Only 2 years old, my PVR9300T has died. Just whirrs endlessly when trying to boot, then loops and does it all over again. If I disconnect the SATA lead to the hard disk drive then it can work fine as a plain 'digibox' with no facility to record. So that means the HDD is the problem?
I bought a SATA-to-USB cable off Amazon for £7, and was able to get my laptop to format the HDD, and thus the Humax then did its own format...and for a day or two it looked like everything was fixed. I recorded and watched a few programmes.
Then it went screwy again, and another format helped briefly, but it didn't last 24 hours. So I guess I should assume the HDD is broken in some way, and a replacement is needed. Unless of course the problem is actually in the bit of the circuit board which sends commands/receives information from the SATA cable....
Before I spend money on a new HDD (ebay has used ones for £7, new for £22) I thought I would ask the experts on this forum. I would be very grateful to anyone that takes time to answer, thank you.
I could argue with the seller (Humax Direct) that the Sale of Goods Act means I can expect a free replacement any time in the first four years, but I expect that path to be full of woe and a two month wait.
HDD is a Seagate Pipline HD2 3.5" 500Gb and appeared OK when connected to laptop.
No burn marks or swollen capacitors visible on the PCB.
I've tried a factory reset with aerial unplugged, and I've tried the 'Software Update' option on the menu (both with HDD disconnected).
Loader version is a4.40 seen when booting, and gets to 99% I think, before the long pause and fruitless whirring begins.
