PVR freezes up

[kenorakid]

Trying to use usb sticks to record with timer, timer kicks in but freezes right away and i get" scramble channel" message and "stb is hung press power to reboot" sometimes it freezes up everything i can't use the remote at all i have to switch off at back of stb, usb sticks are formatted before use, any thoughts?

[nobodyspecial]

does it happen when you record from epg?

[kenorakid]

Thank you for replying, only tried once and it was ok, i need to use timer recording because the shows i like are on when i am working, not sure if this is relevant but i can get 8GB sticks to work but all others i have tried are over 8GB and won't work.
My other option is an external hard drive but i am apprehensive to go and get one with the probs i am having

[nobodyspecial]

Thank you for replying, only tried once and it was ok, i need to use timer recording because the shows i like are on when i am working, not sure if this is relevant but i can get 8GB sticks to work but all others i have tried are over 8GB and won't work.
My other option is an external hard drive but i am apprehensive to go and get one with the probs i am having

I find it works better. If the guide is populated there is no reason you cant use it.
I find kingston sticks work better than most others

[Conetech]

Trying to use usb sticks to record with timer, timer kicks in but freezes right away and i get" scramble channel" message and "stb is hung press power to reboot" sometimes it freezes up everything i can't use the remote at all i have to switch off at back of stb, usb sticks are formatted before use, any thoughts?

I've been helping my neighbours with this, and doing a lot of testing.
Hands down the best fix is to plug in a USB card reader that accepts SD cards, then put in a good quality like a photography 80 MBytes/sec SD card, 32 Gbytes max size as any other larger card cannot be formatted to FAT 32.
This should eliminate start recording freezes and stutters every minute and 40 seconds.

Also very important, if you were using a recording, in a smart tv like a Samsung, the tv will write two cmd files to your drive, when you plug that drive into a Dreamlink, it will not record and hang like you described.

Good Luck Testing

Conetech

[kenorakid]

thank you i misunderstood your question, i thought you wanted to know if i was home and pushed the record button on the remote did it record but now i understand what you are saying, i never thought of that i will try it and provide feedback as that may help others also

[kenorakid]

Thank you i didn't realise others were having this issue too, not very tech smart i am afraid so no smart tv not even a smart operator! I didn't know i could record a tv program on a sd card i thought they are just for photos or music, will a 8gb sd card give me as much recording tv time as a 8gb usb stick? Something else i am confused on is ...... put the brand new usb stick in my computer and it tells me it is installing device driver, then i format it but when i put the usb stick in my stb it asks if i want to format it but i already have so do i format again in the stb or not? When the stick is full and i watch all the movies do i just delete or do i delete and format again? If so in the stb or back in the computer? This is new to me i have been using a dvd recorder but it just died.Thanks a million for your help

[Conetech]

My neigbours always record in HD, cause that's why they got a DLHD. Some of the movies can take 2,5Gbytes or more in HD, so that's why they use a 32 Gbyte SDcard. And they now use TSDoctor to check the files and delete the stuff before the movie and most the credits. The only problem is, after you use TSDoctor, the file can't be played on the Dreamlink anymore, but their Samsung TV plays it very well, and allows you to jump way forward or back in the movie. So they collect all their TSDoctor cleaned movies, on a 2Tbyte HD and can watch a recorded movie on the TV while the Dreamlink is recording another. The reason you are getting the format question, is because you HAVE to be formatted in FAT32 and cannot have any files on the card that are cmd files.

Good Luck Testing,
And press the Thanks, if you find this helpful,

Conetech

[kenorakid]

tried this yesterday and it still froze the stb, i have got 3 of 4 sticks to work but still no luck with the verbatim pin stripe 32gb

[Conetech]

Make sure your PC is set to view all files. And then check your SD card or usb sticks. If the Dreamlink sees a cmd file, it will lock up. So clean those off the drives.

[kenorakid]

thank you Conetech,how would i do this in widows 7? What i have done is put stick in usb port go to start (round windows symbol bottom left of screen), click computer and it show's my drives, right click on usb stick, click format , select FAT32, click ok, it tells me format complete, not sure how to check for cmd files

[Conetech]

If you're formatting FAT32 it should wipe the drive clean.
Windows Explorer - file viewer has an options tab that if you scroll down say's Show Hiddens Files, and save for all folders, I think.
If you still have problems, try letting the Dreamlink formatting the usb stick, and tell us what happens.

Good Luck Testing,

Conetech

[kenorakid]

The verbatim seems to be the one giving me the most issues and it is the only 32 gb one i have.
When the stb hangs i get a message "stb is hanged (54 1 0 0) press stanby for rebooting" when the stb reboots it won't recognise any usb stick it just say's "usb is not connected" i have to switch it off at the back and then it will work with my other sticks.
I have tried formatting on computer, with the stb, recording from the on screen program and from a timer nothing works, $10 for the stick i am not going to bother with it, i am just curious to know if it's verbatim that's the problem or any 32gb stick because it will help other people too, my others are 8gb

[The Noof]

If you're formatting FAT32 it should wipe the drive clean.
Windows Explorer - file viewer has an options tab that if you scroll down say's Show Hiddens Files, and save for all folders, I think.
If you still have problems, try letting the Dreamlink formatting the usb stick, and tell us what happens.

Good Luck Testing,

Conetech

Quick format just removes bits of each large file so they appear to be gone:full format deletes ALMOST all.