Does updating firmware delete recorded items on hard disk?

Dog's dinner

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I've just finished upgrading to the latest firmware (release-dm8000-3.2.1.nfi), and discover to my horror that the hard disk seems to have lost about 750GBs worth of recorded programmes.

When I rebooted the Dreambox (DM8000) after flashing the firmware (though I haven't the foggiest what "flashing" means), there was a message saying "go to system etc. and do something with your hard drive".

Well I checked my hard drive, and there was not a single recorded programme on it.

I went then to the hard drive section on the system setup menu, and was told that if I initialized it, I would lose all data. So I backed away from that.

Is there any way of recovering the contents of the hard disk, or is it a write off?

I might add that my first year with the Dreambox has been a most frustrating, annoying, disspiriting experience. Do I regret buying it? You bet. At the last check, a few weeks ago, the crash log contained more than 80 normal crashes. Since then another 10 have been added (at least).The log doesn't include atypical crashes however- such as the dreaded freezes which can only be resolved by pulling the plug from the mains. Add about a hundred of those.

I'll get back to my litany of complaints later. For the mo - apart from wishing the UK Dreambox community a happy yuletide - I'd really like to recover the hard drive's contents :-doh!
 

Gerry55

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Hi Dog’s dinner
Sorry to hear of your bad experience with your DM 8000, is it a genuine one?

The last firmware update caused problems with some of the plugins, CrossEpg for one.

Over the years I have tried most of the images and always go back to Oozoon!

About your hard drive go into the hdd setup and check that it is set to /media/hdd
 

Dog's dinner

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Thanks for your reply. The Dreambox is absolutely genuine, purchased from a shop in Denmark (I live in Norway by the way), and I suppose the nfi file was genuine too, since I downloaded it from the Dreambox German site. I've also checked the box itself with the 'genuine Dreambox' app.

I'm pretty sure that the hdd setup is directed at /media/hdd. Anyway, I can access the hard drive from the computer, and it's absolutely clean.

Since I've got nothing to more to lose, I think I'll try some of these other images, starting with Oozoon. Would this be the right place to go to get the latest version?
=http://www.oozoon.de/2011/12/oozoon-image-dm8000-20111210/

Cheers
 

Gerry55

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Look at

xxtp://144550.webhosting53.1blu.de/

xxtp://dreamboxupdate.com/opendreambox/1.5/dm8000/experimental/

xxtp://www.oozoon-dreamboxupdate.de/

xxtp://sources.dreamboxupdate.com/opendreambox/1.6/dm8000/experimental/
 

Dog's dinner

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Thanks for the addresses, Gerry55. I installed Oozoon, and tried a few of the skins on offer. I've also downloaded several progs or extensions, including Barry Allen, which I've long been wanting to find out what is.

I might give Nabilo Blackhole and a few others a try over the xmas hols as well.

Cheers
 

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Hi again Dog’s dinner
Barry Allen is a plug-in that allows you to dual boot, I use it to run 3 or 4 different images on a cf card to test, also I have a USB pen drive for Crossepg to store its data.

Barry Allen will also run off a pen drive but I think a cf card is better, you can do more things with Barry Allen, running soft cams, installing plug-ins, and more.
 

Dog's dinner

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A little update. I tried Oozoon, but it took only about 5 minutes before it crashed. The Dreambox seems to have a seizure if you inadvertantly press two buttons on the remote in too quick succession. So i trid a couple of other images, including nabilo blackhole, PLi, Newnigma2 and an experimental release of the Dreambox standard. I couldn't quite get used to the first three, and the experimental one had problems (no sound in certain circumstances).

So I went back to the normal Dreambox image. First did a factory reset, then installed the latest image from the Dreambox site. I recorded a tv film (a terrestrial broadcast) as a test. When I started playing film the next day, the ruddy machine crashed again.

Whether it's the fault of Linux or Dreambox hardware or software, the whole thing seems prone to failure. Why it's so hyped up is beyond me. I really wish I spoke German, I'd give those Dreambox people a piece of my mind. Trouble is, the one time I asked for help, they never bothered to reply.
 

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Dog’s dinner
DM 8000 is an extremely good box but being a Linux receiver, most of the firmware and software is experimental, so from time to time there will be problems unless you only use DM own firmware/software, and that will make for a boring hobby.

So you might have a faulty box or you are installing things incorrectly, is your box overheating?
 

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Dear Gerry55,

There are no overheating issues as far as I know, and I'm sure I would have noticed by now. Just yesterday I held the box while I made sure the terrestrial aerial fitted snuggly into its slot in the rear, and I would guess the temperature to be in the lower 40s (C).

I think I know two causes of the crashes. One is if the terrestrial signals are too weak or broken up somehow by weather conditions. I tried moving the indoor aerial (which is an active one, powered from the mains), to see if that improved things. I'm also planning on looking for a better aerial solution. Anyway, if the recorded programme has imported these signal deficiencies, then the box will crash. Funnily enough, I can watch the programme in an emergency in "cut list" mode. But that's not much fun.

The other known cause is pressing buttons on the remote too quickly after one another. Say you've pressed one button, but made a mistake and press the right one immediately afterwards, before the machine has had time to digest the first command, that tends to either freeze the software or cause it to crash. Now in my opinion, the software (or the DM software, which I'm getting used to), is unbelievably slow, given the speeds that a computer can produce editing video and sound files, for example. It's also a lot slower than what I assume would be a much more basic in software terms my old Pioneer DVD recorder, which can divide/remove parts of movies in the twinkling of an eye. The Dream box can take as much as five minutes just to edit out a couple of minutes from the beginning of a movie. And it can't edit audio-only files at all.

While I'm ranting on, what I also find incredible is that the machine can't organise itself to execute a recording without being tuned to the relevant channel (or one in its vicinity transponderwise etc.). That is, it can't command itself to tune into the channel it's been asked to record. That led to many frustrating non-recordings in the early months. And if it has already started recording when you suddenly realize you forgot to tune the Dreambox to the right channel, it's major operation to correct the problem. You can't simply switch channels from the wrong one to the right one because it'ss give you the famous "tuner failed" notice, and the machine will probably freeze or something. The only way round it is to enter the timer, delete the timed recording, exit through several software layers to get back to the tuning level, tune it to the right channel, start recording again. That process can take for ever (feels like it).

Now I'm sure I've been doing things wrong a lot of the time - learning from mistakes hopefully. And I'm also sure the software was getting increasingly corrupted over the first twelve months. But having a machine which crashes totally just because you pressed the yellow language-choice button is just simply ridiculous.

What I would really have liked to see or read, or even find a site, which compiled the info on Dreambox matters (preferably with a glossary explaining terminology for dimwits like me), and listed and commented on the various possibilies open to the normal punter using Linux and flashing images etc.
 

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Dog`s dinner
All channels have to be pre tuned and saved in a favourite sat list, to record I use Crossepg, first go to the satellite then scroll down to the channel, next press the info button then the yellow one, that will give you the programs for the next 7days, scroll down to the program you wish to record then press the green button twice and that’s it, all without moving the dish!

You do have a dish?
 

Dog's dinner

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Hi Gerry55,

All the channels I use regularly are in various 'bouquets', different bouquets for different categories of TV channels and ditto for radio. I don't find it difficult to time a recording - and it's always done via the bouquets, programme schedules (epgs), and a couple of taps on the green button. Since the latest image flashing (or whatever it's called), the Dreambox has recorded several tv and radio shows.

I have two dishes, one with one head pointing to Hotbird 13, and one with two heads pointing to Astra 19 and 28E. Then there's the indoor antenna for the terrestrial services.

Is there a difference between favourite sat list and favourite TV/radio channel list (bouquets)? I don't think I've ever seen an option to create a favourite sat list - not much point either since I've only got the three.
 

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Hi Dogs dinner
Just use DreamBoxEdit and add the radio at the bottom,
If you give me your email address by pm I will send you my DreamBoxEdit file to look at.
 

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Gerry55 said:
If you give me your email address by pm I will send you my DreamBoxEdit file to look at.
Could you not upload it here for everyone's benefit? Or does it contain information you'd rather not publish widely?
 

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Thanks for the offer. I do in fact have a copy of the Dreamboxedit software on the computer. Haven't used it recently though, mainly because I couldn't get it to connect with the Dreambox over the LAN setup. I've realised since that it doesn't like not having the DHCP option turned on under the network options. Of course, the connection problems I experienced may have had something to do with the general state of disrepair affecting the dreambox.

Here's the link _http://dreamboxedit.digsat.net/

By the way, I've just bought a Verbatim 16GB SDHC card. Can I use it for multibooting in a Barry what's his name environment? I could have several images to play around with and check out the various possibilities. But I'm not sure whether I shouldn't have bought a plain vanilla SD card, rather than a fancy SDHC one.
 

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It's not for me - it's for anyone who has a Dreambox that's following this thread. And Gerry55 wasn't offering you the program but a copy of his modified file with, presumably, all the channel information you might need.

BTW, please don't forget to deactivate links to outside sites with something like an underscore.
 

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PaulR try this

xttp://hotfile.com/dl/138667779/83d263c/8000_Channels_%28_Keep_%29.rar.html
 

Dog's dinner

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I've been busy the past few days, but thought an update might be due on progress in the BarryAllen department. I managed to transfer the various nfi files to the correct place in the Dreambox. It took me a few minutes (felt like hours) after that before I realised they had to be extracted. That being done, however, the Barry Allen system worked and gave me choice of images to boot into. Very nice. The only problem I've encountered so far is that the remote control input for naming bouquets in nabilo blackhole is corrupted somehow. I 'spect I'll be able to work that one out though.

Happy new year everyone!
 
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