SVR-HTD500 won't start. Banner page only, no menu, no response to remote. Suggestions?

[ToneDeff]

The SVR-HTD500 is 14 months old. It has been turned off every night, as is the habit of many older people, and extreme energy-savers. About a month ago it failed to start up when switched on, displaying only the banner "High Definition Hard Disk Recorder" and does not seem to respond to the remote control, which still controls the Sony TV. A visit to the retailer confirmed that ,with his aerial and power adaptor and remote control, the SVR failed the same way, and he suspects that hard disk is not starting. The broadband UHF aerial section appears to be warm and does not block a signal, but the signal is worse than a direct aerial connection to the TV.

Is it more likely that a hard disk failure is a stopping bootup from completing, or that a different fault is causing it to fail to start and not get to the point where it starts the disk? (The answer to this question determines whether I open the box to try to fix it, or try to reason with the retailer/Sony about an untampered-with SVR)

The white light in the centre of the front panel flashes at about 0.5Hz for 50 seconds after  switching on at the power button, or after pressing the reset for 3 seconds. After 50seconds at 0.5Hz,  the flash rate increases to about 1Hz. The SVR cannot be powered-off from its power button.

The retailer suggested that the recorder may have partly completed an on-air upgrade in June/July. I've tried leaving the SVR-HTD500 on and connected an broadband UHF aerial that I know supplies HD programmes, in the hope of receiving tyhe recent an over-air update. http://www.dtg.org.uk/industry/download_schedule.php. It didn't work, but it was long-shot as it the SVR appears to not be in a fit state to receive an update.

I've also connected a USB update on a stick, as on http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/SVR-HDT500/downloads/svr_8585, but the box doesn't automatically read the USB stick and doesn't offer any menu screens for me to request USB update. Is the retailer possibly right about the box being permanently disabled by an incomplete over-air update?

[Anonymous]

Depending on warrenties etc that you may or may not have, as you said, it maybe hdd prob. At least a hardwate failure. I would log a fault with Sony for one of their repare centres to have a look at it

[Anonymous]

Oh.. Have you tried pressing the reset button under the front panel for 5 seconds with a pen?

[ToneDeff]

Thanks for both suggestions. 5 sec reset is no more successful than 3 sec, but it prompted me to try the reset with the USB update stick inserted. After playing around, I found that the SVR reports System Update and flashes both red REC lights if the the content of the update zip is extracted to the to the top level of the USB,  the USB plugged in the rear socket, and the SVR is started or reset..

With the USB update stick in the rear socket, the hard disk spins up after starting or resetting the SVR .The SVR was left for 8 hours in the System Update state, alternating its REC1 and REC2 indicators, with its disk whirring, and with the USB stick's activity light on constantly, but no permanent good seems to have come of it. Also the front panel off button works, cause the SVN to power-down about 20 seconds after it has been pressed. There is no response to the off button except in System Update state.

In the 4.21.r8585.zip, the rc.user file is a shell script (linux?) that controls the update. Before I try hacking this script to find out the SVR's activity and why the script leaves the SVR in the System Update state, does anyone know whether  other files in the zip constitute a complete system restore or just a patch?

Message was edited by: ToneDeff

[ToneDeff]

It's looking increasingly likely that the hardware is working and that the software had somehow been corrupted either in normal use, or during an over-air update. I can't see where the user manual advises that the unit should normally be left on when not in use, or where it mentions possible permanent corruption of the SVR by a power-cut (an act of man or God) occuring during an over-air update.

The retailer told me that it would cost £85 for Sony to even look at it, which I feel is unreasonable in the circumstances. I'm not imporessed that the same retailer had advised the owner that the insurance was poor value because SVRs don't go wrong, but is now unwilling to stand by that advice and offer the SVR a free journey to the repair centre.