# R15 took a poop



## CJTE (Sep 18, 2007)

...
R15-500 in my living room.
Blue power light is on. No ring. Doesnt respond to the remote.
Turned on the TV, no picture.
RBR
Gives me 'Welcome' and 'Please Wait'
Flashes as if its going to say 'Checking Disk'
Screen stays black.
RBR, same thing.
Unplug, wait a few minutes, plug it in
Same thing

Force a sw download
now its stuck on the download progress bar (even when it gets to 100 it just resets and starts again)

When the receiver boots up, the fan kicks on, but not the HDD. every couple of reboots, the HDD will end up spinning up for a bit, then it spins back down.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

Sounds like your hard drive took a poop.


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## CJTE (Sep 18, 2007)

That was my initial thought, however, the hard drive sounds smooth (no clicking, etc).

I want to take it apart and look inside, but I'd be the lucky one who's receiver got inspected when it got back to the warehouse and they'd fine me


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## LOCODUDE (Aug 8, 2007)

Yeah, not worth the risk........


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

It doesn't matter if its a HDD problem or problems with the motherboard and/or power supply because if either is bad your recordings are history.

If you don't want to extend your commitment and/or give DTV $20 for a replacement, you happen to have a 160Gb HDD with the proper interface kicking around, and you don't mind taking the cover off the unit (a no-no with leased equipment supposedly), you might try swapping the HDD and see what happens. From what I've read, the latest software will format and prep a native HDD automatically (if it's working, of course).


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

If you do try that (and I am not recommending it), you need a 160GB IDE drive (not sata). You can use up to a 250GB, but the R15 will only use 160 so anything bigger is a waste (unless you just happen to have a 250 laying around looking for a home).


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## red.bean.head (Feb 1, 2007)

Have you tried reformatting the hard drive? You can do that by pressing & holding the REC & Down Arrow on the front panel for about 30 sec at the boot up screens. Format may take an hour or more though but this may revive your box. Recordings lost but may be worth a try.


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## Huskie_2009 (Jan 12, 2009)

CJTE said:


> ...
> R15-500 in my living room.
> Blue power light is on. No ring. Doesnt respond to the remote.
> Turned on the TV, no picture.
> ...


Sounds similar to what happened to my R15. After a few reboots, it would finally show an "unable to start up... please unplug for 1 minute" message.
Got into the hidden test menu using some combination of holding buttons in on receiver during reboot ("Up arrow" and Select" ?).
From there, I was able to do many types of system tests. Mine failed the Temperature and Hard Drive tests. Even the drive reformat option failed in that menu.

I called it in and got an R22 as a replacement for the $20 S&H fee and 2 year agreement. The 2 year commitment is no big deal to us as we just had an HD upgrade 2 weeks ago. (Receiver, Dish, etc). The CSR even said that I would be getting an R15 as a replacement so I'm not sure why I got the R22.


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

Huskie_2009 said:


> I called it in and got an R22 as a replacement for the $20 S&H fee and 2 year agreement. The 2 year commitment is no big deal to us as we just had an HD upgrade 2 weeks ago. (Receiver, Dish, etc). The CSR even said that I would be getting an R15 as a replacement so I'm not sure why I got the R22.


Don't complain it is a better machine than the R15.....

R15s are good, R22s are "Gooder"


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

That stinks.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

dodge boy said:


> Don't complain it is a better machine than the R15.....
> 
> R15s are good, R22s are "Gooder"


I disagree. I MUCH prefer watching/using my R15's which respond instantly to remote commands, change channels quickly (with NO irksome gray screen), allow IR/RF remotes at the same time, and don't feature obnoxious ads in the program guide (to mention just a few issues).


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## LOCODUDE (Aug 8, 2007)

Yeah....However even with the level of quirkiness which the R22 exhibits, it is still by far the better receiver!!


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

ThomasM said:


> I disagree. I MUCH prefer watching/using my R15's which respond instantly to remote commands, change channels quickly (with NO irksome gray screen), allow IR/RF remotes at the same time, and don't feature obnoxious ads in the program guide (to mention just a few issues).


The only real thing I have an issue with is the grey screen, I wish D* would either:
1.) let us change it
or
2.) set the default to black.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

dodge boy said:


> The only real thing I have an issue with is the grey screen, I wish D* would either:
> 1.) let us change it
> or
> 2.) set the default to black.


It also sucks if you have an AM-21 and have to suffer along with gray bars and other assorted annoyances while watching a 4:3 show due to the fact that you can't change the format like even a lowly $59 Digital TV converter box lets you do.... ($19 if you use your coupon like I did)

The ONLY thing I like about the R22 is 30 skip and additional guide data. The extra capacity is OK but with all the DVR's I have I rarely need more than 100 hours each.


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

ThomasM said:


> It also sucks if you have an AM-21 and have to suffer along with gray bars and other assorted annoyances while watching a 4:3 show due to the fact that you can't change the format like even a lowly $59 Digital TV converter box lets you do.... ($19 if you use your coupon like I did)
> 
> The ONLY thing I like about the R22 is 30 skip and additional guide data. The extra capacity is OK but with all the DVR's I have I rarely need more than 100 hours each.


I have an Owned R15 at home, if your R22 is owned I'll trade you even.... just pay to ship the R22 to me and I 'll pay to ship the R15 to you. It's been in the closet since last Nov. PM me if interested...


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## CJTE (Sep 18, 2007)

Huskie_2009 said:


> Sounds similar to what happened to my R15. After a few reboots, it would finally show an "unable to start up... please unplug for 1 minute" message.
> Got into the hidden test menu using some combination of holding buttons in on receiver during reboot ("Up arrow" and Select" ?).
> From there, I was able to do many types of system tests. Mine failed the Temperature and Hard Drive tests. Even the drive reformat option failed in that menu.
> 
> I called it in and got an R22 as a replacement for the $20 S&H fee and 2 year agreement. The 2 year commitment is no big deal to us as we just had an HD upgrade 2 weeks ago. (Receiver, Dish, etc). The CSR even said that I would be getting an R15 as a replacement so I'm not sure why I got the R22.


Wish I'd known about that.
Wish Id've gotten an R22 too, lol.


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

CJTE said:


> Wish I'd known about that.
> Wish Id've gotten an R22 too, lol.


It's based upon how you get your locals, if they are MPEG4 and an MPEG2 receiver craps out you get an MPEG4 to replace it, that's what happened when one of my R15s died, I got an R22 to replace it through the PP.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

dodge boy said:


> I have an Owned R15 at home, if your R22 is owned I'll trade you even.... just pay to ship the R22 to me and I 'll pay to ship the R15 to you. It's been in the closet since last Nov. PM me if interested...


If I didn't have so much unwatched stuff on the R22, (and an AM-21) I'd seriously consider it!!! 

PS: You KNOW I own the R22 clunker.


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

ThomasM said:


> If I didn't have so much unwatched stuff on the R22, (and an AM-21) I'd seriously consider it!!!
> 
> PS: You KNOW I own the R22 clunker.


"Clunker" I love mine, best SD DVR I've owned.


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## LOCODUDE (Aug 8, 2007)

dodge boy said:


> "Clunker" I love mine, best SD DVR I've owned.


Indeed...........


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