-
The forum software that supports hummy.tv has been upgraded to XenForo 2.3!
Please bear with us as we continue to tweak things, and feel free to post any questions, issues or suggestions in the upgrade thread.
9300 transfers
- Thread starter jillpad
- Start date
BMAX
Active Member
I'm grateful, BMAX. But I'm also lacking in skills. I've studied these wiki pages often with much enthusiasm until I get to the "the first stumbling block". I'm not confident about connecting into my 9300 a piece of gubbins I've cobbled together from bits and pieces I'm not familiar with. I need some off-the-shelf mod similar to the son_t mod I used in my now-dead 9200.
T
TheMikeN
[It's good to have a space for a Hummy conversation!]
The transferring I did from my 9200 - loads of it in huge chunks about once a month - was done by taking the lid off, attaching a cable to the HDD and downloading using HummyReadFiles. I want to do the same with the 9300 - no mods, just some unscrewing and a cable.
I read somewhere that Hummy ReadFiles is unlikely to work but that HumaxRW (is that correct?) should do the job with a 9300. I don't want to waste my time here. Is this likely to work? The eSATA cable needed - is there anything I need to know about that?
The transferring I did from my 9200 - loads of it in huge chunks about once a month - was done by taking the lid off, attaching a cable to the HDD and downloading using HummyReadFiles. I want to do the same with the 9300 - no mods, just some unscrewing and a cable.
I read somewhere that Hummy ReadFiles is unlikely to work but that HumaxRW (is that correct?) should do the job with a 9300. I don't want to waste my time here. Is this likely to work? The eSATA cable needed - is there anything I need to know about that?
Astronomy
New Member
Seems I'm a little late into this thread (being 3 months since last post) but yes, HumaxRW works well with the 9300T. I use a Sata to USB connector for transfers (which is unscrew and attach cable) as I haven't got round to the sata to esata thing yet - and not sure I ever will.
While the DoS command line stuff that HumaxRW uses is easy enough, a GUI is much nicer. To that end I've written a front-end for HumaxRW (Windows only) that does all the 'hard' work - i.e runs HumaxRW.exe in the background and presents you with a nice list and some buttons to press instead of a command line
Cheers
--
Thomas
While the DoS command line stuff that HumaxRW uses is easy enough, a GUI is much nicer. To that end I've written a front-end for HumaxRW (Windows only) that does all the 'hard' work - i.e runs HumaxRW.exe in the background and presents you with a nice list and some buttons to press instead of a command line
Cheers
--
Thomas
Astronomy
New Member
Here is v1.01 of the front-end for HumaxRW that I was talking about above. I made it for my own use, but if others find it useful then I'm happy to share.
Windows only, .net framework 3.5 required and you need HumaxRW.exe (not provided) to be in the same folder as the Front-End. Some features:
- Auto detect humax disk drive
- Easy selection of files - can even be based on keyword (e.g. 'Peppa Pig')
- Download to any folder on your PC
- Option to keep only the .ts files (deleting the other 3 files created for each .ts file) [note, this option deletes all the .epg, etc files in the download location, it's not selective]
- Upload .ts files to the humax disk drive (have ts2hrw.exe in the same folder as the Front-End if you have no hre file for the .ts file)
- No knowledge of DoS required to use it
As this Front-End simply controls HumaxRW, all the same warnings apply when using this as they do when using HumaxRW normally. In addition, I accept no responsibility for any undesirable outcomes of using this Front-End software - i.e. use at your own risk.
One other thing is that the Front-End waits for HumaxRW to finish whatever it's doing before continuing, so when downloading, uploading, etc it may say "Not Responding" but this is normal and the Front-End will recover when HumaxRW finishes it's current operation.
I've not provided any instructions as I think it's pretty straight forward to use, but any questions, just ask me. It's not 100% idiot-proof so please don't try to break it as you will likely succeed but any genuine bugs or improvement requests, again just ask.
Cheers
--
Thomas
Edit: Uploaded a version HERE that you can press 'enter' in the 'select files by keyword' text box so you don't need to press the button after typing.
Windows only, .net framework 3.5 required and you need HumaxRW.exe (not provided) to be in the same folder as the Front-End. Some features:
- Auto detect humax disk drive
- Easy selection of files - can even be based on keyword (e.g. 'Peppa Pig')
- Download to any folder on your PC
- Option to keep only the .ts files (deleting the other 3 files created for each .ts file) [note, this option deletes all the .epg, etc files in the download location, it's not selective]
- Upload .ts files to the humax disk drive (have ts2hrw.exe in the same folder as the Front-End if you have no hre file for the .ts file)
- No knowledge of DoS required to use it
As this Front-End simply controls HumaxRW, all the same warnings apply when using this as they do when using HumaxRW normally. In addition, I accept no responsibility for any undesirable outcomes of using this Front-End software - i.e. use at your own risk.
One other thing is that the Front-End waits for HumaxRW to finish whatever it's doing before continuing, so when downloading, uploading, etc it may say "Not Responding" but this is normal and the Front-End will recover when HumaxRW finishes it's current operation.
I've not provided any instructions as I think it's pretty straight forward to use, but any questions, just ask me. It's not 100% idiot-proof so please don't try to break it as you will likely succeed but any genuine bugs or improvement requests, again just ask.
Cheers
--
Thomas
Edit: Uploaded a version HERE that you can press 'enter' in the 'select files by keyword' text box so you don't need to press the button after typing.
HummyReadFiles works fine. According to the author (who works in the same office as me) unless you record a large number of very small programs there shouldn't be an issue. In fact I can't get rw to work with my 9300 but then I'm not sure if there's a more recent version than 1.04 and I've only ever used it when the disk has been really corrupt, I haven't watched the program that I really wanted to see and hummyread (which doesn't have the same routines to reconstruct stuff in error or dump raw data) can't read it. Given that with stuff like Get Iplayer I can download a slightly lower quality version to watch at my leisure anyway there's really not the need for that sort of function.
In terms of connect, I do exactly what you did with the 9200 (which I also do!) unplug the cables, plug in the sata cables from a PC power up the PC and transfer. Unless you are a real fiend and want to archive pretty much everything (which of course you shouldn't) you should have months between dumps. We're a 4 person family, all with different tastes, only one deletes stuff they have watched and I dump to HD once every 3 - 4 months. Hardly a hassle unscrewing and plugging at that rate.
Hope that helps.
Astronomy
New Member
Interesting. That is probably why HumaxReadFiles never worked for me. Can you ask the author how many files is too many? The limit on number of recorded files (of any length) is about 511 which hardly seems like 'too many'.
HumaxRW works very well with 9200 and 9300 (I've tested both) but I did like HumaxReadFiles, so if you can also ask the author where to download the latest version from I may revert back to that (although, now I've made the front-end for HumaxRW it's all much the same).
Cheers
Support for the 9300 was added at version 1.14 so it is not surprising that 1.04 doesn't work.
Luke
Well-Knwοn Мember
Limit is 255 according to the documentation on http://humaxdisk.wikispaces.com/HummyReadFiles. That link does not contain the latest version but My Humax does http://myhumax.org/blog/?page_id=153.
Thank you. That's quite brilliant. I'd been wanting (and needing) to use humaxRW for years, but don't know how to use command line.
But if only I'd found it a week ago.
I now have a drive with 475 precious progs apparently unretrievable. Usual file structure corrupted, but unlike past events, the box recorded one last show. That wiped out any file info, while still indicating 285gb used. So they are in there, but unreachable. A bit like being at the bedside of someone in a coma. When you could have prevented their accident. Been there too, unfortunately.
Thanks again though. I can now use RW on my old 160gb drive.
________
You might find my situation of interest.
My PVR9300T has developed problems playing a few recordings, 12 or so out of an 80% full disk. It's about 18months old, average use 1 hour per day. Some recordings will not play back at all. Others 'jump' in playback, going forward anything from a few seconds to several minutes, varies within the same recording if more than one bit affected. Can fast or slow motion through that part of the prog, so it is really there, but it will not play at normal speed, just jumps. The recordings that don't play back at all indicate the correct amount of disk space used on the Edit>File menu option. Suspect that all these may be recorded over a corrupted area of disk, and Humax helpline agrees, recommending I format the disk which I'm not impressed with - what about the progs my family & I still want to watch? I've marked all the faulty recordings and not deleted them so hopefully that nasty bit of the disk will not be used, but some still jump a bit so I suspect the disk may be failing. Deep joy. I have bought a (new) WesternDigital 500GB SATA AV-GP WD5000AVDS which is the next generation to the 320GB currently fitted and should work fine. Formatted to NTFS on delivery, checked with Western Digital's software and OK; switched off & opened up PVR9300T and connected new drive. Asked me to format - took less than 1 second. Removed drive and (via USB adapter) checked with command-line humaxRW on Windows PC - no files listed, as expected (and Windows Disk Management says 'Not Initialised', good). OK, but perhaps something has been written to the disk that software can't see (I don't have access to a Linux machine to do a proper look, and not sure how to access what goes for a MBR on a Linux file system). Refitted to PVR and made 2 shortish recordings. Back on the PC, these show up, so everything looks good. Copied 'em to PC hard drive, and back to new SATA drive with no problems - humaxRW.exe works fine, although like all command line stuff you have to really watch the syntax. I intend to copy the programmes not known to have problems to the new drive, and ignore the suspect ones. (I shall then use Western Digital's software to Low Level format and error check the 320GB disk. I'm not convinced that a simple 'format' on the PVR is enough to remove bad sectors from being used, it was incredibly fast and couldn't have done any error checking.)
But I'm a bit hesitant about the possibility of doing something wrong with so many files via a command prompt window, so I thought I'd use your HumaxRWFront-End GUI interface to see if that would make things a bit easier. But I cannot access it, when I use the link above, the browser window that opens says "hummy.tv - Error This attachment cannot be shown at this time. Please try back later." I registered today, and have my confimation accepted, but I think there may be a problem with the link - can you confirm that it is still working or let me know how I can get hold of your Front-End please. I should really like to give it a go.
Meanwhile, I've got an increase in capacity with the new drive, and all I want is no more corrupt files. It seems a pity that there is no Linux version of the Windows chkdsk or similar which could be used on the PVR disks in situ without scrubbing everything. Corruptions can occur, possibly when there's a power cut whilst recording (suspect that's what happened before my problems started). Oh well.
Look forward to your response, and when I have completed all my messing about transferring files, shall report back so others can see what happens. Looks as if it should all be reasonably straightforward, but I want to be careful. If I lose certain programmes, my wife will give me hell!
David.
Can you list some of the programs that display this fault? There is an issue with recordings of certain programs that exhibit similar symptoms.
Why do you want a Linux program to check the disk? Humaxcheck (by the same author as Humaxrw) will tell you if the file system has problems and provides some tools to correct errors.
Astronomy
New Member
No, the link doesn't work and I don't know why. Can the Moderators fix it?
If not what's the options (rules wise)? Can I link to another download site?
Edit: Looks like the uploaded avatars are not working either (or is that just me)?
Cheers
--
Thomas
Moderators can't fix the link, but can delete the attached file.
You can link to another download site where your file is hosted.
See Here for details about an issue with uploaded avatars.
Astronomy
New Member
Is that what happened to it (or was it the same server glitch that affected the avatars)? Silent deletions wouldn't be too cool.
No matter, whatever it was its done now. I've uploaded it elsewhere and anyone who wants HumaxRW Front-End can get it from Click Here.
I'll also take the time to repeat that you use at own risk, there are no instructions and (since this program doesn't talk to your Humax, only to the HumaxRW software) you need a copy of HumaxRW to be in the same folder as the Front-End exe file.
While I'm posting, is there a better place to post such downloads? In a thread on a single forum doesn't feel quite right.
Cheers
--
Thomas
Thanks for the prompt replies, much appreciated. I may not be able to respond quickly in future, but I shall do so as soon as possible.
The new link works, downloaded OK and will try it when I can, thanks. And I hadn't thought of using Humaxcheck - will do so when I have copied from one disk to the other.
I have seen mention of consistent problems with certain progs, not sure that is the reason here; the unwatchable recordings are progs which don't normally cause problems to me like BBC2 Horizon, BBC4 Sky at Night. They are present on the disk and the space used looks about the correct amount for the length of the programmes. There are 7 consecutive, BBC2, BBC3, ITV1, C4, BBC4, BBC2, BBC2 about 6 weeks ago and a few subsequently. We had 2 others like this about 12 months ago, and several since then which play and are watchable, but jump bits which can be seen on fast forward/back or slow; they include some E4 and ITV4 (Tour de France) as well as the other channels. If one pauses during fast forward in an unwatchable portion, and then starts to play, sometimes it is OK - but usually it just jumps to the end of the 'bad' bit. If one tries again later (days or weeks) it is still like this. The bad ones I have NOT deleted so that part of the drive isn't reused. What was noticeable is that the 7 consecutive recordings were when the disk had more stuff on it than ever before (but still about 20% free then), so I would think the recordings would go on adjacent sectors of the disk which had not been used before. We had also experienced a power cut before when preset recordings could not be made, and although I cannot be sure now since it was some time ago, it may well have happened whilst recording was taking place. We have deleted recordings which jumped a little, and I suspect other problem recordings may be over those same sectors.
So I think a complete wipe, error check and format of the disk is called for. Shall report back when achieved.
Have done this with 'problem' disks using FAT & NTFS on PC's, and unless there is actual physical damage the drive is (usually!) restored to good health. It's important to completely erase all the disk, including the MBR area, starting with something like dBan nuke & boot. The disk manufacturers software can be used, but some more recent offerings don't tell you much about what is happening and you don't know if all the disk is being treated. So blanking everything out before starting with dBan is worth doing. It'll work on a USB disk from the bootable CD, but try not to delete the computer drives by mistake! I disconnect them (power lead is enough) just in case!
Low Level formatting (with something like the old PowerMax from Maxtor - which will work on non-Maxtor disks IF there's a Maxtor disk also installed) is good because it can ignore bad sectors, but the Seagate equivalent doesn't have the same brutality about it so I'm not sure if it gets at the MBR. And I haven't tried PowerMax on SATA drives - would have to fit a SATA to PATA converter for use with my PC. That would probably do it, so I might buy one, about £5 from Hong-Kong.
Even with the last (July2011) OTA software upgrade, my 9300T still misses the first few seconds from some progs (always with Dr. Who, Saturdays broadcast), and the last few seconds sometimes - not usually enough to be troublesome, and inconsistent. It hasn't really improved matters. We sometimes set it to record consecutive programs and removing the auto timings feature and adding (say) 5 mins can cause problems with ovelaps, as we know. So the software is still not right. Note that we also use a Panasonic DVD / VHS digital recorder [without a Hard Drive - that's the Humax's job] which has has no means of removing the auto timing feature BUT never gets it wrong - always starts and finishes correctly. I have recorded the same programme on both devices to test, and the Panasonic always gets it right even when the Humax cuts off. So it's not the way the signal is transmitted, the problem is within the device.
Enough for now, I'm not always this verbose, trust me!
David
Skint Eastwood
New Member
Useful? It was a life-saver!
Thanks Astronomy/Thomas, that's fantastic! I was doing my nut, wondering why I couldn't get HumaxRW to run after I connected my 9300 HDD up (the command line box flashed up and said "Humax disc not found" before instantly disappearing again, both on my Vista laptop and W7 PC). I ran Front-End, bang, there's my list of files right off the bat, and options presented in a way that humans beings can instantly understand.
I'm not the most technical of people, but even I can use your software. Maybe you can sell it to Humax?!
Cheers again.