# HDVR2 Reboot and pixelation problems



## Anfony (Mar 8, 2008)

I have a Hughes Series 2 HDRV2 receiver and in the last few weeks the unit has been rebooting and locking up.

Before maybe once a month the unit would reboot
But now the unit just freezes or the unit reboots daily.

I'm afraid I'm going to leave the house and come home and find the unit didn't tape Survivor or Lost because the unit was locked up

In the last few hours it has rebooted 2 times and twice I have had to pull the plug and plug it back in because it had froze.

Also there is a problem where some channels are having pixelation problems.
The picture gets those boxes on it and the sound stops.

Some programs are just unwatchable.


And every so often I get a message were the receiver is searching for a satellite for the 2nd channel. Its not that the weather is affecting the signal.


I have software version 6.3f-01-2-151 on my Tivo


I just ordered another of the same unit from someone on Ebay thinking maybe its a hardware problem.
But I don't know now. Several years ago I upgraded the hardrive to 105 hours. 

Is it the new software thats doing this or do you think its a hardware issue or a hard drive problem..
If it s a hard drive issue I would love to get a bigger drive to store more then 105 hours but I thought someone told me before that was the max the unit could handle. And I would want to get what i have store on my drive now over to the new drive.

Thanks for any help or suggestions


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

Those are symptoms of a failing hard drive. Of course, there is no guarantee, but replacing the drive is what I'd do.


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

This could be the classic symptom of hard disk failure, or soon-to-be failure. Can you still get it to restart when you disconnect/reconnect AC power? If so, and you value the recordings on your Tivo, you may want to act fast to replace or upgrade that hard drive. But try these tips first:

*** Note that problems like this can also be caused by AC power spikes or fluctuations. Your Tivo is essentially a computer inside, so you should seriously consider powering it with an uninterruptable power supply (UPS). Good quality 350VA UPS's are available for well below $50 and will power your Tivo for nearly an hour, plus they provide much better powerline isolation and protection than a surge protector.

http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/Sku.asp?PageType=1&Sku=474045

*** Check your Tivo's internal temperature. If it's running too hot you'll sometimes see problems like this. Look in "Messages & Setup" -> "System Information" and scroll down a couple of pages to see the internal temperature. Anything under 50-deg C is usually OK. If it's higher than that, make sure you have good airflow under and around your Tivo. It's a good idea to raise your Tivo up an inch or so for better airflow. Some folks use pop bottle caps under each corner.

*** If your Tivo is a combination DirecTV+Tivo receiver, you should try re-seating your access card. Remove power, remove the access card, wait a few minutes, re-insert the access card, and reconnect power.

*** If you have a Series2 Tivo with v7.2.2 software and a network adapter, try unplugging the network adapter from the back of the Tivo. There have been reports with v7.2.2 where the network adapter causes the Tivo to hang at bootup. If it boots without the network adapter, then reconnect it and make sure it is still supported and works with v7.2.2 software.

*** If you're comfortable opening up your Tivo (which will void your warranty if you still have one), then disconnect and reconnect all the cables leading to the hard drive(s). Sometimes connections can work loose, or tarnish, and re-seating them will help.

*** If these steps don't help, then it's likely a hard drive problem. You can try a "Clear and Delete Everything" (in the Tivo's "Messages & Setup" menu). That might help the drive repair itself, but you will lose your recordings, Season Passes, and other settings.

*** Finally, if all else fails, then you might want to try connecting your Tivo drive(s) to your PC and run the disk manufacturer's DOS-based diagnostic utilities. These are usually available for download from their web site. Unfortunately they don't always detect all of the failures that can disrupt your Tivo. Some folks have reported success using the SpinRite disk repair utility available from Gibson Research at http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm or HDD Regenerator at http://www.dposoft.net/#b_hddhid

Also check out these sources of information, much of which you'll find in the Tivo Upgrade Center forum:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=25

http://www.weaknees.com/index.html

http://tivo.upgrade-instructions.com/

http://www.mfslive.org/

http://www.newreleasesvideo.com/hinsdale-how-to/

http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/instantcake.cfm

http://www.9thtee.com/


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## Anfony (Mar 8, 2008)

Its not a power brownout/line problem.
I have a good battery backup/line conditioning unit from APC

And the internal temperature of the unit is 46C

I could get it lower, I have a installation kit from Weaknees in it but I never connected the fan because I didn't want the extra noise if the unit was working okay.

I think I will run out today and pick up a replacement drive.


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## John T Smith (Jun 17, 2004)

Before you go buy a drive, be sure to click all the links litzdog911 provided

I've never done this, but have read that the instructions at http://tivo.upgrade-instructions.com/index.php are really good, and there is a link to one of the pages to download free software to help


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## bullis (May 10, 2002)

FYI: I have 2 HDVR2 boxes. They both are exhibiting a lockup & reboot problem. One thing that is kind of strange is that they seem to do it at the same time. I have seen it happen on multiple occasions at the same time. They are both on UPS so I don't believe it is a power issue. Only one has been modified. The other is a factory original. Very strange and getting to be frustrating.


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

bullis said:


> FYI: I have 2 HDVR2 boxes. They both are exhibiting a lockup & reboot problem. One thing that is kind of strange is that they seem to do it at the same time. I have seen it happen on multiple occasions at the same time. They are both on UPS so I don't believe it is a power issue. Only one has been modified. The other is a factory original. Very strange and getting to be frustrating.


Sounds like your 40GB drives are dieing of old age. Suggest you replace them while its not too late. use winMFS from www.MFSlive.org to copy the Image to new drives.


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## Anfony (Mar 8, 2008)

I replace my hardrive with a bigger one
Ran winMFS and copies the drive over and expanded it.

The TIVO has locked up less then before, I think only twice inthe last 3 days but the unit still reboots

And the pixelattion problemss are still bad

Especially on satellite 101 degrees transponder 27

which has 
CNN, SCIFI, CNBC VH1C, G4, SHowtime 2, SHowtime 3

Maybe there is a problem with this transponder on Directv's satellite?


I'm about to throw the whole receiver out the window and call up Comcast


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

Anfony, now you tell us that it's just a few channels that have the pixelation problem. This could be a defective DVR tuner, or perhaps a problem with your dish's LNB or multiswitch. Do you have other DirecTV Receivers? Do they have the same problem? Try to swap your equipment around to determine if it's just the HDVR2 or a problem with the signal feeding that room.

And what are your signal readings for each transponder on the 101-deg W satellite?


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## rob in NC (Mar 15, 2008)

I have been seeing this problem on both of my HDVR2 systems. It seems they re-boot at the same time, at least I have seen that happen at least once. I have seen each system re-boot at least 3 times so far today and I have seen the "freeze" also happen. This freeze seems to happen mostly overnight so when I first turn on one of the TVs I have to unplug and reboot it myself to fix it.

I replaced one of my HDVR2 systems a couple months ago with one from Ebay and also upgraded a HD on the other so I cannot see how this could be hardware/system related.

I called DIRECTV and a tech suggested the possibility that the multi-switch is going bad (or the power source to it is going bad) Does this make sense to anyone else? I think my multiswitch is on the dish on my roof so that would be tough to replace. Where does it's power normally come from? I am not aware of any plug that is has.

I figure it's either:
1) software problem
2) multiswitch problem
3) DIRECTV conspiracy to get us all to dump our TIVO systems and buy/rent one of their new DVRs.

Any thoughts??


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## John T Smith (Jun 17, 2004)

A multiswitch without external power uses the power from the DTivo box, coming UP the coax while the signal is going DOWN the coax... I'm not 100&#37; sure of the power, but I think I've read it is 18v DC

In 2 multiswitch problem, you might add 2a coax connection problem (althouth, I've mostly read about that kind of problem... such as wet or corroded connection... resulting in a bad/lost signal, not a restart)


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## danwenz (Feb 28, 2008)

I'm not sure this is a hard drive problem. I've started seeing the same things also. I have two series 2 units and they may work fine for several days and then they both start having problems. Sometimes they reboot at the same exact moment. This has happened multiple times. Both units must have died 3 times during American Idols show this week on Tuesday...then they worked fine until Friday night. Today (Saturday) they have been restarting alot again. I'm not sure where the problem lies but I'm getting sick of DirecTV now. I'm hoping I can find a solution in the forums...this is the first thread I've read so far. The fact that both units reboot at the same exact moment (multiple times) makes be believe the problem lies outside of the TIVO boxes.


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## danwenz (Feb 28, 2008)

What do you know....BOTH units rebooting as I type this...8:08 EDT.


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## danwenz (Feb 28, 2008)

Both units simultaneously rebooting again!!! 8:25 pm EDT.


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

danwenz said:


> Both units simultaneously rebooting again!!! 8:25 pm EDT.


Are these Tivos powered using a UPS? This could be a problem with your home's AC power "glitching".


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## bootsboy9 (Aug 16, 2004)

Anfony said:


> I have a Hughes Series 2 HDRV2 receiver and in the last few weeks the unit has been rebooting and locking up.
> 
> Before maybe once a month the unit would reboot
> But now the unit just freezes or the unit reboots daily.
> ...


I have a RCA39 Tivo since Oct 2003,after maybe a year without any problems, I started too have the stuck on Powering up screen. That's what lead me to this wonderful site and got the same Quotes of maybe bad HD,UPS.......thank God I didn't jump the gun......waited for DTV to send down the right software to fix their screwup. Now for the past 4 months I too have had the same problems pixelation & rebooting. Read a post here about using more than one of the Video output jacks on some Tivo models that it will cause the same problems.Well guess what! it was just about 4 months ago I hook up a DVD recorder to the 2nd set of rca jacks. So on Monday night I switch to CNN an its starts to break up.Went behind the box pulled out just the yellow video plug, Bingo....that did it got my fingers crossed haven't had a problem since. It has something to do with a voltage regulator breaking down when you more than one video jack.


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## danwenz (Feb 28, 2008)

"Are these Tivos powered using a UPS? This could be a problem with your home's AC power "glitching"."

Yes, both units are powered by a UPS. 

Concerning the video outputs, I believe I'm using both the 'cable' output and the RCA or S-Video outputs. Seems strange that both would work for years with this setup, suddenly have problems late last summer, start working again and suddently have a problem again around late February of this year. I'm contemplating using the 'pause 57' procedure mentioned..but it sounds like you need a few hours for that to complete.


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## bbristow (Jan 15, 2003)

Actually, it doesn't seem to be a hard drive problem, but more of the 6.3f failed patch. I used my "failing" hard drive in Hughes SD-DVR80 and installed InstantCake 6.2a on it. Guess what? NO MORE LOCKING UP, POWERING UP, FREEZING, COLOR SHIFTS or any other problems inherent in 6.3e and f. What crappy software they came up with, and I don't really look for a newer version in "Spring of '08" either. I have permanently unplugged my phone line so there will be no updating to anything above the rock solid 6.2a.


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## Anfony (Mar 8, 2008)

I think my problem is fixed now.
I upgraded my hardrive. I found out that a failing harddrive wasn't the source of the problem, but having 300+ hours is much better then having 105 so thats cool.

I was still getting reboots, lockups and bad pixelation on certain channels especially on satellite 101 transponder 27

I think it started around when the 6.3f software came out


My Directv HDVR2 TIVO was connected to my tv and VCR using the RCA jacks
I unplugged them both and connected the tv using the S-Video cable

Now my TIVO hasn't rebooted or crashed in over 24 hours.
And now I can watch channels that were virtually unwatchable before.

So if you are having a problem with pixelation or reboots try using the S-Video cable that came with your unit. It might be a quick easy fix


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## Dkerr24 (Oct 29, 2004)

bbristow said:


> Actually, it doesn't seem to be a hard drive problem, but more of the 6.3f failed patch. I used my "failing" hard drive in Hughes SD-DVR80 and installed InstantCake 6.2a on it. Guess what? NO MORE LOCKING UP, POWERING UP, FREEZING, COLOR SHIFTS or any other problems inherent in 6.3e and f. What crappy software they came up with, and I don't really look for a newer version in "Spring of '08" either. I have permanently unplugged my phone line so there will be no updating to anything above the rock solid 6.2a.


Same here. I treat Tivo software updates like BIOS updates for my computer. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'. I'm still running 6.2a which is very stable.

Why anyone would plug in their phone lines and update to this crapware offered now is beyond me.


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## danwenz (Feb 28, 2008)

Neither of my two DirecTV tivos have died in the last 24 hrs either and I haven't changed anything except trying to stay off local channels as much as possible...although I have recorded some shows on local channels. Let us know if the video cable trick keeps working. I find mine work well for a few days and then work poorly for a day or so. 

Question...what does one have to do to move back to a reliable version of the software. Are the steps defined anywhere? I'm ready to get a new hard drive and install the old reliable image of the software on it. The more specific the details the better.


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## rob in NC (Mar 15, 2008)

I had a technician come out and he confirmed that this locking up/freezing problem has been happening all over in the past month. He mentioned that it seemed to be caused by the latest SW release and the older HDVR2s were not handling it well. He said they were being told to just switch the receivers to the new DirecTV Plus DVRs to fix the issue. He did this for me on 3/24 and we've had no problems so far.

This pretty much confirms my conspiracy theory from before (see earlier post). I mentioned this theory to the technician and he did not deny it.
We loved our TIVO system, but now we are being forced to learn the DirecTV system. It's very similar and we'll adjust. It stinks having to reprogram all our season passes though.

I was planning on moving to HD this year and would've had to get a new DVR at that time anyhow so this was inevitable. These were free replacements too.

-Rob


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## Annoyed (Mar 29, 2008)

I have an HDVR2 and live in the Raleigh-Durham area. I too have been plagued by the reboots and freezes for the last 2 or 3 weeks. Got another hard drive ready to install but since Monday night, Mar 24, I have had no freezes or reboots. Didn't do anything but wait it out.


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## danwenz (Feb 28, 2008)

Ok, the chatter seems to have decreased lately. Does this mean that everyone's machines are rebooting and freezing less frequently? I don't remember a reboot since both of mine restarted during American Idol last week. Does anyone have an explanation why we may be seeing an improvement?


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

Some areas were having problems with Fox Locals.


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## danwenz (Feb 28, 2008)

After two weeks of zero reboots and freezes, both of my units rebooted yesterday and one froze multiple times.

I noticed that DirecTV 'pushed' content to my Tivo Thursday/Friday. I'm wondering if this 'pushed' programming (found in Directv Central) may be the cause of our problems. The content was a Masters preview and one about BMW autos.


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## rock_doctor (Oct 22, 2000)

Same here, when the image pixelates it will do so on both of my series 2 units at the same exact time (i proved this three times). IMHO it does have to do with DTV. They are sending something in the sat stream that the series 2 units cough on. I am also now seeing more frequent reboots on both units. Not often but maybe once every two weeks. It is not power related nor temperature related.


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## bmillham (Dec 10, 2005)

rock_doctor said:


> Same here, when the image pixelates it will do so on both of my series 2 units at the same exact time (i proved this three times). IMHO it does have to do with DTV. They are sending something in the sat stream that the series 2 units cough on. I am also now seeing more frequent reboots on both units. Not often but maybe once every two weeks. It is not power related nor temperature related.


I had been having this problem for some time on my HDVR2. I narrowed the problem down to the second input from the sat. I tried swapping the cables, but the problem remained on input 2. I finally turned off input 2, and my HDVR2 (6.3f) has been fine since.

I was thinking that the second input was bad, so I tried transplanting the drive into my fathers old SD-DVR40. It would boot up, but complained about a hardware failure, and would not let me watch any saved content. It also didn't like my access card, and because of the error, I didn't want to have the receiver activated with my card, since I didn't know if the DVR40 was truly compatible with the HDVR2.

So I'm back to one input on the HDVR2. I really miss 2 inputs, so I'm thinking of upgrading to HD (I plan to get a HDTV sometime this year anyways)

I'll really miss my beloved Tivo when I do switch, but without 2 inputs, the Tivo just isn't doing the job for my anymore...

Anyone know if I can get my HDVR2 drive to work in the SD-DVR40? (I upgraded the HDVR2 a few years ago to a 160GB drive)

Thank all!


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

The problem with pixelating and Sat Input 2 is usually due to using both S-video and composite video. If you remove the S-video, the problem goes away. It sounds strange, but it works.


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## bmillham (Dec 10, 2005)

wscannell said:


> The problem with pixelating and Sat Input 2 is usually due to using both S-video and composite video. If you remove the S-video, the problem goes away. It sounds strange, but it works.


I only use the Svideo out on mine, the RCA is not connected.

When the problem first appeared, I did notice that I only had noticed the problem when my stereo receiver was turned off (recordings would skip or the HDVR2 would reboot when the stereo was off) The problem got worse, and now it doesn't matter if the stereo is on or off. I'll try to switch to just using the RCA out for a test.


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## ratbrain (Sep 10, 2003)

i've been having this problem for months. was using s video to flat panel and composite to vcr. unplugged the s video and switched the composite straight to tv. so far, havent seen anymore pixelation this afternoon. btw, my problem was with espn.


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## aixrocks (Apr 22, 2008)

I have an RCA Series 2 DVR 80 that is now at 6.3f-01-2-121 level. Previously, it would reboot / lockup occasionally, but starting this past weekend, it was particularly bad.

I had the DirecTV branded Tivo (R10) of this same receiver in my bedroom last year and lost it due to a bad HD (and took the deal to "upgrade" to the DirecTV DVR -- which functionally is OK, but Tivo is a much cleaner and easier to use interface -- especially if wanting to switch between the dual tuners).

I wish I had looked for this forum last year, but I had been thinking I was losing my DVR80 due to HD failure (which is still possible), but based on what I'm seeing, I now think it may be more software related than HD related. Now wondering if it is _better_ to keep the phone line connected for the time being to get potential fixes to this or just try to cut bait now and try to survive on 6.3f that I've got.

Is there anyway to rollback a version or be able to tell when an update has been applied?


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