Sudden odd behavior

I have an older Live Hub that I got in 2010 and a newer Live that I got in 2015. I basically use them to watch converted BDs (MKV format) on the local HDD (Live Hub) and a Toshiba Canvio 3tb USB 3.0 HDD.Rarely, I use the Live Hub to watch Netflix. Both devices were working fine until about a month or so ago when each began exhibiting the same malfunction. Midway or so through watching a movie I lose all ability to either stop, pause or see the time bar. The movie will keep playing, but the spinning circle will appear and all I can do is unplug the device and reboot it. If I let the movie play to the end and it goes back to the menu screen I cannot play another movie until I reboot the box. I can tell when this will happen because as I scroll through the movies on the disc none will play the backgrounds. Thinking it might be heat related (both units get pretty warm) I moved them outside the cabinet and onto the top where they are free and unobstructed from airflow. I have swapped them out on different equipment with no relief. Both report they have the latest firmware. What could be causing this issue on two separate devices? There really isn’t anything better out there to replace these with.

Hi there,

I would suggest you reload the firmware manually.
Here’s the download link.
http://support.wdc.com/product.aspx?ID=1010&lang=en#WD_downloads

Here’s an article with proper steps on how to update it.
http://support.wdc.com/knowledgebase/answer.aspx?ID=5749

Hope this helps.

I will try that, but why would reinstalling the same firmware on a unit that had been working properly fix this problem? Does the firmware get corrupted somehow? Just curious.

OK, after some experimenting I have traced the problem down to an issue of overheating. If I put the Live Hub on top of my wall unit standing on its side it works fine. If I place it flat, even out in the open air, it will exhibit the behaviors stated earlier. Yes, the internal fan is working. Why it has suddenly developed this overheating issue is beyond me. Has anyone else experienced issues with their Live Hub or Live overheating? What did you do to fix it? I’m going to put some thicker rubber feet on it to raise it up and see if it will operate while flat, but I don’t think it can go inside the entertainment center anymore.