Have I bricked it?

Daveuk

New Member
I have had a Humax HDR-Fox T2 for just short of 3 years which has worked flawlessly, have had it running 1.02.32 mod 2.15 since last year with no problems.

Sorry this is a little long winded but I could do with some advice.

Sunday just gone I decided to install 1.03.12 mod 3.00 which was carried out successfully and Humax carried on running as normal, however I did set up power management to go into standby and power down after 3 hours.

Following morning Humax came to life from standby and everything appeared normal until after about 5 minutes when picture on TV from Humax seemed to freeze up and then disappear, channel info was still on screen and sound carried on though, this from live TV.

Powered off Humax with rear switch and rebooted it after 5 mins, everything came back to life but again after a few minutes, picture once again sort of froze up, I then decide to go back to 1.02.32 mod 2.15, which I installed successfully, everything once again appeared to be normal.

The following morning (Tuesday) exactly the same thing happened, picture on TV froze and then disappeared, so I decided that I would get rid of modified firmware altogether and install official firmware 1.03.12 to test things with, I probably should have just carried out a factory reset but nevermind.

Whilst attempting to install 1.03.12, by USB I hasten to add, as all installs, it downloaded from stick ok and installed and front panel displayed "end", TV instructed me to press standby button on Humax to restart, problems started from this point.

Pressing standby button did nothing, neither did using remote, front panel still displayed "end" left it for a few minutes but nothing changed so I switched it off at the switch on the rear.Having left it off for 5 minutes I once again switched it back on.

Front panel displayed "Wizard" and then nothing and after waiting for a minute or so for something to happen, I once again switched it off at the back switch.

Upon once again turning it back on from the switch at the back, I was surprised to find that now absolutely nothing was happening, no lights, nothing, I then decided to try the Humax in a different power socket in another room, again, nothing and then briefly the front panel lit up, but only for a few seconds.

Suspecting that the hard drive might have something to do with it, I removed it, no difference, Humax appeared to be completely dead.

I suspected that I might have a problem capacitor in the PSU so took it to an electrical repair shop local to me and left it with them for tests, they've been in touch today to inform that there is no problem with the PSU and that power is getting to the main board, they are going to investigate further tomorrow and let me know.

Does anybody know whether or not the front panel should come to life even if the firmware upgrade install has corrupted things or have I bricked it completely, apologies again for the length of post, look forward to any advice what to do next.

Dave
 
I would re-install the official 1.03.12 from USB, if the electrical repair shop don't come up with anything, not forgetting to remove the USB stick before responding to the "press standby button on Humax to restart" at the end of the upgrade procedure
 
I would re-install the official 1.03.12 from USB, if the electrical repair shop don't come up with anything, not forgetting to remove the USB stick before responding to the "press standby button on Humax to restart" at the end of the upgrade procedure

Thanks for that, it was that I was attempting to do when everything went haywire and as it appears to be dead, how would I get it to install from the USB anyway, there's nothing on the front panel and no blue or orange lights.

Are you suggesting to just turn the power on and plug the USB and it will install without any sort of input from me whatsoever and then come back to life?

Dave
 
I have had problems with the settings being lost and the Wizard running. This can be indicative of flash memory problems and is usually cured by a system reset (no disk format needed). It is odd that it now seems dead. If it has booted into the Wizard, the box will now be in low power standby mode so no clock will be displayed in standby, but the ring should still be illuminated. In the firmware downloads section here there is a system flush update: this also does a system reset. I'd try putting this on a USB stick and switch the Humax on with the USB stick already plugged in and see what happens.
 
Thanks for that, the ring for standby is definitely not illuminated, in fact as I said originally, nothing is illuminated.

I had seen the system flush update file in the downloads section and had considered it but as the box appeared completely dead had dismissed the idea, the guys who are looking at it will be reporting back to me tomorrow after their further investigations.

Hopefully I'll get the box back tomorrow and attempt to load the official 1.03.12 after the system flush update, if that works that is.

I'll report back on what happens.
Dave
 
If you are not getting any indication that the unit has power e.g. the centre ring lit up or something on the display, then it probably won't be in a state to accept either the flush update or any other USB software. However is is definitely worth trying to re-install firmware via the USB as you don't have many other options. If the repair guys are confident that all the power supplies are O.K. it only leaves things like a bad connection between the PSU and the main board or something like a main board fuse if there is one, Also plugging in a USB stick with a LED on it would at least show that the USB socket has power on it when the unit is powered up.
 
The repair guys have informed me that power is getting to the main board from the PSU, the USB stick I use does have an LED on it so yes that would indicate a supply to the USB port if it flashes during the attempted installation.

I have done a thorough search back through all the posts on this forum and have noticed that somebody back in 2012 had a similar problem, unfortunately they never revealed whether or not they were successful in their attempts to revive the box.
 
I don't think anything you did is likely to have caused this problem, although the power cycling may have exacerbated it. It sounds terminal to me.
 
I have got the box back, the repair people are absolutely baffled as they've tested everything they could and can't explain what is causing the problem, they are of the opinion that the problem is on the main board.

Have attempted to install system flush without success, the box is completely dead, have also attempted the official firmware, again without any success utilising both front and rear USB's, it just sits doing nothing, I fear that the box is bricked.

I hate not knowing what is causing the problem

To escape the wrath of my beloved wife, I've ordered a grade 'A' HDR-Fox T2 direct from Humax, didn't fancy the 2000T, I wouldn't mind but I never watch TV.

Thanks for the help.

Dave
 
Seems best, that's what I would have done in the same position. However, I wouldn't describe it as "bricked", just "dead".
 
It's too big for a brick. But there again, I suppose a mobile phone is a bit small unless you are talking about the early ones.
 
Are you guys being deliberately obtuse? The term "bricked" in this context is usually taken to mean the user has caused it by irreversible fiddling.
 
And I always thought that 'bricked' in pretty much any electronic context usually meant 'It don't work no more'
Perhaps a link to your definition of terms that fully explains that would be in order.
 
That's how I always understood it, originating from the consequences of jailbreaking iPhones. The term may have been in circulation before that, but I was not aware of it.
 
The doubters should also note that "bricked" is used as a verb in the topic title, implying an active process of causing it to become bricked rather than just dead.
 
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