Please help me see my timers, and/or copy off recordings

I ordered two hoppers and two joey's, and they came too fast. I had just started copying off the recordings from the 612.

He said "just keep copying while I get ready". Except part way through a cable was moved, it was interrupted, and the 612 rebooted. By this time the switch was removed, replaced with the node duo's, and the hopper install underway.

No problem (thinks I), I will just start it over.

But...

Now it says "you must activate this feature" when I hook up the external hard drive (it was working before).

If I try to just see the timers, it says they are not available.

I connected to the internet, and it shows green on remote access, but it won't show anything -- it gives a "not available" when it tries to download the timers.

I THINK that the problem with the latter is that it has no time setting, so it won't show the timers without a time setting.

I THINK The problem with the USB attachment is that it needs to be connected and see it is authorized before it will let me access it. But I can no longer connect to the satellite (both because the node duo is in place, and also it has been de-authorized as replaced). Access to the internet does not seem adequate.

Does anyone have any idea how to just SEE the timers. I'm happy to write them down by hand, but I can no longer see them (and 2-3 years of setting them up I only could remember a fraction of them).

And while I can sit and watch the shows, any idea how I can get them off? I know if I call dish -- with it disconnected and de-authorized -- I'm going to not get anywhere, as it doesn't fit any of their scripts.

I still have the receiver -- they said they'd send me a box and I can send it back in a few days, so I can watch the shows. But I'd really prefer to move them over, and I'd REALLY like to see the timers.

Any ideas?