Sony RDR-HXD970 stuck in 'Update' (again!)

[No_Pic]

Hi

Has anyone else got this well-known issue with the older RDR-HX#### hard disk recorders this morning? Mine got stuck during the EPG update on Sun night/Mon a.m (from London Crystal Palace transmitter).

Last issue was around May 2014 which caused national problems for Sony hard disk owners. Caused previously by a faulty EPG update and wasn't resolved until the faulty EPG was corrected.

Anyone else got this again today or has my much-loved recorder finally bitten the dust?

Cheers

[Mooly01]

I have an 870 that is currently fine and I also have a 970 (recent aquisition) that is also OK, in fact both are recording right now.

Are you using the latest firmware (latest but still old) ?

https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/home-video-dvd-players-recorders/rdr-hxd970/downloads/Z00...

 I haven't heard of any current issues and the main threads relating to these excellent machines are all quiet.

If you get no joy then try a factory reset. All HDD content will be preserved. 

[No_Pic]

Hi Mooly01

Thanks for the confirmation that your systems are OK. Helps in the diagnostic process. Mine is good for the latest (new/old) 1.70 firmware from the previous times it has happened (July 2013 a couple of times and May 2014 IIRC).

Have tried the full reset but it just went back to 'update' at the 1000 and 1400 broadcasts. I have taken it out of the update loop for now. Will leave it for the early morning update overnight (not sure if that is 0300 or 0500) and see if it is behaving itself in the a.m.

I've had the machine since 2007 so it doesn't owe me anything but, if it is kaput, I shall be sad to see it go as has been a really good bit of kit (apart from the occasional temperamental EPG issues!) .

Cheers

[Mooly01]

Fingers crossed... let us know how it goes.

I've just looked at the main threads over on AVForums and they are quiet. If there were a general issue then that is where it would all kick off, and I can't see anything.

So you have tried the reset (press and hold Stop first and then pressing standby). Worth trying again, this time with no aerial connected. Go through the channel scan and that will clear all the placeholders as it tries and finds nothing. Then reset again and try with the aerial connected.

What else... there is a backup feature (capacitor) that keeps the memory alive but I'm not sure how long for. It would be worth leaving it unplugged for 48 hours to see if that does anything if it is still not right.

Make sure there are no timer settings lurking. They should all go with a reset but its worth checking. Another user on here reported issues when the clocks went forward but it resolved itself.

Don't give up on it yet. 

[No_Pic]

Hi Mooly01

Thanks for your reply and suggestions. The problem is indeed confined to my device only. Checked with a friend nearby who also has one. He had no issues.

Stuck in 'Update' first thing this morning after overnight EPG broadcast but I had done some more reading yesterday evening on past solutions and tried some more things before 1000 EPG broadcast today.

As of 1000 EPG broadcast it now seems to be working OK (i.e. it took the 1000 EPG broadcast then went back into standby again instead of looping in 'Update')

For the benefit of anyone else who may read this in the future with a similar problem, here's what I did (based on various other posts from other people from some time ago) .....

1. Full reset (hold Stop button on front panel, then press Power button on front panel). This puts the device back into factory startup
2. Removed aerial lead from back of device.
3. Powered on device and did the 'Easy Setup' (but with no aerial) so no channels detected
4. Full reset again and then removed the power plug from the wall (totally disconnected power)
5. Left it for 30 mins
6. Powered on again (still with no aerial in) and followed 3 to 5 above for a second time
7. Reconnected aerial and started it up for a third time and this time went through the normal Easy Setup

During 7. above it was starting from zero channels already detected and came up with a totally different number of new channels to what it had before. On the the next EPG broadcast it worked OK.

As to what caused this ..... could be several possibilities but I have no idea which.

* We recently have a big Freeview re-tune in this area
* Also clocks changing might be a possibility
* Also, on the day it happened, the Sony picked up a whole bunch of remote/distant TV channels (which happens a few times a year under and under certain weather conditions)

As you have rightly suggested, I think there is something in the Sony (for memory backup) which retains certain settings relating to channels/EPG (even after a factory reset). I think it was some combination of tuning with no aerial connected plus the full power-off for 30 minutes which seems to have fixed it and cleared down whatever was causing the problem.

Thanks for your help and advice. I'm happy it is back working again, for now! Just have to re-program all of those timer settings into it now!!

Cheers

[Mooly01]

That's excellent news. 

These are imo one of the best bits of kit Sony (or any other manufacturer come to that) have ever produced.

[galpat]

My RDR-HXD970 is also stuck with 'Update' written on its front, but it won't turn on.  Nothing happened with Stop and Power buttons, so I tried unplugging it for awhile.  After I plugged it back in, it still said Update, but now when I try to turn it on or press Stop and Power it says 'Locked' for a second before going back to Update.  Help!

[galpat]

I now have this problem too.  Stuck on Update, won't turn on or anything.  I tried the Stop and Power button thing; no joy.  Tried unplugging it for a while and plugging back in.  Now trying to turn it on or pressing Stop and Power produces the word Locked, but nothing else.  Help.

[Mooly01]

Does anything happen if you hold the front panel power down for several seconds (perhaps as many as 10 or 15 seconds).

[No_Pic]

Hi galpat

First you have to break the loop of the ‘Update’. To do this hold the power button down until the unit breaks out of update and begins to switch off (it will look as if it is turning off and you will hear the hard drive power down). Then give the power button another quick press (you might need to try this process a couple of times if you are not quick enough with the second button press as it shuts down).

If the above succeeds, you should break out of the update loop and the Sony should start up normally and allow you to access menus etc.

Which part of the world are you in? I am in Hertfordshire and receiving on the Crystal Palace transmitter (which this week has been on reduced power I believe for some services). Even today, I got another ‘channel update’ notification from the Sony when I turned it on. There have been lots of Freeview channel updates going on here which I think is part of the problem. It seems to affect different people in different ways/times. My friend, nearby, who I mentioned above originally had no problems is now stuck in the update loop today.

If you break out of the update loop you can then try the numbered list above to see if that helps. Unfortunately, you have to wait until the next EPG comes around to see if it has worked!

I later found that I got stuck in the loop again but also noticed that I was receiving several distant signals from a transmitter in Sandy, Beds on RF channel 24 carrying ITV and ITV+1 on digital stations 800 and 801. In the distant past (analogue TV days) I seem to recall ITV used to carry the EPG information. Not sure if that is true now.

There is a ‘skip’ function on the Sony to lock out unwanted channels so I locked out these ‘ghost’ channels.

Since then my Sony has been fine (touch wood) for several days. So …..

1. Try to break out of the update following first paragraph in this reply
2. Try the numbered suggestions 1 to 7 above

Wait until the next EPG update (which will be the overnight one tonight) see if that helps.

Cheers