# Has the Dishplayer 7200 been ECM'd?



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Not that I'm paranoid or anything like that, but I think my two dishplayers have been ECM'd. After four years of essentially reliable service, both units bit the dust within just a few days of each other. Too much of a coincidence for them both to die of old age that close together. Here's the story:

I have two 4 year old DPs, both 7200s. About two weeks ago, DP #1 woke up with a bad case of the chits, as follows:

- #1 reset itself and couldn't complete a d/l. It just hung at about 10%. I tried to turn it off with the remote and on the front panel and it wouldn't shut off. Then it started shutting itself down, but came back on, then off, then on and so on. Everthing I tried, smart card, unplug/replug - nothing worked. I could not even turn it off to try a code reset. Finally, after several days and no change, I took it offline.

- #2 I put it in service after about 6 months on the shelf. It came up beautifully, but then it had to get a d/l which I expected. It came back on fine - the s/w version was 122. The second day in service, it got the 123 d/l. A couple more days went by and the s/w stayed at 123 (124 is currently spooling) and everything was still 5/5.

This morning, I left the house for an emergency dental appointment and powered DP #2 down, thinking the 124 d/l might take if the unit was off. When I came home this evening, I turned it back on and it went straight to the "Connecting to WebTV" screen and immediately attempted to dial out to WebTV. Since I no longer have a landline, the call could not be completed and now I'm in a "Try Again" loop. Nothing I have tried has made any difference - smart card, unplug - nothing.

Update: While typing this, I unplugged DP #2 and left it off with no power for several minutes. When I plugged it back in, it powered down and stayed "off" until I turned it on with the remote. It came back on instantly, with full EPG and all other indicators and operations nominal. Recordings still there, timers intact and so forth.

Maybe I overreacted, but DP #1 is still DOA, nonetheless. :shrug:

Any confirmations or suspicions of an ECM against the DP?


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## BFG (Jan 23, 2004)

Oh geez, yes and there have already been discusions

here: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=30356

and here: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=30374

goodnight!


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Well, I had read both threads and did not see where an ECM on the DP was confirmed. Since I have a $100/m habit with E*, and my account is always in good standing, why did they zap my box(es)? 

This is a stupid way to do business.

What are my options to get my box(es) revived??? :whatdidid


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## Jacob S (Apr 14, 2002)

Your receivers may have been "zapped" by accident as this does happen to innocent people. I have had people come to me in the past telling me of such occurances (mainly with DirecTv but have heard it happening occassionally with Dish Network). In some cases the refuse to replace receiver stating that they MUST have pirated, customer switches to the other service provider. In other cases they replace the receiver free of charge without any questions knowing what happened.


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## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

Nick said:


> Well, I had read both threads and did not see where an ECM on the DP was confirmed. Since I have a $100/m habit with E*, and my account is always in good standing, why did they zap my box(es)?
> 
> This is a stupid way to do business.
> 
> What are my options to get my box(es) revived??? :whatdidid


Nick YOU? Upset with E???

The ECM reports appear legit, and boxes do get zapped by accident

Remember the time yeatrs ago where a D ECM went bad and somehow deauthorized ALL The D boxes accross the country?

D ended up authorizing everyone for everything then went back over nearly a week to straighten up the mess.

:hurah: Look hopw fast a loyal E customer can get upset :hurah:

call E and ask foir help, and do let us know the response


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Bob Haller said:


> Nick YOU? Upset with E???...Look hopw fast a loyal E customer can get upset


No, Bob, I'm not upset. Letting one's emotions take over in a crisis is not the way I operate, and doing so does little to resolve any problem. I won't join your little *****, moan & groan club. Being a person of considerable maturity and patience, I'll deal with this in a rational manner. If you think I think the way you think, I think you are wrong to think that way.

You and your chorus of out-of-tune fellow whiners will just have to screech without me.

You should know by now, I don't whine. Use this opportunity to learn from me.


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## stonecold (Feb 20, 2004)

Nick, Dps have be ecmed..... NO bs no lieing.

But yours dont sound ecmed.

Here is what you do to check

go to settings - diagnostics - Reciever info if your location id is 0000001 00000000 then you been hit with an ecm. 

Now if you cant get to the home screen to check those settings your can then do it this way press options 511 it will list webtv and reciver infomation if again check your location id make sure it looks normal and not a bunch of 0000000001 0000000000000

Also if you had been ecmed your boxes would only recieve 3 channels 1 *ptv 101 and 9900. Some reason dish with the 7x00s dont give you the channel 103 like ecmed boxes do. So 

Also one thing that is causing mayhem with my boxes is a couple of my dps were schedule to take the 1.24 update and then Dish network pull the 7x00 firmware from the satellite to keep people with ecmed recievers from repairing them. So until 1.24 goes wide spread the software is not going to be on the satellite like it usually is so they are acting a little funny lately.


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## stonecold (Feb 20, 2004)

Bob Haller said:


> Nick YOU? Upset with E???
> 
> The ECM reports appear legit, and boxes do get zapped by accident
> 
> ...


That was almost as bad as Bell Express Vue when they did there first ECM they knocked out some 70 % of there legit subs. there phones where packed and had to send down a fix via the satellite and ended up fixing all the hackers boxes too. Direct tv one was too funny as my nieghbor was watching a ppv movie and got real pist off when dtv would not refund him the money.


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## olgeezer (Dec 5, 2003)

I sold my 7200 to upgrade to an 811, the 7100 is still working, like a charm. Have you called tech support? Are the units dead? Try this on the unit. Do an option 511. When you turn it back on it should show a hardware failure. Turn off and unplug unit. Plug it in and do another option 511 and all should be well. This happened to my 7200 and i was fortunate enough to get a tech support fella that knew this was a false hard drive glitch.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

I called E* tech support yesterday (Saturday) and I dutifully went through the checks that "Barry" had me to perform, all of which I had already tried numerous times. Finally, we agreed that, after four years of being in-service 24/7, my beloved DP #1 had finally died.

Barry offered to (a) ship a refurb 7200 for $19.95 + shipping, or (b) if I signed up for the warranty there would be no charge for the unit, and shipping both ways would be prepaid. That was definitely a no-brainer.

I am very pleased and satisfied with the way Barry (and Dish) handled and resolved my call. I can't think of any other company or CE products that have that kind of support. (I wonder if RS would offer to replace my dead RCA a/v receiver. Since they wouldn't even replace the defective remote, I doubt it.

Thanks, Charlie. I remain your loyal sub, but please...do send us some more HD channels.

And my heartfelt thanks to all of you who offered suggestions, ideas and additional resources, including *DBSJedi* who sent me an email with some very good ideas. I'll keep all of your suggestions and resources in mind for next time. Unfortunately, because the machine would not stop cycling on/off/on, and could not be turned off without removing power, I was prevented from trying any other fixes, including code resets.

Thanks again!


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## DBSJedi (Mar 25, 2002)

Nick said:


> And my heartfelt thanks to all of you who offered suggestions, ideas and additional resources, including *DBSJedi* who sent me an email with some very good ideas. I'll keep all of your suggestions and resources in mind for next time. Unfortunately, because the machine would not stop cycling on/off/on, and could not be turned off without removing power, I was prevented from trying any other fixes, including code resets.
> 
> Thanks again!


Glad it worked out Nick! I wish my experience a week ago when calling Dish was as pleasant. The PTV disappeared on my Dishplayer 7100, so I called to inquire why (they told me last December they would not take that away from me due to reboots and other bad behavior from my DP in the past). After a total of 4 calls and 45 minutes on hold (their phone system kept disconnecting me whenever they would forward me to their tech support dept., so I kept on calling until the system did not disconnect me). Of course I was calling after 9pm, so the reps I were speaking with were perhaps not clued in on what the Dishplayer 7100 actually is (one rep insisted there is no such receiver.. "you must mean the 301".. it's sad when the customer knows more about their equipment than they do). Finally on my last call they eventually escalated my problem to their advanced tech support team and they added the code to my account that instantly appeared on my smartcard allowing free PTV as agreed upon last December.

For anyone that is curious what I suggested to Nick.. I will sumarize:
Join Dishplayer Explorer and download the Dishplayer Drive Utilities. If you have your original Dishplayer harddrive still (or one from a good working unit) this software can be used to clone the good disk to the bad. You will not be required to dialup MSN (which is useful for folks like me with no landline phone in the house). The clone can help alot of problems. I often use this software because my 30GB harddrive I use with my DIshplayer has a sector flaw that prevents the Dishplayer guide from being able to be written directly to the disk. Once a week I put in a smaller 7.8GB dishplayer harddrive, allow it to get the listings, then clone the smaller one to the bigger 30GB drive. This gives me another 8.5 days to completely fill up my 30Gb drive. Sooner or later I will just get a new 40GB harddrive or something and clone the smaller 7.8GB Dishplayer drive to the new one (one last time) and my cloning days will come to an end for the Dishplayer (I hope).


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

Nick said:


> No, Bob, I'm not upset. Letting one's emotions take over in a crisis is not the way I operate, and doing so does little to resolve any problem. I won't join your little *****, moan & groan club. Being a person of considerable maturity and patience, I'll deal with this in a rational manner. If you think I think the way you think, I think you are wrong to think that way.
> 
> You and your chorus of out-of-tune fellow whiners will just have to screech without me.
> 
> You should know by now, I don't whine. Use this opportunity to learn from me.


YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! You said what I normally feel, but am usually too polite to say......


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## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

Nick, Bob (Murdoch), and MANY others of us feel the same way about DISH. Yes, we have our problems with their equipment but, when we do (as Nick said), we deal with it in a rational manner. I think that is part of the "basher club's" (Bob Haller, head whiner) problem. They don't have the maturity and patience (and sometimes it does take a lot of patience dealing with large companies) that it takes to get the problem resolved. Or, in the case of some, they don't have the wisdom to leave the company if they are not happy with them.


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## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

Have enough failures, develop BAD attitude

It would be different if E learned from their mistakes, but later DVR boxes have more reported troubles....


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## finniganps (Jan 23, 2004)

Bill R said:


> Nick, Bob (Murdoch), and MANY others of us feel the same way about DISH. Yes, we have our problems with their equipment but, when we do (as Nick said), we deal with it in a rational manner. I think that is part of the "basher club's" (Bob Haller, head whiner) problem. They don't have the maturity and patience (and sometimes it does take a lot of patience dealing with large companies) that it takes to get the problem resolved. Or, in the case of some, they don't have the wisdom to leave the company if they are not happy with them.


Good comments. Folks who don't have the patience should stick with cable. They'll get a tried and true product with an inferior product, but it's STABLE. I'll stick with E*, I really like the product, and for me it's less expensive and a BETTER product than cable.


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## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

No Bob (Haller), it is not the number of problems you have, it is the way YOU deal with them. And, if you were as smart as YOU think you are, you would have left DISH a LONG time ago. No matter WHAT roadblocks got in the way (big trees, wife objections, money) *I* would have found a way to get rid of DISH and get another service if I were unhappy as you are with DISH.


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## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

Bill R said:


> No Bob (Haller), it is not the number of problems you have, it is the way YOU deal with them. And, if you were as smart as YOU think you are, you would have left DISH a LONG time ago. No matter WHAT roadblocks got in the way (big trees, wife objections, money) *I* would have found a way to get rid of DISH and get another service if I were unhappy as you are with DISH.


obviously you arent me Hey if you care to donate the money to remove ther tree my paypal account is [email protected]  :lol: :hurah: :grin: 

Had open house yesterday, agent thuinks a offer might be coming


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

> And, if you were as smart as YOU think you are, you would have left DISH a LONG time ago.


I think the only reason that he stays with Dish is so he can continue to post "smart" remarks here. Some people just love attention no matter what.



> Hey if you care to donate the money to remove ther tree


It would almost be worth it if you promised to NEVER darken the doorstep into this forum again.


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## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

Bob,

If you had not acted like such a moron throughout the last year, people _might_ be willing to help you (financially). I think that is highly unlikely now.


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## finniganps (Jan 23, 2004)

Bob Haller said:


> Had open house yesterday, agent thuinks a offer might be coming


Should be interesting to hear how the Dishmover works or doesn't for you when you move.

Bob - you really don't complain about E* in a constructive, patient manner.....we're not picking on you per se, but rather pointing out that you're pretty harsh when you complain about E*. I noticed that when we brought this up several weeks ago, you're posts toned down the whining....I think that's a good direction and I hope it continues. You use the E* products a lot, so if you can provide constructive feedback most of the time people wouldn't be on you if you OCCASIONALLY whine....heck we all do that at times.

Good luck with your house sale!


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## stonecold (Feb 20, 2004)

i think this thread has turn into pointless rambling.


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## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

Bill R said:


> Bob,
> 
> If you had not acted like such a moron throughout the last year, people _might_ be willing to help you (financially). I think that is highly unlikely now.


I seriously doubt ANYONE would donate money to remove a tree..... didnt you see the smiliers? I used all of them!

Calling me a moron is in bad taste and inappropiate. I guess you never noticed I dont knock other posters, except in jest. I attempt to discuss the issues.....

bill you are a :nono2:


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## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

finniganps said:


> Should be interesting to hear how the Dishmover works or doesn't for you when you move.
> 
> Bob - you really don't complain about E* in a constructive, patient manner.....we're not picking on you per se, but rather pointing out that you're pretty harsh when you complain about E*. I noticed that when we brought this up several weeks ago, you're posts toned down the whining....I think that's a good direction and I hope it continues. You use the E* products a lot, so if you can provide constructive feedback most of the time people wouldn't be on you if you OCCASIONALLY whine....heck we all do that at times.
> 
> Good luck with your house sale!


I am not moving I have another home for sale. I inherited it about 7 years ago when my mom died. its pretty nice, and in excellent condiotion completely remodeled. Its right by mc intyre square ad northway mall north hills of pittsburgh. heres a link. its small but good for a older person or single. 
Selling it will pay off our mortage and everything else For the first time in my entire life I will know what disposable income is! After its sold our money will be avilable for fun, utility bills and taxes. doing this will save us $139,000 in interest on our home which will be completely paid for

right now were broke I sunk everything in remodeling house for sale, new kitchen etc....

http://realestate.aol.realtor.com/F...aolrealestate&source=a2ankt1t1074&poe=realtor


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

Alright, let me see if I can summarize so we can get back to our lives here.... Bob hates E* because of buggy receivers yet refuses to drop the service. Most of us who are sick of the constant whining have long since added him and his ilk to our "ignore" lists where they only show up occasionally in quotes on other people's posts. If you are suffering blood pressure spikes due to his posts, then please remember that this "ignore" button exists and USE it.

In any situation, there is the problem and our reaction to the problem which has NOTHING to do with a potential solution. It is our reaction to having to actually expend mental energy dealing with the problem in the first place. 

Bob H. feels compelled to constantly harp on the same arguments over and over again. WE feel compelled to constantly snipe BACK at him out of frustration for having to read his complaints again. If E* is SO difficult to live with, then ditch it and ignore them (vote with your feet and run away from them). We, however, must do the same, add the frustrating voices to your "ignore" list and actually ignore them. Life is too short to try and have a rational conversation with an irrational personality (which I submit he is if he is suffering SO much pain, yet refuses to do anything drastic to get rid of the pain by switching providers).

Bob H., I harbor no ill will (well, there IS the fact that your actions caused Scott to wig out and get tossed by the powers that be so I now have to visit TWO sites every day for DBS, so I resent that a LITTLE) but please, for the love of God, keep it constructive or leave E* already. Go to D* or V* and spread the love over there please.......


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Well, I think my 7200/ECM thread has outlived its usefulness. Since my Bob Haller bashing days are long behind me, I have nothing else to contribute here. 

Good wishes to all, and Bob, I hope the house sells soon. 

###

Mods, please close this thread.


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## finniganps (Jan 23, 2004)

You know the funny thing is that even though I don't like the whining from Bob H, it's funny what a reaction his comments get. I know whenever I see his name as a poster I wonder what he'll say next. 

Congrats on paying off your house Bob H and try to keep the E* comments constructive.

I agree - close the thread or retitle it Bob Haller.


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