Questions re Web-if 1.4.2-6 and Auto-Schedule-Restore

[Stef Neumann]

Hi Guys,

My HDR-2 had a seizure lastnight. At least it wanted me to re-enter all the initial setup settings this morning, e.g. Language, Retune, etc, etc. It seemed most of CF 3.10 was still there but not all aspects were working (e.g. the only visible effect seemd to be the 04:20 DisableOTA reminder in the schedule).

So I decided to update all packages. At this point I noticed that ChannelDel and Poc were no longer in the repository. A bit of searching on the forum revealed their replacments as TUNEFIX and Boot-Settings respectively. (By the way - nice touch that you carry foward the settings from the old packages to the new ones. Appreciated.)

Web If
I notice that Web-If had gone up to version 1.4.2-6. Looks like this version might have problems after any package is updated. I noticed my browser lost web access to the HDR2 each time I installed a package. Access is restored after a shutdown/reboot of the HDR2. Bit odd.

Auto-Schedule-Restore
Following the seizure, all functions are now back, but I've lost the Recording Schedule. Attempting to restore from a backup, highlighted another issue. The most recent backup was September 2016! Clearly unhelpful, but it does raise the question, why no backups since then? They appeared to be regularly taken before then. I don't recall any particular event back then which could be a trigger. Any suggestions as to a likely cause?

Many thanks in advance

 

[Black Hole]

the only visible effect seemd to be the 04:20 DisableOTA

That would remain regardless - it is inserted by a CF function, but once there remains until you remove it (or there is a factory reset).

I notice that Web-If had gone up to version 1.4.2-6. Looks like this version might have problems after any package is updated.

It doesn't, your system is broken and needs a complete rebuild.

The most recent backup was September 2016!

That's when your CF broke. There was a problem with auto-update which may have been around then, which stopped packages updating. In any case you are well behind and it is worth installing the latest CF.

 

[Stef Neumann]

It doesn't, your system is broken and needs a complete rebuild.

Many thanks, Black Hole. I'm not sure if "complete rebuild" implies removal of CF v3.10 or even complete RMA. I decided to opt for simply loading CF v3.13 directly. Loading and programming of CF v3.13 completed with a "Success, press standby button to restart" message.

On first restart after removing the USB stick, the system didn't display anything on the TV and shut down again by itself. Subsequent restart proceeded as expected. Is this initial hesitation indicative of further issues, or can I assume that everything should now be "working as designed"?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Black Hole]

If it's working, fine.

There was a significant chance that just updating the firmware, or just updating packages, would not flush the problem (various bits get carried over). In the absence of detailed analysis and remedial action, the "nuclear option" of an RMA and re-installation from scratch is the only sure way.

 

[prpr]

On first restart after removing the USB stick, the system didn't display anything on the TV and shut down again by itself. Subsequent restart proceeded as expected. Is this initial hesitation indicative of further issues, or can I assume that everything should now be "working as designed"?

The latter. Sometimes it just reboots to standby. It can be very confusing. I know it confused me a lot when I first started playing with these boxes.

 

[Trev]

Mine does that when power is switched on. Powers up then reverts to standby. Confusing or what.

 

[Black Hole]

Depends what state it was in when you killed the power in the first place.

 

[Trev]

Ah. Hadn't thought of that. It would usually be in S/B as I don't believe in just killing the mains unless it has crashed and unresponsive.

 

[Black Hole]

From standby, the expected response is for it to power up and then fall back to standby. As my machines are on 24/7, when they crash I just flick the rear switch - then they power up and remain powered up.

 

[Colsta]

Hi folks,
I haven't experienced any seizure or such-like but I am having some unexpected issues. Full disclosure: I've largely ignored the hummy since the >2TB disk issue was sorted last year as it's been recording all my programmes without issue. Having been prompted for the early August channel shuffle, I did perform a scan and manually restored my schedule as I've been doing for years.

Today, I decided to check the Humax for systems updates and as a result I've updated to Webif: 1.4.2-6, CF: 3.13 (build 4028), Ver: 1.03.12 (kernel HDR_CFW_3.13) and allowed any previously installed packages to update since I last checked. Combing the forum, I also noticed channeldel had been deprecated so installed tunefix & tunefix-update (removing channeldel) and also added auto-schedule-restore which seems to offer an improvement over current behaviour. It's the latter I'm having an issue with.

1. With all updates above applied, I perform a manual backup of my recording schedule through webif.

2. Using the handset, I perform an automatic channel scan after which I check the schedule which is wiped of course.

3. I then initiate a reboot from webif.

4. Once the hummy comes back up, I was led to expect it would reboot again and my schedule would be restored, but it doesn't. All that's been added in the schedule list is the disable OTA event at 0420. So I then manually restore my backup and we're back on track.

5. I did uninstall, check for file remnants and reinstall without any change in behaviour.

6. I can't see anything useful in the logs.

So my questions are:
- have I understood the functionality of the auto-schedule-restore plugin correctly?
- are there any issues with my methodology?
- in the absence of any other explanation, do you think my manual backup is throwing the restoration of the schedule i.e looking for auto-* instead of backup-*?
- other than the logs exposed by webif, anywhere else I can check to see why this is happening?

 

[Black Hole]

You need to do a second reboot. The first reboot after an auto-retune will detect that the schedule is empty and therefore needs restoring, but it cannot actually be restored until the second reboot. If a second reboot doesn't happen automatically (I'm not sure whether it should or not, and there are things that could make it inappropriate at any particular time), do it manually.

 

[prpr]

have I understood the functionality of the auto-schedule-restore plugin correctly?

Probably not.
Did it make a backup after install before you retuned i.e. did you reboot first, which is when the backup gets made?
Obviously you cannot restore what ain't been backed up.

do you think my manual backup is throwing the restoration of the schedule i.e looking for auto-* instead of backup-*?

No. WebIf backup, whether automated or manual, is nothing to do with auto-schedule-restore. It is a completely separate mechanism.

 

[MikeSh]

I and others have had this problem in the past, but not always. What seems to happen is that between the tune and restore it takes a backup of the blank schedule. The auto-restore then tries to restore that latest backup. The simplest workaround is to manually restore the correct backup when that happens.

 

[Colsta]

Hi again everyone & thanks for your replies. Clearly something is awry for me as I'm not seeing any change in behaviour post installation. Before I continue, I'll admit I added the new packages after browsing through "Package Management" in webif, reading the short descriptions of the package and made some assumptions of how they worked. Having now read the more thorough description in the wiki I have a better idea of the expected funtionality.

Did it make a backup after install before you retuned i.e. did you reboot first, which is when the backup gets made?

I suspect not as I would have no idea this was a pre-requisite post-installation. However, I have tried all combinations since. For example I just tried simulating post-installation by first checking my schedule was present, manually rebooting from webif, initiating an automatic channel search from the handset and once saved check the schedule (empty). Manually reboot again from webif, checking the schedule and finding only disable OTA is present. Wait for a while, but nothing further happens. Manually initiate a second reboot from webif again, still no schedule. Resort to manually restoring the schedule from webif as usual and reboot again to get the schedule back.

If a second reboot doesn't happen automatically (I'm not sure whether it should or not, and there are things that could make it inappropriate at any particular time), do it manually.

Actually the documentation says this should be automatic <https://wiki.hummy.tv/wiki/Custom_Firmware_Package_Notes#Auto_Schedule_Restore> which is personally what I was expecting otherwise what advantage does it offer over the manual restore method via webif given you have to remember to reboot anyway? As for whether an automatic reboot would be inappropriate from a timing perspective a schedule restore would only occur after one had manually instigated a retune which is inherently at a time that is convenient, surely?

Anyhow as it currently stands 'it's not working for me' (tm) so if anyone has any further thoughts or things to test/try I'd be happy to give it a whirl. Cheers.