HD reboots at specific point playing a show

tlc · 06-18-2012, 11:35 PM

Our HD rebooted tonight. After it booted, I watched a different show with no problem.

Then I went to finish the show that the reboot happened. The show did not have a position saved. I started at the beginning, jumped to the end, rewound back and started watching just before the reboot. It rebooted again when I hit the same spot.

I went again and rewound to just after the problem and finished the show from there.

So, bad hard drive? Anything to do besides replace it?

It was an HD show. I would hope that even a horribly corrupted MPEG could not trigger a reboot.

MeInDallas · 06-18-2012, 11:38 PM

Run the S.M.A.R.T. test on the hard drive and see if there are any problems with it. Reboot the Tivo and when you see the yellow light come on the front hit "pause 54" to go into the test screen and run the test. It can take several hours depending on what size hard drive you have.

FeliciaCorrine · 06-19-2012, 05:14 AM

In most cases, rebooting is due to a bad hard drive. The point during the process where the TiVo reboots is when the Linux operating system encounters a problem. As a way to try to recover, the system is built to reboot when it encounters a problem major enough that it can’t continue. The goal of the reboot is that the system is hoping that the drive problem encountered was temporary, and that on the next retry, the drive will perform properly. It may also happen when TiVo is overheated. But rebooting more frequently is a cause for concern, and is generally an indication that the hard drive in the TiVo needs to be replaced.

WhiskeyTango · 06-19-2012, 09:22 AM

It could just be one bad sector for the time being. Save the recording that caused the reboot and see if it happens again in the future. I have a recording like that on my HD right now. I have it as KUID so that bad sector can't be used again. I had seen a few reboots in the weeks leading up to this recording as I watched and deleted shows. Haven't seen another since I locked up this recording.

tlc · 06-19-2012, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhiskeyTango

It could just be one bad sector for the time being. Save the recording that caused the reboot and see if it happens again in the future. I have a recording like that on my HD right now. I have it as KUID so that bad sector can't be used again. I had seen a few reboots in the weeks leading up to this recording as I watched and deleted shows. Haven't seen another since I locked up this recording.

Nice idea. I deleted it last night, but it's probably still recoverable.

I don't suppose the Tivo filesystem checks for and marks bad blocks on boot..

tlc · 06-19-2012, 12:11 PM

Does "Pause 54" (SMART) mark any bad blocks so the OS avoids them? Or just tell you that the drive has issues? Does it wipe recordings?

Thanks all

bshrock · 06-19-2012, 04:26 PM

Most modern drives automatically swap out problem sectors with a sector from a spare group on the next write. When the OS sees a bad sector that usually means the spare table is full and the drive could not swap it out. The drive will probably continue to get worse.

Due to data density "Soft" bad reads are normal to overcome this the drive's firmware is set to re-read a bad sector 10 or more times attempting to get a valid read before reporting the failure to the OS and tagging the sector as a problem. Most OS's will re-read the problem sector 10 or more times hoping to get a valid read that is why a failing drive can cause data starvation during playback or slow down a PC.

I suggest that you run the SMART tests that MeInDallas pointed you to if the spare table is full there will be more problems in the future. You can start it and let it run over-nite.

bshrock · 06-19-2012, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlc

Does "Pause 54" (SMART) mark any bad blocks so the OS avoids them? Or just tell you that the drive has issues? Does it wipe recordings?

Thanks all

Kickstart 54 (Link to WeaKnees) runs several checks looking for errors and reports pass or fail. One of the tests read the entire drive and may re-write some of setors on the drive. Unless there is a catastrophic failure no changes are made to the drive your programs and data are preserved.

If it fails the SMART test pull the drive and run or have someone run the manufactures (boot from CD) diagnostics on it.

farmermac · 06-20-2012, 10:56 AM

Op

Is this a factory drive or upgraded?

Either way I'd pull it and run a surface test on it using manufacturer software. That will mark bad sectors off and give you a report to get a diagnostics on this drive instead of guessing.

tlc · 06-20-2012, 06:17 PM

Upgraded 1TB drive.

It failed the quicker SMART tests. I didn't wait for the last one. It'll have to do for a couple of weeks while we're on vacation. When I get back I'll look at cloning.

dlfl · 06-21-2012, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bshrock

......If it fails the SMART test pull the drive and run or have someone run the manufactures (boot from CD) diagnostics on it.

Just an FYI: You don't always have to boot from CD to run mfr's diagnostics. Western Digital provides diagnostics that run in Windows and the drive can either be connected via a USB-SATA adapter or directly to a SATA connector on the mother board. The tests take 2 or 3 times longer when using the USB adapter but just let it run overnight.

L David Matheny · 06-21-2012, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlc

It failed the quicker SMART tests. I didn't wait for the last one. It'll have to do for a couple of weeks while we're on vacation. When I get back I'll look at cloning.

A failing hard drive may be on a slippery slope, getting worse over time and liable to plunge into complete failure at any time. I wouldn't wait. Time is data.

tlc · 07-07-2012, 12:19 PM

Well, after a week of considering 1TB vs 2TB replacement drives, 2TB upgrade techniques and whether this should be an excuse to upgrade to a Premiere....

a kickstart 57 fixed the drive, as confirmed* by a kickstart 54.

Where "confirmed" means passed the SMART tests except for I'm only 630 minutes into the estimated 340 minute Off-line scan. I may have to give up on this one...

Thanks all

unitron · 07-09-2012, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlc

Well, after a week of considering 1TB vs 2TB replacement drives, 2TB upgrade techniques and whether this should be an excuse to upgrade to a Premiere....

a kickstart 57 fixed the drive, as confirmed* by a kickstart 54.

Where "confirmed" means passed the SMART tests except for I'm only 630 minutes into the estimated 340 minute Off-line scan. I may have to give up on this one...

Thanks all

KS 54 is about checking the drive's physical health.

57 and 58 are about checking the health of what's on the drive.

You can have a drive that passes all the hardware tests but still have software on it that got scrambled somehow.