[CFW 2.15] Customised Firmware version 2.15

4ndy said:
Does the custom firmware stop the Humax going in to full standby?

I have noticed that over the last few weeks, coinciding roughly with installing CF, the Humax doesn't go into full standby, but stays half-awake. This is easier to determine with redring. Logically, I can understand that the scanning process might prevent the standby.
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I had this problem some time ago which appeared to be caused by a corrupt recording. Moving the recording out from the "My Video" tree fixed it. However, when it was later moved back the box still functioned normally.:confused:
 
Black Hole said:
The point I am making is that it seems rather unhelpful to just not serve the web page, and leave somebody who is possibly doing this for the first time to wonder what's wrong. Would it take too much flash space to put up an alternative page which says "cannot find Ext2/Ext3 host drive, installer disabled"?
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CFW 2.16 will present this page if no EXT2/3 formatted disk is detected:

hdnoext.png


(and a similar message for the unlikely case of a HDR without an appropriately formatted internal disk)
 
Black Hole said:
What else are we looking forward to in 2.16 - long disk test in the telnet maintenance menu?
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It's in my development copy but I'll work with xyz321 to see whether it's still needed. So far 2.16 just has the improved bootstrap pages, yes. I won't release it until the updated fix-disk is ready though.
 
I had this problem some time ago which appeared to be caused by a corrupt recording. Moving the recording out from the "My Video" tree fixed it. However, when it was later moved back the box still functioned normally.:confused:
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Good call xyz321.

I went through my box moving or deleting anything dating back to about the time this started. Found a series folder which didn't show the move/copy option. Inside the oldest two files were showing normal 30min play time which also had move/copy greyed out. Deleted these and the ring was showing amber this morning, and external disk drives still.

Won't pretend to understand why corrupt files might cause this.
 
Just checking: how well does the following accord with people's experiences? As far as I know, the normal half-awake state can interact with the WebIF etc so I have introduced the "coma" state.

Black Hole said:
18. Power States and Misoperation

The HD/HDR-FOX has several power states:

OFF: Mains power disconnected (the HDR-FOX has a mains switch on the rear panel). Obviously this is a zero-power state. Powering up from the OFF state is referred to as a "cold start", and the old chestnut "have you tried turning it off and on again" can be helpful in clearing strange faults. As with all computer equipment (the HD/HDR-FOX is essentially a special-purpose computer), it is advisable to perform a controlled shut-down (go from ON to STANDBY, and wait at least 30 seconds before going to OFF), but in this case there is only minor risk in not doing so (eg a corrupted file if the HD/HDR-FOX was in the process of writing to disk at the time).

STANDBY: This is the low-power state, where the HD/HDR-FOX is doing nothing but waiting to be turned on (via remote control or front-panel button press) or for the internal clock to trigger an event. The actual power consumed in STANDBY depends on the "Power Saving in Standby" setting, see Section 7. In STANDBY the internal disk drive is not spinning (HDR-FOX) and power to external USB devices is cut. The processor is not running and there will be no response to network activity.

COMA: This is a fault state. Internal and external drives are powered but there is no other activity or response. This has been noted to occur when:
  • Power On / Power Off Timers are mismatched (ie one is set but not the other);
  • There is a corrupt file or file system (the coma state vanishes when the offending file is deleted, but may not return if the "offending" file is reinstated).
HALF-AWAKE: The HD/HDR-FOX is fully functional (drives spinning, processor active and able to respond to network activity) except there is no video output and the DLNA server is not running, and there is no response to the remote control (other than the power button). The HALF-AWAKE state is the situation when the HD/HDR-FOX is recording from STANDBY (or preparing to record - using AR starts up 15 minutes before the scheduled programme time), or is turned off while it is recording, or is preparing to enter STANDBY (controlled shutdown).

ON: The HD/HDR-FOX is fully functional as per HALF-AWAKE, plus video output etc. Turning on from HALF-AWAKE is almost instant. Turning on from STANDBY requires time for the processor to boot up etc, during which the Humax splash screen appears on the video output.
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Nicely put together BH.

However, if my reported problem is an example of the "coma" state, I certainly had network connection via webif and I think samba.

Webif ribbon showed status as standby, which is odd, as webif can't connect in true standby.

The method I eventually hit upon to find the corrupt file was to use the opt+ button on each folder and recording not in a folder, to see if move/copy is greyed out. Adding this advice may avoid supplementary questions.
 
The majority of the reports after power on/off mismatch or corrupted recorded files are of the Half Awake state e.g. hard disk spinning, No TV output, DLNA Server inactive, LAN active, USB power on
 
I've noticed the half awake state on about half a dozen occasions over my ~18 months of running CF. In most cases it was because of a mismatch in scheduled wake / sleep commands. The weird thing is that most times, either the command to delete the wake/sleep pair didn't seem to have deleted one of the commands, or one appeared to have deleted itself spontaneously. After the first time, I know always to make sure that the commands are in pairs, so I'm confident it's not been user error every time. Not serious enough to be a concern though - if it happens again, I know what to check, and just delete the remaining commands and re-enter them as they should be.
 
If you want to avoid using power on /off timers, (that does seem to be a good idea) you can achieve the same thing with a daily repeating 'reminder'
 
I think Coma and Half awake are one and the same, just that coma is when the box should really be in standby given everything else.

Posted on the move. Please excuse any brevity.
 
Okay, if there is no differentiation as you say, I'll lose the coma definition. I thought I had heard of it, but I might be mistaken.
 
I have ditched coma (I will reinstate it if anyone confirms it exists). The rest of the text is still being developed.
 
My HDR1 is sitting on 1.02.20/2.12. As I am about to install CF on HDR3 (and run a disk repair) I was considering updating HDR1.

To install 1.02.20/2.15, the upgrade path in the Wiki is telling me I need to run prepare_for_upgrade first. However, to install 1.02.20/2.14 it says I don't, and then to install 1.02.20/2.15 it also says I don't.

I realise it is not great problem to run prepare_for_upgrade, but this information seems inconsistent.
 
Idea for 2.16: perhaps the Telnet recovery menu could check for an updated fix-disk (or any other utility, or indeed an entire new menu!) on USB? This would make it possible to issue just about any additional support code regardless of space limitations in the flash or internal disk faults, particularly if the code was executable directly from the USB (although it might need some kind of authentication to prevent hijacking).
 
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