Update on Z9X USB drives <<PLEASE READ>>

Discussion in 'HDD Media player(RTD 1619DR)' started by Markswift2003, Sep 26, 2020.

  1. Markswift2003

    Markswift2003 Well-Known Member SUPER Administrator Beta test group Contributor

    Fantastic - thank you. So it does seem very isolated and only applicable to older drives which is great.

    I've tested a lot of combinations of multiple partition drives over the last few days - NTFS with FAT32, FAT32 with UDF, NTFS with UDF and all have been fine with the Zidoo but you're absolutely right - life is easier with a single partition.

    Hopefully I'll know more next week, but it's not simply the fact of a UDF partition on a drive that causes the boot table to corrupt - there's something else going on. The only thing I can think of is combination of autorun software on what is effectively a CD-Rom but why that would affect Android goodness knows.

    The behaviour seems to change as well (and again, that shoudn't happen!) - the first time, like the original report, the box booted into the Realtek Rescue System. The second time it would start to boot but crash out into U-Boot and the third time it just crashed into a bash prompt, although in that instance I was able to access U-Boot by pressing ESC while booting and the USB rescue system by pressing TAB so recovery was a lot easier.
     
  2. Random_Vibration

    Random_Vibration Active Member

    There comes a point where it really doesn't matter why, nor how. When you have a problem and a probable solution, try the solution instead trying to understand the mechanics of the problem.

    Alot of digital devices that aren't computers don't like storage with more than one partition. The why and how doesn't matter if you know it doesn't play well with it. Instead of trying to understand the mechanics of the problem, just don't use storage with more than one partition. One top of that, you're admittedly using a drive from a decade ago. Maybe it's time to use fresher drives for your 2020 product.

    Honestly, I think you are at that point where it's time to move forward instead looking back for a solution.
     
    McBluna likes this.
  3. Markswift2003

    Markswift2003 Well-Known Member SUPER Administrator Beta test group Contributor

    Wow! You've completely and utterly missed the point.

    I do not use these drives. I am a beta tester for Zidoo and this is an issue that was brought up by a forum member.

    I therefore tried (quite successfully!) to replicate the problem and found that it caused an issue whereby the the only resolution is to solder a UART to the mainboard and access by a terminal emulator through U-Boot and restore through Realtek's Rescue System. (standard recovery procedure does not work)

    Worse than that, in the first instance, the crash bricked the box so badly that the boot table was damaged and had to be rewritten which entailed enlisting the help of another forum member whose Linux skills far outweigh mine.

    I now have a repeatable bug that Zidoo are working on and I also have a workable solution, albeit one that requires a certain amount of technical ability and a good soldering station - but I doubt that most users want to solder a UART to the board and learn the intricacies of U-Boot.

    This thread was posted as a warning and also to glean more information from users with Western Digital devices.

    Also, some of us find this stuff interesting.
     
    pcristi and xskip like this.
  4. Random_Vibration

    Random_Vibration Active Member

    Bottom line for me being that using drives with multiple partitions is bad as it is with my cars, UHD Blu-ray players, Blu-ray players, AV Receivers, TVs, and other Android TV boxes. The warning was received. I gave it a thumbs up. It is a problem that people can avoid. I think there is more value in Zidoo fixing all the other bugs that affect usability for greater numbers of people and avoid this bug by using single partion storage.

    The problem may be interesting to you but I don't buy devices to solve interesting problems. As an engineer, I am paid to solve interesting problems at work. When get home, I want to relax and enjoy my device. Part of that is avoiding situations which affect my enjoyment.
     
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2020
  5. mutt

    mutt New Member

    That's just it.
    But you maybe forgot - there are many people who have no idea about some partitions, filesystem etc., they just want (like you said) "relax and enjoy my device". Currently, as far as I know, it is not yet certain whether the problem concerns only the second partition or there is another problem.
    So I think it will definitely be beneficial if zidoo can solve this... I want to try merging the second partition into one, if that helps, maybe next weekend.
    And your advice about buying a new drive ("Maybe it's time to use fresher drives"), it is really easy to say something like this. Just throw away the old, FUNCTIONAL drive and buy a new one...
     
  6. mutt

    mutt New Member

    I had about one week plugged in just my WD Essential (still with UDF partition) and I didnt recognize any problem. So if there is just one HDD plugged in it seems to be OK.
    Then I remembered this post from Bertrum:
    Just an idea: Maybe there is some basic problem with third USB drive, resp. not just drive but third partition generally. And if the third partition is an UDF then is the problem just much bigger.
     
  7. Markswift2003

    Markswift2003 Well-Known Member SUPER Administrator Beta test group Contributor

    I don't think so - I can reliably replicate the issue by just plugging in either a WD My Passport or a My Book individually. And it only bricks on booting - you can plug it it when powered up and it's fine - it's only if you then reboot that it bricks.

    There doesn't seem to be an issue with multiple partitions or even just a UDF partition - I've tried multiple partitions, including UDF on Sandisc USB sticks - the issue only seems to manifest with Virtual CD-Rom partitions, and in particular those found on older Western Digital drives.
     
  8. Random_Vibration

    Random_Vibration Active Member

    First of all most of your strawman 'people' who don't know about file systems, partitions, and the like also don't even know about Zidoo. They know they can watch videos when when they plug a usb stick into their TVs. If they want a TV box, an Apple TV, Fire stick, or Roku just plugs in and plays. In my part of the world, you have to take some more deliberate actions to even get a Zidoo. Most of those who can't be bothered with details will not be here from my part of the world. They buy simple devices with broad support and high availability. The word "Zidoo" isn't even on these people's brains.

    My words are rather clear. They don't need any enhancement from you. I did not tell anyone to throw away drives. I got 15+ year old drives that I still use today. I just don't use it on new hardware to store anything I want to keep that isn't backed up somewhere else. Use some common sense. If you have a drive with multiple partitions, reparation it or replace it. You don't have to throw it away as you suggest. That's rather silly if I must say. If you want to use a decade old hard drive with two partitions, go for it. If you can't be bothered to read manuals or research, you're not going to see a warning on a relatively obscure forum for a lesser know device. Just saying.
     
  9. pcristi

    pcristi Active Member

    Older My Cloud EX2 Ultra, My Book Elite, My Book Essential, My Passport Elite, My Passport Essential, etc up to 2TB come with WD SmartWare and include a CD-ROM emulated device (WD SES).
    Like this:
    USBSTOR\CDROM&VEN_WD&PROD_VIRTUAL_CD_1111&REV_1030
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2020
  10. mutt

    mutt New Member


    Well, until now, I thought I bought quite a common device. I bought it the usual way in a local e-shop. But I agree it does not belong to the regular offer of regular e-shops. I understand what you're saying, there's obviously an easier way to watch a movie than buy a Zidoo. But still i don't think zidoo should be just for IT and hardware experts. And if so, I definitely bought the wrong device :)

    About throwing away an old drive - I agree, that's rather silly. But buying a new one is the same for me. I have no other use for the old one, than connect it with multimedia center. I will solve this by merging partitions into one, I hope.

    When I bought a zidoo, I believed I was buying a functional, tested product. I didn't expect there will be so many problems. In my opinion, problems with basic things, that worked correctly on my old multimedia center. Things like connect USB HDD, play music, fullHD video,... who can imagine problems here, definetly not me :)

    Enjoy your device.
     
  11. mutt

    mutt New Member

    I tried partition wizard but i cant do this, because I don't even see UDF partitin in this program. There is just one standard partition and nothing else, there is nothing to remove or merge.
    I also tried to at least delete the data on the UDF partition, but it didn't work. I can't even do it as an administrator.
     
  12. Markswift2003

    Markswift2003 Well-Known Member SUPER Administrator Beta test group Contributor

    Unfortunately because the UDF partition is configured as a CD-Rom, it's at the hardware level so partition software doesn't touch it - it's very cleverly done, and very annoying! I've not been able to find a way to delete it yet!!
     

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