Boot loop

I

imparvo

New Member
Hi Guys,

I've had my Humax for 10 years now and because of a powercut yesterday the box is stuck in a boot loop.

It starts, gets the splash screen then after a few seconds restarts.
The front screen displays "Starting System", "Custom firmware 3.13" then reboots.

1- I opened the unit and cleaned it all out of dust in case it was over heating - no difference
2- I installed the System flush, which ran successfully - no difference
3- I reinstalled custom firmware 3.13 which ran successfully - no difference
4- I install the HDD to Ubuntu and ran file system check on the HDD which were ok - No difference

I'm at a loss, so I thought I'd come to the experts :)

Any ideas guys

Thanks
 
There is procedure called 'fix disk' that can help, see link below: -
wiki.hummy.tv

Maintenance Mode Disk Check

wiki.hummy.tv wiki.hummy.tv

However the unit may be too unstable for you to run it, you could try powering up the Humax with the hard disk disconnected to see if that stops the restarting
 
Last edited:
Ezra Pound said:
There is procedure called 'fix disk' that can help, see link below: -
wiki.hummy.tv

Maintenance Mode Disk Check

wiki.hummy.tv wiki.hummy.tv

However the unit may be too unstable for you to run it, you could try powering up the Humax with the hard disk disconnected to see if that stops the restarting
Click to expand...

Yes, unplugging the HDD power allows the unit to boot.
I've plugged in back in after a boot up and am running Telnet to access the maintenance menu.

We'll see how this goes :)
 
Another possibility is a corrupted file on the hard disk, as the problem only started after a power failure
 
Last edited:
imparvo said:
Yes, unplugging the HDD power allows the unit to boot.
I've plugged in back in after a boot up and am running Telnet to access the maintenance menu.

We'll see how this goes :)
Click to expand...

Well after various diagnostics from the maintenance tool, all reporting the disk was tip top, I'm in the same predicament.
I think prpr had the right answer and it looks like the motherboard has a blown/faulty chip in location U52.

NUTS!

It looks like a replacement from ebay is only £30/40 for a used unit, so that will be my next port of call.

However, should anyone else have this issue and be stuck with a shocked viewing audience, here the work around.
Remove the screws from the back.
Open the lid and unplug the 4 wire HDD white power connector - the unit will boot.
Once booted and running plug the HDD connector back in.
It all works OK .... until the next powercut
 
A backup Humax unit is a good investment in any case, but the link that prpr pointed to didn't come any conclusion so there may be nothing wrong with U52

BH : I had no choice than to replace the LDO {U52} having taken it off, but as we had suspected that's not the cause of the fault. It's upstream of there, I should have looked before but the supply to the LDO is dropping as if current limited, so it looks like the SMPS is implicated.
Click to expand...
 
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prpr said:
It sounds rather like this.
Click to expand...
Definitely.

U52 proved to be blameless though. I have not tried reconnecting the HDD power "live" though, and I have to say the system I was examining did not look as if it would have worked even if I did. Still, it's something I could try when I pick up those particular reins again.
 
imparvo said:
...
However, should anyone else have this issue and be stuck with a shocked viewing audience, here the work around.
Remove the screws from the back.
Open the lid and unplug the 4 wire HDD white power connector - the unit will boot.
Once booted and running plug the HDD connector back in.
It all works OK .... until the next powercut
Click to expand...
Some sort of small timer+relay circuit (as small as a circuit with 2 2-pole or 1 4-pole relay can be) could be interposed in the disk power cable to automate that process. Actually you can get a 4-pole timer-on relay as a single unit, but at RS it's at least as expensive as a second-hand HDR-Fox T2, though if this listing on "an internet auction site" is to be believed that's 10x too much.
 
Last edited:
/df said:
Some sort of small timer+relay circuit
Click to expand...
I think there is a much easier solution, it seems to me that this is an inrush current problem, I.e. the hard disk is creating too big a current demand on start-up, (or the PSU can't cope as well as it used to), the U52 component can be made to limit this inrush current by adding a bigger value capacitor to the control pin (pin 1), see marked capacitor here :-
2021-06-06_00.15.21.jpg
 
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