Internal HDD Problem

S

Steve7777777

New Member
Hi.

I have a Humax HDR-FOX T2. A couple of years ago I installed the custom firmware (v1.03.12).

For some months the humax has had a habbit of hanging once or twice a month requiring me to recycle it from the power switch on the back panel.

This week it appeared to completely lose the internal HDD. Humax reported on the tv screen having 0 bytes free and 0 bytes used and suggested I needed to format the drive (which I didn't of course, in the hope of rescuing the recorded programs).

Today I followed the instruction in the hummy wiki for running the fix-disk utility. It immediately reported:

"Error at LBA 546603040"

and asked if I wanted to fix it, I said yes, after which it said:

"re-writing sector 546603040: succeeded"

only for it to loop around and fail again on the same sector.

After a few times round this loop I quit from fix-disk and exited maintenance mode.

I went back to the humax box and after it rebooted I found it had reconnected to its HDD and all our recorded programs seem to be back.

However from the web interface I see this:

There appear to be some hardware problems with the internal hard disk on this device.
Disk realloc sector count is: 152
Disk pending sector count is: 218
Disk offline sector count is: 218

I ran a diskattr from the diagnostic utility on web if:


SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 10
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x000f 091 091 006 Pre-fail Always - 34556482
3 Spin_Up_Time 0x0003 097 097 000 Pre-fail Always - 0
4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 096 096 020 Old_age Always - 4551
5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 100 100 036 Pre-fail Always - 560
7 Seek_Error_Rate 0x000f 075 060 030 Pre-fail Always - 73534584347
9 Power_On_Hours 0x0032 075 075 000 Old_age Always - 22179
10 Spin_Retry_Count 0x0013 100 100 097 Pre-fail Always - 0
12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 096 096 020 Old_age Always - 4551
184 End-to-End_Error 0x0032 100 100 099 Old_age Always - 0
187 Reported_Uncorrect 0x0032 001 001 000 Old_age Always - 149
188 Command_Timeout 0x0032 100 099 000 Old_age Always - 4295032833
189 High_Fly_Writes 0x003a 001 001 000 Old_age Always - 154
190 Airflow_Temperature_Cel 0x0022 050 038 045 Old_age Always In_the_past 50 (3 14 55 36)
191 G-Sense_Error_Rate 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 098 098 000 Old_age Always - 4550
193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 098 098 000 Old_age Always - 4551
194 Temperature_Celsius 0x0022 050 062 000 Old_age Always - 50 (0 15 0 0)
197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0012 099 099 000 Old_age Always - 302
198 Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0010 099 099 000 Old_age Offline - 302
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x003e 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0

Any thoughts on why the humax can see its HDD now after a fix-disk run that appeared to be unable to complete?

And what should I do next?

Many thanks.
 
1.03.12 is the underlying Humax firmware level not the Customised Firmware level which is currently 3.13
If you installed a couple of years ago you wont have he latest version of fix disk which has had several improvements to handle disks with larger sectors amongst other significant improvement, see https://wiki.hummy.tv/wiki/Firmware_Downloads for downloads.

When you run fixdisk use the -y to automatically respond to prompts and let it run overnight - it can be a very lengthy process

You should post the statistics after the run before deciding on the fate of your dissk
 
MymsMan said:
1.03.12 is the underlying Humax firmware level not the Customised Firmware level which is currently 3.13
If you installed a couple of years ago you wont have he latest version of fix disk which has had several improvements to handle disks with larger sectors amongst other significant improvement, see - for downloads.

When you run fixdisk use the -y to automatically respond to prompts and let it run overnight - it can be a very lengthy process

You should post the statistics after the run before deciding on the fate of your dissk
Click to expand...

Thanks for info. I was a bit mystified by the version numbering. The zip I installed from was HDR_FOX_T2_1.03.12_mod_3.00.zip so yes I'm missing quite a few updates.

I assume that I just follow the same install instructions for an upgrade do I, same as if I was installing fresh?

Cheers.
 
I would say that the hard drive is not in the best of health. The reallocated sector count is fairly high and the pending sector count is worrying. I think you may be able to prolong the life of the drive for a few weeks with fix-disk but the drive will need replacing before long.
 
MartinLiddle said:
I would say that the hard drive is not in the best of health. The reallocated sector count is fairly high and the pending sector count is worrying. I think you may be able to prolong the life of the drive for a few weeks with fix-disk but the drive will need replacing before long.
Click to expand...
Thank-you for the info.

Anyone know if there is a document/wiki to describe how to clone a humax disk before it fails?
 
You don't need to clone it. Simply install a new disk, and access the old one via a USB-SATA adapter (powered).
 
Black Hole said:
You don't need to clone it. Simply install a new disk, and access the old one via a USB-SATA adapter (powered).
Click to expand...
Ok cheers.

I'll follow MymsMan's advice re firmware update followed by fixdisk, then I'll report back.

Thanks all for your input, much appreciated.
 
The CF will need reinstalling after a new disk is fitted (second stage of CF install, then packages), and although it would be possible to transplant the setup from the old disk it is no great hassle to reinstall from scratch (and might benefit from removal of packages you don't actually use). Just make a note of how it is configured at the moment.
 
Just got back onto this. I updated the CF to 3.13 and ran the fixdisk again.
I didn't use the "-y" option on account of it looping previously, thought I'd run it without initially.

I've copied the output below. It seems to have got a step further but then loops again.
Any thoughts on what this result indicates? Does not look good to me!

Code: 
Please select option: fixdisk
Any additional options (-h for list or press return for none):
Are you sure you wish to run the hard disk checker? [Y/N] y
Running /bin/fix-disk

Checking disk sda (4096 byte sectors)

Unmounted /dev/sda1
Partition /dev/sda2 is already unmounted
Partition /dev/sda3 is already unmounted


Running short disk self test
Error at LBA 546603040
Do you wish to attempt repair of the bad block? [Y/N]: y

/dev/sda:
re-writing sector 546603040: succeeded
This is an advanced-format disk.
Also checking blocks 546603040 - 546603047 (8 blocks)
    Block 546603040  - OK
    Block 546603041  - OK
    Block 546603042  - OK
    Block 546603043  - OK
    Block 546603044  - OK
    Block 546603045  - OK
    Block 546603046  - FAILED: Input/output error
                     - Repaired
    Block 546603047  - FAILED: Input/output error
                     - Repaired

Running short disk self test
Error at LBA 0
Do you wish to attempt repair of the bad block? [Y/N]: y

/dev/sda:
re-writing sector 0: succeeded
This is an advanced-format disk.
Also checking blocks 0 - 7 (8 blocks)
    Block 0          - OK
    Block 1          - OK
    Block 2          - OK
    Block 3          - OK
    Block 4          - OK
    Block 5          - OK
    Block 6          - OK
    Block 7          - OK

Running short disk self test
Error at LBA 0
Do you wish to attempt repair of the bad block? [Y/N]: y

/dev/sda:
re-writing sector 0: succeeded
This is an advanced-format disk.
Also checking blocks 0 - 7 (8 blocks)
    Block 0          - OK
    Block 1          - OK
    Block 2          - OK
    Block 3          - OK
    Block 4          - OK
    Block 5          - OK
    Block 6          - OK
    Block 7          - OK

Running short disk self test
Error at LBA 0
Do you wish to attempt repair of the bad block? [Y/N]: y

/dev/sda:
re-writing sector 0: succeeded
This is an advanced-format disk.
Also checking blocks 0 - 7 (8 blocks)
    Block 0          - OK
    Block 1          - OK
    Block 2          - OK
    Block 3          - OK
    Block 4          - OK
    Block 5          - OK
    Block 6          - OK
    Block 7          - OK

Running short disk self test
Error at LBA 0
Do you wish to attempt repair of the bad block? [Y/N]: n
Skipped repair of LBA 0

Checking partition tables...

MBR Status: not present
GPT Status: not present

Partition table is missing/corrupt. If the disk has not been formatted by
the Humax, recovery by fix-disk may not be successful.

Searching for partitions...

Unable to find partition 1, exiting...
fix-disk: session terminated with exit status 1

Press return to continue:

      /---------------------------------------------\
      |  M A I N T E N A N C E   M O D E   M E N U  |
      \---------------------------------------------/

  [ Humax HDR-Fox T2 (humax) 1.03.12/3.13 ]

  Note: Some areas of the hard disk are not mounted.
        Not all functions will be available.
        (normal if you have just run a disk check)

 fixdisk - Check and repair hard disk.
   short - Run short hard-disk self test.
    long - Run long hard-disk self test.
   check - Check self-test progress.
    gptf - Re-format disk using GPT scheme.
     epg - Clear persistent EPG data.
    dlna - Reset DLNA server database.
       x - Leave maintenance mode (Humax will restart).
    diag - Run a diagnostic.
     cli - System command line (advanced users).

Please select option:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Mike0001 said:
Replace the hdd?
Click to expand...
Well yes, very droll. I like to work on evidence though Mike, and when I asked you what your rationale was for replacing it last week you didn't offer any, so I took it (rightly or wrongly) as a guess.

But it does look like I've run out of options now as my humax is again telling me to format the drive and the fix-disk has now run its course. Unless anyone else has any other ideas I'll swap it out for a new one.
 
Steve7777777 - there are still a couple of fixes you could attempt. First I would try and manually rewrite the problem sectors (blocks 546603046 and 546603047). Then read the sectors: if this returns zeroes it has worked, if you get input/output errors then you still have a problem. The commands are here. If this fails, before binning the drive, you could try a security erase, after backing up any files you want to keep. This will take a while to complete (you will get an estimate of how long when you issue the command) as it will completely overwrite the disk. This often will force pending sectors to be reallocated. The method is
here.
 
Steve7777777 said:
Well yes, very droll. I like to work on evidence though Mike, and when I asked you what your rationale was for replacing it last week you didn't offer any, so I took it (rightly or wrongly) as a guess.
Click to expand...
The evidence was supplied by you. Multiple disk faults. In a PC I would immediately back up and replace a drive, then think about trying to recover it, but it's your choice. Sorry I was so terse.
 
MontysEvilTwin said:
Steve7777777 - there are still a couple of fixes you could attempt. First I would try and manually rewrite the problem sectors (blocks 546603046 and 546603047). Then read the sectors: if this returns zeroes it has worked, if you get input/output errors then you still have a problem. The commands are here. If this fails, before binning the drive, you could try a security erase, after backing up any files you want to keep. This will take a while to complete (you will get an estimate of how long when you issue the command) as it will completely overwrite the disk. This often will force pending sectors to be reallocated. The method is
here.
Click to expand...
I'll look into this - thanks for posting.

Mike0001 said:
The evidence was supplied by you. Multiple disk faults. In a PC I would immediately back up and replace a drive, then think about trying to recover it, but it's your choice. Sorry I was so terse.
Click to expand...
Ok; its just that you don't seem to be taking into account that (a) hard drives can live with some types of error, and (b) one needs to be able to interpret the reports to be able to decide whether the errors one sees are survivable or not. I don't understand the error reports sufficiently to know whether these are survivable, so that is why I am asking for help. I'm not so flush with cash that I can simply splash out 60 quid on an unnecessary replacement drive, I want to be sure I need to first. ;)
 
Steve7777777 said:
Ok; its just that you don't seem to be taking into account that (a) hard drives can live with some types of error, and (b) one needs to be able to interpret the reports to be able to decide whether the errors one sees are survivable or not. I don't understand the error reports sufficiently to know whether these are survivable, so that is why I am asking for help.
Click to expand...
I have already said that the drive is coming to the end of its life (as indicated by the number of reallocated sectors). What is the make, model and size of the hard drive?
 
MartinLiddle said:
I have already said that the drive is coming to the end of its life (as indicated by the number of reallocated sectors). What is the make, model and size of the hard drive?
Click to expand...
My previous comment was aimed at Mike who gave no rationale for scrapping the disk. I know you said it was coming to end of life. I also know that two other people have said don't give up! So I am none the wiser. I am not complaining, I am grateful to people offering advice, but no-one has explained precisely what any of these numbers mean and why it is that you and Mike say scrap the disk and two other folk say don't give up. How am I supposed to form a decision about which advice to follow? That's why I was asking Mike what his rationale was. Yes there are errors, but are they survivable errors? thats the key point.

Moving on to your observation - what is the meaning of reallocated sectors? Is it the number of sectors that have been marked as permanently bad/unusable? And how do you know when that number has reached a point of giving up? Is it 5, 10, 100, 1000 - how does one decide? What is LBA 0? How come the fixdisk is now failing at LBA-0 when it wasn't before? How come after the first fixdisk run (CF v3.0) the disk came 'back to life' and after the subsequent run (CF v3.13) its gone invisible again? I'd ideally like to understand these things to inform my decision of what to do because I don't like guessin' if I can avoid it.

My drive is 1TB, more than that I don't know as I've never opened the box.

Cheers! :)
 
If the drive's controller detects a problem with a disk access, it swaps that area of the disk out and replaces it with one from a set of spares (built-in redundancy). When the spares run out, your data is at risk. The main reason for this reallocation is to overcome manufacturing defects which would otherwise trash the majority of the manufacturers output, but it also provides a useful self-healing mechanism for the warranted lifetime of the drive.

Random faults will occur from time to time. There should be no pattern to them, and a drive that reports occasional reallocations is not a worry. It is time to worry when large batches of reallocations are occurring - the drive surface is degrading, and data is on borrowed time.

LBA 0 is a critical area of the disk which cannot be reallocated (or if it can, then only in a limited way). It contains the metadata necessary for low-level disk access, so if that is damaged the whole disk will become unaccessible.
 
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