HDX won’t start up

I accidentally shut my HDX down at the main switch at the back. Now I cannot restart it. It’s frozen in starting mode. The start button on the front isn’t working.

Is the screen displaying “Starting, please wait”?

If so, try shutting down using the HDX remote, and if that works, switch off via the rear switch, remove the mains lead for five minutes, then switch on via the rear switch again.

I had a similar scenario years ago, and it seemed that switching off as you have inadvertently done somehow corrupted the operating system software.

Happily, my local dealer was able to re-install the software from scratch, and all was well.

Good luck, and hopefully you will avoid a visit to your dealer by following the above. :crossed_fingers:

It just says starting and has done so for the best part of half an hour

Hi Jesper,

My first thought here is failed CMOS battery, do you have access to a VGA monitor?
A failed battery will show a checksum error at the POST screen.

Regards
Neil.

Thnx Neil. I don’t even know what it is.

Maybe a trip to your dealer then - they may have a suitable monitor to plug in and see what’s up with it.

Regards
Neil.

I’m afraid so. I brought the HDX to Brasil where I live for the time being. No dealers here. I have been reading through the manuals and Naim expressly warns against doing what I have done. Strange that the machine can’t handle a powercut.
Anyway thanks.

It might need a new digital power supply.

Mine once stated “Starting Please Wait”. After about 12 hours, I sent to to my dealer who connected it to a computer monitor (VGA) which showed the HDX was actually re-building the internal database.
There was actually nothing wrong, just taking a very long time (around 24 hours) to rebuild the database with around 1200 albums stored on it.
Therefore I suggest you leave it turned on for at least a full day to see if anything happens.

If you are able to connect the HDX to a computer monitor (VGA) it should show you lots more information than the HDX on its own. With the additional information shown on the monitor screen, people here may be able to assist you in sorting the problem, if there is actually a problem.
I must add, that my own HDX has experienced at least 10 power cuts during its life and is still going strong.

I had this fault on my HDX once, it unfortunately proved to be a failed HDD.

I also had a SMPS fail, that one shut down my front display, so if you still have a display that works, I doubt it’s the SMPS.

Good luck !

Same here - same symptoms and ended up having to get the HDDs replaced due to a bad OS drive.

Naim used to be able to connect to your HDX remotely over the internet to diagnose the problem - might want to e-mail them and see if they can still do this.

Naim can only do that if the HDX has restarted sufficiently that it is present on your network.

If it’s the CMOS battery, which is the most likely thing, then as NeilS (who is Naim staff by the way) says, you can troubleshoot that yourself and replace yourself too if there is no dealer anywhere nearby.

Turning it off “the wrong way” once doesn’t cause a failure. It’s just that it’s a Windows XP computer basically and so if you don’t turn it off properly you can accumulate so many corrupted files that in time it won’t restart properly.
Best

David

NeilS
Contact support@naimaudio.com and ask for Henry - he’s pretty good at networking stuff.

Phil was able to connect to mine with similar symptoms, so it may still be possible for Jesper.

Thanks gents for your kind support. I have left the HDX in startup mode and furthermore e-mailed NAIM.

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