Has my HD-PVR died?

[shatter]

I noticed today that SageTV had missed a recording and my EPG was empty. I went to do the trick of adding/removing channels to get the EPG to refresh and was informed by SageTV that I had no capture device present.

I opened the device manager and there is no HD-PVR device listed. I powered down the computer and unplugged the HD-PVR. Then powered everything back up. Normally when the HD-PVR is powered up, the blue light that comes on when recording will flash after a second or two. The light does not flash but the power light on the front of the unit is on (blue).

Windows 7 reports an "Unknown Device" in the device manager with a Code 43: Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems.

I restored my backup from yesterday without luck. Any ideas? Is the HD-PVR dead? Anything else I should be checking? If it is dead, should I get another one or go with some other hardware instead? Will Hauppauge replace/repair? I am sure I have had it more than a year at this point.

Thanks,
Chad

[bcjenkins]

Do you have a netbit power supply on it? If so, you might try replacing it with something else or contact Hauppauge for a replacement.

[shatter]

It does have the NetBit power supply. I did notice that front blue LED is flashing which I saw in another thread definitely sounds like an indicator of power supply failure.

I found my receipt from Dell back in July 2009 as well.

I'll contact Hauppauge for a replacement power supply. Will they make me buy a new one? I see they sell replacement power supplies for the HD-PVR for $15.

Thanks!

[bcjenkins]

I called them yesterday for one and they didn't even ask for serial number. We'll see if I actually get one YMMV though.

B

[skiingwiz]

Originally Posted by shatter

Will they make me buy a new one? I see they sell replacement power supplies for the HD-PVR for $15.

They have replaced 2 of mine for free. All I had to do was ship the bad ones back to them. (Which cost about $4).

I emailed support to start the process each time and they were very responsive.

[vividweb]

Just got an email from Hauppauge support asking for mailing address to ship a new power supply for my failing one.

[shatter]

I had a response back in about 18 hours asking for the address to ship out the replacement power supply! A+ support in my book.

[shatter]

Got the new power supply in the mail today. Plugged it in and my SageTV setup is back in action!

[SHS]

Originally Posted by shatter

Got the new power supply in the mail today. Plugged it in and my SageTV setup is back in action!

Just a hint stay off the Playboy channel and it may last longer hehehe

[nspindel]

I wish my problem had such a simple resolution. I have the exact same issue. HDPVR has disappeared from Sage, and Windows Device Manager is giving me the Code 43 error.

However, it's not the power supply. My blue light is not blinking, and I checked the power supply with a meter and it's a steady 5.18v.

I even went as far as to purchase a replacement HDPVR on eBay, and the replacement is giving me the identical error. With two HDPVR's both showing a steady blue light when powered up, I'm inclined to believe the HDPVR's are both fine and something is awry in Windows.

I tried swapping out the USB cable as well.

Other USB devices are working, my USB keyboard and USB-UIRT are not having issues.

I read somewhere to try disconnecting all USB devices, and uninstalling the entire USB stack in Device Manger - hubs and controllers, then reboot and let Windows reinstall the USB stack and try again. The uninstall/reboot/reinstall went fine, the hubs and controllers reinstalled themselves properly. However this didn't clear up the problem with the HDPVR.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm starting to think I need to do a Windows reinstall, which I'd really like to avoid.

I should also mention that I'm running Windows 7.

[nspindel]

Ok, well I take that back. It is the power supply. Very strange. The NetBit power supply reads a rock steady 5.18v on my meter. The blue light on the HDPVR is a steady blue, not blinking. Yet.... If I try a different 5v power supply I have, voila it works. Weird. But problem solved!

[MattHelm]

Try running this program:
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

Seems MS likes to keep ALL the USB stuff safe, and never remove it.

[SHS]

Originally Posted by nspindel

Ok, well I take that back. It is the power supply. Very strange. The NetBit power supply reads a rock steady 5.18v on my meter. The blue light on the HDPVR is a steady blue, not blinking. Yet.... If I try a different 5v power supply I have, voila it works. Weird. But problem solved!

Just because it reading 5+volts that doesn't always means it a good power supply you also have take in count load rating + voltage drop with the amp load.
It just like how you test a car battery with multimeter using a starter motor under load even you get 12+ volts right off the bat your battery should drop 2 volts which due high amps draw so you should have min 10+ volts it should keep that voltage for a bit on cold start how ever if it below that 10volt then that a sure sign that the battery is going bad or it alternator not fully change the battery.

[nspindel]

Thanks for the help. Now that I've changed the power supply all is working well. Learned something new about power supplies!