New Update Bricked my box

We are all customers like you here, does it not power on or what message do you get?

Let me see if I can answer this with photos.

On power on or red button reset, I see the following.

http://www.askshawn.us/images/1.JPG

and then

http://www.askshawn.us/images/2.JPG

and then

http://www.askshawn.us/images/3.JPG

This will stay there until I use the front power button and then turn it back on and then I will get

http://www.askshawn.us/images/4.JPG

And then I'm stuck there.

Do you have other Receivers?  Are they working OK?

Yes, my HR20, still running the old guide is working fine as is my old SD DVR.

I'd say you have one of two possible problems.  First that your HR24 decided to have drive issues that showed up as part of the system reset native to any software update.  Or, you got a bum software download.

I'd check the hard drive first.  It's easy and will tell you if the first scenario is true or not.  It's done thus and is benign.

Run the Built in Self-test (BIST) to try and repair your hard drive. To run the hard drive checks, please follow these steps:

* Reboot DVR via red button inside card door.

* When you see "Running receiver self-check" press select

* You will see "Entering Diagnostics Mode..."

* Select Advanced Tests Menu -> Hard Drive utilities -> Short Smart test

You can also run the file test, and the DVR can sometimes repair a bad file report.

* If the other tests pass, run the surface test. Warning: This process could take several hours to complete. You may want to run it overnight.

The good news is that every attempt is made to save programming. This is less destructive than a reformat all and could provide you with a more stable system if you are having problems that appear to be related to the hard drive. 

If you don't detect a problem then post back and someone will provide the instructions for a fresh software download.

Thank you for the suggestions. I haven't had a chance to run through these steps just yet.

Update from this morning. 

After 36 hours of being taken hostage, the DVR is "back" and stuck on ch 100. Non-responsive to any remote or front pannel button commands. I give up. 

Don't give up.  Just call DirecTV and request a replacement DVR.  It's free if you have their Equipment Protection Plan, or within 90-days of installation.  Otherwise ~$20 for shipping.

They are sending out a tech on Wednesday...

After being stuck on ch 100 for about 30 minutes, the receiver is back up and running. It has the old guide (software has a date of Nov 31st), not sure if they were trying to push out the new UI yet to me. I thought the Modesto area wasn't getting it until the 20th.

Just ran the long test. Error 77

Yep, time to call for a replacement DVR.  

Moral of the story?  Don't jump to conclusions.  We may all be morons, but the new UI didn't brick the box, the box had a hard drive failure.