Boot cycle - power supply issue?

PaulS said:
and more about ability to record stuff such as films, which are not available elsewhere
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If you're not familiar with the custom firmware, you won't be aware of the additional capabilities which make the HDR-FOX a keeper.
 
PaulS said:
... I have tried a different 250 Gb Sata HDD and still no good. So I have powered the original 500Gb HDD with the external power supply and linked it to the main board via a SATA cable. I then installed the oldest stock firmware on this site 1.02.07, and it all worked! I was able to access everything including existing recordings on the HDD (although I'm not bothered about those at this stage).....
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Try a different hard drive, eg one with lower power requirements (power rating usually written in the drive label). Eg use a drive of 500GB to 1TB. Or try a laptop drive. That may narrow down if the unit is struggling to power an alternative drive
 
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PaulS said:
I think that about sums it up.
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That's reassuring - I can still get things right sometimes.
My next suggestion is you check the +12V and +5V supplies to the HDD. The 12V probably comes from the PSU but the 5V will be generated on the main board.
 
everthewatcher said:
That's reassuring - I can still get things right sometimes.
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It can be remarkably difficult to pick the bones out of a confused post, even on a second read (because the biran is pisredsepod to raed waht it tknhis is terhe, not necessarily what is actually there).
 
I don't disagree, and neither am I blaming the OP - merely explaining you need not chastise yourself (too much).
 
Thank you all for your patience with my confused post! However I hope the following does not confuse any further!

I have had a chance to take a further look today. The following is happening.
  • I have now upgraded to, what I think is the latest CFW - 1.03.12_mod_3.13
  • On startup - from power on via the rear switch or from standby
    • If the HDD is fully connected - unit goes into a boot cycle as previously described - I cannot access anything.
    • I have tried an alternative 250Gb drive and has the same effect.
    • If I leave the SATA cable connected to the main board but disconnect the power connector from the main board, the unit powers up properly and tunes to a channel.
    • If I then reconnect the HDD power to the main board whilst the unit is running, the HDD powers up and is available, including previous recordings. The unit appears to be able to function normally and will record manually. I have not tried timed recordings as if I go into standby, I know the unit will boot cycle.

So it appears to be an issue with starting the HDD from standby. I don't know if this is a PSU issue, but unless there is some kind of control of the HDD which comes via the PSU, I cannot see this as a PSU problem. But have no idea really!
However to my previous question Is this a power supply problem?
Black Hole said:
the HDD is powered via the main board so that the HDD can be turned off in standby (the PSU is on all the time), so clearly there is a chance the main board switching components are the problem.

Just to return to the original train of thought, the question remains why the unit would not come out of the boot cycle until I installed the 1.02.07 FW? Following something on the forum, previous to my original post, I had previously tried disconnecting the HDD and the unit would not move out of boot cycle. I had tried installing other version of CFW (including 1.03.12) and had got nowhere. It was only when I installed 1.02.07 that I got the unit functioning as described in this current post. Having now tried 1.03.12 I now have it working with the problems described.

I have connected the full browser and have successfully decrypted and downloaded a recording after a bit of trial and error on how to do this!

When I first got into the web browser this afternoon, a HDD fault flagged up but I cannot find what that was - sorry for vagueness. I am guessing it was something to do with the fact that the HDD was not powered up when the unit initialised, but I may be wrong.

I have attached downloads of the log files in case they reveal anything.

Many thanks for persevering with this and again, apologies for confusion as I really don't understand much!
 
PaulS said:
I cannot see this as a PSU problem
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If the load imposed on the PSU by the HDD starting up coincides with the load of the processor starting up and results in PSU instability, it is a PSU problem (ageing components no longer eliminating the output ripple under load).

PaulS said:
I have not tried timed recordings as if I go into standby, I know the unit will boot cycle.
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You do not need the unit in standby in order to make a timed recording.

PaulS said:
Just to return to the original train of thought, the question remains why the unit would not come out of the boot cycle until I installed the 1.02.07 FW?
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Just coincidence. I guess you were trying different things at the time and only hit the right combination when you happened to have installed 1.02.07.

PaulS said:
a HDD fault flagged up but I cannot find what that was
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WebIF >> Diagnostics >> Disk Diagnostics, "Current_Pending_Sector" and/or "Offline_Uncorrectable" figures.

PaulS said:
I have attached downloads of the log files in case they reveal anything.
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You do not seem to have done this successfully. You will need to rename them .txt, or zip them, before the forum will regard them as something you can upload.
 
Black Hole said:
If the load imposed on the PSU by the HDD starting up coincides with the load of the processor starting up and results in PSU instability, it is a PSU problem (ageing components no longer eliminating the output ripple under load).
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Thank you - I have wondered if this was the problem but because I do not have a scope, I can't really see what is happening. May be worth a punt on an eBay purchase assuming it doesn't have the same problem!


I hope I have now attached the relevant files. I have copied the disk diagnostics table into a text document as I couldn't download the table as is - hope that will do.
 
PaulS said:
I hope I have now attached the relevant files
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Where? What? See Newbies' Guide to the Forum (click), section "Images & Media".

PaulS said:
I have copied the disk diagnostics table into a text document as I couldn't download the table as is - hope that will do.
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...or a screen grab. There is a way to use a command line and dump the output to a file, but I won't go into that.

PaulS said:
May be worth a punt on an eBay purchase assuming it doesn't have the same problem!
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If it is advertised as working and it turns out not to be, you get your money back.
 
Alternatively I can probably let you have a tested working PSU for a small consideration, or you can send the whole thing to me for diagnosis and potential repair.

I'll need you to confirm it is a V1 (not RE) unit, as I have no spares for RE. See https://wiki.hummy.tv/wiki/Which_Version (section "Hardware Types"):
https://wiki.hummy.tv/wiki/Which_Version said:
1615659185867.png
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Black Hole said:
Where? What? See Newbies' Guide to the Forum (click), section "Images & Media".


...or a screen grab. There is a way to use a command line and dump the output to a file, but I won't go into that.


If it is advertised as working and it turns out not to be, you get your money back.
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Really puzzled by this. The first time I tried they were all .txt files. Admittedly the last time it was a .zip file bit I didn't rename it so here is a zip file renamed to .txt Does that work?
 

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Black Hole said:
Alternatively I can probably let you have a tested working PSU for a small consideration, or you can send the whole thing to me for diagnosis and potential repair.

I'll need you to confirm it is a V1 (not RE) unit, as I have no spares for RE. See (section "Hardware Types"):
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Yes it is a v1 - aerial sockets horizontally mounted. How much would this be please?
 
PaulS said:
Really puzzled by this. The first time I tried they were all .txt files. Admittedly the last time it was a .zip file bit I didn't rename it so here is a zip file renamed to .txt Does that work?
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It sort of works. The SMART data shows the disk is in remarkably good health for 70,000 power on hours.
 
UPDATE - I have managed to get hold of a very good condition Hummy locally and have it up and running. Today I tried swapping components to check what was happening and have deduced that it is the main board that is the problem. I transferred the power supply from my original Hummy to the new unit, and it works fine. I also tried swapping the HDD on the off chance it was the problem, but all was working as I expected, apart from the fact that it could not read the video files because of encryption. It fired up and showed the files available.

I'm not sure what to do with the old unit but for now I think I am going to hang on to it for the PSU and HDD as spares. However I might offer it as spares in due course of time. I have loaded the CFW and all is working well so will need to find a way of getting a wifi or ethernet link to gain remote access. Many thanks for all your help. It has been really useful and I have learnt a great deal about this great little unit.
 
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