Hi, I have a second hand HDR1000s which started losing the hard drive, as reported in other threads here it would not see the drive under Settings - Storage, but suggested connecting a USB drive. No option to format drive. I found this you-tube link and it worked - the SATA connector was corroded, green crust on the contacts. Scrape, spray, sorted. So in this case not the mysterious resistor/capacitor or a trip to Digirepairs. YMMV. No idea why the corrosion when the rest of the box looks clean, dry and tickety-boo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEcZe9L1_2w
My Humax Forum » Freesat HD » HDR 1000, 1010, 1100S
Drive recognition problem solved
(6 posts)-
| Mon 15 May 2023 14:40:37 #1 |
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woodbutcher - 16 hours ago »
I found this you-tube link and it worked - the SATA connector was corroded, green crust on the contacts. Scrape, spray, sorted.Interesting.
So in this case not the mysterious resistor/capacitor or a trip to Digirepairs. YMMV.
I came to the conclusion that the mystery resistor/capacitor was probably not the problem some time ago.
No idea why the corrosion when the rest of the box looks clean, dry and tickety-boo.
Given that this isn't a common problem (although not unknown) on other Humax boxes, it is indeed an odd problem. Do any of the people here with an electronics repair background have any thoughts?
| Tue 16 May 2023 7:42:12 #2 | -
Comments in the video suggest that the 'corrosion' is white. This could be flux residue
The residue can also be corrosive, but not on gold contacts. The residue itself however can increase contact resistance.
| Thu 18 May 2023 13:15:24 #3 | -
My HDR100S never suffered any hard drive issues. Just taken it apart and looked at the PCB. My SATA connectors are clean, but the underside of the PCB is covered in flux residue. It's covered only in areas where thru hold components are located, including the SATA data connector. Looks like the thru hole components have been wave soldered with some sort of mask used over the PCB to stop the solder interfering in other areas.
| Thu 18 May 2023 13:39:09 #4 | -
The corrosion I found was inside the SATA connector, and had a green colour reminiscent of a bicycle lamp affected by damp. I'm certain now that this was the culprit, I had replaced the hard drive to no avail, tried disconnecting the power and re-booting etc. As soon as I cleaned the contacts inside the connector and put the old drive back it worked. I've now successfully made 4 scheduled recordings, the box wakes up from standby, records and goes back to sleep all as it should. I didn't notice any flux residue, but only looked inside the socket. Had I removed the plug from the motherboard when trying out the replacement drive I think I'd have noticed the corrosion, but of course I only disconnected the other end of the cable from the drive. I guess the connector isn't top quality and has only a gnat's whatsit of gold plating?
| Thu 18 May 2023 14:24:02 #5 | -
Yes, properly coated gold contacts should not corrode like that, but it only takes a tiny flaw in the gold coating and the flux residue will get under the coating and undermine the contact. The fact you're residue was green suggests that the gold surface has been undermined and the flux reside has combined with copper in the underlying connector to create copper salts. As for the flux residue, I didn't have anything on the PCB top side which was very clean. All the residue was on the underside. It only takes a small amount of flux residue to get into the connector housing to cause an issue. When tested on the line, there probably won't be an issue, but after the residue has been given time to corrode the connector the box could fail. If anyone has an old Humax Freesat box hanging around that has failed, they could have a look to try to see if this issue is common ?
Edited to add: Flux residue, on it's own, it generally clear or white in colour. It's only when it comes into contact with a suitable corrodible metal that it creates different coloured salts. In the case of copper usually green in colour.
| Fri 19 May 2023 11:48:13 #6 |
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