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System flush

bixieupnorth said:
How do I install the standard firmware... Do you think I should still try this?
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prpr said:
No.
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Why not? We have no baseline from which to build. If the unit doesn't crash on start-up with standard firmware but does with CF running, surely we want to know why. And if it does crash with standard firmware, then we know the machine is a write-off.

However, the OP isn't helping by this scatter-gun approach and vague reporting.

Black Hole said:
You need to go back to baseline and assess the overall health of your unit with standard everything. Install standard firmware 1.03.12 (no CF), perform a Factory Reset (no need to reformat the HDD) – Menu >> Settings >> Installation >> Factory Default. Tune it and set a few recordings. See what happens.
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bixieupnorth said:
...the link on the firmware downloads page is dead??
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I'm sure it is (or can be made) available somewhere...
 
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I apologise once again for my faux pas. Also for my inability to use the quotes that you all seem to have mastered so well!

I was merely reporting everything that I had noticed from my recent activities. From what i remember the web-if seemed to populate itself when i first loaded it (sorry) up all those years ago. Obviously not?

So what do you think I should try next? The unit is still going into the loop as reported before. My attempt to sort this by (not quite) removing the CF seemed to have worked , and the unit booted up every time I tried. To my untrained mind this would seem to indicate that the problem is when I add the CF rather that with the unit itself? Or am I being naive here?
 
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Black Hole said:
However, the OP isn't helping by this scatter-gun approach and vague reporting.
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I constantly apologise for my lack of knowledge on these machines and vagaries of this forum. I really am trying my best to detail all that I've done in an attempt to resolve this issue.

There, I've worked out how to quote at least!
 
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bixieupnorth said:
My attempt to sort this by (not) removing the CF seemed to have worked , and the unit booted up every time I tried. To my untrained mind this would seem to indicate that the problem is when I add the CF rather that with the unit itself?
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As far as I know, you are NOT removing the CF. You can only do this by running the RMA process (e.g. from the WebIf Diagnostics page), followed by installing the Standard Firmware, followed by running the System Flush image.
A CFW Reset is NOT removing the CF.

Have you run the System Flush? We already know the other two steps - the CFW Reset you've done and the Standard Firmware you haven't as you don't have a copy.
Is this correct?
If the goal is to have the unit running with full Custom Environment, then there is no point installing the Standard FW followed by the Custom FW.
I think you've proved the unit runs OK with CFW installed and that it's then installing the WebIf (and dependent packages) that causes the problem?
Is this correct?
If so, then that points to something in the flash memory causing the trouble. Clearing that out is what happens when the System Flush image is run.

Using the correct terminology helps. Using the wrong terminology just confuses everybody.
 
When you don't know the correct terminology it's very difficult, hence my constant apologies. I'm a nurse, not a techie, I'm sure you'd struggle to use the correct terms in my world.

Yes I used the system flush, it seemed to be the only way I found to get the unit to function initially after reinstalling the latest CF.

I would love to have the unit running as it was, but it seems likely that I may just have to settle for a native unit with it's basic functions.
Something odd has happened to the unit over the last months, it's a very old beast so I have had my money's worth from it. As you all do, I love it so.
Time has moved on and there surely must be better machines to cope with modern life. maybe manhattan t4 when it's finally released.
in the meantime I guess it's more curiosity at what has actually happened than any real need for it to work effectively?
Thanks again
 
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prpr said:
As far as I know, you are NOT removing the CF. You can only do this by running the RMA process (e.g. from the WebIf Diagnostics page), followed by installing the Standard Firmware, followed by running the System Flush image.
A CFW Reset is NOT removing the CF.


If the goal is to have the unit running with full Custom Environment, then there is no point installing the Standard FW followed by the Custom FW.
Click to expand...
So there is no point in me sourcing a copy of the original humax FW? black hole seemed to think I should try it to rule out the unit being at fault.
prpr said:
I think you've proved the unit runs OK with CFW installed and that it's then installing the WebIf (and dependent packages) that causes the problem?
Is this correct?
Click to expand...
I hadn't realised the web-if would affect things? Can I remove web-if, and the unit will carry merrily along without all the benefits of web-if, but still use the latest CF?

What would you lot do? I'm sure you'd have had the unit open, replaced HDD's and capacitors galore by now!

cheers again
 
As black hole (almost) said, why is the unit crashing with the latest CF but not when it was removed (albeit incorrectly), or was this just coincidence?
 
The unit seems to have regressed now, it's just looping again and again through start system, with the occasional green flash. Previously it would try four or five times, make a little hard drive noise and go into standby. Then I'd power on and after a couple more cycles it would work normally.
The recordings never failed despite this.
My solution now appears to be system flush, and try again. Interestingly with nothing on Web-if the initial suggestion that auto-system-restore appears redundant?

note : systemflush was the only way i could get the unit to function now.
 
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bixieupnorth said:
The unit seems to have regressed now, it's just looping again and again through start system, with the occasional green flash. Previously it would try four or five times, make a little hard drive noise and go into standby. Then I'd power on and after a couple more cycles it would work normally.
Click to expand...
Sounds ominous. Your next step should be to see what happens with the HDD disconnected.

bixieupnorth said:
The recordings never failed despite this.
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Strange.

Should you wish to install standard firmware, I've made 1.3.12 available to download from Dropbox (ignore any demands they might make to log in or sign up): https://dl.dropbox.com/s/cwrd0o8jyi30uwy/HDR_FOX_T2_1.03.12.hdf
 
Thank you to both Martin and black hole for the firmware, and to all others for your input.
It'll be Monday before I get the chance to test these. Is there any preference to which original FW I use?
Regarding the capacitor suggestions, why would it only work intermittently, are they not just working, or not working?
 
bixieupnorth said:
Regarding the capacitor suggestions, why would it only work intermittently, are they not just working, or not working?
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Electronics designs require components to have specific characteristics, and the designer relies on component manufacturers guaranteeing the specifications of the components they supply. Components age though, and can drift out of specification – these particular type of capacitor are a case in point.

There is (should be) some margin built into the design, but the characteristics of this particular capacitor are critical to the start-up power sequencing. At some point, it will be "on the edge" of specification, which means it can waver either way according to other conditions such as temperature, and then whether it works is like a coin toss.

bixieupnorth said:
Is there any preference to which original FW I use?
Click to expand...
1.03.13 was released to fix the iPlayer certificates problem, and is now irrelevant. The equivalent for HD-FOX is broken, and although the same does not appear to be the case for HDR-FOX, we have no idea what lurks within, and no CF is based on 1.03.13 (we didn't need their fix). I therefore do not recommend 1.03.13.
 
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