# My 722 is freezing..... Constantly!



## speedboat (Sep 22, 2009)

It starts with a slight audio drop-out... then a intermitent pause... then a freeze for 20-30 seconds....finally...everything is locked up....nothing works...the only thing left to do is hold the power button or pull the plug. Need to do this...three, maybe 4 times a week.

Is my hard drive failing? Is there a bad spot on the drive or the inner or outer sectors unreachable? Anyway to run a hard drive test and mark bad spots?
Anyway to defrag?

I don't think it's heat related.

Fails on new recordings... Fails on 8-month old recordings.. Fails when I pause and rewind live TV. Sometimes I can record 3 HD (2 SAT and 1 OTA), while watching another... Something it fails just watching... No idea what is happening.

Too many shows to watch to swap out 722... Hear a rumor I might be able to get free EHD come Feb. 1st... Maybe then I can swap shows out...or swap out the device...

Any ideas? Is 27 months all I should expect from a 722 (which I fairly certain was new)?


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

speedboat said:


> It starts with a slight audio drop-out... then a intermitent pause... then a freeze for 20-30 seconds....finally...everything is locked up....nothing works...the only thing left to do is hold the power button or pull the plug. Need to do this...three, maybe 4 times a week.
> 
> Is my hard drive failing? Is there a bad spot on the drive or the inner or outer sectors unreachable? Anyway to run a hard drive test and mark bad spots?
> Anyway to defrag?
> ...


In this situation, being that it repeats it sounds like the receiver is gonna fail completely (hard drive anyway) soon. You should not have to do that ever, let alone frequently. If you have EHD activated, I would try to back up recordings if possible. **EDIT** Information formerly on this line incorrect, edited to prevent confusion.


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## speedboat (Sep 22, 2009)

[email protected] Network said:


> In this situation, being that it repeats it sounds like the receiver is gonna fail completely (hard drive anyway) soon. You should not have to do that ever, let alone frequently. If you have EHD activated, I would try to back up recordings if possible or record any new recordings straight to the EHD.


I don't have EHD yet.

Any chance you can confirm FREE EHD starting Feb. 1st for 722?

If I can save $40... I'll save $40. Assuming I can make it until Feb. 1st.


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## jporum (Nov 12, 2008)

[email protected] Network said:


> ... or record any new recordings straight to the EHD.


How does one do that? I don't know of any way to record directly to the EHD.


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## fmcomputer (Oct 14, 2006)

It's Winter !


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## speedboat (Sep 22, 2009)

fmcomputer said:


> It's Winter !


And it's been a cold and extra snowy one at that... Unfortuneately it's not that, that sounds easier to fix.


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## Zalophus (Aug 14, 2010)

I had same problem with VIP 612. I finally isolated the cause through my own trial-and-error (no help from Dish) as follows:

If you are using HDMI connection btwn HDTV and 722 Receiver, try switching to Component connection. 

If that stops the freezing, then the problem is with the 722 HDMI connection. 

Dish is aware of this problem ("we're working on it") and their solution is to keep shipping same-model replacement receivers, until you get one that works.

I'm on my third replacement, and that seems to have done the trick.

Good Luck.


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

jporum said:


> How does one do that? I don't know of any way to record directly to the EHD.


**EDIT**Information formerly on this line was incorrect, edited to prevent confusion.

On the HDMI causing a lock-up, it is a known product issue on some receivers. For whatever reason it only affects certain model TV's, and is not HDMI specific. Sony has been a big issue since my first days here (HDCP issues) but recently the "freeze" issue seems to hit Sony's, Vizio's and Samsung's newer TV's, as well as a few others. I personally have a Dynex 40" and no issues at all with using HDMI, HDCP-wise or freezing the receiver.

My understanding at this point is that it is a software conflict between the receiver and the TV, and unfortunately DISH Network can only work on the receiver side of it, as we do not make the TV nor do we have any say in how the manufacturer "programs" their TV. A work around is using component cables on certain brands of TV because they do not support 2-way communication between the receiver and the television itself.

The frequency of which you (speedboat) have had this issue, and the "recent" onset of the symptoms makes me believe that the "glitch" using HDMI may not be the issue (so long as the TV is the same as it was when the receiver was installed).



fmcomputer said:


> It's Winter!


Too funny! but no...


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## BobaBird (Mar 31, 2002)

jporum said:


> How does one do that? I don't know of any way to record directly to the EHD.


There isn't, though it's not for lack of asking.


[email protected] Network said:


> Its a Menu option (Menu - 8 for Preferences - 5 for Record Plus - ERD Setup).


Nope, ERD is external recording device, not an archive drive. It's for PocketDISH and certain Archos personal media players. The mode sends record start/stop signals over the video output.

Just tried it to be sure. I was watching an already recorded show on my 622 in Single mode, with no pending timers other than the ERD event. The timer made the output change to the timer's channel, and there was no activity on the EHD.


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## SaltiDawg (Aug 30, 2004)

[email protected] Network said:


> Its a Menu option (Menu - 8 for Preferences - 5 for Record Plus - ERD Setup).
> ...


With all due respect, this is not correct.


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

I stand corrected, and thanks for the experiment to verify. I looked into it yesterday and found a link that gave the directions on "how to". It was an all-inclusive instructional (included 211/211k/411/612/622/722/722k) and gave "how to" instructions on recording to EHD. Interestingly enough, I have spent most of today looking for the same page, and cannot find it again (it was located on our internal web resources). Apparently, someone else caught the error as well. I edited the posts (as you may or may not have seen) and apologize profusely for the incorrect information.


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## speedboat (Sep 22, 2009)

[email protected] Network said:


> In this situation, being that it repeats it sounds like the receiver is gonna fail completely (hard drive anyway) soon. You should not have to do that ever, let alone frequently. If you have EHD activated, I would try to back up recordings if possible. **EDIT** Information formerly on this line incorrect, edited to prevent confusion.


Got my replacement 722 last night. Takes a bit to swap, but it sure is nice to not have the constant interruptions.

Pretty sure it must have been the hard drive.

Even copying certain programs to the EHD would totally lock up the 722. I'm guessing disk tracks pointed at themselves and it just kept repeating forever until I rebooted.

I feel sorry for whomever gets my refurbished 722 unless they swap out the drive.


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