Full Instructions for upgrading Humax HDR FOX-T2 to 2TB hard drive

brookheather

Distinguished Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2005
Messages
5,666
Reaction score
1,017
Points
1,186
Location
London
I thought I would start a new thread with full instructions on how to upgrade the hard drive in a Humax HDR FOX-T2 from 500GB/1TB to 2TB. I will revise this post with any feedback from others who upgrade.

These instructions will preserve any recorded programs on your old hard drive. Your scheduled recordings are not kept on the hard drive (they are probably in flash memory on the motherboard). If you don't need to preserve any recordings then it may be possible to just install a new blank hard drive and format it from within the Humax menu - I haven't tried this myself.

Buy a hard drive

The first step is to buy a suitable hard drive. Currently the Samsung F4EG 2TB and Western Digital WD20EARS 2TB drives have been confirmed as working. Both of these drives have the new 4K sectors (advanced format) and so I do not anticipate problems with any other similar hard drives. It is unlikely that the larger 3TB drives will work as they will require the new GPT partition table which isn't compatible with the Humax. These drives are "green" meaning they spin slower and use less power which is good for a PVR.

Scan.co.uk: 2TB Samsung SpinPoint EcoGreen Hard Drive - HD204UI/Z4
Scan.co.uk: 2TB (2000 GB) Western Digital Caviar Green Hard Drive - HDD - WD20EARS

Remove the old hard drive

Before removing the old hard drive ensure you have turned off the box and disconnected it from the mains. Observe standard precautions when working with sensitive electronics by using an earthing strap etc. Following these instructions is all at your own risk!

To remove the old hard drive you first need to remove the lid which is held by three screws on the rear of the case. You will need to break the warranty void sticker to do this. I recommend using a magnetic tipped screwdriver so you don't lose any of the screws inside the case.

You then need to unplug the hard drive power connector, SATA cable and fan connector. Then remove the four screws holding the hard drive enclosure and then remove the four screws in the enclosure which hold the hard drive. Then remove the combined SATA power/data cable from the hard drive.

Copying to the new hard drive

You will need a PC with two spare SATA power and data cables - you may wish to disconnect the existing drives in a PC for this purpose.

Download PartedMagic ISO image file and burn the image to a CD to create a bootable Linux partition tool:

Download PartedMagic

Connect the old and new hard drives to your PC and boot the PC using the PartedMagic CD. Choose the default start option and run it in RAM - it will then load the Linux image from the CD and drop you into the Linux desktop.

Run the Partition Editor from the icon on the desktop. It will scan your system and on the right has a drop down list of available drives - check that both of the drives are listed.

Select the new Humax hard drive from this list and choose the "Create Partition Table" menu option - you want the default "msdos" option. This will wipe any data on the new hard drive.

Now select the old Humax hard drive from this list (should be shown as just under 500GB in size). You should see three partitions of about 1GB, 460GB and 10GB.

Select the first 1GB partition on the old drive and press the "Copy" button on the toolbar. Then go to the new drive and select the unallocated space and press the "Paste" button.

For the second partition which holds the existing video files you have two choices. If you are unfamiliar with Linux then go with the easy but slow option which is to Copy/Paste the second 460GB partition from the old drive to the new drive. Before pasting the partition you will need to adjust the size to maximise this partition size so enter 10,500MB for the remaining size - this should give you just under 1,900,000MB for the second partition size.

If you are comfortable with Linux then create the second ext3 partition manually - you can then mount it later and copy the video files manually - this is much quicker.

Last step is to copy/paste the third 10GB partition. Looking at the new drive you should see three partitions with a few MB to spare at the end. You now press the "Apply" button to save these changes to the new drive - this will take some time - allow two to three hours if you are copying the whole 460GB partition.

One this operation has completed you can now shutdown the PC and remove the hard drives. You now just need to install the new hard drive in the Humax. Remember to reconnect all three cables including the fan connector. One tip is to install the hard drive in the enclosure on its side - it makes it easier to line up the holes.

When you start your Humax it shouldn't say anything - it will just start as normal. When you go to your Media page it should now show you a significant boost to your free space! If the Humax asks to format the hard drive then something has gone wrong in following the steps above.

- Simon.
 
Last edited:
Possibly should say that the unit should be off and unplugged from mains before starting. Not quite as essential as with a Topfield, but still a good idea.
 
You will need to break the warranty void sticker to do this
There maybe a way to remove the sticker without breaking it as someone I know will be testing removal of the sticker seal without breaking on the DS ;)

Could be useful if someone wants to try something similar with the DS :thumbsup:
 
There maybe a way to remove the sticker without breaking it as someone I know will be testing removal of the sticker seal without breaking on the DS ;)

Could be useful if someone wants to try something similar with the DS :thumbsup:

Personally I consider a PVR the same as a PC (which it basically is) - opening the case on a PC and upgrading the memory or hard drive on a PC does not invalidate the warranty.

- Simon.
 
Personally I consider a PVR the same as a PC (which it basically is) - opening the case on a PC and upgrading the memory or hard drive on a PC does not invalidate the warranty
Whilst I agree with you that it shouldn't matter, it's better to have an intact seal just in case it needs to be returned to the retailer or manufacturer.
 
Personally I consider a PVR the same as a PC (which it basically is) - opening the case on a PC and upgrading the memory or hard drive on a PC does not invalidate the warranty.

- Simon.

Whilst I agree with you that it shouldn't matter, it's better to have an intact seal just in case it needs to be returned to the retailer or manufacturer.


Hi

I agree with you Simon - and Jeff.

If we can do mods without having to argue all the way through to the European Court of Human Rights that would be nice :Exaggeration:

Looking forward to the results of someones experiment . . .
Pete
 
There maybe a way to remove the sticker without breaking it as someone I know will be testing removal of the sticker seal without breaking on the DS ;)

Could be useful if someone wants to try something similar with the DS :thumbsup:

Warm one end gently with a hair dryer :D
 
Hi Simon

Any chance of a bit more info on the "Mount" bit for the second partition ? Can that be done in PartedMagic too ? Would seem to be able to save a lot of time potentially.

Sorry - Limited knowledge of Linux :(

If it is too big a subject no worries as the above info is just great anyway.
Cheers
Pete
 
Hi Simon

Any chance of a bit more info on the "Mount" bit for the second partition ? Can that be done in PartedMagic too ? Would seem to be able to save a lot of time potentially.

Sorry - Limited knowledge of Linux :(

If it is too big a subject no worries as the above info is just great anyway.
Cheers
Pete

Yes there is an icon on the desktop to run the Mount Devices program - see the "desktop" screen-shot here:

Screen Shots

Once you have mounted the old and new main partitions you will need to bring up a terminal window (use LXTerminal under Accessories program menu) and you will need to use something like this:

# cp -r "/dev/sda2/My Video/*" "/dev/sdb2/My Video/"

where /dev/sda2 is the old partition and /dev/sdb2 is the new partition - you can see the correct names in the Partition Editor window and on the Mount Devices windows.

- Simon.
 
Last edited:
can this be done on a 9300T, my hard drive in there is not recording anything even though it shows 20% free and a 2TB drive would be handy.
 
Exactly what I was thinking, hairdryer & stanley knife :D

Mk1 fingernail works just fine :D. Once cool it sticks back on again. (Well it does on a foxsat-hdr so unless they have changed the glue :eek:)
 
sounds like childs play?

am i right in thinking that the "copying to new hard drive" section is only necessary if you want to transfer recordings from the original hdd?? or is it needed to set up the various partitions?
 
sounds like childs play?

am i right in thinking that the "copying to new hard drive" section is only necessary if you want to transfer recordings from the original hdd?? or is it needed to set up the various partitions?

I haven't tried just putting a new hard drive into the Humax without partitioning it - there is a format option so it will probably work.
 
anyone tried just the format, i'm tempted but my skills are limited and i dont know linux, its the pc part that sounds the deal breaker for me!!
 
Last edited:
I haven't tried just putting a new hard drive into the Humax without partitioning it - there is a format option so it will probably work.

Hi

As far as I know it will only work upto 1TB - If you want a bigger drive than that you will have to do the PC-Linux stuff !

Pete
 
Did this last night, and it works perfectly :clap:


Can you beleive somebody is selling guides on eBay for £7.50 of how to do this, and their version doesn't even transfer any recorded items to the new disk, they suggest you buy a caddy and plug it into the USB port to access your old recordings... :nono: :rolleyes: :thumbsdow
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
Did this last night, and it works perfectly :clap:


Can you beleive somebody is selling guides on eBay for £7.50 of how to do this, and their version doesn't even transfer any recorded items to the new disk, they suggest you buy a caddy and plug it into the USB port to access your old recordings... :nono: :rolleyes: :thumbsdow

That's a bit naughty, especially where he says this on his listing:

"This is a genuine worldwide exclusive, you won't find the information in this definitive guide anywhere else."

err...yes you can.
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --
Hi am i corect in thinking if i drop in either of the 2 recommended 2TB drives (Scan.co.uk: 2TB Samsung SpinPoint EcoGreen Hard Drive - HD204UI/Z4
Scan.co.uk: 2TB (2000 GB) Western Digital Caviar Green Hard Drive - HDD - WD20EARS)
into a brand new HDR FOX-T2, the box will format it ok?, or is this only good up to 1tb?

Paul
 
Nice One!!

I plan to get one of these Humax boxes and would just upgrade the hard drive to a 2TB Samsung F4 right away - so if the humax formats the drive will it show the full 2TB??

Or will I have to go with the linux partition table stuff that I don't have a clue about??
 
Hi am i corect in thinking if i drop in either of the 2 recommended 2TB drives (Scan.co.uk: 2TB Samsung SpinPoint EcoGreen Hard Drive - HD204UI/Z4
Scan.co.uk: 2TB (2000 GB) Western Digital Caviar Green Hard Drive - HDD - WD20EARS)
into a brand new HDR FOX-T2, the box will format it ok?, or is this only good up to 1tb?

Paul

Pop one in and see ... not like you are going to damage the hard drive and if it doesn't work you can just re-format it in windows.;)
 
Nice One!!

I plan to get one of these Humax boxes and would just upgrade the hard drive to a 2TB Samsung F4 right away - so if the humax formats the drive will it show the full 2TB??

Or will I have to go with the linux partition table stuff that I don't have a clue about??

Hi,

The Humax won't format 2TB as far as I can tell. You will have to follow the Parted Magic method.

I would also say that while the Samsung F4 will work when I tried one in the similar DigitalStream machine the Timeshift buffer would occasionally stop if too many things were going on at once.

I would say use an AV drive such as a WD AV-GP model
WD AV-GP

Seagate Pipeline also work well but only have 1TB max size (but will format natively)

Cheers
Pete
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom