Now What? Watching DRV taped shows locks up my Motorola qip6416!

[Redfran]

Hello,

Like most folks, I have the occasional Motorola HD DVR problems that require me to reset the box in order to get things working again. I've resigned myself to this shortcoming.

But now, a new wrinkle. Every so often (enough to be a gigantic pain), after I've DVR'd a program and I press "watch now" to view it, my set top box immediately locks up. There's no signal to the TV. And I can't even shut off the box with the "power" button on the unit. I am forced to unplug the box and wait a few seconds. When I plug it back it, it resets and then usually works fine ... until the next time.

Any ideas as to what causes this weird conflict between trying to watch a taped show and a Motorola that locks up? 

Thanks everyone.

[VZ_Brian]

Let's start out by clearing out some cache and other memory from the DVR hard drive.  If you send me a direct message with any account info (name or home phone) I can get that done for you from here. 

[Redfran]

Thanks for the speedy response, Brian.

I just emailed you the requested info. I'd be surprised if it's a memory issue since I'm pretty maniacal about DVR management. I tape, watch and delete. It's never more than 25% full. But who knows.

Thanks again.

[spacedebris]

well the cache option that brian suggested is a good idea to try. just like on a computer. sometimes the "temp" files dont clear correctly or have a small glitch and clearing them will help.

One of the other things that may cause that issue is that if the Hard Drive in the DVR has a bad sector on it then anytime that the DVR needs to access that sector it can lock up. Just like a computer. This can be fixed also but it would cost you all the recordings on your drive. To do this what you would have to do is....

***NOTE...DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME KIDS. THIS IS A LAST RESORT ISSUE AND WILL CLEAR EVERYTHING OFF THE DVR AND WILL MAKE IT LIKE A BRAND NEW BOX

To clear dvr hard drive

1.   Press  power...select...select  on the front of the stb itself. you will get a diagnostic screen on the tv

2.   Press the replay button on the remote control. (This is the curved button just to the left of the dvr button on the remote)
3.   Press the  dvr button on the remote 3 times

4.   Then Press the fios tv button on the remote

5.   You should now see CR on display

This will clear the hard drive. Now normally this would be enough for most software issues. But if you do indeed have a bad sector on the HD. you will now need to contact tech support and have them do a factory reset on the DVR. This should reformat the hard drive, locate the bad sector, and re-allocate the space to avoid the bad sector.

This is an extreme proceedure and should only be attempted as a last resort before replacing the STB

[Redfran]

Spacedebris,

Thanks so much for your thorough and helpful suggestion. And for your thorough disclaimers! I appreciate you taking the time to respond with a well-though-out solution.

Brian cleared the cache remotely for me. Since my problem has been intermittent, I'll keep an eye on things and see if my problem is solved. I'll report back when I know for sure. If clearing the cache doesn't work, I'll move on to your suggestion. Luckily, I don't keep much on my DVR, so erasing it won't be a problem.

Thanks again.