# HR10-250 says account closed after drive upgrade



## ibroussard (Dec 18, 2005)

Yesterday I decided to replace the original hard drive in my HR10-250. I was seeing many of the symptoms of drive failure, and I wanted to increase the capacity. It was running 6.3e. I bought a Seagate 500GB DB35 drive and used the latest copy of MFSLive to do a disk to disk copy, including copying my recorded programs. MFSLive ran to completion but reported two errors on the old drive. From looking at the partition layout, it looks like at least some of the bad spots on the old drive are in the OS and application code partitions.

When I installed the new drive and booted, it went into a "Welcome...", "Almost there...", GSOD loop. It only stayed on the GSOD for a few minutes each time before rebooting automatically.

Since that didn't work, I decided to use dd_rescue to do a byte to byte copy to the new disk. Again, it ran to completion, but this time it reported 240 errors. I did not do an MFSAdd to expand the capacity of the new drive...yet. I reinstalled the new drive and rebooted. The first reboot resulted in it getting as far as "acquiring satellite...", but rebooted automatically at about 85%. It then went into the same loop as above. However, after a few iterations I noticed that it was staying on the GSOD for quite a while longer. After a while (maybe an hour?), it rebooted again. After the "Almost there..." screen displayed for what seemed like the normal amount of time, the next thing I got was the "searching for satellite 1 and 2" message that I would normally see during rain fade. I checked to see if my recorded programs were still there. The list looks like everything is there. I watched several hours of recorded programs copied from the old drive with no problems. 

Now here's where the problem is. When I try to watch Live TV, I get a message saying that my account needs to be activated by going to the D* website or calling D*. When I check the system info, the following things look odd...

Version number -- b-firefly-takehome/2007.07-30-0180 
Account status -- Account closed, call 1800-DIRECTV 
Service level -- A:- 
Capacity -- 30 HD or 200 SD hours (expected this since I didn't expand after dd_rescue) 
Tuner list -- all of them were marked "not enabled" 

Everything else looked normal. I also verified that my access card number was correct. 

I tried going to System Test > Audio. When I selected Audio, it immediately rebooted. When it came back up, it was at the same "searching for satellite 1 and 2" message. 

I called D* to tell them that my account was showing as closed (but didn't tell them about the new drive, etc.). The CSR said she sent an activation signal to fix the problem. That didn't help so she said to do a reboot. That didn't help either, but I haven't called back to tell them. FYI...my other DirecTivo boxes (non-HD) are working fine, so my account really isn't closed.

Any ideas? Is it possible for D* to force a software upgrade/download that would refresh the current version? I know that some of the bad spots on the original drive were in either the OS or application code partitions, so I somehow need to get that fixed on my new drive.

Thanks,
Ira


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Usually forcing a reset authorization from the DIRECTV website or by way of CSR has worked in the past.

Cheers,
Tom


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

Have you tried forcing a call to the mothership?


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Duh! Of course. Hope that works

Tom


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## ibroussard (Dec 18, 2005)

I have forced a call. It was successful. I then did a reset/reboot but the problem continues. I've called D* three times tonight. They have sent an activation code, inactivated my account then reactivated it, etc., but still no help, even after a reset. The last technician said the problem is caused by Tivo not correctly activating the service as a result of the forced call. She suggested I give it over night to clear up. Maybe I will try forcing a call again, too. She said I may have to do a clear and delete, which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid.

Any ideas why my version is showing up as b-firefly-takehome/2007.07-30-0180 instead of 6.3e like it did on the old drive? Also, what does a service level of "A:-" mean? My other DirecTivo (a non-HD Samsung box) has a service level of "P:-". I wonder if this is trying to tell me something. I don't think the old drive had "P:-", but I'm not sure.

Last, how do you force a reset authorization from the D* website? I looked for it but didn't see anything.

Thanks,
Ira


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Here is the link: http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/mydirectv/mysystem/mySystemResendAuthorization.jsp

Good luck,
Tom


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## ibroussard (Dec 18, 2005)

Tom,

Thanks. I will give it a try.

Regards,
Ira


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

I think you'll at least need to perform a "clear and delete everything". If that doesn't solve it, then you need to re-image your Tivo with a clean image file ....
http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/instantcake.cfm


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## ibroussard (Dec 18, 2005)

I downloaded a copy of InstantCake a few days so I would have it as a last resort. I really want to keep my recorded programs so I haven't used it yet, or tried a "clear and delete".

Before I call D* back, I'm wondering if they can force a software download and upgrade regardless of the version that is currently running. I'm curious as to why my version number shows something wierd, and if a forced software download/upgrade can resolve my problems.

Thanks,
Ira


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## ibroussard (Dec 18, 2005)

One other question...when were the Now Playing list folders and sort capabilities added? I just realized that both are missing on this new drive. It doesn't even have the comment at the bottom of the list about how it is currently sorted.

I wonder if somehow the machine is using the wrong bootpage and picking up an old version of the software. I bought this box off ebay early this year. I never checked to see if it was hacked or not.

Thanks,
Ira


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## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

ibroussard said:


> One other question...when were the Now Playing list folders and sort capabilities added? I just realized that both are missing on this new drive. It doesn't even have the comment at the bottom of the list about how it is currently sorted.
> 
> I wonder if somehow the machine is using the wrong bootpage and picking up an old version of the software. I bought this box off ebay early this year. I never checked to see if it was hacked or not.
> 
> ...


Folders came with 6.3


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## ibroussard (Dec 18, 2005)

I had folders and sorting on the old drive. I wonder if during the GSOD I got when I put the new drive in, the software decided to revert back to an older version in an attempt to fix the problem. If that's the case, then maybe at some point soon, the software will decide that it needs to upgrade me to 6.3e (again), which would overlay the "bad" 6.3e version and maybe resolve my problems.

Pipe dream or possibility?

For grins, I may change the bootpage on the old drive, put it back in, and see if I get the wierd version without sorting and folders. If it does, that may explain some things.

Regards,
Ira


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## CJTE (Sep 18, 2007)

Verify the DVR service is on your acct... (Check to see if its in the programming section).
Also, call and ask to talk to technical, then ask to have the DVR service removed and re-instated


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## ibroussard (Dec 18, 2005)

I used InstantCake last night on a spare (new) Seagate drive I had laying around. Except for the fact that this drive doesn't have any of my previous recordings on it, everything is back to normal, running 6.3e. No unexpected reboots yet. No stuttering, hangs, etc. This drive isn't "DVR-optimized" (but it is fairly new) and you can really tell the difference in the level of noise the drive makes when compared to both the original drive and the new Seagate DB35 drive.

I still have the old/bad drive and the new drive that contains the dd_rescue attempt from the old/bad drive. I'm not giving up on saving the previous recordings yet. I have a few things I want to try.

Regards,
Ira


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## diagonal (Feb 18, 2007)

ibroussard said:


> I still have the old/bad drive and the new drive that contains the dd_rescue attempt from the old/bad drive. I'm not giving up on saving the previous recordings yet. I have a few things I want to try.


If a piped backup/restore and dd_rescue failed, you may need to bite the bullet and hack your box to get your shows. There's a thread on another forum by scramblethis, which contains the homebrew kernel you'll need to do this.


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