Hard disk freezes during large download from empeg to PC via jemplode?

I'm trying to backup my empeg (latest Hijack installed) by downloading the whole thing to my PC. However, the empeg's hard disk seems to just stop (a brief, descending whine from the disk, W appears next to hard disk icon) after anything between 150 and 300 tracks, and the status bar on jemplode freezes. Rebooting the empeg and starting again from where it stopped before leads to the same behaviour, so it's not choking on a particular track. Has this happened to anyone else?

Maybe the drive is overheating?

Hmmmm..... how could I test for this?

If it's any additional help, the empeg connects via crossover Ethernet cable to an 802.11g access point, which communicates with the PC's 802.11g PCI card. Signal between the AP and the PCI card is at 90-95%.

Another thought. Given that you have the W icon (player application / audio thread starved and waiting for disk data). Does running with the player on standby help? Also, are you running any third party utilities that might be causing trouble? Basically, I just want to simplify the variables a bit.

The empeg has no extras on it apart from Charcoalgray's xml stuff, which is not used while I'm downloading. I haven't tried putting the player in standby, but the disk problem occurs after about the same number of tracks whether the player is paused or actually playing during the download (I tested this last night).

Hmmm...

How long does it take for the lockup to occur? Minutes? Hours? If minutes, I would think it software (hijack spinning down the drives, application conflict, player starved, etc.). Hours implies heat, software (memory / disk handling).

One thing to try would be to take the top cover plate off the player. This would allow for greater air flow and convection cooling. See if that helps.

Do you see this during regular use, or only when trying to backup the player like this?

I think it's between 45 mins and 90 mins that it happens. I never get the W in normal use at home, and only in the car during bumpy stretches of road).

I'll try it again tonight a) with the lid off b) with the player in standby c) both of those, and report back.

The whine I mentioned does sound exactly like a drive spinning down - is there a hijack timeout for this that I can configure?

There is, but it is on the order of seconds / minutes. It should not be coming into play for this.

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Maybe the drive is overheating?

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Hmmmm..... how could I test for this?

If you are running a fairly recent Hijack, go to the High Temperature Warning screen and wait a few seconds for it to take a sample and display it. Older hijacks had this in the Vital Signs screen. Please note that you should be able to do this even when the disk drive is locked up, since Hijack is the kernel.

Please note that a locking-up hard disk can be caused by any one of the problems on this list. Some of those things, such as a bad cable crimp or a dry solder joint, can be exacerbated by temperature swings, such as those caused by long uploads or downloads.

Another thing you can do is monitor the serial port output in Hyperterminal during the upload/download. Sometimes disk errors get echoed to the console.