Greetings!

Sorry in advance for the somewhat rambling response...

Could the hard drive cable have worked loose over time? Was the connection tight? Since you were sent the replacement, I assume you put in the new cable and are comfortable with checking the connection.

But... Given that you are losing the display and the wonderful azure link light on the back of the player, it seems that you are loosing power or control to the entire unit, not just any specific component...

What revision of the software are you using (player and hijack)? Do you have any screen blanking options set through hijack, or drive spin down settings?

I don't think the physical agitation did anything. By unplugging it and reseating, you hard booted the unit, removing power. That alone may have been enough to solve the problem.

Can you do a self test and a memory test on the unit? I would think that a memory error might give this kind of reaction.