My Bell 9242 is dead: What to do? - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

Amy · 2009-09-23, 11:04 AM

We moved almost two weeks ago & moved our 9242 with us. We had a satellite installer come out a few days after we moved & everything seemed OK. We didn't have the TV in the right room so he just hooked up the 9242 where it belonged and all of the lights and all were going like normal.

I wasn't too worried as I figured all of my timers would be recording and we could watch them when we got the TV hooked up. Last night we decided to move the TV and hook it up because I was getting worried that the drive might be full.

We could not get the 9242 going, it would power up, the drive would spin, then all of the lights on the front would flash and it would shut down. We tried unplugging it from the power bar, putting in just the wall socket, unplugging the sat in cables, resetting, nothing. My DH somehow managed to get it running by messing around with it a lot, but all of the recordings were gone

He left it on last night and this morning I checked again and the only recordings were new ones from last night after it was finally up and running and from today. All of our timers are intact, but 200hrs of programming has disappeared :'(

I was reading several threads on here and decided to try to unplug & plug it back in, hoping that my recordings would magically come back, but now it won't start up at all. It just keeps shutting itself off like before. I've had this receiver for over a year & never had any problems with it.

One thing I'm now worried about is that the installer put the receiver on it's side when he hooked it up. When we went to hook it up to the TV it was on it's bottom like usual and neither me nor DH put it that way. Is it possible that it fell over while running and screwed the internal HD?

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm renting so I think bell will replace it, but I really don't want one of the new receivers & this model is now discontinued.

Thanks!

Q · 2009-09-23, 11:18 AM

Amy,

There are other diagnostics to run here but they are at your own risk.

If you are renting you will get the exact same model receiver replaced. I would cut my losses with the lost shows and call for replacement right away.

Q

dosborne · 2009-09-23, 11:28 AM

Unfortuantely, there is a 0.000001% chance that you would be able to recover any recorded shows.

Without knowing what your DH did, there is no way of knowing how or why the shows were deleted.

I agree with Q, get a replacement as soon as possible and hopefully catch some reruns/reairing of the shows you missed.

Running the IRD on its side is not a problem, as long as the vents are clear. A slight drop (falling over) is unlikely to have caused any real issues, although these units are sensitive to many factors and a "minor" data error in something critical like the FAT can mean a complete loss of existing programming.

As for the unit powering up, then shutting off, it could be a signal/cable issue, but is more likely hardware failure.

Amy · 2009-09-23, 12:02 PM

I just got off the phone with BEV.

The receiver is up and running again, but it took many, many times of me resetting in order to make it happen. It seems to be ok once it's up and running, it's just getting it to boot up that's the problem. I talked to my DH and he said that he didn't do anything special to make it turn on, just patience and resetting.

So BEV is telling me that this is a common issue they are having with the 9242s and that the tech department is working on an update to resolve this issue. I told her I lost ~200hrs of saved programming and she that is also a common issue that other are experiencing. I don't know if she's blowing smoke or what, but I find it hard to believe that it's common that others are having their entire stored programming deleted.

She told me to disable the inactivity shut off so that the unit can do it's auto-updates and is giving me a credit and that's about it. There was no offer to send out a new unit and she didn't seem to be concerned that I couldn't turn it on, she said just leave it on for the time being.

Is there a way to force the unit to check for updates? I tried changing the time to a few minutes from now but it didn't seem to do anything.

ScaryBob · 2009-09-23, 12:49 PM

Those flashing lights were most likely due to a hard drive error and reformatting of the drive. It's difficult to say what happened but it was likely something to do with the move, maybe moving or unplugging the unit while it was recording. A credit for lost programming is appropriate in such cases. Nothing can be done about the programming except to wait until it can be recorded again.

Amy · 2009-09-23, 01:07 PM

Should I be asking them to send me out a replacement or wait and see what happens? I'm concerned that I'll start saving new programming and it'll disappear randomly again

dosborne · 2009-09-23, 01:48 PM

If it is working again, it was likely a one time event. You should call to be sure to have a record on your account though. There are some counters in the advanced diagnostics screens that track the number of disk read/write errors and other statstics that the CSR may want to write down.

They likely won't replace the unit unless there are more incidents.

A PVR is similar to a computer in this respect. It is always good to have backups. I run 4x5900 PVR's as a backup to my 9200 as TV is important to me.

Blackloz · 2009-09-23, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dosborne

If it is working again, it was likely a one time event. You should call to be sure to have a record on your account though. There are some counters in the advanced diagnostics screens that track the number of disk read/write errors and other statstics that the CSR may want to write down.

They likely won't replace the unit unless there are more incidents.

A PVR is similar to a computer in this respect. It is always good to have backups. I run 4x5900 PVR's as a backup to my 9200 as TV is important to me.

Does that mean that you have all the same timers set to record on all 5 units? I do the same once in a while with my 9242/5900 just to make sure that the show will record on at least one pvr although I have found the 5900 to be more failure prone than the 9242. As for the 9242 I archive any recording I want to keep to the ehd so I don't loose them like the op said. Although the ehd could always fail too.

vmpv · 2009-09-23, 06:01 PM

But with approx 200 hrs of recordings as specified a few times by the OP, and then the installer plugging it in to record some more, wouldn't that fill up the drive entirely to the point of corruption? It's never a good idea to let your drive get much more than 75-80% full.

Amy · 2009-09-23, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vmpv

But with approx 200 hrs of recordings as specified a few times by the OP, and then the installer plugging it in to record some more, wouldn't that fill up the drive entirely to the point of corruption? It's never a good idea to let your drive get much more than 75-80% full.

what? I had no idea that you could fill up your drive to the point of corruption!

Pinza · 2009-09-23, 07:36 PM

Neither did I. Not with the Internal Drive on the 9200/9241 & 9242.

Now the EHD is a different story.

vmpv · 2009-09-24, 05:20 AM

Sorry if I jumped the gun. I've had a PVR (5100) since shortly after they came out adding the 9200 when it came out, and it was never a good idea to fill up the 5xxx series of receivers. The drives tending to lose all the recordings was the main problem. Perhaps this was fixed in the 9xxx series?

dosborne · 2009-09-24, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackloz

Does that mean that you have all the same timers set to record on all 5 units?

More or less. 2 of them are in bedrooms and have a few duplicate timers so we can watch some shows from there. 2 more 5900s are setup to record all the primetime shows in duplication of the 9200. (BTW I made a typo, I only have 4, not 5

) I've only had to go to a "backup" copy of a show a few times. When I added the 9200 I already had the 5900s and figured it wasn't worth it to sell them.

Davester · 2009-10-01, 07:50 PM

I also had my PVR crash this morning... however it has not been dropped...
When I went to watch a program on the PVR and then paused it, the box froze and then all my recorded programs disappeared.
I did the unplug for 30 min thing and the recordings showed up again only to disappear when I went to watch something.
Called BEV and also go the response that "they are aware of the problem and should have a fix in a couple of weeks." I'm not sure if this is a brush off or what... however they said they'd make a note of it in my file. (I'm running software version 232)
I'm starting to lose faith in my 9241.

Davester.

ScaryBob · 2009-10-02, 12:02 AM

The 9200s had a problem with drive corruption for the first couple of years. For a while, just filling the drive to less than 10 hours of HD space available would corrupt the drive and cause eventual programming loss. Filling it completely would almost guarantee that the drive would need reformatting. The formatting was not automatic either. The 9200 would just keep losing programming or act up in other ways until the drive was manually formatted. It got so that drive reformatting was a regular procedure around here. I had two 9200s set to record the same programs at different times due to problems with timers, drives and simsubs. Probably 20% of recordings failed due to Bell's incompetence. The 9200s were am improvement on the 5x00 models at the time. Things have improved significantly since that time. The 9242 exhibits few of the failings of earlier Bell PVRs, though I've heard the 9241 is a step backward.

2009-09-23, 11:04 AM	#1
Amy Rookie Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 4	My Bell 9242 is dead: What to do? We moved almost two weeks ago & moved our 9242 with us. We had a satellite installer come out a few days after we moved & everything seemed OK. We didn't have the TV in the right room so he just hooked up the 9242 where it belonged and all of the lights and all were going like normal. I wasn't too worried as I figured all of my timers would be recording and we could watch them when we got the TV hooked up. Last night we decided to move the TV and hook it up because I was getting worried that the drive might be full. We could not get the 9242 going, it would power up, the drive would spin, then all of the lights on the front would flash and it would shut down. We tried unplugging it from the power bar, putting in just the wall socket, unplugging the sat in cables, resetting, nothing. My DH somehow managed to get it running by messing around with it a lot, but all of the recordings were gone He left it on last night and this morning I checked again and the only recordings were new ones from last night after it was finally up and running and from today. All of our timers are intact, but 200hrs of programming has disappeared :'( I was reading several threads on here and decided to try to unplug & plug it back in, hoping that my recordings would magically come back, but now it won't start up at all. It just keeps shutting itself off like before. I've had this receiver for over a year & never had any problems with it. One thing I'm now worried about is that the installer put the receiver on it's side when he hooked it up. When we went to hook it up to the TV it was on it's bottom like usual and neither me nor DH put it that way. Is it possible that it fell over while running and screwed the internal HD? Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm renting so I think bell will replace it, but I really don't want one of the new receivers & this model is now discontinued. Thanks!

2009-09-23, 12:49 PM	#5
ScaryBob Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Dandelion City Posts: 7,133	Those flashing lights were most likely due to a hard drive error and reformatting of the drive. It's difficult to say what happened but it was likely something to do with the move, maybe moving or unplugging the unit while it was recording. A credit for lost programming is appropriate in such cases. Nothing can be done about the programming except to wait until it can be recorded again. __________________ At 20 I had a good mind. At 40 I had money. At 60 I've lost my mind and my money. Oh, to be 20 again. --Scary

2009-10-02, 12:02 AM	#15
ScaryBob Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Dandelion City Posts: 7,133	The 9200s had a problem with drive corruption for the first couple of years. For a while, just filling the drive to less than 10 hours of HD space available would corrupt the drive and cause eventual programming loss. Filling it completely would almost guarantee that the drive would need reformatting. The formatting was not automatic either. The 9200 would just keep losing programming or act up in other ways until the drive was manually formatted. It got so that drive reformatting was a regular procedure around here. I had two 9200s set to record the same programs at different times due to problems with timers, drives and simsubs. Probably 20% of recordings failed due to Bell's incompetence. The 9200s were am improvement on the 5x00 models at the time. Things have improved significantly since that time. The 9242 exhibits few of the failings of earlier Bell PVRs, though I've heard the 9241 is a step backward. __________________ At 20 I had a good mind. At 40 I had money. At 60 I've lost my mind and my money. Oh, to be 20 again. --Scary

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2009-09-23, 11:18 AM	#2
Q Veteran Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Oakville Posts: 3,974	Amy, There are other diagnostics to run here but they are at your own risk. If you are renting you will get the exact same model receiver replaced. I would cut my losses with the lost shows and call for replacement right away. Q

2009-09-23, 11:28 AM	#3
dosborne Veteran Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Ottawa, ON - Sharp Aquos 52" LCD - Bell 9200, 4x5900, 3x3100, E50 DVD-R, Harmony 880, Garmin C550 Posts: 2,814	Unfortuantely, there is a 0.000001% chance that you would be able to recover any recorded shows. Without knowing what your DH did, there is no way of knowing how or why the shows were deleted. I agree with Q, get a replacement as soon as possible and hopefully catch some reruns/reairing of the shows you missed. Running the IRD on its side is not a problem, as long as the vents are clear. A slight drop (falling over) is unlikely to have caused any real issues, although these units are sensitive to many factors and a "minor" data error in something critical like the FAT can mean a complete loss of existing programming. As for the unit powering up, then shutting off, it could be a signal/cable issue, but is more likely hardware failure.

2009-09-23, 12:02 PM	#4
Amy Rookie Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 4	I just got off the phone with BEV. The receiver is up and running again, but it took many, many times of me resetting in order to make it happen. It seems to be ok once it's up and running, it's just getting it to boot up that's the problem. I talked to my DH and he said that he didn't do anything special to make it turn on, just patience and resetting. So BEV is telling me that this is a common issue they are having with the 9242s and that the tech department is working on an update to resolve this issue. I told her I lost ~200hrs of saved programming and she that is also a common issue that other are experiencing. I don't know if she's blowing smoke or what, but I find it hard to believe that it's common that others are having their entire stored programming deleted. She told me to disable the inactivity shut off so that the unit can do it's auto-updates and is giving me a credit and that's about it. There was no offer to send out a new unit and she didn't seem to be concerned that I couldn't turn it on, she said just leave it on for the time being. Is there a way to force the unit to check for updates? I tried changing the time to a few minutes from now but it didn't seem to do anything.

2009-09-23, 01:07 PM	#6
Amy Rookie Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 4	Should I be asking them to send me out a replacement or wait and see what happens? I'm concerned that I'll start saving new programming and it'll disappear randomly again

2009-09-23, 01:48 PM	#7
dosborne Veteran Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Ottawa, ON - Sharp Aquos 52" LCD - Bell 9200, 4x5900, 3x3100, E50 DVD-R, Harmony 880, Garmin C550 Posts: 2,814	If it is working again, it was likely a one time event. You should call to be sure to have a record on your account though. There are some counters in the advanced diagnostics screens that track the number of disk read/write errors and other statstics that the CSR may want to write down. They likely won't replace the unit unless there are more incidents. A PVR is similar to a computer in this respect. It is always good to have backups. I run 4x5900 PVR's as a backup to my 9200 as TV is important to me.

2009-09-23, 06:01 PM	#9
vmpv Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Whitby, Ont. Posts: 756	But with approx 200 hrs of recordings as specified a few times by the OP, and then the installer plugging it in to record some more, wouldn't that fill up the drive entirely to the point of corruption? It's never a good idea to let your drive get much more than 75-80% full.

2009-09-23, 07:36 PM	#11
Pinza Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: GTA Posts: 8,582	Neither did I. Not with the Internal Drive on the 9200/9241 & 9242. Now the EHD is a different story.

2009-09-24, 05:20 AM	#12
vmpv Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Whitby, Ont. Posts: 756	Sorry if I jumped the gun. I've had a PVR (5100) since shortly after they came out adding the 9200 when it came out, and it was never a good idea to fill up the 5xxx series of receivers. The drives tending to lose all the recordings was the main problem. Perhaps this was fixed in the 9xxx series?

2009-10-01, 07:50 PM	#14
Davester Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 14	I also had my PVR crash this morning... however it has not been dropped... When I went to watch a program on the PVR and then paused it, the box froze and then all my recorded programs disappeared. I did the unplug for 30 min thing and the recordings showed up again only to disappear when I went to watch something. Called BEV and also go the response that "they are aware of the problem and should have a fix in a couple of weeks." I'm not sure if this is a brush off or what... however they said they'd make a note of it in my file. (I'm running software version 232) I'm starting to lose faith in my 9241. Davester.