R15 Problem "Formatting HDD failed"

[nevski]

My R15 would not turn on either with the remote or on the unit itself, so I did a red button reset and when the unit came back up, it went to a blue screen with the message: "Formatting the HDD" and also on the diplay was the "time remaing and progress". The unit got to about 60% complete with the formatting and then a mesage comes up saying "Formatting HDD failed". After this I tried another red button reset and it goes through the same process and doesn't complete formatting. I am unable to turn the unit on without it going through this process each time. Is this unit toast? Can it be salvaged. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[The Merg]

Unfortunately, your unit is toast. The HDD seems to be done. Since you probably have a leased unit, contact DirecTV and they should replace it at no cost if you have the Protection Plan or for the cost of shipping ($20) if you don't have the PP.

- Merg

[ThomasM]

Welcome to DBSTALK.COM! :welcome_s

Unfortunately, The Merg is probably right about your hard drive being in hard drive heaven but you might want to unplug the unit from the wall for 30 minutes or so and then plug it back in. If it reformats the HDD correctly but then fails again later, you could have a power supply problem.

In any event, a call to DirecTV to explore your replacement options is probably in order. Be sure to describe exactly what is happening or they might try to send out a techician which will add big bucks to your bill.