First, your external HDD will connect to a replacement box, or any box on your account that has the archiving feature (the 211K uses an external HDD, but it is for DVR feature not archiving. The recordings on your external HDD should be safe and playable on any ViP associated with your account (except the ViP's that have DVR to external HDD such as the 211K), including replacements. In short, don't worry.
What you are experiencing is very similar to what I also experienced. In my case I could do just about everything, but when I accessed the My Recordings, the box would freeze a few moments later, then reboot EVERY time I dared to enter My Recordings. Like you, I was able to archive all my recordings. I don't think I could access the external HDD via My Media, either, but like you, I could archive my recordings to the external HDD.
Now, you have a choice: you may call Dish and get it RMA'd. You would have to go to the trouble of disconnecting the DVR, waiting for a working replacement, then take the old DVR down to the UPS store (or equivalent) for free shipping.
--OR--
You can do what I did: perform a dump and HDD reformat. I did this because, like you, I had nothing to lose and I didn't want the hassle of the RMA and Dish would have sent me a replacement that would have been dumped and reformatted, anyway. I can tell you that after the dump and reformat, my 722K has worked PERFECTLY since, and that was about 4 months ago. In my case, a pop up appeared stating that the HDD was corrupted, then proceeded to reformat.
The dump and reformat is a last resort, desperate move only to be used if one has nothing to lose and should not be used lightly by others. In your case, you are a candidate for this procedure. However, you will lose all your timers, recordings still on the internal HDD, and most (strangely not all, I found in my case) settings. You are pretty much resetting the box as to when you first got it, like new, except the HDD is reformatted. The keys seem to be preserved so it is still associated to your account after the procedure.
I have seen a few posts lately regarding this SAME problem on both 722's and 722K's. Did Dish mess something up? Let's keep our eyes open to see if the problem becomes more common on this board.
The following is dump and reformat procedure:
Dish Network Last Resort Solution for Erring DVR's
Full Memory Dump and Reformat of HDD
Try this instead, it'll do a full reset/reboot as part of it:
1st: Hit this button sequence on your remote:
Menu-6-3-Info-Right-Left-TV/Video (or Input on some remotes)
to clear the NVRAM, then reboot it.
2nd: After it reboots and comes back up, just do a:
Menu-6-3-Info-Right-Left- Play,- Play,- Recall to format the internal HDD. It'll prompt to format, and reboot again.
You will lose all recordings, and your settings (and timers, write them down first) but it may fix your drive! If this doesn't do it, then it's time to RMA it.
Good luck, and please let us know what you've decided to do and how it turns out.
