Problems with Sony UTV

OK.

Please forgive the long winded post...

Some basic items first:

Still the original Drive? (RCA or Sony UTV? 40 or 80GB Drive?) Ever have this unit opened/cleaned? (If you do... REMOVE THE ACCESS CARD FIRST!)

Have you been avoiding Overheating conditions? (Keep it in the open...Elevate on bottle caps and/or use fans... check the vents and internal fan are clean and doing their job)

Are you using a Battery Backup (UPS) Power Strip with the UTV? (to avoid Power Blackout/Brownout conditions... being plugged into a "switched" outlet...) Some UTVs don't seem to like "bad power" and will behave in odd ways because of it...

They should simply "reset" and carry on... but sometimes you'll get a "Green Flashing Light of Death", a Black Screen with no video, "No OS", All the Recordings Erased, Settings get wiped out...

Have you attempted "Reset" or "Restore" UTV codes? (Double check the UTV FAQ for more details)

There are probably a few other questions I could ask... but I'll throw a few things at you and see what kind of responses you may have...

I had some issues with my Sony UTV just recently and thought it had bought the farm... but a "Reset" code (12357 entered from the Remote while UTV was "off") and taking it "offline" (Pulled the Sat Cables) seemed to calm it down. ((It was randomly resetting and the History Log stated something about a corrupted Guide/Data prevented some recordings or interruptions))

It might be a bit excessive (I'd do it more often if I wasn't such a pack rat on "saving" recorded shows) but if you are willing to "start over" with a UTV in "Out of the box" like condition... You could try the "Restore" Code (2355 2355) which will Kill all your Recordings and Settings, but leave the UTV OS (Are you running current OS 3.8?) intact and start you out as if you'd just plugged it in on Day 1 (or had installed/upgraded the Hard Drive and OS).

I've recommended the "Restore" option for UTVers that are suspecting a possible bad Hard Drive and want to try and troubleshoot if their problem is Hardware or Software. Usually if the "Restore" Code (or "Reset" for little glitches) doesn't help... I'd be looking at overheating or hard drive issues in most cases. (If the Tuners are "stable" and not going in and out of "lock" with a known good signal... a fresh Hard Drive and/or a "cooler" setting is usually all you'd need.)

It isn't scientific but I've noticed on some UTVs I've gotten from others... that a "burned" (brownish around the chip) Access Card might be running a bit too hot. Improving it's cooling ability can do a lot of good.


Keep us posted and welcome to the forum. As for your other RCA Receiver... it behaves itself when the UTV isn't on the circuit? Have you been able to maybe "switch" places with the UTV or maybe segregate it (Via a different Multi-Switch or maybe even a "direct" line from the Dish? Is something like that an option?)