[Guest]

Hey guys.

My 501 is having a difficult time with some of it's PVR functions. For instance: I set it up to record a program weekly and set it up to start 1 minute early. I come home to find the red light on (still), but that it has actually recorded nothing. Pressing the <stop> button does nothing... Turning the power off only turns off the green power light... i.e. the red light stays on. The only way to clear the red light is to unplug the 501 from the wall.

Any ideas?

Dwaine

 

[Guest]

Hi stroudbunch, Welcome to DBSTalk.
The 501 for some people has been buggy.
You should be able to go to the power button in front of the unit and hold it in for 5 sec's, this will do a reset to the 501.

How many times has this sort of thing happened to your 501?
Echostar has yet to develop any stable software for this unit.

 

[Guest]

Well, it actually happens quite often. I'll find out in about 15 minutes if it's going to happen again. I have set it up to record a movie and start 1 minute early.

Thanks for your reply.

D.

 

[Guest]

Did this just start happening, or has the bug existed ever since you got your 501?

How did your recording turn out?

 

[Guest]

Have you ever gotten a good recording? I had an experience similar to yours, and I had to re-init the HDD - that fixed my trouble, and I haven't had an issue since.

 

[Guest]

Here's the Reinit Code for the 501

Menu-6-3 - This will put you into the diagnostic screen.
Info-Right arrow (browse)-Left arrow (theme) - This will put you
into the memory dump screen. Note - there is a timeout. You have to hit
the three keys "INFO, RIGHT, LEFT" in succession rather quickly. You should get
the "help" screen briefly after INFO, but it should be replaced by the memory
dump screen as soon as RIGHT and LEFT are completed.
Stop (i.e. press the STOP button) - This will flag the system to
re-initialize your drive on reset.
Reset the system by removing the smart card, and reinserting
it. Please leave the smart card removed for several seconds. Wait at least
until the system information screen appears.
When the card is reinserted, then your system will reset and
your drive will be re-initialized. You should be able to verify this because
your PTV list will be empty."
NOTE THAT THIS WILL ERASE ALL RECORDINGS !

 

[Guest]

This has been a pretty normal experience for me and my 501. I wanted to finish watching the show I was watching so I didn't let it record the show it was set up to record. It did, however, record Enterprise tonight while I was at church so we'll see...

Dwaine

 

[Guest]

Dwaine, Maybe you should try the reinitialize the hard drive, if ya dont mind loosing your recorded programs.
It wont hurt anything.

 

[Guest]

John - thanks for re-posting the procedure... I had lost it.