# pocketdish issues with 4.05



## jp2 (Oct 3, 2006)

I am getting inconsistent transfers of recordings to my pocketdish after the 4.05 update. Some of my recordings will transfer ok when I do them 1 by 1 but if I try and select 2 or more (and even just 1 on some of them) I don't get any status bar indicating time remaining. When I then try and cancel the transfer, it locks up requiring holding down the power button for several seconds. This is on a vip622. Any suggestions?
thanks,
jp


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Make Cold Reboot 622 and run disk diagnostics (DST-2 preferable).


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## Papa (Sep 29, 2002)

I was having this same problem after version 4.03. Come to find out, it was my laptop "chill pad" causing the problem. 

I saw an error pop up for a brief second one day and it said there was an unsupported USB device attached. So, I unplugged it and then tried to transfer video to the PD and it worked as expected. Then I plugged the cooler back in.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

Good idea. I was having this problem too and I have a cooler plugged into the back USB port. I'll unplug the cooler next time I try a download. Thanks for the info.


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## shortspark (Oct 25, 2006)

Did unplugging the cooler work? I ask because I have no cooler but found the same problem when trying to transfer several audio files (from Sirius). The thing got stuck with 3 min. 25 sec. showing and would not budge. I waited about 10 more minutes and nothing so I did a soft reboot. When I checked the PD, however, the files had indeed been transfered. Tonight I will try to transfer a movie and see what happens. I have the 4.5 software as well.

I did a diagnostic check and the phone lines and system components were fine. However, I checked the file uploads which were recommended (Kern.Drv, Disk, and "O"). I have no idea what these files are but when I tried to send them it said dialing failure. The options for sending are modem and earthnet and I have neither as far as I know, only phone land line which checked out fine. This is the only diagnostic check that failed and like I said, I have no idea what it is and probably has nothing to do with the PD transfer problem at hand.


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## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

Anyone having trouble?

Since L-4.03,04,05 the 622 will hard lock half way through a single show transfer.
I went to Acros and downloaded latest firmware for PD but it already had the latest from june 06.


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## mrplow (Dec 10, 2004)

I was told by dish not to use the PD w/622 because there is bug that causes the PD to lock up or the 622 lose all the recordings on the HD. They said they are working on the problem.


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## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

Thanks I didn't get the memo.


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## shortspark (Oct 25, 2006)

ssmith10pn said:


> Anyone having trouble?
> 
> Since L-4.03,04,05 the 622 will hard lock half way through a single show transfer.
> I went to Acros and downloaded latest firmware for PD but it already had the latest from june 06.


I was just about to write a simiar thread. Since the update the PD will simply stop about half way through. However, although the screen freezes and it appears no transfer is taking place, the recording is being made and captured. This happens if you record single or multiple items. It is very bothersome as not only do you not know when the recording is complete, you must soft reboot each time. I am away on a trip right now and won't be able to get to a computer very often but maybe we should email Dish or call them to see whats up. Oh, I did not see the post by MrPlow - I hope they fix it quick.


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## ac_burt (Feb 16, 2006)

I use my pd all the time with the 622 and I have never had an issue.


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## shortspark (Oct 25, 2006)

mrplow said:


> I was told by dish not to use the PD w/622 because there is bug that causes the PD to lock up or the 622 lose all the recordings on the HD. They said they are working on the problem.


I finally contacted technical support (via email) and they said they never heard of the problem. They wanted additional information concerning the receiver and that was it. Have other people who own the PD had similar problems?


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## Charise (Jan 25, 2004)

I haven't downloaded any content from my 622 to my PD in a few months, but I didn't have any problem then or any other time since I got the 622 in Feb. '06. I'll try tonight and let you know what happens.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

Sorry for the delay in responding but I just got the time to test it again. Early last week when I attempted to download some recordings to the PD for the first time in a good while, I had exactly the same experience as described above. During the download of multiple recordings the progress bar stopped moving. After waiting for a while and pressing the Stop transfer button, the 622 hung and would not respond to anything. Doing a softboot brought it back and I found the selected recordings were in fact on the PD.

Someone suggested that having a laptop cooler plugged into the rear USB port could be causing problems. Today I first removed the laptop cooler and connected the PD to the front USB port. I was able to download recordings with no problems. I did about 5 transfers. Some were single recordings and some were multiple recording transfers. All worked without issue. I even used each of the available buttons during the transfer (View TV, Stop transfer and Help) without problems.

Then I plugged the laptop cooler cable back into the rear USB port and repeated all of my tests. I still had no problems. Either my problem is gone away or it is dependent on some variable which is not present today. It may come and go but I have no problem at this time.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

I'm not sure why we have two threads going on the same problem. For the other thread see:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=87912

I just re-tested my problem to see if the laptop cooler made any difference and posted the results in the other thread where it was being discussed.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Merged the threads... Lets hope a 3rd does not get created on the subject.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

Great! Thanks Ron.


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## JConly (Dec 6, 2006)

I have the same problem with my pd and I do not have a cooler for my unit. That leads me to believe the cooler is not the problem. I was suprised after reading this thread when I called tech support today they told me they have never heard of this problem.


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## shortspark (Oct 25, 2006)

JConly said:


> I have the same problem with my pd and I do not have a cooler for my unit. That leads me to believe the cooler is not the problem. I was suprised after reading this thread when I called tech support today they told me they have never heard of this problem.


I got the same response when I emailed them about this (as I indicated above). I don' t have a cooler either so that is not the problem. Maybe they fixed the bug or perhaps it is a hit or miss thing since it looks like Chuck's unit is working fine now. I am out of town until June 1 but I'll try it again as soon as I get home.


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## shortspark (Oct 25, 2006)

Charise said:


> I haven't downloaded any content from my 622 to my PD in a few months, but I didn't have any problem then or any other time since I got the 622 in Feb. '06. I'll try tonight and let you know what happens.


What were the results?


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

shortspark said:


> I got the same response when I emailed them about this (as I indicated above). I don' t have a cooler either so that is not the problem. Maybe they fixed the bug or perhaps it is a hit or miss thing since it looks like Chuck's unit is working fine now. I am out of town until June 1 but I'll try it again as soon as I get home.


Since there were no software updates between the time I had the problem and my last test, which was successful, I am more inclined to believe there is something that triggers the error to be present. It can't be fixed without something being changed. I don't really think I have seen the last of it. It was just not breaking the last time I tried it. Is your's a hard failure? That is, does it occur everytime you do a download or does it sometimes work without the receiver being hung and requires a boot to get it operational again?


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## shortspark (Oct 25, 2006)

ChuckA said:


> Since there were no software updates between the time I had the problem and my last test, which was successful, I am more inclined to believe there is something that triggers the error to be present. It can't be fixed without something being changed. I don't really think I have seen the last of it. It was just not breaking the last time I tried it. Is your's a hard failure? That is, does it occur everytime you do a download or does it sometimes work without the receiver being hung and requires a boot to get it operational again?


I have tried it twice and both times the soft boot was required, not a hard one. As you and others described, the 622 indicator would freeze half way through the download. The time remaining would freeze as well as the status bar and none of the controls would work such as stop transfer and view live tv.

The first time I was of course not aware of any problem and thought that I would loose the recording when I rebooted. However, when I went to the PD it was there. I should say they were there because I downloaded several items, including audio only from Sirius broadcasts I had saved. The second time I watched closely and only attempted one download at a time but the same thing happened. Accordingly, it is not a multiple download problem.

One guy a few posts back (MrPlow) said E* told him there was a bug and advised him not to download to the PD until the bug was fixed. They indicated all contents on the hard drive might be removed. I was not home when this post was made so I don't know what, if anything, is left on my hard drive. All I know is that the items I downloaded the second time around were still there. Well, when I get back home I'll fool with it again and hope MrPlow gives us a few more details aobut what they told him.


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## mrplow (Dec 10, 2004)

I was using 4.03 when my PD locked up my 622. When I rebooted I got the "you must reformat your HD" box. I called dish to see if there was any way to save all my DVR's. After being sent up the chain, I talked to someone that said there was no way to save my shows and this was a software bug that they were tring to fix and not to use the PD w/622 but the 942 was ok. When I asked why they did not let people know about the bug, he said they had no way of letting PD owners know. He said the only thing he could do was give me a one month credit on my bill because the bug wiped out the HD and I can't use the PD w/622. 
I got my bill and there was a credit for well over $100, all I had to pay $2.50 in taxes.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

When the PD download hung my 622 receiver (it did it several times) I never had to reformat the HDD. I would consider that a very serious problem. When were you told this? Did they give you any indication of when they expected a fix or did they say they would let you know when it was fixed? How will you know when it is safe to download to the PD again?


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## shortspark (Oct 25, 2006)

mrplow said:


> I was using 4.03 when my PD locked up my 622. When I rebooted I got the "you must reformat your HD" box. I called dish to see if there was any way to save all my DVR's. After being sent up the chain, I talked to someone that said there was no way to save my shows and this was a software bug that they were tring to fix and not to use the PD w/622 but the 942 was ok. When I asked why they did not let people know about the bug, he said they had no way of letting PD owners know. He said the only thing he could do was give me a one month credit on my bill because the bug wiped out the HD and I can't use the PD w/622.
> I got my bill and there was a credit for well over $100, all I had to pay $2.50 in taxes.


Thanks, that is good to know. I hope everyone that tries to download to the PD will keep this thread going so that we will know when the problem is resolved. I will try again when I return from my trip and cross my fingers for the best. Chuck, have you tried again since the last time it worked for you?


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## Charise (Jan 25, 2004)

shortspark said:


> What were the results?


Sorry, sorry, sorry! Just haven't had time to post, but I did do the "test" that night.

I downloaded about 12 hours of material at one time and had no problems. I watched TV while it was all downloading. I didn't see the screen telling me it was finished, but I wandered in and out of the area, so I don't know how long it took. When I checked to see if it was finished, it was, and everything had downloaded just fine. I have checked some of the recordings, and they look and sound fine too.

Sorry that didn't help those of you with problems. I hope whatever happened gets fixed for you fast!


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## shortspark (Oct 25, 2006)

Well, I'm back in town and this morning I took another shot at downloading from the 622 even though I knew there was a possibility of loosing everything on the HD. I recorded a movie early this morning and a few hours later downloaded it to the pocket dish. At first I had problems like I had never seen before. The instant I clicked on the movie the screen showed it had already downloaded. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that I forgot to turn on the PD because when I did the transfer went smoothly. Slowly, but smoothly. It must have taken 15 minutes to transfer a 2.5 hour movie and I think it use to take less than that but I never really timed it. Anyway, so far so good and maybe they fixed the bug.

Let us all post back again for a while each time we do a transfer just to make sure it is indeed fixed.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

How could they have fixed a bug without a software update? 15 minutes for a full length movie is right on target for download time.


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## shortspark (Oct 25, 2006)

ChuckA said:


> How could they have fixed a bug without a software update? 15 minutes for a full length movie is right on target for download time.


Yea, it is still 4.05 so they could not have "fixed" anything. Can't figure it out. I thought it took less than 15 minutes but I might have that confused this with the audio only downloads. I don't really put all that many movies or shows on the PD. Most of my downloads come from the Opera channel on Sirius. I record full operas which are around 3 hours long and then download them to the PD to take and listen on planes during travels. Since these are audio only files and take a smaller amount of space, they of course must take a smaller amount of time to download than the much larger video files. Well, I'll still experiment with different things and report back anything unusual.


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## fredmcgee (Apr 14, 2006)

In the interest of sharing:

I have never had anything connected to the usb port at the back (no fan, etc). Had mine since late '06. Problem presented soon after purchase.

The freeze-up is almost guaranteed if I attempt to transfer a show someone has started to watch and stopped midstream (in other words, when I select the show from "My Recordings," "Resume" is one of the clickable options). I first noticed this because on playback from the PocketDish, the point at which the file terminates is the point at which the show was paused/stopped on the 622.

It also freezes up more often if I am transferring a show whose running time is outside-the-norm or had a scheduling glitch. For example, one show was listed in the program guide as hourlong (but was in fact only 30 min).

Almost always happens if I'm transferring multiple shows selected, but don't know if that is a cause.

Wouldn't care AT ALL if only I could unjam the 622 without cycling the power.

Just d'loaded my first software update from the PocketDish site. We'll see if it helps or hurts.


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## shortspark (Oct 25, 2006)

fredmcgee said:


> In the interest of sharing:
> 
> I have never had anything connected to the usb port at the back (no fan, etc). Had mine since late '06. Problem presented soon after purchase.
> 
> ...


That's interesting, especially the part about the problem with a programed that has been resumed. I will have to experiment with that. I went to the download page and found that there has been no new downloads available since June 2006, at least for my model (500E). What model do you have? There is another thread going on right now on this very subject so you might want to check the information available there as well.


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