Info needed on doing a reset for a 508

[davepack]

First of all, I'm new to the forum, and although I didn't find a FAQ out there that might answer my question, I realize it doesn't mean there *isn't* one--if there is, please direct me to the location and I'll look for my answers there. Thank you!

Here's my questions--about a month ago, I got a 508 thru Dish's promotion. Been very happy so far (cross my fingers/knock on wood/etc.) Couple weeks ago, I went to the guide and noticed a lot of black areas where there was missing program guide information. Then, I noticed certain channels missing from my guide, and to top it all off, other channels that I knew I had access to were now red (unsubscribed). Yikes!

Called Dish, and they had me pull the smart card from the unit, wait 30 seconds, then put it back in. That worked. The rep asked me if I normally turned the 508 off; I said no, I usually left it on. He suggested turning it off when not in use, which I did that night. Next morning, I turned on the unit and noticed the same problems. Again, I pulled the smart card, waited 30 secs, put it back in, and all was good. I've had no problems since then.

1. Any ideas what caused this problem? Is the tech correct in that I should turn the unit off when I'm not using it? I thought it'd be fine to just leave it on.

2. Is what I did known as the "smart card" reset I've heard a bit about here? What is the "power button" reset I've heard about?

3. Should I use one particular reset method first, over the other, or should I try either one if I have future similar problems?

Thanks guys for your help--many of you really amaze me with how much technical knowledge you have about Dish!

[Steve Mehs]

First off welcome Davepack to DBSTalk :hi:

1) I don't know what caused your problems, but they 508s are quirky like that. Yes you should turn the 508 (or any other PVR) off when it's not in use. Turning it off allows for guide updates, software updates and saves on the ware on the hard drive and keeps the temperature down.

2) The smart card reset is one of the ways to reset the receiver, the other popular one is holding the power button in (on the unit not the remote) for 3-4 secs, the red LED will blink and it will reset itself.

3) Doesn't hurt to try both even though both essentially do the same thing.

Good luck with the 508!

[Unthinkable]

Those kinds of problems just crop up out of the blue sometimes. I've had the 501 since it was first released by Dish Network and still notice odd quirks like that from time to time. Sometimes when you hit the pvr button you will get a rather messy looking tile that is a garbled freeze frame grab from whatever you were last watching instead of the proper gray/blue/white pvr recorded events screen. Stuff like that along with the instant weather opentv application being completely locked up at "storing" and/or spontaneously rebooting the receiver still happen to me and I've had a lot of recent issues with the remote control operability being all screwed up to the point where normal button presses aren't registering either at all or in a timely fashion (the usual culprit of it being a case of bad/dying batteries or interference from elsewhere not the case). Certain bugs have been running free for years now for whatever reasons.

Anyways for what its worth...

1) I would turn it off when you aren't watching TV. The hard drive is constantly in action recording the bit stream when the unit is on so I'd be safe and just turn it off when not in use to get the longest possible life out of the hard drive that you can. Hard drive errors and cluster errors are a way of life with regular pc's. My advice would be to play it safe and conservative there.

2) You did the smart card reset yes. You can also reset the receiver either by holding down the power button on the front of the receiver for 5 or 6 seconds or by unplugging the unit (some of the techs will also advise you unhook the coaxial cable as well) for a good 15-20 minutes or so. It may not need to be unplugged that long, but that is what I usually do on occasion.

3) Some folks will warn you not to pull and re-insert the smart card to reset the receiver over concerns that you can wear down the gold chip printed on the card or the reader inside the slot itself and cause undue wear and tear etc... I think as long as you are careful with it and you aren't doing it obsessive compulsively like every 5 minutes, you will be fine. :) I usually hold down the power button for a good 6-10 seconds or unplug the power cord from the receiver for 20 minutes when things are acting up and also after I notice a new software download.

[TerryC]

Originally posted by The Unthinkable

3) Some folks will warn you not to pull and re-insert the smart card to reset the receiver over concerns that you can wear down the gold chip printed on the card or the reader inside the slot itself and cause undue wear and tear etc... I think as long as you are careful with it and you aren't doing it obsessively compulsive like every 5 minutes, you will be fine.
Even if you do it rarely, those times can add up. Since it's just as easy to do the power button reboot I'd advise against pulling the smart card.

[davepack]

Great info--thanks much, guys. Makes sense about turning the unit off, since it's always doing the auto-record thing otherwise.

Thanks again--much appreciated.

Dave