you press the up and down channel buttons on the main unit until the machine shuts down; then you start from scratch. This does not erase existing programs.
I followed this email that someone else posted from panasonic. Sorry I'm not sure who posted it. It says it is for the DMR-E95 (which is the model that I have.) but I think they are pretty much the same. Thank you for your inquiry. There are no firmware upgrades available for the DMRE95. Based on the information provided we recommend resetting the unit. Please follow the instructions listed below. 1. Hold down the channel up and channel down keys together, you MUST hold these keys down until the clock starts flashing (not until unit says BYE) keep them depressed until clock is flashing 12:00am. 2. Pull power cord on unit (15 -20 seconds) and re connect. 3. At this point the front of the recorder will show PLEASE WAIT (with no hash marks going back and forth) wait until this goes off completely. The front of the unit normally will be all black (no lights) this sometimes takes a while. 4. Power the unit on, you may get one of two things, 1(Please Wait with the flashing hash marks for a while) or just have front of unit display GUIDE along with ch1, on the face. 5. The very beginning TV Guide set up screen on your TV, this is the picture of a TV set with welcome to TV Guide set up. This means the recorder is completely reset to factory, if you have the TV Guide screen asking if settings are correct, you have not completely reset and must try again. To obtain additional troubleshooting assistance for your product, please contact our Panasonic Customer Call Center at (800) 211-PANA. The hours of operation are Mon. - Fri. 9A.M to 9PM and Sat. - Sun. 10A.M to 7PM Eastern Standard Time. A representative will be available to assist you. Please have your case number, which is listed at the top portion of your email, available at the time of the call. Thank You, Panasonic Consumer Support
Tried that with an e500 but it didn't change anything. This seems to happen even with those units with no HD. For me, I have to push the power button twice if I get a U99.
I got the U99 error on 9/8 twice and when I came home from work on 9/9 it had a U99 error again. I took it to the local Panny repair center and it took them until yesterday (the 26th) to get the error. They are replacing the digital board in it. I hope this fixes it, but if not, I still have 6 months of warranty left. @
I too have a DMR-E85H that has been plagued with U99 errors the last few weeks, after having worked fairly flawlessly for the last several months since purchase in February. I'm going to try some of the things I've read here, but thought that I would add that I tried the firmware upgrade and that did not help. I've also noticed that my Guide information will be non-existant when viewed and then be present when I return to it a minute later. I do have a follow up question to one of the earlier postings - has anyone figured out a way to use a larger hard drive in this unit and have the machine recognize it as more than 120 GB?
Update on my U99 Hastles. I've done a recent firmware upgrade and a reset and still picked up a U99 code within 30 minutes of turning the unit off. Following that I went to Automatic Channel Selection rather than TV Guide and the unit went all night without reverting to U99. This of course is not a real fix, the TVGuide portion of the setup added a lot of functionality. What I'd like to know is whether others experiencing the U99 errors may be on the same Cable provider as me - I'm with Astound in the Walnut Creek, Ca area.
I'm willing to try almost anything. Been getting the error maybe two times a week. I have gotten so use to them that I wonder if one of these times the unit will lock up and all will be lost. Have been real lucky that at this time it is only inconvient to have to turn the unit on wait for it to go through the self check cycle. Everything is OK and I get the recording that was scheduled to record. I have about 8 months left on the warranty and have not purchased the extended warranty from Panny. I'm in Kentucky and use Insight as the cable company
I'm using Comcast; got the U99's when I was using TV Guide function. Reset; am now using manual programming, no TV Guide; no problems so far.
Looks like it isn't specific to one area. I'm in ohio. I still haven't had anymore U99's since I reset it but if it is a problem with tv guide's data stream it will probably happen again. Gdoggy I hope you will report if the digital board replacement ends your U99 problem because if it happens to me again I'm taking it to the repair shop. I have about 10 months left on my warranty.
Looks like there are a few of us who eliminated the U99 errors by cutting out the TV Guide functionality - it would be good to know how prevalent this problem is, if I had that data I'd use it to see if we can get a firmware update addressing that issue. Has any one had success with using forum data to back up your claims to Panasonic?
O.K., found this forum by a search for the infamous U99 error, I've got a DMR E85H, and as an added feature, it came with the cursed U99, .... about 4 or 5 months after getting it home that is. I've been power-cycling it, and have noticed, partial channels in the Guide plus, I've looked at a lot of the posts, and have sorted out what I think/guess will work best for me. I'm not sure of the current firmware, will check it first, then if needed I'll apply the upgrade. I plan on removing a bunch of the channels that are listed,.... now-a-days, the "200 channels and nothing to watch" applies more than ever. I'll try all this, and post tomorrow as to results. Many thanks , and regards to Roger "K2SMN" for the info and effort to help all resolve this problem. Mazda RX7 Fan
Yes, I will report back on whether the digital board fixes it, but unless Panasonic has redesigned and/or revised the digital board I can't see how it will fix anything. I would say just the process of resetting the system and reformatting the drive after the board replacement will probably keep me U99 free for at least a month or two.
Just a reminder - The original "U99" error I reported on here was caused by performing a "Divide" function. This is used when you have recorded a continuous 3-4 hours and then want to edit each hour to burn to DVD. It would cause data loss of any remaining video on the Hard Drive. Drove me nuts. The firmware upgrade fixed it - for sure. However, it turns out that the "TV Guide" function can also cause this "U99" error. I have no idea why that happens, or how to fix it -- I just DON'T use the "TV Guide". Never needed it. Never tried it. Don't want it. There are so many other ways to find out what's on TV. I just start the machine at 7:55 pm and let it run until 11:00 pm. I can then watch what I want, with great ability to skip past the junk, etc. I then edit the stuff I want to save (using that divide function) and burn it to a DVD. Erase and repeat. Works great. No "U99" errors since the firmware upgrade. I also use external tuners, connected with S-Video, so don't even have an antenna on the built-in tuner. The problem appears to be in the "TV Guide" function, and only Panasonic & the TV Guide people can work this out. Bring pressure on them. Good Luck! Roger.
I use the TV guide on my E85 daily and I have never experienced a U99 error. I'm not going to stop using it, but it's a bit worrying reading this. So it's just the use of the TV guide that can cause the U99 error? Nothing specific? Jeepers. That's pretty bad news.
We just had an update from our cable company and I'm getting U99 like every 2 hours. I will try the No TV Guide... On the other hand, I downloaded the firmware from the US Panasonic site, which is btw the same as dxcc's. 0970DL/0110DC/J131. However, I just downloaded from the canadian website with a J132... I will check tonite if I still have the U99. If yes, I'll disable the TV Guide and see...
This is regarding the U99 message in standby mode for the E85. I've also concluded that this IS connected to the TV Guide Onscreen function. I have used this unit with the TV Guide Onscreen since I bought it in November 2004. It was manufactured April 04. I have never updated the firmware. I've had some minor bugs such as the DVD tray not opening with the regular button and such, but no problems using the TV Guide AT ALL. ONLY IN THE PAST MONTH have I seen the U99 when in standby. This started after a prolonged power outage (TV Guide info still saved after 4 hours), and ever after I have occasionally received the U99 in standby. I reset the TV Guide (ch up/ch down) but still get them. I'd say something changed in the TV Guide download (from PBS or whatever station it comes from) as everyone seems to have started getting this on multiple cable carriers and locations AT THE SAME TIME. There was a software upgrade, but that was long before U99 started appearing. In addition, even though I have the same timed settings as always (which interrupt downloads)I've noticed that the downloads seem to be slower or incomplete (One day will be skipped, have all NO LISTING, but successive days will be downloaded). Mossler--did you ever call the number (800-386-7380) you gave? I'll try it but have my doubts as the gemstar/TV Guide website wants you to contact the equipment manufacturer. Any thoughts/solutions other than not using TV Guide Onscreen anymore?
O.K. , this is the next day after applying the "new" firmware. I'll start at the beginning (So to speak) I have a DMR E85HP (I've seen E85HS mentioned here, anyone have any idea what the difference is there?) Mine was manuf. May 2004, orig. firware numbers: Main : 0960DL Timer: 0110DC Drive: J117 After firmware update Main : 0970DL Timer: 0110DC Drive: J131 Did that last night, got up this morning to a U99, ... so the firmware did not fix my problem,... my problem is the TV Guide problem. So I tried the Initialize ALL params to factory, and reset the TV guide info. Only problem is I'll probably have to wait till tomorrow to see if it works, and it's 7:30 AM here,. ..... I hate the wait, I wish TV guide would add an option to "Retrieve" the data on demand. Side note, ... Roger, I got a strange response from service code "61", the display, instead of date, said "PD" ... any ideas? Also, ... same result after the firmware update. Strange. Mazda RX7 Fanatic
Oh, almost forgot, I [bold]DO[/bold] want to use the TV Guide. So I'm pretty much "on a mission" to figure it out. So I really want to avoid not using TV Guide on the machine. I've got a GoVideo DVD recorder that I could use, .... the reason I bought the Panny was teh TV guide, ... just wish the blaster would work with the Go Video , I hate entering all the start stop stuff, ..... I always mess up the times. RX7 Fan
"I'd say something changed in the TV Guide download (from PBS or whatever station it comes from) as everyone seems to have started getting this on multiple cable carriers and locations AT THE SAME TIME. " It's not accurate to say everyone. I have been using the TV Guide on my Panny E85 daily and have never received a U99 error.
I just want to thank everyone for commenting on the apparent TV Guide/U99 issue, it may not be happening to everyone, but it has happened to enough of us all in the last few weeks to make it fairly clear that the problem is not a coincidence. I joined this thread because initially I thought the problem might be firmware related, now that there is evidence that it's likely TV Guide download related, (which does not necessarily exclude the firmware as the problem), perhaps we should start a new thread. If anyone gets an answer or fix from Panasonic on this, please let us know. Panasonic - you should be listening! I've seen so many of these units returned to Circuit City and I can only guess from the reviews and my experience that it's for issues like these.
