Humax FVP-5000T Keeps re-booting

[Black Hole]

Is this enough to detect where the fault lies?

Not really, we can only assume the HDD is at fault.

The hard drive is Toshiba Aug 2019 DT01ABA100V 1TB.

I don't recall a Toshiba being reported before, perhaps this is standard in more recent boxes? If you are able to get one, this is obviously the model to go for. The link in my previous post includes purchasing advice.

With the HDD out you could try connecting it to a PC and reformatting it, you might even be able to recover content from it first. That's something you can try without costing anything (except perhaps having to buy a USB-SATA adapter – make sure you get one which includes a power supply). Once re-installed, you'll probably have to reformat it again within the PVR's menu system... and then take it out again to restore the content you saved previously (or just accept "it's only telly").

The risk is that replacing the HDD might not cure the problem (my hunch is that it will, but that's only a hunch), which could then be wasted money if you have no other use for a HDD. The alternative is to buy a new PVR.

 

[silversue]

Thank you again Black Hole, you are a mine of information. I followed the link you said, that's a lot of reading and must have taken you hours to write it, you're a star. Can you do the same for FVP-5000T? (Only joking, or am I?).

I'd like to have a go at connecting it to my PC although I'll probably need a special cable and connectors to do that, (photo below). This is all a bit beyond me I'm thinking, unless you mean putting it back in the 5000T and connecting the Humax itself to the PC?

 

[prpr]

The hard drive is Toshiba Aug 2019 DT01ABA100V 1TB

That's a fairly standard 'Video' drive with a 72TB/year workload rating. You can't get them new any more, although there might be some old/refurbished stock knocking around on the usual sites - I'm not sure I'd recommend though.
A replacement would appear to be a Seagate Skyhawk e.g. model ST1000VX013 which ought to be compatible. I'm not very au fait with Western Digital's range.

The old disk may just be corrupted, in which case it's possibly fixable and you may be able to salvage some of your recordings, but you need to connect it to a PC running Linux and know what you are doing to be successful. Connecting to a Windows PC is pointless.

 

[Black Hole]

I'd like to have a go at connecting it to my PC although I'll probably need a special cable and connectors to do that, (photo below).

That's a standard SATA interface as mentioned previously. The alternative to a USB adapter cable is if you have a spare drive bay in the PC (or perhaps even an eSATA port).

Can you do the same for FVP-5000T?

The only information there relevant to 5000T ownership are the comments about suitability of HDD types and how to buy them. You could certainly upgrade from 1TB though, to whatever the maximum normally fitted to a 5000T is (2TB?).

unless you mean putting it back in the 5000T and connecting the Humax itself to the PC?

Definitely not!

This is all a bit beyond me I'm thinking

It's all do-able, but that depends on time and patience...

The old disk may just be corrupted, in which case it's possibly fixable and you may be able to salvage some of your recordings, but you need to connect it to a PC running Linux and know what you are doing to be successful. Connecting to a Windows PC is pointless.

The easy/safe way is to download the GParted bootable image (Gnome Partition Editor), which runs on your PC without interfering with the Windows installation (or whatever OS you are running normally). All the instructions are on the linked website.

I only use Win7, which is capable of corrupting non-windows file systems randomly plugged into it, but I hear Win10/11 is less of an issue. Nonetheless Windows does not include trustworthy tools to repair a Linux file system and you would have to download specific utilities anyway.

That's a fairly standard 'Video' drive with a 72TB/year workload rating. You can't get them new any more, although there might be some old/refurbished stock knocking around on the usual sites - I'm not sure I'd recommend though.

As per my comments in the previously linked post (for "Pipelines" read any other specific model of HDD):

New old-stock does turn up, but unscrupulous sellers have cottoned onto the idea that the Pipelines are in demand (as like-for-like replacements; they were commonly used in PVRs including Sky boxes) and are hawking second hand units as "new" on the likes of Amazon Marketplace and eBay. They are gambling on the buyer not being sophisticated enough to check the SMART stats (which includes a log of the time a drive has been powered up for - a factory-fresh drive should be close to zero), or (worse) could have wiped the SMART stats before dispatch. That's fraudulent, like "clocking" a car to conceal its true mileage.

must have taken you hours to write it

Not just that article but dozens of others.

 

[silversue]

Black Hole and prpr, I am truly grateful to you both for taking the time and trouble to reply and offer your advice. Thank you so much. If I decide to replace the HDD, I'll update on here with the result. Otherwise I may just dig deep into my pockets and buy the Aura. Sadly, I don't have knowledge of Linux and too long in the tooth now for the long learning curve.

 

[Black Hole]

Sadly, I don't have knowledge of Linux and too long in the tooth now for the long learning curve.

That is irrelevant, it is a windows-icons-mouse-pointer (WIMP) environment the same as Windows. The tools I referred to work just like you were using windows, by clicking on things. It only gets different "under the bonnet". However...