Unable to connect to HDR Fox T2 via Telnet or PuTTY

[Tracy M]

Hi gurus,
after intermittent difficulties of program playback, inability to pause live TV, deleting issues, recorded programs not appearing in Media etc, now constantly getting " HDD storage must be formatted to use recording functions" upon start up on 5 year old box running software version 1.03.12

Have read much info on here and seemingly need to access CF to run fix disk, but cannot connect to the box either via Telnet or PuTTY as getting errors stating "could not open connection to the host on port 23" and "connection has failed" respectfully. I have tried changing the port number to various shown in the "Listening/Established" list, but without success. I can successfully ping IP address very quickly.

I need to ascertain whether HDD can be repaired or whether I need to purchase a new PVR before Christmas.

I would be extremely grateful if you could offer words of wisdom for next steps forwards please.
SOS! Many thanks in advance

 

[Trev]

Do you have the Custom Firmware installed?

 

[Tracy M]

Do you have the Custom Firmware installed?

Hi Trev, I thought I read that as it is running the latest software, the CF was already present. Or am I completely mistaken? I have downloaded the HDR_FOX_T2_1.03.12_mod_3.13 hdf file. Think I read that it needs to be put on to a formatted USB stick to be inserted on the box. Is that correct? Sorry, I am not that familiar with the techie side of Humax.

 

[Black Hole]

The Custom Firmware is nothing to do with Humax, and will not be present unless you specifically installed it.

Full instructions here: Quick Guide to Disk Recovery (click)

 

[Trev]

I thought I read that as it is running the latest software, the CF was already present.

Nooooo

Or am I completely mistaken?

Yeeees
See BH's link

Once the CF is installed, the world is your lobster. Well, not quite, but you will then have what's probably the best beer, sorry, PVR in the world (unless you want unlimited catchup TV whatever that is).

 

[prpr]

Do you have the Custom Firmware installed?

AKA "having a blonde moment"

Pilot: Autoland not working on this plane
Engineer: Autoland not fitted to this plane

 

[Tracy M]

The Custom Firmware is nothing to do with Humax, and will not be present unless you specifically installed it.

Hi BH and Trev and many thanks to you both for responding yesterday. Loved the humour

I have got as far as successfully downloading the CFW onto the T2 box. However, when proceeding to the next step of trying to access the web interface, I am getting the error of "no internal disk found"



I have tried accessing the IP address on both Chrome and IE.

The box is behaving erratically also when trying to access the TV Portal. Sometimes it's successful and allows access to BBC iPlayer etc, other times upon selecting TV Portal button, I get the initial "buffering" image and then the box restarts itself.

I have been getting the "HDD storage must be formatted to use recording functions. Press OK to go to Data Storage Menu" when I initially turn on the box for a couple of weeks. If I run the HDD Test within the Data Storage menu, the box just reboots itself and returns me to the "HDD storage....." message.

Is the next step therefore to proceed to format the hard drive? If so, is there any way of saving all my cherished recorded programs before doing so?

And while I have your valued attention....if it comes to a decision of having to either replace the hard drive or purchasing a new unit, what would you advise is the best of those two options and how complicated is it to format/prepare a new hard drive for use? I have loved this little Hummy for several years now. *Sniff*

Thank you so much for your continued assistance!

T

 

[Black Hole]

For reference: the installation process for the custom software is detailed HERE (click) - only Installation sections 1 and 2 are necessary for the disk rescue process below.

You didn't need to go beyond the UPD installation stage to access the disk diagnostics. Quit where you're at and move on to accessing the Telnet menu - see Quick Guide to Disk Recovery (click) section 2.

 

[Tracy M]

You didn't need to go beyond the UPD installation stage to access the disk diagnostics. Quit where you're at and move on to accessing the Telnet menu

Once again many thanks BH for your guidance

So I am a little further along now, having reached the stage of running fixdisk on the box, but got the following subsequent details and not sure of next steps..could be Chinese for all I know

 

[prpr]

I think your disk might be physically dead, but it might also be the main board in the T2. The probability is that it's the disk, so try getting a new one and see what happens.

 

[Black Hole]

Moderators: please tidy up the above posts - Tracy has deleted the end of quote tags.

Tracy: Newbies' Guide to the Forum (click)

 

[Tracy M]

Moderators: please tidy up the above posts - Tracy has deleted the end of quote tags.

Sorry BH, it wouldn't let me reply due to your links and I had to have 10 posts under my belt in order to have permission to include links.

 

[Tracy M]

I think your disk might be physically dead, but it might also be the main board in the T2. The probability is that it's the disk, so try getting a new one and see what happens.

Thanks for the message PRPR. Would it be worth trying to format the disk to see what happens? I would really love to be able to save my recordings if possible, but if there is no chance of saving them, I could try formatting?

I appreciate there is no crystal ball, but if I get another hard drive and it doesn't solve the matter, it is money I could have put towards a new box

And if the CFW downloaded successfully, doesn't that mean the hard drive is not dead?

 

[Black Hole]

Moderators: please tidy up the above posts - Tracy has deleted the end of quote tags.

Looks like they've done it, thanks.

Sorry BH, it wouldn't let me reply due to your links and I had to have 10 posts under my belt in order to have permission to include links.

See your previous posts to see what they should look like! Even if you did delete the links (fair enough), you needed to keep the [/QUOTE] tag, as described in the Newbies Guide.

 

[Trev]

you needed to keep the [ /QUOTE] tag,

Same again in post #12.

 

[prpr]

Would it be worth trying to format the disk to see what happens?

No. It can't see the disk at all, so trying to write a filesystem to it is not going to work.

I would really love to be able to save my recordings if possible, but if there is no chance of saving them, I could try formatting

If it's an intermittent fault and you do format, then it won't fix the intermittent nature or anything else that is wrong with the disk surface, and you will lose all chance of recovery. It's everything to lose and nothing to gain.

I appreciate there is no crystal ball, but if I get another hard drive and it doesn't solve the matter, it is money I could have put towards a new box

This is true, but unless you have another box to swap bits with, or know somebody who does, then you're a bit stuck.
Your best bet is to connect the disk to a PC and see if that recognises it. Your typical Windows box will not recognise the filesystems and may destroy them if you accept its recommendation to initialise/fix/format, so make sure you don't do that.
I sense this may be beyond your skill level though.

In all my years of mucking about with computers, disk-to-PC problems have almost always been the disk and almost never the PC, which is why I said the balance of probabilities above is on the side of a new disk.

And if the CFW downloaded successfully, doesn't that mean the hard drive is not dead?

No. The firmware is stored in flash memory on the motherboard. None of it is on the disk.

 

[Black Hole]

The box is behaving erratically also when trying to access the TV Portal. Sometimes it's successful and allows access to BBC iPlayer etc, other times upon selecting TV Portal button, I get the initial "buffering" image and then the box restarts itself.

That could be due to the problem with the disk, but it's pretty normal in my experience. The HDR-FOX has problems handling network communications errors and tends to crash even if there's a perfectly normal glitch.

Is the next step therefore to proceed to format the hard drive? If so, is there any way of saving all my cherished recorded programs before doing so?

If the disk has failed, you've lost your recordings however precious they may have been. Ditto if the problem is the motherboard - the recordings are encrypted on disk and cannot be read even by another HDR-FOX. See Things Every... (click) section 5.

At this stage there is nothing to be lost by attempting a format through the Humax menu, but nothing to be gained either because it will fail (although, if it succeeds, that will tell us that the disk should have been recoverable if appropriate measures had been taken - but would you want to find that out?!).

Just in case the fault is intermittent, I suggest turning the unit off (switch on the back) for a few hours and then try the fixdisk again. If that succeeds, immediately take measures to save anything precious (but it's only telly). You could also try re-seating the cables to the drive.

Anything (digital data) you don't want to lose should never be stored in only one place, preferably three places. And refreshed (read and re-written) at intervals not greater than half the expected data life of the medium in question. And then there's the problem of whether old data/media will remain compatible with systems in a few years time (could you still read a 5¼" floppy disk?)... Ultimately, the decision to keep data is a value judgement between how important that data is to you and how much continuing effort is required to maintain it in useable condition. If you don't want to spend any effort on it, don't worry about losing it. Like I said above: it's only telly! More comes along every day.

And while I have your valued attention....if it comes to a decision of having to either replace the hard drive or purchasing a new unit, what would you advise is the best of those two options and how complicated is it to format/prepare a new hard drive for use? I have loved this little Hummy for several years now. *Sniff*

Installing a new drive in the HDR-FOX is very easy, it only needs a cross point screwdriver. As long as the drive is no larger than 2TB it's a case of fitting and then letting the Humax format it. Simples. There is advice on this forum how to choose the right disk - try here https://hummy.tv/forum/threads/best-hdd-from-amazon.7582 (I strongly recommend you limit yourself to 2TB maximum - installing and maintaining a larger drive is made possible by the CF but is technical). Disassembly instructions here: Commissioning, Disassembling, and Repairing an HDR-FOX (click).

Personally I would rather stick with the HDR-FOX than buy a new model, because of the custom firmware. If you are not interested in that, you won't know for sure whether the disk is dead or the unit is dead until you spend money on fitting a new drive, so yes you may have to decide whether the money would be better spent towards a new model.

 

[Tracy M]

Good evening PrPr & BH, thank you so very much for taking the time to reply to my messages. I greatly appreciate your guidance and your input has been invaluable!

 

[Black Hole]

I have an idea for confirming whether it is the drive or the motherboard at fault, for very little cost.

Buy a small and cheap SATA drive and see if it works in the HDR-FOX. At £4.60 inc delivery, this looks suitable:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80-GB-3-5-SATA-HARD-DISK-DRIVE/292305944509

 

[Tracy M]

I have an idea for confirming whether it is the drive or the motherboard at fault, for very little cost.

Buy a small and cheap SATA drive and see if it works in the HDR-FOX. At £4.60 inc delivery, this looks suitable:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80-GB-3-5-SATA-HARD-DISK-DRIVE/292305944509

Hi BH, that is a great suggestion! Can it be any SATA drive? Doesn't have to be a Seagate, right? As I found an old 3.5 inch Maxtor hard drive lying around, but the current drive cables weren't compatible.
Thanks