A Samsung HT-Z310 home theater system goes into Protect mode to prevent damage or to stop already damaged hardware from operating. When you see "Protect" on the player's LCD, the warning typically results from a speaker wiring problem, an electrical surge or an equipment defect. Until you resolve the source of the malfunction, the system won't operate. Inspect the system and its speakers to track down the problem.
Step 1
Turn off your Samsung HT-Z310 system. Unplug it from electrical power.
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Step 2
Examine the speaker wires plugged into the terminals on the back of your HT-Z310 player. The top row of terminals accepts the front right speaker wire on the left, center speaker in the center and front left speaker on the right. On the bottom row, the rear right speaker plugs in to the left terminal, the subwoofer into the center terminal and the rear left in the right terminal.
Step 3
Verify that you inserted the wires into the correct spring-loaded terminals -- black into black and red into red -- at the back of each of your Samsung HT-Z310 system's six speakers. At the same time, verify that you inserted the wires as far as possible into the terminals and that none of the wires touch each other.
Step 4
Plug in and turn on your HT-Z310. If the LCD continues to display "Protect," reset the device to its factory default settings. Turn off the system, and press and hold the "Stop" button on the front of the player for at least five seconds. Recheck the display.
Step 5
Contact Samsung customer support (see Resources) for additional assistance if the problem doesn't resolve after you check the wiring and reset the unit. Persistent problems indicate a serious malfunction from a power surge or equipment defect.