Thread: AZ Box Do's and Don'ts

Originally Posted by Diamond Jim

Keith,
I think I discovered something by accident. When the SRs went south the FR and SR stayed on the sat list with the signal strength showing. I thought OK, rescan and the SRs will go home where they belong and all would be fine. That didn't happen, new channels showed up at the end of the list, so I deleted and re entered all the bad ones. Which I don't understand why only some of the channels disappeared and not all of them. Anyway, after I finished I notched that I had forgot Alaska 360 North and the GCI channels on AMC7. When I went to the AMC 7 TP list 3760-25190 was gone, don't ask me where. I entered them, done a scan and went back to the channel list to name them and the SR was back and the channels where coming in like nothing had happened. I am thinking that if I would have went to each sat list and deleted the old FR and SR from the bad channel and re entered it the channels would have came back on their own and I wouldn't have had to redo the channel list. To be honest, I would really like to know what made the SRs disappear.

That is really strange, I would have thought the same as you, re-scan the transponder, channels would become "happy" again with all the information. The only time I have ever seen the transponder information disappear from the channel list is when a channel was re-named from the channel list area, instead of in the Advance Scan area. Even then, it didn't gray out the channel, and it only affected that re-named channel. The only thing I can think of is that your satellite/transponder list blew a gasket, which then strangely affected only parts of your channel list. All I can say is, may it never happen again!

I really don't mind the little problems with the channel list now that I have some ideas on what to do to correct them. My main problem was the reverting back to the European Sats. With the help of another member I did manage to eliminate them and enter my own list. As long as I have the USBs to correct things I consider it a minor inconvenience instead of a major problem.

I failed to tell you that when I lost the SRs I had pulled up the channel list, scrolled to the channel I wanted and when I hit the OK button is when it happened.

Thanks again to you and Ice.

Originally Posted by Diamond Jim

1. Do not use the power switch to turn off and on.
2. Use the remote only to turn it off and on.

Older models with older firmware did not support shutting down the system via the remote. Akin to what Stargaze stated.
Because shutting the power to the AZBox off via the rear switch could possibly create errors in the system, they added the
shut down menu via the remote. This offers the utility of a proper shut down procedure just like you have on your PC.
When you shut down your PC, you don't just pull the plug or turn the power switch off. You know what happens when you
do that. Instead, you go through a menu and select the shut down procedure you want to execute (shut down, restart, log off, etc).
That allows the PC's OS to prepare for the shut down properly. It turns off all running files in a normal manner. It is the same
for the AZBox. Using the STANDBY (sleep mode) power button on the front of the box is just fine. I think it would be wisest to
select the sleep mode, then turn the main power switch off if you have older firmware that doesn't support the shut down menu.

I have personally never experienced troubles by shutting the box off from the rear power switch. But, I try to avoid complicating my
life and use the remote to enter the shut down routine menu. If the proper shut down procedure is available to you, use it.

Originally Posted by Diamond Jim

3. Use the remote as little as possible.

Why? Are batteries that expensive? Nah! Use the remote all you want.

Originally Posted by Diamond Jim

4. Do not delete anything using the remote.

This depends on what you are deleting. Anything that deals with the setup and file structure I would agree.
Deleting recorded programs and shows, no problem. Deleting channels, no problem. This should all be fine.
Deleting transponders and satellites can be done through the proper menus via the remote. If in doubt or you
question it, use the editor programs. It can sometimes be a little quirky with the remote. Doing so with the
satellite listings requires some additional steps as you will only be modifying the "working" file. The "backup"
file will remain unchanged. I would recommend downloading all the files to your PC and then re-uploading them
using ACC 1.1 utility program. Now the changes you made via the remote have been written to both the working
and the backup lists within the AZBox.

Originally Posted by Diamond Jim

5. Re boot after each addition or deletion that is made.

Logically this makes some sense, but I I am not certain that it is required for every action.

Originally Posted by Diamond Jim

6. Re format the USB stick each time before doing a back up.

Not at all. Once the USB drive is formatted, it remains formatted. There is no need to reformat it. The only time
that I would do so is if you have a suspicion that the USB drive has become corrupted. You are supposed to power
down the USB memory device prior to removal. If you forget to do so, it may possibly harm the device and corrupt
the data stored within. I have never seen it happen, but I guess it is a possibility. If that happens, then reformat
the device if you must. If reformatting doesn't work, then the drive is actually electrically damaged and won't work
anyway.

It is handy to use a USB stick that is dedicated solely to your AZBox so that you have nothing else on it (no other
files other than what you need). This isn't a necessity, it just allows you to keep down the clutter and keep everything
organized, not to mention safe (not lost).

Originally Posted by Diamond Jim

7. Do not move channels in the channel list.

I don't get any bad results from trying to do so. Other than the fact that they may not stay where I put them. It doesn't seem
to harm or corrupt anything, but it doesn't seem to take root either. Personally, I just use the USER CREATED FAVORITE lists.
I organize my channels that way instead of trying to line them up in the main channel list. I do this with the remote, by the
way, but you can also set up favorites via the editors. Either way is fine.

Originally Posted by Diamond Jim

8. Do not scroll up and down the channel list.

This is totally false. Scroll all you desire. There is only one thing that I can state here that might be related to this issue.
If you press any button on the remote and the AZBox doesn't respond immediately. Do NOT keep pressing buttons out of
impatience. Wait a few seconds and press your selection again. I cannot prove this, but I believe that if the LINUX OS is
busy and ignores your remote command at first, you should just wait a moment and tap the command again. Otherwise, I
believe that the box receives several commands all at once and gets confused as it detects partial codes from each command
and goes off on a tangent of it's own. I have witnessed this personally. I may be trying to navigate through a menu or a list
and when it doesn't respond immediately, I press the button again and again and all of a sudden, I am on YOU TUBE. What?
How did I get here? It might even take me to the shut down menu. Then I gotta back out of that. This is probably what the
person/s who told you not to scroll were experiencing, but they didn't spend any time to evaluate the situation. They just
jump to the conclusion that it is a bad thing, it's broke and don't do it... Hah! Ok. Whatever peels your banana.

Jim, I hope that between my information and the responses from all the others that you can dispel some of the myths and understand
some of the quirky facts.

RADAR

Thanks Gordy. Posting this thread has helped me more than anything I've tried. I have more confidence now.

Originally Posted by Diamond Jim

Thanks Gordy. Posting this thread has helped me more than anything I've tried. I have more confidence now.

Thats what we're for Jim