Hard drive keeps disappearing. Is it dead?

[PStepanas]

The last few days, my hard drive keeps disappearing on my T3. Is the hard drive dying, or could it be something fixable?

Almost every time I turn on, the T3's internal hard drive can't be found. Rebooting always brings it back (so far), but trying to check the file system either shows the hard drive missing (even when recordings can be seen and viewed), or fails with an error that the drive can't be scanned.

This started happening after Thursday's Cricket World Cup Semifinal filled the hard drive.

Since then, every timer recording has failed, the latest with a Write Error very briefly displayed on the front-panel display on startup.

What I need to know is which of the following to do:
1) It's a software glitch. Needs some sort of software adjustment or setting or scan.
2) There's a loose connection. Unplug, open the unit, and check that all the HDD connections are secure.
3) The HDD is dead. Buy a new HDD, replace the old one, and hope I can recover the existing recordings.
4) The T3 is dead. Try to scrounge up the cash for a completely new DVR.

Obviously, there might be some urgency to this situation!

[PStepanas]

Incidentally, the File System Check fails with the error "Unable to unmount device because it's busy" (or words to that effect).

[MrQuade]

Incidentally, the File System Check fails with the error "Unable to unmount device because it's busy" (or words to that effect).

That's because the HDD is likely being used for timeshifting when you try to start the scan. The HDD needs to be taken completely offline for the check and it can't do that while it's in use.


Have you had the power supply serviced on that T3 yet? If not, then it's probably a miracle that it's still working at all. The power supplies on the T3's have just about all failed by now, but normally it causes the T3 to fail to boot at all. Weird glitchy behaviour of the HDD can be a sign that the power supply is close to being on its way out.

Just a warning that a failing or supply can lead to other components being damaged.

[prl]

Incidentally, the File System Check fails with the error "Unable to unmount device because it's busy" (or words to that effect).

That's because the HDD is likely being used for timeshifting when you try to start the scan. The HDD needs to be taken completely offline for the check and it can't do that while it's in use.

That means disabling debug logging, too, if you've enabled it. To turn off debug logging, you need to disable it, and then restart the GUI or reboot. To disable timeshift fully, you need to disable timeshift startup in MENU>Setup>TV>Timeshift settings, and then change to a different channel.

[Paul_oz53]

Sounds very similar to my problems with the T3 losing the HDD discussed here. Read past the early posts which concern a front panel issue that started first and you will see the HDD issues.

Stopping logging and timeshift did not help me. Also, I wasn't able to Telnet in to run the smartctl test peteru suggested. I replaced the HDD and got it working to record by reformatting the drive and not turning it off. As soon as I powered it down to deep standby it lost the HDD again. I suspect the front panel is behind both faults as the T3 has a known issue mounting the HDD on firmware 20057, which mine is.

My front panel is also playing up badly with it going to standby every few minutes. I have been trying to contact Warkus to arrange a repair if that is possible but without success by phone, email and SMS.

[PStepanas]

Oh, God.

Well, the good news is, sounds like I'm not going to lose my recordings.

The bad news is, when I bought the T3 for $800(?), I was working in a job that netted me $88k a year. I've been unemployed since about a year later. So I've no idea how I could possibly afford a newer model.

Technically, I did my best to disable timeshift (increased its start delay and switched channels to a different transport stream(?). I'll try turning off logging, if it's even on -- I've been able to scan the file system just fine in the past. Sounds like I have Paul's problem.

I had the power board replaced twice in six months, about a year ago. I was *very* unhappy when they charged me the second time for exactly the same work!!!

My latest test showed that the Timer worked (tonight) if I left the unit on. I don't expect that's a long-term solution, especially in summer.

I don't know what to do.

[Paul_oz53]

Sounds like you didn't use Warkus (Mark) at Decisive Computer Solutions to fix the PSU. I did.

He completely rebuilds them by replacing every capacitor that's likely to fail. Others just replace them one at a time. He's by far the best and cheapest repairer of Wizzes.

I'm hoping my problem is an out of spec voltage rail affecting the Front Panel. I suspect that's your problem too but I'm guessing.

I do know from past experience that Mark sometimes is away for a few weeks and it's school holidays in Perth so hopefully I will get an answer soon.

I only use standby with the T3 rather than deep standby because it avoids the disappearing HDD.

[PStepanas]

I contacted Beyonwiz for my repair. I believe their representative is in Sydney. I don't know anything more than that.

How do I set the T3 to use Standby rather than Deep Standby?

[Paul_oz53]

I contacted Beyonwiz for my repair. I believe their representative is in Sydney. I don't know anything more than that.

How do I set the T3 to use Standby rather than Deep Standby?

Their official repairers are in Sydney but Warkus in Perth is also an option and offers a superior service IMHO. Postage is possibly a negative but the quality of the work more than compensates. The official repairer replaced one PSU capacitor. Warkus replaced all the high stress components in the PSU.

In Menu > Setup > System > Button settings I have Action on Short Power set to: go to Standby.

[dgman1515]

The HDD disappeared today on my T3 – and I can't get it back. The T3's power supply was fixed by Warkus about a year ago.

The latest problem started with some unstable behaviour when I was playing back a recording. So I rebooted the T3. It restarted with the message:

"The internal hard disk is not formatted correctly. In order for your Beyonwiz T3 to function at its best, it is recommended that you format the hard disk.
WARNING: Formatting will erase all data on the hard disk.
Press OK to format your T3's hard disk.
Otherwise, press POWER to power down, or EXIT to skip the HDD format."

So I pressed EXIT, because I don't want to lose all my recordings. But then I can't see the MOVIE folder.

I've tried this multiple times, with extended full shutdowns (including switching off at the back). But still no luck.

I'd like to have visibility of my recordings again – and, if possible, copy them to my new V2. Any suggestions?

[MrQuade]

I've tried this multiple times, with extended full shutdowns (including switching off at the back). But still no luck.

I'd like to have visibility of my recordings again – and, if possible, copy them to my new V2. Any suggestions?

Not an expert here, but it sounds to me like the HDD's partition data has been genuinely corrupted here. It can see a disk, but the data is unreadable.

Perhaps try running a disk check over the harddisk (from the T3's Setup menus) to see if that can find and fix any problems.

Failing that, there may be some command line tricks that could get it back.

[Paul_oz53]

The message I got from Warkus on my HDD problem was to: "replace the HDD. It is most likely corrupted".

Odd that three of us are all seeing the same problem at the same time.

I did replace my HDD with a spare which worked briefly but stopped when I rebooted the next day. Since reformatting a second time it has been able to record again. I haven't powered it off since - just standby. I still have a front panel issue though.

If you can see it over the network you would be well advised to copy essential programs to an external drive before reformatting or replacing the HDD.

If not, I'd swap out the current HDD for a spare/replacement and get that working. Then I'd try it in a hub or USB enclosure plugged into the T3 to see if the files are still readable.

If no spare or replacement is feasible then you can try reformatting the old HDD at the cost of losing recordings.

[dgman1515]

Not an expert here, but it sounds to me like the HDD's partition data has been genuinely corrupted here. It can see a disk, but the data is unreadable.
Perhaps try running a disk check over the harddisk (from the T3's Setup menus) to see if that can find and fix any problems.
Failing that, there may be some command line tricks that could get it back.

I ran a file system check, with the following results:
* T3 displayed "Internal HDD (WDC WD40EZRX-00M) (4000.786 GB)"
* I hit the green "Select" button
* T3 displayed "Model: ATA(WDC WD40EZRX-00M)
Capacity: 4000.786 GB
Bus: Internal"
* I hit the red "Check" button
* T3 displayed "Checking file system...
Error: Possibly non-existent device?
fsck.ext4: No such file or directory while trying to open /dev/sda1"

[PStepanas]

@dgman1515 - Paul's post suggests a useful test for you: check if you can see the contents of the drive over the network from a PC.

@Paul - Warkus's suggestion that your drive is dead may be premature; it seems to be an easy conclusion that's hard to disprove. No offence to Warkus, just that techies seem to jump on hard drives very quickly, yet I've not seen any diagnostic evidence since the 1990s.

More important, you said replacing the drive didn't help. That strongly suggests a non-HDD problem. As you said.

I'm curious to know where all of this ends up leading for you. It's hard for me to emotionally reconcile the (fewer than I expected) years of good operation with the known problems. After all, the T3 basically failed on me after 3 years, then again (identically) after 6 months, now again a year later. And people have said "it's amazing your power supply hasn't already failed" (I guess it had) and "known front-panel problems." I don't think I'm imagining this.

Ultimately, the question is: repair, upgrade, or go elsewhere. Assuming Beyonwiz isn't the only game in town (which I think it might be).

[MrQuade]

I'm curious to know where all of this ends up leading for you. It's hard for me to emotionally reconcile the (fewer than I expected) years of good operation with the known problems. After all, the T3 basically failed on me after 3 years, then again (identically) after 6 months, now again a year later. And people have said "it's amazing your power supply hasn't already failed" (I guess it had) and "known front-panel problems." I don't think I'm imagining this.

Ultimately, the question is: repair, upgrade, or go elsewhere. Assuming Beyonwiz isn't the only game in town (which I think it might be).

The power supplies are a bit of a bummer that's for sure.

The front panel problem is software based (or at least can be overcome in software), but the solution to it needs a bit more research, and it does only affect those customers that have chosen to manually upgrade their front panel to the latest firmware revision (the previous version had a timekeeping problem which was resolved). Either way, the short term solution to that front panel HDD vanishing issue is to power cycle, so it looks like this isn't affecting you.

The exact cause of the HDD loss still needs to be nailed down in this case it seems.

[Paul_oz53]

Hi PStepanas,

I agree that it is probably something deeper than just the HDD at play here. Given the chipsets the T3 is based on, the chance of repair is small if the problem is more than a voltage rail out of spec. Hence, I hope that will be the culprit.

Re reformatting the HDD, I had an NTFS drive which the system instantly reformatted ext4 when I powered it up. When I powered down and up again the file check reported it corrupt. After I reformatted it though, it became readable again but I had to remount it by going to Media and selecting the Yellow button LOCATION. The drive was listed as a resource.

Our T3 had been a steady performer except when the PSU failed the first time. The main attraction to me is the network connection that enables downloading recordings I want to keep and the convenience of HDMI IN recording on the T4 and U4.

If you decide to ditch the T3 I would be interested in scavenging the spare parts (the front panel in particular).

[Paul_oz53]

An update - as mentioned elsewhere, the front panel is faulty in mine. Confirmed by close examination with Warkus' oversight.

However, since replacing the HDD it hasn't given trouble beyond the need to power cycle as MrQuade noted above.