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Massive hdd problem still whooshbuild

bangloud

bangloud

Member
Hi all,i've put posts on here previously about hdd recording problems in whooshbuild.if you check my previous posts it will bring you up to speed.at this time i am on my second powered hdd.the first one 1tb powered wont even initialize anymore comes up with loads of errors.coz its been formated with h2s (linux format ext3 )my pc wont touch it.ive tried.gparted live cd comes up with i/o errors and wont format back to fat32 or anything else.my second hard drive powered 500gb formats at moment.when you set recordings they disappear,series recordings sometimes add to timer but don't work sometimes they crash box.check recordings with file list button they there then they not. Keep initializing hdd and re flashing box it just keeps getting worse soon this hdd will be f****d like the other these problems have repeated on 2nd hdd like the first.ive even tried latest whooshbuild v4 still same .whats happening here is anyone having same issues.ive tried different usb leads running out of ideas .could it be dodgey rear usb port on box its only 4 month old and always used powered hdd.any other ideas.please help its driving me crazy
 
this dont help your problem but im using a 320gb toshiba HD in a 2.5 caddy this is powered by the usb socket on the back of the Zgemma H.2s box.
on the back of Zgemma box the usb is 5.0v. which is enough to power an external HD through the usb socket.

have you tried usb sticks of smaller size on the rear of your box ?

if your having problems formatting your hard drives try this

usb/HD format tool
HDDGURU: HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool
this takes ages on big Hard drives
 
Can I recommend you use Toshiba Canvio drives, both 500gb and 1tb are working without issue 100% of the time. I have never had to format them prior to use, simply flash the box with your USB stick or whatever, power off, plug HDD in and Initialise, create swap etc.

The series link is a known issue if I read the place right, think its something that will be worked on by the guys in the know...
 
Update

Thanks for reply.regarding my dead hard drive nothing recognises it now to fix it.i know there i/0 errors on it now.no matter what program I use it won't find it to repair.like I said I've even booted pc up with gparted which is a linux based program and that can't even find it now.any more ideas please.ive tried connecting back to zgemma just comes up with errors.there is obvious issues here.my 500gb is connected at moment.but does act up it seems to unmount itself making nothing viable in hdd folder even viewing it through filezilla.then when you mount it again stuff re-appears.anyond had simular issues.
 
this is where problem lies one is suppose to leave formatted hdd on sat/cable box but people go and mess with wanting to use on pc.if you run samba or nfs on sat/cable box you should then be able to view it on pc.
having many e2 boxes on a home network one can view recordings on any box in the house.
hdd dont travel they are sensitive and break easily.
 
ye, Id agree with above, people tend to think an external hdd is transferable, its not really, if you want to keep swapping it around use an ssd,
I run Linux as my main OS and Ive yet to have it fail to 'see' any HDD no matter what the filesystem, or even if it is completely dead,
I'd think bad usb perhaps, maybe bad at the hdd end so no amount of swapping leads will help,
try running photorec on it,
or better, put it into a proper Linux PC and search it that way.
 
I've got a 3tb in ext 3.5 caddy
as it's powered by it's own supply usb power is not a problem.
it's a wd purple used for cctv systems, made to run constantly
plugs right into the H2s back port powers on with the box.

cheers
Byte
 
Wrong idea

Sorry all ,I think you misunderstood me with my problem.my hard drive is constantly connected to my zgemma.but these problems started.over a period of a couple of months and several re-initializing hdd until it just gave errors.hence I removed and tried another hdd a 500gb which is now going down the same road.recorded programs not showing that's when they do record.then switch of zgemma and hdd an power both up and items re-appears. no set pattern.cant see it being fault hdd end only 2 hdd can't be bad when they good to start.regarding dead hdd I haven't got access to a linux pc hence been reading up on what I can try on windows pc hence trying gparted which did see the hard drive at first but hasn't since.tried several other so called fixes but nothing sees it.i think if it is a usb issue it's zgemma box end coz it's now corrupted 2 hdd's.ive set several boxes up for family all using power hdd and all done with whooshbuild but no one is having issues like me.that why I tend to think it's zgemma usb port.my next test I think will be to try a usb stick to see if it repeats on that.i don't know if the seller would exchange my box only 4 month old.but I suppose I would have to put factory image back on.
 
kenuk1 said:
Can I recommend you use Toshiba Canvio drives, both 500gb and 1tb are working without issue 100% of the time. I have never had to format them prior to use, simply flash the box with your USB stick or whatever, power off, plug HDD in and Initialise, create swap etc.

The series link is a known issue if I read the place right, think its something that will be worked on by the guys in the know...
Click to expand...

Hi Kenuk1,
I have been using Samsung/Maxtor M3 1TB HDD with no problems but unfortunately for some reason these appear to being discontinued,you mention in your post to use Toshiba Canvio there appears to be a few different models,any chance you could advise which is correct model to use please.
 
pkr-gramps said:
I have been using Samsung/Maxtor M3 1TB HDD with no problems but unfortunately for some reason these appear to being discontinued,you mention in your post to use Toshiba Canvio there appears to be a few different models,any chance you could advise which is correct model to use please.
Click to expand...

I've used both of these and they work fine - 500GB 1TB.
 
pkr-gramps said:
kenuk1 said:
Can I recommend you use Toshiba Canvio drives, both 500gb and 1tb are working without issue 100% of the time. I have never had to format them prior to use, simply flash the box with your USB stick or whatever, power off, plug HDD in and Initialise, create swap etc.

The series link is a known issue if I read the place right, think its something that will be worked on by the guys in the know...
Click to expand...

Hi Kenuk1,
I have been using Samsung/Maxtor M3 1TB HDD with no problems but unfortunately for some reason these appear to being discontinued,you mention in your post to use Toshiba Canvio there appears to be a few different models,any chance you could advise which is correct model to use please.
Click to expand...

I use the "basics" readily available in the likes of Argos and Amazon.
 
you can always try this in windows command prompt to try and recover your hard drive

Mounting your USB/HDD as ext4 in your ZGemma will make your device unreadable when you next try and
insert them in your Windows computer. This is because Linux uses a different file format. You can quickly fix
this and most other corrupt USBs by correcting the USB partition.

In Windows, open up command prompt with Administrator privileges

1. Go in Start > write “cmd” > right-click the Windows Command Prompt and choose to run it as an
Administrator.

2. At the prompt, enter “DISKPART” to launch Microsoft’s disk management utility. It will take a second
until it loads and when ready it will read “DISKPART>”.

3. Type in “list disk” to show a list of all disk drives. If your USB key is plugged into your PC, it should be
listed here, along with other drives. Note the USB key’s disk number – you can pick it out by looking
at the disk capacity.

4. Type “select disk n" (whatever is your USB disk number in place of "n").

5. Type “clean” for the utility to clean the disk, which DiskPart will confirm.

6. Create a new partition by entering “create partition primary”.

7. Choose this partition with “select partition 1", and then mark it as active by typing “active”.

8. Format the key by inputting “format fs=fat32". This should take a few minutes, and DiskPart will
display a progress percentage.

9. Lastly, type “assign” to give this USB key a drive letter and “exit” to exit DiskPart.

If the above seems a bit technical download HDD guru low level format software and run that.
HDDGURU: HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool
 
Hi all here's an update still pulling my hair out what by ive got.i have now reformatted hdd with gparted,put it back to ntfs . Connected to h2s again gone through whooshbuild setup from start to finish. So now hdd initialised. Recorded a couple of programs ok.NOT AUTO TIMER .JUST TIMER FOR RECORDINGS.Day 2 tried same again.box came up with write error disc full.when you press file location to view recordings some times there sometimes not.what I have noticed is disc space size on file location is 64mb which is telling me it's trying to record to internal memory of box hence disc full error.if I then switch off box then hdd then power both back on recording re-appears and disc space size corrects to 465gb hence about right for a 500gb hard drive.i read some where about someone having simular issues with another build and they went to menu,setup,recording setting changed location from hdd to internal flash.restarted then back into settings change back to hdd and restart because box was stuck on internal flash even though it said hdd.problem is when you go into recording settings in whooshbuild it's set to hdd/movie and you can't change not on mine anyway.also I noticed sometimes when I reflash box with whooshbuild and don't backup setting on purpose when I flash box my settings are still there eg line, tv region ect like it's save them anyway .really weird any help please. also some recording stopped half way through.i think the box keeps looking to record to internal flash instead of hdd put I can't correct.sorry if I repeated myself. ANY IDEAS WHOOSHMAN PLEASE HELP IT'S MAKING ME LOOSE SLEEP NOW. LOL
 
Why not try using a 16gb USB stick and see if you still have the issues, if you do it could be the box but I would be amazed if it was as I cannot see how the box is breaking drives
It could just be that you have had bad luck with 2 different hard drives
 
I think you may just be unlucky, although make sure you read and follow the instructions line by line.

I am on my 4th box. 2 for myself, 2 for mates. All using WooshBuild (mix of v3 and v4). 4 different usb sticks of all different makes and models (usually cheapest I could find) and not had a single issue..

Last one used was this. (Was in a rush and got it from Wilkos for a couple of quid - circa £4)
c9e0b658b831467a9e0913a8981c88e2.jpg


Daz


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for your input please keep it coming.it just seems strange that it keeps losing hdd in effect.like the recording issue pointing to memory instead of hdd.even when I look using filezilla.then the movie folder gone .reset hdd and it re-appears.i will try usb stick.like I said in previous post I've set around 8 boxes up now all whoosh build lucky none of others have issues.i wish there was a way of changing recording setting to change to internal memory for recording just so I could change it back to see if it reset itself.
 
bangloud said:
also I noticed sometimes when I reflash box with whooshbuild and don't backup setting on purpose when I flash box my settings are still there eg line, tv region ect like it's save them anyway
Click to expand...

This bit isn't right at all.

As djgarf said, try a bog standard USB stick and start from scratch. You need to decide what is broken. By using a usb for the recording device will rule out the HDD if it still does it. It will also the chance of settings being restored by the flash of WooshBuild. I say this because if you flash a nightly build from zgemma.tv it will detect the settings backup and ask if you want to restore it. Wooshbuild has never asked me that BUT with you saying the settings don't seem to have gone sometimes it will remove any chance that this is happening.

As for formatting, you can actually just put a non formatted / initialised / prepared drive in your box as the initialise will take car of it. You normally see two devices to chose from when you do this though, why I don't know as I am no a linux person as it pickles my brain.

But you must start eliminating possible causes of you problem to move forwards. You have established that it keeps going wrong and a re-flash and initialise of the drive is not fixing it, so time to try other steps.
 
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