# Receiver swap preparation



## noclothes (Oct 25, 2011)

I'm a newbie.

I have a VIP 612, and am upgrading to a VIP922, to get the built-in Sling. (Can't even do a Sling accessory with my current receiver.)

To prepare for the receiver swap:

I know that I will lose all my recorded programs. Will I also lose my Timers?

Is it possible to back up the contents of the current receiver onto a hard drive, and then copy them back to the new receiver? If so, will it back up just the recorded shows, or also the Timers? Do I have to pay Dish the one-time fee to attach a hard drive, or is that only for "expanding" storage space, and not for backing up? If I attach a hard drive for purposes of backing up, will whatever's on it now be written over, or the drive reformatted, or can the material on the receiver just be added to what's already there, without disturbing the drive's present contents? Does it depend how the drive is currently formatted? (NTFS, FAT 32, etc.)

Thanks!


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

You do not have to lose all your recordings. Attach an external hard drive to your 612 and copy all the recordings to it.

You can simply attach it to the 922 and can play them directly off the EHD.

As for timers, I know the 722 and 722k can back up their timers to the remote for recovery on the replacement, but I'm not sure about the 612.

You may have to manually note all of them down and reprogram.


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## [email protected] Network (Jan 6, 2011)

The 612/922 no longer has a fee to activate the External Hard Drive services (it's already active on account with a VIP DVR).

You can transfer recordings from your 612 to an EHD, but the timers will not transfer. If you use an EHD, once the 922 is active on your account, hook up the EHD to it, and you will be able to view the recordings that you transferred to it.

When you hook up an EHD, it will require to be formatted, so you will lose anything that is on the EHD.

Here is some more info on the EHD requirements

http://www.dishnetwork.com/supportsection/setup-ehd


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## noclothes (Oct 25, 2011)

Thanks to both of you, this is tremendously helpful.

I've reviewed the VIP612 manual, and it doesn't mention anything about backing up Timers to the remote. Should I assume that there's just no way to back up the Timers?


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## [email protected] Network (Jan 6, 2011)

I'll confirm that there is no way to back up the timers to the remote with the 612


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

if dish will open structure of timer's file on both models, any coder would write a convertor - SW for that
but, no - it's a big 'secret' ...


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## Mike109 (Jun 28, 2010)

I’m going to have my 722k swapped & would like to know which settings I should write down from the old DVR so that I can properly set up the replacement unit.

About a year ago I had the new DVR swapped & the dealer went through several menus in order to set up the replacement at that time. I recall there was an Audio setting that came up which I never saw before & the dealer was not sure what to do, and I don’t know what he did. But I never that screen again.

Anyway I would like to make my swap as painless as possible & would appreciate any suggestions on what I should do.

I’ve read here that you can back up the timers to the remote, but cannot find any instructions in the User’s Guide or on the forum. Can someone please point me in the right direction for directions?

Thanks in advance.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Look/search for DIRT ppl posts here - I remember the process has been described in details a few times here (include our regular members).


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## Ray [email protected] Network (Dec 28, 2010)

In you don't want to lose your DVR recorded events, I suggest buying an external hard drive to transfer the recordings from the receiver to the EHD. It can be connected using a USB port on the receiver. It needs it own power supply, limited to 2 TBs, and single tier casing.

The setup on a replacement receiver is easier. You will be guided through all the sets on your TV screen in the order you need to perform the steps. Be sure to remove the cables from the rear of the old receiver to the new receiver 1 at a time, placing them in the exact spot on the new from the old. Once you power on the receiver, you'll be prompted to address the remotes (make sure to remove the TV 2 antenna from the old receiver - place on the new receiver) and then you'll be taken to the Point Dish Screen, run a Check Switch test, and download the new software and EPG. Once completed, you will have your programming back. The process takes about 20 minutes. If you have further questions, please let me know. Thanks.



Mike109 said:


> I'm going to have my 722k swapped & would like to know which settings I should write down from the old DVR so that I can properly set up the replacement unit.
> 
> About a year ago I had the new DVR swapped & the dealer went through several menus in order to set up the replacement at that time. I recall there was an Audio setting that came up which I never saw before & the dealer was not sure what to do, and I don't know what he did. But I never that screen again.
> 
> ...


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## gtal98 (Jan 30, 2011)

The 612 is not capable of backing up timers to the remote - only the 722k can do this (not even the regular 722).


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## Mike109 (Jun 28, 2010)

Are most replacement 722k DVRs new or refurbed?


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