Recording failure : loss of Power

My Humax Forum » Freeview HD » HDR FOX T2

Recording failure : loss of Power

(12 posts)

Voyager589

junior member
Joined: Sep '14
Posts: 5
offline

I have a four year old HDR-FOx-T2 PVR which has a 500GB HDD.
Recently it has developed a problem. When I set any recording schedule, it starts to record normally and the front panel LED turns red to indicate that it is recording OK, but when I look at the Media of recorded programmes the recording has been stopped after a few minutes ( 9 - 18 minutes)

The error message is "Recording Failure: Loss of Power" and if i play back this recording it only lasts 9 - 18 minutes before finishing.

I have re installed latest Firmware 1.3.12 and also jeu uploaded lastest customized firmware 1.3.13 mod 3.00.
I have run all the HDD diagnostics with no errors, the HDD shows 437GB used out of 500GB.

I have tried deleting several old files and rebooting the PVR but no change to recoring problem.
Next step is to copy all content to extenal USB HDD and reformat.

Any suggestions please !! as only seeing first 18 minutes of playback is very frustrating !!!

| Tue 16 Sep 2014 9:15:55 #1 |
REPASSAC

special member
Joined: Mar '11
Posts: 4,100
offline

A reset to factory default?

| Tue 16 Sep 2014 10:24:04 #2 |
HarveyB

member
Joined: Dec '11
Posts: 15
offline

But the 500GB HDD equates to 447.6 GiB (I.e. Based on multiples of 1024) so if you have used 437GiB I think you are pretty well full.
I suggest you copy/delete a substantial number of recordings and try again.
If it remember correctly, there's a long discussion on "another forum" that explains why a 500GB HDD isn't what you might think, where all the space goes and how much you actually need to record successfully.

| Tue 16 Sep 2014 17:34:29 #3 |
Voyager589

junior member
Joined: Sep '14
Posts: 5
offline

Thanks for the replies re Recording Failure Loss of Power.
The obvious question is "Is the Humax suffering from a Genuine Power Glitch" ?
I will replace the Mains power lead just in case there is a loose connection, but all the other devices plugged into the same distribution strip are working OK.

1st Point I have done the Full factory Reset to Default and no difference.

2nd Point I agree that a 500GB HDD is actually on 447.6 GB, and the statistics from my Humax show that the HDD is only 68% full ( Used = 303.63Gb Free = 143.97GB)

So the HDD is not totally full and I have tried deleting several large files to free up more space.

Recently installed latest customised firmware which allows me to Browse HDD files and run extensive diagnostics.

Apart from loss of recording the Fox T2 is working perfectly, including Web Portal and uPNP sharing etc.
Next step is to take a full backup of all Video files onto External USB Drive and then run HDD REformat of internal HDD.
(Keeping fingers crossed)

| Tue 16 Sep 2014 18:07:31 #4 |
damian

special member
Joined: Jan '12
Posts: 597
offline

A few things...

did you factory reset before or after updating the firmware?, if before try resetting again.

does this happen everytime? and is the box in standby or always on before the scheduled recording. If in standby leave it switched on all the time, purely for testing purposes

what happens if you do an instant recording, does that fail after 9-18 minutes

is there a pattern to the failed recordings, i.e. time of day

I'd hazard a guess that the drive is okay and the problem lies either with the power supply or environment. I'd be tempted to push it as far as I could, record two different HD programmes and playback a HD recorded file, if possible from usb stick. Does it get noticeably warmer after 10 -20 mins of use, particularly if you run the above 2 x recording and playback at the same time

Has the box been moved or anything removed/added around it?

There's always the old joke about the cleaner coming in and unplugging the computer/life-support system, if it's struggling after standby then it may be power supply related, hence leave it always on to test. Temperature is always a problem, also loose connections in and outside the box and general glitches on the mains - think about whether anything had changed around the time you first noticed the failures.

Backing up and reformatting - disk checking etc., if you have the time and capacity isn't a bad thing to be doing anyway. My guess, as above, is that it's power or environment related. When it's unplugged you may want to try re-seating the connections to the drive, sata has to be one of the worst connections I've ever come across.

Let us know how you get on and if formatting does fix the "Recording Failure: Loss of Power" error

| Tue 16 Sep 2014 18:46:37 #5 |
Martin Liddle

special member
Joined: Feb '11
Posts: 4,617
offline

Voyager589 - 1 hour ago »
Recently installed latest customised firmware which allows me to Browse HDD files and run extensive diagnostics.

I wouldn't be in a hurry to format the disk. As you have Custom Firmware the under Diagnostics>Hard drive what are the values of the following attributes:

5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct
9 Power_On_Hours
197 Current_Pending_Sector
198 Offline_Uncorrectable

| Tue 16 Sep 2014 19:14:14 #6 |
damian

special member
Joined: Jan '12
Posts: 597
offline

whilst you're there

what's the temperature of the disk, for info mine is 53 degrees C
also is the power cycle or start-stop-count increasing faster than it should

| Tue 16 Sep 2014 19:40:57 #7 |
Voyager589

junior member
Joined: Sep '14
Posts: 5
offline
I have done the HDD Reformat and re installed customised firmware etc.

Hard Disk Diagnostics indicate a High Reallocated_Sector_Ct (619) and also Current_Pending_Sector
& Offline_Uncorrectable =1.

The Disk and Airflow Temperature is currently 52C.
I have attached a Diagnostic file as .pdf.

I guess that the HDD is getting past its sell by date, and I should be looking for a replcaement Seagate Pipeline HD 5900.2 Device Model = ST3500312CS.

Any suggestions as to source of a good reliable HDD suitable for use in the Humax T2 Fox PVR ?
Attachments
1. Humax_Diagnostic.txt (1.2 KB, 3 downloads) 9 years old
| Wed 17 Sep 2014 14:15:02 #8 |
damian

special member
Joined: Jan '12
Posts: 597
offline

unfortunately the newer drives are less reliable.

I've a 2TB with 24512 hours and 0 errors, but it's no longer available, hasn't been for a few years.
If I had to replace it, I'd be looking at something like:
http://www.ebuyer.com/524859-hdd-av-grn-2tb-3-5-sata-3gbs-64mb-wd20eurx
comes with a 3 year guarantee, some of the others come with 2 or even 1 year which is as much use as a chocolate teapot. It's always a punt and you can only do your best with a bit of research and trust.

I'd be keeping an eye on the power stop start cycle of your current drive for the moment, also temperture during use and also re-seating connections if there's still a problem. It'd be daft to get a new drive only to find the same problems come back.

my drive also has 763 stop start count and power cycle count both the same, I notice from your attachment yours is 6609 and 3305, if I'm reading it correctly with a 6591 hours power on. If this is correct the drive is being stopped and started more than once an hour. A power supply problem can cause file system errors

| Wed 17 Sep 2014 14:48:21 #9 |
Voyager589

junior member
Joined: Sep '14
Posts: 5
offline

Hi Damian,
Thanks for the replies and advice re Recording failure and also possible replacement HDD.
I have just order the WD AV-GP 1TB Drive and intend to replace the existing 500GB Seagate.

After I reformated the original 500GB HDD I could record all programmes OK
I have two simulataneous HD recoding s of 1 hour each without any additional errors.

I have checked the SATA leads and Power connection and also Fan is operating without any obstruction .

Thanks again and glad that I downloaded the customised firmware .
Terry

| Wed 17 Sep 2014 15:18:16 #10 |