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HDR FOX T2 usually hangs on startup, then appears to stop working entirely

J

Jason-z

New Member
Hi all,

I have an HDR FOX T2 that I had found increasingly hard to use, as it would nearly always require retuning whenever I used it. I wondered if the problem was to do with cable shielding, but now find I can't get it to switch on properly at all. That's even worse, as I can't even access my recordings now.

It's connected to a projector. A few weeks ago I noticed that the Humax wouldn't boot - though the front light lit blue, it only produced a flickering blank image on the projector and seemed hung. I tried to reboot it (using the rocker switch on the back) and then it seemed not to be working at all: even the front light did not come on. I thought I could detect a very faint whine: there was power, but nothing else at all; if not for that whine I would have thought the plug fuse to be the problem. Frustrated, I left it unplugged and didn't have time to go back to it.

Today I tried to install updated custom firmware, as from these pages I gathered that that would be where to start. But first of all I thought I would boot it up to check if it's magically fixed itself. Curiously, the Humax did exactly the same as before: flickering blank image (and the flickering, oddly, continued for a few seconds even when I switched the HDMI to the Chromecast); then when I rebooted, it again played completely dead, bar perhaps a faint whine. On that first boot when there was life, the front panel display stated that no channels were found, and then I think said 'Press OK t' and then got stuck. Then, as I say, I rebooted, and it appeared dead. No chance to install firmware now.

This seems very strange to me. Maybe if I wait a week it will decide that it will deign to do a partial boot again, and I can update the firmware that way? But will that help? I waited an hour or so and tried again, but it's still dead. Is there anything else I can try?

Jason
 
Not sure what you're trying to achieve by flashing the firmware.
It's clear that something much more fundamental is broken, like the power supply. I expect duff capacitors either on the PSU board or the motherboard.
Unless you can diagnose and fix yourself (seems unlikely) or you have a mate like @Newcoppiceman then I think it's had it.

Your recordings are recoverable, as long as you keep a note of the MAC address and serial number of the box.
 
Installing CF isn't going to fix anything - it's not alternative firmware, it's adding facilities extra to the Humax firmware. The only thing you can reasonably do is try disconnecting the HDD and see what happens then.
 
Thanks both. I should have clarified that I didn't think it was the firmware version that was the problem, but that perhaps the firmware was corrupted. Therefore I thought that overwriting that (with an upgrade or not) might fix it.

Is there a guide here to copying the recordings off please?

I will try and open it up and disconnect the hard disk.
 
Jason-z said:
but that perhaps the firmware was corrupted.
Click to expand...
That is of course a possibility, but has never been confirmed in a real case. If yours had not seemed so terminal, I would have suggested working through this: Steps for Resolving HDR-FOX Crash/Reboot Issues (click)

There's a get-you-going guide to CF here: Quick Guide to Custom Firmware (click)... but if the 'Fox isn't physically working CF won't help.

Jason-z said:
Is there a guide here to copying the recordings off please?
Click to expand...
If you propose to acquire another HDR-FOX: Swapping a HDD between HDR-FOXes

On the other hand, if you intend to rescue the recordings and make them generally playable via PC or other media player, you have to deal with the encryption. From Things Every... (click) section 5:
Black Hole said:
The HD/HDR-FOX encrypts (ie securely scrambles) all recordings in the process of storing them to disk. This is transparent to the user, because they are decrypted (unscrambled) again in the process of playing the recording back to TV or streaming it out to another media player on the home network. It causes a difficulty if you want to copy the recording out for other purposes*, in summary here's what you can do and what you can't...
Click to expand...

Users of the CF have the option/facility to decrypt recordings automatically, immediately after (or even while) they are recorded. However, this can also be done off-line. In the case where the original HDR-FOX is broken with no intention to replace, and where the recordings have not been decrypted:
  1. You will need the HDD from the HDR-FOX, and you will need to know the serial number and MAC (as printed on the product label). These details could also be obtained from the unit itself, if it weren't broken...

  2. Hook up the HDD to a PC. This is not as straightforward as it sounds, because the HDD is formatted Ext3, which is a Linux format and Windows will not play ball with it. The physical hook-up can be direct if your PC has a spare SATA bay, or using an external USB-SATA adapter. I then prefer to boot Linux (using a downloaded live boot Linux DVD or bootable USB if necessary), but some people have had success by loading an Ext3 driver in Windows (see Things Every... section 12). NB: Booting a "Live Linux" means you can use the PC in Linux without affecting the Windows installation. Modern Linuxes are very Windows-like, so they are not difficult to use.

    You only need to copy off the .ts files to somewhere accessible at this stage, after that you can reboot to Windows if you're more comfortable with that. The other files (.hmt. .nts etc) are of no relevance away from a HDR-FOX.

  3. For the decryption utility, see:
    Black Hole said:
    Linux version: https://hummy.tv/forum/threads/offline-decryption-utility.8676/
    Windows version: https://hummy.tv/forum/threads/windows-version-of-offline-decryption-hfodu.8770/
    Click to expand...

  4. For the decryption key:
    Black Hole said:
    How to compute the key (from https://wiki.hummy.tv/wiki/Custom_Firmware_Package_Notes#Stripts): concatenate the 12 hex digits of the MAC, with 20 hex digits obtained from the S/N by converting the first 10 digits to hex ASCII. Presuming the S/N is purely numeric, this is not so difficult as it sounds because the decimal-to-hexASCII conversion is simply to prefix each digit with "3". Thus, for example: for MAC 00-03-78-bd-11-f3 and S/N 6371044960-1234, the first 12 hex digits of the key will be 000378bd11f3, and the subsequent 20 digits 36333731303434393630, so the whole key is 000378bd11f336333731303434393630.
    Click to expand...
 
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So? Adopt a clearer explanation in the wiki and I'll be able to quote that directly instead (presuming the forum is capable of embedding quotes from the wiki without too much faffing around). If you're complaining about plagiarism, not guilty m'lud - I left a paper trail.
 
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