My HR21-200 HD DVR has begun to lock up during playback and record. It requires a reset by removal of the power plug to restart the unit, the unit will not respond to a power down command from the remote control or any other remote control command. Some of my recordings that look complete will crash part way through playback at always the same spot in the program indicating the problem was caused during the record. If it crashes while watching a live program, any recording in progress will also be interrupted until the unit is restarted, a process that takes about 15 minutes because it requires a new download before using.

DVR16-8600 Hard Factory Reset
Please follow the steps below to reset the DVR.
1. Power off the machine, remove the power plug from the back of the unit.
2. Take off all case cover screws located on the back and side of the DVR and remove the case.
3. There will be a small black button on the motherboard located towards the front panel of the unit, take note of its location.
4. Carefully plug the power back into the unit, leaving the case off.
5. When the unit has fully booted up, press the black button and wait for the DVR to completely reset.
6. Once reset, unplug the power cable, replace the case and screws, and replace the power cable.
The unit should now be reset back to factory default.
https://support.swann.com/dvr16-8600-hard-reset-ryyDThhaaPM
KG

These are the formats your DVR will or will not play.

• Blu Ray Playback: No
• Blu Ray Recording: No
• Compact Flash Card: No
• DTS Decoder: No
• DVB-C: No
• DVB-S: No
• DVB-T: No
• DVD Audio Playback: No
• DVD Player / Recorder: DVD Recorder
• DVD+R Playback: Yes
• DVD+R Recording: Yes
• DVD+RW Playback: Yes
• DVD+RW Recording: Yes
• DVD-R Playback: Yes
• DVD-R Recording: Yes
• DVD-RAM Playback: No
• DVD-RAM Recording: No
• DVD-RW Playback: Yes
• DVD-RW Recording: Yes
• DVI Interface: No
• DivX Playback: No
• Double Layer Recording: No
• Electronic Program Guide (EPG): No
• Ethernet: No
• Firewire IEEE-1394 Interface: No
• HD-DVD Playback: No
• HD-DVD Recording: No
• HDMI Interface: No
• HDTV: No
• IPTV (Internet Protocol Television): No
• Integrated VCR: No
• MP3 Recording: No
• MPEG4 Recording: No
• Memory Stick: No
• Multimedia Card: No
• Number of Scart Interfaces: 1
• PCMCIA Interface: No
• Progressive Scan: No
• Real Dolby: AC3
• Secure Digital Card: No
• Show View: No
• Smart Media Card: No
• Super Audio CD Playback: No
• Super Video CD / Video CD Playback: No
• Table / Portable: Table
• USB Interface: No
• W-LAN Connection: No
• xD-Picture Card: N

Any external USB hard drive that uses a 3.5" hard drive (the larger drives they use in desktops) will work. These all come with an external power adapter you must plug into the wall.

The external hard drive units that use the smaller 2.5" hard drives are the ones they use in laptops. These require much less power, and can be powered by the PC's USB port although some do come with an optional power adapter. However the Dish receiver does not send enough power to its USB port to power the hard drive, which is why the tech told you to get one that has an external power supply.

Even then the DVR uses a drive format that your computer may not recognize. I don't know if there are tools out there that will let you connect a hard drive from a DVR, read and convert the TV shows stored there.


Another option is to buy a DVD recorder. This is like a VCR, only it uses a DVD disc and not a video tape. Connect the DVD recorder to the outputs on the DVR, and then set the DVD recorder so it will record from its input. (on my DVD recorder this is "IN2")

Put a blank DVD into the DVD recorder, start playing a show on the DVR, and hit record on the DVD recorder. When the show is finished, hit stop on the DVD recorder to stop recording. The advantage here is you can then play this DVD on any DVD drive. The disadvantage is DVD recorders only record in non-HD. You can still play a show in HD, but the recording you get won't be in HD. Also, the show has to record in real time. So if it's a 60 minute episode, it will take 60 minutes to record.

You can also check this steps:

this how i fixed a bunker hill dvr unit .I opened up the dvr there are 5 screws .Dust had accumulated in the unit I used a shop vac to get the dust out and also wiggled all conections back and fourth to make sure they were making contact . and just like that it started to record again

2 months ago my R15-500 stopped working. The "Record"(yellow) light was dim on the front of the DVR and a lightly audible clicking noise could be heard from inside the DVR. So I searched the internet and found this FIXYA site. I disassembled the DVR as instructed and removed the power board. Sure enough the Capacitors were bulging on top. I replaced all of the capacitors on the power supply output, I think 6 altogether. I reassembled the unit and it worked great.

it sound like the system is locked up or your hard drive is going bad. write down all the info on the unit and reset and reprogram the unit. this may solve your problem if not you my need to send it in for repair.

•Factory Reset Hidden Key :
Mode Key + CH 2
•The Password and all setting
value will return to the initial
default value.
•Default Password is ‘4321’ .

mj

check if you are using with a full battery..
if yes reset the unit and try again..
To reset the Camcorder, remove the battery from the Camcorder, press the Power button for 30 seconds and then reinsert the battery in the Camcder.

Have either of your tried unhooking the HDMI connector if you are using it and try component?

What software are you running on the unit. The HR20-700 and HR20-100 just got a software update that was going to fix this problem w/ the unplayable recordings.

stephnt:
If it is erasing your content that is a good sign of a defective hard drive. These units when they boot up (after a software update) check the hard drive. If they run into a problem (bad sector) they will foolishly erase the hard drive, thus erasing everything you have recorded. If this is your 4th unit, you may want to look at your environment as well (well ventilated, good connections, etc) I'm not saying it couldn't be the unit. It took directv 14 units to get 3 working, and since I've had 2 HR20-700 refurbs that were unstable and were quickly replaced.

It might be in your best interest to invest in an external drive solution for the HR20. I, however, would be calling customer retention and having a calm, but stern chat with them about this.

Try a system reset by unplugging the unit from all power, wait for 5 minutes and retry. This is an unusual problem...accordianman

Recording from the guide requires that the unit be off to receive guide info regularly and copy it to the HD. If your reception is poor or your DVD on time is too great, the guide will not have any info, and the recording be nameless, except for channel and time info. You can force the EPG mode by removing the power plug from the back of the unit, but only do this after you have turned the unit off! While copying the guide to the HD, the display shows EPG while th unit is off, and you will hear the HD cycling.