Toshiba RD-XS52 problems, fix myself?

This recorder has been a workhorse for 3-4 years. I've always had an issue that when dubbing from DVD-RAM to HDD I'd get some pixel corruption which could be remedied by unplugging the unit for 3-10'. It would reoccur every so often. Then I upgraded the firmware around 4 months ago and the unit was pretty much ruined: frequent lockup of video during startup, during recording or editing. Sometimes I'd lose audio. When this happens you have to unplug the unit to regain control so you lose the present recording and editing of recorded content. Toshiba refuses to accept responsibility and tells me I must send it in to Tops Electronics for repair at my own cost. Note that Toshiba has subsequently removed the firmware file for this model from their web site.

I build PCs from the ground up and was wondering whether I should replace the burner and PC board which has the firmware chip. Parts are available from Partstore.com. The HDD is fine. What PC board do I need?

Also the RD-XS52 is an anomaly. Does it use the same parts as the XS34 or XS54/55???

I'm finding this out now. In fact, my workhorse RD-XS52 has a good burner compared to refurbished RD-XS34 I bought as a backup, and an RD-XS55 I just picked up on Ebay. The RD-XS34 is dead out of the box; I should have checked it out when I purchased it. Image quality is poor and the burner is dead. Strange, as this was a Toshiba-direct refurbish in a sealed box. Even the right hinge on the door was shipped broken!

The RD-XS55 works fine except the burner is slow to recognize DVD-RAM compared to the XS-52. Sometimes it hangs when creating thumbnail images. I thought the burner was replaced but I opened the unit last night and everything inside is original.

Often, the units appear dead if left to sit awhile without power, and need repeated powering on before they rejuvenate. Black Magic (or voodoo) indeed. All Toshiba tells you to do is pull the plug for 3', a universal mantra with them.

The problem with Tops Electronics is won't you be stuck with a repair bill even if the unit is found not repairable?

Well I guess since I'm the OP of this thread, I'm allowed to add to the digression, BUT: you can use those ole Zeiss lenses with current digital SLRs. There are adapters to get them to work with Olympus and Canon EODs. That's what I am doing now. Search Ebay for 'Contax EOS adapter'.

As for the Toshiba RD-XS series of DVD/HDD recorders, yes the IQ is remarkable. The recordings are virtually indistinguishable from the original content. I just upgraded to those large HD TVs with LCD screens and I marvel at the recordings I did years ago, which goes to show the signals were being recorded, not what the TV outputted. The recorders are also feature-rich with a plethora of editing features.

I've also found the ole Toshiba CRT TVs produced the best image quality, and I only used Toshibas made in the U.S. or Japan. When I moved to Japan, I found they picked up the most local channels off base.

The last VCR Toshiba made with six heads (TM 785?) also had the best quality VCR output I've seen (and that includes the last Panasonics still made in Japan). After five years of workhorse output, I had it refurbished to like new specs in Japan in case I need to dub from VHS to DVD.

There is a person who posted on FIXYA with the same problem. She felt that at the end of the upgrade process, the recorder doesn't follow the last two steps so perhaps that is what caused the problem. Not true, because I have successfully flashed firmware on the other RD-XS recorders without that last step occurring (a WAIT message on the readout). Just turn the recorder back on and the flash went OK on the RD-XS55/32.

I used to overclock computers for five years and have flashed hundreds of BIOs on not only motherboards but video cards so I know what I'm doing. I have never had a bad flash. Just make sure you don't pull power or touch any keys.

I even got a firmware disc directly from Toshiba, as I suspected the file on the web was corrupted, but no go. My RD-XS52 is hosed. At this point it's possible once the chip on the mainboard is ruined by the firmware on the web, it can't be overwritten by the proper one on the disc from Toshiba. I say this because Toshiba pulled the firmware off the web but still provides the one on the disc.

Anybody know of any RESET method I can try which I haven't already? I've tried unplugging the unit for weeks and even two months while I was moving. I've done the ZOOM-701-ZOOM factory reset. Nothing works.

I really don't know why Toshiba doesn't own up to this problem and repair the units at their cost, or reimburse us for sending it in to TOPs. Moreover I am at FPO AP so the freight both ways to CONUS will be $50 for 4th Class or $100 for Air Mail in addition to the repair cost. 4th Class takes 4-6 weeks each way so figure 2-3 months just for transit time.

Yeah, at least with computer motherboards, the BIOS chips are replaceable (with the exception of the P4T-E, where it was soldered in). And computer parts lose value fast, so in 2 years, you can pick up a used board on Ebay for $25. You could also get a replacement BIOS chip from the manufacturer; it would only cost about the same and you just pluck the old BIOS chip out and stick the new one in, with the power down.

Problem is, I don't think anybody knows exactly where the firmware is located on these RD-XS units. Definitely not on the HDD, which was the wrong info given to that person on FIXYA. She has a worse problem: she can't even post or start up. More than likely the chip is soldered on the mainboard so you'd have to replace the entire board .

Thanks for the info Nextoo. The RD-XS52 looks a bit different from the RD-XS35 infrastructure. The -XS52 uses a large motherboard that sits at the bottom, a digi PC board on the left, a power PC board which the plug is connected to on the right , and an HDMI board. Assuming the firmware chip is on the large motherboard, this part costs $174 . That part is significantly cheaper on the RD-XS35. At least it's not as expensive as the Digi PC board, which goes for $326! Partstore.com really rips you on the USPS shipping to FPO AP so total cost will be close to $200. Oh well.

Couple of differences I notice right off on the RD-XS32/52/KX50: all are manual timer units, no TVGOS; all use orange PC boards. Tuners are soldered in.

On the RD-XS34/35/54/55: all are TVGOS units with green PC boards.
The tuners are replaceable on a separate board.

The DigiPC board rarely goes bad. The only known instance is when Toshiba issued a corrupt firmware file for the RD-XS52 which will hose the board.

Try doing the ZOOM-701-ZOOM reset procedure. Note: this will wipe out your scheduled recordings. If that doesn't work, try unplugging the unit for 10', then for longer periods. Seems to me a power surge might have damaged your power supply board. The Toshiba RD-XS units have a modular design which is very easy to work on. The power supply components are on a replaceable board. I don't necessarily recommend replacing the board on your own since it could be some other problem.

The RD-XS34 is a pretty rare model. If it was an RD-XS32, you could probably pick up an AS-IS specimen on Ebay for $40 and try replacing components. I would think the RD-XS54 uses the same power supply board but that is an even rarer model with a 250 GB HDD.

Since this post has been revived, here is an update on the RD-XS52: It's now a known fact that the firmware of the RD-XS52 cannot be updated by the user via a CD disk. The firmware update which Toshiba released was corrupt. The DigiPC board must be swapped out. Damaged boards are sent back to Japan to be reprogrammed. This has to be done by Tops Electronics, the factory repair center for the Toshiba RD-XS models. On all other RD-XS models, there are no issues doing firmware updates via the usual method.

The reason you are having the same problem as the RD-XS52 is because both models are exactly the same, with the exception of the DigiPC board and the size of the HDD. What firmware version for the RD-KX50 did you install? By now, that issue has been fixed. The chronology of events is:

1) 2 years ago: RD-XS52/RD-KX50 update firmware corrupt and will hose the machine. Only recourse is to replace the DigiPC board (which houses the flash EPROM chip).

2) 1 year ago: Only recourse: replace DigiPC board. Toshiba Japan was reprogramming the hosed boards. Send recorder in to Tops to have it replaced. You will have to pay for this.

3) 6 months ago: firmware disk now works, but good luck getting the latest version. There is a thread of this on another post.

Somebody said he installed the next to the latest firmware update and it still didn't fix his HDMI problem. He said that for some reason, he wasn't able to get the latest firmware update from Toshiba. I believe the firmware updates go V1.1, V1.2, V1.3.

My experience with the Toshiba firmware updates is this: the left hand doesn't know what the right is doing, particularly customer service. Toshiba tech support doesn't have a firm grasp on the issues with these complex units. It doesn't seem anybody who works for Toshiba actually uses these recorders. While I don't have HDMI issues with either model (I have used Toshiba and Sony TVs), the latest firmware update for the RD-XS52 still doesn't fix the problem of the AUTO POWER OFF feature toggling off and on randomly. Supposedly the firmware updates are to improve compatibility with DVD-R and DVD-RAM, but I am using an RD-XS32 with original firmware and have no compatibility issues compared to my other machines with latest and greatest firmware.

Good luck getting Toshiba to pay for hosing your machine. I was the first person to notify them of the corrupt RD-XS52 firmware file three years ago, whereupon they pulled the file off their site and it has become a known issue, but they refused to accept responsibility and fix my RD-XS52 at no cost.

Actually, my hosed machine behaved differently. It would turn on and off, the tray would open, and I could record. But I would lose audio, the machine would lock up during recording, and it was generally unusable. Did you accidentally turn the power off during the firmware update or did it go to apparent completion? I say that because on some firmware updates on these machines, it doesn't terminate according to the instructions. The machine stays idle and you have to manually turn it off and on.

Did you do a firmware update recently? If so, where did you get the file? Or did you interrupt a firmware update by pulling power to the unit during the process?

Of did you have a power surge in your house or lightning strike?

These are the classic symtoms of a corrupted firmware.

Normally these units don't go down this path for no reason. You could try flashing the firmware to see if that clears things up, as long as the unit does't freeze during the process. But I think Toshiba took the firmware updates off the web. Try contacting them at the 800 number.

Other option, send it in to Tops for repair. They will have to replace the digiPC board, unless by now, they have figured out a way around that.