HD300 Lock Up

[Steve20A]

So, this is informational, since my problem appears to have been solved. Maybe someone else with a similar problem may find relief.

I have a new HD300 (from Andy's last batch after the Sage revival). It is hardwired to my router (thru some switches). It is running the latest firmware. On occasion, it will lock up in the middle of a playback. Both video and sound stop, the last video image remains displayed on the TV screen. The light stays blue. The V7 Sage server it connects to has been running for 4+ years.

Rebooting occasionally works. Rebooting will sometimes only get to the splash screen after choosing a media server. Unplugging the power supply always will work, but sometimes another failure occurs very soon. Unplugging the power supply overnight always works and gives a week or more of service. I have fans running 24/7 in the cabinet and the temp stays in the high 70s/low 80s, so I do not believe it is a heat problem, per se.

On the suggestion of someone else on the forum discussing a similar issue, I replaced the power supply with this one from Amazon: ASIN B0038NCES2 Model Number 467-PWR52-91648 described as "Pwr+® Extra Long 6.5 Ft Cord AC Adapter for Seagate & WD external HDD ; Belkin, Netgear, Motorolla, Linksys Wireless Router / Cable modem Ubee Lei Charger Switching Power Supply Cord Plug." The new power supply is a 12 volt 2 amp supply, where the original is 12V .7 amp.

So far, 8 days without issue. I'll re-post if the unit fails again.

Cheers.

[Steve20A]

Here is an update. The HD300 ran well for about 4 weeks on the new power supply. No issues. Then, bang, lockups started again. I tried the unplug from the wall trick and it worked a couple of times, but inconsistently. So the power supply does not appear to have been the solution.

I swapped out another HD300, lightly used from another room, and it is running now for 2 days without problem. So, again, the power supply seems to not be the issue.

I believe I have a failing HD300. Any other tests someone can propose?

Steve

[TechBill]

Have you tried reinstalling the firmware and do a hard reset again?

Bill

[Steve20A]

Originally Posted by TechBill

Have you tried reinstalling the firmware and do a hard reset again?

Bill

You know... for all the resetting and checking and testing I did, I do not do a firmware reload and hard reset. Thanks for shaking up my brain. I'll get on that in a day or so.

Steve

[Steve20A]

Originally Posted by TechBill

Have you tried reinstalling the firmware and do a hard reset again?

Bill

So, good idea. I did the reset/reinstall and things worked. But I think what happened was that I uncovered an IP address conflict and the reset allowed me to correct it. I probably introduced it somewhere in my testing, so it may not have been a part of the original problem, but, then again, maybe it was. I'll watch things for a few days and see if the original issue disappears.

Thanks for the idea. Sometimes old brains like mine need some prodding.

[Steve20A]

Originally Posted by Steve20A

I did the reset/reinstall and things worked. But I think what happened was that I uncovered an IP address conflict and the reset allowed me to correct it. I probably introduced it somewhere in my testing, so it may not have been a part of the original problem, but, then again, maybe it was. I'll watch things for a few days and see if the original issue disappears.

The problem has come back. It is not an IP conflict. What appears to be happening is that the HD300 loses (or stops responding) to it's IP address. When the unit freezes, I can confirm that:

• the server is working fine; a different HD300 and 2 HD200s work fine
• from the server, I can ping all other devices on the failing HD300's switch
• all other devices connected to that switch can connect to the internet (TV and BluRay)
• I cannot ping the failing HD300 from any computer on my LAN

I have moved the HD300 to other ports on the switch with no effect. In the small likelihood that the brand of switch has some general incompatibility with the HD300 (I cannot imagine what), I have switch from another manufacturer on order. I have already replaced the power supply for the HD300.

My next phase of testing is: replace the cable from the HD300 to the switch, then swap my two HD300s (which I did before, but not under controlled conditions).

The HD300 has a static IP address assigned, with correct gateway, DNS, etc. settings.

When the HD300 fails, turning it off/on via the remote does nothing. If I unplug the unit, I still see no effect until I've done it 2-3 times. Then I will get the Sage splash screen. Sometimes the reboot will continue properly. Sometimes the HD300 appears to be working, but cannot find the server. Only by unplugging the unit for more than (an estimated) 10-15 seconds, does the unit properly see the network and work correctly. (I am wondering if some capacitor has to drain, or something similar, to get the unit working again. That might explain why unplugging the wall wart sometimes works, while unplugging the unit at the unit does not. But I have no way to really test this.)

Any ideas from the community are appreciated.

[Mike]

I'm having similar issues. It will happen often at about the same time of the evening and I was wondering if some device or another was renewing leases on IP addresses. I haven't been able to find anything definitive. It seemed to be worse before I added memory to the server. There's no capacity to add more and it has 8 in it now.

Usually turning the unit off and back on will clear the error.

[SageWizdom]

How hot is your HD300? I had one that was occasionally locking up. At some point I came of the opinion that it was hotter that I would have liked/expected. Given that they are convectively cooled, I have wondered if that can be an issue (processor lockup).

I have not done enough tests to verify, but have considered adding extra fins or a couple of extra holes in the case to allow better airflow.

[Mike]

Mine gets pretty warm. It's in a fairly open place that gets plenty of airflow This was mentioned as an issue with them when they first came out. I have two of them, but I don't use one of them enough to know if it shares the problem or not.

I really hadn't considered that as a possible problem. Maybe I should, but I'm a bit doubtful because I can power it down and back up and not have any trouble for quite some time. I might see if I have a small fan just for grins.

[Steve20A]

Originally Posted by SageWizdom

How hot is your HD300? I had one that was occasionally locking up. At some point I came of the opinion that it was hotter that I would have liked/expected. Given that they are convectively cooled, I have wondered if that can be an issue (processor lockup).

I have not done enough tests to verify, but have considered adding extra fins or a couple of extra holes in the case to allow better airflow.

I thought that temps might be an issue in my case, so I added two fans to the cabinet where the equipment is. The air blows over about 50% of the HD300 surface area and did lower the temp of the unit perceptibly. But it made no impact on the problem. I do not think this is a heat problem specifically. And as I noted earlier in the thread, the problem goes away after being unplugged for fewer than 30 seconds. Surely the temp of the unit does not change much in that time.

Steve

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Steve20A

The problem has come back. It is not an IP conflict. What appears to be happening is that the HD300 loses (or stops responding) to it's IP address. When the unit freezes, I can confirm that:

• the server is working fine; a different HD300 and 2 HD200s work fine
• from the server, I can ping all other devices on the failing HD300's switch
• all other devices connected to that switch can connect to the internet (TV and BluRay)
• I cannot ping the failing HD300 from any computer on my LAN

I have moved the HD300 to other ports on the switch with no effect. In the small likelihood that the brand of switch has some general incompatibility with the HD300 (I cannot imagine what), I have switch from another manufacturer on order. I have already replaced the power supply for the HD300.

My next phase of testing is: replace the cable from the HD300 to the switch, then swap my two HD300s (which I did before, but not under controlled conditions).

The HD300 has a static IP address assigned, with correct gateway, DNS, etc. settings.

When the HD300 fails, turning it off/on via the remote does nothing. If I unplug the unit, I still see no effect until I've done it 2-3 times. Then I will get the Sage splash screen. Sometimes the reboot will continue properly. Sometimes the HD300 appears to be working, but cannot find the server. Only by unplugging the unit for more than (an estimated) 10-15 seconds, does the unit properly see the network and work correctly. (I am wondering if some capacitor has to drain, or something similar, to get the unit working again. That might explain why unplugging the wall wart sometimes works, while unplugging the unit at the unit does not. But I have no way to really test this.)

Any ideas from the community are appreciated.

Hey. Mine just started exhibiting ALL of the symptoms yours is. It all began after I had returned from a three-week vacation, during which the unit was unplugged so my house sitters wouldn't mess with it.
I have mine set to DHCP, so it can always find an address. Ironically, this is the major fault, i.e. it has problems finding the network.
What brand router are you using?
I'm suspicious an update of some kind, a plugin maybe, is causing havoc. My HD200's all seem fine

[Steve20A]

Sorry- traveling and just got back.

<<What brand router are you using?>> I have a Linksys/Cisco LRT214. It runs thru several switches and some older in-wall cabling, along with new CAT6 external cables.

All my switches are Netgear GS-108s. I bought a spare, intending to swap it with the unit in service, but I haven't had a failure in months. This is an absolutely baffling problem. Sometimes it seems heat related, sometimes not. Sometimes cable related, sometimes not. Sometimes time related, sometimes not.

All I can say now is that it has not failed in a while. If is does fail again, I will implement the next steps I designed a while back - new switch and another new cable. I can also start playing with other ports on intermediate switches, but since the problem occurred with two different HD300s and does not fail with HD200s, I really wonder if it's an intermediate equipment problem. But... it might be.

Good luck. Please keep posting if you discover things. Maybe all of us together can stumble on the answer.

Steve

P.S. I should add that I have upgraded my media server hardware, installed Win10 and Sage v9. No failures since (6 weeks?), but I also had a long stretch without failure before the upgrade.

[eopian]

Still problem free?

[Steve20A]

<<Still problem free?>>

More or less. A few failures, but resolved by rebooting the HD300 without the network cable, then plugging the network cable back in when the splash screen is displayed. (Got that from another thread here somewhere.)

So maybe 2-3 times in the past 8 months. I can live with that. I do not think it is power supply-related, but rather a defect in the HD300 that causes the unit to lose its network connection and not be able to get an IP address. This, even though I have static addresses assigned.

Crazy issue.

[NetworkGuy]

I have one HD300 that exhibits the same issues. (The second one is fine.)

I can go weeks without the problem and then sometime twice in a night. Unplugging the power cable and rebooting seems to resolve the issue.

[DaveS]

I've also experienced this issue for years with my HD300 on my Windows 7 system. I've switched out the cable, changed the port on my switch, changed the power supply and tried a fan. I've even changed to a different HD300. Any unit I use locks up a couple of times a month. Pressing the power button doesn't work to reset it. I need to unplug it, and wait a minute before plugging it back in. Interestingly, the problem disappeared with I switched my server to Linux. I THINK my issue is an IP conflict when using my Windows server because the unit disappears from my network when it is locked up and nothing else seems to make any sense. It so happens that I like Linux better so, for now, I stopped investigating but I'd like to hear if you find a resolution. If I was still using Windows my next step would be a fresh install of Sage and then maybe a fresh install of Windows.

[TwistedMelon]

This just started happening on my years-old HD300 at the same time as I updated from SageTV 7 to SageTV 9 and the HD300's firmware to whatever the server sent up as the latest. So only within the past 2-3 weeks.

For 6 months prior in the current cupboard there had been no such issues. For a few years in a much smaller space behind a TV in my master bedroom also no such issues.

Haven't seen any similar behavior with HD200. IR commands, including power have no effect when the lock-up occurs. Unplugging and re-plugging its DC power jack works to reboot it every time so far.

Typically the blue light is still on when it hangs. One time it was off and the screen went black instead of freezing on a video frame.

It's happening at least once every couple of nights now, yesterday having happened 3 times in a two hour stretch.

[TwistedMelon]

Lock-ups seem to have been eliminated.

Mid-play lockups: rolling back to the firmware linked in this firmware recovery FAQ seems to have remedied it: https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/sho...1&postcount=19

Starting video stream lockups: Turning OFF native resolution switching seems to have fixed this. (this was working fine prior to updating to SageTV 9 from 7)

[DaveS]

It's been a long time, and this is probably not news to anyone who has experienced the lockups over time, but I'm now sure my issue was over heating. I didn't think it was, because at the time of a lockup I could simply unplug and then replug in the unit and it would work. I had thought that if it was over heating it would take some time to cool down.

My units were hot to the touch, and that's supposed to be normal because the outside of the unit is effectively the heat sink. I set up a fan to blow room temperature air on them, and while that cooled the outside of the case, I continued to experience lockups. I re-positioned the fan so that it was under the unit blowing air up into the vents on the bottom of the unit, and that has stopped my lockups. I guess the unit casing is not sufficient as a heat sink.

[jusjoken]

Originally Posted by DaveS

It's been a long time, and this is probably not news to anyone who has experienced the lockups over time, but I'm now sure my issue was over heating. I didn't think it was, because at the time of a lockup I could simply unplug and then replug in the unit and it would work. I had thought that if it was over heating it would take some time to cool down.

My units were hot to the touch, and that's supposed to be normal because the outside of the unit is effectively the heat sink. I set up a fan to blow room temperature air on them, and while that cooled the outside of the case, I continued to experience lockups. I re-positioned the fan so that it was under the unit blowing air up into the vents on the bottom of the unit, and that has stopped my lockups. I guess the unit casing is not sufficient as a heat sink.

I turn mine upside down and no longer have issues.

k