eSATA - Has been enabled, but....

[direcfntv]

HR20 eSATA Condition:

After the install of the Cavalry 1TB drives (CAXE3701T0) on my three HR20s all is as expected accept no 30 second skip. I see nothing in “IMANEDGECUTTER” to get it back. Did DTV remove this option?

[Michael D'Angelo]

:welcome_s to DBSTalk, direcfntv!

You don't need the "IAMANEDGECUTTER" menu for 30sec skip. Do a keyword search for "30SKIP"-->continue and it should work again.

[Schmedley]

I ave been using Thecus with two 500 Gig for almost 18 months - not a single issue. HR20-700

[mgroups]

I started having a problem with random freezing and reboots after my 750 GB FAP was about a year old. I took the drive out of the FAP enclosure (a real pain to do) and put it in another esata enclosure and the problem was gone.

A second benefit of the replacement enclosure is that it has a real power switch. When you turn it on it stays on. Although booting to the FAP has not been a problem with my HR20-100, I would guess that the problem some people are having booting to the FAP is caused by the auto-shutoff feature of the case.

[mgroups]

Has anyone tried transferring the contents of your eSATA drive to a larger drive using a disk image program like Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost? I would like to get a larger drive, but only if I can transfer my existing recordings.

[atigod]

I have a HR21 700 and tried two external drive Enclosures, the Antec MX-1 and the Rosewill RX81-MP-SC. the MX 1 worked but its a very cheap plastic and the fan is very loud, since its plastic it cant dissipate heat well, so I wanted to try a new Enclosure the Rosewill RX81-MP-SC http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182122 its made of solid aluminum, and it works perfectly. Its the most well built enclosure iv ever used. The aluminum dissipates the heat very well and the drive inside stays cool. The esata cable thats comes with it works fine, but I wanted to use the highest quality cable I could find so I used the SIIG http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812191016

For the hard drive I used a Seagate 1 TB drive, this drive has a 5 year warranty and 7200 rpm 32mb cache. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8490625&st=seagate&lp=4&type=product&cp=1&id=1186003683968
I dont buy OEM hard drives, as they can cause problems in the way they ship it, its not as protected as a retail hard drive with is pre boxed and iv had better luck with retail drives. I know this setup isnt cheap but its been working for 2 months now, and its been through many updates and I still have all my recordings. I know there is cheaper Rosewill cases out there but this one works for me 100% and is much better than the MX1 I tried. It really is one of the best enclosure iv ever used its built like a tank and matches my hr21 nicely. Im also using a APC - 750VA Battery Back-Up UPS, and never had a power out with this thing, have just the dvr and external drive connected to it.http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8540322&st=ups&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1188559784051 iv been reading these forms for months and needed help on a working drive setup, and you guys helped me so much, that when I found a solid working setup, I had to post. thank you all for the help, the only thing iv found to be better than this setup, is a 2 TB option

[AstroDad]

Hey guys, I just set up an external drive on my HR20 and it seemed to recognize the new drive as when it booted up there was nothing in My Playlist. However, once i changed the channel I can no longer get a picture on ANY channel.

There is guide data (slowly loading up), but no picture at all.

For reference I am using the Antex MX-1 and a WD GP 1TB drive.

Anyone else had this problem?

[flabingo]

I have a calvery 1TB and Antec MX-1 enclosure. It works without a problem and I don't turn it off. I have two questions. 1. Should I turn it off? 2. Can I transfer the recording to a computer and edit my recordings. They have many commercials that I would like to edit out. If I had to buy another unit it would not be a problem

[Sirshagg]

If you do turn it off you should only do so when the DVR its conencted to is off. You would normally leave it on if the DVR is on (which it ususally is). The only reason I could think to turn off the external drive is so that the DVR will switch over to the internal drive where you may have some recordings that you want to watch. Long answer short - leave it on.

If you try connecting the drive to your PC the most likely result is that the drive will be reformatted by the PC or the DVR. In any case even if you did get it connected to the PC there is no known way to access the vidoeo from there.

[flabingo]

Thank you for your prompt response. What if I just wanted to make a copy for a backup?

[Sirshagg]

I'm not 100% on this but I don't think that's possible either. Best you can do is use another type of external case that supports RAID 1.

[harsh]

What if I just wanted to make a copy for a backup?You could make an image of the drive and restore that image to that particular drive in the event of something trashing the contents. Restoring the image to another drive might work but I wouldn't bet on it.

[flabingo]

I am cured! Thank you

[flabingo]

I have two HR-20-700s and want to buy another enclosure. I think I am better off to buy another 1or 2TB unit and set it up with my other DVR and if I have a particular program I don't want to lose I would record it on both units. One such program was DiscoveryHD Discovery Atlas Italy and earlier Brazil. Awesome! Sounds like the Rosewell Aluminum enclosure is a good idea

[mocarob]

You could make an image of the drive and restore that image to that particular drive in the event of something trashing the contents. Restoring the image to another drive might work but I wouldn't bet on it.

Anybody know for sure if that would work?
Creating an Image of the drive so It could be restored later?
Rob

[rook]

How do I know if my external is working?

I just had my HD21 installed and hooked up the external before I recorded a single thing. So of course the drive says 100% available.

The hd light blinks and all, but hard drives do the strangest things. So I can't count on that as a definitive answer.

Rook

[Michael D'Angelo]

How do I know if my external is working?

I just had my HD21 installed and hooked up the external before I recorded a single thing. So of course the drive says 100% available.

The hd light blinks and all, but hard drives do the strangest things. So I can't count on that as a definitive answer.

Rook

:welcome_s to DBSTalk, rook!

The only way to really know it to disconnect the eSATA drive reboot and record something on the internal drive and leave it. Then reset up the eSATA drive and make sure your "My Playlist" is empty.

[oldfantom]

How do I know if my external is working?

The only way I knew for sure is that I have about 5 minutes of "The Hunt for Red October" on the DVR drive. It is is easer to ensure the external is off than on. If i see THfRO on the play list, my drive is disconnected. Well, that and a few hours of recordings and 50 SP are missing.

Brian

[flashburn]

Does anyone know if I can swap my external drive to a new box and not lose any recordings? My box has been acting up but I don't want to get it replaced right now if it means I will lose all of the things I have recorded.

[Michael D'Angelo]

Does anyone know if I can swap my external drive to a new box and not lose any recordings? My box has been acting up but I don't want to get it replaced right now if it means I will lose all of the things I have recorded.

You will still see your recordings when you go to "My Playlist" but you will not be able to play them. Your series links will still work.

[flashburn]

You will still see your recordings when you go to "My Playlist" but you will not be able to play them. Your series links will still work.

Okay, so basically I will be able to keep everything but my recordings? So all my settings and what not will be reuseable and I just need to delete all the shows?

[Michael D'Angelo]

Okay, so basically I will be able to keep everything but my recordings? So all my settings and what not will be reuseable and I just need to delete all the shows?

correct

[smartwatermelon]

Hi people,

I've done some searching through this monstrosity of a thread and have found some small evidence of success in copying the contents of the internal drive to an eSATA drive, so as not to lose settings and recording programs. This post ( dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1158788&postcount=1799 ) is probably the most informative, but assumes some foreknowledge that I don't have.

I'm technically inclined -- two hacked DTivos, built own PCs, wired my own network, etc. -- and can follow directions, but I'm having trouble finding a good starting point.

Any help would be welcome. Thanks in advance!

[Stephen M. Smith]

Hi people,

I've done some searching through this monstrosity of a thread and have found some small evidence of success in copying the contents of the internal drive to an eSATA drive, so as not to lose settings and recording programs. This post ( dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1158788&postcount=1799 ) is probably the most informative, but assumes some foreknowledge that I don't have.

I'm technically inclined -- two hacked DTivos, built own PCs, wired my own network, etc. -- and can follow directions, but I'm having trouble finding a good starting point.

Any help would be welcome. Thanks in advance!

Me too. There so much info and tools out there that make this so simple to do w/TiVo's and DirecTivo's like my HDVR2, but nada for HR's.

[mocarob]

I started having a problem with random freezing and reboots after my 750 GB FAP was about a year old. I took the drive out of the FAP enclosure (a real pain to do) and put it in another esata enclosure and the problem was gone.

I just started having issues with freezing and slow or locked up reboots over the last couple of weeks.

I have a 750gb WD drive inside a 3rd party case (Kingwin i think) for about 9months. HR20. never had any connection problems, worked as soon as i plugged it in.

While watching a recorded show it would just hang and become non-responsive.
it's done it approx 2 times in 2 weeks.
A reboot fixed it the first time but last night it had trouble rebooting properly.
Once it had, something flashed on the screen and said it was repairing something. Can't remember what it said tho. it was really quick and i was tired.

Any ideas? drive failure? overheating? new firmware installed?
I don't want to lose all the concerts and football games on the drive.
Are there ways of backing it up?
Rob

[mvita]

I have an HR20-100 running 0x235, and I recently decided to add an eSATA drive. I went with the Antec MX-1 enclosure and a Western Digital WD10EACS 1TB drive, since people around here have generally reported positive results with both of these units. Initially everything went fine; I popped the the drive into the enclosure, attached it to the HR20 using the eSATA cable included with the MX-1, and power cycled everything. The HR20 came up, recognized and formatted the new drive, and everything seemed peachy. I was able to make a bunch of recordings on the new drive and play them back without any problems.

However... since adding the external drive, I've experienced a problem where about once a day, the HR20-100 seems to "lose the connection" to the external drive. I usually notice this when I first turn on the TV in the early morning. Both the DVR and enclosure are powered up and running, but the DVR is sometimes displaying a "frozen" image; other times, live TV is playing, but there is no "history" in the live buffer (can't rewind, etc). I can access the playlist, but attempting to play any of the recordings there results in an instant "do you want to delete this recording" message. At this point, if I restart the DVR (via RBR, or even a "soft" reset from the system menu), it comes up fine, I can play all the existing recordings with no problem, and generally the unit is fine for the entire day.

I first suspected that this might be a power-related problem (i.e. maybe the external drive was losing power due to a brief outage or voltage sag in the wee hours of the morning), so I put both the DVR and enclosure on a UPS, but this didn't solve the problem.

Any ideas on what the problem might be? Are there any special configuration or jumper settings I should I have made to drive before attaching it to the HR20?

[mocarob]

Has anybody tried using 2 (seperate) external drives with an HR20?
Like if you fill up one drive then buy another to start using....

Can you reboot switching back and forth between them and still playback all recordings? I heard the drives are married to the DVR but are they monogamists?
Rob

[Sirshagg]

Has anybody tried using 2 (seperate) external drives with an HR20?
Like if you fill up one drive then buy another to start using....

Can you reboot switching back and forth between them and still playback all recordings? I heard the drives are married to the DVR but are they monogamists?
Rob

I've never tried that but I'd be fairly confident that it would work. After all, if you remove the esata drive it will be perfectly happy going back to the internal drive and you can switch between esata and internal as you described. That would seem to indicate thay are not monogamists.

[mocarob]

I've never tried that but I'd be fairly confident that it would work. After all, if you remove the esata drive it will be perfectly happy going back to the internal drive and you can switch between esata and internal as you described. That would seem to indicate thay are not monogamists.

Makes sense, Just wondered if anybody has done it.

It seems you can copy from one drive to another. All you need is a linux box with both drives connected. it should copy the prgramming and settings.

Heck, weaknees sells the service for $59
Can't be too hard.
Rob

[thumperyz69]

Using a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148134 and a Kingwin Z-1 enclosure. just "switched" it over from the internal HR-20 HDD.

T

[mgroups]

I have an HR20-100 running 0x235, and I recently decided to add an eSATA drive. I went with the Antec MX-1 enclosure and a Western Digital WD10EACS 1TB drive,
However... since adding the external drive, I've experienced a problem where about once a day, the HR20-100 seems to "lose the connection" to the external drive. I usually notice this when I first turn on the TV in the early morning. Both the DVR and enclosure are powered up and running, but the DVR is sometimes displaying a "frozen" image; other times, live TV is playing, but there is no "history" in the live buffer (can't rewind, etc).
I first suspected that this might be a power-related problem (i.e. maybe the external drive was losing power due to a brief outage or voltage sag in the wee hours of the morning), so I put both the DVR and enclosure on a UPS, but this didn't solve the problem.

Any ideas on what the problem might be? Are there any special configuration or jumper settings I should I have made to drive before attaching it to the HR20? Try another esata cable. If that doesn’t work try exchanging the MX-1 if you can, since it would then probably be the MX-1 power supply transformer, MX-1 circuitry or loose connection inside the MX-1.

[mvita]

Try another esata cable. If that doesn’t work try exchanging the MX-1 if you can, since it would then probably be the MX-1 power supply transformer, MX-1 circuitry or loose connection inside the MX-1.

Thanks for the tip. I bought and installed one of the SIIG eSATA cables, we'll see how that goes.

[weattv]

Urgent question -- leaving for stores ASAP.

No search results in thread re the 500. That's the only size available in town right now. Leaving for trip tomorrow & would need to get the drive tonight.

Can anyone please post whether the 500 is adequate? All I recall here is that it must be over 300 gig.

Many Thanks!

[Duffinator]

Urgent question -- leaving for stores ASAP.

No search results in thread re the 500. That's the only size available in town right now. Leaving for trip tomorrow & would need to get the drive tonight.

Can anyone please post whether the 500 is adequate? All I recall here is that it must be over 300 gig.

Many Thanks!Well 500 is more than 300 but only you can determine if that's large enough. Most are getting 750 gb or 1 tb. Just like TV's larger is better.

[weattv]

Well 500 is more than 300 but only you can determine if that's large enough. Most are getting 750 gb or 1 tb. Just like TV's larger is better.

Thanks, Duffinator! I was thinking that the DirecTV software might take up all 300, or 60% of the 500, leaving comparatively little room for recordings. I have the 750 & it gets about 100 hours, I think. If the 500 gets even 60, it'll do for the time away from home -- and as a backup. The 750g lost all its programming when I'd had it just a month.

I'm assuming that the external drives can be interchanged? That I can re-connect the 750 & the DirecTV software won't reformat it, since it's been working with the 500 in the meantime? 500 to 750 to internal drive, etc., etc., will work?

Thanks.

[Duffinator]

I'm assuming that the external drives can be interchanged? That I can re-connect the 750 & the DirecTV software won't reformat it, since it's been working with the 500 in the meantime? 500 to 750 to internal drive, etc., etc., will work?

Thanks.I'm not so sure about that. I know they cannot be interchanged between DVR's or you will lose all programming. Somebody else with more experience will need to answer that question.

[sean_w_smith]

Thanks to the folks here....

Picked up a Seagate 1TB Sata from Frys for $169 and the Kingwin ZR-1 enclosure which BTW: Comes with a cable....

It works.....

comments. The enclosure is cheaply made. It may be metal but it certainly does not cool well. I am concerned about the longevity of the drive with as much heat as its producing. The antec case at $60 for a plastic case seemed steep. I have had good luck in the past with all aluminum USB enclosures that actually disapate heat.... Any recommendations on something good but cheaper than the antec....

BTW: I need to try again today but it will not connect to the internet now. It was connecting just fine. Its connected to the lan but somehow wont connect online. The downstairs one still works fine.... Any suggestions there....

Thanks,
Sean

[DarinC]

BTW: I need to try again today but it will not connect to the internet now. It was connecting just fine. Its connected to the lan but somehow wont connect online. The downstairs one still works fine.... Any suggestions there....

Interesting... I added an external drive last week, and now I can't connect to the internet either. I had assumed that possibly the new software download had screwed something up. The things that changed between the internet working, and not working, were: new software, external drive, and AM21.

[sean_w_smith]

Interesting... I added an external drive last week, and now I can't connect to the internet either. I had assumed that possibly the new software download had screwed something up. The things that changed between the internet working, and not working, were: new software, external drive, and AM21.

same here. but with the new software I can connect on the other box downstairs so I think its related to the drive. I will try and unplugging it and see what happens...

Sean

[LlamaLarry]

The general tilt of the thread appears to be towards using an external housing. If the original drive can be replaced internally is there a reason more folks aren't using that approach? Is it fear of voiding a warranty or just easier to have another external device on your theater stands?

[DarinC]

The general tilt of the thread appears to be towards using an external housing. If the original drive can be replaced internally is there a reason more folks aren't using that approach? Is it fear of voiding a warranty or just easier to have another external device on your theater stands?

Drives do eventually fail. I've had them fail in DVRs in the past, and I know from past experience that I'll tend to procrastinate replacing it a lot longer if it means I have to pull the DVR out of my (extremely crowded, difficult to re-work) cabinet, take it apart, and replace the drive. I can unplug the drive and reboot, and the DVR is up and running again in minutes, while I go shopping for a replacement. And the fact that I haven't voided anything is a bonus. Besides, when I got my external drive, it was actually cheaper than buying the bare drive by itself. I just didn't really see the benefit of taking it out of it's enclosure to put in the DVR.

[Drew2k]

The general tilt of the thread appears to be towards using an external housing. If the original drive can be replaced internally is there a reason more folks aren't using that approach? Is it fear of voiding a warranty or just easier to have another external device on your theater stands?If the DVR is leased, it's considered a violation of the lease agreement to open the cover, let alone change the drive. Mose of the recent DVR shipments now even have a tamper-proof seal. So it's technically possible, but not advised given the potential headaches that could arise if a "tampered" leased DVR is ever shipped back to DIRECTV.

[hihostevo]

Okay... been meaning to get around to this for a year or so...

Finally hooked up a Western Digital 1TB external with an eSATA cable while the HR20 was powered down.... powered up the drive let is run for about 2 minutes then restored power to the HR20.

HR20 goes to "DVR is powering up"... then to "Almost There a few more seconds"... then to a white screen for 30 seconds and back to the "Almost there a few more seconds"....

It has been cycling back and forth between these two for the last 10-12 minutes.........???

[cartrivision]

If the DVR is leased, it's considered a violation of the lease agreement to open the cover, let alone change the drive. Mose of the recent DVR shipments now even have a tamper-proof seal. So it's technically possible, but not advised given the potential headaches that could arise if a "tampered" leased DVR is ever shipped back to DIRECTV.

Whether or not it's a violation of the lease agreement is a matter of opinion. The lease agreement prohibits "modifying" the DVR, but as I see it, disabling the internal disk by replacing it with another internal drive plugged into the standard internal SATA connection that is provided is not materially different from disabling the same internal drive by plugging an external drive into the standard external SATA connection that is provided. I suspect that the "no modification" clause in the lease agreement is more about prohibiting modifications to the hardware that could possibly be used for the purpose of theft of service.

Given that I’ve never seen a report from anyone here saying that they had a problem after returning a DVR that they had opened up and later returned to DirecTV, along with the fact that many people have reported DVRs that were delivered without a warranty seal sticker or were delivered with the sticker already broken, plus the fact that the lease agreement does not identify or provide for any specific penalties (monetary or otherwise) for violating the lease agreement (contrary to many baseless warnings about potential monetary penalties that are sometimes posted in various forums), I concluded that any potential headaches arising from replacing my internal drive were very unlikely and easily outweighed by the known benefits. But that’s just my opinion. Others should weigh the facts as they see them and make their own decision.

[Drew2k]

Whether or not it's a violation of the lease agreement is a matter of opinion. The lease agreement prohibits "modifying" the DVR, but as I see it, disabling the internal disk by replacing it with another internal drive plugged into the standard internal SATA connection that is provided is not materially different from disabling the same internal drive by plugging an external drive into the standard external SATA connection that is provided. I suspect that the "no modification" clause in the lease agreement is more about prohibiting modifications to the hardware that could possibly be used for the purpose of theft of service.Here's what the clause in the Equipment Agreement (http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=P500014) states:

CARE OF EQUIPMENT. You are responsible for the loss of or any damage to the DIRECTV equipment that you have leased from DIRECTV. You shall have no right to sell, give away, transfer, pledge, mortgage, remove, relocate, alter or tamper with the DIRECTV equipment at any time.

Does plugging in an eSATA drive alter the equipment? You would argue "yes", and I would argue "no", since the original equipment is unchanged. The internal drive is still there, it still spins up - the equipment supplied by DIRECTV is unaltered.

Without a doubt, though, the terms of the contract leave a lot to be desired. For example, I have no rights to "relocate" my leased receiver... Does that mean I can't move it from the left side of my entertainment cabient to the right side? From the living room to the den? From my current house to a new house?

Given that most new receivers do have a tamper-proof seal, I advise on the side of caution, but that's just me. If people want to open the cover, break the seal, that's their call.

Given that I’ve never seen a report from anyone here saying that they had a problem after returning a DVR that they had opened up and later returned to DirecTV, along with the fact that many people have reported DVRs that were delivered without a warranty seal sticker or were delivered with the sticker already broken, plus the fact that the lease agreement does not identify or provide for any specific penalties (monetary or otherwise) for violating the lease agreement (contrary to many baseless warnings about potential monetary penalties that are sometimes posted in various forums), I concluded that any potential headaches arising from replacing my internal drive were very unlikely and easily outweighed by the known benefits. But that’s just my opinion. Others should weigh the facts as they see them and make their own decision.The equipment agreement does talk about equipment that is returned "damaged" and at most there is a $470 fee for the HD DVR. Would DIRECTV consider a broken tamper-proof seal as being "damaged"? I don't know.

This has been debated many times on this forum, many times in this thread and others, but I just see no reason to even worry about it when the simple solution of plugging an eSATA drive in is available ...

[Richierich]

I've got both external and internal upgraded hard drives and I could care less because I don't think Directv even cares. I have returned units before and they never even checked them to see if they had been altered as it is cheaper to just have someone take my unit and send me another one with no hassle.

[LlamaLarry]

I just didn't really see the benefit of taking it out of it's enclosure to put in the DVR.I've not upgraded my stock storage by either method, but plugging in an eSATA enclosure just strikes me as adding +1 to UPS/AVR protected power, fans, lights, dust collectors, things to get knocked over, etc.

Seems the biggest reasons to just plug and play is convenience (admittedly a *big* plus) and FUD about what happens were a user to crack the case. I wonder how many on the FUD side of the fence had such qualms opening a TiVo/DirecTiVo to stick in a bigger drive, or further modifications.

Like I said, I have no skin in this game at the moment, was just trying to gauge community opinion on the matter.

[cartrivision]

Here's what the clause in the Equipment Agreement (http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=P500014) states:
CARE OF EQUIPMENT. You are responsible for the loss of or any damage to the DIRECTV equipment that you have leased from DIRECTV. You shall have no right to sell, give away, transfer, pledge, mortgage, remove, relocate, alter or tamper with the DIRECTV equipment at any time.


Does plugging in an eSATA drive alter the equipment? You would argue "yes", and I would argue "no", since the original equipment is unchanged. The internal drive is still there, it still spins up - the equipment supplied by DIRECTV is unaltered.

Actually my argument is that since plugging it in internally is nearly functionally identical to the unofficially sanctioned method of plugging it in externally, so DirecTV doesn't much care.

Without a doubt, though, the terms of the contract leave a lot to be desired. For example, I have no rights to "relocate" my leased receiver... Does that mean I can't move it from the left side of my entertainment cabient to the right side? From the living room to the den? From my current house to a new house?

I don't know, but given your preference to err on the side of caution in regards to disk upgrades, if I were you I'd superglue your DVR to the entertainment center shelf just so it doesn't accidentally get moved and violate the terms of your lease agreement. :D

Given that most new receivers do have a tamper-proof seal, I advise on the side of caution, but that's just me. If people want to open the cover, break the seal, that's their call.

The equipment agreement does talk about equipment that is returned "damaged" and at most there is a $470 fee for the HD DVR. Would DIRECTV consider a broken tamper-proof seal as being "damaged"? I don't know.

That would be a stretch trying to classify a broken (or missing) sticker as damage. I doubt that any reasonable company would try to do that, and since some units are delivered without a sticker or with the sticker already broken, that suggests that nobody is concerned with the condition or presence of the stickers on returned units.

This has been debated many times on this forum, many times in this thread and others, but I just see no reason to even worry about it when the simple solution of plugging an eSATA drive in is available ...

I decided that increased reliability and decreased power usage and clutter were big enough reasons to go through the little effort that it takes to hook up the replacement disk to the internal connector instead of the external one.

[anubys]

FRACK...I have two 500 GB HDDs in an enclosure connected to an HR20...the enclosure tells me that the primary HDD has failed...

has anyone been able to resurrect a failed HDD? can I take it out and run diagnostics on it (I have a cable that connects HDDs to my computer via USB)?

or am I SOL and have lost all my recordings and SPs?

[Richierich]

If you are running RAID 0 you are SOL!!! That is why I run RAID 1 to ensure that if one drive fails I have an opportunity to replace it, mirror it and then I am back in business!!!

Only run RAID 0 if you can afford to lose your settings & recordings and not let it bother you. I have stated this repeatedly and not many peole agree or listen until it is too late!!!

[anubys]

well, it also means having half of your capacity! how many people would go for that?

this is the first time I've had a drive fail on me like that...I've had one or two drives start getting bad sectors and stuff but never one that just drops dead...guess I've been lucky so far...a replacement 500GB is only $90 but this is the unit that I used to store some stuff to watch "later" such as the entire Sara Jane series...

I'll pull it up to my PC and see if I can run diagnostics...I just don't know if my PC with Windows XP will be able to read this drive...any idea if I can do that?

[Richierich]

Yes it means having half the capacity but better SAFE than SORRY!!!

Been there, done that twice and I ain't gonna do it again!!!

[LlamaLarry]

Is the filesystem on these boxes just more twitchy? Or are these actual drive hardware failures? Is there a similar failure rate for the solo internal drives or does it seem to hit external (singles or multiples) more?

[mgroups]

FRACK...I have two 500 GB HDDs in an enclosure connected to an HR20...the enclosure tells me that the primary HDD has failed...

I suggest you make sure the problem is the disk and not the enclosure. I have had two USB enclosures connected to my PC fail during the last few years and the first esata enclosure connected to my HR20 failed. In the last dozen or so years I have had only one hard drive fail.

[rpa22]

Has anyone been able to get the Seagate Free Agent Pro 1 Terabyte hard drive work with DTV HR21?

[Michael D'Angelo]

Has anyone been able to get the Seagate Free Agent Pro 1 Terabyte hard drive work with DTV HR21?

:welcome_s to DBSTalk!

Sorry to be the one to tell you but the FAP's do not work with the HR21's.

If you do a search for FAP or Free Agent Pro and HR21 you will find some discussion about it.

[anubys]

I suggest you make sure the problem is the disk and not the enclosure. I have had two USB enclosures connected to my PC fail during the last few years and the first esata enclosure connected to my HR20 failed. In the last dozen or so years I have had only one hard drive fail.

tested the enclosure yesterday and even upgraded the firmware...the HDD is still in "failed" mode...I'm taking the HDD out tonight and will plug it to my PC and run diagnostics...nobody here seems to know the answer to my original question regarding doing that with Windows XP...so I guess I'll just plug it and hope it works...

in the meantime, I've already ordered a new HDD...a $90 hit but I remember just a year ago a 500GB drive was a great bargain at $120...

[bozzaj]

tested the enclosure yesterday and even upgraded the firmware...the HDD is still in "failed" mode...I'm taking the HDD out tonight and will plug it to my PC and run diagnostics...nobody here seems to know the answer to my original question regarding doing that with Windows XP...so I guess I'll just plug it and hope it works...

in the meantime, I've already ordered a new HDD...a $90 hit but I remember just a year ago a 500GB drive was a great bargain at $120...

The drive diag utilities (such as WD's Data Lifeguard Diagnostic) work fine regardless of the partitions on the drive. Diag tools typically run at a lower level. It's unlikely that you'd be able to run filesystem checks or anything on the drive regardless of what you hook it up to since it's only half of a RAID set anyway. Striped data is a massive pain to reconstruct if you had to.

At the very least you can try and run a extended test which will test drive electronics (controller, etc) and run some other tests. A surface scan (verify) may be able to try and remap bad sectors. Depending on what data is located on the bad sectors, you *may* be able to plug it back in and restore some of your recording. Unfortunately, if the data lost was filesystem structure (directory, indexes, allocation tables, etc), you may have all sorts of weird problems recording additional items. I'm not sure how the HR's handle filesystem corruption, though I'm sure there should be something there.

Also, you may have to hook the drive directly up to your system and not via USB. I haven't tested, but the diag utils used to not fully work via USB.

[anubys]

The drive diag utilities (such as WD's Data Lifeguard Diagnostic) work fine regardless of the partitions on the drive. Diag tools typically run at a lower level. It's unlikely that you'd be able to run filesystem checks or anything on the drive regardless of what you hook it up to since it's only half of a RAID set anyway. Striped data is a massive pain to reconstruct if you had to.

At the very least you can try and run a extended test which will test drive electronics (controller, etc) and run some other tests. A surface scan (verify) may be able to try and remap bad sectors. Depending on what data is located on the bad sectors, you *may* be able to plug it back in and restore some of your recording. Unfortunately, if the data lost was filesystem structure (directory, indexes, allocation tables, etc), you may have all sorts of weird problems recording additional items. I'm not sure how the HR's handle filesystem corruption, though I'm sure there should be something there.

Also, you may have to hook the drive directly up to your system and not via USB. I haven't tested, but the diag utils used to not fully work via USB.

that's good to know...and you're right, WD utility could not see the HDD when I connected it through the USB port...so I'll connect it directly as a secondary drive to the PC tonight and see what I can find...I just need to hunt for the jumper settings now...

[bozzaj]

that's good to know...and you're right, WD utility could not see the HDD when I connected it through the USB port...so I'll connect it directly as a secondary drive to the PC tonight and see what I can find...I just need to hunt for the jumper settings now...

Is it a SATA or PATA drive?

[jnelson1000]

I'll pull it up to my PC and see if I can run diagnostics...I just don't know if my PC with Windows XP will be able to read this drive...any idea if I can do that?

Can't you run into problems accessing a Linux formated drive with Windows? I thnk so. Anyone know for sure?

[bozzaj]

Can't you run into problems accessing a Linux formated drive with Windows? I thnk so. Anyone know for sure?

Windows just won't do anything with it. If Windows doesn't recognize the partition type, it just considers it a foreign partition. The Diag Utils don't care about the partition since they deal with the drive at the lower level (Sectors, tracks, etc). You obviously wouldn't be able to fix partition data (fsck/chkdsk, etc) but then again, having with only half of a RAID set, you wouldn't be able to do anything much with the data even if you had tools. RAID0 places alternating pieces of the data on the different drives, so single drive wouldn't have anything useful anyway.

[Richierich]

This problem is why I have stated many many times to Run RAID1 so you won't have to deal with the angst & pain of a failed drive which I have had twice on my HR10-250s and it is a PITA when you lose recordings that you can't replace but it seems the majority wants more space so they opt for RAID0 and end up eventually paying the price.

I had to run SpinRite to remove bad sectors and replace them in order to offload content before it failed again. Oncel bad sectors are encountered it is almost certain there will be alot more in the future. Good Luck!!!

[mgroups]

Can't you run into problems accessing a Linux formated drive with Windows? I thnk so. Anyone know for sure?
As I recall, when my esata stopped working, I took out the drive, put it into a USB enclosure and plugged it into my PC. The BIOS recognized it and it showed up in disk management with the partitions. That's as far as I went. I hoped it was good, put it in a new esata enclosure and it was good. Of course, it can show up in disk management and still not work properly but it's a good place to start. Good luck.

[Folin]

:welcome_s to DBSTalk!

Sorry to be the one to tell you but the FAP's do not work with the HR21's.

If you do a search for FAP or Free Agent Pro and HR21 you will find some discussion about it.

Is there a master list/cross reference database showing what all-in-one units (Seagate FAP, WD My Book's, etc) work w/ HR20 vs. HR21's...or is it somewhat hit or miss? After 100+ pages, I don't know if I'm better off buying a stand alone enclosure and separate HD or just getting a 1TB FAP for my HR20-100 and HR20-700....

[seanmcgpa]

Agreed - unsure what to buy at this point. I'd love a 2TB Raid ESATA enclosure for my HR-21 - can anyone suggest one?

[Folin]

Bah, no replies here in a few days, got ancy and bit on a FreeAgent 1TB w/a PPA 5' eSata to eSata cable from newegg. Ran about $224 shipped.

Fingers crossed on no issues...I'll post back. Now I've got some movies to watch on the internal over the next day or so :)


What's the latest total MPEG-4 record time on a 1TB now...last I recall in here 220-225 hrs was being calc'd. Is this figure verified, still accurate?

[taw123]

The external will handle ANY size... I have heard the theoretical number that it will max out at... and if anyone tries to get that high... they have WAY too much money on their hands.

The Graphic on the bar is measured at the 300gb metric, and I don't if/when they may be changing that.

A couple people including myself have asked this question but I have yet to see a clear answer..

What is the max size of disk that the H20/21 DVR can write to. I have had problems when my >2TB vol gets close to full (in the last 10%). This is occurring at about 2TB. Do we know that the Linux kernel being used has file system support for volumes over 2TB?

Thanks for the help. Still really wish we could get multi-room viewing like I had to give up on my tivos...... And no you don't get to charge me more for that..... *laugh* I paid for the content, I paid for the hardware, I just want to move it to another DVR in my house. Simple right? I can live with it not streaming if you can't get that figured out initially (though as an engineer I can tell you it's not that hard).

Thank again...

--Tom

[Richierich]

Agreed - unsure what to buy at this point. I'd love a 2TB Raid ESATA enclosure for my HR-21 - can anyone suggest one?


Look at my Signature and you will see what I have and it works FLAWLESSLY!!!

PM me if you need more info.

[hdtvfan0001]

Look at my Signature and you will see what I have and it works FLAWLESSLY!!!

PM me if you need more info.
Rich is what you call a "Power user"..... :D

[Podkayne]

Agreed - unsure what to buy at this point. I'd love a 2TB Raid ESATA enclosure for my HR-21 - can anyone suggest one?

See my entry in the "working esata setups" thread.

I used a vantec nexstar mx raid enclosure set to JBOD with 2 x Western Digital WD10EACS 1TB hard drives, and the cable that came with the enclosure. I tested both Raid 0 and Raid 1 just to be sure the box worked, but settled on JBOD since I wanted the full capacity.

I haven't recorded enough on it yet (my wife and kids keep switching back to the internal drive to watch their previously recorded shows and then don't switch it back to the vantec) but approx 5 hours of HD on it still shows 99% capacity remaining.

You can search on Vantec Nexstar MX at Newegg and you will find them there for $119.99.

[seanmcgpa]

On the advice of the wise folks here, I Newegged an MX-1 and a Venus DS3RPRO, 3 1TB drives (149.99 each shipped).

The MX-1 worked immediately upon first reboot for my bedroom HR21. No muss, no fuss. Whisper quiet - perfect for the bedroom. Joy!

The Venus : not so lucky. I spent several hours trying to get it to work - no joy. Raid 0, JBOD, Raid 1 ... nothing. The HR21 in my living room doesn't recognize it.

I have tried using the software switch on the back, tried hooking it up via USB to a Windows PC (Vista recognized it as a 1.78 TB drive, and I was able to read/write from it without issue).

As a last resort I ordered a SiIIG ESATA->ESATA cable from NewEgg - cable issue? Can the esata cable that comes with the Venus really be faulty?

Any suggestions or things I missed / should consider?

[seanmcgpa]

Well, got the SiiG cable and still nothing. HR21 just won't see this Venus DS3RPro .. any last ideas before I RMA it?

[Richierich]

Here is a copy of my post when I finally got my DS3RPRO working.

"I just got the DS3R PRO working. I had connected it to my PC via the USB cable and it said it had 8 GB of unallocated memory. I called the AMS technician and he told me that after I had the Dip Switches set, I had to depress the "Model Apply SW Button" (the Manual doesn't say anything about this button). This applies or activates the New Dip Switch Settings and locks them in memory.

After I did that, he had me format the drives on my PC using a USB cable to connect to the PC. It then showed 985 GB of memory with the RAID 1 Mode (Drive 1 will just be a mirror image of Drive 0) so the PC or HR21-700 will not be able to recognize it because of the RAID controller.

I then hooked it up to the HR21-700 and powered it up and it recognized the SATA port's activity and booted up with the External Drive.

I now have 1TB of storage plus 1TB being mirrored on the second drive running RAID 1 Mode, FANTASTIC!!!"

[djt813]

Hey all, I'm a tad frustrated and wondering if anyone has had similar situation and can offer guidance.

I have HR20-700 & Seagate FAP 750 gb. Been working fine for a year (except frequently needing to reboot after cleaning lady comes around and wiggles the eSATA cable). We had power outage last week and since then can't get the HR to recognize the external HD. Have rebooted 20x, always unplugging power to HR & FAP in correct orders and waiting 15 sec - 5 min. Every time it boots up to the internal drive.

The FAP still powers up and sounds like it is running. Is there a way to tell if the drive is shot? Could I have a random issue where the (always sensitive) cable doesn't work any longer? Trying to figure out if I can salvage my setup & saved programs or if I need to replace the FAP.

Any help is appreciated!

[Leftcoastdave]

Hey all, I'm a tad frustrated and wondering if anyone has had similar situation and can offer guidance.

I have HR20-700 & Seagate FAP 750 gb. Been working fine for a year (except frequently needing to reboot after cleaning lady comes around and wiggles the eSATA cable). We had power outage last week and since then can't get the HR to recognize the external HD. Have rebooted 20x, always unplugging power to HR & FAP in correct orders and waiting 15 sec - 5 min. Every time it boots up to the internal drive.

The FAP still powers up and sounds like it is running. Is there a way to tell if the drive is shot? Could I have a random issue where the (always sensitive) cable doesn't work any longer? Trying to figure out if I can salvage my setup & saved programs or if I need to replace the FAP.

Any help is appreciated!

As you already know, frequent reboots are not a hard drive's best friend. Your drive might well be shot, but perhaps not. I had a similar experience with my FAP 750 several months ago and I had a dickens of a time getting it to come online after a system restart, but eventually it did.

Some wizard here suggested that I power down both the HR20 and FAP for an expended period before trying to restart. Previously, I had only waited for three or four minutes before trying to reboot and each time the internal drive came up rather than my FAP.

You might want to give it fifteen minutes in a power off state (be sure to disconnect the HR20 from the power outlet) and cross your fingers. It wouldn't hurt to re seat your esata cable to ensure a good connection. I reversed mine and it seemed to seat better than before. I was able to see the FAP drive on the next attempt and it has been running just fine ever since.

Good luck.

Dave

[djt813]

As you already know, frequent reboots are not a hard drive's best friend. Your drive might well be shot, but perhaps not. I had a similar experience with my FAP 750 several months ago and I had a dickens of a time getting it to come online after a system restart, but eventually it did.

Some wizard here suggested that I power down both the HR20 and FAP for an expended period before trying to restart. Previously, I had only waited for three or four minutes before trying to reboot and each time the internal drive came up rather than my FAP.

You might want to give it fifteen minutes in a power off state (be sure to disconnect the HR20 from the power outlet) and cross your fingers. It wouldn't hurt to re seat your esata cable to ensure a good connection. I reversed mine and it seemed to seat better than before. I was able to see the FAP drive on the next attempt and it has been running just fine ever since.

Good luck.

Dave

Thanks, Dave. I've reseated the eSATA cable multiple times and powered down for a day or more on the FAP, probably max of 5-7 min power down on the HR20. I'll try leaving it unplugged for 15-20 min one more time... other than that I'm out of ideas. Stinks only lasting a year - maybe I'll look into Seagate's warranty to see if I have any options that way before spending $ on a new one.

[Leftcoastdave]

Thanks, Dave. I've reseated the eSATA cable multiple times and powered down for a day or more on the FAP, probably max of 5-7 min power down on the HR20. I'll try leaving it unplugged for 15-20 min one more time... other than that I'm out of ideas. Stinks only lasting a year - maybe I'll look into Seagate's warranty to see if I have any options that way before spending $ on a new one.

Bummer.

It was a long shot. Your FAP can be reconfigured for use as a spare computer hard drive so not all is lost if the little gremlin refuses to answer your prayers.

If it is any consolation, I do not install CE releases on this particular DVR (I have three others) because I am so nervous about restarting it. You are not alone in your frustration.

Dave

[inkahauts]

Thanks, Dave. I've reseated the eSATA cable multiple times and powered down for a day or more on the FAP, probably max of 5-7 min power down on the HR20. I'll try leaving it unplugged for 15-20 min one more time... other than that I'm out of ideas. Stinks only lasting a year - maybe I'll look into Seagate's warranty to see if I have any options that way before spending $ on a new one.

I had this issue once with my FAP... here is what I did...

turn units off...
unplug both units power
unplug esata cable...

wait 20 min

plug in esata cable

plug in FAP
wait for about 30 sec to a min till the FAP is up and running...

plug in hr...

[Richierich]

Could the end be damaged??? Is it plugged into the Right eSATA Port??? Hard to believe that just wiggling the cable could damage it!!!

[hdtvfan0001]

Could the end be damaged??? Is it plugged into the Right eSATA Port??? Hard to believe that just wiggling the cable could damage it!!!
I'd agree...95% chance of a bad cable (or cable end), and 5% chance of a bad eSata connector end on the back of the DVR itself. It should not be affeected just be jiggling the cable if it is properly seated in the connector.

Rich would know...the back of his setup looks like the L.A. freeway...and he has no problems... :D :lol:

[Cappyxavs]

new to this thread did some research but am looking for a quick direct answer...
I am interested in starting to use an external HDD. from what i have read here it must be e-sata?
> would any one know any WD drives that qualify?
> i had read in past posts that instaling the external takes the place of the internal with no way of x-fering the older data is this still true?
> What is the size of the internal drive in my 21? does anyone know this? i am interested to see what i would gain..

[harsh]

new to this thread did some research but am looking for a quick direct answer...That's the main reason this thread got to be as large as it did: too many wanting the quick and dirty answer. ;)I am interested in starting to use an external HDD. from what i have read here it must be e-sata?If you're using a RAID controller, the drive can be any technology that the controller supports. The connection to the HR21 MUST be eSATA.> i had read in past posts that instaling the external takes the place of the internal with no way of x-fering the older data is this still true?Absolutely. Not only does the content not transfer, but the recording schedule must be redone also.> What is the size of the internal drive in my 21? does anyone know this? i am interested to see what i would gain..The internal drive is 320GB of which about 100GB is set aside for satellite delivered PPV content. Whatever you add over and above 320GB is what you gain.

[Cappyxavs]

That's the main reason this thread got to be as large as it did: too many wanting the quick and dirty answer. ;)If you're using a RAID controller, the drive can be any technology that the controller supports. The connection to the HR21 MUST be eSATA.Absolutely. Not only does the content not transfer, but the recording schedule must be redone also.The internal drive is 320GB of which about 100GB is set aside for satellite delivered PPV content. Whatever you add over and above 320GB is what you gain.

Thank you very much! the internal drive is actually bigger than i thought. i'm thinking anything under 1TB external and i may be waisting my time.

i had seen a couple of WD e-sata my book drives at decent prices i may look further into these. thanks again for the info.

[harsh]

Thank you very much! the internal drive is actually bigger than i thought. i'm thinking anything under 1TB external and i may be waisting my time.

i had seen a couple of WD e-sata my book drives at decent prices i may look further into these. thanks again for the info.Search this thread for the word "book" and see what turns up.

IIRC, the My Book drives don't work with the HR21.

[Cappyxavs]

Search this thread for the word "book" and see what turns up.

IIRC, the My Book drives don't work with the HR21.

i did just that and what returned was not good.....

looks like my book won't even work on these dvrs.
the dvrs seem very picky on what they can and can not do.
i'll do some more research but from what i see so far i think i am asking for a headache.
thanks for all your help but i'm thinking i subscribed to D to be entertained and not create more work at home projects:)

[mocarob]

Not only does the content not transfer, but the recording schedule must be redone also.The internal drive is 320GB of which about 100GB is set aside for satellite delivered PPV content. Whatever you add over and above 320GB is what you gain.

This is an inaccurate statement.
You can copy the internal to a new external drive drive and even an external to another external drive. I've done it.

Take a look at this thread.
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=100894

I picked up a Cavalry 1tb external drive for about $150 at buy.com.
works great.

[leww37334]

I noted with interest that this thread is almost two years old, yes it was started by Saint Earl himself. When is Directv going to actually start supporting an external hard drive officially, rather than let people bet their heads against a stone wall trying to make this work and hoping it doesn't wipe out their internal hard drive stored programs?


OK i actually feel much better now. Catharsis is a wonderful thing.

[harsh]

This is an inaccurate statement.
You can copy the internal to a new external drive drive and even an external to another external drive. I've done it.So you would recommend that anybody and everybody open up their receiver and do Linux magic on the drive? I'll stick with my answer, thank you. I'm not going to advocate a process that demands violating the lease agreement and voiding any possible warranties.

[mocarob]

So you would recommend that anybody and everybody open up their receiver and do Linux magic on the drive? I'll stick with my answer, thank you. I'm not going to advocate a process that demands violating the lease agreement and voiding any possible warranties.

No, I don't recommend anything.
You're statement was still inaccurate-
"Not only does the content not transfer, but the recording schedule must be redone also"

You can copy your drive(s) to a new one and even retain settings.
I didn't open my case. I copied from Esata to Esata.

[harsh]

I didn't open my case. I copied from Esata to Esata.The question as I recall was could you copy the internal drive contents to an external drive.

[mocarob]

The question as I recall was could you copy the internal drive contents to an external drive.

Look at your question in the quotes above. The answer is YES you can. I think everybody would agree. You just opt not to open the case.

I get the feeling you'll argue this to no end.
So hopefully I can refrain from answering any more posts.

[Jared701]

I believe this is correct, but could someone confirm it? The hard drive inside the enclosure does not matter. It is the enclosure you must get that will either be compatible or not with the HR20/21. I'm looking at getting http://www.buy.com/prod/western-digital-gp-caviar-1tb-serial-ata-3-gb-s-internal-hard-drive/q/loc/101/205083228.html
and putting it into an mx-1 enclosure and wanted to make sure that would work. I have an HR21 receiver.

[russdog]

I believe this is correct, but could someone confirm it? The hard drive inside the enclosure does not matter. It is the enclosure you must get that will either be compatible or not with the HR20/21.
It is true that the enclosure matters, and that the Antec MX-1 is one that works.
It is not true that the HD does not matter. The HD also matters.
For example, some people have reported the Seagate Barracuda's do not work with HR21's when in the Antec enclosure.
Nobody knows why.

I'm looking at getting http://www.buy.com/prod/western-digital-gp-caviar-1tb-serial-ata-3-gb-s-internal-hard-drive/q/loc/101/205083228.html
and putting it into an mx-1 enclosure and wanted to make sure that would work. I have an HR21 receiver.
That particular drive works fine with the Antec and my HR21. Evidently, the same is true for numerous others.
(The price for that item at newegg flip-flops from one day to the next between $6 less and $4 more than the link you posted.)

[AstroDad]

I believe this is correct, but could someone confirm it? The hard drive inside the enclosure does not matter. It is the enclosure you must get that will either be compatible or not with the HR20/21. I'm looking at getting http://www.buy.com/prod/western-digital-gp-caviar-1tb-serial-ata-3-gb-s-internal-hard-drive/q/loc/101/205083228.html
and putting it into an mx-1 enclosure and wanted to make sure that would work. I have an HR21 receiver.

That is the exact set-up I have and it is has been been working beutifully for about 3 months now. I am loving me some ~165 hours of HD!

[smiddy]

Hi All,

I have been running up against the wall on my DVR of late and the shows for the fall are about to hit my machines. I will need to extend the size of my HDD. I am considering removing a replacing the one in my HR21...but am curious about adding an eSATA drive. Unfortunately there are some 2596 post and I fear that since the beginning one started in 2006, some things are not as relevant as they could be. Is there an eSATA down and dirty somewhere? Has anyone (legally) moved content from the internal drive out to the eSATA? Has anyone attached a megaraid to the eSATA port to see if that works?

[harsh]

Unfortunately there are some 2596 post and I fear that since the beginning one started in 2006, some things are not as relevant as they could be.Sadly (or happily, depending on how you look at it), very little has changed.

[ntrance]

Has anyone (legally) moved content from the internal drive out to the eSATA? Has anyone attached a megaraid to the eSATA port to see if that works?
Here's the thread on how to copy the drive:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=100894
Not sure if the method fits within your definition of legal, but if not, you are probably out of luck. People have gotten eSATA raid enclosures to work as well. You can probably find some in this thread (but it is quite long as well):
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=92029

[smiddy]

Thanks ntrance...this is very helpful.

[Podkayne]

I run a 2TB JBOD array, but the enclosure supports a RAID 0 or RAID 1 selection by selecting jumpers on the board.

There are 2 x 1TB WD EACS hard drives enclosed in a Vantec Nexstar400 MX enclosure connected by the eSata cable that came with the enclosure. The drives and enclosure are available on NewEgg. MicroCenter has the drives on special this week for $129.99.

I have about 32 hours of HD recorded on this array and the HR20-100 shows 94% space remaining. There's room for 500+ hours of HD.

It would seem there is a 2TB limit on the size of the external array, as evidenced by several posters in the early part of this thread.

[Richierich]

Podkayne, I just hope you aren't too disappointed when one of your drives fails and you lose all of your recordings.

I would rather run RAID 1 and always have backup as it is not a question of if your drive will fail but just when will it fail!!!

[russdog]

Has anyone attached a megaraid to the eSATA port to see if that works?
Like you, I have an HR21. I tried for some time to find out if anybody had an affordable RAID box working with it. In the end, I found a few tails of failure, and zero tales of success. At first, I thought I had found some reports of success, but they all turned out to be about HR20's, not HR21's. I finally quit waiting, got myself an Antec MX-1 and a WD10EACS, and called it a day. I'm quite happy with the results.

[Richierich]

I have the DS3RPRO with 2 1TB Drives running RAID 1 (Mirror Mode) very successfully with a APC Battery Backup for my HR21-700 and I have had ZERO Problems and no reboots!!!

[russdog]

Like you, I have an HR21. I tried for some time to find out if anybody had an affordable RAID box working with it. In the end, I found a few tails of failure, and zero tales of success.
I have the DS3RPRO with 2 1TB Drives running RAID 1 (Mirror Mode) very successfully with a APC Battery Backup for my HR21-700 and I have had ZERO Problems and no reboots!!!
Ooops. Thanks for the reminder. I was wrong when I said I could find zero reports of success.
In actual fact, I did see your report of success.
However, I also found multiple reports of failure when others tried the very same unit that you have.
So, it would seem that you're one lucky guy ;-)

[smiddy]

Like you, I have an HR21. I tried for some time to find out if anybody had an affordable RAID box working with it. In the end, I found a few tails of failure, and zero tales of success. At first, I thought I had found some reports of success, but they all turned out to be about HR20's, not HR21's. I finally quit waiting, got myself an Antec MX-1 and a WD10EACS, and called it a day. I'm quite happy with the results.

Thanks for the info...I am leaning towards a RAID 5 (or 6) setup. If the limfac is 2 TB total, that would rule out 5 1.5 TB Seagates...

This gets me thinking that they should put the ability (which I suspect that DirecTV will never do) to use networked resources.

I am glad someone has been able to copy files off of one drive onto another. I will be doing this during my Christmas Break from work. If I can implement a RAID 5, then that will be the way I intend on going.

Is there such a thing a an eSATA switch (anyone)?

[Podkayne]

Podkayne, I just hope you aren't too disappointed when one of your drives fails and you lose all of your recordings.

I would rather run RAID 1 and always have backup as it is not a question of if your drive will fail but just when will it fail!!!

Point is well taken. Since the box offers RAID 1 capability I could set it up as such. If one of these drives crashes and I set up from scratch I'll probably do it that way. I do take all the necessary precautions: the enclosure and the HR 20 are powered by a high quality battery-backup power supply, the enclosure is on a very well ventilated shelf and does not ever get more than lukewarm to the touch. Nevertheless, any HD can eventually crash.

I notice in your signature block that you back up your array? (Or does that refer to the RAID 1 you mentioned?)

I would love to be able to back up this 2 TB array somehow without losing all the recordings. An ideal solution would be to backup to a NAS through my home network.

[Richierich]

My backup protection is that I run RAID 1 so I only have in essence 1TB of space but I manage it very well and delete stuff that I really don't need or probably won't watch.

Alot of stuff we think we want to watch gets lost in the archival process and we never look at it so I go back on occasion and delete those things.

It is a VERY PAINFUL PROCESS WHEN YOU LOSE ALL OF YOU RECORDINGS (DON'T ASK HOW I KNOW THAT).

[hdtvfan0001]

It is a VERY PAINFUL PROCESS WHEN YOU LOSE ALL OF YOU RECORDINGS (DON'T ASK HOW I KNOW THAT).
Lessons learned from the School of Hard Knocks...:D

[Richierich]

Amen, Brother Ben!!!

[Richierich]

Here is a copy of my post when I finally got my DS3RPRO working and HOW I got it to WORK!!! I have editted it and added some more relevant info.

"I just got the DS3R PRO working. I had connected it to my PC via the USB cable and it said it had 8 GB of unallocated memory. I called the AMS technician and he told me that after I had the Dip Switches set correctly for RAID 1 Mode, I had to depress the "Model Apply SW Button" (the Manual doesn't say anything about this button). This applies or activates the New Dip Switch Settings and locks them in memory.

After I did that, he had me FORMAT the Drives on my PC in NTFS Format using a USB cable to connect to the PC. It then showed 985 GB of memory (after the formatting and 8 GB before) with the RAID 1 Mode (Drive 1 will just be a mirror image of Drive 0) so the PC or HR21-700 will not be able to recognize it as two drives because of the RAID controller.

Apparently the HR2X DVRs sometimes do not recognize the External Drive and Fail to Initialize or Format it. This was my case so once we formatted it using my PC it had no problem recognizing the drive and booting up with it!!! This has been documented in a Thread about Replacing Internal or using External Drives where the HR2X FAILS to properly recognize and format the drive particularly the External Drive. It must be FULLY SPUN UP before the HR2X can recognize it. See this THREAD.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=142735

Here is the excerpt I am referencing. Some people report that it's an iffy thing to get the HR to see the external eSATA HDD, and that it takes them multiple reboots to do it. Most of these reports come from people who tried using the HR's own controls to reboot it without removing power from the HR. However, I have come to believe that for some reason unknown to us the HR2X fails to recognize the external drive and therefore fails to format it.

I then hooked it up to the HR21-700 and Powered Up the DS3RPRO, then Powered Up the HR21-700 and it recognized the e-SATA port's activity and booted up with the External Drive.

I now have 1TB of storage plus 1TB being mirrored on the second drive running RAID 1 Mode, FANTASTIC!!!"

If this doesn't work for you, then I would suspect that you have a bad e-SATA Port or a bad e-SATA Cable!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!

[russdog]

richierich, I'm glad the DS3R PRO works for you, and I hope it works for others.
However, I want everybody to understand that other people *DID* try to do exactly what you told them to do, and it just would not work with HR21's.

Now, I never tried it, so I really don't know. But based on what others reported, it is simply not reasonable to imply that that unit works just fine with HR21's, and that anytime it did not was due to either people doing the wrong thing or a bad eSATA cable. Multiple people followed your advice (plus tried other things) and were unable to get that unit working with the HR21.

I don't think it's helpful for you to keep beating this horse about the DS3R PRO, implying that others somehow goofed up. Again, others report having done exactly what you said, and all it gave them was a frustrating cost of both time and money. AFAIK, available reports indicated that it has failed for every person who tried it with HR21's except you.

[Richierich]

I must be the LUCKIEST person in the world or they didn't do everything that I did which was to use my PC to format the drive and then to Select Raid 1 and hit the Mode Apply SW. Until I did that mine didn't work either.

Or what if they had a BAD PORT???

[russdog]

I must be the LUCKIEST person in the world or they didn't do everything that I did which was to use my PC to format the drive and then to Select Raid 1 and hit the Mode Apply SW. Until I did that mine didn't work either.

Or what if they had a BAD PORT???

Nah... the luckiest person in the world is the guy who recently reported that his WD MyBook Home Edition is working with an HR21.
We have tons of reports of those things not working, including several reports that they don't even work with HR20's. Yet, somehow, his is working with an HR21.

I'd say that makes you #2 when it comes to "luckiest person in the world" (the world of eSATA drives, that is ;-)

No reason to diss others about it. Just because they're not as lucky as you, that doesn't make them wrong.

[Richierich]

I was not "Dissing" anyone but simply trying to offer an explanable or plausable explanation as to why some of us are successful and other aren't.

Maybe it's the alignment of the planetary system at work or maybe there is an explanation.

So I offered up suggestions to be helpful in the future for some who try this approach and I never intended to be "dissing" anyone as you can look thru all of my 540 posts and thousands on the AVS Forum and TivoCommunity Forum and my track record stands as being most helpful with my time, experience, etc.

Why are you DISSING me for trying to be HELPFUL???

[hdtvfan0001]

I'd say that makes you #2 when it comes to "luckiest person in the world" (the world of eSATA drives, that is ;-)

No reason to diss others about it. Just because they're not as lucky as you, that doesn't make them wrong.
I didn't see that he was dissing anyone...in fact...he surely went far out of the way to help and provided alot of detail as to getting past the obstacles.

And yes....if someone gets something working, and then others tell them it can't be done - they ARE wrong.

[russdog]

Why are you DISSING me for trying to be HELPFUL???
I am not dissing you or your DS3R PRO.
As I said, I'm glad the DS3R PRO works for you, and I hope it works for others.

However, I don't think it's "helpful" when you repeatedly make posts that give the impression that the DS3R PRO is a great solution when you *know* full well that everyone who responded to your suggestions reported that it did not work for them. While it's great for you to share your experience, IMO it's not so great to pretend that you are unaware that others have had nothing but problems with it. When you do that, a reader is getting only a very partial story. One possible consequence is that various readers on the board will invest both time and money into something that has led everybody-but-you to nothing but frustration. If you think that's "helpful", well...

Again, I think it's a grand thing for you to report what your experience has been, and to let others know how happy you are with it. Nothing wrong with that. However, to say *only* that, when you *know* that others have reported that it hasn't worked for them, is not "helpful". And it's especially not "helpful" to imply that the reason it doesn't work for anybody else is because nobody followed the steps you followed, when others have explicitly said they did.

In short, while we all may be fanboys of our favorite products, I think the responsible thing to do is to let people know both the upside and the downside. I fail to see how sharing only 1 side, when you are aware of both sides, is really being "helpful".

And yes....if someone gets something working, and then others tell them it can't be done - they ARE wrong.
AFAIK, *nobody* has said any such thing. I certainly have not. So, I'm not sure what your point is.

Look, I've got nothing for or against any particular person or any particular product. All I wanted to do was to add storage to my HR21. I discovered the hard way that doing that meant reading thousands of posts in about a hundred threads scattered across multiple forums. I found a solution that works for me and that seems to work for others. Perhaps I should have counted my blessings and left it alone. However, silly me, I decided to try to save others from going to all the trouble I had to go to, so I tried to collect and summarize what we know about what works and what doesn't, and put it in a FAQ.

In that process, I never said that richierich's favorite box doesn't work. Here's what I said: We have exactly 1 poster who reports success vs. various reports of failure. To the best of my knowledge, those are the actual facts. And, as I said above, I fail to see how it is "helpful" to give readers a false impression about what we have come to learn about how much one can reasonably count on that box working with an HR21. Now, perhaps there are 50 other people for whom it works great but, if so, we haven't heard from them as yet. So, at present, the score is exactly 1 vote for that box and all other votes against. Based on this, people should be their own judge about whether they want to give it a try. Perhaps the next 20 people who try it will find that it's a great solution. But that's not what other posters have reported so far, and that includes those who have tried richierich's suggestions.

[Richierich]

I know of only one person who followed some of my advice but did not format his drive via the PC and that may have been the problem.

However, I am pointing out this not because I want someone else to buy or try the DS3RPRO but to be AWARE of all the issues getting any RAID Enclosure to work properly.

I still believe that for what ever reason that these DVRs sometimes recognize the external drive and sometimes they do not.

Could be bad e-SATA PORT!!!

Could be bad e-SATA CABLE!!!

Could be that the HR2X is not detecting the drive because it is not Formatted even though the HR2X is SUPPOSED to recognise it and format it if it needs to be. Some reboot and then reformat the external drive and some people lose everything. Why is that???

Also, I know of several posts where reboots have happened and no recordings are found on the external drive because it is not being recognized but after proper rebooting (which I have documented in posts here) they have then been able to see their recordings and replay them, so they were not lost after all but just not recognized.

There are a lot of strange phenomena going on and these need to be documented as well. It is not as simple as this DVR works all the time with this External Drive!!!

[hdtvfan0001]

IAFAIK, *nobody* has said any such thing. I certainly have not. So, I'm not sure what your point is.My point was that if someone has a solution that works, it works...simple as that.

Having read through the instructions of how richerich got his to work, one might conclude that to criticize that person (not me) because they cannot get things working (even though they have not tried the specific instructions and procedures documented for them) might be better served learning from the information, as opposed to getting upset about it.

The key appeared to be formating the hard disks in advance on a PC, so that the controller in the RAS setup described hooked up to the DVR could recognize the full storage.

If folks are posting to try to provide solutions for others, and the response is all this negativity...I can see why others wouldn't be encourage to help at all - who needs the aggrevation? In my case, I considered this a learning opportunity from someone who has gone through the process and determined how to make it work - whereas I did not have the knowledge before. That's a positive thing.

[GordonT]

I am just about ready to make the jump to ESATA, now that the new Free Agent Xtreme 1.5 TB is available and costs less than the Free Agent Pro. I have searched the forum and found the answers to some of the questions I have, but was unable to find definitive answers to the following:
Is the Dynex DX-C113221 an ESATA II cable? It says it is capable of up to 3 gb/sec but doesn't explicity state it is type II
How do I switch back and forth between the internal and external drives? I still have some recordings on the internal drive that I have not archived to DVD, but I don't want to wait before installing the external drive.


I apologize if these questions have already been answered.

[Richierich]

To use the Internal Drive simply unplug or Power Off the External Drive so it won't be recognized and the Hit the Red Reset Button to Reset your DVR!!!

[russdog]

Having read through the instructions of how richerich got his to work, one might conclude that to criticize that person (not me) because they cannot get things working (even though they have not tried the specific instructions and procedures documented for them) might be better served learning from the information, as opposed to getting upset about it.

The key appeared to be formating the hard disks in advance on a PC, so that the controller in the RAS setup described hooked up to the DVR could recognize the full storage.
Of the several people who reported failure, multiple people (at least 2, maybe more) reported that they *did* try the specific instructions, including formatting the disk using their PC, and it still did not work. Therefore, to say that failure was due to people failing to follow the instructions is simply not true (unless you think people were lying about it, which I'm sure you don't mean to imply).


If folks are posting to try to provide solutions for others, and the response is all this negativity...I can see why others wouldn't be encourage to help at all - who needs the aggrevation? In my case, I considered this a learning opportunity from someone who has gone through the process and determined how to make it work - whereas I did not have the knowledge before. That's a positive thing.
I completely agree that it is a helpful and positive thing for people to share what they've learned here. I don't see anyone criticizing anybody for doing that. From my perspective, the issue is 100% about people sharing encouraging news about their favorite product while *not* sharing the news of failure that others offered directly to them when responding directly to them about the instructions they posted.

In other words, the very thing you correctly wish encourage (about learning and sharing knowledge) implies a good faith effort to share both the pro and con. While you may disagree, I don't see how it aids learning to repeatedly (and I do mean "repeatedly", as in "again and again and again") report only the good news while ignoring the bad news. IMO, doing that is a case of selectively withholding available information, and can lead to needless loss of both time and money by those who read and trust such posts. I fail to see how that is constructive.

Now, if somebody wishes to share both sides, and a reader wishes to give the unit a shot, just to see if they might have success, then I think that's a fine thing.

[hdtvfan0001]

Of the several people who reported failure, multiple people (at least 2, maybe more) reported that they *did* try the specific instructions, including formatting the disk using their PC, and it still did not work. Therefore, to say that failure was due to people failing to follow the instructions is simply not true (unless you think people were lying about it, which I'm sure you don't mean to imply).

Now, if somebody wishes to share both sides, and a reader wishes to give the unit a shot, just to see if they might have success, then I think that's a fine thing.
Not to belabor the point, but the situation was actually the opposite - if you read the recent page or two in this thread - those who did get this to work for a specific configuration (using RAID with a specific drive configuration) were basically told the instructions were either wrong or impossible, as a few folks couldn't duplicate the success or get it to work.

That prompted the OP who did get it to work to re-explain in even more detail how they got it to work, which led to further comments on how this could simply not be the case since they "followed the instructions" and it still did not work.

I was simply pointing out that if someone got it to work, it works. The rest of the situation depends on people's ability to understand and replicate the process.

[Richierich]

AMEN!!! I couldn't have said it BETTER!!!

I believe that one of the KEYS (several people have either posted this or PMed me about their SUCCESS) is to properly FORMAT your drives on your PC and not let the DVR do it!!! Several people have reported after reading my post that once they did this they had no problem with their DVR recognizing the external drive and booting up with it!!!

[russdog]

AMEN!!! I couldn't have said it BETTER!!!

I believe that one of the KEYS (several people have either posted this or PMed me about their SUCCESS) is to properly FORMAT your drives on your PC and not let the DVR do it!!! Several people have reported after reading my post that once they did this they had no problem with their DVR recognizing the external drive and booting up with it!!!
If there are several reports of people following your instructions and getting the DS3R PRO to work with an HR21, I simply missed them.
Please provide links to all those posts so we can quit bickering and clear this up.

[Richierich]

Here is one post and there have been several others that mention Formatting your Drive on your PC and then it works.

Thanks to all on this board that provided help especially Rich584 and RussDog

I got the following set up working last night.

Antec MX-1 enclosure
WD 1 TB WD10EACS hdd (both from Buy.Com $177)

I formated the HDD on my pc prior to hooking up to the DVR.

[russdog]

If there are several reports of people following your instructions and getting the DS3R PRO to work with an HR21, I simply missed them.
Please provide links to all those posts so we can quit bickering and clear this up.
Here is one post and there have been several others that mention Formatting your Drive on your PC and then it works.
That's not the point.
The fact that some folks format HDD's before using them in the Antec MX-1 (while others don't) has nothing to do with the issue at hand.
We know that the Antec MX-1 works with the HR21, and formatting a WD HDD doesn't seem to matter.
Evidently, formatting the HDD with the Antec is completely irrelevant (at least with WD's).

The issue of formatting arose re: the DS3R PRO.
It keeps coming up only because you keep bringing it up.
We have several reports of the DS3RPRO *not* working with HR21's, including multiple reports by folks who said they *did* format the HDD's as per your suggestion.

We also have more-than-several posts about how great it is with an HR21, but AFAIK every single one of those posts came from you. (Is your real name Ahmed Chalabi? ;-)
If you have *any* evidence that anybody-but-you has a DS3R PRO working with an HR21, please provide it.
I don't think you can. However, I will be happy to be proved wrong.

Do you know of *any* other reports of it working with an HR21, or not?
If you do, let's see them.
If you don't, quit changing the subject and just say so.
Either you can show us reports of anybody-but-you getting it to work with an HR21 or you can't.
Which one is it?

[hdtvfan0001]

That's not the point.
It appears that the only point then must be to go back and forth over the same information expecting different results. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Richierich]

Show me your EVIDENCE of all the people who have tried the DS3RPRO and have Formatted their Drives properly and have enabled it PROPERLY have FAILED to have it work!!!

[hdtvfan0001]

Show me your EVIDENCE of all the people who have tried the DS3RPRO and have Formatted their Drives properly and have enabled it PROPERLY have FAILED to have it work!!!
Not to worry, I'm a certified Notary.....I'll see it, then certify that it works, and then sign all sorts of official papers to share them with the naysayers. :rolleyes: :hurah: :lol:

[Richierich]

I think the Important Point that I am trying to convey and alot of people seem to be picking up on it is to Properly Format your drive via your PC!!!

[Podkayne]

I think the Important Point that I am trying to convey and alot of people seem to be picking up on it is to Properly Format your drive via your PC!!!

Hmmm. I stuck a pair of WD W10EACS hard drives in to a Vantec Nexstar MX enclosure set to JBOD. Hooked it up to my HR20, which promptly Linux-formatted the array and I haven't looked back. My best estimate is that this 2TB array has about 550 hours of HD recording capacity.

Perhaps the individual enclosures require some drives be formatted and others not?

I am far from an expert, merely reporting my own personal experience.

[russdog]

Hmmm. I stuck a pair of WD W10EACS hard drives in to a Vantec Nexstar MX enclosure set to JBOD. Hooked it up to my HR20, which promptly Linux-formatted the array and I haven't looked back. My best estimate is that this 2TB array has about 550 hours of HD recording capacity.

Perhaps the individual enclosures require some drives be formatted and others not?

I am far from an expert, merely reporting my own personal experience.
Thanks for the update.
FYI, it's way easier to find things that work with HR20's than with HR21's. (Nobody knows why.)

As for formatting the HDD's via PC first, that appears to be unnecessary when using single WD HDD's in the popular enclosures. Whether it matters for RAID boxes is still unknown. For HR21's, various people have tried formatting RAID box HDD's via PC first, and it does not help. Exactly one person has reported that he had success with HR21's that way.

[hdtvfan0001]

As for formatting the HDD's via PC first, that appears to be unnecessary when using single WD HDD's in the popular enclosures. Whether it matters for RAID boxes is still unknown. For HR21's, various people have tried formatting RAID box HDD's via PC first, and it does not help. Exactly one person has reported that he had success with HR21's that way.More than one has reported it....you might want to go back into the threads a bit further than the past 3- days to get a real feel fo the background on this topic....RAID introduces an entirely new issue into the mix, which some folks still don't seem to understand.

Just like using different drives, different enclosures, RAID or no RAID, circumstances vary....so lumping these all into one answer is not accurate.

[russdog]

More than one has reported it....you might want to go back into the threads a bit further than the past 3- days to get a real feel fo the background on this topic....RAID introduces an entirely new issue into the mix, which some folks still don't seem to understand.

Just like using different drives, different enclosures, RAID or no RAID, circumstances vary....so lumping these all into one answer is not accurate.
If you know of any other posters who reported success using a RAID drive with an HR21, please provide a link.
I've been asking people to provide Actual Information for some time, but with no help.
So, please, don't just make the claim, please provide the info so we can all know, OK?

[hdtvfan0001]

If you know of any other posters who reported success using a RAID drive with an HR21, please provide a link.
I've been asking people to provide Actual Information for some time, but with no help.
So, please, don't just make the claim, please provide the info so we can all know, OK?
Or perhaps don't make the counterclaim, and do your own homework like everyone else. There is a reason the Search feature is on this site....perhaps the word RAID might just turn something up...

Let's try to help people, not create your own version of "The Neverending Story".

[russdog]

Or perhaps don't make the counterclaim, and do your own homework like everyone else. There is a reason the Search feature is on this site....perhaps the word RAID might just turn something up...

Let's try to help people, not create your own version of "The Neverending Story".
I have done extensive reading, including thousands of posts in God-knows-how-many threads.
I have accurately reported what I have found.
However, it is entirely possible that I missed something.

I don't understand what the deal is with you and richierich. If you have any actual information, I very much want to include it in the FAQ, so everybody can get the benefit. Sadly, you guys seemed more interested in having a food fight than in getting the actual facts out there for people.

If you have any actual information, I will be happy to incorporate that info.
If you continue to provide barbs with zero information content, I will ignore your posts.
Fair enough?

[hdtvfan0001]

I have done extensive reading, including thousands of posts in God-knows-how-many threads.
I have accurately reported what I have found.
However, it is entirely possible that I missed something.

If you continue to provide barbs with zero information content, I will ignore your posts.
Fair enough?
There have not been any barbs - only pointing out the fact that you have chosen to discredit those who have had success doing what you apparently cannot get done. Being a naysayer gives little credance.

You're always welcome to ignore information you choose not to hear. :rolleyes:

Other have successfully listened and learned. I had no problem finding over 15 posts on the topic, 6 of which contained details on RAID deployment and the need for formatting. We all wish you the best to find whatever it is you are seeking.

[jdouglas2000]

I just added a Cavalry CAXE 1TB external e-sata drive and it worked perfectly. Great to have so much storage space for movies and such.

Before reading this site, I had purchased a Seagate 750GB Free Agent Pro and as everyone here said, it did not work, so I sent it back.

While I am more knowledgeable than the average DirecTV subscriber, and have some computer abilities, I do not hold a candle to many on these pages. Yet I had a thought about why the Seagate's are not working. The Seagate Free Agent drives have no external power switch. The drive does not power up until the HR-21 power comes on. Could it possibly be that the drive does not have time to spin up to proper speed before the DVR tries to format it? I got format failure messages from attempting the Seagate. The Cavalry has an external power switch allowing it to be turned on prior to restoring power to the HR-21.
Just a theory. Not saying it is fact at all. And again, I am no expert.

Anyways, thanks to all who have contributed to the e-sata FAQ and such, as it was a great help in getting me pointed in the right direction.

[russdog]

Before reading this site, I had purchased a Seagate 750GB Free Agent Pro and as everyone here said, it did not work, so I sent it back.

I had a thought about why the Seagate's are not working. The Seagate Free Agent drives have no external power switch.
Actually, the FA Pro does have a power switch.
It's not a physical toggle switch, but rather a touch-sensitive area on it's base.
(Don't feel bad, lots of folks don't notice it ;-)
The switch appears to *not* be the cause of FA Pro's not working with HR21's.

ps: Glad you found a unit that works.

[Richierich]

That is what is so FUNNY about this THREAD is that some people such as me get a unit to work that many people can not get to WORK!!!!

Are they lying??? Or are there so many factors that come into PLAY to make it work successfully that some are lucky that they have a DVR that works. It has a good eSATA Port, it recognizes the drive whether or not it has been previously formatted, etc.

There is no clear answer or any one type of DVR that will ALWAYS work with a particular drive, etc.

[jdouglas2000]

I figured there was something I had missed. I also have a Seagate Free Agent (not Pro) 750GB that I use for music storage, and it does not have a switch for sure, so I probably did not look thoroughly thinking it was the same. They look exactly alike, the difference being the Pro is in a black aluminum case with a plastic base and the non-Pro is completely made of plastic and has no e-sata plug.

The Cavalry turned out to be a good value for the 1TB size (Newegg $149.00), and it came with a cable, so it's all good.

[Beast]

I am just about ready to make the jump to ESATA, now that the new Free Agent Xtreme 1.5 TB is available


I installed one of theses (Free Agent Xtreme 1.5 TB) two days ago and so far its working great. I am using a Dynex cable but dont remmber which model number. Plugged it up to the estata port and rebooted the DVR (hr21-700) which saw the drive and formatted it. Had to redo the fav lists and programs to record lists. I got mine at Best Buy drive was $229 and cable $20.

[armophob]

I am adding a Cavalry CAXA3701T0 for the first time. I am going to use it on the bedroom HR20-700 first for a couple months to be sure it holds up before giving it full responsibility of the main 700.
I apologize for not keeping up with all 106 pages of this thread, but did this quote by Earl ever come to fruition?
With all I have read, once you hook it up, you lose all the recordings on the internal, right?




Right now... there is no method to move recordings from the internal drive to an external drive... however, they are investigating to possible to do this with the initial format of the drive on startup (clone the drive instead of just a blank format), but no ETA on when/if it will be available.

[taw123]

Yes, you can copy from your internal to external now using XFSRestore. You will need to get on a Linux box that has the XFS file system installed or just download a live Linux disk. Details for all of the above are in the thread. Enjoy....

What I am looking to do is move from an OLD HD-dvr to a new one and keep the recording. This is NOT theft, but dealing with hardware replacement/damage. Any progress on this front?

--tom

[armophob]

Yes, you can copy from your internal to external now using XFSRestore. You will need to get on a Linux box that has the XFS file system installed or just download a live Linux disk. Details for all of the above are in the thread. Enjoy....

What I am looking to do is move from an OLD HD-dvr to a new one and keep the recording. This is NOT theft, but dealing with hardware replacement/damage. Any progress on this front?

--tom

Ok, I searched using Linux and xfs through this thread and it comes right back to your post above. From searching the OT I come back with warranty voiding situations. I guess I can take from this that there is no conventional way to keep my recordings before hooking up this 1T esata drive?

[taw123]

You will need to open the unit to remove the drive and then copy it. That's what this thread is about. There is no way to migrate your content that is supplied by DirectTV.

[armophob]

You will need to open the unit to remove the drive and then copy it. That's what this thread is about. There is no way to migrate your content that is supplied by DirectTV.

Not to be argumentative but that is what that (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=100894&highlight=esata+warranty)thread is about. I was looking for an update to long gone Earl's forecast in my previous question which was however, "they are investigating to possible to do this with the initial format of the drive on startup (clone the drive instead of just a blank format), but no ETA on when/if it will be available." I am getting from your answer that this has not yet taken place.

I was hoping for an above board solution that will not cause my warranty issues down the road. Thanks anyhow. I guess I will just have to lose my 100 HD Good Eats shows.:)

[P Smith]

You can open a cover and without removing HDD, just use long SATA cable connect the disk to your Linux PC, make a copy of whole disk with expansion to new bigger size, reconnecting back original cable and close the cover, then connect your new bigger disk with all previous data/movies thru eSATA port.

[HDorBust]

Is there a synopsis note that says what works (at least most of the time) and what flat doesn't work (or only works for a handful of users)?

If not, could this information be pasted into the base note?

Thanks,
-Dave

[russdog]

Is there a synopsis note that says what works (at least most of the time) and what flat doesn't work (or only works for a handful of users)?


See the 1st post here: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=142735

[HDorBust]

Thanks for the link. It looks like the HR21/HR22 still don't have a solid solution.

I am currently using an FAP 500GB with one HR20 and an FAP 750GB with another HR20. I have one HR10 that is going to be upgraded (guessing an HR22), so I was looking for an off-the-shelf solution. Looks like I will keep waiting until there is a reliable solution.

Thanks,
-Dave

[hdtvfan0001]

For those who want a ton of storage, a really low price...here's something for you...

http://www.buy.com/prod/cavalry-2tb-hard-drive-dual-interface-usb-2-0-esata-raid-external-hard/q/loc/101/206461304.html?adid=17653&dcaid=17653

Cavalry CADA002SA2 Hard Drive Array ($239 limited time only):

Features:

2TB in RAID 0 (1TB mirrored in RAID 1)
Supports RAID Levels 0, 0+1, and 1
Several RAID options using GUI software: RAID 0, 1 and 0+1(safe 33/safe 50)
Automatic background rebuilding (in RAID 1)
SAFE/50 = RAID 1 @ 50%; RAID 0 @ 50%
SAFE/33 = RAID 1 @ 33%; RAID 0 @ 66%
Plug & Play for Windows 2000 and newer in GUI mode
Transfer rate of 3.0Gbps (eSATA) & 480Mbps (USB 2.0)
Silver Aluminum case with large 2 fan
LED indicator

[russdog]

For those who want a ton of storage, a really low price...here's something for you...

http://www.buy.com/prod/cavalry-2tb-hard-drive-dual-interface-usb-2-0-esata-raid-external-hard/q/loc/101/206461304.html?adid=17653&dcaid=17653

Cavalry CADA002SA2 Hard Drive Array ($239 limited time only):

Features:

2TB in RAID 0 (1TB mirrored in RAID 1)
Supports RAID Levels 0, 0+1, and 1
Several RAID options using GUI software: RAID 0, 1 and 0+1(safe 33/safe 50)
Automatic background rebuilding (in RAID 1)
SAFE/50 = RAID 1 @ 50%; RAID 0 @ 50%
SAFE/33 = RAID 1 @ 33%; RAID 0 @ 66%
Plug & Play for Windows 2000 and newer in GUI mode
Transfer rate of 3.0Gbps (eSATA) & 480Mbps (USB 2.0)
Silver Aluminum case with large 2 fan
LED indicator
Be careful about this.
There is nothing new about Cavalry 2TB RAID's.
Not sure about HR20's, but we've had several reports that Cavalry RAID's do *not* work with HR21's.
By now it's 100% clear that eSATA solutions do not behave with HR21/HR22's like they do with HR20's, and that the HR21's and 22's are very picky.
Just because it's an eSATA product, that does not mean it will work.

[hdtvfan0001]

There is nothing new about Cavalry 2TB RAID's.
Not sure about HR20's, but we've had several reports that Cavalry RAID's do *not* work with HR21's.
By now it's 100% clear that eSATA solutions do not behave with HR21/HR22's like they do with HR20's, and that the HR21's and 22's are very picky.
Just because it's an eSATA product, that does not mean it will work.
That may be true...but there are plenty of posts for people successfully using the Cavalry drives with the HR20's...and some as well with the HR21's (other than the HR21-700 for some reason - perhaps a different drive controller?).

For those folks...this is a terrific price on the max eSata you can connect up to any HR2x unit (2GB). Having the RAID 1 is also desirable.

[russdog]

That may be true...but there are plenty of posts for people successfully using the Cavalry drives with the HR20's...and some as well with the HR21's (other than the HR21-700 for some reason - perhaps a different drive controller?).

For those folks...this is a terrific price on the max eSata you can connect up to any HR2x unit (2GB). Having the RAID 1 is also desirable.
The issue is not Cavalry drives. The issue is this particular RAID box.
Just because some 1-drive Cavalry eSATA's work, that does not mean this thing does.
If you can find *any* reports of this RAID box working with an HR21, please provide a link.
I saw posts reporting that it did not, and exactly zero reports that it does work with an HR21. However, perhaps I missed something.
If you know of any HR21 success stories with this thing, please provide the link, so people will know. AFAIK, it doesn't work with HR21's.

[hdtvfan0001]

I saw posts reporting that it did not, and exactly zero reports that it does work with an HR21. AFAIK, it doesn't work with HR21's.
Wasn't that only with the HR21-700 model, which also seemed to have problems with some other eSata drives too...that's what I read anyway....unless you have some other model specific posts....

[russdog]

Wasn't that only with the HR21-700 model, which also seemed to have problems with some other eSata drives too...that's what I read anyway....unless you have some other model specific posts....
Do we have to play this silly game again?
You stated that the Cavalry RAID box works with at least some HR21's.
AFAIK, there is zero evidence to support your claim. However, as I said, I could have missed something.

If you have *any* evidence whatsoever that they work with HR21's, don't play games about it, just provide the evidence.
And if you don't have any evidence of that, don't make unfounded claims that can lead people astray.
This routine, where you claim things to be true with zero evidence, and then challenge others to prove you wrong about it, is not helpful to anyone.
It could easily cause somebody to waste a couple hundred bucks based on a false claim.

On the other hand, if you don't know if it works, just say you don't know.
Then, if somebody wants to take a chance and see if it works, at least they know they're taking a chance.

[hdtvfan0001]

Do we have to play this silly game again?
You stated that the Cavalry RAID box works with at least some HR21's.
AFAIK, there is zero evidence to support your claim. However, as I said, I could have missed something.

If you have *any* evidence whatsoever that they work with HR21's, don't play games about it, just provide the evidence.
And if you don't have any evidence of that, don't make unfounded claims that can lead people astray.
This routine, where you claim things to be true with zero evidence, and then challenge others to prove you wrong about it, is not helpful to anyone.
It could easily cause somebody to waste a couple hundred bucks based on a false claim.

On the other hand, if you don't know if it works, just say you don't know.
Then, if somebody wants to take a chance and see if it works, at least they know they're taking a chance.
No games...and you don't have to attack anyone who has an alternative opinion to yours every single time you post.

I have a personal friend who is also happens to be another long-time poster on this board - he actually has one of these Cavalry RAID units connected right now to an HR21-200....for 2 weeks of recordings so far (about 60 programs)....not a single problem. Not one. That said, its only 1 direct testimony....my others have come from reading posts on this site. He's out of town for the holidays...but when he comes back, I'll ask him to post more details on his experience here.

Lets just both move on and stick to the facts...if you have some, share them. I will do likewise. We're supposed to be here to help people and share information, not join the "debate club".

[Richierich]

AMEN HDTVFAN0001, PREACH ON!!! ONWARD & UPWARD!!!

ME THINKS RUSSDOG likes to proselitize!!! This is his Thread by the way!!! He has designated himself as Moderator also!!!

[russdog]

I have a personal friend who is also happens to be another long-time poster on this board - he actually has one of these Cavalry RAID units connected right now to an HR21-200....for 2 weeks of recordings so far (about 60 programs)....not a single problem.
Well, that's a bit of evidence.
Thank you for providing it.

ps: Also, just curious: Did your personal friend, who also happens to be another long-time poster on this board, ever post about his experience with it?
Doesn't really matter, I'm just wondering if he did and I missed it somehow, that's all.

[hdtvfan0001]

Well, that's a bit of evidence.
Thank you for providing it.

ps: Also, just curious: Did your personal friend, who also happens to be another long-time poster on this board, ever post about his experience with it?
Doesn't really matter, I'm just wondering if he did and I missed it somehow, that's all.
Not yet...I plan to call him when he returns Tuesday night and see if I can get him to post here as well.

He had told me he wanted to wait a month or so before posting, but by the time he gets back, it will be 3 weeks....so maybe I can convince him to do so. He was raving on how nice a unit it was before he left on his travels.

[russdog]

AMEN HDTVFAN0001, PREACH ON!!! ONWARD & UPWARD!!!

ME THINKS RUSSDOG likes to proselitize!!! This is his Thread by the way!!! He has designated himself as Moderator also!!!
Nah... if I was a mod and wanted to abuse mod-power, I'd put you on Exclamation-point Restriction!!!
;-)

p.s. Please don't get me wrong!!! I have no desire to discriminate against any particular form of punctuation!!!
In fact, I think exclamation points are fine!!! I just think they should be used for their intended purpose!!!
However, I gather we disagree about that!!! And that's fine too!!! It's OK for people to disagree!!!
As long as the disagreement is about opinion, that is!!!

But when it comes to facts, people shouldn't mess with them.
Sometimes, it appears that some folks don't know the difference.
But there *is* a difference. It's an important difference.

[Richierich]

Sometimes you just come off as High & Mighty and maybe it is just your BEDSIDE MANNER that puts of off abit!!!

I know you are well intentioned but sometimes it just seems abrasive or as if you are preaching down to us!!! Work on it!!!

Please RUSSPUPPY don't put me on Exclamation-Point Restriction, I Promise I'll be GOOD from NOW ON!!! LOL!!!

[armophob]

Ok, hooked up my "new" Cavalry 1TB esata and followed the instructions on powering up the esata then the dvr.
I get this message.
Is my new drive a brick?
BTW, It is a buy.com purchase

[hdtvfan0001]

Ok, hooked up my "new" Cavalry 1TB esata and followed the instructions on powering up the esata then the dvr.
I get this message.
Is my new drive a brick?
BTW, It is a buy.com purchase
Not necessarily....

First...did you test/format the drive on a PC to see if it was in working condition there?

Also....did you try a complete reset on the DVR, forcing a reformat of the drive?....if it came formatted in something other than Linux (very likely) or else was completely unformated to start, then the DVR may not recognized the drive. It should automatically format it once re-connected.

[armophob]

Not necessarily....

First...did you test/format the drive on a PC to see if it was in working condition there?

Also....did you try a complete reset on the DVR, forcing a reformat of the drive?....if it came formatted in something other than Linux (very likely) or else was completely unformated to start, then the DVR may not recognized the drive. It should automatically format it once re-connected.

I connected it to my pc with a usb and it is recognized as another drive. I can move files back and forth from it.

When I hook it up I did this procedure,
Do a reset on the HR, when the ring goes black, I pull the power. Plug in the esata to power and the esata plug at both ends.
Then power up the esata, then plug in the hr.
At this point I get the usual messages and then the above screen.

[armophob]

Is it possible thatthis (http://cgi.ebay.com/39-eSATA-to-eSATA-Latch-Shielded-External-Cable-3-Gbps_W0QQitemZ110314046872QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item110314046872&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318)cable I bought on Ebay, could not be up to the task and that is why I am having trouble?

[P Smith]

Less likely.

[rccoleman]

Is it possible thatthis (http://cgi.ebay.com/39-eSATA-to-eSATA-Latch-Shielded-External-Cable-3-Gbps_W0QQitemZ110314046872QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item110314046872&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318)cable I bought on Ebay, could not be up to the task and that is why I am having trouble?

I'm seeing exactly the same thing on my HR20-100 with a 1TB FAP and a Link Depot eSATA cable from Fry's. After some research here, I've ordered the Siig cable (http://www.beachaudio.com/Siig/Cbsa0211s1-p-73763.html) that others have recommended.

After trying repeatedly to fix whatever was wrong, I unplugged the drive and booted the HR20-100. It momentarily complained about a problem with the storage device (similar message), but then came up normally on the internal drive.

I tested the drive on my Macbook Pro over USB and it worked fine.

Rob

[HDorBust]

I picked up a 1.5TB FAX. I am going to try it on whichever HR2x DTV brings on Friday and I will post the results. I figure that I can at least (hopefully) use it to replace the 500GB FAP on my HR20 if it doesn't work on the new DVR.

[auskck]

Having problems with HR22 finding the external drive
HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000 HDS721010KLA330 (0A35155) 1TB
Antec MX-1 housing
I checked the drive out in Windows using usb quick format, copied and deleted some files. all looks well.
Disconnected power to the HR22 for 30 Minutes
Connected ESate cable and powered up the drive
Waited a couple of minutes so I knew drive was up to speed
Plugged power back to the HR22.
Half hour later system back up with the old drive.
What do I need to do? Help?

PLEASE DISREGARD THIS POST 3RD TRY WORKED

[UTV2TiVo]

I picked up a 1.5TB FAX. I am going to try it on whichever HR2x DTV brings on Friday and I will post the results. I figure that I can at least (hopefully) use it to replace the 500GB FAP on my HR20 if it doesn't work on the new DVR.

FYI I just tried one of these drives on my HR22-100 and it would not recognize the drive. Drive worked fine on my computer so it's not faulty. Oh well, seems as though the eSata srives are a crapshoot with the HR22's.

[Beast]

I picked up a 1.5TB FAX. I am going to try it on whichever HR2x DTV brings on Friday and I will post the results. I figure that I can at least (hopefully) use it to replace the 500GB FAP on my HR20 if it doesn't work on the new DVR.

Hi

I installed one about a month ago on my Hr21-700 and its still working great.
Running latest CE.

[armophob]

I just ordered a Siig cable off of buy.com. I will let you know if it fixes the trouble

[Richierich]

A bad cable or one that does not like to work with these units can indeed cause problems.

It is SO SCHWEEEEETTT once you get it to work!!!

[hdtvfan0001]

Is it possible thatthis (http://cgi.ebay.com/39-eSATA-to-eSATA-Latch-Shielded-External-Cable-3-Gbps_W0QQitemZ110314046872QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item110314046872&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318)cable I bought on Ebay, could not be up to the task and that is why I am having trouble?
Updated and corrected:

I don't believe that cable would work for your eSata connectivity.

You may need a Sata/eSata cable (as far as the cable ends), which also supports a minimum of 3Mbps throughput. Itr may also require simply another cable from a different manufacturer. I think the throughput on that cable appears OK, but not so sure about the connectors.

[russdog]

Is it possible that this cable I bought on Ebay, could not be up to the task and that is why I am having trouble?
I don't beleive that cable would work for your eSata connectivity.

You need a Sata/eSata cable (as far as the cable ends), which also supports a minimum of 3Mbps throughput. I think the throughput on that cable appears OK, but not so sure about the connectors.
This is wrong. The bolded part is not true.
To connect an eSATA drive:
You *don't* want a cable that has a SATA connector on one end and an eSATA connector on the other.
What is needed is a cable that has eSATA connectors on both ends.
As for the link, that cable might be the problem but not because of anything in its description. It appears to be the right thing.
However, some perfectly fine-looking eSATA cables work and others do not. AFAIK, nobody knows why.

[armophob]

I don't beleive that cable would work for your eSata connectivity.

You need a Sata/eSata cable (as far as the cable ends), which also supports a minimum of 3Mbps throughput. I think the throughput on that cable appears OK, but not so sure about the connectors.

The connections are ok. I ordered a SIIG cable to see if that cable was the trouble anyhow. I will report back if I can get this thing working.

[hdtvfan0001]

This is wrong. The bolded part is not true.
To connect an eSATA drive:
You *don't* want a cable that has a SATA connector on one end and an eSATA connector on the other.
What is needed is a cable that has eSATA connectors on both ends.
As for the link, that cable might be the problem but not because of anything in its description. It appears to be the right thing.
However, some perfectly fine-looking eSATA cables work and others do not. AFAIK, nobody knows why.
Thats interesting, because that's exactly the cable type I have connected right now and have had for over a year and a half...its always been working just fine, thank you. I originally had the eSata to eSata connector type, and it would not work. A simple switchovewr to the other cable, and it worked perfectly. having piece-mealed together the drive, housing unit, and cable....I suspect that may be why this unit is a bit unique...but that's neither here nor there at this point....its not about me or my setup.

In armophob's situation, hopefully a different cable (from another manufacturer) resolves the issue.

In any case...I agree, that the whole is of which brand cables work and which ones don't continues to be a strange situation without explanation.

[hdtvfan0001]

The connections are ok. I ordered a SIIG cable to see if that cable was the trouble anyhow. I will report back if I can get this thing working.
The new cable should hopefully resolve your problem. As Russdog correctly pointed out - the reason one cable works and another doesn't defies explanation...it should not be the case, but appears to happen all the time.

Let us know the results please.

[rccoleman]

I'm seeing exactly the same thing on my HR20-100 with a 1TB FAP and a Link Depot eSATA cable from Fry's. After some research here, I've ordered the Siig cable (http://www.beachaudio.com/Siig/Cbsa0211s1-p-73763.html) that others have recommended.

After trying repeatedly to fix whatever was wrong, I unplugged the drive and booted the HR20-100. It momentarily complained about a problem with the storage device (similar message), but then came up normally on the internal drive.

I tested the drive on my Macbook Pro over USB and it worked fine.

Rob

Just to follow up, I flipped the cable around and it appears to be working now. The connectors must not fit very well.

[dadux]

Is it possible to view material recorded on an external esata drive on a computer? Specifically a Mac...

Don

[NorfolkBruh]

Is it possible to view material recorded on an external esata drive on a computer? Specifically a Mac...

Don

No

Oh and... :welcome_s to DBSTalk!

Norfolk

[Richierich]

Yes, if you use Slingbox. You cannot just hook up the external drive to a computer to view it.

[auskck]

This combination works well with HR22:
Antec MX-1 USB2.0 & eSATA External Enclosure (cables included)
HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000 HDS721010KLA330 (0A35155) 1TB

Takes ten minutes to install. No additional equipment required.

[Lord Vader]

I've had the Hitachi 1TB Deathstar on my HR20-700 for 15 months already and it's been working flawlessly. Knock on wood. ;)

[P Smith]

Is it possible to view material recorded on an external esata drive on a computer? Specifically a Mac...

Don
Yes and no.
You could mount those partitions if your Mac OS X had XFS support installed.
No, you can't view recording, just files.

[harsh]

Yes and no.
You could mount those partitions if your Mac OS X had XFS support installed.
No, you can't view recording, just files.The correct answer is an unequivocal no.

[P Smith]

You can't give fine answer to THE question.
What he did mean using word "view" you don't know, me too. So I assumed the action related to direct view of files, not getting motion picture and sound. :p

[harsh]

You can't give fine answer to THE question.
What he did mean using word "view" you don't know, me too. So I assumed the action related to direct view of files, not getting motion picture and sound. :pThe term used was "view material". This doesn't suggest looking at hex dumps or directory structures.

[P Smith]

Those files and structures are the MATERIAL for my job and hobby.

[auskck]

Thanks for the link. It looks like the HR21/HR22 still don't have a solid solution.

I am currently using an FAP 500GB with one HR20 and an FAP 750GB with another HR20. I have one HR10 that is going to be upgraded (guessing an HR22), so I was looking for an off-the-shelf solution. Looks like I will keep waiting until there is a reliable solution.

Thanks,
-Dave
Using the following combination
HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000 HDS721010KLA330 (0A35155) 1TB
Antec MX-1 housing

It took 3 resets for the HR22 to find and format the drive.
It's been up and running for about a month now, I don't even notice it all. I don't power off the HR22 or the HDD at all.
Equipment purchased from Newegg.
Also using VOD and DirecTv2PC with no problems.

[auskck]

Anybody using this drive
FD G-Force Hard Drive - GF1000EU

http://www.buy.com/prod/fantom-1tb-g-force-hard-drive-dual-interface-esata-usb-2-0-7200rpm/q/loc/101/206821006.html?adid=17992&dcaid=17992#cRevSec

[armophob]

The new cable should hopefully resolve your problem. As Russdog correctly pointed out - the reason one cable works and another doesn't defies explanation...it should not be the case, but appears to happen all the time.

Let us know the results please.

Finally got around to using the new cable. That was the trouble. Up and running using a SIIG cable. The connections were all the same. Just the cable quality I guess. Scrimping does not pay off.:)

[hdtvfan0001]

Finally got around to using the new cable. That was the trouble. Up and running using a SIIG cable. The connections were all the same. Just the cable quality I guess. Scrimping does not pay off.:)
Great news Arm... :)

I know in the past, others reported problems with certain brands/cheaper eSata cables...so to your point....a better cable seems to render better results.

Enjoy!

[Richierich]

Yes, I don't save money when it comes to cables but I also don't buy Monster as I would be paying too much for their advertising. Great cables but way too expensive. SIIG is the way to go.

[russdog]

Great news Arm... :)

I know in the past, others reported problems with certain brands/cheaper eSata cables...so to your point....a better cable seems to render better results.

Enjoy!
I don't think if it's a matter of cheaper vs. more expensive.
It just seems like some work and some don't.
And some that don't work one way actually do work if you reverse them.

[armophob]

I don't think if it's a matter of cheaper vs. more expensive.
It just seems like some work and some don't.
And some that don't work one way actually do work if you reverse them.

Well, just FYI, the cable that did not work for me is the one pictured.

[hdtvfan0001]

I don't think if it's a matter of cheaper vs. more expensive.
It just seems like some work and some don't.
And some that don't work one way actually do work if you reverse them.
Perhaps I should have been more clean...."cheap" constructed cables...as opposed to inexpensive...you can usually tell by price as a secondary parameter...

I get all my cables for the past 2 years now from Monoprice, and they are inexpensive, but anything but "cheap" - usually very high quality...above the "M" high priced brand, yet 1/4 the cost.

[Richierich]

Monoprice is the way to go if you want inexpensive but quality cables. I just bought a 50' HDMI cable from them and it worked flawlessly.

[macmikey]

I don't think if it's a matter of cheaper vs. more expensive.
It just seems like some work and some don't.
And some that don't work one way actually do work if you reverse them.

I agree here. I have one esata cable that refuse to work one way, but works perfectly when reversed.

I just eventually replaced it, but it did do that and I thought it was pretty weird.
Mike

[Richierich]

I know of another poster who couldn't get his External Drive to work until he tried reversing the connectors just by accident and borne out of frustration and it worked. That is why I wonder if there were different "types" of connectors and you have to get the right one into the right port for it to work.

[mgroups]

I have seen a lot of posts on dbstalk and avsforum on problems with audio stutters and macroblocking/pixelation, and a lot on esata drives, but very few on possible correlations between the two. After over a year of using my esata drive (FAP 750 with any of three cables) and occasionally switching back the internal HR20 drive, these problems appear to occur more frequently when using the esata. I seem to encounter them most frequently on the network locals (particularly audio stutters) but they sometimes occur on many other HD channels. With respect to the local channels, they occur when viewing the channels either OTA (via the DVR) or from the D* feed.

Have others observed a similar correlation or a lack thereof?

[cp1966]

I just added a Cavalry CAXE 1TB external e-sata drive and it worked perfectly. Great to have so much storage space for movies and such.

Before reading this site, I had purchased a Seagate 750GB Free Agent Pro and as everyone here said, it did not work, so I sent it back.

While I am more knowledgeable than the average DirecTV subscriber, and have some computer abilities, I do not hold a candle to many on these pages. Yet I had a thought about why the Seagate's are not working. The Seagate Free Agent drives have no external power switch. The drive does not power up until the HR-21 power comes on. Could it possibly be that the drive does not have time to spin up to proper speed before the DVR tries to format it? I got format failure messages from attempting the Seagate. The Cavalry has an external power switch allowing it to be turned on prior to restoring power to the HR-21.
Just a theory. Not saying it is fact at all. And again, I am no expert.

Anyways, thanks to all who have contributed to the e-sata FAQ and such, as it was a great help in getting me pointed in the right direction.


Is this similiar to the one you bought?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822101129

I want to get an external HD for my Directv HD DVR ( i think its the hr20-100, its silver and the internal HD is not real big. IT has dual tuners and an OTA input-I will check later on the model number).

This drive looks good; big and reasonably priced.

[macmikey]

I have the Seagate 750 FAP and it worked great while it was on my HR20-100 and HR21-700.

Both times it saw it and used it regularly.

There is a power switch on the right front of the base. And, if you have access to a PC, it can be set to not shut off when idle.

I hope others did not buy this unit or its big brother because they thought it would not work correctly. It did just fine with my units.

Mike

[RaceTripper]

I have the Seagate 750 FAP and it worked great while it was on my HR20-100 and HR21-700.

Both times it saw it and used it regularly.

There is a power switch on the right front of the base. And, if you have access to a PC, it can be set to not shut off when idle.

I hope others did not buy this unit or its big brother because they thought it would not work correctly. It did just fine with my units.
I have two Seagate 750 FAPs. They work great with my two HR20s. They absolutely do not work with my HR21. It's been documented in the eSATA FAQ (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=142735) that the FAP only work with the HR20, and not with the HR21. You may be a rare exception.

I have an Antec MX-1 and WD Cavier 1TB drive for the HR21.

[macmikey]

I have two Seagate 750 FAPs. They work great with my two HR20s. They absolutely do not work with my HR21. It's been documented in the eSATA FAQ (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=142735) that the FAP only work with the HR20, and not with the HR21. You may be a rare exception.

I have an Antec MX-1 and WD Cavier 1TB drive for the HR21.

Wow, I'm Speshul!

Yep, it worked. I had an HR21-700 for a few months before it went south. While I was troubleshooting it I connected the FAP and had it running about 4-5 days.

Mike

[Mighty H]

seagate has a product called the seagate showcase that is purpose-built for dvr. you can find it at www.seagate.com/showcase .

regarding the FAP and others, the drive going to sleep or sometimes even the ASIC may not pass thru all the serial-ata commands...depends on the chip and the application.

and sometimes the length of an eSATA cable can cause events.

[t_h]

seagate has a product called the seagate showcase that is purpose-built for dvr

Do note that the showcase is selling for ~$340 for a 1TB unit. The Seagate 1TB Pipeline drive thats in it can be had for ~$130.

That must be one hell of a case and power supply. Maybe the price will come down when its more widely available.

[Richierich]

Do note that the showcase is selling for ~$340 for a 1TB unit. The Seagate 1TB Pipeline drive thats in it can be had for ~$130.

That must be one hell of a case and power supply. Maybe the price will come down when its more widely available.

You didn't see the Diamond Encrusted Name Imprinted on it or the Gold Connectors?

Hey, there has to be something out there for the Rich Guys to buy.

[t_h]

I ordered one of the Pipeline drives to replace the 1TB western digital 5400rpm drive in the receiver that gives me the most troubles. I'll report back if it solves anything.

Pcconnection is selling them for ~$130 with no tax and free shipping. I'll have mine tomorrow.

I'll be putting it in an MX-1. About all the enclosure does for e-sata is supply power and proper spin-up for the disk drive and cooling so as long as its got a quality power brick, a well soldered connection board and a fan in it, one is as good as any other IMO.

USB and Firewire are very different matters...

[Eben]

I think my external HD may be failing. Can I hook it up to my Windows XP computer to run the HD manufacturer's diags without losing the recordings?

[Richierich]

Give us a little more info about why you think your DVR is failing.

What are the symptoms?

[harsh]

Can I hook it up to my Windows XP computer to run the HD manufacturer's diags without losing the recordings?Yes. Make sure you get the latest version of the software.

[Eben]

Give us a little more info about why you think your DVR is failing.

What are the symptoms?

OK, I have an HR21-100+AM21 using a WD Caviar SE16 with a Thermaltake passive-cooled enclosure. Everything's been working fine for a year. About a week ago, all satellite and OTA channels live, currently recording, and already recorded had choppy video and sometimes audio. A reset fixes everything, but only for less than 24 hours. I did "revert" to the internal OEM drive for about 48 hours (setting and completing a couple of manual recordings) and everything seemed kosher. That's why I suspect the external drive.
Edit: I have ordered an Antec MX-1 active-cooled enclosure in the hope that the drive is not failing, but won't receive it until next week.

[Eben]

Yes. Make sure you get the latest version of the software.

I have a Western Digital Caviar drive. I assume you mean not to use the software that came with the drive but to go to WD's site and download diagnostic software there?
Edit: The diags here?
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=603&sid=3&lang=en

[tider]

(My Esata was showing these symptoms a few weeks ago, but they seemed to go away. Now it's happening constantly)

I have the 1TB Cavalry CAXM Series CAXM3701T0 Hard Drive - CAXM3701T0 and it has been functioning fine for about 10 months now connected to a HR21-700.

Lately the video has been skipping/stuttering and freezing up and eventually causing a reboot. When I'm watching through the HR21 receiver and not the external HD , I do not have any of these symptoms. I have had my storage space down to 18% on the esata in the past and not seen any problems. When I started experiencing these problems I was at around 24% storage. I went ahead and deleted several movies to get my storage space up to 35% remaining, but this did not help. All of these problems started a few weeks ago.

I have searched the thread and was wanting to get some of your advice. Is my HD dying or will replacing the esata cable help? I'm assuming a reformat would be my last hope, I'm just hoping there's some other solution.

Right now, I'm using the HR21-700's internal drive and having no problems.

What is something that I can check or do I need to order another drive??

Thanks,

Chris

[P Smith]

Try to test the disk by manufacturer diag program, or MHDD.

[tider]

I'm assuming you're referring to connecting the esata to my computer and running the manufacturers diagnostics test. I will download MHDD and run this if I can't access the diagnostics . Will this repair bad partitions or damaged areas on the hard drive or just let me know I have a bad hard drive?

Thanks again,
Chris

[mocarob]

if it is your drive, you can copy the contents to a new one

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=148760

[Richierich]

That is not as simple as it sounds unless you are a PC Guru who is used to changing out drives and doing other advanced things such as this.

[mocarob]

That is not as simple as it sounds unless you are a PC Guru who is used to changing out drives and doing other advanced things such as this.

Are you referring to my suggestion of copying the drive?
it's really not that complicated. if you know how to plug sata drives into your pc and type a couple of command lines you can do it.

[Richierich]

Well, since you live in L.A. (Lower Alabama) I'll invite you over for a couple of beers and we can do it together!!! :lol:

[mocarob]

Thanks but I'd rather have some Rebel Yell tho.
Billy Idol's whiskey.

[P Smith]

I'm assuming you're referring to connecting the esata to my computer and running the manufacturers diagnostics test. I will download MHDD and run this if I can't access the diagnostics . Will this repair bad partitions or damaged areas on the hard drive or just let me know I have a bad hard drive?

Thanks again,
Chris
Sure, if your HDD capable to do that - some had too many bad sectors and should be thrown into trash bin. Don't forget post SMART info - there are couple parameters telling about bad sectors.

[auskck]

Do you lose any data switching back and forth from external to internal back to external?
Any problem associated with doing this?

[Richierich]

You don't lose a thing and some people have filled up their Internal Drive and then switched over to the External Drive and then when they want to see something on the Internal Drive they simply Power Off the External and Reboot into the Internal Drive.

[mocarob]

You don't lose a thing and some people have filled up their Internal Drive and then switched over to the External Drive and then when they want to see something on the Internal Drive they simply Power Off the External and Reboot into the Internal Drive.

Yeah but don't forget that any changes to your recording schedule or season passes won't be on the other drive. and vice versa.

[Richierich]

Once you have set them up they will remain there on that drive as that is part of the 100 Mb of Directv Housekeeping.

[Eben]

OK, I have an HR21-100+AM21 using a WD Caviar SE16 with a Thermaltake passive-cooled enclosure. Everything's been working fine for a year. About a week ago, all satellite and OTA channels live, currently recording, and already recorded had choppy video and sometimes audio. A reset fixes everything, but only for less than 24 hours. I did "revert" to the internal OEM drive for about 48 hours (setting and completing a couple of manual recordings) and everything seemed kosher. That's why I suspect the external drive.
Edit: I have ordered an Antec MX-1 active-cooled enclosure in the hope that the drive is not failing, but won't receive it until next week.

Update: Pretty sure it was the Thermaltake enclosure. I tried connecting the drive to my computer to run the WD diagnostics, but my computer wouldn't see the drive. I moved the HD to an MX-1 enclosure and my computer saw the drive. Ran the diags and repaired some bad sectors. Connected to the sat receiver since Friday and no issues so far. All of the recordings are there and they play (though a few have had some minimal video/audio glitches, which I attribute to the "removal" of the bad sectors).
Thanks all for your help, and add me to those who recommend the MX-1.

[P Smith]

Now run it again ["Ran the diags and repaired some bad sectors."] - I'm doubt it did "removal", could be just simple "mark it as bad sector" action.

[Eben]

Now run it again ["Ran the diags and repaired some bad sectors."] - I'm doubt it did "removal", could be just simple "mark it as bad sector" action.

I'm certain that's exactly what it did (hence the quotes around "removal").
Thanks again.:biggthump

[P Smith]

Then I would remind old advise - run MHDD from bootable CD/Floppy on PC, it will do real remap of bad sectors, it will give SMART tables ( check them before and after remap).

[wkbrewer]

Has any way been provided yet to transfer recorded programs from the internal drive to an external drive? Also, if using a external drive, can that drive be "transfered" to another DVR if the original DVR needs to be replaced?

[P Smith]

Has any way been provided yet to transfer recorded programs from the internal drive to an external drive?
Yes. (We have dedicated threads here)

[wkbrewer]

OK maybe my question is unclear. The only dedicated thread I found is about replacing the internal drive and part of the process is the transfer of data from the old drive to the new one. If there is a thread for transfer of data from internal drive to new external drive (without dismantling the box), I have not found it. If such thread exists, how about a little more a hint as to where to find it.

[t_h]

You cannot transfer data from the internal drive to a new external drive without taking the internal drive out of the box. well, at least not without removing the cover from the receiver.

[P Smith]

OK maybe my question is unclear. The only dedicated thread I found is about replacing the internal drive and part of the process is the transfer of data from the old drive to the new one. If there is a thread for transfer of data from internal drive to new external drive (without dismantling the box), I have not found it. If such thread exists, how about a little more a hint as to where to find it.

You'll need to open a cover, so in case there is a sticker on back, you'll void warranty.

[CSNobles]

How long should it take for HR21-700 to format a 1TB external drive? (WD MyBook WDH1Q10000N)
How do you know it's formatting external drive?

[t_h]

About 3 seconds, since the only thing the 'format' does is write a blank file system to the drive.

You'll know if its using your external if you have no series links or recorded programs in evidence.

Many of the "mybooks" dont work on many of the HR series.

[mocarob]

OK maybe my question is unclear. The only dedicated thread I found is about replacing the internal drive and part of the process is the transfer of data from the old drive to the new one. If there is a thread for transfer of data from internal drive to new external drive (without dismantling the box), I have not found it. If such thread exists, how about a little more a hint as to where to find it.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=148760

[harsh]

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=148760You must have missed the part about not wanting to dismantle the box.

[P Smith]

He could do that without dismantling - just open a cover, then connect long SATA cable to his PC.

[t_h]

I was going to mention that, but I figured it'd run smack into the discussion of what constitutes tampering or altering. ;)

[auskck]

How do we get DirecTv to change the FW so it doesn't check the receivers ID when you switch ESATA drives between receivers. If they want to check something let them check users account number. Very bad FW design if it has to rely on the box the files were created on, does not make sense. Not a stable system to build a video library on. Don't tell me it's CP, because Dish allows disk swaps between receivers.

[auskck]

I will be testing with this configuration in a couple of days, awaiting the drives)
Purposed external case $29.88
http://cooldrives.stores.yahoo.net/dubayesouca8.html
(2)Serial ATA Drive Drawer good price
http://www.startech.com/item/DRW150SAT-Beige-Aluminum-Serial-ATA-Drive-Drawer.aspx
(2)HITACHI 0A38016 1TB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145233
This is not a Raid system 1 drive might get connected to my HTPC dual purpose system
*** Update ***
Everything arrived on 2 April 2009
Update 14 April 2009
Everything running fine with this configuration on HR22, more than 100 hours of recording without a hitch
Survived 3 power failures
It took me about 1 hr to assemble all the bits and pieces
Unplugged the HR22, Plugged in SATA cable and fired up the drives.(only using 1 drive at a time not a raid system)
Plugged in HR22 when it came up WOW a new SATA drive appeared.
I can't believe it came up on the first try.
Swapping drives is a breeze
Testing scheduled recording and VOD work fine

[Richierich]

I don't know why DIRECTV doesn't use the Account Number to identify the DVR so if your DVR fails you can still use your Internal or External Drive in your new replacement DVR!!!

[auskck]

I don't know why DIRECTV doesn't use the Account Number to identify the DVR so if your DVR fails you can still use your Internal or External Drive in your new replacement DVR!!!
Dish allows switching of drives between receivers. If DirecTv doesn't change their FW soon I may become a Dish user

[hdtvfan0001]

I don't know why DIRECTV doesn't use the Account Number to identify the DVR so if your DVR fails you can still use your Internal or External Drive in your new replacement DVR!!!
...or as another alternative...the Access Card number...

[P Smith]

...or as another alternative...the Access Card number...Bad idea ! :( Try another one.