I want to add an external Hard Disk?

robsavva

New Member
I want to connect a HD to my humax box through the USB connection on front which I have done but it won't allow me to copy from the humax to the external HD as it says not NTFS??? have tried 2 different external drives? can it be done as want to move films across to free up space but still keep them and play them from the external disk...is this possible...HELP
 
Which Humax box do you have? the reason that I ask is because you have posted a similar question in the HDR-2000T section at MyHumax forum.
 
Hi
I have a HDR-FOX-T2, which has now decided to stop working-dark green screen which comes back on most times when switch TV and box off at wall....HELP
 

Well I had a look at that, and I'm still baffled (not very techy I'm afraid). My T2-1TB is exhibiting the same error as it did a couple of years ago - playback screen going black for up to 30 seconds if a channel is recording simultaneoulsly, and recordings "skipping" if made whilst watching a playback. Solved the last time by formatting the hard drive, so I need to do that again. But I don't want to lose my recodings this time (like I did the last time) so am happy to buy a suitable external drive, but not sure what format to use - I have only windows PC's (Windows 8.1 (mine) or Windows 7 (the wifes)). The guide says that the Hummy won't wrote to NTSF, and I don't want to install custom firmware - the standard fw works well for what I want 99.99% of the time, and I'd be worried about bricking the Hummy. I can use FAT as long as my individual files are <=4MB, but HD films will be truncated as they're likely to be up to 10MB. So I need to use NTSF, but the Hummy won't write to it. Hmmm

So it seems I'll have to use ext2/3 file format (never heard of it before) - and I'll have to use a utility to allow me to "mount" the drive. Hmmm again.

So, I buy an 1TB external HDD, and this will be formatted NTSF I imagine. Can I use the ext2fsd utility mentioned to format this drive? Will it appear on the list of drives in eplorer? And how do I connect to the Hummy and tell it to copy the files (and get them copied back after the reformat)- is this done by connecting the drive directly to the Hummy and using on-screen commands? I assume so, as the HDD in my laptops will ne NTSF so can't be used as a transfer medium.

Help!
 
I don't want to install custom firmware - the standard fw works well for what I want 99.99% of the time, and I'd be worried about bricking the Hummy.

That's a shame as the custom firmware would almost certainly repair your disk while preserving the recordings and do a more thorough job than a reformat. You could always remove it afterwards. The update process is straightforward so there is no risk of bricking it.

So it seems I'll have to use ext2/3 file format (never heard of it before) - and I'll have to use a utility to allow me to "mount" the drive. Hmmm again.

Right - you'll need to use EXT2 or EXT3 and then transfer the recordings over to the new disk using the standard on-screen controls (select multiple/all, OPT+, find external drive, red to copy). Once you've reformatted the internal disk you can just copy the recordings back again in the same way. No need to connect it to your PC unless you want to do anything else with them.
As for formatting the new disk to EXT3, I'm sure someone will be along to explain the options.
 
You can plug your new 1TB USB drive into the Humax and get it to format it for you, it will use EXT3 as I understand it
 
Thanks for that - I may have a look at the custom firmware then as well. I presume (if using the external drive) I just connect to the rear USB port - or can I use the front? (rear has the wireless dongle in at present)
 
You should be able to use either of the USB ports, but if you intend to install the Custom Firmware you probably won't need to back-up your recordings anyway, the CFW has a utility called fix-disk that works without formatting the HDD
 
You should be aware that copying standard definition recordings from an internal to external disk causes them to be decrypted en-route and so is very slow!
 
You should be aware that copying standard definition recordings from an internal to external disk causes them to be decrypted en-route and so is very slow!

Yes I recall - thats why the last time I gave up! I may have to try the custom firmware - it's a least free and I have a wireless connection established (I think - I did have anyway!)
 
Cripes, I had a read of the instructions for the custom firmware... Ok, it's ok'ish I think, fo me to do. I assume the fix-disk utility is accessed via the web interface diagnostics page?
 
Hmmm, telnet eh? Well I cen get to a telnet prompt in W7 which reads "Windows Telnet >" How do I connect to the Hummy from that point, anmd get the welcome screen - which in turn will allow me to restart in maintenance mode which will then allow me access to fix-disk. Whew!
 
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