# HR34 overheating?



## chrisexv6 (Sep 14, 2002)

First time Ive ever seen a message come up about the box about to overheat. Box is out in the open with a melamine shelf underneath it, so I cant get it any more out in the open.

I noticed the fan wasnt spinning.....blew on the fan to see if it was "stuck" but it still didnt kick on.

RBR it, the fan kicked on during the startup procedure then got to a screen that said the temp was over the safe limit of 60 (it said boot temp was 64), and went into a cooldown mode. At that point the fan did work.

So, 2 questions:

1. Should the fan have kicked in during normal use to keep it cool?

and 2. Is there a way to xfer recordings to a replacement box? The whole 5 tuner thing is great, until you lose the basket that all of your eggs are in because of a bad cooling fan.


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

What is the temp with it running on the info screen?

There is no way to transfer data to a new box.


----------



## chrisexv6 (Sep 14, 2002)

I just read through your thread (I think it was you....got a replacement for yours that was running way hot?)

Currently its showing 118 in the more info screen, while recording 2 channels. 

Fan is not spinning. Im interested to know if the fan should be spinning 24/7, should come on in a high temp situation (which it clearly did not), or if its just there for decoration.


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Yep, I did have an overheating issue with a very early production box. 118 is normal, but it should come on in a high heat situation, if it truly was too hot. In my case, I could feel the heat on the top.


----------



## chrisexv6 (Sep 14, 2002)

I felt around mine with the high temp warning on screen and the only place that felt really hot was the back panel near the sat input. Everything else was barely warm to the touch.

After this reboot, the cooling fan is cycling as I thought it should. The temp is now down to 113 and the fan is still on.

Wonder if there was a s/w glitch that didnt trigger the cooling fan, or if I have a potentially bad fan controller.


----------



## kaminar (Mar 25, 2012)

Yeah, that's too hot..am guessing you mean 60ºC ( = 140ºF...and 64 = 147)..from other posts, it appears 120ºF is ok, but you might have surpassed the limits..also, the HR34-700 model has been noted to run the hottest.

-=K=-


----------



## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

all receivers that have the power supply "built in" tend to run hotter than the ones that don't.


----------



## Tom_S (Apr 9, 2002)

I got the be software today, and now I am getting the overheat issue. Pretty annoying!


----------



## chrisexv6 (Sep 14, 2002)

Tom_S said:


> I got the be software today, and now I am getting the overheat issue. Pretty annoying!


I think its whatever they are doing to tell the cooling fan to kick on.

When I first posted this thread it was before the new s/w. My cooling fan was completely off. Only a reboot got it to kick on, and then I got the message during startup saying the box needs to cool down, then the fan kicked on a FULL speed until the temp came down. After the reboot the box ran between 100 and 120 most of the time. The day after that incident came the new s/w, and sure enough again the fan was not turning on by itself. Box was registering 140 today with fan still completely off. Rebooted box, fan kicks on during self-test, then on at full speed with the "box is over temp" screen during startup.

Since the fan does work when its called on, Im thinking something is up with the s/w (maybe not just the current version). Nothing where my box is sitting has changed. House isnt overly hot (heck the heat isnt even running like during the winter), nothing blocking any vents, etc. Or, the temp reporting is wrong....saying its hotter than it really is. The only warm part of the box is underneath, the rest is barely warm at all. For now Ive propped it up a little and am looking at a USB fan/cooling pad.


----------



## cincinvideo (Mar 16, 2012)

I had this exact problem yesterday. My hr34 was new in march 2012. This only happened one other time about 3 weeks ago. I called tech support and she was wiling to send me a replacement receiver. However like everyone else. I have a bunch of stuff on it. So I order the nomad /genie go to move important stuff off hr34. That way if it dies I'm not out of luck. 

Today I had no temperature issues. But may call back later to get replacement receiver once I have copied the important stuff off HR34


----------



## chrisexv6 (Sep 14, 2002)

Went to bed and put the box in standby last night (like we always do overnight). Woke up today and box temp is still low (108). Not sure if the reboot and cooldown during reboot "fixed" it or what. Almost makes me wonder if the box should reboot twice (or even three times) after a s/w update. 

There are other reports of similar issues in the last couple updates.....I seriously dont think these boxes just started overheating by coincidence. Wondering if something that was added is causing high CPU usage/disk activity.


----------



## captaink5217 (Sep 20, 2011)

Maybe this is how we will all end up with HR44, because of failing 34's


----------



## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

kaminar said:


> Yeah, that's too hot..am guessing you mean 60ºC ( = 140ºF...and 64 = 147)..from other posts, it appears 120ºF is ok, but you might have surpassed the limits..also, the HR34-700 model has been noted to run the hottest.
> 
> -=K=-


The 20-700s run hotter, 123-126 degrees is normal for them.

Rich


----------



## chrisexv6 (Sep 14, 2002)

captaink5217 said:


> Maybe this is how we will all end up with HR44, because of failing 34's


Wouldnt mind if thats offered, but really not interested in losing all my recordings.


----------



## chrisexv6 (Sep 14, 2002)

FWIW, after a second reboot after getting the new s/w, the box has been staying at a decent temp. The max Ive seen it is 115, most of the time its in the 100-110 range.

Lets see if this keeps up now.


----------

