Custom Firmware + Nowster Patch plus BBC Red Button (2024 Olympics) = Video freeze, crash and reboot issues???

[AntS]

I installed the Custom Firmware v4.1.3 some time ago following a complete clearing and reformatting of my HD after a video then sound freeze issue and it has worked perfectly.

Very recently I installed the NOWSTER patch (allows HD channels to be recorded in an unencrypted format so that they can be downloaded and played back on a PC etc.). I tried this with BBC1 HD (only a minute or so) and it appeared to work.

Since installation the box has suffered from video freezes (audio continues) which can only be recovered by unplugging the box. On one or two occasions the freeze hasn't been spotted and the box reboots itself.

I spotted an old thread about BBC RB for the 2012 Olympics causing problems but (if I read correctly) this applied to recording so if this is a NOWSTER + BBC RB issue then I am guessing it is the timeshift/video buffering of a HD channel (I can't be certain but the problem seems to be isolated to BBC1 HD and BBC RB1 HD although that may just reflect that I have been watching a lot of the Olympics).

There is a possibility that the initial symptom (video freeze) is a reoccurrence of the problems from earlier this year (similar symptom) although that seemed to affect all channels and the box did not reboot.

If it is NOWSTER + BBC RB then I guess that a fresh installation of the Custom Firmware v4.1.3 will overwrite the patch and solve the problem.

Before I do that I thought I'd ask for advice. Any experience of NOWSTER issues, any ideas?

 

[adrianf36]

IMHO your issue is unlikely to be caused by the Nowster patch. From the symptoms you describe my guess (and it's only a guess) would be a disk corruption/failure affecting the timeshift buffer file. You said that you had similar problems previously but that they went away for a period following a reformat of the disk. This would almost certainly have moved the timeshift file to a different area on the hard disk and masked the problems for a while.

The easiest way to verify this is rename the existing timeshift buffer file so that the Humax firmware creates a new one on a different area of the disk. If you're comfortable with telnet, and you've got at least 2-3GB of free disk space, then telnet onto your box and issue the following commands:

cd /mnt/hd3/Video
mv 0.ts 0.ts.old
mv 0.nts 0.nts.old

Note that that's a zero (not a letter "o") in the file names. Note also that we're renaming the existing files not deleting them as we want them occupy the potentially corrupt sectors on the disk.

Reboot the box and see how you go.

If this fixes things for a while then your hard disk is likely on its way out I'm afraid.

 

[prpr]

following a complete clearing and reformatting of my HD

Did you actually fix the bad sectors? You never followed up on the end of the previous thread. You could provide updated SMART stats. (as a text copy/paste, not as hard-to-read images).

Any experience of NOWSTER issues

This is not going to cause the reported problems. It is just coincidental.

 

[AntS]

IMHO your issue is unlikely to be caused by the Nowster patch. From the symptoms you describe my guess (and it's only a guess) would be a disk corruption/failure affecting the timeshift buffer file. You said that you had similar problems previously but that they went away for a period following a reformat of the disk. This would almost certainly have moved the timeshift file to a different area on the hard disk and masked the problems for a while.

The easiest way to verify this is rename the existing timeshift buffer file so that the Humax firmware creates a new one on a different area of the disk. If you're comfortable with telnet, and you've got at least 2-3GB of free disk space, then telnet onto your box and issue the following commands:

cd /mnt/hd3/Video
mv 0.ts 0.ts.old
mv 0.nts 0.nts.old

Note that that's a zero (not a letter "o") in the file names. Note also that we're renaming the existing files not deleting them as we want them occupy the potentially corrupt sectors on the disk.

Reboot the box and see how you go.

If this fixes things for a while then your hard disk is likely on its way out I'm afraid.

Thanks.
I've done the rename and will report back.

 

[AntS]

The timeshift buffer rename and revcreate seems to have doen the job.

As regards the fixdisk I did run that.

 

[AntS]

I bit the bullet and bought a replacement hard drive (from Amazon).

The specific drive I bought was as follows:
Western Digital WD10EURX AV-GP 1TB internal Hard drive (8.9cm (3.5") SATA 6 Gb/s 64mb)
The listing on Amazon.de specifies this as a Serial ATA-600 which is too fast for a HUMAX FOXSAT HDR)

Fitting it was straightforward enough (I know this is documented elsewhere so this is merely for completeness):
1) Power Off/unplug, disconnect HUMAX from TV and satellite co-ax
2) Take the three black cover screws out and cover off
3) Unscrew internal hard drive mounting box (four screws in the feet)
4) Remove box being careful to disconnect the fan power/control and keeping track of the "earthing" connector that is looped over one of the screws that holds the mounting box in place
5) Unplug the main hard drive connector (pull straight out)
6) Unscrew the 4 large screws holding the hard drive into the mounting box.

The next step is critical as the disk I bought will not work with out it.
7) Connect a jumper between pins 5 and 6 of the 8 pin jumpers (these are second from the left with the drive held so the main connector is on the left) with 5 in the top row and 6 in the bottom row
Jumpers may be purchased online

8) Screw the hard drive back into the mounting box using the 4 large screws
9) Attach the main hard drive connector (straight push)
10) Lower the mounting box into place making sure that the main drive connector cable isn't caught in the case (it should be well inside the main case of the HUMAX)
11) Connect the the fan power/control and screw down the "earthing" connector via the screw that holds the mounting box in place
12) Screw in the remaining three mounting box screws

At this point I decided to reconnect the HUMAX to my TV and satellite co-ax and power it up. It is definitely safer to do this with the cover screwed back on.

The box detected the hard drive, told me it wasn't formatted and asked if I wanted to format it. I confirmed and a few minutes later the HUMAX was up and running. Two days later there have been no issues whatsoever.