Cable Tuner just stopped working on 5040..hard reset, forced reconnect no go

[Dave Hanson]

I have no idea what to try next. Seems to playback just fine, but no matter how well the input cable works on my TV and my other 5040, it just gives a "no video signal detected" error message. Pretty frustrating...


I didn't see anything on this in the troubleshooting checklist or FAQ. Apologies if I missed something... Any ideas? TIA!

[Jeff D]

hard reset may not do anything if you keep all the cables connected. See the trouble shooting sticky thread for info on how to do a proper reset. Report back if that works.

[Dave Hanson]

Thanks Jeff D,

I did, and no go. I also re-checked the that thread, and realized I'd missed a reference to http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=291768&perpage=20&pagenumber=2 where the problem is taken up further.

Nothing in that thread has worked for me so far. One time, after powerdown, reset, and disconnecting RF, I got a brief moment of tuner, but then it froze and quit again.

Any suggestions most appreciated.....

Do we still have a company employee monitoring problems here? (Sorry, haven't been able to be here for awhile...)

[Dave Hanson]

bump, alas, still looking for help :( Feel free to direct me another link if I've missed something....TIA

[Ace987]

Does it work with any of the inputs?

[FBM]

I get the no video signal problem whenever I have to unplug my 5040. I am able to resolve it by going to 243 zones, clearing the channel guide, then doing a net connect. Sometimes I have to try it a couple times but it always does the trick.

[Dave Hanson]

FBM, that worked like a charm, first time! Thank you! That little trick belongs in the FAQ.

I wonder if it's something about the channel guide getting out of sync. It did seem like one or two of the channel labels had changed slightly.

[Dave Hanson]

well, six days after FBM's solution worked (12/28/04), the tuner conked out again, and this time his method doesn't help at all.

I hate to just junk the thing...would sure appreicate any other suggestions. TIA.

[Mikeyboy]

Some recorders are prone to the "no signal detected" quirk. I suspect it's hardware related, some sort of encoding problem. Forgive me if you've already tried this but it's what I'd do http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2696620#post2696620

[bholio]

Mine does this about 50% of the time after a reboot. I just keep rebooting until it works again. Sometimes it take 4 or 5 tries...

[Dave Hanson]

Thanks for the replies.

Mikeyboy, I tried that a ways back, but decided to try it again before replying once more. Seems like a mistake: now, it won't output any video to my TV at all, and the only way to turn it off is holding the power button in for 10+ seconds.

I just called Replay tech support. Waited on hold for 15 minutes, then gave info for 10 minutes, had a level 1 tech tell me to do a 243 zones, and then got cut off (sigh.) Of course 15 minutes later, she hasn't called me back despite having my phone number.

I'd welcome any suggestions. :(

[Mikeyboy]

Originally posted by Dave Hanson

Seems like a mistake: now, it won't output any video to my TV at all, and the only way to turn it off is holding the power button in for 10+ seconds. No video hmmmm.

Unplug power from the recorder for a few minutes then plug it back in. Is the recorder booting up to the Replay screen or is it stuck at the "Please Wait.." screen (assuming the replay output to TV is A/V cable or Super-video)? If you use RF out to TV, do you see the Replay screen or is it bypassing the signal straight through the recorder?

[Dave Hanson]

Mikeyboy, I did just reach another 1 level tech, and he had me do what you suggested. It bypassed the signal straight through to the recorder.

He concluded that the hard drive must be shot, and that the channel guide problems were likely a sign that it was failing...does that seem at all plausible?

He said they'd replace the unit for $75, but only if it hadn't been opened. Of course mine has been (upgraded to 160GB drive), , so that won't do it...

[Mikeyboy]

Dave, failing hard drives will cause intermittent "no signal detected" messages. It is also true some 5000's have a motherboard issue that cause them to fail to tune anything unless you do the tricks mentioned earlier in this post.

Sometimes when a 5000 is unplugged before the unit finishes booting the power supply will shut down. Try this - unplug the recorder for 10 minutes then try to boot it. If it you see some activity on the TV screen and then the signal bypasses in a minute or so, you most likely have a hard drive issue. If you're up for it, swap the hard drive with your other 5000 to see if the problem goes away. Just make sure the recorders are unplugged before and while you're working on them to prevent data corruption and electrical shock.

[Dave Hanson]

Thanks Mikeyboy,

I left it unplugged, then plugged it in, connected to the TV via RF.

This time, passthrough until plugged in. Once plugged in, channel 3 showed black, with a rythmic white band sweeping vertically across the screen. All chanels above about 7 passed through. I did hear what sounded like a hard drive booting for a few seconds, then nothing.

Oddly though, the blue "on" light didn't go on at all this time. It seems like each time I plug it in, I lose something else... :(

I have an extra Maxtor 160 gig drive I can format and try. I'm reluctant to cannabalize my other replay, since it's working just fine.

I do very much appreciate all the help you're giving me! :)

[Mikeyboy]

Yes, try the 160. Except for the blue light not coming on, it sounds like a bad or corrupted drive. Make sure you do the "Patch Target Drive" step and answer yes to the reset question.