If your Humax keeps boot looping after you insert a DVD...

[Nicegirl100]

I just wanted to share this piece of information I discovered last night...


I inserted a DVD into the Humax, and after a few seconds of trying to read it, the TIVO crashed (no error message), and kept going into a boot loop, would keep cycling through the "welcome, Powering up" and "Almost there" message, and just before it should have kicked over to the animation and main screen, it would reboot (I could hear the hard drive making god awful noises). Thinking to myself that I have never had any problems with the unit to date otherwise and given this was so sudden, I doubted it was a failed hard drive.

So it turns out that if the DVD you insert can't be read, it will just keep cycling. The eject button on the front panel does not work until the Tivo is finished booting all the way. So I just wanted to share with you all how to get the DVD out if you have too:

(Please note to be careful using this method or you could void your warranty)

1. Take a screwdriver (even a writing pen might work, but i found a flathead screwdrier made it easy), insert it ever so slightly in the upper right or left hand corner, and GENTLY pull the front panel that has the "DVD" symbol on it towards you and downward.

2. You will now see the actual DVD drive. If you look down to the right, under the drive, there is a long slender button. This is the drive's true eject button. You can press it and the DVD drive will open as long as the power is on the TIVO.

3. Remove the DVD, close the drive, turn the power off the TIVO, wait 30 seconds, and then turn back on.

If the DVD was really the problem, all should work fine now. I just wanted to share this because my heart kinda stopped when my TIVO kept boot looping without knowing how to get one of my fav DVDs out of it. Hope this helps someone, and sorry if there is another post out there already covering this. :)

[watstein]

Was your Humax trying to play a dvd by sony (ie. Casino Royale/Rocky Balboa/Persuit of Happyness/etc.) and crashed like the pioneers do. If so then welcome to the club.

[TiVoPony]

Hi guys,

What you've described isn't unique to TiVo products - it's an issue that a number of DVD products are having with new disks manufactured by Sony. Sony has acknowledged the issue, and I've been given the following information to pass along:

Sony is providing replacement discs to customers that have had problems. Customers can call Sony Pictures Home Entertainment customer service at 800.860.2878 for replacement discs.

Sorry you ran into this (I've noticed it recently myself at home, on non-TiVo product), but it is not an issue with your TiVo box.

Here's an article discussing the Sony issue. (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070418-sony-to-replace-incompatible-dvds.html)

Thanks,
Pony

[drshame]

Tried a Sony/Homeburned disk in my Series 2 Humax Tivo tonight.

It hung on the Loading" screen and froze my cable-TV Picture.

I couldn't even get a "Tivo" Menu Screen and unplugged and restarted several times...after pulling the plug.

I kept getting the "Wecome, Powering Up Screen..after the "Almost There" it recycled to the Powering Up " Screen and was apparently stuck in a "Loop".

I was able to open the DVD Cover plate and find the wide button on the lower right of the mechanism and fortunately after pushing it with the power on..the DVD ejected and I was able to get a regular "Power Up" and recycle normally.


WHAT A PAIN IN THE *SS!

This is definaelty a design glitch, (DEFECT) that Tivo, Humax or Sony needs to get corrected and INFORM THEIR CUSTOMERS!!!!

[MighTiVo]

Hi guys,
Sorry you ran into this (I've noticed it recently myself at home, on non-TiVo product), but it is not an issue with your TiVo box.

Here's an article discussing the Sony issue. (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070418-sony-to-replace-incompatible-dvds.html)

Thanks,
Pony

Sounds like the TiVo issue is crashing and reboot loop, did you experience that in the other non-TiVo product or simply the inability to read the disk?

About 5 years ago I had a Philips DVD player that didn't like a Disney disk due to copy protection and it simply ejected the disk refusing to read it.

Disney sent me a replacement movie and Phillips sent me a disk to update the firmware.

My Humax just had the same issue with a 20th Centrury Fox Movie Garfield A Tail of two Kitties. It was a real chore tyring to get the DVD back out, I couldn't find the manual eject and it took me about 20min to get the timing right to catch the eject button in the fleeting second that is is active during the crash/reboot cycle.

[nirisahn]

Mine hasn't gotten stuck in the reboot loop, bit it will stop responding to the remote. I can get the movie started, but once the movie starts playing, I can't rewind, fast forward, pause, go to the menu, or anything else until I manually eject the disk and restart the TiVo. I'll have to start paying attention to what brand the disk is when this happens.

[dubluv]

I just wanted to share this piece of information I discovered last night...


I inserted a DVD into the Humax, and after a few seconds of trying to read it, the TIVO crashed (no error message), and kept going into a boot loop, would keep cycling through the "welcome, Powering up" and "Almost there" message, and just before it should have kicked over to the animation and main screen, it would reboot (I could hear the hard drive making god awful noises). Thinking to myself that I have never had any problems with the unit to date otherwise and given this was so sudden, I doubted it was a failed hard drive.

So it turns out that if the DVD you insert can't be read, it will just keep cycling. The eject button on the front panel does not work until the Tivo is finished booting all the way. So I just wanted to share with you all how to get the DVD out if you have too:

(Please note to be careful using this method or you could void your warranty)

1. Take a screwdriver (even a writing pen might work, but i found a flathead screwdrier made it easy), insert it ever so slightly in the upper right or left hand corner, and GENTLY pull the front panel that has the "DVD" symbol on it towards you and downward.

2. You will now see the actual DVD drive. If you look down to the right, under the drive, there is a long slender button. This is the drive's true eject button. You can press it and the DVD drive will open as long as the power is on the TIVO.

3. Remove the DVD, close the drive, turn the power off the TIVO, wait 30 seconds, and then turn back on.

If the DVD was really the problem, all should work fine now. I just wanted to share this because my heart kinda stopped when my TIVO kept boot looping without knowing how to get one of my fav DVDs out of it. Hope this helps someone, and sorry if there is another post out there already covering this. :)

thank you!
thank you!
thank you!
thank you!
thank you! i just searched here and found your post. just happened to my drt400, and it was the dvd that caused it recyle thru the boot loop. opened the door, as you stated, and i was able to eject the disc and all is well in humax land. (now if we can just figure out the random freezes and reboots, all will be ok) thanx again for posting this. would have pulled the drive out or unplugged it to see if i could get the box to start up. much easier to just remove the offending disc. btw, it was not a sony dvd.:up::up::up::up::up:

[denkiboy]

January 4, 2009

Thank you for posting your comments. I had the exact same problem. I inserted a copied DVD of a movie on a Memorex DVD and my Humax Tivo immediately went into an 8 hour cycle/recycle of "Welcome, Powering Up" and "Almost there".

I unplugged it, turned off the cable feed, etc, etc. Nothing worked.

Worried that it was a broken HDD. It wasn't. It was simply popping out the DVD using an opened paper clip into the tiny hole on the DVD drive, and then the damn thing finished the boot up sequence and now works correctly.

denkiboy
NYC

[jhatfield]

I have done some searching here, but I haven't found what I'm looking for. Are there any firmware upgrades for the actual dvd burner available so that it will recognize more disks? Most of the disks I've tried are fine, but the first one I put in after purchasing the unit caused a reboot loop. It took me a while to figure out how to get it out of there and I was afraid I'd bought a bad unit.

[reneenc]

I just wanted to say Thank you for posting this! I woke up this morning not being able to sleep and thought I would watch a DVD that we rented...then the reboot loop started. I had just starting researching what it would cost to replace our tivo when I stumpled upon your post. You just saved me well over $500 and now I don't have to explain to my husband that I broke the tivo! Thank you Thank you Thank you! I can't say it enough!