Will my PVR erase recorded content once I've reached the maximum space allowed?

[LindaL1]

My father’s PVR box was quite full of saved recordings. I am not sure how full but safe to say it was at 80% and growing around Christmas. This morning he found all his recorded shows are gone. I am assuming he hit 100% and everything erased, although we had each recording g set to “until I erase”. Will the PVR “Save until” default to “Space is Needed” and erase everything to accomodate another scheduled recording? 

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[57 · Accepted solution]

@LindaL1 If the drive is full, it will simply not record. It should not delete anything although it might become "confused."  It is always advisable to keep a PVR less than 80% full, preferably less than 50% full.  Do a reboot or two to see if it "recovers".  If it recovers and you see some recordings, delete several of them to get below 80%.  The PVR will not switch to "Space is Needed." Can you use the PVR to watch TV currently?  Are there any scheduled recordings?  What is the make/model of the PVR?

If the PVR is using Navigatr firmware, is it possible your father went into the system menu and selected "System" - scroll up one to "Troubleshooting" and "Restore Factory Settings".  The restore, instead of reboot, will delete all recordings and reset the box to factory without any favourite channels, etc.   If he had any favourite channels, this is one way to check to see if the box has been "restored" instead of "rebooted".

[LindaL1]

Yes he is able to watch Tv ok. And he does have a few scheduled recordings coming up today. He is almost blind and sometimes (a lot) just presses the wrong button. He records almost everything he watches because he falls asleep (he is 95) and then  Needs to rewatch it later. We have done a couple of reboots and still nothing.  We are suggesting he just say goodbye to all those shows and start fresh. I will see if what he records today sticks around and also be mindful of keeping his recordings at less than 50%. Thank you for your quick reply. 

[57]

A few additional comments:

1. If there are scheduled recordings from before this happened, then he probably didn't do a factory reset since they would be gone.

2. How much space does it say is currently available?  It should be under 10% full?

3. Sometimes the PVR will do a "runaway recording" which will record a programme until the drive is full.  Once that recording is deleted, the PVR should return to normal, but the previous recordings should still be there.

My father lived to almost 99 and I know what you're talking about with "button presses".