DM600 won't format hard disk drive

[easysat]

I've installed a 160GB 2.5" drive in my DM600. The box sees the disk and I can read the manufacturer's details (it's a Western Digital model), so I assume the cable is correctly fitted (red stripe to pin 1). Incidentally, the cable isn't keyed, so it would be possible to connect it wrongly.

However when I try to format the disk, I get an on screen message saying something like "Please wait, this can take several minutes". Even if I leave it alone for a whole day the formatting never finishes and I have to unplug the power to restart the box. As far as I can see, the box tries to format in "ext3" file system.

I've tried both the latest official software and Gemini but I still get the same problem. I also tried with a link on the right pins to force the disk drive to "cable select" and also with no link, which should make the disk a master.

Any ideas?

Next I am going to try formatting the disk on a PC before reinstalling in the DM600, but first I need a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter cable.

 

[HB13DISH]

There were several reports this month about having problems with HDD in 600S.
Could the HDD be faulty? Can you try another one with smaller size?
If you have a friend who has a similar receiver, you can try requesting him to format it for you in his box, instead of messing about with formatting using a PC with the need for adapter and you end up with the wrong formatting anyway.
Or take to to satellite shop and ask them to format it for you.

 

[dig deep]

If the drive is brand new it could be a good idea to format it using a PC

Then, when You put it in the box You must format it again this time using linux but some hd´s are hard to format the first time so it is a good idea to try it

 

[compufunk]

Also, if you are having trouble when formatting in the dreambox, its a good idea to use telnet. Using the command line, you will see error messages which will help you find the problem.

These messages are not printed to the TV screen.

Unmount the disk before you format.

umount /hdd

Command to format the disk.

mkfs.ext3 /dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part1

 

[easysat]

Thanks for the helpful comments.

I tested the disk in a PC and it works perfectly. I also tried formatting it with ext3, fat32 and NTFS before putting it back in the DM600. This time the DM600 appears to format using the DM600 menu (although it only takes a 2 or 3 minutes) but then it comes back with a message along the lines of "disk is initialized but has an unknown file system".

I also tried formatting with a telnet session. The format command seems to work (takes more than ten minutes for the 160G but it gives an error message when I try and mount the disk after formatting. I tried both typing the commands myself and using the built-in scripts in "Dreambox Control Center" so I don't think the syntax is wrong.

I wanted to try another disk to see if there is a compatibility issue with the WD disk. However I can't find the only other 2.5" P-ATA/IDE drive in my possession (that's what comes from moving house every six months!).

I think there must be a hardware fault or at least a dodgy cable in my DM600.

 

[easysat]

This time the DM600 appears to format using the DM600 menu (although it only takes a 2 or 3 minutes) but then it comes back with a message along the lines of "disk is initialized but has an unknown file system".

I took another look and here is some more detail on the on-screen messages.

First it says: "formatting hard disk... please wait while initializing hardidsk. This might take some minutes."

Then after just over one minute, a message flashes on the screen (which I didn't notice before as it is so quick): "creating filesystem failed."

Finally it gives message with the harddisk details and says: "connected: master, status: intialized, but unknown filesystem"

 

[Digital.Diablo]

I've had a similar problem with my new DM600 - my 80GB drive just wouldn't format!
One other thing you can check is to telnet onto the box and type dmesg - this shows you any kernel messages/errors generated. I was getting /dev/hda messages all over the shop.

I've stuck a 30GB in for now, whilst I try and resurrect the 80GB I'm pretty sure should be working.

 

[easysat]

My 2.5" drive works fine in a DM7000S (with a suitable 44-pin to 40-pin + Molex power adaptor cable).

I am now certain that the DM600 has a hardware fault, most likely two data bits on the P-ATA signals are shorted. The disk manufacturer's details read by the DM600 are "wDC wD160bEvE..." when it should be all capitals "WDC WD160BEVE..." as on the DM7000. As this data is read back from the drive in ASCII format, one of the data bits is high giving a lowercase character when the drive sent the ASCII character in uppercase.

Dream Multimedia's helpful technical support also confirmed it is most likely a hardware fault so I'll send the box back to the dealer in Germany.

 

[avr-rulez]

Hi guys

I also had the above formatting problem.

Tried formatting overnight, like 8 hours later..

I opened my DM600 and found the IDE cable plug soldered in the pcb to be poorly soldered. It actually looked like someone had gone-over the pins manually.

I re-worked the connections and that sorted my problem out.

Formatted a 60Gig HDD in a few minutes. All good so far.

btw the SCART connector was intermittent also. Re-worked the pins and all good also.

AVR

 

[addee]

Hi, also have 600 with the same problem.

It is 2 years old so no warranty is valid, or?

I tried HDD i the begining, but did try more when i could not solve this error.

Can i fix this problem myself? Can someone descibe how?

 

[easysat]

I tried a different disk drive in my DM600 and this time it worked. In the end I didn't send the box back to the dealer, I just reused the 'non-working' disk drive in my portable storage case, where it works just fine.

The disk drive that worked in the DM600 is much older, a smaller capacity and a different make (Toshiba 60G. There must be some difference between the disk drive interfaces. The one that didn't work in the DM600 probably has a lower output drive or some faster timing that upsets the box.

By the way, I didn't check the connector soldering but that should be worth a try as well.