Blue light blinking, "unknown error"

What does it mean when the blue light on the Tablo is blinking rather than solid? It does that once in a while. I think it did that when I was updating the firmware. Does it mean something is downloading, or does it indicate a problem?

I just tried to play a show I recorded, and I was unable to, got the message, “Unknown Error”.

The blue light stopped blinking (now it’s solid), and when I tried to play the recording again, it worked.

I want to understand what’s happening here. Was the Tablo downloading something, and I can’t play a recording when it’s downloading?

Blinking normally means it is starting up after being plugged in or after pressing the reset button quickly but I have seen it happen after touching the unit (maybe static electricity?).

I found more details here: http://support.tablotv.com/hc/en-us/articles/201923593-Tablo-LED-Status-What-Do-the-Blinks-Mean-

Thanks for the link. It wasn’t restarting. I hadn’t touched it. Also, I notice it tends to happen in the middle of the night. I think it was pulsing. Since the drive is already formatted, it must have been doing some sort of “repair” - or possibly a hard drive check? That would fit with being unable to play.

Does the Tablo do some sort of chkdsk equivalent every night, fixing any errors it finds? (I ought to go to bed earlier.)

It does maintenance each night (ie: updating the guide and some housecleaning) and the light will blink during those operations. Here’s what @TabloSupport said about it in an earlier post: [quote=“TabloSupport, post:14, topic:790”]
Around 3-4 AM local time the Tablo updates its guide - but it’s doing quite a bit of maintenance and file system clearing as well. It waits until this time to do this in order not to slow down user operations.
[/quote]

I also believe it will suspend those operations if there is activity and pick up the following night. I’m sure there’s more to the story but that’s the gist of it. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info. That confirms my hunch. It’s probably only able to suspend the maintenance process if it hasn’t already begun.

Like I said, I really need to go to bed earlier!

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Thanks, I have noticed this the past few days. Why I am up at that hour is another story. But my Tablo is on my nightstand due to proximity to the outdoor antenna and an Ethernet jack. So at first I thought it was the police outside with lights blaring, lol.

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What did they nick you for, mate?