Not detecting HDD

I just finally got my Z2000 Pro. I have a WD 16TB HDD that I formatted with a docking station. When I put it in the player I can hear it running. When I go to sources I select storage. It then gives me all these folder options which are not on my hardrive. I have my movies stored in one folder named "movies" I select scan but it doesn't find anything. What is going on here?

 

"Storage" is the internal system storage. Assuming it's the same as a z9x pro the HDD should show as a separate option in the sources list with whatever the name on the disk partition is

 

It needs to be GPT partitioned drive with a single partition on I believe, NTFS or exFat format should work.

 

I formatted it with GPT and NTFS. Not sure about it being a single partition.

 

Looking at the drive it looks like a single partition.

 

Looking at this thread http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?threads/internal-hdd-in-z20-pro-not-visible.96545/ NTFS might be bugged, you can try reformatting as exFat

 

My z2000 came with this firmware 1.0.52 . Strangely when I went to update, it said it had the latest version? Isn't the latest version 1.0.75?
I guess I can try to reformat to exFat.

 

You might need to tick the beta update box to get 1.0.75 OTA.. or download it and update manually.

 

Do you think I should try this before reformatting my hard drive. Maybe the updated firmware will solve this?

 

No harm in trying

 

I don't use an external drive for my my Z2000 Pro, just an internal. But the inability too see and manage NTFS shares over SMB was solved in 1.0.65 (and works fine in 1.0.75 too). So keep NTFS and update fw to 1.0.65 or 1.0.75.

(OTA seems to be hit-and-miss, I had to update to 1.0.75 manually even though it was said to be available via OTA, and I have the Beta box checked).

 

OTA servers come and go as mentioned earlier. Most of the times, they are not available for beta versions. Anyway you always have the download link as shown in first page.

 

Thanks. I have an internal drive that was formatted with a usb docking station. I actually reformatted to Exfat but haven't tried it yet. Is there any advantage of using NTFS vs. Exfat? It took a while to reformat because I had to offload all my movies first. I need to update the firmware as well but will probably just leave as Exfat unless NTFS is better.
Guess I should have updated the firmware first

 

Yeah, disregarding the software (SW) quality (and going somewhat off topic), Zidoo should really adjust (improve) their SW management (version handling and distribution).

So, to Zidoo: please make it simple for the customers to understand the state of the SW by adhering to standard practices on how to handle the software lifecycle, and version denominations.

Use Alpha's for limited testing (e.g. 1.0.75 Alpha), Beta's for wider testing (Beta 1, Beta 2 etc if there are several Betas targeting the same Release version), so e.g. 1.0.75 Beta 1.

Once enough issue are deemed fixed from the QA cycle for this target release, issue a Release version is the outcome of the Beta phase, and last version of that branch, i.e. 1.0.75.

And publish it on your site + via OTA

Then start a new Alpha/Beta cycle with a new scope of fixes, changes and improvements, with a new version #, so e.g. 1.0.80 Alpha.

I became a Zidoo user 4 months ago or so and it seems that 10.0.52 (which is still the latest version published on Zidoo's own page) never made it "out of" Beta either, or did I miss an announcement of a "release" version of it when searching the forums? I was onboard when the 1.0.65 Beta was released so I know that it was never "released" out of Beta and was instead superseded by the 1.0.75 Beta.

I've seen the argument that this way of handling is because software will always have bugs (and thus somehow always be in "Beta"). That there will always be bugs is absolutely true, for the vast majority of all software in the world. But it is still not constantly called "Beta".

Anyway, in my opinion none of this is reason to have such a confusing and obscure way of managing version handling, it just makes it more difficult for customers to keep up with (and understand) this aspect of it all.

On distribution, if your OTA setup is so hit-and-miss as it seems, please fix it, or announce OTA distribution with a disclaimer "Might be available via OTA, if it's not offered to you that way please download and install manually".

My 2¢, end of venting

 

NTFS is somehow better in terms of recovery and disk management. Windows disk Error Checking and Repair program can repair NTFS drives if the table gets corrupted. If you don't have complete back up of your collection you should probably stick to NTFS. ExFat is a simple format designed for smaller devices like USB thumb drives and portable between PC and MAC.

The common issue when Zidoo doesn't see the local drive is multiple portions specially small system partitions in front of the main one. You have to make sure that you only have one partition. Some of those small system partitions are not visible in Windows PC. You would need programs like GParted or similar in order to remove the system partition. Your data will stay intact.

 

Thanks. I guess I will reformat back to NTFS based on your statement.
Here is a picture of the formated drive, before I reformatted to Exfat. It seems to me it only has one partition, but I am not an expert.

 

Does it work now using ExFat?

Windows Disk Manager doesn’t always show all partitions. If the disk works with Zidoo you can leave it as is or go for a better option NTFS.

If the disc is still missing from Zidoo file explorer (Media Centre) you should try different program for partition management.

 

Sorry for the late reply. I reformatted to NTFS. I am away for a bit so won't be able to check it out for a couple days. I am going to update the firmware to 1.0.75 when I get back. I assume it's the same as any firmware minus NOT unzipping the file. Plug the usb to the back panel and update.

BTW, did you ever figure out how to send or watch movies from one Zidoo HDD to another Zidoo?
I was thinking of getting a 9x Pro for my upstairs LG C1. I think you said it was possible, but there was some lag time in starting a movie.

 

STILL WILL NOT RECOGNIZE DRIVE!! I reformatted to NTFS, upgraded to 1.0.75 and it still does not see my internal drive. What do I do now?!
This shouldn't be this difficult!

 

Did you ever try exFat?