[SOLVED] Looping through start-up / custom firmware / startup

B

blakeroad

New Member
Hi All, apologies for reaching out to you but I’ve come to the end of my abologies.

I have a HDR-fox T2, I swapped the Hdd to a 2TB HDD an age ago with no issues and it’s running custom wear

After many years of happy service, when I boot it, it cycles through Start-up / custom firmware.

I have read lots of posts to try and work out the issue and have found that if I disconnect one of the cables from the HDD the unit will boot up, and the if I reconnect the cable when turned on the HDD functions works again and I can access it via the web interface.

there are 2 cables from the hard drive to motherboard, the one I’ve removed is white square with 4 cables and a restraining clip.

I think the disk way be a little bit corrupted somewhere... full details from disk diagnostics below.

I can’t find a way to repair / fix disk and suspect I’m being very dumb... any hints or suggestions welcome. Even if it’s terminal

thanks all

VERSIONS

Web interface version: 1.4.8-8
Custom firmware version: 3.13 (build 4028)
Humax Version: 1.03.12 (kernel HDR_CFW_3.13)
Loader Version: a7.30
System ID: 80bc.7e00
Serial Number: 63 7104315 00154
Last Boot Reason: Unknown (4)

Disk diagnotic result
Disk Information
SMART StatusPASSED
Model FamilySeagate Video 3.5 HDD
Device ModelST2000VM003-1ET164
Serial NumberZ5247Y4L
LU WWN Device Id5 000c50 0afe38b20
Firmware VersionSC12
User Capacity2,000,398,934,016 bytes [2.00 TB]
Sector Sizes512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
Rotation Rate5900 rpm
Form Factor3.5 inches
Device isIn smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version isACS-2, ACS-3 T13/2161-D revision 3b
SATA Version isSATA 3.1, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 3.0 Gb/s)
Local Time isSat Oct 31 12:05:28 2020 BST
SMART support isAvailable - device has SMART capability.
SMART support isEnabled
Attributes
IDNameFlagsRaw ValueValueWorstThresholdLife LeftNotes
1Raw_Read_Error_RatePOSR--242144008120099006-
3Spin_Up_TimePO----0095095000-
4Start_Stop_Count-O--CK326100100020100%-
5Reallocated_Sector_CtPO--CK0100100010100%-
7Seek_Error_RatePOSR--326604561084060030-
9Power_On_Hours-O--CK1663908208200082%-
10Spin_Retry_CountPO--C-0100100097100%-
12Power_Cycle_Count-O--CK341100100020100%-
184End-to-End_Error-O--CK0100100099-
187Reported_Uncorrect-O--CK0100100000-
188Command_Timeout-O--CK0100100000-
189High_Fly_Writes-O-RCK189001001000-
190Airflow_Temperature_Cel-O---K36064 (36°C)032 (68°C)045 (55°C)In_the_past
191G-Sense_Error_Rate-O--CK0100100000-
192Power-Off_Retract_Count-O--CK329100100000100%-
193Load_Cycle_Count-O--CK336100100000100%-
194Temperature_Celsius-O---K36036068000-
197Current_Pending_Sector-O--C-0100100000-
198Offline_Uncorrectable----C-0100100000-
199UDMA_CRC_Error_Count-OSRCK0200200000-
Self-test logs
No.DescriptionStatusRemainingWhenFirst Error LBA
# 1Short offlineCompleted without error00%9770-
# 2Short offlineCompleted without error00%9770-

Acknowledge any current disk faults.
 
Seems like your disk is physically OK (ie, at the level of reading/writing sectors). However no SMART test has been run for some time.

The filesystem structure may be damaged, so if you could reach Maintenance Mode you could run fix-disk.

Having said that the problem looks like a power supply issue. The cable you've reconnected is the power supply to the disk. The current draw at start-up may be significantly higher than in normal steady operation; if there's some problem, such as failing capacitors, in the system power supply, the extra current drawn by the disk could destabilise the supply to the main board, causing the system to reboot. This problem has been seen before.

Replacement power supplies may sometimes be obtained, say from boxes whose HDMI or tuner modules have failed. Or if electrolytic capacitors in the power supply are failing (often visible when what should be flat-ended cylinders look more like barrels), it may be possible for someone skilled with a soldering iron to replace the failing parts with equivalents. Or it may be possible to rig up a replacement power supply from retail 12V and 6V supplies (PCB labelling, confirmed by forum members' measurements, indicates that these are the voltages supplied to the main board), patched into the power supply cable.

Your oracle is here.
 
Update:
I have found out how to start fixdisk
HOME/ Command line/ Passcode// Maint/ fixdisk

although, I have started the long disk check first to see what it finds (should have done short first as the long is taking 256 minutes).

Any advice on why it Boots without drive connected welcome as I continue the assessment of what’s going on (badly).
 
It might actually be the physical disk itself that is the problem.
I've previously written about how one of my HDRs was unreliable and always crashing, and wouldn't start up unless left de-powered for at least a few minutes. Since changing the disk for one that was in another HDR which itself had an up-sized disk fitted, I have had no more crashing problems (more than any of the others that is - they all crash to some degree).
Or it might be something else...

(Other Chemists' are available)
 
/df said:
Seems like your disk is physically OK (ie, at the level of reading/writing sectors). However no SMART test has been run for some time.

The filesystem structure may be damaged, so if you could reach Maintenance Mode you could run fix-disk.

Having said that the problem looks like a power supply issue. The cable you've reconnected is the power supply to the disk. The current draw at start-up may be significantly higher than in normal steady operation; if there's some problem, such as failing capacitors, in the system power supply, the extra current drawn by the disk could destabilise the supply to the main board, causing the system to reboot. This problem has been seen before.

Replacement power supplies may sometimes be obtained, say from boxes whose HDMI or tuner modules have failed. Or if electrolytic capacitors in the power supply are failing (often visible when what should be flat-ended cylinders look more like barrels), it may be possible for someone skilled with a soldering iron to replace the failing parts with equivalents. Or it may be possible to rig up a replacement power supply from retail 12V and 6V supplies (PCB labelling, confirmed by forum members' measurements, indicates that these are the voltages supplied to the main board), patched into the power supply cable.

Your oracle is here.
Click to expand...
Thank you df for the insight, very much appreciated.

I’ll let the long disk check finish and see if it throws up anything, then run fixdisk and keep my non expectant fingers crossed.

I do have a “spare” unit in the loft as once I worked out how flexible these boxes are I got a cheap one off eBay....so I could try swapping the power supplies over if I can work out how, so I can keep all the encrypted HD content

otherwise I can swap the disk into the other unit and accept any HD losses.

I’ll also have a look for barrell ended capacitors to see if the culprit is obvious, but I have touched a soldering iron in many years and didn’t have a gift for it then.

Thank you again so much for taking the time to help, all my daughters favourites are on there so...🤞🙏🏻🤞
 
blakeroad said:
Any advice on why it Boots without drive connected welcome as I continue the assessment of what’s going on (badly).
Click to expand...
I would say there are three possibilities:

The file system is corrupt; a fix-disk run will show if that is the case.
The power supply is failing; swapping for your spare should rule that out.
A fault has developed on the motherboard. We have seen a few reports of your problem where elimination of the other possibilities leaves the only viable conclusion that something on the motherboard has dropped out of spec.
 
blakeroad said:
...
otherwise I can swap the disk into the other unit and accept any HD losses.
...
Click to expand...
Make sure to record the encryption key from WebIf>Settings>Advanced once you get the original system up again (or the key can be reconstructed from information that should be printed on the box).

Then if you switch the disk into the spare unit (or connect it via a USB-SATA caddy) you can change the spare's key to match.
 
prpr said:
It might actually be the physical disk itself that is the problem.
I've previously written about how one of my HDRs was unreliable and always crashing, and wouldn't start up unless left de-powered for at least a few minutes. Since changing the disk for one that was in another HDR which itself had an up-sized disk fitted, I have had no more crashing problems (more than any of the others that is - they all crash to some degree).
Or it might be something else...

(Other Chemists' are available)
Click to expand...
Thanks Prpr, appreciate your help... I’ve added that to the list of things to check 👍
 
/df said:
Replacement power supplies may sometimes be obtained, say from boxes whose HDMI or tuner modules have failed.
Click to expand...
A reminder that the HDR V1 with horizontal RF sockets and the V2 with vertical ones have different power supplies.

[Edit] If it's a V2 then the YouView DTR-T1000 is the same unit with a different main board and they go for much less than the HDR on eBay.
 
Last edited:
Does that mean that the power connector (PSU -> main board) differs between the two variants?

Or if not, do the two PSU boards have the same mountings?
 
/df said:
Does that mean that the power connector (PSU -> main board) differs between the two variants?

Or if not, do the two PSU boards have the same mountings?
Click to expand...
What it means is you need the correct PSU to go with the relevant unit. If you have an original HDR-FOX and the other is the RE version, the PSUs can't be swapped.

/df said:
Then if you switch the disk into the spare unit (or connect it via a USB-SATA caddy) you can change the spare's key to match.
Click to expand...
https://hummy.tv/forum/threads/hard-drive-swap.9928/post-146942
 
UPDATE:

After running Fixdisk twice and booting up.... it’s still looping so I’m assuming it’s as df suggested, a power surge at start up so it’s most likely a power supply issue.

I’ve looked for bulging capacitors and nothing obvious, and not 100% clear how to swap the power supply over.

After df’s hint and BHs link it will be a lot easier to swap the Hdd into the spare unit and change the encryption key and cross my fingers it all works and the network sees the new box ok (I use a power line which hasn’t been totally reliable in the past)

thanks all for helping me get this far
🙏🏻👍😁
 
blakeroad said:
not 100% clear how to swap the power supply over.
Click to expand...
Easy, assuming the units are both of the same type - just follow my guide. You have to open the lid to get to the HDD anyway...

If they are not of the same type (horizontal v vertical tuner) don't bother trying.
 
Black Hole said:
What it means is you need the correct PSU to go with the relevant unit. If you have an original HDR-FOX and the other is the RE version, the PSUs can't be swapped.
Click to expand...
Is this a mechanical or an electrical incompatibility?

There are statements about the voltages supplied to the main board in the oracular thread linked above, where the pictures seem to show V1 only (RE here, but the V1 PSU shots don't show enough detail to compare them easily). Are the voltages different between the HDR versions? Is the main board connector different (looks like 6 ways for both)? Is there a control interface from the main board to the PSU that differs? I'm not sure if it's ever been worked out how (eg) sending the Standby control to the front panel puts the PSU into a low power state.
https://hummy.tv/forum/threads/hard-drive-swap.9928/post-146942
Click to expand...
Compendious!
 
/df said:
Is this a mechanical or an electrical incompatibility?
Click to expand...
So far as I know: mechanical. I have photos of the RE but never got the tuit (so far) to incorporate them.

/df said:
I'm not sure if it's ever been worked out how (eg) sending the Standby control to the front panel puts the PSU into a low power state.
Click to expand...
I'm quite sure there is no such signal, the PSU simply has a high efficiency at low power.
 
Hi all
After swapping the hard drive into the spare. Unit, all is working nicely and the OLD unit is no longer working, instead going through the Start up loop.

I decided not to swap the power over as I had not done this before, but I could see a couple from screws and connectors that would have needed - these boxes are brilliantly simple.

with the encryption key swapped over (thanks again df) it looks like it’s resolved, so I’ll update the title of the thread 👍👍

amazing to have so many experts in this group to help keep these boxes alive.... they are far better than anything else on the market.

move got 1 recording / serving to all our TVs via fire stick/ vimu app and it just works!

thanks again 🙏🏻 #kudos
 
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