# 721 needs help



## boy654 (Dec 21, 2006)

My setup is Dish 1000 and DP Seperator to a 721 and another DP seperator to 921. After losing power for several hours, the 721 is stuck on 678. Signal strength and check switch are fine. I swapped the 921 with the 721, the 921 works on either feed, 721 stuck on 678. Spoke to Dish and they will RMA a replacement for $65 including shipping. Before I do that, is there anything to get mine working again?

Tia


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## BNUMM (Dec 24, 2006)

boy654 said:


> My setup is Dish 1000 and DP Seperator to a 721 and another DP seperator to 921. After losing power for several hours, the 721 is stuck on 678. Signal strength and check switch are fine. I swapped the 921 with the 721, the 921 works on either feed, 721 stuck on 678. Spoke to Dish and they will RMA a replacement for $65 including shipping. Before I do that, is there anything to get mine working again?
> 
> Tia


How long did you wait? Sometimes when I lose power I have to unplug the 721 to do a reset. It usually takes 15 minutes to get back to normal. Sometimes I have to reset it a couple of times. If this doesn't help the receiver is dead.


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## boy654 (Dec 21, 2006)

I waited for over an hour, normally it will get video and the guide info 5-15 minutes. Even though I can watch recorded shows, could there be drive problem?


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## UGAChance (May 18, 2007)

The DP721 would reboot continuously if files on the hard drive were corrupted.

Totally unplug it for atleast a minute. Do a Check Switch to make sure the DP Separator is not hooked up backwards. One tuner is the master and the other is the slave. Check signal on both tuners to make sure both tuners have signal. Check even and odd transponders on all sats. Especially check 119 Trans 18 & 19.

If the signal bar bounces up and down then there is either a LNB or Tuner problem.

If nothing else works... The Flash Memory could have been corrupted and you may want to Reset To Factory Defaults to reset flash memory.


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## boy654 (Dec 21, 2006)

UGAChance said:


> If nothing else works... The Flash Memory could have been corrupted and you may want to Reset To Factory Defaults to reset flash memory.


I'm at that point.

1. Signal strength and check switch are fine for both tuners
2. Swapped feeds with 921, 921 works fine on either feed, 721 gets 678 either feed
3. Powered off for several hours, still gets 678

I'll try factory default and post the results

Thanks


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## boy654 (Dec 21, 2006)

UGAChance said:


> If nothing else works... The Flash Memory could have been corrupted and you may want to Reset To Factory Defaults to reset flash memory.


that did it, thanks


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## BNUMM (Dec 24, 2006)

I tried this and it didn't help. After I did this I tried to access instant weather from the menu and it immediately displayed the signal lost error and reset itself. I have just accepted the fact that as long as I have a DishNetwork DVR that it is going to have problems. I have had fewer problems with my 721 than with the 501 I had before that.


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## boy654 (Dec 21, 2006)

You have to run check switch after factory reset.


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## BNUMM (Dec 24, 2006)

I did. Now I have a new problem. I can't change the channels using the guide. If I try the menu to create a timer pops up. I have to back out of the guide and use the up or down arrow key to change channels.


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## flatus (Aug 18, 2006)

BNUMM said:


> I did. Now I have a new problem. I can't change the channels using the guide. If I try the menu to create a timer pops up. I have to back out of the guide and use the up or down arrow key to change channels.


When my kids were smaller, they would get hold of the 721 remote and mash all the buttons. This would get the 721 confused and most of the buttons on the remote would stop functioning. A hard reset would clear things up.

After so much abuse  I got a replacement remote, a 6.2 i believe its called. This model needs to have a key inserted in its bottom, for the 721 its is the black key.
If this remote gets dropped, the little switch inside the remote that the black key positions will come out of place. Taking out the key, moving the switch to a different position, and reinserting the key will restore its functionality.


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## retiredTech (Oct 27, 2003)

My 721 went wacky last night. I had only 18 hours recorded (about 82 left) when it lost all recordings (100 left). 
It had some wacky characters where the "name of guides" should be. (example : "All Channel was" *o";e2 ect) 
It wouldn't change channels or actually record anything. 
I tried softboot... hardboot... smartcard pull... restore factory defaults... nothing worked.
So I did this: (which has been posted before by "ThomasTrain")

"There is a little trick for these 721 receivers that "might" work for you and it basically forces the unit to reinitialize the hard drive.

1) Unplug power from the unit and remove the cover
2) Unplug the hard drive ide cable that goes from the main board "at the hard drive (Do not remove the hard drive as this will break that little 'hard drive warraty' sticker, only unplug the IDE cable from the drive.
3) Plug the unit back in a wait for the failure message about the hard drive
4) Unplug power from the unit again and plug the hard drive IDE cable back in and replace the cover.
5) Finally, plug power back in a let it run for about 30 to 45 minutes.

This will force the unit to completely wipe the PVR partitions on the hard drive and rebuild and reformat them. 

WARNING: this procedue will ERASE all recordings and timers. One of my units did this to me and it resolved my problems with it.

The nice thing is that this doesn't void you warranty since we are simply using the recovery features that are build into the unit"

Now my 721 works... better than before it died!!!


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## flatus (Aug 18, 2006)

retiredTech said:


> My 721 went wacky last night. I had only 18 hours recorded (about 82 left) when it lost all recordings (100 left).
> It had some wacky characters where the "name of guides" should be. (example : "All Channel was" *o";e2 ect)
> It wouldn't change channels or actually record anything.
> I tried softboot... hardboot... smartcard pull... restore factory defaults... nothing worked.
> ...


Yep, I had the same problem (everything in gibberish) and applied the same fix about 2 years ago.


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