problems with pvr 250

[batorok]

Hi, I've been trying to get help in the sagetv software forum, see my post link

and have yet to figure out whey everything works for sagetv for a while, but when sagetv is set to "sleep" and I come back in a day to watch my letterman or whatever, my pc is hard-locked and I have to power down and reboot?

thanks

[gplasky]

Here's what I would do on your reload.
Do not use PCI slot 1 for your PVR250. I'm using slot 2 & 3 for my 2 cards. DON'T put the PVR250 in until AFTER you've loaded the OS, SP, and all drivers.
Go into the BIOS and disable uncessary devices that use an IRQ. On my system I have disable parallel, 2 serial, midi, (if you don't have a mdi music keyboard you don't need this) on-board IR (this is for file transfer and not an IR remote control). Disable any type of power management in the BIOS until you get past your issue.
In my BIOS I have to tell it to go ahead and update the ESD (?) Basically the BIOS will protect itself with the default setting to not allow the BIOS to update with new devices unless you tell it to. I think to help protect from any virus. Also disable any virus ability in the BIOS. If you use a software virus protection this shouldn't be necessary.
Install your OS. Install SP1A. Install System drivers. Install DX9b. Install Video drivers. Verify everything is working. Copy your Hauppague drivers to the hard drive or have them available on a CD.
I am using their latest from the forum. CDROM Release 1.7.21337.
Power down, stick the PVR250 in, start up and when Windows finds the device tell it where the drivers are. After it sucessfully loads the drivers, go back to the software and run setup to install the video decoder. I never install the WinTV2000 software, If you want to use their remote, install the remote software. I always reboot. Install java, reboot, install SageTV. Disable any Windows Power Management thru Control Panel until you're sure your issues are gone. I've done it this way (Except for the Power Management stuff which I have configured with no issues.) with no issues on 3 different PC's/motherboards/video cards. Hope this helps. I have mine on 7/24 and don't sleep or hibernate. I have it on for 5-6 weeks at a time without a reboot. Only time I reboot is adding new drivers/software/updates, etc.

Gerry

[batorok]

thanks for a thorough reply. Part of my problem may be that i'm using a dell 8250 and the bios options are more limited than a retail motherboard. It's otherwise a great pc, extremely quiet, and would be perfect for HTPC/PVR use, but I may be forced to either get a new pc or go TIVO to get the funcionality I need.

I'll post again after I've reloaded everything like you suggest.

[krutaw]

Originally posted by batorok
thanks for a thorough reply. Part of my problem may be that i'm using a dell 8250 and the bios options are more limited than a retail motherboard. It's otherwise a great pc, extremely quiet, and would be perfect for HTPC/PVR use, but I may be forced to either get a new pc or go TIVO to get the funcionality I need.

I'll post again after I've reloaded everything like you suggest.

While I feel your pain with the bios on a Dell, I don't think your problem is in the bios, unless the bios is simply out of date. According to Dell's website (http://support.dell.com), there is an update available from May of last year. Now, I realize I don't know your current bios level, but if you're anything like most people, you don't update the bios unless you have to. A stab in the dark, but worth checking. Good luck!

[batorok]

I have the latest A04 bios installed, which I had avoided until I had this problem, and upgreading the bios didn't fix the lockups. I don't mean there is anything wrong with the bios, just that it has far fewer options to disable things and tweak than the retail motherboards I'm used to.

[batorok]

a re-install of windows fixed everything for me as far as I can tell. Thanks for your help!