(All) Recordings Lost

One of the most upsetting things that can happen is that you power up the Toppy, call up the list of recording and are greeted with a empty list.

There are two variations:

  1. You can still record programs and TAPs are still working
  2. You cannot record programs and TAPs are not working

You can still record programs and TAPs are still working

This is the most common instance of 'all files gone'. The recordings are still there but the file system has become corrupted. The content of the Program Files folder is usually undamaged, and TAPs work as usual. If you have the TAP Lost+Found running, then the lost recording may now be in the Lost and Found directory. If not, the only way to recover the files is to remove the internal HDD and attach it to a PC or MAC.

Lost+Found TAP

If you have this TAP in AutoStart folder, then the lost recording may be in the lost_and_found directory (when accessing via ftp it is a subdirectory of DataFiles). Check this folder and you may find the lost recordings. If you cannot see them on the Toppy, check the directory using ftp.

Even if you did not have this TAP running, users have reported success in recovering files by running it subsequently (see discussion here). Running Lost+Found can result in the creation of one or more RCN directories which may contain the 'lost' recordings. If not, they may be in the DataFiles directory with file names *.RCN. Rename the files to *.mpg and then run RebuildNav TAP.

You cannot record programs and (usually) TAPs are not working

When the Toppy starts up you will normally be asked to reformat the internal HDD - there is a warning that all recordings will be lost. Assuming you do not reformat the HDD you are unable to record and the file list normally shows that there is no free space. The only way to recover the recordings is to remove the HDD and attach it to a PC or a MAC.

There is a remote possibility that there is a physical problem with the HDD so while it is attached to the PC or MAC you should run the HDD manufacturers disk checking utility. Once you have recovered your recordings, and the contents of the ProgramFiles folder, you should delete all partitions from the HDD as there may be problems with partition 0; you cannot reformat partition 0 on the Toppy itself; it only reformats partition 1 (where recordings, media files, and TAPs are stored).

I have not seen this extreme version until recently so it may only happen if you have more recent firmware installed - this is pure speculation; no real evidence to support it.

Recovering files on PC or MAC

The procedure for removing the internal HDD is discussed in the description of replacing a Toppys internal HDD.

Reading JFS, ext2 and XFS drives under Windows

There is no native support for JFS, ext2 or XFS under Windows. There are utilities that allow you to read partitions formatted using these files systems, and there are some that can do file recovery for such partitions. Some are free and others must be purchased. My tool of choice is UFS Explorer Standard Recovery which can read and recover files on on partitions using a wide range of file systems. Last time I checked it cost about 40 Euro. There are some free utilities some of which are discussed here.

Reading JFS, ext2 and XFS drives under Linux

The Linux kernal supports the JFS, ext2 and XFS file systems. If you can mount the HDD under Linux, you can then attempt to recover the lost files. The first place to look is in the Lost+Found directory. If that does not work, you will need to use a utility to recover the files. I am not a Linux expert, so I hve no recommendations on how to do this. If you do not have a PC running Linux, most Linux distributions have LiveCD that can be used to use Linux without installing it on the PC.

2460user reports that he had some success with the fxproxy utility in accessing the internal HDD:
Link to Windows Version
Link to Linux Version

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License