HDR 1000S 500gb HDD Failure

G

goffy

New Member
I've had just over 5 years fault-free service from this machine (aside from some early sw glitches ironed out by subsequent updates) . Today I went to watch a recording and got an "unrecognised file format" error. Tried several other recordings and got the same error. Rebooted and all recordings vanished, timeshift buffer no longer there i.e. can't pause or rewind live tv and in settings>storage it doesnt show any HDD just a message saying I can attach a USB HDD if I want to record some programs.

The above leads me to diagnose a faulty hard drive. It has had daily use almost so its done okay. Not as well as the hitachi 160gb HDD in my pc which is still spinning after 14 years....I think I might be a world record holder for that one, its the only major component that I have not upgraded yet as its a challenge now to see if i can get 20 years out of it.

So my choices are:-

1) Buy a new box. Or even a reconditioned one.

2) Replace the internal hdd

3) Attach a USB HDD and let the hummy format it for use as a pvr drive

Just wanting opinions from people here as to which of the above options they would go for? A usb drive would probably wear out quicker than a internal hdd.

EDIT: An afterthought.....There were no prior signs of imminent hard disc failure so I'm thinking maybe sata controller failure?
 
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goffy said:
A usb drive would probably wear out quicker than a internal hdd.
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Based on what evidence? I see no reason that should be the case.

You can't say what's really wrong with the unit without further work - there is, after all, a chance the motherboard is faulty rather than the drive itself. If you took the drive out and hooked it up to a PC (preferably running Linux) you could confirm the state of the drive, and then make a better decision what to do.
 
I've got a linux pc. But without a usb hard drive enclosure its going to mean removing the case of the pc and attaching it to a sata cable inside. I'll have a go when I've got time.
 
goffy said:
The above leads me to diagnose a faulty hard drive.
Click to expand...
I think you are hasty to jump to that conclusion. Are you aware that the HDR-1000S has a well known fault (believed to be somewhere on the motherboard) that leads to the hard drive not being accessible?
So my choices are:-

1) Buy a new box. Or even a reconditioned one.

2) Replace the internal hdd

3) Attach a USB HDD and let the hummy format it for use as a pvr drive
Click to expand...
Option 3 won't work; the message you have seen is a red herring. There is one further option which is that Digirepair offer a fixed price repair service for about £60 se https://www.digirepairs.co.uk/produ...lus-freeview-plus-youview-plus-box-repairs-2/ (no fix, no fee providing you don't want the box back.
 
Buy a new box? The new (and only) Arris Freesat box is getting a slating over on AVF HERE
And I am led to believe that second hand Freesat boxes are commanding a premium price as well.
 
Thanks for the replies. This information in particular suggests I'm best not wasting my time, effort or money replacing the drive:


I've listened carefully to the unit and I'm sure I can still hear the drive spinning and feel the vibration when I rest my palm on the top. So its seems most likely to be the fault that Martin Liddle mentions. Seems from reading up on this that a lot of people have wasted money on brand new drives when it is in fact a fault on the motherboard. So thanks for saving my pennies. Also useful to know the usb option is a red herring.

So its a new receiver/recorder I guess. Are linux based enigma units still a thing? I'm a bit out of touch but they were popular a few years ago. The only mass marketed non-humax freesat boxes that I recall were the Manhatten ones but iirc they were SD only and never ventured into the HD era.
 
goffy said:
The only mass marketed non-humax freesat boxes that I recall were the Manhatten ones but iirc they were SD only and never ventured into the HD era.
Click to expand...
Freesat where going to start rolling out new recorders by CommScope's Arris sub-division last September but they were a bit late and only a few of them are getting to Curry's, and no where else at the moment. The receiver version came out last year and some customer reviews make interesting reading, as they do make it sound as though a lot isn't as good as the Humax recievers.
 
I'm interested in these new Arris boxes but I think I'll need my 5yr old quad lnb changing to a six way wideband one?

Regarding the faulty HDR1000S. I don't suppose Humax still do the £55 swap for a refurb now that they are dropping out of the freesat market? They might have some old stock they might want rid of. I'd go for that as a stop-gap until these new Arris boxes sort their teething troubles out.
 
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goffy said:
Regarding the faulty HDR1000S. I don't suppose Humax still do the £55 swap for a refurb now that they are dropping out of the freesat market?
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I think that offer is no longer available; no harm in phoning Humax support and checking.
They might have some old stock they might want rid of. I'd go for that as a stop-gap until these new Arris boxes sort their teething troubles out.
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Humax Direct sell refurbished boxes but they don't appear to have any Freesat boxes in stock.
 
Had a chat to Humax today. No joy. Nice guy apologised and said he was sorry they can't help. I'll just keep using the box as a receiver rather than get rid. Lets hope the arris boxes get better as the thread linked above by Trev didnt fill me with enthusiasm and have me reaching for my credit card.

If I took the HDD out in order to re-use it as extra storage in a pc would the box still boot with no hdd present?
 
goffy said:
If I took the HDD out in order to re-use it as extra storage in a pc would the box still boot with no hdd present?
Click to expand...
Try it and see. HDR-FOX does, and as your box is booting with a failed HDD system I say the runes are good.
 
Trev said:
Have you considered Martin's link at post #4. You haven't said.
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How did I miss that? I must have read past it in haste. Certainly seems reasonable. I think I will give that a go. The guy at Humax was saying its not a resistor fault, they used to think it was but now they found its something else (he didn't say what, but he said the post I'd read was "very old"), he also said the original £55 swap offer was widely abused by people who were trying it on. I can't see how they would gain an advantage sending one box back for another used box but I wasn't wanting to get into an argument with the guy.
 
goffy said:
I've had just over 5 years fault-free service from this machine (aside from some early sw glitches ironed out by subsequent updates) . Today I went to watch a recording and got an "unrecognised file format" error. Tried several other recordings and got the same error. Rebooted and all recordings vanished, timeshift buffer no longer there i.e. can't pause or rewind live tv and in settings>storage it doesnt show any HDD just a message saying I can attach a USB HDD if I want to record some programs.

The above leads me to diagnose a faulty hard drive. It has had daily use almost so its done okay. Not as well as the hitachi 160gb HDD in my pc which is still spinning after 14 years....I think I might be a world record holder for that one, its the only major component that I have not upgraded yet as its a challenge now to see if i can get 20 years out of it.

So my choices are:-

1) Buy a new box. Or even a reconditioned one.

2) Replace the internal hdd

3) Attach a USB HDD and let the hummy format it for use as a pvr drive

Just wanting opinions from people here as to which of the above options they would go for? A usb drive would probably wear out quicker than a internal hdd.

EDIT: An afterthought.....There were no prior signs of imminent hard disc failure so I'm thinking maybe sata controller failure?
Click to expand...

The G2 twin tuner boxes cannot record to a external USB Drive. So it's a non option.

You can install a up to a 2TB drive (the original drive is a Seagate Pipeline. My much used early box is now on it's 2nd drive, You can check the drive by connecting it in a usb sata drive cradle to a PC booted into linux.

Seagate ST2000VM003 Pipeline HD 2 TB 3.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive - Black: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Buy
www.amazon.co.uk
 
Graham I will order a usb sata enclosure and try that first before sending it off to NI just incase it is a faulty drive. I know my linux pc has a program for checking hdds for bad sectors etc so i will run that assuming the drive is working/recognised. Thinking back now I did get a couple of failed recordings just before it went kaput but put them down to schedule changes within the epg.
 
Hi Black Hole. Thanks for your kind offer. However I had already ordered prior to reading your post. I've ordered this adapter for £15

USB 3.0 to SATA Adapter Cable for 2.5"/3.5" SSD: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Free delivery and returns on eligible orders. Buy USB 3.0 to SATA Adapter Cable for 2.5"/3.5" SSD/HDD Drives, SATA to USB3.0 Cable 2.5/3.5 Inch Hard Drive Adapter Cable 0.5m, UASP Supported (0.5m) at Amazon UK.
www.amazon.co.uk
 
Turns out the drive is fine. I can see all my recordings and the data files on my linux pc. Looks like its definitely that common resistor/capacitor fault or whatever humax now say is the actual cause of the hdd not being recognised. Sending the box away for repair as per post No.4 seems the next step.

The hdd sata/usb adaptor will come in useful in future when the hdd does eventually fail.

There is a 11gb partition on there labelled downloads and all it contains is a video advert for the galaxy s20 smartphone. Strange as I dont recall this box ever playing ads at me but thats a recent phone. The actual recordings are on another partition and encrypted.
 
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