Planner Contents Lost Again! - Sky+

Bradburger · 02-05-2007, 19:01

Just had this wretched problem occur again on my Pace PVR3.

I first noticed it earlier this evening when I checked Sky Anytime & got the message 'Please Wait' which I also got on when trying to access the planner, and when trying to live pause or record.

After reboot (mains pulled) I got the usual 'SYSTEM ERROR - Recording and Playback facilities are not available please phone 08700 800800 for more information' message.

I did several planner rebuilds and reboots, then finally a software backup, which, as expected, made no difference.

Suprisingly though, the software was the new version 5 anytime software, and not 4.10 expected! I was under the impression the previous software version was kept in the backup stream for a lenghty period after an upgrade had taken place until the tech bods at Sky where happy that there where no bugs or problems with certain recorders.

But that doesn't appear to be the case!

I suppose The HDD might be dodgy as this is the third time this has happened in about 5 months (I know the boot record can sometimes get wiped and cause this as pcbbc as mentioned), although in general, the HDD not made any other signs that it is on it's way out.

I'm going to leave things as they are for a couple of hours to see if it does recover the planner contents, as happened last time, and documented in this thread:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...d.php?t=549454

Cheers

Paul

saintalan · 03-05-2007, 08:42

Paul, sorry to hear your tale of woe, but looks like I have joined you

My box (Pace v2 with self-upgraded 250gb HDD) has been working fine for a couple of years now and sods law I have about 80% full at the mo and this morning an empty planner!!

Have tried the usual reboot and then a planner rebuild and nothing. Based on your comments and the other thread you refer to I am leaving it a few hours to see if that helps.

Meanwhile I have asked pcbbc about Copy+ to try a boot fix if its not the HDD that has failed.

Question is - what to do? I have been on the brink of a SKY HD upgrade but had been holding back because of the amount of stored progs I have, and as I understand it, copy+ can't copy between different boxes.

So I was looking for some ideas on solutions.

I guess the easiesy route, if I can't correct todays problem (then its likely to be HDD failure) and thus I've lost what I had and start again with SkyHD.

However if it is not HD failure but copy+ can't fix it, I assume copy+ would then not be able to copy it's contents to another HD? If it could I guess I could get multi room (which I do not really want) while I use 2 boxes.

Actually my head hurts at this stage so I am probably not making sense but hoping somebody in a similar situation may understand my ramblings!

Any help from you or others well received.

Cheers

Alan

pcbbc · 03-05-2007, 08:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by saintalan

Meanwhile I have asked pcbbc about Copy+ to try a boot fix if its not the HDD that has failed.

Thanks for you mail. I have replied with the boot record fixer. Even if that's not the problem, there is a possibility I still may be able to fix the problem - depends what it is. I've also seen examples where Sky+ will spontaneously reformat the HDD, which is not helpful, and obviously irrecoverable.

Quote:

Question is - what to do? I have been on the brink of a SKY HD upgrade but had been holding back because of the amount of stored progs I have, and as I understand it, copy+ can't copy between different boxes.

I believe Sky transfer your current card to the HD box when you upgrade.
If so this card will still work in the Sky+ box and allow you to view recordings, as long as they are NOT premium channels (Movies or Sports).

So that is a possible workaround for taking multiroom. You can either swap boxes, or get the old box rewired as a standard freesat box and get a freesat card for permanent use (obviously no recording or playback).

mikey86uk · 03-05-2007, 09:54

PACE V1 Box

6years later they still cant make a PVR better

saintalan · 03-05-2007, 09:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikey86uk

PACE V1 Box

6years later they still cant make a PVR better

I've still got one but my 120gb kept failing with the 17 min prob. Those were the days!

coopermanyorks · 03-05-2007, 10:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikey86uk

PACE V1 Box

6years later they still cant make a PVR better

Just a pity about its looks

Wizross · 03-05-2007, 12:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by pcbbc

I believe Sky transfer your current card to the HD box when you upgrade.
If so this card will still work in the Sky+ box and allow you to view recordings, as long as they are NOT premium channels (Movies or Sports).

Correction. The card when put back in the + box will playback ALL recordings made with it. The problem only arises if you go multiroom and the new box goes into the + box. Then it won't playback premium channels (inc 4, 5, etc). However, you can switch the cards back and forth until you've watched everything.

Bradburger · 03-05-2007, 15:22

Alan, sorry to hear about your lost recordings too.

I did several more Planner rebuilds, left it on standby over night, but still no change.

So, I contacted the Sky tech department and spoke to a helpful lady, and we tried to do a System Health Check, but for some reason, the test did not complete, even after three attempts!

So she said try a Full System reset, and then call back and try the test again, which I did, and the Health Check worked fine. According to the chap I spoke to, there where no problems related to the HDD that where showing up on his software, and everything else seemed fine.

He did say it was puzzling that this had happened to me three times, yet there was no indication that the disc had bad sectors or was faulty. I did point out that this seems to be a regular problem for SKY+ viewers, and told him about the numerous posts on the subject on this forum!

I can only assume it is the boot record that is getting corrupted/wiped at random as pcbbc has said can happen, so I think I'll contact him for his set of recovery tools incase this happens again!

Cheers

Paul

saintalan · 04-05-2007, 07:25

I want to see a huge public thankyou to PCBBC/Stuart.

Many of you will know of Copy+ but the effort Stuart made yesterday to help me recover my planner was exceptional.

20 mails must have flashed back and forth and using the Copy+ and other utilities we managed to salvage the most important items on my 250gb on to the original 120gb.

At the end of the day it may have been a faulty disk or one of those unexplained things that happen with Sky. I will investigate the disk but for now I am breathing a sigh of relief in recovering my planner, and now thinking of switching to HD.

Once again this forum has proved its worth and with the likes of PCBBC around it is an exceptional service.

Stuart once again, thanks.

Alan

02-05-2007, 19:01	#1
Bradburger Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 21	Planner Contents Lost Again! Just had this wretched problem occur again on my Pace PVR3. I first noticed it earlier this evening when I checked Sky Anytime & got the message 'Please Wait' which I also got on when trying to access the planner, and when trying to live pause or record. After reboot (mains pulled) I got the usual 'SYSTEM ERROR - Recording and Playback facilities are not available please phone 08700 800800 for more information' message. I did several planner rebuilds and reboots, then finally a software backup, which, as expected, made no difference. Suprisingly though, the software was the new version 5 anytime software, and not 4.10 expected! I was under the impression the previous software version was kept in the backup stream for a lenghty period after an upgrade had taken place until the tech bods at Sky where happy that there where no bugs or problems with certain recorders. But that doesn't appear to be the case! I suppose The HDD might be dodgy as this is the third time this has happened in about 5 months (I know the boot record can sometimes get wiped and cause this as pcbbc as mentioned), although in general, the HDD not made any other signs that it is on it's way out. I'm going to leave things as they are for a couple of hours to see if it does recover the planner contents, as happened last time, and documented in this thread: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...d.php?t=549454 Cheers Paul Last edited by Bradburger : 02-05-2007 at 19:16.

03-05-2007, 08:42	#2
saintalan Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Windsor, UK Services: SkyHD+500gb, Panny TH42PX70 and 80, DMR-E55EB, VMC, DMA2100 MCE, O2 11mb Posts: 384	Paul, sorry to hear your tale of woe, but looks like I have joined you My box (Pace v2 with self-upgraded 250gb HDD) has been working fine for a couple of years now and sods law I have about 80% full at the mo and this morning an empty planner!! Have tried the usual reboot and then a planner rebuild and nothing. Based on your comments and the other thread you refer to I am leaving it a few hours to see if that helps. Meanwhile I have asked pcbbc about Copy+ to try a boot fix if its not the HDD that has failed. Question is - what to do? I have been on the brink of a SKY HD upgrade but had been holding back because of the amount of stored progs I have, and as I understand it, copy+ can't copy between different boxes. So I was looking for some ideas on solutions. I guess the easiesy route, if I can't correct todays problem (then its likely to be HDD failure) and thus I've lost what I had and start again with SkyHD. However if it is not HD failure but copy+ can't fix it, I assume copy+ would then not be able to copy it's contents to another HD? If it could I guess I could get multi room (which I do not really want) while I use 2 boxes. Actually my head hurts at this stage so I am probably not making sense but hoping somebody in a similar situation may understand my ramblings! Any help from you or others well received. Cheers Alan

03-05-2007, 09:54	#4
mikey86uk Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Gender: Male Location: England Posts: 3,138	PACE V1 Box 6years later they still cant make a PVR better

03-05-2007, 15:22	#8
Bradburger Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 21	Alan, sorry to hear about your lost recordings too. I did several more Planner rebuilds, left it on standby over night, but still no change. So, I contacted the Sky tech department and spoke to a helpful lady, and we tried to do a System Health Check, but for some reason, the test did not complete, even after three attempts! So she said try a Full System reset, and then call back and try the test again, which I did, and the Health Check worked fine. According to the chap I spoke to, there where no problems related to the HDD that where showing up on his software, and everything else seemed fine. He did say it was puzzling that this had happened to me three times, yet there was no indication that the disc had bad sectors or was faulty. I did point out that this seems to be a regular problem for SKY+ viewers, and told him about the numerous posts on the subject on this forum! I can only assume it is the boot record that is getting corrupted/wiped at random as pcbbc has said can happen, so I think I'll contact him for his set of recovery tools incase this happens again! Cheers Paul

04-05-2007, 07:25	#9
saintalan Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Windsor, UK Services: SkyHD+500gb, Panny TH42PX70 and 80, DMR-E55EB, VMC, DMA2100 MCE, O2 11mb Posts: 384	I want to see a huge public thankyou to PCBBC/Stuart. Many of you will know of Copy+ but the effort Stuart made yesterday to help me recover my planner was exceptional. 20 mails must have flashed back and forth and using the Copy+ and other utilities we managed to salvage the most important items on my 250gb on to the original 120gb. At the end of the day it may have been a faulty disk or one of those unexplained things that happen with Sky. I will investigate the disk but for now I am breathing a sigh of relief in recovering my planner, and now thinking of switching to HD. Once again this forum has proved its worth and with the likes of PCBBC around it is an exceptional service. Stuart once again, thanks. Alan