HR21-700 lost all recordings

[chuck5395]

So I started having problems with the HR21-700 last night. The end result is that I now have no recordings, no series links, nothing.....

The story starts with me pausing live TV last night for dinner. When I returned to the TV, the screen saver was active. When I pused the select button, I found that the buffer was full and that the on screen image was not where I left it. The buffer was full and it had advanced as needed. So I started watching the show from the buffer and in about 15 minutes the system locked up.

Tried RBR but system stalled during restart. Pulled power and then the system came back up. Started watching a recording. About 15 minutes later the system locked up again.

At this point I called DirecTV for assistance. Several failed RBR's later we pulled the power for about 15 seconds and the system came up. CSR walked me throught the "DELETEARCHIVE" process.

So we started watching recordings again and every 15 to 20 minutes we had to reset the DVR. The RBR was working so I did not pull power from it. Finally got tired of it, did another RBR and went to bed.

This morning when I turned on the TV (the DVR was left on) there was a blank screen and the DVR was unresponsive. I pulled power for about a half hour. Once the sytem was up, I pressed the guide button. I was greated with a screen that told me about a "winter update". Huh? I have had 0x22d since 2:53am on 5/7. That's when I found that everything was gone. All recordings, to-do's, and prioritizer entries.

Called DirecTV. Nothing they can do but take down the information. We lost about two weeks of programs. Wife is going to be upset (and we all know what that means).

Frak me!

[glennb]

Sounds like the DVR needs to be replaced.

So what was your question ?

[idigg]

Sounds like the DVR needs to be replaced.

So what was your question ?

What makes you think he had a question?

[chuck5395]

What makes you think he had a question?

Exactly. I was posting as an FYI to the community and also as a way to vent for myself. Also, it's been said over and over that DirecTV reads these postings and I wanted to make sure that all relivant information was given.
-Chuck

[Nicholsen]

Chuck:

I feel your pain. It seems like the DVR fails only when you --

1. Have it full of your favorite movies;
2. Were recording the big game; or
3. Assured your S.O. that her show would be there, no problem.

I am sure there is a demand for an automated "backup" system for DVRs. Apple has a similar feature (The Way Back Machine) in their new OS.

Given the history of the HR21, feedback is important, even if your unit was just a random failure. All trends begin with a first report.

[chuck5395]

I've now lost the ability to record anything. Any recording goes directly Keep or Delete. In addition, I cannot pause live TV.

Called DirecTV again. CSR had me remove the converters from the back of the unit, hold my thumb over the ends for 5 seconds and then re-attach them to the oposite input. :confused: After reset, I am able to record/watch and pause live TV.

They are now walking me through a reformat of the hard drive. She said it was the next thing to do and I suggested doing it now since I've already lost everything. CSR states that if I continue to have this problem they will send me another unit.:eek2:

[chuck5395]

Unit started rebooting itself. Now it will not restart.
New (refurbished) unit will be here in two days.
Guess we'll hook up the ol' R15 from the bed room to the big screen until then.

:(

[bigwill]

I have been having the same problem for a while now. I turn the tv on in the morning and there is just a blank screen plus the box is unresponsive. I have to pull the plug or push the red reset button. Its just frustrating as this is our 3rd dvr in the past 6 months. The last 2 were hr20's that were bad the moment i received them. I havent called yet because its just a pain dealing with it but i will call today. I have alot of HD movies recorded on here for my kids. Most of those movies are not showing anymore. I guess thats the reason i have been suffering with it but now i will call today. The boot-up process has to be the longest i have ever seen! I love Directv but these boxes as of late are a real pain.

[jwebb1970]

Similar Playlist/Series wipe happened to my HR20-100 last week. Actually locked up when running a connection test (DoD downloads were becoming intermittent....again!). Attempt at test locked her up. Did RBR & when it came back I also got the Winter Update msg. It then gave me a list of "new features" which were there prior to the freeze.

Went to playlist - - EMPTY. Had been around 85% full prior to. Was suddenly 100% empty.

Luckily, most of the shows we lost could be watched online (ABC.com, some NBC shows) whereas others did rerun since the DVR nuke. Series recordings had to be re-setup.

Worked fine since, but worried that such a thing will occur again.

Lockups during Setup functions have occured on my HR20-100 ever since the last natl release. BUt this was the 1st to wipe out the Playlist.

[chuck5395]

Update.
Received replacement HR21-100 on Friday. After one hour on the phone it was determined that this "new" box is bad. They could not get it authorized. So now we wait for another replacement :( :mad: :( :mad: