Pioneer DVR-810H Will Not Boot Up

[Bob Erikson]

When I plug the DVR-810H it says "Powering Up", then says "It will only be a few more minutes with color logo", then I hear a click and it starts all over again with the Powering Up message and then Only a few more minutes, and continues to do this for hours after which I unplug the unit.

Any idea what the problem is or how to reset the unit? Thanks.

[bicker]

Sounds like a bad hard drive; perhaps time for a replacement.

[Teardrop]

I've been having a similar problem and from old threads that I've been reading, it may be a dvd problem. DVD may be stuck in drive.

In the past I've always used 8x DVD-R discs with no problem (I had hundreds of them.) I just switched to TDK 1-16x DVD-R and the first time I burned a DVD it gave me a "incompatible disc" error. The second and third discs I tried burned great. The fourth disc is now stuck in my recorder and TIVO is stuck on the "welcome... powering up" and then doing exactly what you described with clicking and changing to "Almost there" and then going back to "welcome... powering up."

In the old threads people recommend seeing if a disc is stuck in hard drive and using a paper clip to remove, before replacing the hard drive. Can someone tell me how to use the paper clip trick? I don't see any opening to stick the paper clip in.

I've had my pioneer 810H since 2003 and have never had a problem like this before. I called pioneer and they want me to send it in to get a new hard drive for a $395 flat fee. That's mighty expensive if all I need is a paper clip.

[bicker]

It isn't easy to find the paper clip button, because instead of the typical pinhole, it is just a pad behind the bezel in a horizontal gap in the plastic.

There is a picture of it in Message #7 of this thread:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=310815

[Teardrop]

thanks for the help.
I got the stuck dvd out. Now I'm just hoping after unplugging TIVO it can reboot itself.

[kiddoc89]

OK, DVD is out but have been at the "Almost there" screen after reboot for about 30 minutes. I'm assuming it's the hard drive. Are there instructions on here as to how to remove the drive from the Panasonic unit?

Thanks