# Bug Report L180 - Gray "x" screen of death



## tgerrish (Jan 20, 2004)

The gray "x" screen of death still is with us even with the latest L180 software update. I got this watching CBS-HD last night. Not long before the "x" and reboot, I was testing the new stretch (scaling types) in 4x3(1&2) and 16x9 modes using the "*" button on the remote to switch from normal, zoom, stretch etc. for each mode.

My equipment: Dish 500 (dual legacy LNBs for 110 & 119) & 300 (61.5) with SW64 switch; 921, 501 & 301 receivers.


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## Jim Parker (Aug 12, 2003)

My wife says she has seen the 921 reboot twice since L180 installed. I don't know the exact details, but she was just watching a sat channel.

Two reboots in 4 days is worse than it was, I use to get a reboot every week or two. The 921 was rebooted with a "pull the plug" after L180 downloaded.


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## lex61564 (Feb 10, 2004)

I got the gray screen also when navigated in and out of DVR events,


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## Cheezmo (Feb 5, 2004)

I just had my first one. It occurred at 11:20pm

An OTA timer was recording from 10:35 -> 11:40.

I was watching a recorded movie.

Grey checkerboardy screen with small X, Reboot. Dish logo. Aquiring Data, came up live on HBOHD. My timer restarted (I'll have the show in 2 pieces with 4-5 minutes missing in the middle I guess).


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## TV Director (Feb 14, 2004)

Since I've gotten my 2nd 921 8 weeks ago I've been fairly pleased with the performance. It was much more stable and actually hardly ever re-booted, that I know of. Since L-180 though, I've had numerous spontaneous appearences of the dreaded X and its subsequent re-boot. Usually it happens when I'm not even playing with it, just viewing. I know we all have to be patient with this new technology, but stability-wise this is a step backwards!


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## gsalem (Feb 4, 2004)

Yes. I too get the X screen of Death more often with the newest download.
One time I was doing a search. Every other time, it just watching the 
satellite channels in live mode. 

Goof - X turns up. 

Dish should forget the corner cases and get regular TV watching stable!


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

gsalem said:


> Yes. I too get the X screen of Death more often with the newest download.
> One time I was doing a search. Every other time, it just watching the
> satellite channels in live mode.
> 
> ...


I dunno - it seems like the consensus is that it's mroe stable. What bothers me is that some people are seeing more trouble. I wonder if these people also have OTA problems?

It just seems to me that SO much of the trouble is with the 921 OTA tuner, either directly or indirectly.

I guess Dish will probably disable THAT too and say it was for future use.


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## Cheezmo (Feb 5, 2004)

Well, Matt Stevens just reported on AVS Forum that we will never see guide data for OTA stations as Dish's plans are to just stabilize the 921 and move on. He claimed it was not a rumour, but who knows. Wouldn't surprise me.


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## Dan L. (Mar 18, 2004)

I talked to C.J. Monday about when we will get OTA guide info and he says it is to be a feature added by the end of summer. He and Mark Duffy both said no one had even asked about not having guide info.

Dan


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## Jim Parker (Aug 12, 2003)

SimpleSimon said:


> I wonder if these people also have OTA problems?


I don't have OTA set up (no channels here that broadcast digital) and L180 is less stable for me.


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## FarNorth (Nov 27, 2003)

I agree. I've had 2 random reboots while watching and who knows how many more. I also have a number of short recordings and recordings that are split into halves.


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Jim Parker said:


> I don't have OTA set up (no channels here that broadcast digital) and L180 is less stable for me.


Well, so much for that theory.


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## H2OSkier (Jan 20, 2004)

Just had my first reboot with 180 tonight. I was just watching HDNet and poof gray screen.

Ken


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## guruka (Dec 27, 2003)

Now, after having spent over a week with L180 (and two weekends) I can say that my 921 is rebooting itself almost as much as before L180 <sigh>

Whose sig said 'a reboot a day keeps trouble away?' Well, I've taken to manually doing a front panel button soft boot every morning just so that I can prevent seeing that gray X Windows crash screen while I'm watching evening programming or recorded events.

Geez. . . I really hope Eldon gets this fixed! Even though one memory leak was eliminated, I suspect there are others remaining.

.....G


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## MattG (Dec 31, 2003)

I've seen the G.S.O.D twice with L180 while watching a recorded show.


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## FarNorth (Nov 27, 2003)

I had 2 reboots yesterday. First, in the morning I was watching a recording I had made. I was trying to access the menu when it went transparent, the grey X screen showed transparent over the top and it locked. I did a power off reboot but it wouldn't acquire the satellites so I finally unplugged it, waited about 20 minutes, plugged it back in and it worked fine. Then, last night I was watching HBO SD and here came the grey X screen again.

From the looks of interrupted and missed timers, I must be averaging 2-3 reboots a day.


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## Slordak (Dec 17, 2003)

My significant other reported that she had a gray screen crash the other morning while watching NBC (WMAQ-DT) OTA. All she did was apparently turn the 921 on, tune to 005-01, and while she was watching the morning news, the channel went dead and the receiver then showed the gray screen and eventually rebooted.

She was not using the stretch modes, a lot of channel flipping, or any other more complex controls. This was the first use of the receiver in a number of hours (since it wasn't being used over night).


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## TV Director (Feb 14, 2004)

I did a manual group recording of HBOHD last Sunday to record Sopranos and Deadwood in one recording. First...Sopranos got cut off 5 minutes from the end and never resumed recording (if it was indeed a re-boot). Second...Deadwood NEVER recorded. Third...the program after Deadwood that I recorded for extra padding never recorded. Here's where it gets interesting...on the playback list all 3 shows were listed. Sopranos had a record time of 60 minutes (even though it only got about 50 on the disk). Deadwood had a record time of 60 minutes (even though NONE of it recorded). And, get ready...the third program had a record time of -2465 seconds (yes, that's MINUS 2465 SECONDS). :nono2: Oh yeah...while watching playback of what did record, I got the dreaded X reboot, too. :bang Anyone else out there have a similar recording experience? 


-Hanging in there, and trying to keep my sense of humor... :icon_stup


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Reboot once Monday evening since L180. Just watching OTA local channel in delay mode.
Lots of background recording and delay mode watching skip aheads last evening with no reboots.

Must be related to the always on record buffer as no apparent pattern is present with manual activity or no manual activity.


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## metallicafreak (Jan 20, 2004)

TV Director said:


> I did a manual group recording of HBOHD last Sunday to record Sopranos and Deadwood in one recording. First...Sopranos got cut off 5 minutes from the end and never resumed recording (if it was indeed a re-boot). Second...Deadwood NEVER recorded. Third...the program after Deadwood that I recorded for extra padding never recorded. Here's where it gets interesting...on the playback list all 3 shows were listed. Sopranos had a record time of 60 minutes (even though it only got about 50 on the disk). Deadwood had a record time of 60 minutes (even though NONE of it recorded). And, get ready...the third program had a record time of -2465 seconds (yes, that's MINUS 2465 SECONDS). :nono2: Oh yeah...while watching playback of what did record, I got the dreaded X reboot, too. :bang Anyone else out there have a similar recording experience?
> 
> -Hanging in there, and trying to keep my sense of humor... :icon_stup


My recording of sopranos was cut off too at 47 minutes I believe (right when carmela was thrown in the pool).
Odd.


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## H2OSkier (Jan 20, 2004)

My recording of Deadwood was cut short, but I'm not sure by how long. I found the next showing and will try again. I hate it when I miss the ending 

Ken


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## Big D (Aug 19, 2002)

Weird, my recording of Deadwood was cut short. What in the world could have caused us to have this happen on the same program?


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## Jim Parker (Aug 12, 2003)

I had only 50 minutes of Deadwood also.

Yeah, I know, I'm leaving myself wide open with that statement. :lol:


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## ggw2000 (Dec 22, 2003)

Jim Parker said:


> I had only 50 minutes of Deadwood also.
> 
> Yeah, I know, I'm leaving myself wide open with that statement. :lol:


Need to check my "Deadwood" recording when I get home  .


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## TV Director (Feb 14, 2004)

metallicafreak said:


> My recording of sopranos was cut off too at 47 minutes I believe (right when carmela was thrown in the pool).
> Odd.


That is EXACTLY the same point in the broadcast where I lost my recording, too! I had to watch the west coast feed to see how she ended up in the pool. Hey Mark...could this be some sort of common link where-by different 921's across the country malfuntion at the very same moment? What exactly happened at 9:47pm Eastern that could've triggered this?


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

Ok, this is HIGHLY bizarre. My recording of The Sopranos is complete, but my recording of Deadwood also cuts off at the 49 minute mark.

For what it's worth, the episode repeats tonight, but I have no idea what could have caused this...

I have sent in a report to the developers about this. First time I've ever seen anything like it.


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## conner65 (Jan 26, 2004)

The exact same thing happened to me Sunday night. I have the Sopranos and Deadwood set on different timers w/ a 10 minute padding on Deadwood. Watched the last 5 minutes on the 501.


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## conner65 (Jan 26, 2004)

Also, I only got 78 minutes of an off air recording on the WB this past Wed when the timer was set for 2 hours.


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## Cheezmo (Feb 5, 2004)

Had a GSOD tonight watching a recorded OTA show. No recordings were taking place at the time (thank goodness!).


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## Big D (Aug 19, 2002)

If anyone is counting, I got another GSOD last night while watching a soccer game on HDNet. Happened after about 30 minutes of watching the program and nothing else was going on.

As far as I can tell, L180 is no better than L149, I still get ALL of the same bugs/failures I got before.


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## David_Levin (Apr 22, 2002)

My Sunday night Sopranos was ok, but was recorded from 148. I wonder it that made a difference?


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

My recordings were from 110 - channel 9456 (9460? - whatever the HBO-HD channel is on 110), not channel 9440. That's an interesting point.


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## Big D (Aug 19, 2002)

Was it only those of us that had both Sopranos and Deadwood recording that experienced the cutoff of Deadwood? Anyone record just Deadwood and have it not cutoff?


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## H2OSkier (Jan 20, 2004)

<raises hand> ... Yes I only had Deadwood set to record and it was cut short.

Ken


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## David_Levin (Apr 22, 2002)

I only had Sopranos set up (overlapping timers with Alias) - I get Deadwood on Thursday.


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## Big D (Aug 19, 2002)

Well it appears that something embedded in the Deadwood signal caused the 921 to stop it's recording at the point we all saw. Now that is weird and it will be interesting to see how/if Eldon will try to emulate that from England.

Anyone have any ideas as to what was the cause? (It sure wasn't to censor foul language !!)


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## ggw2000 (Dec 22, 2003)

H2OSkier said:


> <raises hand> ... Yes I only had Deadwood set to record and it was cut short.
> 
> Mine was 49 minutes also  . Tried it again last night and had a split recording  that did not add up to 60 minutes. Thankfully I see the episode I want is on SD HBO tonight and I will try again dang it.. Gerry


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## DHall (Apr 29, 2004)

I was watching Deadwood on my 811, and the signal cut off at the time your recordings stopped. It came back on about a minute later. The picture just froze. I switched to channel 300 and it was fine. Hope this helps explain it.

Dave


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

Thanks DHall - and welcome to DBSTalk! :hi:


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## leemathre (Sep 25, 2003)

I had Deadwood set to record last night. It showed in the list of recorded events but with a length of 0 and of course nothing was recorded. Did anyone successfully record Deadwood last night?


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

GSOD pattern to report-

I get them on Tuesdays between 8:30 and 9:30 PM. 

Curious, eh?

Prior to that pattern I had one in March on a Thursday.

Now that I've reported this, maybe next week it will come on Monday, just to keep me guessing. Mark- Is it possible that E* is triggering the GSOD? hmmmmm...


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## BroncoFan7 (Feb 5, 2004)

I recorded it from HBO-HD, and I got the full 60 minutes, but I will say my system had the Grey X crash about 20 minutes prior to Deadwood starting.


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## TV Director (Feb 14, 2004)

To Lee...I successfully recorded Deadwood from HBOHD on Sunday evening.


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## leemathre (Sep 25, 2003)

TV Director said:


> To Lee...I successfully recorded Deadwood from HBOHD on Sunday evening.


Thanks, I guess this time it was just my wonderful 921 that had the problem.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Just logged another GSOD at 1AM Thursday, 9 days from the last one.

No pattern, I was just watching a DVR recording and the tuner was last set to OTA PBSHD channel. It was about 30 minutes into the program and I had just finished skipping ahead about 6 x 30sec. skips when the last one went GSOD.


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## David_Levin (Apr 22, 2002)

You say 9 days between reboots?

Are you verifying that there aren't others when your not using the box?

I still think I'm getting reboots every few days.


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## FarNorth (Nov 27, 2003)

I get reboots just about every day. Sometimes during recordings, sometimes when the machine is just sitting idle. It happens about 1:30 am EDT which is 9:30 pm in Alaska. We were watching a DVD on Monday and the lights blinked out and came back on. Tuesday, we were out and had an interrupted recording. Last night, we were watching a recorded HD movie from HDNet and during normal playback with about 15 minutes to go, here came the grey X.


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## Slordak (Dec 17, 2003)

Honestly, I don't see how anyone can be going 9 days between reboots. My 921 can't manage more than 2 or 3 days, and at several points in times (with L180) has crashed multiple times in the same day. Just because you weren't using it when it died and they've done a better job of hiding when this happens doesn't mean that it's not actually taking place.

My significant other constantly rolls her eyes at the thing, and asks me, "Didn't you tell me they fixed the crashing bug? Why does it still crash all the time?".


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Not saying my 921 isn't doing a reboot behind my back, when I'm not present and it is in standby mode. I'm saying it has been 9 days since I have had the GSOD. If I'm not there and the 921 is in standby, there is no GSOD! If there is no blue light (old software) and I observe no split standby recordings, then as far as I'm concerned, it can boot all it wants as long as it behaves like it isn't rebooting. 

The GSOD is annoying because it disrupts viewing for 5 minutes.
The reboot during standby is annoying only if it causes a problem with a standby recording. 

If there are no symptoms of Reboot, then it isn't rebooting or if it is I don't care.

I'm saying that I have had no symptoms of reboot in 9 days. Is this explanation better?


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## David_Levin (Apr 22, 2002)

Don,
I see what your saying, but telling people the box goes 9 days between reboots may give new buyers a false impression of box stability (a more heavy duty user is going to see more of the reboots).


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## guruka (Dec 27, 2003)

My 921 reboots exactly once every day.

That's because I reboot it myself every morning. It prevents the memory leak(s) from causing spontaneous reboots at inconvenient times - like when someone is watching TV or during a recording 

Seriously, I have only had one non-scheduled reboot since I started doing this. Better to reboot it manually than have it reboot on its own. OTA viewing and recording is fine and the 921 pretty much works as expected since I've been doing this.

.....G


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

_"Don,
I see what your saying, but telling people the box goes 9 days between reboots may give new buyers a false impression of box stability (a more heavy duty user is going to see more of the reboots)."_

David-
Just to clarify. I said I went 9 days between * GSOD *. This doesn't mean I said it goes 9 days between reboots. If you have a 921 you should know the difference.

However, I repeat, I also do not see a symptom of a reboot in that time frame.

All reboots do not produce GSOD. All GSOD produces reboots. Get it?

guruka: Not a bad idea- I do this with two of my most used computers now, each morning. Keep us posted if it continues to work well for you.


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

DonLandis said:


> guruka: Not a bad idea- I do this with two of my most used computers now, each morning. Keep us posted if it continues to work well for you.


Funny, now that I have good versions of Windows (Win2K & XP), I don't reboot but maybe once a month.


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## David_Levin (Apr 22, 2002)

DonLandis said:


> _Just to clarify. I said I went 9 days between * GSOD *. This doesn't mean I said it goes 9 days between reboots. If you have a 921 you should know the difference._


_

OK, I see what you saying. To tell the truth I haven't differentiated between crashes that cause a GSOD and those that don't. I find both equivalently annoying._


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## Mark S. (May 14, 2004)

guruka said:


> My 921 reboots exactly once every day.
> 
> That's because I reboot it myself every morning. It prevents the memory leak(s) from causing spontaneous reboots at inconvenient times - like when someone is watching TV or during a recording
> 
> .....G


Sorry for asking this because it is probably very simple but could you be more specific as to how exactly you accomplish a manual reboot? (Sorry for being a noob...just got my 921 two days ago)

Does this involve simply turning off the unit and then turning it back on or is there more to it than that. Do I need to also pull the smartcard and re-insert it?

I have to say that so far in my very limited time of having the 921, it seems pretty stable and seems to do most of what I was looking for.

I hope to contribute to this forum often in the future.

Thanks for the help.


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Welcome aboard Mark S. 

There's 2 basic reboots: Hold the power button in for 10 seconds or pull the power plug out of the socket.

The "Off" state is really "Stand-by". Any piece of electronics that can be turned "On" from the remote can't be totally "Off" can it? 

Leave the smartcard alone unless told to mess with it. There ARE a FEW situations where a "full monty" reboot sequence is required where you pull plugs and cards and stand on your head and stick your finger in your ear, but with a little luck you'll not see them.


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## Mark S. (May 14, 2004)

Simon,

Thanks for the help!!! I always enjoy reading you and Mark L.'s posts. You both always seem to provide good info without pulling any punches. Thanks for always telling it like it is.

I love my 921 so far and my HD reception is unbelievable!!! It seems so far to do everything I was expecting it to do. Also seems a lot more stable than everyone seems to be making it out to be.

OTA reception is fantastic and I get 14 OTA local channels with an antenna installed inside my attic. My only gripe is no program info for these channels but I pay for DISH locals anyway so have the guide info if I need it. I also knew this was an area for improvement going into it so not upset.

So far...I'm very pleased with the unit. Don't beleive all the hype. Not as bad as some would make it out to be.


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## guruka (Dec 27, 2003)

SimpleSimon said:


> Funny, now that I have good versions of Windows (Win2K & XP), I don't reboot but maybe once a month.


Gosh, Simon. . . You mean if I run Windows 2K or XP I won't have to reboot my 921 any more? That's great! :lol:

.....G


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## guruka (Dec 27, 2003)

Mark S. said:


> Sorry for asking this because it is probably very simple but could you be more specific as to how exactly you accomplish a manual reboot? (Sorry for being a noob...just got my 921 two days ago)
> 
> Does this involve simply turning off the unit and then turning it back on or is there more to it than that. Do I need to also pull the smartcard and re-insert it?
> 
> ...


Welcome to the Official 921 Gamma Testers Forum, Mark! Nice to have you aboard.

There are three ways to reboot the 921 (Simon described 'em.)

1. pull the smart card out and re-insert.
2. hold down the power button for 4 seconds +.
3. Unplug the unit from the AC mains and then plug back in.

I use the "hold front panel on/off button for 4 seconds or more" method for the purpose described (i.e., daily prophylactic.)

I hope you enjoy your shiny new toy. I love mine.

.....G


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Mark S. said:


> Simon,
> 
> Thanks for the help!!! I always enjoy reading you and Mark L.'s posts. You both always seem to provide good info without pulling any punches. Thanks for always telling it like it is. ...


Gosh, thank you. I sincerely feel honored to be mentioned in the same sentence as Mark L. :bink:


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

_"Funny, now that I have good versions of Windows (Win2K & XP), I don't reboot but maybe once a month."_

Man, you must not do anything taxing on your computers!  I keep several systems running here, and the biggest machines, Sony vaio's Win XP and win 2000 P4 3.2Ghz level systems with 1 G memory all get rebooted once a day. When you run several applications open simultaneously and some of those do not release the memory properly, it catches up to you. I just started doing some network rendering here on two machines and found they must be rebooted prior to beginning a rendering task to keep the system running at top speed. I'm not talking MS word or Excel here. I'm working Sony Vegas, DVD Architecture, Photoshop, Soundforge, Inscriber, Boris Red level stuff where the CPU usage averages 70-100% most of the time. 
Now the difference is that the 921 is able to do this reboot on it's own but you don't have control of when. That would be the GSOD if it happens when you are watching. If it happens when you are not watching and when you are not even recording, then I can't see David's point in that when it does rebooting when I'm not there and doesn't affect my recording because it never shows up during a standby mode recording just is not the same. Therefore, a forced reboot say as I'm getting ready for an evening of watching TV would not be a bad idea.


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## JM Anthony (Nov 16, 2003)

SimpleSimon said:


> Gosh, thank you. I sincerely feel honored to be mentioned in the same sentence as Mark L. :bink:


Yeah, but he's only been around the board for a few days. Give him time!! :lol:


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

JM Anthony said:


> Yeah, but he's only been around the board for a few days. Give him time!! :lol:


  :crying:

(I couldn't find a roll-over-and-die or shot-dead smilie)


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

DonLandis said:


> _"Funny, now that I have good versions of Windows (Win2K & XP), I don't reboot but maybe once a month."_
> 
> Man, you must not do anything taxing on your computers!  I keep several systems running here, and the biggest machines, Sony vaio's Win XP and win 2000 P4 3.2Ghz level systems with 1 G memory all get rebooted once a day. When you run several applications open simultaneously and some of those do not release the memory properly, it catches up to you. I just started doing some network rendering here on two machines and found they must be rebooted prior to beginning a rendering task to keep the system running at top speed. I'm not talking MS word or Excel here. I'm working Sony Vegas, DVD Architecture, Photoshop, Soundforge, Inscriber, Boris Red level stuff where the CPU usage averages 70-100% most of the time.
> Now the difference is that the 921 is able to do this reboot on it's own but you don't have control of when. That would be the GSOD if it happens when you are watching. If it happens when you are not watching and when you are not even recording, then I can't see David's point in that when it does rebooting when I'm not there and doesn't affect my recording because it never shows up during a standby mode recording just is not the same. Therefore, a forced reboot say as I'm getting ready for an evening of watching TV would not be a bad idea.


Actually, I DO drive my machines pretty hard - although not with video apps. Maybe the difference is I run stable applications? I dunno. In any event, CPU utilization wouldn't be an issue (unless they're overheating). Anywho - we're off-topic.

You make a good point - if Eldon can't figure out how to stabilize the 921, they should at least give us a new event type called reboot (like PVR, VCR, Remind, Tune) so we could reset the box on our OWN terms, and as often as we wanted.


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## Mark S. (May 14, 2004)

JM Anthony said:


> Yeah, but he's only been around the board for a few days. Give him time!! :lol:


Actually I've been following this thread for a little longer than that. Mark and Simon's posts though not always flattering to the 921 were a big reason why I decided to go ahead and get it.

Very pleased so far in my limited experience. Looking forward to the next software update but decided better than to hold my breath waiting. :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: Not a dark enough shade of blue to show what I might look like if I did. :nono2: :nono2:


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

Hmmm. E* are you listening? How about checking whether to see if any timers are active at 4am and then triggering a reboot daily..... Would this stop a lot of problems by flushing out memory leak problems?


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

2 of the remaining memory leaks are fixed in L182. Reboots should become less frequent now. (I haven't had one in 5 days).


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