Trouble uploading firmware from usb

M

merlin777

Member
I'm trying to reload the firmware to reset the box. It's not recognising remote commands properly (it's not the remote) and a factory reset has been suggested but i cant do that if it doesnt recognise the remote so im going to use the firmward upgrade process, even though its with the version it already has, to reset the box.

I'm having problems with humax's instructions. They say:

1. Download and Extract the ZIP file to your PC or laptop.
- its not a zip file its a .hdf and 7zip says its not an archive file.

2. Check the file name is “hdr1000s_upgrade.hdf” (you will not need to rename the file or change the extension)
- this is the name of the downloaded file

3. Connect the USB memory stick to the PC / laptop and copy the file to a root folder of the USB. (Do not place the file in a folder)
ok

4. Remove the USB memory stick from your PC or laptop and insert it to the front or rear USB connection on your Humax Freetime recorder.
ok - i'm assuming 'the freetime recorder' is the hdr1100s? In fact i have a choice of side or rear usb socket and i've tried both

5. Press and hold the Channel DOWN button/arrow on the front/top of your set top box and at the same time switch it back on at the mains or reconnect the power cable.
ok - but it just boots normally. I'm keeping the down arrow button on the top of the 1100s held down throughout until it fully boots.

Please could somebody shed some light? Thanks!

NB, regarding the remote.
I have put in 2 new sets of brand new batteries
i have used a different remote (one for all, programmed and used for the 1100s)
held down ok and 0 etc as per instructions from humax support
powercycled box - left off overnight.

the symptoms are always the same - it is sluggish to respond to button pushes and when it does it keeps repeating the last button push until you push another.
 
merlin777 said:
I'm trying to reload the firmware to reset the box. It's not recognising remote commands properly (it's not the remote) and a factory reset has been suggested but i cant do that if it doesnt recognise the remote so im going to use the firmward upgrade process, even though its with the version it already has, to reset the box.
Click to expand...
I am not at all convinced performing a firmware update will "reset the box". The HDR-FOX and HD-FOX most certainly do not enter a restore factory defaults state just because the firmware is updated - that would imply a retune is required immediately after (it isn't).
 
I have requested this thread is split: merlin777's problem is not the same (update: now done, originally posted here: https://hummy.tv/forum/threads/humax-1100s-bootloader-uksfaa-1-09.9779/)

merlin777 said:
I'm trying to reload the firmware to reset the box.
Click to expand...
However, reading back through the previous posts in that (previous) thread, you will have a much better chance by trying the factory reset .hdf mentioned here:
grahamlthompson said:
Longshot - I have a HDF that carries out the same function as a factory reset. It is useful if you get a box and don't know the PIN. Mystified how you managed to get a box without a loader. It's not something you can delete as a users

Ask if you want to try this
Click to expand...

Regarding the instructions on Humax's web page here: https://uk.humaxdigital.com/support/?category_id=13&product_id=857&curr_page=sw_release
merlin777 said:
1. Download and Extract the ZIP file to your PC or laptop.
- its not a zip file its a .hdf and 7zip says its not an archive file.
Click to expand...
You are correct. A "naked" .hdf file does not need unzipping.
merlin777 said:
4. Remove the USB memory stick from your PC or laptop and insert it to the front or rear USB connection on your Humax Freetime recorder.
ok - i'm assuming 'the freetime recorder'
Click to expand...
As with item 1, the only reasonable explanation is that Humax has copied-and-pasted the text from instructions for updating another machine, and uploaded the naked .hdf instead of zipping it first, which should give you a good idea how vigilant they are. The problem is that we can therefore not rely too heavily on their instructions.

Can anyone confirm what the actual USB firmware update process should be for the 1100S? From google results, I believe the normal process is by Internet. Regardless of whether I think a firmware update will solve merlin777's problem (I'm betting it won't), he's going to need USB to run GLT's factory reset update.

merlin777 said:
5. Press and hold the Channel DOWN button/arrow on the front/top of your set top box and at the same time switch it back on at the mains or reconnect the power cable.
ok - but it just boots normally. I'm keeping the down arrow button on the top of the 1100s held down throughout until it fully boots.
Click to expand...
1: It is not confirmed that is the correct process for a 1100S, given that Humax have clearly not reviewed the instructions cloned from elsewhere;

2: You need to prepare the UPD correctly. From the same web page:
Note: USB Pen must be formatted in FAT32
Click to expand...
...and:
Not all USB Pens will be recognised, try a different USB Pen.
Click to expand...
MartinLiddle said:
Have you formatted the USB memory stick and if so how?
Click to expand...
Expanding on ML's post, we have a lot of difficulty in HDR-FOXland finding suitable UPDs. The issue is that only a very limited range of drivers are supported in the Humax boot kernel, while Windows is able to load a new driver to suit whatever device it finds whenever it needs. Also, the Windows formatting of FAT32 can be problematic and you might have more success with FAT16.

If you try to use a UPD "as is", especially a multi-gigabyte one, chances are it is formatted NTFS (not FAT), and chances are it requires a driver that the boot kernel doesn't have.
 
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Black Hole said:
Also, the Windows formatting of FAT32 can be problematic and you might have more success with FAT16.
Click to expand...
An issue that is seen increasingly is Windows 10 formatting USB drives with a GPT style partition which won't work as the Humax will only read drives with an MBR style partition.
 
MartinLiddle said:
An issue that is seen increasingly is Windows 10 formatting USB drives with a GPT style partition which won't work as the Humax will only read drives with an MBR style partition.
Click to expand...
Yes, that could explain the difference between a Windows-formatted "FAT32" and a "conventional" MBR+FAT32 (I use "conventional" to mean what anyone only used to sub-2TiB drives might expect). Thanks.

I don't have Win10 - is there an option when clicking "format device" to select MBR rather than GPT?

I don't think that explains why Windows can stop a drive working with Linux just by plugging it into a Windows machine.

For elucidation of other readers:
  • MBR and GPT are two different styles of partition management on mass storage devices (ie anything you put a file system on for storing files). "MBR" = Master Boot Record; "GPT" = GUID Partition Table.

  • MBR (commonly referred to as "DOS") was the partition management adopted by Microsoft for MS-DOS and then Windows, but cannot handle drives in excess of 2TiB (which was not a problem until recently). Unless you are technical you might not realise there are more than one partitioning scheme, or that there is a shift from MBR to GPT driven by the increase in drive capacity generally available.

  • MBR is "cheap and cheerful" - it was adequate for purpose, and required little of the limited processing power available at the time. GPT is far more sophisticated, but demands greater processing (which is OK now, but would have been an unnecessary overhead on early personal computers). Devices with limited processing power (eg low-cost set-top boxes) will gravitate towards MBR rather than GPT, with the associated limitations.

  • Devices with a GPT partition structure are not compatible with MBR-only machines; devices with an MBR partition structure might not be compatible with a GPT machine if the BIOS has not been set up to accommodate GPT and MBR together.

  • By clever manipulation, it is possible to accommodate MBR and GPT on the same device (but rarely done).

  • MBR and GPT only define the partitioning of a mass storage device; it remains necessary to format the individual partitions with a file system such as FAT32 or NTFS. A naive user could ask their computer to format a device as "FAT32", but if the operating system defaults to GPT (or the device is already GPT) the user might not realise they have ended up with GPT+FAT32 and not MBR+FAT32.

  • "GUID" = Globally Unique IDentifier, which refers to a 128-bit ID assigned (randomly) to a resource so that it can be uniquely recognised. That means a boot process which is keyed to a specific GUID (which includes individual partitions and not just drives) will fail if the expected GUID is not present. The GUID for a partition is also keyed into the resource allocation within modern desktop operating systems (eg Linux), so old tricks for swapping drives around no longer work (as I have discovered, before I knew much about GPT). Outside disk formatting, UUID (Universally Unique IDentifier) is the more accepted term but refers to a very similar thing. By using a 128-bit ID, it is the intention that every individual device can have a unique ID, but rather than have a central allocating authority GUIDs are generated randomly on the assumption that conflicts will be exceedingly rare.
 
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Black Hole said:
I don't have Win10 - is there an option when clicking "format device" to select MBR rather than GPT?
Click to expand...
If I right click on a USB drive from Windows Explorer the options are: Capacity, Files System (choice of NTFS, FAT (Default), FAT32, exFAT), Allocation unit size (choice of 16, 32 or 64 kB), a volume label edit box, a check box to select a Quick Format and a button labelled "Restore device defaults". To answer your question, I don't see an option to choose partition style. This article https://www.howtogeek.com/245610/ho...pt-or-mbr-and-how-to-convert-between-the-two/ suggests methods for changing partition style.
 
I managed on the third try with a third stick, full formatted to fat32 on a windows 10 pc.

it didnt fix my remote problem!
 
thanks f or that. for some reason i had abount an hour of normalish remote operation this afternoon so i managed to reset (which didnt help either) so i wont bother him for it now but its good to know there's one available.
 
If the HDD has faults, or there are file system errors, or if the HDD is almost full, there is additional load placed on the operating system which can result in sluggish or erratic behaviour. You can diagnose this by opening up and disconnecting the HDD - the unit should still operate, but not have recording capability. If the problems go away, that demonstrates they are HDD-related.
 
So now I've managed to install the firmware via USB I can offer these notes on humax's instructions.
Start with the box depowered.
The file they link to for download is not zipped and can go into the usb stick as-is.
This only worked for me with 1 out of 3 USB sticks. 2 older SanDisk cruzer sticks, both 1gb, didn't work a d a more recent SanDisk cruzer blade 4gb did work. I formatted all on a Windows 10 PC to fat32. The first time was a quick format and the other 2 times were fully formatted. I don't know if that made a difference but the successful one was fully formatted.
The successful upload was using the side usb slot.
Their other instructions on carrying out the upload seemed correct.
 
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