Replacement HDD not detected

leicray said:
My understanding is that there THREE versions of the CF, each based on firmware version 1.03.12. The "default" CF appears to be the one labelled as "Custom Firmware" on the download page. In addition there are two versions labelled "Custom Firmware with Debug Kernel" and "Custom Firmware with Stock Kernel".

My Hummy fails to boot using the "Custom Firmware with Stock Kernel", but does boot successfully with the "Custom Firmware".

Does that clarify matters? Apologies if I have misunderstood your question.
Click to expand...
Ah, so you mean you are successful with the debug kernel (suffix d)? That's useful information, but af123 is away at the moment so it will be a while before the information can be applied. So far as I know, the only significant difference between these kernels (with regard to the HDD) is the exact timing of events - so maybe your drive needs longer to initialise than the other kernels are allowing.

The standard CF (no suffix) is also a tweaked kernel (ie not "stock"), hence the confusion caused by "the CF based on the kernel compiled by af123".
 
Last edited:
If it boots with the debug kernel, get to the CLI via the telnet menu and post the output of the 'dmesg' command.
 
So what did he say then? It wasn't running up with the originally installed CF, didn't run up with the stock-kernel CF, and then runs fine with a third CF. Either he had the debug CF installed in the first place (why?), or he has the debug CF installed now.
 
I have NOT yet tried the CF based on the debug kernel, but I will try it tomorrow (Monday) evening when I again have time.

To recap, irrespective of which disk is installed, my Hummy fails to boot using the "Custom Firmware with Stock Kernel", but does boot successfully with the "Custom Firmware".

I also intend to compare the output from hdparm -I to see if I can spot any obvious differences between the two so-called identical drives.
 
Black Hole said:
So what did he say then?
Click to expand...
My understanding is that there THREE versions of the CF, each based on firmware version 1.03.12. The "default" CF appears to be the one labelled as "Custom Firmware" on the download page. In addition there are two versions labelled "Custom Firmware with Debug Kernel" and "Custom Firmware with Stock Kernel".

My Hummy fails to boot using the "Custom Firmware with Stock Kernel", but does boot successfully with the "Custom Firmware".
Click to expand...
That's what he said. Which is supported by:
leicray said:
I have NOT yet tried the CF based on the debug kernel,
Click to expand...
:disagree:
 
I have found the time to now try the "Custom Firmware with Debug Kernel" and my Hummy failed to boot with that CF. So, for the sake of clarity, my Hummy will only boot using the "Custom Firmware" irrespective of which disk is fitted.
 
Comparison of the firmware parameters of the original and replacement disks reveals very little apart from the parameters that would be expected to differ:

6c6
< Serial Number: 6VVF72NK
---
> Serial Number: 9VV70WSB
67d66
< * Gen2 signaling speed (3.0Gb/s)
86,87c85,86
< 96min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT. 96min for ENHANCED SECURITY ERASE UNIT.
< Logical Unit WWN Device Identifier: 5000c5004a20d550
---
> 92min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT. 92min for ENHANCED SECURITY ERASE UNIT.
> Logical Unit WWN Device Identifier: 5000c500361e603c
90c89
< Unique ID : 04a20d550
---
> Unique ID : 0361e603c

The only notable difference appears to be:

< * Gen2 signaling speed (3.0Gb/s)

This parameter is absent on the replacement disk but I have no idea what the significance is. I'm rather at a loss about what to do next other than return the disk for the refund which has been offered by the eBay seller.
 
A bit of a very long shot: have you tried using Mint to create a new partition table and trying it in the T2 again? I can only see talk of "deleting partitions"...

OTOH: it might be time time to give up on this disk?
 
kev7378 said:
A bit of a very long shot: have you tried using Mint to create a new partition table and trying it in the T2 again?
Click to expand...
Really? What is the point writing anything on the disk, when the unit doesn't even detect the disk at all?
Sometimes I despair.
 
prpr said:
Really? What is the point writing anything on the disk, when the unit doesn't even detect the disk at all?
Sometimes I despair.
Click to expand...
The OP has stated the disk works fine on Win10 and has formatted it (post #1); and has managed to see it, if not all that reliably, on "Mint" (post #2); but that it is "not detected" on T2 (post #1). This might suggest that the Humax software itself is not observing the disks presence for some currently unknown reason (such as not liking the partition table) and thus not showing it at the UI level (which is what I see am reading as being meant by "not detected" at the moment).

There have been no diagnostics that I can see as to whether this disk as been "seen", or not, at the connection level (as might be seen from dmesg) or simply being rejected at a higher level for other reasons.

As I said it is a "very long shot", but starting "afresh" with "undetected" disks occasionally works if the problem is not at the hardware interface side. The OP appears to have already spent time on it, so might see it is worth a shot to them? Probability of this fixing the problem?: low. Of course, the problem could be at the "interface" level, but we just don't know. I did also say "it might be time to give up on this disk?".
 
Does the disk have a manufacturing date on it? It might be a really old one which does not support SATA II.
 
kev7378 said:
This might suggest that the Humax software itself is not observing the disks presence for some currently unknown reason (such as not liking the partition table)
Click to expand...
No, you are wrong. It has already been established (post #7 point 3, in response to my question) that the Humax is not seeing the disk at all. There is no "might" about the partition table.
There have been no diagnostics that I can see as to whether this disk as been "seen", or not, at the connection level
Click to expand...
Look at post #7 point 3 then. Perhaps you don't understand what it's telling you?
As I said it is a "very long shot"
Click to expand...
No, it's a non-existent shot.
The OP appears to have already spent time on it, so might see it is worth a shot to them?
Click to expand...
It will just waste even more of his time.
Probability of this fixing the problem?: low.
Click to expand...
No. Probability is 0, absolutely.
Of course, the problem could be at the "interface" level, but we just don't know. I did also say "it might be time to give up on this disk?".
Click to expand...
Indeed. What we do know is that it is NOT anything to do with what data is or is not in any sector on the disk. It is therefore completely and utterly pointless pi55ing about with partitioning and formatting.
 
xyz321 said:
Does the disk have a manufacturing date on it? It might be a really old one which does not support SATA II.
Click to expand...
I think that you might be onto something there. The disks have date "codes" on their labels but not conventional dates.

However, the clue is in post #30. The original disk firmware contains the string "Gen2 signaling speed (3.0Gb/s)" which is absent from the firmware of the replacement disk. Clutching at straws, I purchased another disk (identical model) from another eBay vendor and that too is not detected by the T2 and it too has the "Gen2 signaling speed (3.0Gb/s)" string missing in the firmware. I next picked out an old 80 GB disk from my spares collection and popped that into the T2 and it was immediately detected. The 80 GB disk DOES have the firmware string "Gen2 signaling speed (3.0Gb/s)".

So, it looks like both replacement disks are SATA I, rather than SATA II, and are presumably not compatible with the T2 for that reason. One vendor has already agreed to a refund and I'm hoping that the other will too.

I now just need to find a suitable SATA II disk.

Many thanks for your help.
 
For the sake of completeness, here is what people need to know if they wish to do a like-for-like replacement of the disk in an HDR Fox T2. The disk that was fitted to my T2 was a Seagate ST3500312CS. If you go onto eBay you will find that there are lots of these disks for sale, often described as disks pulled from Sky boxes. The problem is that there are lots of revisions of the Seagate ST3500312CS. The disk fitted to my T2 was P/N 9GW132-191 and that has a SATA II interface. Most of the disks on eBay are P/N 9GW132-012 with a SATA I interface. Be sure to check that you are buying the correct P/N version by inspecting the photograph of the disk label.

There may be other later versions that also have SATA II interfaces, but I cannot advise on which versions will definitely work.
 
Last edited:
What surprises me is that others have not had the same problem as you. Probably because they just shove in a bigger disk as recommended here by the experts here rather than piddling around with a second hand 350GB one:eek:
Really useful info anyway. Got there in the end.:)
 
Just to add a little bit of new information to an old thread. I have been helping somebody over on Digital Spy who had bought a Seagate ST3500312CS with P/N 9GW132-012 and of course it didn't work in the Humax. He has now bought a Seagate ST3500312CS P/N 9GW132-075 and that does work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top