Backing up HDD

Hi, I am hoping someone can help.

I want to do a factory reset on my Foxsat-HDR so I attached a WD Elements external drive, formatted to EXT3. However the machine won't recognise it; neither would it when formatted to FAT32. I have searched on this and other forums and seen similar problems, but no solutions.

Thanks for any help provided.

BTW, the reasons I want to reset are that it has missed several scheduled recordings, and has become very slow at booting up.
 
Probably the simplest way is to remove the HDD. Install the new one in the Foxsat-HDR. Switch on and initialise the new HDD. Once finished. power off the box. re-install the original HDD. Boot the box and connect the new drive to usb in a USB -sata 2 drive cradle to the Foxsat.


Presume you want to back up the recordings. Simply copy the contents of the original drive to the Video Partition on SDA3 to the new drive in the dock.

Now you have a copy. Install the Custom Firmware hosted on AV forums. Run the Hard disk check an repair maintenance included which will likely fix the original disk.

Install Nowsters patch and future HD recordings will not be encrypted. You can then copy these direct to a PC along with SD ones. and use them on other kit.

If you want to play back the original encrypted HR recordings now on the new HDD. They will replay from the drive cradle. You can't decrypt them but you can still play them.
 
Great, thanks.

If that's the simplest solution, I'm glad you spared me the complicated ones!

Is there really no way to configure the external USB drive so that the Humax can read it?
 
Great, thanks.

If that's the simplest solution, I'm glad you spared me the complicated ones!

Is there really no way to configure the external USB drive so that the Humax can read it?


There is no problem configuring the external USB drive. It works with FAT32 (max file size is 4GB) and EXT 3. You can copy files from the recording partition, but it's very slow (USB transfers is low priority process for the cpu). . Removing the drive is much much faster especially if you have a lot of recordings to back up.
 
A few seconds after connecting the USB driver I get a message saying "Cannot read USB device. The supported file systems are EXT3 and FAT16/32. Please format the USB device to EXT3 or FAT16/32 on your pc." I get this even though the USB driver is configured to EXT3 or FAT32.
 
A few seconds after connecting the USB driver I get a message saying "Cannot read USB device. The supported file systems are EXT3 and FAT16/32. Please format the USB device to EXT3 or FAT16/32 on your pc." I get this even though the USB driver is configured to EXT3 or FAT32.

How large is the USB Device ? What File System does it have on it. How did you format it ? If you right click on it in Windows Explorer and choose properties what does it say. Windows will not format FAT drives larger than 32GB. Unless you use a 3rd part app or use the cmd window.

This is the reason I suggested you let the box create and partition a new drive blank drive. Once prepared by the box it should work fine as it will be Linux EXT 3. Simply mount it in a USB case.
 
Thanks.

It's 1 TB. I used DiskGenius to format it to EXT3. Windows Explorer won't recognise it.

install EXT2FSD and it should be recognised in windows

Or format it FAT32 using a cmd window.

 
Explorer still does not show the external drive when EXT2FSD is running, so I'm no further forward.

Clearly something dodgy with the File system you have created.


Install the custom firmware as suggested and a few packages you can easily back up the recordings to a USB drive using any file system the PC supports (eg NTFS)., using your home network.

Sorry but if you aren't prepared to follow advice, I am wasting my time.

This forum hosts the very similar capability that the Custom Firmware adds to the Humax HDR-FOX-T2. Suggest you read the thread What Every HDR-FOX-T2 owner should know.

The Foxsat-HDR CF lacks the capability to decrypt existing recordings. It does however have a small patch that stops any new recordings being encrypted.

This adds a link to the standard firmware that lets it run Linux standard apps. It transforms the box capability. You should have done this years ago.


This shows my PC setup to transfer files directly from the Foxsat to my laptop.

You can copy files directly using either Windows Explorer just like any other drive attached to the PC (Samba) or using a FTP client like Filezilla).
 

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Explorer still does not show the external drive when EXT2FSD is running, so I'm no further forward.

Probably a silly question (in which case apologies) but have you used EXT2FSD to assign a drive letter to the EXT3 drive? Unless this is done I think it will be invisible to Explorer.
 
Sorry but if you aren't prepared to follow advice, I am wasting my time.

Odd thing to say given that I was following your advice, and thanked you for it. Thanks again for the additional advice, it's not time wasted.

I didn't know anything about the custom firmware before finding this forum. I intended to read the 'what every owner needs to know' thread before installing it. Having now done so, I finally tried to do install it. I have limited time to tackle the more advanced tasks so doing what I can as and when.

Probably a silly question (in which case apologies) but have you used EXT2FSD to assign a drive letter to the EXT3 drive? Unless this is done I think it will be invisible to Explorer.

Not a silly question. I did assign a drive letter: Explorer can now read it after I tried it on another PC running Windows 10 - it indicates that it is formatted to EXT3.
 
Odd thing to say given that I was following your advice, and thanked you for it. Thanks again for the additional advice, it's not time wasted.

I didn't know anything about the custom firmware before finding this forum. I intended to read the 'what every owner needs to know' thread before installing it. Having now done so, I finally tried to do install it. I have limited time to tackle the more advanced tasks so doing what I can as and when.



Not a silly question. I did assign a drive letter: Explorer can now read it after I tried it on another PC running Windows 10 - it indicates that it is formatted to EXT3.


As you had the drive connected to a Linux computer. Why did you not format the drive EXT 3 using the built in cabability of the Linux distro you were using ? Installing the Custom firmware will totally avoid having to use USB to back up the files. It's a no-brainer option,
 
I didn't use a Linux computer. I wouldn't recognise one if I tripped over it.

Following the manufacturer's instructions, i.e. format the drive using a PC would, I suggest, be the no-brainer option for the lay-person. Except that it clearly doesn't work.

I tried installing the custom firmware. The only part of the instructions in the readme file that I couldn't follow to the letter is to use the USB port on the front. This is because my machine only has a one USB post, on the rear. I didn't get series of numbers preceded by a P on the display, but the progress bar did appear on the TV screen. That's all it did though it it froze at 0%. After 10 minutes I aborted and rebooted. That was OK until I turned it on again; it's stuck on one channel and won't respond to the remote or the Standby button. So somewhat frustrated now!

Can this be fixed?
 
I intended to read the 'what every owner needs to know' thread before installing it. Having now done so
That's about HDR-FOX and HD-FOX, not FOXSAT-HDR. From the Things Every... (click) first post:
None of what follows is necessarily applicable to any other Humax device, including the Foxsat HD or Foxsat HDR


The only part of the instructions in the readme file that I couldn't follow to the letter is to use the USB port on the front. This is because my machine only has a one USB post, on the rear. I didn't get series of numbers preceded by a P on the display, but the progress bar did appear on the TV screen.
If you pull down the hinged cover on the front panel, it will reveal a set of controls including a USB port which is easier to access than the one buried around the back. However, the rear USB port should work just the same.

Just to check: you are following instructions for installing CF on FOXSAT-HDR not HDR-FOX?

I didn't use a Linux computer. I wouldn't recognise one if I tripped over it.
You mentioned Ext3; Windows PCs don't usually recognise Ext3. In any case, anyone with a Windows PC can easily run Linux tools: download and burn a "live Linux" image to a USB stick/drive or DVD-R (if you have an optical drive), then boot your PC from that. Bingo, you will be running Linux without affecting your normal Windows. Here's one specifically for doing disk drive type jobs: https://gparted.org/livecd.php

Having fired up Linux, it will then be easy to prepare an Ext3 drive, and duplicate one Ext3 drive to another (which is what I take to understand you want to achieve).
 
I didn't use a Linux computer. I wouldn't recognise one if I tripped over it.

Following the manufacturer's instructions, i.e. format the drive using a PC would, I suggest, be the no-brainer option for the lay-person. Except that it clearly doesn't work.

I tried installing the custom firmware. The only part of the instructions in the readme file that I couldn't follow to the letter is to use the USB port on the front. This is because my machine only has a one USB post, on the rear. I didn't get series of numbers preceded by a P on the display, but the progress bar did appear on the TV screen. That's all it did though it it froze at 0%. After 10 minutes I aborted and rebooted. That was OK until I turned it on again; it's stuck on one channel and won't respond to the remote or the Standby button. So somewhat frustrated now!

Can this be fixed?

The front usb port is hidden under the drop down flap at the bottom.
 
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