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Greetings all,
post #1 – be gentle.
My dear old Mum (just turned 82) has been using a PVR-9300T I bought her (used but mint) for the last 5-6 years and … it’s been utterly reliable, almost faultless, barring one or two occasions it ‘hung’ and needed unplugging for a few minutes.
The saying is “if it ain’t broke ….” but I really feel that the time might be right for some preventative maintenance consisting of;
– a new Seagate 320GB Pipeline HDD, identical to current one. I’ve acquired a genuinely brand new one (NOT a ‘refurb’ with the SMART data reset). I’ve already run fairly exhaustive tests in the form of a long format, two zero-fills and a surface scan, i.e. four complete, beginning-to-end platter sweeps.
(Over the years, building PC’s, I’ve convinced myself that this ‘soak testing’ not only weeds out defective drives but actually ‘conditions’ the moving parts of an HDD before they’re worked hard with constant read/writes).
– replacing the larger electrolytic caps on the PSU board, which I gather drift out of spec and create problems down stream.
So a couple of questions;
does the 9300T have other known weak points that can be preemptively fixed?
Honest opinions – is it worth the work? Or are we better off just waiting for the day (which must surely sooner rather than later) that we have to get her a new PVR?
Mark777 – 31 mins ago »
The saying is “if it ain’t broke ….” but I really feel that the time might be right for some preventative maintenance consisting of;
– a new Seagate 320GB Pipeline HDD, identical to current one.
Have you looked at the SMART data on the existing drive? If so what are the power on hours and number of reallocated sectors?
does the 9300T have other known weak points that can be preemptively fixed?
There is an issue that is reported occasionally with saving setup data to NVRAM which suggests the NVRAM has reached end of life. I don’t think anybody has a solution and it isn’t particularly common. There is also a problem with glitchy playback on certain programmes (presumably because of the way they are encoded) but I assume that isn’t an issue for the programmes your mum watches.
Honest opinions – is it worth the work? Or are we better off just waiting for the day (which must surely sooner rather than later) that we have to get her a new PVR?
If your mum is happy with it then carry on with the 9300T but the later Humax recorders are better PVRs. It really is your call.
Martin Liddle – 1 hour ago »
If your mum is happy with it then carry on with the 9300T but the later Humax recorders are better PVRs. It really is your call.
And then only if she can manage with the new EPG and the concept of catchup TV.
To reiterate your phrase, and one I use myself on occasions, If it ain’t broke then don’t fix it.
Trev – 56 mins ago »
And then only if she can manage with the new EPG and the concept of catchup TV.
To reiterate your phrase, and one I use myself on occasions, If it ain’t broke then don’t fix it.
I was thinking an HDR-2000T would be an easier update for her.
Hi Martin,
Have you looked at the SMART data on the existing drive? If so what are the power on hours and number of reallocated sectors?
Haven’t removed the old drive yet, so no, but I will. But even if it’s 100% it’s difficult not to see a fully tested new HDD as preferable to a multi-1000 hour one. Then again…
There is an issue that is reported occasionally with saving setup data to NVRAM which suggests the NVRAM has reached end of life. I don’t think anybody has a solution and it isn’t particularly common.
That sounds like it would be The End, but given the PVR hasn’t really been thrashed (“one lady owner”), hopefully it isn’t approaching that point (as with everything else that might simply wear out, I guess).
There is also a problem with glitchy playback on certain programmes (presumably because of the way they are encoded) but I assume that isn’t an issue for the programmes your mum watches.
She’s never mentioned having any problems, AFAIK the box obediently records series on the Beeb or elsewhere, and skips briskly through ads on the commercial channels.
If your mum is happy with it then carry on with the 9300T but the later Humax recorders are better PVRs. It really is your call.
Indeed. I guess that having read up here and on another forum, where people are often reporting hardware problems, it tends to make one think that the 10 year old 9300T’s demise must be imminent. As the saying goes; “procrastinate now!”.
Trev – 1 day ago »
Martin Liddle – 1 hour ago »
If your mum is happy with it then carry on with the 9300T but the later Humax recorders are better PVRs. It really is your call.
And then only if she can manage with the new EPG and the concept of catchup TV.
To reiterate your phrase, and one I use myself on occasions, If it ain’t broke then don’t fix it.
I guess we could just wait until it actually shows symptoms, but having obtained the new (old stock) Seagate I think I’ll swap it in anyway – if the original one checks out as healthy it’s always there as a spare.
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