WD TV Live HD changes files to unreadable folders

Hey forum,

First off, G’day from Western Australia!

I have the WD TV Live HD with firmwave 1.06.43_V.  I have two external usb hdd’s - 2Tb NTFS each - connected.  Neither have more than about 800 Gb in them.

Every now and then I have this issue with my media files (seemingly randomly) disappearing.  When I look for the files on the PC they have been changed into a directory / folder icon.  The file is completely useless and I have to delete it - it won’t play in VLC or open as a directory on the PC.  It is usually not one file that gets corrupted, but a handful at a time.

Doesn’t seem to single out a specific file type, has happened to jpg, mp4 and mkv etc.

On one hdd, a HP Simple Save, if I delete the changed files (I do this on the PC) I can restore the file from the trash folder or more usually a folder called Found.000 - it will be renamed something like $RDQLXG7.avi or similar… but the file will have a media file icon and will be playable in Linux / Windows.  I rename it, and can then play it.  Sometimes, after renaming it I will not be able to see the file on the HDD in the WD TV Live but will at least open on the pc.  If I copy it across to the other hdd, then the WD TV Live will see it.

Strangely on the 2Tb Seagate HDD this doesnt happen (ie get put into a Found.000 folder), and sadly I lose the file permanently.  Needless to say this is very frustrating; I have backups of my photos and home vids etc, but I don’t have time to re-archive a DVD (or download it) whenever the WD decides that a file looks better as a folder.

What is causing this to happen?  I do not unplug the hdd’s during use or when the media box is on - only when I need to upload some photos or home vids etc.  How can I prevent it from happening?  I have tried a third hard drive, a 1 Tb Seagate, and eventually the same thing happens.  Sometimes I get the feeling that it occurs when I power off the WD whilst a file is still playing because the file in question disappears (pisses me off when I go to hit pause and accidently brain fart the power button.)  But then it happens at other times also, and doesnt explain why non related files go missing from other directories.

Thanks for reading my post.  Cheers also for any and all help,

Bryn

Edit: erm, its not Found.000 its .trash-1000 where they go to… just happened again :-/

Do a rollback to 1.06.15 until WD gets this fixed.

Cheers for the response Techflaws.

Is this just a matter of resetting to factory defaults or do I have to do a manual flash?

Bryn

You have to update manually. Use the special rollback firmware and instructions at the link below.

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5800

Righto - I’ll give that a try.  Cheers.