"Temp too high" problems with 6.3?

[Fletch]

I have a new chronic problem with my HR10-250 locking up with the "internal temp was too high" message. It seems to have started with the "upgrade" to 6.3, but this could be a coincidence. I have confirmed that the fan is working and I am not using HDMI. In an effort to try anything, I removed the HDMI card completely and installed a second fan to circulate the air. No improvement.

AFAICT, the unit is not that hot. The power supply heat sinks are almost cool to the touch. In fact, in cases where I have been able to check the sys info screen immediately before or after a freeze, it shows ~42-43.

In one case, this sys info screen showed 16C! This suggests to me that there is an intermittent failure in either the temp sensor or the software that talks to it.

- Has anyone else seen this (either with or without 6.3)?
- Can anyone point me to the location of the temp sensor if I want to try to disable it?
- Any other suggestions?

[scooby_doo_53]

I haven't seen any change in temperature since the upgrade. I have the "twin breeze" fan from Weaknees, because I added a second drive. The temperature is the same as it was on 3.1.5

[Fletch]

Thanks. Yeah, I don't think mine is any hotter either. The software that shuts it down just thinks it is.

[davisryan]

I am having the exact same problem. I can't even get it to complete booting tonight because the warning shows up as it is getting info from the satellites. I called DirecTV, and their only solution was to send me a new HR20 for free. I'm going to give it a try because my HR10-250 was getting really bad even before the upgrade to 6.3.

[thunter913]

Fletch, I had this happen one time to one of my three boxes. At the time it was running 3.1 (the box is now at 6.3a). The temp reading on the box was also between 42-43. I tried to reboot the box and saw an error message stating that the unit had exceeded its normal temp operational range. I turned the box off for about 15 mins, then powered it back on and the box booted without incident. The box has not experienced the problem again nor has any of the other boxes had this problem.

[davisryan]

I left mine off all day today and turned it on when I got home. It booted and immediately gave me the overtemp error. I'm assuming that it's fried. I hope my new HR20 isn't as bad as I expect.

[DennisMileHi]

I had the same problem with one of my two HD Tivos on Monday. It would not get past retrieving satellite information before the overtemp message came on. Nothing would solve the problem.

So, I called D* and asked for Advanced Technologies. Told them it must be a sensor or something, but I didn't equate the problem with 6.3a until I saw this thread. They are sending me a replacement HR10-250 for free even though the 1 yr warranty is long past. I told them I did not want an HR20 because I wanted to watch my OTA channels and I loved Tivo. No problem on their end doing that.

I hope the box arrives today but now I am concerned it might just be some weird 6.3a deal. Go figure! BTW, I plan to swap the hard drives so I don't lose any of my recordings or SPs.

[leesweet]

Er, swap hard drives so you don't lose recordings?! Now, how are you going to do that between HR10s? :) Been there, done that, gotta wipe it all out, unfortunately.

[davisryan]

They sent me a new HR10-250 as well instead of the HR20. The woman at DirecTV said they would send a HR20, but then she asked me about HD locals and much have changed it.

I activated the new HR10 and promptly unplugged the phone line. I am going to leave it on verison 3.5 for now to see if it works better. The performance of the old unit went downhill with every "upgrade".

[creesh]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Excited to finally get 6.3a yesterday on my oldest box (June 2004). Today I can't boot up due to the internal temperature message. I've tried three times. The box is cool and the fan is running.

Anything I can do other than call for a replacement? Unbelievable.

[tbarker]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Excited to finally get 6.3a yesterday on my oldest box (June 2004). Today I can't boot up due to the internal temperature message. I've tried three times. The box is cool and the fan is running.

Anything I can do other than call for a replacement? Unbelievable.

You could try pulling the drive out, reformat it, and then use InstantCake from PTV to reinstall a fresh copy of 3.1.5f.

[davisryan]

You could try pulling the drive out, reformat it, and then use InstantCake from PTV to reinstall a fresh copy of 3.1.5f.

If the replacement is free, why bother? You might as well get a brand new one.

[creesh]

Yeah, I called and they are sending out a replacement.

I hope this isn't a widespread problem with 6.3a. It sounds like are only a few of us unlucky ones over in this thread.

I have a second box that upgraded to 6.3a 2 weeks ago and it's working great

(knocking on wood...)

[drewba]

Add another to the list. I got 6.3a one or two weeks ago, and now I get the internal temp error within 2 minutes of startup. Interestingly, it shows up even using an old 3.1.5 drive that I had laying around, so it isn't just software.

I'm glad to hear that DirecTV is still sending out HR10 replacements since the HR20 won't work for me (no OTA). My unit is way out of warranty as it was purchased in April/May 2004, but hopefully I'll get lucky like some others have.

Does getting a replacement mean that I am signing up for a new 2 year contract?

[creesh]

It shouldn't mean a new contract as long as you are signed up for the $7.99 per month protection plan.

If you aren't under the protection plan, they will probably make you extend your commitment or pay something for the new box.

[Joseph e]

My temp says normal at 46, what is the normal range?
Joe

[drewba]

I talked to DirectTV tonight. They'll replace the box with another HDTiVo for only a $20 shipping charge, but it will be a leased box and a 2-year committment. I can also buy the box for the low, low price of $749.

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do. I don't want to be locked into DirecTV for a 2 year committment. However, moving to cable and the $799 Series 3 (or free Motorola DVR) doesn't sound that appealing either.

[AjaiSehgal]

Does this sound familiar?

After receiving the 6.3a update code, now my HR10-250 TiVo DTV receiver will not boot either. It errors out with "Internal Temperature Too High" despite the fact that the unit is cool to the touch and the fan is blowing cool air. Great. After reading all of you above, I spoke with the Advanced Technical support group at DirecTV who say:

1. this was the first time they have heard about this issue. and:
2. it could not be related to the 6.3a update as he has one at home and has no problems.

They are going to replace the box that I PAID $999 for with a box that is "Leased" from DirecTV! Since I am an "A" list customer they will graciously wave the shipping charge but I have to send MY receiver back to them. Great, I am out $999 due to a failure that DirectTV appears to have caused and they get my old box back to refurb for the next person. For some reason I feel very ripped off.

Is there anything more than circumstantial evidence that 6.3a is the cause of this?

[solsurfer]

I just got the same message. Not sure if 6.3 has made it down to my system yet, though. I'm thinking it might be a bad hdmi board in my case. I tried putting in the clean original drive and I get the same message - does that mean it can't be a 6.3 issue? Or 6.3 macking a change to the card or some other flash memory?

[hammer32]

I had this happen about 3 days before 6.3 became active on my TiVo. If I used anything other than HDMI the message would go away. If HDMI was connected nothing I tried (letting it cool overnight, giant box fans, etc) would get me anything other than the high temp warning screen. Once 6.3 became active I was able to use the HDMI connection again without issue.

[tjbtexas]

I had this happen when I was 3.1. Could not get it to reboot without getting the message. I read on these forums that it could be a defective power supply board.
Ordered one from weaknees and replaced. It has been running fine since (including the 6.3 update for 4 weeks)

[drewba]

Argh, now in addition to sorting through the "another two years of DirecTV" and "$799 Series 3" options, I need to include the "maybe replacing the power supply will fix it" option. :confused:

[andystj]

I have two HR10-250's. Both still stock, uncracked and unhacked. Both purchased early on for $,$$$. I was excited to speed up the menus, so I upgraded my bedroom unit to 6.3a which finally installed last week. The living room hasn't been hooked to a phone line in about a year, and it is (or I should say was) still running 3.x.

I have had NO problems with the unit now running 6.3a. I don't use Dolby Digital, but I do use OTA including a fair amount of Fox. No problems. No audio drops. Love the speed.

When I got home today, I turned the TV on in the livingroom, and my 3.x box was proudly displaying a pretty blue screen bragging that it had shut itself down to avoid any damage to the unit from overheating. Yikes! BSOD! I don't follow these boards super-regularly, so I still thought that BSODs were a Windows 95 problem. Not my beloved Tivo!

A couple of reboots gave me a picture for a few seconds up to a few minutes followed by another Internal Temperature blue screen.

Thank goodness I stuck the $7.99/month "protection" charge on last January. I figured with two units, it was probably not too stupid a move.

Customer service says that he understands the replacement will be another 10-250. I told him that it better be because I use OTA, and I ONLY want another Tivo and not the HR20. It's supposed to be here within a few days.

Anyway, I don't know, but it looks like the BSOD/Internal Temp. page may be symptomatic of any dying TIVO. The upgrade to 6.3 for you guys may have just been a coincedence. Notably, I don't think anybody is ever actually overheating.

[cstelter]

May as well chime in with my story. My 3.x HD-TiVo went BSOD about 2 months ago. Nothing would resurrect it. Tried pulling the hdmi card, unplugging it for a day, taking it out of the cabinet, etc. A week prior to the failure I had been getting bogus 'Access Card is not inserted' messages. I would just go back to Now Playing and then the show would run.

This was my owned unit for 2 years in the same cabinet without a problem with heat. Since it was out of warranty, DirecTV offered to send me a refurb for the price of shipping. I had to re-up for a 2year commitment and send back a perfectly functioning 250GB HDD that I had paid $900 for. I didn't like the deal, but it seemed to be the cheapest solution. The refurb went BSOD within 60 minutes of activating it. Sent it back and the next refurb rebooted twice in the first hour of usage. Once while I was out of the room, and once while I was trying to set up channels I receive. Wholy bad HDD Batman! I called them up and said they could keep their refurbs.

In some sense my box *was* under warranty-- I'd bought the extended warranty from CC. The HDMI on the box had died about 4 months after I bought it, but I was waiting to exercise the warranty until I was sure the problem was really fixed and I had trimmed down my NowPlaying list. I still hadn't done anything about it this summer when the thread about CC buying out the warrantys for $500. I had called up CC about my bad HDMI and received a $500 check to 'fix' it. Since I was $500 ahead on this unit already so I told DirecTV I'd go out and buy a new one for $399 and I'd send them back their bad refurb. They even credited me back the $40 for the two bad refurb shipments. At least I'd still own the original 250GB HDD to recover some value.

So I went down to BB and found that by buying the HR10-250, I could save $200 on a new 37" LCD TV I'd been planning to get to replace my old 27" tube we have upstairs. So I bought the package and went home feeling like I was still maybe $300 ahead ($200 savings on the TV + $100 ahead on the $500 CC had given me to fix the HDMI problem.)

Here's where the story goes strange. I didn't find the return packing slip in the 2nd refurb, so DirecTV was going to send me a new fedex mailer-- that still hadn't arrived after 3 days so I had read that the BSOD could be fixed with a new power supply. So I realized I had a power supply here I could use to test that theory. I swapped the power supply out of the refurb with a bad HDD and voilla, my original HD-TiVo spun up and was happy as a clam.

Oddly though, when I fired up the refurb with my old power supply it also booted fine. I found I could buy the power supply from weaknees for ~$130 or something like that which I was very close to doing. But then I called DirecTV, and explained to them that I had tried some 'advanced troubleshooting techniques' and had managed to make my original unit work. I asked them if I could just send the refurb back with my bad power supply installed. The nice gentleman checked into it and came back and told me to go ahead. When I boxed up the refurb to send it back, I found the return packing slip pasted to the 'bottom' of the box (blush-- I had opened it from the wrong side and had it sittin on my floor that way the whole time I was waiting for the new packing slip)

About 2 weeks later BB put my TV on sale for $150 less than I paid for it, the package deal had increased to $250 savings and the HD-TiVo had dropped to $299, so they price-matched me an additional $300 off the price of the HD-TiVO+37"LCD.

In the end I wound up buying myself a new HD-TiVo and 37" LCD HDTV which I may not have otherwise done so soon, but considering I saved $250 off the TV by paying $299 for the HD-TiVo, it wasn't really a terribly deal.

Now I had turned off my BSOD box for over a day and it still rebooted to a BSOD, but I'm wondering if simply disconnecting the power supply from the motherboard and reconnecting it may have solved it. I either had a flakey power supply that I sent back in the refurb, or something about swapping out the powersupply coincidentally cured my BSOD.

Anyway, it was a rather happy ending. I still have all my shows/season passes/etc on that unit and it has been running strong for over 2 months without a BSOD. I got 6.3 just over a week ago.

[drewba]

The price of the power supply at Weaknees is now only $49. I ordered one tonight and will report back next week as to whether that solves the "overheat" issue with my box.

[creesh]

Interesting.

I also received the "no access card" warning messages a couple of times on the day before my unit died from the temp too high problem.I didn't think anything of it at the time. It was also a 2 year old+ $$$$ box that had always worked perfectly.

This all happened two days after installing 6.3. I have a tough time believing there wasn't something in the new software that triggered this.

I understand that this has also happened with 3.1, but that would be some coincidence. Especially since there are multiple people in this thread who experienced this after the upgrade.

[andystj]

Creesh,

Your point about the timing is well taken, but I'm not sure whether it's that remarkable of a coincidence. If the BSOD is a symptom of a dying Tivo, there will be more and more Tivo's dying all the time as they reach the ripe old age of 2 years or whatever. Since DTV just pushed 6.3 out to a large number of people, it makes since that many of the people getting the BSOD also coincidentally received 6.3. As for me, my 3.X is dying and consequently got the BSOD; my 6.3a is not yet dying (knock on wood) and so it hasn't gotten the BSOD.

The question is whether the rate of BSOD/temp errors jumped after the 6.3 push. The annecdotes at this board really are dispositive on that issue. (Incidentally, you would expect the number of BSOD errors to rise gradually over time because there are more and more "old" Tivo's every day.)

[cstelter]

The price of the power supply at Weaknees is now only $49. I ordered one tonight and will report back next week as to whether that solves the "overheat" issue with my box.

Wow, that certainly wasn't the case a couple months ago! Hope it solves your problem!

[drewba]

The price of the power supply at Weaknees is now only $49. I ordered one tonight and will report back next week as to whether that solves the "overheat" issue with my box.

I replaced the power supply tonight and it appears to have resolved the overheat issue. Previously, it would display the overheat message everytime within 2 minutes of startup. After replacing the power supply, it boots perfectly.

As long as I've got it open, I'm going to replace the hard drive with a 400GB one I picked up at Fry's. Now I just need to decide whether try 6.3 again.

[grins]

me, too. i had a zippered hdtivo at 3.1.5f, and occasionally on a reboot, I would get the temp too high screen. another reboot always fixed it.

I got the upgrade on Oct. 20. This evening, I got a series of system halts for overtemp. I run with the cover off, all components were cool to the touch. I read a rumor (maybe in the underground?) that temp too high screens might be related to improper seating of the white ribbon cable from the motherboard to the front panel...anyone else heard that?

Has anyone replaced a power supply and had that solve the problem, or solved it some other way?

Thanks, y'all :-)

t

(edited to clarify software version)

[drewba]

See my post right above yours.

I had the exact same symptoms. The system wouldn't boot, getting the internal temperature message everytime in spite of the fact that it was cool to the touch.

I replaced the power supply with a new one from Weaknees and its been working great for almost a week now.

[shhkes]

I started getting it on my unit today. When I called DirecTV the woman I spoke with said I was the third person calling in with the problem today and that she usually gets about one every six months. They are sending me a new unit.

[grins]

Well, I got my new power supply last Thursday, installed it after work in time to catch must see TV ;), and it's been running like a champ ever since.

Thanks goodness for TCF; thanks, y'all!

t

[RobertSeattle]

My HR10 just started showing bogus overheating warnings yesterday. I got one of those "Cleaning duster" cans and blew air in every where I could. It started working when I plugged it back in. Maybe a clump of dust was confusing the sensor or the fan was stuck.

But DirectTV is already sending me out a replacement HR10 free, or should I say "leased".

[larewill50]

Well. I had to replace a dead hard drive in August. I have one of the first 250 units sold. 2+ years on the drive, not bad, but not good. About 2 months ago I had one of these overtemp halts. Unplugged and everything was fine. A month later, again. A week later again. Then last weekend, it took 10 re-powerings to get it back. Today nothing is getting it back. It now always BSOD's before the "acquiring" screen, every time. Looks like a hard failure. I took the top off and blew out all of the dust and reseated all of the connectors, including the HDMI board. Did not help. Does anyone know which IC has the temp sensor? I can replace it if I knew where to look. Other threads talked about replacing the power supply. Does not make sense unless the sensor is on the power supply. I'll try replacing the power supply if someone can give me a convincing reason why. Well.... back to the E86 and no DVR, bummer.

thanks,

Larry

[DennisMileHi]

I had the same problem (also on one of the original units). I called D* and talked to level 2 tech support. They agreed to send me a replacement HR10 for free. I also made sure I wasn't going to be turned into some lease deal. The replacement unit is still mine.

[grins]

I'll try replacing the power supply if someone can give me a convincing reason why. Well.... back to the E86 and no DVR, bummer.

See, that "No DVR" was the convincing reason for me ;)

t

[larewill50]

I had the same problem (also on one of the original units). I called D* and talked to level 2 tech support. They agreed to send me a replacement HR10 for free. I also made sure I wasn't going to be turned into some lease deal. The replacement unit is still mine.

Not interested in a replacement with the chance of another 2 year commitment. We'll be relocating abroad in 10 months and D* will be useless. Just want to get to watch the months worth of programs. BTW, I'm on the "A" list and reactivating the Hughes was a piece of cake.

[larewill50]

See, that "No DVR" was the convincing reason for me ;)

t

But not for me. I've got $1,200 invested in this box and enough is enough....... Beautiful GUI, but marginal hardware. Another 10,000 unit beta test.

[PJO1966]

I've been going through this same problem. I thought it was a bad drive. I tried a lot of different things, including using a new hard drive. Nothing helped. Has anyone else had success with the new power supply?

[grins]

It totally fixed it for me (as I said above). It also made me think that a lot of the crap I'd been dealing with might have been power related, rather than disk related.

As someone else said much higher in the thread, the worst case is you're out the restocking fee and shipping for the power supply.

[PJO1966]

I stopped by Weaknees and picked up the new power supply. It was easy to replace. I've had it plugged in for 45 minutes without audio dropouts. We'll see if it holds up.

[cal10]

New power supply from weakness fixed both my high temp and audio dropout problems. My unit has been flawless for over a week now as opposed to going out every other day.

[PJO1966]

20+ hours and current temp is 46c.

[acannan]

:mad: My hr10-250 is doing exactly the same thing. It now is nothing but a boat anchor because it won't even completely boot. $1000.00 for 2 1/2 years of service. Now that was a good investment, huh? :mad: Power supply? Where do I get one?

[PJO1966]

:mad: My hr10-250 is doing exactly the same thing. It now is nothing but a boat anchor because it won't even completely boot. $1000.00 for 2 1/2 years of service. Now that was a good investment, huh? :mad: Power supply? Where do I get one?

http://www.weaknees.com/tivo-power-supply.php

Scroll down to the last one listed. It takes about 5 minutes to swap it out. I haven't had any issues since. If you live in LA you can make arrangements to pick it up in person rather than waiting for shipping.

[MikeMar]

jeeze, mine is running at 52 C, hr20

def a little too hot huh? Should I elevate it a touch to get some air under it? is that the best

[TyroneShoes]

The more airflow on any side the better. 52c seems hot. Typically that happens when folks add larger drives with 7200RPM or better speeds (PVRs only require 5400RPM drives which run a lot cooler) or if they operate them an enclosed space, like a cabinet.

Weaknees and others will sell you a "fan bracket" which allows mounting of two drives and includes a second fan, for about $9, I think (you do not have to have 2 drives to use it). My units went from 47c with a single 250 GB drive to 42c with a 250+400, so I consider the bracket cheap insurance against premature failure, and recommend it highly.

If you have a thermal shutdown, try running with HDMI disconnected before going to more drastic steps.

[larewill50]

It took only 3 weeks with the E86 and the wife demanded that I fix the HR10. Funny, she was really pissed that I bought this "silly" thing. Well, went ahead and bought a power supply. Been a week and it is still running without any temp warnings. It is real spooky that replacing a marginal power supply would fix a temp sensor reading. Most expensive piece of consumer electronics I have now. I've now got a $1,250 Tivo.

Larry

[dturturro]

Add another victim to the list. I just Zippered my HR10 and I got the temp warning, wouldn't even finish booting after that. I switched to component and I got to boot. At first it gave me an e-message stating that it had error #51 and wouldn't record until I rebooted. I did so and my caches started working again but then it locked up. I'm waiting for it the reboot now to see if this helps. Has anyone replaced the PS and NOT had it work?

[Joe Jensen]

I'm another victim. I have an HR10-250 that has been very reliable until recently. Around the time we received 6.3a, the Tivo stopped responding to the Zantech remote IR sender. I tried a new Zantech IR recevier, a new Zantech IR emitter, and nothing.

Then the fan started getting noisy so I ordered a new fan and a new front panel (attempt to fi the IR problem) from weaknees. Last night I installed the fan and front panel. when I power up the Tivo, I get an overheating message, even though the Tivo is cool. I tried using component video instead of HDMI, no go. I tried putting the old front panel on, and nothing. the fan is working, and it is blowing out of the box. I've ordered a new power supply. Is there anything else I can try?...joe

[PJO1966]

I'm another victim. I have an HR10-250 that has been very reliable until recently. Around the time we received 6.3a, the Tivo stopped responding to the Zantech remote IR sender. I tried a new Zantech IR recevier, a new Zantech IR emitter, and nothing.

Then the fan started getting noisy so I ordered a new fan and a new front panel (attempt to fi the IR problem) from weaknees. Last night I installed the fan and front panel. when I power up the Tivo, I get an overheating message, even though the Tivo is cool. I tried using component video instead of HDMI, no go. I tried putting the old front panel on, and nothing. the fan is working, and it is blowing out of the box. I've ordered a new power supply. Is there anything else I can try?...joe


If your TiVo is cool and you're getting that message, the power supply should solve the problem.

[Joe Jensen]

I replaced the power supply and the over temp problem has been solved. Still can't get the Zantech IR extender to work...joe

[Todd]

In the past week I started getting some very brief audio dropouts on HD channels, then occasional message about needing to insert my DirecTV access card. And then today, it died and gives me the message about it overheating when I try to boot it up. I tried blowing out any dust with a can of air, but to no avail. I guess I'll try a power supply from Weeknees.... :(

[restino]

Anyone know exactly where the temp sensor is located in the tivo unit? Can you point it out directly?

I had a unit actually go to over 100 and only show a warning in the system information screen. It said something like temp is too high but not crictical yet or something to that effect.

[dturturro]

It's on the power supply. I haven't heard of being able to replace just the temp sensor, I just bought a new PS.

[gosforth]

Well, I'm the latest to join this thread. Overheat message and won't get past the acquiring signal screen.

I'm a long-time Tivo user (had Series 1 back in May '00) and gone through nearly every iteration of Tivo.

I got one of the first HD Tivo's, which of course failed, and D* sent me out a replacement unit which has been money until tonight.

The born on date shows 31-Aug-04 and given that it's Jan '08 I guess it's hard to complain...but I've babied it real good. This is a completely original box unmodded - I have a modded HD Tivo waiting in the wings - but that's being used in a different room with another HDTV and I really don't want to move it.

Is everyone still on-board with replacing the power supply as the way to solve this problem? Also, would you recommend changing out the fan at the same time since I'll have to crack the box anyway?

Thanks for the help all. I want to make my HD Tivo's last as long as possible until D* makes me switch.

[gosforth]

Well, I got the power supply from WeaKnees, replaced it in 15 minutes (and I'd never cracked a Tivo box in my life) and was back up and running like nothing ever happened.

Thanks for all the info in the thread.

[happypup6969]

Add one more to the list of "overheating" freeze-ups. I'd been having erratic problems with my hacked HR10-250 for the last month or so: freezing, non-responsive to the remote, audio hiccups, random reboots, etc. I thought maybe the HD was starting to go, plus the system is pretty old, I got one of the first ones and I figured it was due to kick the bucket anyway. The other night I got the dreaded BSOD Overheating error and couldn't get it to boot past it. I was resigned to going to Costco and getting a new HR21 but thought I'd check the boards just in case. Glad I found this thread, it saved my unit. I ordered the replacement power supply from Weaknees.com, had it sent 2nd day, got it today, spent a total of 10 minutes swapping it out, and voila, up and running like brand new. Thanks guys, you saved a loved one from the scrap heap!

[Larry Hutchinson]

Returned from vacation to find my HR10 with the bogus temp too high problem.

Tried disconnecting and reconnecting the PS but no joy.

Just ordered a PS from WeaKnees but hated spending $70 on a $5 part for an obsolete piece of equipment, but I had a few programs on the unit that I wanted to watch.

[Larry Hutchinson]

Just ordered a PS from WeaKnees but hated spending $70 on a $5 part for an obsolete piece of equipment, but I had a few programs on the unit that I wanted to watch.

Update: got the PS today, swapped it in and all is well.

[JimSpence]

Although it wasn't mentioned in the thread, I'd add another $30-$40 and get a UPS.

[BlankMan]

Unbelievable. My HR10-250 kept giving me the overtemp message, I let it sit for a couple of months until I finally decided to get it fixed. The problem first manifested itself a few weeks before that by telling me to insert the card when the card was inserted. Then I'd get the "Please activate your DVR service" email message on it. 10-20 times a day. So I opened it up and blew the whole thing out with compressed air and cleaned the contacts on the card slot. All to no avail. So I called DTV and they said the card went bad. So I replaced the card and the problem continued. Waste of $20, thanks DTV. I then tried running the box with the cover off but it still overtemp'd in short order.

I was able to get it up and running for a bit so I went in to the System Information screen and checked the temperature, it read 69 C. Having just started up the box I knew that temperature was in error. Well to my surprise while I've got the System Information screen up I see the Internal Temperature reading change to 40 something, then 60 something, then 50 something, then 60 something, then 40 something, every couple seconds the temperature is jumping around by some 10, 20 degrees. I knew that wasn't possible, no way could the temperature be going up and down by that much that fast.

So I decide to see about getting it fixed thinking the temp sensor went bad. I called weaKnees on Tuesday and spoke to Nick, explained the problem and that it occurred even with the cover off and the fan was fine. He said the power supply needs to be replaced. I was skeptical. I said really? He said 98% of the time that's the problem when it overtemp's. After thinking about it, I suppose if the voltage isn't stable the reference for the temp sensor wouldn't be stable and that could cause the temp problem.

So I had him send me a new power supply, it arrived Thursday. I installed it and after the box came up I went to the System Information screen and watched the Internal Temperature reading. 40 C and solid as a rock. That did it, it's fixed. Who woulda thought? I would have never suspected the power supply right off the bat.

Thanks Nick!