How to power down the B2

[d.a.thornber]

Sounds like a daft question..

I’ve just about finished ripping my CD collection and, as I access the drive via the sonos app, I don’t need easy access to the B2 controls. To keep it out of the way of the kids I’ve thought about putting it in the loft (half converted so it’s not a dusty dump) connected via a smart plug to turn it on and off as needed.
I just want to be sure this method will not harm it. Eventually when the conversion has finished it will be located in a room out of the way, unfortunately at the current time, work has come to a halt 😢

[Daniel Taylor]

Keep in mind that the B2 is really a computer.  (It's operating system is Raspbery Pi.)  The recommended way to turn off the unit is this:

Press/hold the STOP button until the word Saving appears on the front display.

Wait til Saving disappears and is replaced with the clock again.

Now it's safe to remove power, either by the back panel rocker switch or just pulling the plug.

Although you can skip the Saving step, you run the risk of possibly losing a setting that you've just changed.  But maybe more concerning is the possibility that you will pull the rug out from under the software while it is in the process of writing to disk (either HDD or SD card).  That could corrupt a file.  If that file is part of the software, then you'll have a problem to deal with.  It happens.

[d.a.thornber]

Thanks, that’s why I asked as I’ve never had a pi before. I’ll need to reconsider I think.

[d.a.thornber]

Can it be left permanently on without issue?

[Daniel Taylor]

Yes.  Some people leave their units on all the time. 

Don't set anything on top of the B2, as it might overheat.

Check the Brennan website's Menu page for information on setting the display Brightness and what the display should do in Standby mode.  See Brightness (under Settings menu) and Screensaver (Maintenance menu).

[Clan]

Regarding shutting down  , i have the power supply connected to my Hi Fi  power extension plug lead which turns off when the amplifier turns off . This has never bothered the B2 as it is usually not doing anything then . If it were compressing i would Use the SAVE command as described.  

I would not leave it on all the time it is unnecessary "wear" and the O Led display will fade .  This display is available from the Brennan store for a very reasonable price and I would urge everyone to get one as a spare whilst you still can . 

 My JB7 vacuum fluorescent display has faded and i wish i has bought one of those spare at the time but now it needs a £100 repair from the Agent . A bit pointless when you can pick up a working JB7 for around £50 - £350  now .

what are peoples thoughts on the Brennan remotes for JB7 and B2 on ebay for £32 , they have been available for  around a year . Hopefully no one buys them as they are available from the Brennan store for £15  !

[AndyC]

Hi. I do the official 'Saving' shut down procedure that Daniel mentions. It's important to wait till the word 'Saving' is replaced by the clock before pulling the plug.

I did once pull the plug whilst 'Saving' was still displayed and immediately realised my mistake. Too late! On restart it wasn't happy and kept freezing. Working my way methodically through 'Clean Up', 'Scan Disk' etc eventually solved the problem but the lesson was learned. It's a computer so don't just pull the plug without warning it first!

I understood that, although the b2 can be left on all the time, Brennan recommends unplugging when not in use to lengthen the display's life (and other components as well, no doubt). 

Am I correct in this?

[Daniel Taylor]

You are correct. :o)

[Edwyn Corteen]

Best to turn off but you can set the screensaver so the screen is off when in standby, set to 16. in Settings/Maintenance section.

Screensaver settings for when B2 is in standby mode - 0 = screensaver off, 1-15 = display brightness - 1 = dim, 15 = bright, 16 = display off.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi AndyC,

I leave my B2 constantly running.  To help keep the display life for as long as possible I have set the 'Screensaver' setting to 16, which auto blanks the screen after 5 minutes of B2 inactivity (i.e. there is no web browser connected to the B2, and there is no music or radio station being played).

I do this because I have an automated incremental backup set to run from 01:00am every night to my Windows server.  So I don't have to worry about forgetting to run a backup!

I am a retired electonics and computer engineer.  These types of device normally are normally more reliable when powered up all of the time (unless you are living in an area with poor quality power or where there are thunderstorms and lightning strikes).  When you power up a device from cold, there is an initial current surge into the device which can cause electronic components to fail prematurely. 

You can find the screensaver setting in:

Main Menu  --  Settings  --  Maintenance  --  Screensaver (set to '16')

Brennan has documented in its Support website the different values that you can use for this setting in 'Questions' --  'Menu  Overview' then scroll down this page to the 'Maintenance' section and look for 'Screensaver' section.

Regards,

Peter.

[PMB]

Hi All,

Here's a - link -  to the Menu Overview page that Peter mentions.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Russell Heath]

> I do this because I have an automated incremental backup set to run from 01:00am every night to my Windows server.  So I don't have to worry about forgetting to run a backup!

Would you care to share how you do your automatic backup please (maybe in a different thread)?

Thanks,

Russell

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Russell,

Yes, I would be happy to document how I do the automated backup.  I'll start a new thread on this as soon as I can.  One point to note is that it will only work on Windows based systems as my method uses a Windows utility called 'robocopy' (short for 'Robust Copy').

It is a really powerful utility, with many options, I'll post my setup and scripts as soon as I can get some decent documentation together.

It's not very complicated, but I'll need to assemble an instruction list.  

I'll post in a new thread entitled "Automated B2 Backups using Windows 'Robocopy'"

Regards,

Peter.

[Daniel Taylor]

Wonderful, Peter.  I'm sure that will be really helpful to a lot of folks.

[Russell Heath]

Hi Peter,

Thanks, I think that would be very useful. I've wanted to do this for some time and know I can, just not got round to it! It would be useful for others to know how to do it and take away the worry of doing manual backups. I look forward to it (no pressure, seriously...)!

ATB,

Russell

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Guys,

I'll send out an update as soon as I can; with Coronavirus being around that's likely to be sooner rather than later!  I've only left the house once in the last week to get some food and beer.

As an aside, my wife is from USA and some of the conversations with friends from there are beginning to refer to 'Rona', so the calls sometime begin with 'How are you with Rona?'  It sounds like someone has a new girlfriend!  Confusing or what?

Regards,

Peter.

[Tim Baker]

Yes I fear this happening to me, I always go through the shutdown process when I can. However if in my case the B2 seems to freeze and lockup on its own every couple of days and that requires a hard switch off at the plug and reboot. So far so good but perhaps I should back up the SD card in the side for when the inevitable happens.

[PMB]

Hi Tim,

I would try replacing the SD Card if your B2 freezes. Have a look at our Techy Stuff page - link - New SD Card (left hand column) for how to program the card and the download image (the image is for Etcher).

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Julian Hodgson]

Hi Daniel. A newbie here. When I do as you say and press/hold the STOP button, the word Saving appears on the front display but it remains there, even after an hour. The clock does not reappear. 

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Hi juliahn,

Yes that does happen sometimes, just power off after 1 min if it does, then reboot. All should be OK.

I would also note that unless you have been writing to the B2 rather than just listening to it, there will be nothing to 'save' so power off will do no harm.

Fred

[PMB]

Hi Julianh...,

The B2 should be paused and displaying the clock before pressing and holding Play/Stop. Release after 'saving' is shown and then wait for the clock before powering off.

Paul

Brennan Support.