9200 - Reset Won't Complete

[rpawson]

For the last week, my 9200 has been randomly resetting in the middle of watching programs or PVR timers. It's acting like a hard reset, but the single green light remains on in the front. I got an error message 61 screen at one point that suggested is was downloading a software update. But I've left the update run for several hours a few times, and even overnight once, and the "update" won't complete.

After unplugging the receiver (sometimes for as little as 5 minutes, sometimes for several hours), the receiver will go through a hard reset, find the signal, and download a program guide. But inevitably (sometimes within minutes, sometimes days later), it resets itself and stalls again.

Any ideas on how to proceed? I'm shuddering at talking to Bell tech support about this, any tips or ideas you can provide are appreciated.

[I_Want_My_HDTV]

Try clearing NVRAM. (That will cause most receiver settings to be lost.) If that doesn't work try formatting the hard drive. (You will lose all recorded programs and timers.) See this thread.

If that doesn't work, it's time for a call to the dreaded EV CSRs.

[rpawson]

I did try the hard drive diagnostics once, and everything was A-OK. On occasion when I reboot, it shows a boot recover screen with message 061, and warns not to reset or unplug the receiver until "the screen disappears" (why they don't just say until the update is complete is beyond me). The update never completes before I lose my signal and get stuck in the unending reboot loop.

I called BEV support last night, and after some basic troubleshooting they sent me through to senior support. The gal asked me to connect the receiver using component instead of HDMI to determine if the port was the problem or if the receiver was the problem. I could not see the signal through component, of course, as the receiver had not rebooted.

The gal mentioned that there has been problems with the HDMI software and that this software is conflicting with the hardware, causing my problem. They are sending a new receiver by Purolator right away to replace my current one. She warned that I should avoid using the the new receiver with the HDMI connection, as the same conflict could present itself.

This is a huge PITA, as not only am I losing recordings on my current HDD, but my equipment does not lend itself to an easy setup if I use component for the BEV receiver. I would have to wire it and my DVD player or game machine through my home theater receiver to use component switching.

If I can get to the menu screens, I will try a NVRAM dump and HDD format as suggested and see how it goes.

[I_Want_My_HDTV]

It's possible the ROM or something else got corrupted. There may be problems with HDMI but I've never heard of it causing a receiver to fail. In any event, don't stop the ROM download before it completes. It can take some time. It should not be necessary to clear NVRAM or format the disk with a new receiver.

[dvdrat]

If you're getting the "Boot Recovery" screen often, then call in and get this unit replaced while it is still under warranty. The hard drive is actually defective and is slowly (or maybe sooner) on it's way out.

I bought a brand new 9200, and it started "Boot Recovery"-ing on me on day two and was dead by day five (in that time it had "Boot Recovery"-ed 10 times). I had it replaced promptly with a reburbished (but new looking) 9200 that's been rock solid for months.

I've got a picture of it on my cell phone, because the second level CSR said that he had never heard of it before.

- dvdrat

For those lucky enough to never have seen the "Boot Recovery" screen, it is an ASCII screen with a counter bar on the bottom indicating the progress of the firmware download.