Topfiled Is Hell

I have created this blog due to the unprofessional standards of the Topfield Company or Top Pro An Australian Based Company http://www.itopfield.com.au/

who claim to specialise in Electrical products there motto is Australia's Number 1 Brand For Selling PVR's

Sure there products are good but their service similar to dells is well non-existent,

In Particular this popular Model No the TF7100hdpvrt
http://www.itopfield.com.au/product-detail.asp?idx=220#

Specification

DVB Compliant A/V Decoding
Aspect Ratio	4:3, 16:9, Pan & Scan, Letterbox
Video Resolution	576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i
Main System
Main Processor	MIPS64 5Kf, 420MIPS at 300MHz
Hard Disk Drive	320GB + External HDD is supported
Front Panel
Keys	5Keys(CH-/+, VOL-/+, STANDBY)
Lamps	STANDBY
Remote Control	48Keys
A/V & Data In/Out
HDMI	Digital AV output(576p, 720p, 1080i)
VGA port	15 pin D-sub type
S-VIDEO	Video S-VIDEO output
RCA A/V	Video (CVBS), Audio (L/R) output
S/PDIF	Digital audio output (Coaxial & Optical)
USB	USB 2.0 (Front & Rear)
Ethernet	10/100 Base-T
RS-232C	9 pin D-sub type
	Transfer rate : max. 115.2Kbps
Power Supply
Input Voltage	90 ~ 250VAC, 50/60Hz
Type	SMPS
Power Comsumption	Running: Max. 39W, Standby: 5W
Physical Specification
Size(W x H x D)	430 x 60 x 265mm
Weight(Net)	3.5Kg

has been causing alot of issues which a family member purchased for $600.00 in March Last Year By A Company Which Has Gone Bankrupt

my problem is this model has been discontinued but they still sell this item in major shopping centres around Australia And New Zealand as well as other nations around the world.

If you yourself have purchased this item be aware that the following bug which has been discussed on a particular forum pm for details as that forum is not liable neither am i liable i am only presenting the facts as they are.

the following is a post that goes into detail about this bug and some solutions which if you are a qualified technician can be resolved rather than an ordinary person which will mean nothing to ya.


Topfield TF7100HDPVRt Problem!!

Evening All,

This is my first posting on any forum ever (!!) so apologies in advance if I sound a bit green – I am. I only signed up about 20 minutes ago.

Anyway, my Topfield PVR went on the fritz last week. When I turn it on now, the display shows "RUN" for the mandatory 10 seconds or so and then the display on the front of the unit goes completely dark. No channel, no time, nuthin'. Not a single light on.

There's no digital signal going through to the TV (a 42" Loewe Credo CRT TV) and no sound. When the TV selects the channel I'm expecting the PVR to come in on, I get the Loewe equivalent of a (literally) blue screen of death and "no signal" displayed, meaning I can't access any menus at all.

However, when I press a key on the remote a tiny spot lights up on the display showing that the remote is working. I've pressed every key on the remote, and apart from this tiny spot lighting up there's no change in the PVR. Just a black display.

The only thing I've noticed is that when the unit is off (i.e. in standby mode) the display shows the time (as it should), with a small square lit up immediately to the right of the last digit of the minutes display of the time. I don't think this should be there so perhaps it indicates some sort of setting. The square has what looks like a little "V" inside it so maybe it's a timer or something.

I've tried disconnecting for 12 hours or more and powering up again but the thing refuses to show any life. I can head the HDD spinning, and it hasn't had any knocks or moisture or anything like that.

When it's working it's a great unit but I'm stuffed if I know what's wrong with it. Without access to any menus at all I can't do a firmware refresh or upgrade, or even revert to factory settings.

Any help from anyone who has worked through similar problems would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Is it still under warranty? If so, ring Toppro to get it fixed. If out of warranty there may be a way out but it requires some technical knowledge, an RS232 cable and a PC...

I just checked the receipt and it's less than a year old so I guess it's probably still under warranty.

I haven't heard of Toppro, but thanks for that. I just found their website and will send my query to them for starters.
BTW, what was your suggestion with the RS232 cable & PC?

I just sent my query to Toppro's website and I get a server error.....

Are they still in business?? I suppose I'll end up taking it back to where I bought it from where they'll ship it off for "repairs" for 6 months

Toppro is Topfield Australia. Don't email them as they don't tend to respond that quickly – ring them. Their site is www.itopfield.com.au
Phone #: 1300 766 440

I work at JB, and a few months ago we had a really bad batch of 7100's, they pretty much all came back. Mainly hard drive errors.

I work at JB, and a few months ago we had a really bad batch of 7100's, they pretty much all came back. Mainly hard drive errors.

The unit should still boot even if there is a disk issue as the firmware is in Flash. This seems to be a problem with the flash or the firmware code not loading properly for some reason. To fix this I think you will need to reload the firmware via rs232

Although it should still be under warranty & I'll give Topfield a call today, can you still outline for me how to do the firmware update via RS232?

Although it should still be under warranty & I'll give Topfield a call today, can you still outline for me how to do the firmware update via RS232?

I have a repair kit for the 7000 here: http://members.iinet.net.au/~deangelj/downloads/Files/repair.zip

Follow the same procedure but use a 7100 firmware, preferably the latest.

Thanks for that. I've downloaded it and will keep it in mind. I'll call Topfield tomorrow & see what they say; I'll probably end up taking it back for a warranty claim but if all else fails, I'll try your procedure & let you know how I go.

Stay tuned, & thanks again!

My TF7100HDPvrt has developed a hang on run problem for no apparent reason (worked fine yesterday evening, didn't this morning, not attempted firmware upgades etc), so I am
trying to follow this procedure to see if I can go from there to get the files of the HD without opening the box and voiding the warrantee, but I'm being stymied first by the fact that RUN comes up almost immediately; I also don't really know that I've got a proper RS232C connection. So: if RUN is showing, is there any kind of behavior that it would exhibit in a terminal program (using demo hyperterminal) to show that it had a working connection?

My TF7100HDPvrt has developed a hang on run problem for no apparent reason (worked fine yesterday evening, didn't this morning, not attempted firmware upgades etc),

Just got rid of my TF7100HDPvrt I put it on ebay got $400 for it and was happy to cut my losses.

Now I know that is not what you wanted to hear so re your problem;

Mine done exactly the same thing worked fine then couldn't get past run ect ect.

What I did to get it to go was just sit there with the remote and turn it off – on – off – on continually until eventually it started and acted like there was nothing wrong with it.

Worked for me so may be worth a try

So: if RUN is showing, is there any kind of behavior that it would exhibit in a terminal program (using demo hyperterminal) to show that it had a working connection?

Basically just keep typing ctrl+C after powering on and before getting RUN. If you get RUN its too late. If it works you should see a prompt from the PVR. Then follow the instructions.

I'm having the same RUN issue. I have just downloaded hyperterminal, but i dont know how to use it to control the COM1 port ( i assume this is where the cable needs to be connected). Also I will need to purchase a cable with two female ends as both topfeild and com1 are male fittings. I have followed your link and downloaded the instructions and firmware. Could you please give me some pointers on how to establish the terminal connection thru hyperterminal etc.

i have followed your steps in the repair kit up to step 8
then this error message, with usb in the back of the unit formatted fat32 and only containing the files tfupdate and 0.99.84.upd.

1. mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb
   mount: Mounting /dev/sda1 on /mnt/usb failed: No such device or address

#

help i cant get past this spot and currently have no recorder or tuner= no tv.

Sounds like it can't read your USB stick. Maybe your PSU is playing up (going out of spec?) But try another stick, make sure it is fat formatted.

Full working Solution

The Recovery Procedure follows:

To begin with, you need to obtain the following items:

- A serial cable

- A personal computer with an COM port. (Or possibly use an USB to RS232 converter)

- A terminal program like SecureCRT or HyperTerminal to run on the computer

- A USB memory

The recovery procedure is as follows:

1) Copy firmware file (eg. 0.99.84.upd) to the USB memory.

2) Link a unit in question to the computer with the serial cable, and launch the terminal program.

You should configure it with 115200 bps, parity none and stop-bit 1. Flow control none.

3) Key in the Ctrl+C several times until only the power lamp gets lit as soon as turning on the unit

If the message "RUN" is displayed, retry this step.

4) Enter the following command within a line on the terminal.

setenv -p STARTUP "boot -elf -z flash0.kernel: 'root=/dev/mtdblock0 rootfstype=cramfs ro console='"

A letter "E" will be displayed and then changed into "P" on the terminal.

5) Enter the following command within a line.

boot -elf -z flash0.kernel: 'root=/dev/mtdblock0 rootfstype=cramfs ro console=ttyS1,115200n8 init=/bin/bash'

If you get no message from the terminal even 10 seconds later, do it again from the 3rd step but with the following command for this step instead.

boot -elf flash0.kernel: 'root=/dev/mtdblock0 rootfstype=cramfs ro console=ttyS1,115200n8 init=/bin/bash'

6) You get some messages from the terminal, then input the following commands. You may Copy & Paste it all at once, just make sure you press enter after the last command.

export PATH=/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/mnt/nfs:.;

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/lib:/usr/lib:/mnt/nfs:.;

mount -t proc none /proc;

mount -t devpts none /dev/pts;

mount -t tmpfs tmpfs /tmp;

mount -t tmpfs tmpfs /var/run;

mount -t tmpfs tmpfs /etc/dhcpc;

ifconfig lo 127.0.0.1 up;

hdparm -c1 -W1 /dev/hda;

7) Plug the USB memory into the unit.

If the # prompt does not reappear after a few seconds press the Enter key.

If you get no message at all from terminal then enter the following command to load USB driver:

/root/rc.user

Enter one of the following commands on the terminal. If the first mount command doesn’t work, try the second one.

mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb

OR mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb

The option “-t vfat” means type FAT16 or FAT32 (ie. Windows formatted).

9) Now enter the following command (substituting 0.99.84.upd with the correct filename), to flash the firmware from file on USB memory:

/mnt/usb/tfupdate /mnt/usb/0.99.84.upd 11

***not this line tfupdate /mnt/usb/0.99.84.upd 11

Wait on until a letter "#" is displayed on the terminal.

10) Remove the USB memory, and restart the unit.

sounds good if you are a techno-whiz no joy for ordinary ppl

Full working Solution..................

...........9) Now enter the following command (substituting 0.99.84.upd with the correct filename), to flash the firmware from file on USB memory:

Do you mean in Step 9, if I were on firmware say 1.00.47

it would be /mnt/usb/tfupdate /mnt/usb/1.00.47.upd 11 to recover from stuck on Run?

Cheers

Do you mean in Step 9, if I were on firmware say 1.00.47

it would be /mnt/usb/tfupdate /mnt/usb/1.00.47.upd 11 to recover from stuck on Run?

Depends on which firmware you want to load. Sometimes people run this to recover to a previous version when stuck. You can recover to whichever version you wish – this step is actually loading the firmware that you have on the usb stick.

Yes, in response to substituting the file into the command line.

Now I have another problem, The topfield 7100 will now start (ie not stuck on RUN) but everytime i switch off the machine it loses the channels settings and timerecord functions, as well as some channels do not get TV guide info. I saw another post the other day relating to this problem, but cant seem to find it.
Cheers Cam

****Solved it by resetting to factory settings, rescanned, All Good.

yeah but not good for us ordinary ppl who are not techno-whizzes

I am not having any luck with hyperterminal and the ctrl c stage. Still goes to run mode in both terminal window and on the box. Any tips? Connected via a serial cable out of com1. Find the toppy ok but commands entered are echoed back very slow.

Bit of background..have had a stable experience so far, got the 7100 about 18months ago. Wanted icetv and tried firmware upgrade......now full of regrets!

Anyway, my Topfield PVR went on the fritz last week. When I turn it on now, the display shows "RUN" for the mandatory 10 seconds or so and then the display on the front of the unit goes completely dark. No channel, no time, nuthin'. Not a single light on.

Mine did the exact same thing a day or two after xmas. Since it is out of warrenty by a month I called Topfield. They were closed for the holidays until Jan 4th.
So I pulled it out of entertainment unit and left it down stairs ready to call them on the 4th.
So the 4th came and I set it up to the other tv incase they could trouble shoot me through it and low and behold while I was on hold I turned it on and it started it up as normal!
I have no idea what happened but it has worked since the 4th no worries, the only thing I can think of is it has more ventilation where I have it set up now on our 2nd tv, perhaps it was a heat issue?? I does get very hot to touch and were I had it beforehand it only had about 5cms of space above it whereas now it is completely open.

I have to say even though it is a great machine features wise it has been kinda glitchy in the 13 months ive had it, often have to restart it etc. I probably wouldnt buy Topfield again.

Good luck with yours.

Trying to repair my TF7100HDPVRt after it froze up.

I have followed the procedure up to loading the firmware. (note: I found you will need a null modem type serial cable)

I do not wish to reformat the hard drive, which will occur if the 20090317.upd is used, so I chose to update with the 20090112.upd file.

entering the command:-

/mnt/usb/tfupdate /mnt/usb/20090112.upd 11

results in a "Total Size Mismatch!" response.

Any suggestions as what to try next?

I DO NOT want to format the HD. Too many unwatched shows to lose.

I wonder what the "11" means in that syntax? Presumably your USB stick/drive has both the tfupdate and the 20090112.upd in the root folder of the stick/drive?
Does /mnt/usb/tfupdate -? or -h give any syntax hints on how to use it?

entering the command:-

/mnt/usb/tfupdate /mnt/usb/20090112.upd 11

results in a "Total Size Mismatch!" response.

Mmm, haven't seen that response before. Try copying the .upd file to the USB stick again. I think the error means that the check for the sizes of the parts within the .upd didn't match what was in the header of the file. Usually this would mean a corrupted file.

If that doesn't work, try using the tfupdate on the machine by doing this:

tfupdate /mnt/usb/20090112.upd 11

good luck!

it says you have to do the reformat update before the one your trying to install.

It says,

*Please Note: This Firmware does not format internal Hard Disk Drive
You must first install firmware 20090317.upd to your unit before you apply this update.

Wow Reformat months and months of saved files I don't Think so

Hi,

I am having this exact issue with my TF7100. I have tried the above method trying to use the tfupdate from the machines root directory but get the following error "Segmentation Fault"

If I try using tfupdate from the usb drive then I get the "Total Size Mismatch!" error. This happens across 3 different firmwares and 2 different thumb drives.

Ummmm..help please!

Im having the same problem with my toppy 7100. Very upset as everything was ok, but then started lagging so i thought reset and firmware update would help. Now i dont have anything!!

Just a note for anyone using the "repair kit" that is floating around (one version is on my website). This was released for the 7000. If you want to apply it to a 7100 you will probably need a tfupdate and a firmware (obviously) from a 7100.

Im having trouble making the connection at the control c stage – can anyone offer any advise?

Im having trouble making the connection at the control c stage – can anyone offer any advise?

Yes –

- make sure you have a proper serial cable (also called a null modem cable).
- Make sure it's not one of those USB to Serial jobs
- As soon as you turn on the PVR keep pressing Ctrl+c – when you see RUN start again. Don't worry – you'll get there eventually.

I do not wish to reformat the hard drive, which will occur if the 20090317.upd is used, so I chose to update with the 20090112.upd file.

entering the command:-

/mnt/usb/tfupdate /mnt/usb/20090112.upd 11

results in a "Total Size Mismatch!" response.

Im having the same result – trying not to reformat the hard drive and using the older version brings up Total Size Mismatch!

any ideas how you got past this one?

As was said, you cannot run the new firmware without formatting the HDD. You MUST therefore run the update as per:
*Please Note: This Firmware does not format internal Hard Disk Drive
You must first install firmware 20090317.upd to your unit before you apply this update.

I think the wording means "the firmware won't work unless you format the HDD, which means you need to apply 20090317.upd first to achieve the proper HDD format".... well, that is how I read it based on past discussions on the dtvforums regarding the newer firmwares for the Toppies.

So it seems we will lose our files Regardless

Sorry, I wasnt clear. I was trying to run the 20090317 firmware but still getting this bug.

thru my searching i did find that maybe its a data corruption issue as my usb stick isnt the best condition. Ill pick up another one and see how i go – i will report back for others

Ended up sending it away for repair and topfield have sent it back. Turn around time was about 10 days – big thumbs up for their service department. I wasnt able to give reciepts and they did it as a warrantee job anyway

gr8 for this guy but not so lucky for my relatives who is 2 months out of the warranty which has a bug in it from the get -go and the fact it is a discontinued product Go Figure

big thumbs up for their service department.

They're had plenty of practice.

not my comment just as it appeared in the forum

Had the 7100 for around 16 months.

My wife relys on it religiously and we have persevered – the longer we have it the worse it gets.

The latest firmware has only sent it backwards :-/

I have no faith as the foundations are too flawed ;-(

Beyonwiz DP-P2 here we come... :-)

How many repairs is too many?

I've just got mine back from its 2nd repair (hard drives both times) – back 2 weeks, and its stuck on RUN and not moving.

Purchased from JB, and still under warranty. I want my money back. Have I got any chance?

How many repairs is too many?

Well, I had to send mine back to Topfield four times before it was replaced with another model.

If you're only a couple of months into your warranty then I'd probably try JB first but really, it's not their fault – Topfield is the manufacturer.

You should be ringing Topfield and demanding they get their bloody act together. Escalate it. Ask to speak to the manager. Tell them you'll be putting in a complaint to the Department of Fair Trading unless they fix your unit properly.

Unfortunately the 7x00 series has a well deserved reputation for being lemons. Some people, like yourself, have had a shocking run.

WOW FOUR TIMES sounds like a definite bug to me.

If you're only a couple of months into your warranty then I'd probably try JB first but really, it's not their fault – Topfield is the manufacturer.

Its about 9 months old I think. I will call Topfield tomorrow and see what their response is.

I noticed on one of the Forums,may have been DTV,that a person claimed JB allowed him to swap a 7100 for the 2400(with a cash adjustment) after he kicked up a fuss in the store,might be worth a go as the returning to Topfield for repairs is usually the start of a long saga.

FYI they took it back and gave us a full refund (in the form of a gift card).

Wish we could all be so fortunate.

So i spoke to them today and they wont even acknowledge that this machine has a bug in it, what a crock so pays to always do your research before purchasing any product can save ya time ,energy and money google is always your best choice for researching products. thanks for dropping by pls share your experiences that you have had with topfield oh i forgot to mention that the tech guy said to ring your locally approved topfield service dept and they quoted $80.00 just for inspecting the product which must be paid upfront this does not include other costs which they will calculate so you could be looking up to 300-600 for repairs what a joke so pls support this blog so other ppl will fare better about their experience in the future.
I myself and my family and friends certainly will not be buying anything from topfield or will be recommending anyelse too either. THANX FOR YOUR SUPPORT