Reading external drive with new software

[Davidbley]

For those of you who have had trouble accessing your recorded programs on the external drive:
When you select a program you will see a fleeting message (hard to see) asking you to wait for drive to spin up. Click OK and immediately go back to the external drive recorded programs and select again. This should work. I think what is happening is that the Hopper sends a command to the drive to start but does not wait for a response and tries to go ahead and get the program but the external drive isn't ready. When you try again the drive is already spinning and it should work. This would seem to be a simple program change, either adding delay or waiting for a handshake signal. This is an awkward work around.
Don't waste your time on the DISH chat room. They work from a script and keep asking you to reset the Hopper which you probably have already done and this isn't the problem. When you do have a problem try to get DISH to send out a tech. They are familiar with all the problems and can help.

 

[JSheridan]

How can sending out a tech help your hard drive spin up faster or change the receiver's software so it works differently? The answer is that they can't.

When people have a problem they should consult SatelliteGuys.

 

[dweber]

I would like to nominate JSheridan and Hipkat for Dish installer awards. They know their equipment much better than the Dish Technical Support people or the average installer. They are also willing to share their knowledge through SatelliteGuys web site. I wish there was a way to get Dish to compensate them more for all the help they provide. I have learned a lot from reading their posts. Thank you.

 

[JSheridan]

Thank you for the kind words. It's my pleasure. This isn't just a job, it's a way of life.

 

[HipKat]

I would like to nominate JSheridan and Hipkat for Dish installer awards. They know their equipment much better than the Dish Technical Support people or the average installer. They are also willing to share their knowledge through SatelliteGuys web site. I wish there was a way to get Dish to compensate them more for all the help they provide. I have learned a lot from reading their posts. Thank you.

Aww shucks, now I'm blushing. That's very kind of you to say

Guys like Sheridan and I take our jobs seriously and try to know everything we can about every aspect of our jobs. I wish more techs were the same way. Wanna hear something funny? The first few months I was on here, I had Sheridan on ignore. Let's just say we didn't hit off right off the bat lol

 

[HipKat]

Thank you for the kind words. It's my pleasure. This isn't just a job, it's a way of life.

Well said!!

 

[MikeD-C05]

Aww shucks, now I'm blushing. That's very kind of you to say

Guys like Sheridan and I take our jobs seriously and try to know everything we can about every aspect of our jobs. I wish more techs were the same way. Wanna hear something funny? The first few months I was on here, I had Sheridan on ignore. Let's just say we didn't hit off right off the bat lol

Too much alike?

 

[JSheridan]

Aww shucks, now I'm blushing. That's very kind of you to say

Guys like Sheridan and I take our jobs seriously and try to know everything we can about every aspect of our jobs. I wish more techs were the same way. Wanna hear something funny? The first few months I was on here, I had Sheridan on ignore. Let's just say we didn't hit off right off the bat lol

I've still got your mug shot avatar blocked.

 

[xfoneguy]

For those of you who have had trouble accessing your recorded programs on the external drive:
When you select a program you will see a fleeting message (hard to see) asking you to wait for drive to spin up. Click OK and immediately go back to the external drive recorded programs and select again. This should work. I think what is happening is that the Hopper sends a command to the drive to start but does not wait for a response and tries to go ahead and get the program but the external drive isn't ready. When you try again the drive is already spinning and it should work. This would seem to be a simple program change, either adding delay or waiting for a handshake signal. This is an awkward work around.
Don't waste your time on the DISH chat room. They work from a script and keep asking you to reset the Hopper which you probably have already done and this isn't the problem. When you do have a problem try to get DISH to send out a tech. They are familiar with all the problems and can help.

I've noticed this with mine for some time now (needing to try twice to playback a recording) but thought that I maybe had a flaky or borderline external drive.

 

[pattykay]

I just noticed the behavior being described in this thread, but on the internal drive of a deactivated 512 that had been left disconnected from the satellite signal too long and lost the authorization for the free preview channels. When I would try to play a recording the first time, I would only get the black screen with no sound. I fast-forwarded at 300x to the end of the recording, and it would get authorized toward the end, and the video would show up. Then, I could select Start Over and the recording would play properly the second time. It would do this with each recording, unless it was one that I had already played recently. If this is any indication, then the black screen problem with external hard drive playback could be an authorization timing issue, not a hard drive spinning up timing issue.