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Stupid question maybe - but, troubleshooting resources here?

T

tahrey

Member
The "things you should know" section is more like a quick start guide, to put it in simple terms... is there any single troubleshooting resource on the forum or do we have to rely on just asking questions? :)

FWIW, I'm considering a second box, and there's a couple of cheapish ones on eBay, but I don't know if either are worth my money or which would be better... the fully operating one which doesn't have a remote control (haven't looked how expensive remotes are yet, or if cheap third party ones are available, but the idea was to just control it exclusively through WebIF and scrape files off using Samba), or the "faulty" one which has a remote but has some faults like occasionally not getting a signal and automatically deleting recordings (could be something as simple as needing a firmware upgrade or even a plain old retune?! or a replacement HDD (I have spares of suitable size)? or, might actually be completely screwed) ??

Really can't be arsed using DVD recorders or PC capture cards alongside the Humax any more, other than as a last resort backup when there's more than 4 (...6?) things of interest with clashing broadcast times... much rather use them to finally empty out the old Thompson box and fulfill my long-held dream of throwing it into a canal off the top of a multistorey car park.
 
Things Every... is hardly "quick start" - I can think of one or two people here who would fall off their chairs at that remark. What it is intended as is a heads-up for all the wrinkles of HD/HDR-FOX ownership that are either not in the manual or people find not very clear.

Have you browsed the resources linked in my sig panel (at the bottom of each post)?

Commissioning an HDR-FOX (click)

The most powerful trick is to customise a Google search by prefixing what you are looking for with "site:hummy.tv/forum".
 
What I mean is, it's got a rake of particular faults that would take a while searching for, but there's no particular browseable "troubleshooting" list, and no section of that type in the TE thread, other than the scattered bits relating to auto-delete loops and other singular problems. IE like the table of "if X happens, it means Y and you should try doing Z" you would find at the back of a user manual, or a very vague online forum analogue of such. At least, not that I've found?

I know my "quick start" description wasn't really the best but I'm not 100% what word I should really have used. It's a start-up guide, anyway, to get up you and running, including some of the issues you may face whilst doing that, rather than problems the box itself may independently exhibit.

The commissioning list is a nice summary of things you should run though after having bought and recieved the box, but what I'm trying to do here is to work out if it's worth spending time and money on a second hand one without being able to inspect it in person beforehand. Due to the seller not being happy with its performance and being upfront about that, they won't accept any returns for the reason of it being nonfunctional, so it'd be nice to at least have a basic idea of its level of knackeredness before bidding. It'd likely be a lot cheaper than any other HDR I could get my hands on (including the one I already have, which it seems - from how much ebay ones are changing hands for - was decidedly underpriced in the pawn shop I found it in, probably because its remote was rather broken... albeit repairable :) ).

Anyway, to cut a long story short, calling on others' experience, does the following sound like a box that's got one or two very simple, easily rectifiable problems (upto & including "faulty HDD"), or one that's more badly broken and would either need deeper remedial care (replacing PSU, system board, capacitors etc) / is a dead loss?

“Very hit and miss whether will record and/or playback, some days not too bad some days very annoying!

This has been doing some strange things but does actually run and even OK sometimes. It started by deleting recorded programs on its own, then these sometimes re appeared. Sometimes I couldn't delete the ones I wanted too. Then sometimes it would stop/start in playback or say signal not available, but if I switched it off and on again it worked ok. Live TV was more reliable though not guaranteed, most of the problems came when playing back. Going up and down the guide seemed really slow too, that may be a battery problem in the remote?"

(The other auction finished before I could get round to looking at it again... at rather higher a price than I was expecting it to, as well...)
 
Not a stupid question in my book. I also would like to have a troubleshooting page.

Grateful as I am - hugely - for this resource and the brilliant work of the people on it, I sometimes feel the presentation is aimed more at those who already know what they are doing, rather than people like me who seek an idiot's guide.

Finding previously asked questions is NOT as simple as it could be. When a straightforward question is answered by phrases like 'this is a known fault' (code for 'and no one but a fool would be asking about it') I think that shows that there are two levels of expertise here.

As already established, I fall into the lower one, but if I can contribute in any way to such a page I will.
 
LDW said:
When a straightforward question is answered by phrases like 'this is a known fault' (code for 'and no one but a fool would be asking about it')
Click to expand...
Really? IMO this forum in particular is an excellent example of newcomers being treated sensitively - I can think of a good few forums that wouldn't. If it's a known fault - that is a statement of fact and should not be reinterpreted.

A troubleshooting guide may be an excellent idea, the problem is finding the effort and enthusiasm to create one. Naturally those most qualified to do it are busy getting on with what they do best (and enjoy most).

Are we talking custom firmware troubleshooting, or standard troubleshooting, or what? If you are (as appears from the previous posts) talking specifically about hardware, then a troubleshooting guide for that is going to be very limited - very few people have the skills and equipment necessary to delve into the box further than the major subsystems, and even if a fault is found within a specific subsystem the options for repair will be minimal. Things such as dry capacitors are common to all electronics, and do not require a Humax-specific guide.

Troubleshooting the standard (no custom firmware) Humax... What do you want? Somebody to do Humax Support's job for them?

That leaves the CF. There is a hell of a lot written about the CF, and it is searchable no matter what you say (use Google). Ask yourself what the cost/benefit ratio of setting up a troubleshooting guide would be. If you decide it is worthwhile, the wiki is an ideal location for it.
 
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