My Humax Forum » Freeview HD » Aura UHD

Hard disk corrupted

(9 posts)
  1. DarrenHill

    DarrenHill

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    Just found that my Aura is saying the internal HDD is corrupted, and it's safely ejected itself.

    Tried a reboot and also a format (I only had a couple of unwatched recordings on it, so no big loss) and it looks like rather than corrupt, the HDD is dead as it keeps reporting the same corruption.

    I have a few questions:

    1) Is the HDD replacable? Just a matter of getting a new one, opening the case up and swapping?

    2) Is it possible to connect a USB hard drive to the Aura and record to that?

    3) Given the poor tuner strength on the Aura, can anyone recommend a suitable replacement (Humax or otherwise) to improve the recording quality (access to apps and Android TV not mandatory).

    | Sat 22 Feb 2025 11:44:16 #1 |
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    Martin Liddle

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    DarrenHill - 9 mins ago  » 
    Just found that my Aura is saying the internal HDD is corrupted, and it's safely ejected itself.
    Tried a reboot and also a format (I only had a couple of unwatched recordings on it, so no big loss) and it looks like rather than corrupt, the HDD is dead as it keeps reporting the same corruption.
    I have a few questions:
    1) Is the HDD replacable? Just a matter of getting a new one, opening the case up and swapping?

    I haven't had to do it on an Aura but I would expect that to be true.

    2) Is it possible to connect a USB hard drive to the Aura and record to that?

    I am fairly sure you can't.

    3) Given the poor tuner strength on the Aura, can anyone recommend a suitable replacement (Humax or otherwise) to improve the recording quality (access to apps and Android TV not mandatory).

    I don't regard the Aura has having poor tuner strength. In what way are you expecting recording quality to improve with signal strength? With digital transmission it should either work or not work with only a very narrow window between the two where you may get some problems. Have you considered things like whether the aerial is the most efficient and is thr cabling in good condition?

    | Sat 22 Feb 2025 12:02:32 #2 |
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    EEPhil

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    I doubt it will make any difference, but you could try the Android recovery menu and try wiping data, format or factory reset from there. See https://myhumax.org/forum/topic/humax-aura-issues#post-98764 scroll down to the recovery menu section.

    | Sat 22 Feb 2025 12:27:34 #3 |
  4. DarrenHill

    DarrenHill

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    Martin Liddle - 59 mins ago  » 
    I don't regard the Aura has having poor tuner strength. In what way are you expecting recording quality to improve with signal strength? With digital transmission it should either work or not work with only a very narrow window between the two where you may get some problems. Have you considered things like whether the aerial is the most efficient and is thr cabling in good condition?

    I've got a couple of other tuners (HDHomerun devices) on the same aerial and they both get much better picture quality, without pixelation or dropping.

    And I know a lot of others on this forum have complained about the tuner strength on the Aura compared to similar boxes (Humax and otherwise).

    Anyway after leaving it for a while and then restarting it again, the drive is now visible. The box still sees the recordings on it, but can't play them (as the drive has been formatted, I assume the UI just hasn't kept up with the actual drive content).

    Will keep an eye on it and see what happens, but it's perhaps another nail in the coffin of the device if it's slowly dying. If it does go again I might try the factory reset, but this is feeling more like a hardware issue than a software one.

    It also lost its ethernet connection at the same time, which is making me wonder more if it's something on the motherboard overheating or similar and the drive is OK just can't be reliably connected to.

    | Sat 22 Feb 2025 13:07:20 #4 |
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    john1

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    Hi Darren Hill.
    Your point about the poor signal strength, is good, but not Quite right.
    The tuners on the Aura are extremely sensitive.
    By tis I mean any strength over 93, or under 85.
    Will result in pixelation, or total picture break up.
    So, the signal strength to the tuners can give the effect of overload, or weak.
    I know, as I tried the Aura 3 times, and returned it on each occasion.
    just because we are on the edge of the Heathfield transmitter.
    If you want to change the Aura for something else.
    Forget Humax, the aura is the only model that seems to still be in production.
    May I suggest you try what I have done, with great success.
    Try the Manhattan T4R recorder.(Freeview play)
    The downside is it only has 2 tuners(just like every other make apart from Humax)
    However, the picture,& sound are as steady as a rock (on ours)
    If your tv tuners are steady, the Manhattan T4r would be as well.
    The Manhattan ui is by far superior by being in a different League.
    Especially with their latest update of 2.00 released on the 5th Feb.
    Just check it out, to see if it suits you first.
    Have a look on their website for more info, or send them an Email.
    You'll get a reply from someone who knows everything about it.
    Unlike Humax these days.

    | Sat 22 Feb 2025 20:02:00 #5 |
  6. DarrenHill

    DarrenHill

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    Thanks @john1

    The signal strength (according to the TV on the same circuit) is 93%, and I did try a mild attenuator on the input as I wondered too about overload as well as weakness (didn't help).

    Anyway the Aura seems now to be having problems with recording, so I took your advice and it's now been replaced by a Manhattan 1GB, with the Aura now in the Manhattan packaging and heading for the loft storage.

    I think it'll take a moment to get used to the subtle differences in the UI of that, but I have to say immediately the picture quality is superb.

    | Sun 23 Feb 2025 17:23:15 #6 |
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    kr002

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    john1 - 22 hours ago  » 
    Hi Darren Hill.
    Your point about the poor signal strength, is good, but not Quite right.
    The tuners on the Aura are extremely sensitive.
    By tis I mean any strength over 93, or under 85.
    Will result in pixelation, or total picture break up.
    So, the signal strength to the tuners can give the effect of overload, or weak.
    I know, as I tried the Aura 3 times, and returned it on each occasion.
    just because we are on the edge of the Heathfield transmitter.
    If you want to change the Aura for something else.
    Forget Humax, the aura is the only model that seems to still be in production.
    May I suggest you try what I have done, with great success.
    Try the Manhattan T4R recorder.(Freeview play)
    The downside is it only has 2 tuners(just like every other make apart from Humax)
    However, the picture,& sound are as steady as a rock (on ours)
    If your tv tuners are steady, the Manhattan T4r would be as well.
    The Manhattan ui is by far superior by being in a different League.
    Especially with their latest update of 2.00 released on the 5th Feb.
    Just check it out, to see if it suits you first.
    Have a look on their website for more info, or send them an Email.
    You'll get a reply from someone who knows everything about it.
    Unlike Humax these days.

    Does it have DLNA UPNP - to watch recordings on PC iPad and tablets etc??

    | Sun 23 Feb 2025 18:48:33 #7 |
  8. DarrenHill

    DarrenHill

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    Not that I can see - it's self-contained and doesn't have export or network capabilities for remote playback.

    The network connection is just for the Freeview apps it has (the main 5 channels plus U and a few others) plus updating etc.

    Watched a couple of recordings as a test, and the picture quality is rock solid compared to the Aura. It's a much simpler device, but in my case I can probably live without those bits.

    | Sun 23 Feb 2025 22:58:23 #8 |
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    john1

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    IT'S JUAT A THOUGHT, but why don't you Email Manhattan to ask.
    On the Latest update V2.0 there is now a You Tube app on the apps list.
    Good luck.

    | Mon 24 Feb 2025 12:48:40 #9 |

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