ballistic at Dish? I learned a long time ago to pick my battles carefully. If I were as unhappy as you constantly seem to be with Dish, I would get DirecTiVo or digital cable. Bob, I'm not trying to start a flame war; sometimes it's not what you say, but the way you say it. Dish has been great to me, up to and including help from the Corporate office in getting things taken care of promptly.