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elmer

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 8:15 am

Regular contributor Joined: 28 Jun 2006 Posts: 37

Hello
I Have a TF5800PVR. Last night upon turning on I was just getting a single dot on the led display instead of the channel number. I turned it off overnight. Now when turning on the channel number is showing correctly and I can change channel but mystuff is not loading.

Any help very much apreciated

Thanks
Paul

_________________
TF5800, TS On, F/W: MS6 Recommended F/W 12/9/2009 -Sy
TAPs: EPG2MEI v0.96; MyStuff 6.6; Font Manager 1.0d; Extend v1.7; SecCache (UK) v0.4; EIT Sub (Game) v0.6; MHEG On/Off A3; MyInfo B5.6;
Sig generated by MyInfo on 10/5/15?

mstombs

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 3:13 pm

Frequent contributor Joined: 31 Dec 2006 Posts: 938

Have you hard the power supply capacitors changed? If not see posts by andyfras who offers repair services.

TF5800

Geoff Bacon

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 4:17 pm

Frequent contributor Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 4606

I agree with mstombs - the capacitors are a must if they haven't previously been changed.

Other possibilities are:
1) MyStuff etc can't load because of a file system corruption
2) The disk has failed and/or is failing (hope you had those capacitors changed!)

I can recover the files for you (assuming the disk is working); you would need to extract and post to me. Note: there is no point doing that if the capacitors haven't been changed!

Geoff

_________________
TopManager program
TF5800, TS On, F/W: MS6 Recommended F/W 12/9/2009 -Sy+EvEzPfUUuZ
TAPs: PcControl B1.4; StopExit v1.01; PruneEPG 1.0; fsSave 1.1; QuickJump 1.72; SecCache (UK) v0.4; EIT Sub (Game) v0.6; EPG2MEI v0.96; MyStuff 6.6; Bookmark 3.0; Extend v1.7; Font Manager 1.0d; MyInfo B5.6; MHEG On/Off A3;
Sig generated by EMJB's MyInfo.tap on 29/12/18™

elmer

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:21 pm

Regular contributor Joined: 28 Jun 2006 Posts: 37

Hello

Thank you for the speedy replies both of you

Yes Andy did change the capacitors for me two years ago (fantastic service thanks Andy)

I've tried installing Topmanager on my laptop and connecting to the Topfield via usb cable but I'm getting the following message

Connecting to Toppy...
Attempting to open USB connection using tfWinUSB.dll ...
USB connection to Toppy established
Checking visibility of directories on the Toppy
Error: DirectoryExists exception failure (#:\ProgramFiles\)
Top level directory found
Connected to Toppy

It did say in windows it had failed to install drivers, don't know whether that makes any difference.

When trying to browse the program files in Topmanager it is showing as empty.

When looking at the topfield on the TV with just the default Topfield interface loading the recordings area is showing no recordings, but at the bottom is showing as 1MB free of 152625MB and says insufficient space available if you try and record ( there was plenty of space left on the disk before it went wrong.

Geoff that's a very kind offer were you meaning physically take the HDD itself out and post it, I'd be very happy to pay for you to have a go at having a look at it.

I do wonder if the HDD might be feeling its age as the Topfield is 11 years old.

Geoff Bacon

Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 6:03 pm

Frequent contributor Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 4606

@elmer

As TopManager tried to connect to the disk, this shows that it is visible and probably working ok but the file structure has been corrupted (TM does a sanity check that it can see the directories)

I should be able to recover the data for you; how well depends on the level of corruption. Typically, I can get back the recordings and you have to reload the taps etc. However, if you have my fsSave tap installed in Auto Start, I should be able to recover everything apart from those few disk clusters that have been overwritten.

Will send a pm later this evening

Geoff

elmer

Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:59 pm

Regular contributor Joined: 28 Jun 2006 Posts: 37

It looks like it might be new HDD time.

Any recommendations?
I presume the route to go down is SATA with a converter cable?
Can you use solid state drives to make the Topfield more responsive?

We don't need it any bigger than the original 160gb Samsung SV1604E/OMD. Preferably nice and quiet

YorkshireJumbo

Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:02 am

Frequent contributor Joined: 16 Sep 2005 Posts: 843

People have put them in before, but the HDD often isn't the bottleneck. Even recording 2 programmes and watching a third, even a slow 5400 disk isn't overly stretched. I'm not sure if MS would load the archive quicker if you have a huge 1Tb disk.

Don't forget that the hardware design is 12 years old...

_________________
YJ - You may have speed, but I have momentum
Black Panther since Sep '05, Caps replaced July '10
WD10EZRX and Turbosat adaptor added May '16
Noiseblocker XR1 fan added Mar '18
F/W: MS6 Recommended F/W 12/9/2009 -Sy+U+Uu
TAPs: MS 6.6 Suite, UK OZ Surfer

juwlz

Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 12:03 pm

MyStuff Team Joined: 12 Aug 2005 Posts: 10804 Location: Wokingham, Berkshire (Hannington transmitter)

YorkshireJumbo wrote:

I'm not sure if MS would load the archive quicker if you have a huge 1Tb disk.

Don't forget that the hardware design is 12 years old...

No, a larger drive won't make MS load faster. If anything, it'll slow it down, with more files to scan. The bottleneck is memory capacity, which can't be changed.

SSDs are NOT a good idea in a PVR. SSDs have a smaller number of writes than a conventional hard drive before they die, and PVRs do proportionally far more writing to the drive than computers do.

The only benefit would be the lack of noise and heat. They certainly won't make a Toppy any faster.

Instead, you'd be better off following the tips at Toppy Memory

Julie

_________________
5800, TS On, F/W: MS6 Recommended F/W 12/9/2009 -Sy+BmC0CfCtFsIMPePsR3UUuUxZ
5810, TS On, F/W: F/W: MS6 Recommended F/W 12/9/2009 +BmCfCtFsR3Z
MyStuff info; Help!; Reference
Harmony 885 remote. Sig date 8 April 2012

Geoff Bacon

Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 2:01 pm

Frequent contributor Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 4606

An SSD should make MyStuff load marginally faster as it eliminates the rotation delay when seeking for a file. However, this rotational delay is of the order of 10 ms so 200 files is going to save around 0.2 of a second (it will probably be a bit better but I wouldn't expect it to be significantly faster).

An SSD isn't necessary for a PVR and, as Juwlz says, the type of I/O isn't really suitable for an SSD but yeah, they should work (I think andyfras posted that he had installed one in his toppy). I suspect that few have experience of them because they used to have a limited capacity and were expensive.

I don't get any problem with responsiveness in MyStuff - apart from the 1-2 mins start up. If you have slow response when accessing the archive, set the "Exclusive mode" to Extreme (option T1)

Your best bet is to get a replacement disk that suits your budget (andyfras may have old disks and/or can supply a suitable adapter and cable if you go for a more modern drive). A larger disk in itself does not lead to longer start times; this is down to the number of recordings you have made (but it will lead to longer starts if you keep more recordings than you had on your smaller "dead" disk). Start time is not an issue if you always delete recordings after you have watched them. Modern disks tend to be quieter.

Re your old disk, does it show any recordings when you press Archive on the remote? (I'm trying to establish whether the disk is visible to the toppy (just in case you haven't reconnected it properly).

Geoff

elmer

Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 2:51 pm

Regular contributor Joined: 28 Jun 2006 Posts: 37

Hi Thanks for the replies all. I'll skip the SSD then. I think I read a post elsewhere suggesting that a modern SATA drive with an adapter was the best bet

Geoff, when I press Archive nothing happens at all. I have the power connector plugged in and the interface cable, and I can hear the HDD tick, but not sure it is making a normal operational HDD noise.

I'll try dropping Andy an email to see if he has any specific HDD suggestions. We've only ever half filled the existing HDD so I'm not bothered about getting a larger one.

Geoff Bacon

Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 3:39 pm

Frequent contributor Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 4606

It sounds as though the toppy isn't seeing the disk; try
1) Press Menu on Remote
2) Select Installation
3) See if "Format Hard Disk" is enabled i.e. same colour as other options (don't do it!)

If it is not enabled then this means that the toppy is not detecting the disk (either because it has died or because you haven't connected it up correctly).
Try reconnecting it and, make sure that the connector is centred in the socket (sometime it is possible to put it in offset). Also, before connecting, check that you haven't bent any of the little pins on the disk.

Finally, make sure that the toppy is disconnected from the power for at least two minutes before delving inside it!

Geoff

elmer

Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 4:24 pm

Regular contributor Joined: 28 Jun 2006 Posts: 37

Hi Geoff

No format is greyed out I think it has probably died. Thanks for the tips, I've checked it's centered and none of the pins are bent.

I just remembered I have an old 60gb IDE disk hanging about, when plugging that into the toppy I can hear it spin up and spin down when turned on and off unlike the original Toppy HDD which only clicks.

Any thoughts on a specific hard drive model to buy, I'd rather buy a new one than second hand. 160gb would be fine. No louder than the current one would be good.

mavison

Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 5:31 pm

Frequent contributor Joined: 30 May 2007 Posts: 242

elmer wrote:

I just remembered I have an old 60gb IDE disk hanging about, when plugging that into the toppy I can hear it spin up and spin down when turned on and off unlike the original Toppy HDD which only clicks.

When the old disk was running, was Format enabled?

If not, perhaps there is a problem with the connection of the Toppy itself.

If Format is available, it would indicate the newer disc had some problem. If you do not want the data on the old disc, you could try formatting it!

_________________
TF5800, TS On, F/W: MS6 Recommended F/W 12/9/2009 -Sy+BmC0CbCfCtDEvEzFsIPePsScUUuWfZ
TAPs: PcControl B1.4; EIT Sub (Game) v0.6; EPG2MEI v0.96; Extend v1.7; Font Manager 1.0d; PruneEPG 1.0; MyInfo B5.6; MyStuff 6.6; SecCache (UK) v0.4; TF5000 Display v1.53; MHEG On/Off A3; (Power Restore V0.7.7);
Sig generated by MyInfo on 10/1/20

elmer

Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:50 pm

Regular contributor Joined: 28 Jun 2006 Posts: 37

With the "new" disk when I put it in the topfield and first turned it on it asked me if I wanted to format the drive (it is an old drive from a pc so I presumed it wanted to do a format to work properly with the topfield). I decline the format but when looking in the menu the format option was grayed out the same as with the original disk.

gramps

Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 11:08 am

Frequent contributor Joined: 23 Jun 2007 Posts: 342

elmer wrote:

Any thoughts on a specific hard drive model to buy, I'd rather buy a new one than second hand. 160gb would be fine. No louder than the current one would be good.

I have a Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB in my toppy with a cable and sata converter that andyfras kindly supplied me. It may seem a huge disk to put in the Toppy but its probably the cheapest solution.

gramps

_________________
TF5800, 1TB HDD, F/W: MS6 Recommended F/W 12/9/2009 -Sy+MPeScZ
TAPs: PcControl B1.4; EPG2MEI v0.96; Font Manager 1.0d; Extend v1.7; SecCache (UK) v0.4; EIT Sub (Game) v0.6; MHEG On/Off A3; MyInfo B5.6; MyStuff 6.6; PruneEPG 1.0;

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