eSATA - Has been enabled, but....

[pavlov]

I too am having trouble getting my drive to work. I've got the latest firmware and I'm trying to use a 750gb Freeagent Pro. At first I thought my cable wasn't in there good enough but when I pushed the cable in a bit harder the drive lit up (it was connected to the HR20). No matter what I try I always seem to boot to the internal drive. Any thoughts? Do I have to push anything when I turn the HR20 back on to get it to format the drive? This is a new HR20 (well, replacement unit...) so it has nothing on it and is hard to tell if it is the new drive or not...

Got it working. Just needed to push the cable in even more... :rolleyes:

[mobouser]

Hi All, I have been reading this thread for a while and this looks like an standard SATA drive in an external enclosure with its own power source. If this is correct you can get a .5TB for under a 100 now, with an enclosure running about 30. Soon you will be able to get 1TB for about 250. Some of the newer computers will also have an SATA connector for an external drive which means with the right software you will be able to play your tv data on your computer or copy a movie etc. The connector is a standard SATA cable with added protection and length because they are usually only 18" long. Newegg has all kinds of eSATA enclosures. I have one question though is the hard drive formatted in FAT like a flash drive. Paul D.

[Pluvious]

I think the main advantage to a prebuilt one like the FreeAgent is the low noise. The Freeagents don't have a fan and use the base as a heatsink. I think the 0 noise factor is swaying me to spend the extra on one vs the build your own. Unless you guys know of some enclosures that are silent.

[mobouser]

Pluvios Will have to check what others think but this one looks good to me. See below reply
you get the enclosure with cables also a way to connect to your computer if you want to use the drive that way. Others need to check this out I don't know why everyone uses proprietary stuff. I am still up in the air on getting the HR20 and am looking for reasons to make the commit with Directv. I like this use of the HR20 since it looks expandable.

[mobouser]

my link after 5 post
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817145029

[jeff125va]

Mine had been working fine until the 0x168 was downloaded to my HR20-100 yesterday morning. I keep getting the same list of recordings when I boot it with and without the external drive connected. Is Scheduler information (series links, etc.) saved separately on the internal or external hard drive? I'm very confused trying to figure out what's going on because of the scheduler stuff. When I bring up my To Do List, it's empty. But when I first click on scheduler, it says To Do List: 38 items. And when I go through the guide, the R's are on the shows that are supposed to record, and things are getting recorded. Although the first sign of a problem was when my wife called me from home yesterday saying that her soap hadn't recorded (which was about 6-7 hours after the software download).

[Marco in HD]

My notes:

Seagate 750 and eSATA cable both purchased from Newegg. Plugged it cable and power cord, fired up the HR20. Everything seemed fine. Recorded a couple of shows just to check it. About an hour latter, the HR20 was back to using the internal HD. It was working fine... but using it's internal HD, didn't even freeze up.

Shut everything off
removed the plastic tear off that I had left on (over heated maybe)
plugged in the cable
plugged in Seagate PW
waited for Seagate to power up
plugged in HR20

Been working fine for a couple of weeks.

I did notice the cable seems to be hindered by the plastic edge. Like others here, it looks like the cable doesn't sit right. It's working so, I ain't touching it but if it stops... I think I'll cut the edge off the cable.

[MarkGreiner]

I added a Seagate 750GB eSATA yesterday--nothing could have been easier. The whole process was quick and flawless. I even sense that overall performance is improved because of the quality and speed of the Seagate drive--but I may be imagining this. I'll post more on the details of the eSATA housing, etc., but wanted to get a quick post out.

[jacobp]

I added a Seagate 750GB eSATA yesterday--nothing could have been easier. The whole process was quick and flawless. I even sense that overall performance is improved because of the quality and speed of the Seagate drive--but I may be imagining this. I'll post more on the details of the eSATA housing, etc., but wanted to get a quick post out.

I am in the market for the FA Pro 750gb. Could you tell me where you purchased the drive and, perhaps more importantly, the cable. Thanks.

[jacobp]

I'm new to the HR20 and would like to know the best place to get the Seagate 750gb at this time. Also, I've read a lot of discussion about eSata cables not fitting or working. Is there now a consensus as to which cables work (without cutting away anything) and which don't?

Finally, I see that there are two different FA Pro 750gb drives on the market. which is the recommended one for the HR20? If they will both work, is one "better" than the other? Thanks in advance.

[rsblaski]

I was at BB the other day and also noticed that there were two different models...one was $10 more than the other.
I actually found a BB drone who seemed to know what he was talking about and he told me that one model uses a 3.5" drive and the other uses a 2.5" laptop drive.
Other than that, the models are exactly the same.
He said that if you got the one with the 2.5" drive, you could move the drive from the FA to a laptop and back again. (I would imagine you would lose your HR20 programming if you did that, though.)
As far as where to get one, I haven't seen any real sales lately although BB did have it on Memorial Day weekend for around $200.
I would bet that it will go on sale again; maybe for the 4th?

[Pluvious]

Is my assumption correct that the Free Agent PRO would be more silent then a build your own? mobouser's link is looks to be a nice enclosure, but what about the noise?

[MarkGreiner]

I am in the market for the FA Pro 750gb. Could you tell me where you purchased the drive and, perhaps more importantly, the cable. Thanks.


For the enclusure, I purchased the AMS DS-2316SUESBK 3.5" USB 2.0 & eSATA External Enclosure - OEM from Newegg.com

Link: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817332012

I was impressed by how the reviews mentioned its ability to keep the drive cool, which, since the Seagate drive runs hot, I thought this was a feature I should look for. The enclosure, even though it is OEM, comes with an eSATA cable that works just fine. The enclosure also seems to be very well built, but not as good looking as the picture suggests. It is not bad looking, I just don't like it as much as I thought I would. It is also more expensive than others offered at Newegg ($54). But, it seems to be working just fine--which is the important thing. The on/off switch is also this little bitty thing on the back. Maybe that's a good thing to keep it from powering down too easily, but I'll probably just remove the power adapter cable so I don't have to fumble with the swtich when I want to turn it off to go back to the internal drive. Again, not a big deal.

The HD is the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular recording) ST3750640AS 750GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM also from Newegg. I don't think it is as noisy (at least in this enclusure) as others have complained. No noisier than the internal drive in the HR-20.

Link: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148134

The whole thing set me back less than $300. To "assemble" everything could not have been easier--but it does help if you have experience handling parts like this (such as grounding yourself, first). You undo two small screws on the back of the enclosure, open the enclosure, slip in the drive (it is all very obvious, even without instructions), install four small screws to secure the drive, slip the mounted enclosure "drawer" back into the housing, resecure the two little screws, plug in the AC adapter, plug in the eSATA cable and you are finished.

Remember that you need to power down the HR-20 (that means unplug) before you attach the eSATA cable to the unit. Power on the eSATA then power on the HR-20, then step back and bask in the glorious vast storage of your new HD-DVR.

[MnGuy]

I'm new to the HR20 and would like to know the best place to get the Seagate 750gb at this time. Also, I've read a lot of discussion about eSata cables not fitting or working. Is there now a consensus as to which cables work (without cutting away anything) and which don't?

Finally, I see that there are two different FA Pro 750gb drives on the market. which is the recommended one for the HR20? If they will both work, is one "better" than the other? Thanks in advance.

The monprice cable needed to be cut, that's all I know.
I bought it as BB for $199 on sale.
As for the differences, one of them has firewire along with eSATA and USB 2., the cheaper one doesn't have firewire. Not sure if there are other differences.

[Folin]

Wondering why so many are buying a single HDD eSATA solution to expand so much memory (750gb+)?

Once you've got 100+ hrs of HD stored (2-3 seasons of your favorite shows, all SW's flicks, etc.)...wouldn't you prefer to have this data mirrored in a RAID1 solution?

A Thecus unit (N82E16822148134) is only about $125 from Newegg. The D-LINK DNS-323 is going for just a bit more at $170.

750GB HD's (N82E16822102002) are about $230...so for $600 you've got yourself a nice RAID1, long-term, back-up solution...for $400 you could go 2x500GB HDD's.

Of course, the next question would be...what's the likelihood that when D* ships their next HD DVR...that you can simply plug in your current eSATA solution and live happily ever after with all your stored shows? If the answer is very unlikely...then a single HDD solution might be a decent solution.

[CliffV]

The HD is the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular recording) ST3750640AS 750GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Just FYI. This is the exact same drive that is in my Freeagent 750 PRO.

[MarkGreiner]

Wondering why so many are buying a single HDD eSATA solution to expand so much memory (750gb+)? Once you've got 100+ hrs of HD stored (2-3 seasons of your favorite shows, all SW's flicks, etc.)...wouldn't you prefer to have this data mirrored in a RAID1 solution?

I thought about RAID, but then figured that you are still only one DirecTV technoglich away from losing everything--through no fault of your RAID. Didn't seem to be worth the risk of storing all that programming at the greater cost of going with RAID.

[Folin]

I thought about RAID, but then figured that you are still only one DirecTV technoglich away from losing everything--through no fault of your RAID. Didn't seem to be worth the risk of storing all that programming at the greater cost of going with RAID.

You're the second to indicate this concern, Mark. Have a # of TIVO DVR's crap out on me, but the SD TIVO's I've had have been bullet proof.

I'd love to know what the % of loss of data (HDD failure, bad update, etc.) is per DVR out there...say within 1 and/or 2 years.

[jeff125va]

Is DirecTV customer service providing support for this yet? I still haven't been able to use my eSATA drive since the 0x168 upgrade a couple days ago. My To Do List is finally showing up now so at least that's an improvement. (Things were still recording, and it showed a number of items in the list, just not the list itself). I'm not sure if continuing to just disconnect/reconnect and reboot is even worth trying at this point.

[Folin]

Is DirecTV customer service providing support for this yet? I still haven't been able to use my eSATA drive since the 0x168 upgrade a couple days ago. My To Do List is finally showing up now so at least that's an improvement. (Things were still recording, and it showed a number of items in the list, just not the list itself). I'm not sure if continuing to just disconnect/reconnect and reboot is even worth trying at this point.

Jeff,
Part of Earl's title here is "....but" and one of those "buts" is no D* support on eSATA. I.E., this is an 'at your own risk' feature.

I'd like to hear the 1st tier rep as you explain the latest firmware has disabled your external HDD device :)

Maybe your best bet is to format the HDD on a PC and then plug it back up to the DRV for its formatting.

[jeff125va]

Right, just wasn't sure if that had changed since October. But yeah, I know what you're saying.

Well, that's worth a try. At least I don't have any recordings on it to lose.

Just to clarify one thing - the series links and recording scheduling stuff is stored on the hard drive, too, correct? I'm still a bit confused about what was what when this first happened, but from what my family members are telling me, they had set up some series links while it was still using the external drive, and they were still there later. But I"m really not sure about that.

[Folin]

I don't have eSATA yet, have just got my HR20's...but I've been reading here like a fiend the last few days. What I've read here and elsewehere indicates that once you enable/setup an eSATA HDD, everything goes onto that drive only. It 100% ignores the fact that there is an internal drive.

So yeah, I would think everything you folks have done since the momemnt you installed the eSATA HDD is on that HDD...whether or not you can get it back and functioning is another story.

You should be able to shut down the DVR, remove the eSATA HDD and then see what's on your internal...but it's probably little to nothing if you installed the eSATA soon after getting your HR20.

[Michael D'Angelo]

[QUOTE=Folin;980204]I don't have eSATA yet, have just got my HR20's...but I've been reading here like a fiend the last few days. What I've read here and elsewehere indicates that once you enable/setup an eSATA HDD, everything goes onto that drive only. It 100% ignores the fact that there is an internal drive. QUOTE]

Yes when you use a eSata it does not use the internal HD anymore. That may be changed down the road but we don't know.

[jeff125va]

Maybe your best bet is to format the HDD on a PC and then plug it back up to the DRV for its formatting.
I connected it to my PC and deleted the existing partitions, but didn't do an actual reformat. Were you thinking that actually formatting it would make a difference, since the DVR would need to reformat it anyway? In any case, it didn't seem to work, still booted to the internal drive. I think I'm going to try connecting it to one of my other HR-20's (those are both 700's, although I doubt that matters).

Update: Hooked it up to one of my other HR-20's (HR20-700 with 0x168) and it works fine. Obviously the drive is OK. At least after doing this so many times, I can tell now by the vibration/sound which one is booting up, and I don't have to wait for it to go all the way through the startup.

[mitchelljd]

so i bought the Seagate FreeAgent Pro 750 GB and a Esata to Esata cable from Fry's.

it doesnt seem to work. Should i trim the plastic on the cable to make the plug fit more firmly?

or is ti another problem? thanks for any ideas

Mitch

[P Smith]

so i bought the Seagate FreeAgent Pro 750 GB and a Esata to Esata cable from Fry's.

it doesnt seem to work. Should i trim the plastic on the cable to make the plug fit more firmly?

or is ti another problem? thanks for any ideas

Mitch
And what in posts about SAME problem telling you ?
Search is still working here ;).

[harsh]

And what in posts about SAME problem telling you ?
Search is still working here ;).If you don't get the answer you want, try, try again.

[jacobp]

Hello. I just received a FA Pro 750gb and am about to install it on my HR20. First, though, I hooked it up to my computer via the USB connection and found a bunch of files, warranties, EULAs, etc. There is also an option to insall the FA Pro Utilities.

1. Should I insall the utilities before I connect the unit to the HR20? If so, are there any settings that I need to make to the FA Pro from within the utilities?

2. Or, is it OK to delete everything on the FA Pro including the utilities to free up more space for the DVR.

3. Should I reformat the FA Pro?

Thanks.

[pjo1966]

Hello. I just received a FA Pro 750gb and am about to install it on my HR20. First, though, I hooked it up to my computer via the USB connection and found a bunch of files, warranties, EULAs, etc. There is also an option to insall the FA Pro Utilities.

1. Should I insall the utilities before I connect the unit to the HR20? If so, are there any settings that I need to make to the FA Pro from within the utilities?

2. Or, is it OK to delete everything on the FA Pro including the utilities to free up more space for the DVR.

3. Should I reformat the FA Pro?

Thanks.

I copied everything over to my PC and then deleted from the FA Pro. I didn't reformat.

[jacobp]

I purchased the FA Pro and an eSATA cable from Fry's. I've carefully followed the instructions provided by others on this forum for installing the drive to the HR20 with no success.

I connected the FA Pro to my computer using the USB cable and the computer saw the drive. I did NOT install the FA Pro utilities. I deleted all the files from the FA Pro.

I disconnected the power cord from HR20. Then I connected the power cord to the FA Pro, turned on the power via the power button and waited 5 minutes. Then I attached the eSATA cable to the FA Pro and then to the HR20. Then I plugged in the HR20.

After all were booted up, I still see the shows that I had recorded on the List before I received the eSATA drive. In other words, it is still using the internal drive.

Any suggestions?

[jeff125va]

I purchased the FA Pro and an eSATA cable from Fry's. I've carefully followed the instructions provided by others on this forum for installing the drive to the HR20 with no success.

I connected the FA Pro to my computer using the USB cable and the computer saw the drive. I did NOT install the FA Pro utilities. I deleted all the files from the FA Pro.

I disconnected the power cord from HR20. Then I connected the power cord to the FA Pro, turned on the power via the power button and waited 5 minutes. Then I attached the eSATA cable to the FA Pro and then to the HR20. Then I plugged in the HR20.

After all were booted up, I still see the shows that I had recorded on the List before I received the eSATA drive. In other words, it is still using the internal drive.

Any suggestions?
No suggestions, sorry, but just curious which version of the HR20 you have (-700 or -100) and which version of the software? As I mentioned above, I am having the same problem you are, but mine was working fine until the new software was installed on my HR20-100, and I'm able to use the drive on at least one of my other units. I don't have the FA-pro, just a Seagate drive with an enclosure I bought separately. I haven't followed that exact sequence you listed though, so it might be worth a try.

[jacobp]

I'm the one with the FA Pro and eSATA cable purchased from Fry's. I could not get the HR20 to "see" the FA, no matter what sequence of poweron activites I followed. I then decided it was time to pull out the xacto knife and widdled away a little bit of the blue plastic on one end of the eSATA cable.

Eureka!!

It all works fine now that I've put the widdled down end of the cable into the FA Pro.

Thanks to all for your help.

[Pluvious]

Could you post a picture of your 'fixed' cable so we can have a reference for others that seem to have this problem again and again?

[jacobp]

Could you post a picture of your 'fixed' cable so we can have a reference for others that seem to have this problem again and again?

Cannot provide a picture, but all I did was trim a little bit of the blue plastic of off one end of the connector.

[Goodwin]

Okay... I was corrected by my DirecTV contacts (after they saw the thread).
I had a mis-interpretation from our phone converstation yesterday...

When adding an external drive, DirecTV will use some of the space... the same amount they use on the 300gb drive now 50gb~100gb.

So if you add a 1TB drive, 900gb is for user recordings, 100gb is for DirecTV pushes. 21TB enclosure; 20,900gb for user recordings, 100gb is for DirecTV...

ShapeGSX and PoitNarf... I deleted our threads discussing that, since the basis of the discussion was wrong, and I didn't want to confuse future readers.

Subsequent to this post, many eSATA users believe that they are only recording on 300GB, even though they have much larger drive.

Now, in June 2007, has it been confirmed that the entire capacity of the eSATA drive, minus the amount used by D*, is available to record shows?

[Earl Bonovich]

Subsequent to this post, many eSATA users believe that they are only recording on 300GB, even though they have much larger drive.

Now, in June 2007, has it been confirmed that the entire capacity of the eSATA drive, minus the amount used by D*, is available to record shows?

That has long since been addressed...

We have users that have reported TERRABYTES of space, based on recorded contents.

[jeff125va]

I'm the one with the FA Pro and eSATA cable purchased from Fry's. I could not get the HR20 to "see" the FA, no matter what sequence of poweron activites I followed. I then decided it was time to pull out the xacto knife and widdled away a little bit of the blue plastic on one end of the eSATA cable.

Eureka!!

It all works fine now that I've put the widdled down end of the cable into the FA Pro.

Thanks to all for your help.
Is this problem only happening with a particular cable? Since mine was working fine until the 0x168 upgrade, I doubt that my problem is with the connection, but just wondering if it's worth a try. I'm about ready to swap my new one with the one I have hooked up to my bar TV, which I'll never really need extra recording space for. I just have a hard time giving up on fixing something like this.

[CliffV]

Is this problem only happening with a particular cable?

My problem was with a cable manufactured by a company called Link Depot.

BTW, I've contacted both Seagate and Link Depot about this problem. It took several rounds of e-mail to convince them that I purchased the right cable, etc. Seagate is convinced that the cable isn't up to industry specs. I'm still working with Link Depot.

I've pointed both companies at this thread so they know that many folks are having this problem.

[jacobp]

My problem was with a cable manufactured by a company called Link Depot.

BTW, I've contacted both Seagate and Link Depot about this problem. It took several rounds of e-mail to convince them that I purchased the right cable, etc. Seagate is convinced that the cable isn't up to industry specs. I'm still working with Link Depot.

I've pointed both companies at this thread so they know that many folks are having this problem.

My cable was also a LinkDepot cable purchased from Fry's. After removing a bit of the blue plastic it works like a champ.

[Maxfli]

New to DBSTalk and glad to find this thread, though I haven't read all of it yet. Is it still correct that the recordings on a eSATA drive cannot be accessed by a PC?

I would like to have several drives with recorded material managed in a HTPC file system that could play directly to a TV without the HR20 being involved. Thanks for your comments.

Max

[harsh]

I would like to have several drives with recorded material managed in a HTPC file system that could play directly to a TV without the HR20 being involved.This is not going to happen in the foreseeable future.

The filesystem is custom and the streams are encrypted. They won't even play on another HR20.

[P Smith]

Actually, HR20 HDD filesysem is typical - Linux/XFS, but your recordings locate in raw partition and encrypted.

[harsh]

Actually, HR20 HDD filesysem is typical - Linux/XFS, but your recordings locate in raw partition and encrypted.I guess I was remembering Woffpack's analysis of the R15 filesystem.

[conley_jb]

Question: Does anyone know, if one could connected the esata port to the esata port of a motherboard and use a spare drive in a PC. I realize that the drive couldn't be accesses, etc. by the PC, but so as to forgo the external cases, would it be possible for the DTV receiver to access a drive inside a computer, either through a newer Mobo's esata port, or a seperate add-on esata card?
I am building a new MCE computer and both the motherboard and an external card I have are capable of connecting an esata drive.

Just curious. Thanks

[Marco in HD]

Only thing I know is the eSATA cable I have is NOT the same as a SATA cable in a computer.

I was thinking the same thing you were.

[P Smith]

No.

[Sixto]

Just was reading back thru these posts. I've had one 750GB for months (working great) and just added one each to two other HR20's.

For a 750GB external e-SATA drive:

1) How much space is reserved for D*. Thought it was 50GB, but a few posts here guess at 100GB. Which is it?

2) When the new sat goes up Friday night, and eventually all HD is MPEG4 (some day), what is our best guess for total # of MPEG4 HD hours on a 750GB drive? Seems like the answer is about 140 hours (750GB minus 50GB divided by 5GB per hour for MPEG4)?

Thanks!

[Marco in HD]

Unlike Windows were you can have any number of problems from any number of software or hardware incompatability... I find it interesting that some here use the eSATA without a hitch while other have all sorts of problems.

Software version?

and if so... when the eSATA is hooked up does it have to wait for the most current upgrade before it works properly?

All I know is it worked fine till the most recent software upgrade... the one with the new colored guide. Since then it's be reformating the eSATA every couple of days. I would come home to an empty HD

Right now I'm just running the internal HD for a while just to make sure it's not the box.

[Cyrus]

when the eSATA is hooked up does it have to wait for the most current upgrade before it works properly?

hr20 sw version shouldn't make any difference.

Since then it's be reformating the eSATA every couple of days. I would come home to an empty HD

Is this happening after a reboot?

[Marco in HD]

Is this happening after a reboot?


No, I would come home from work, turn on the tv and check the DVR and all the shows would be gone. Hard drive is Totaly empty, even my guide setting are missing.

Is it rebooting by its self somehow... good question, I've never caught it in he act. Others have reported that it freezes while they are watching it, then after they reboot the HDD is empty.

[P Smith]

Marco, do you keep both HR20 and HDD on UPS ? If not, how often your power line have interruption ?

[Marco in HD]

Marco, do you keep both HR20 and HDD on UPS ? If not, how often your power line have interruption ?

Just a line conditioner. Often we get plenty of brown outs here in Florida. I don't know how long the power is out. Usually the clocks in the house will tell us how long, meaning they blink 12:00. None did while I've been having this problem.

Odd thing is the SATA has it's own power but, once I tried disconnecting the power to the DVR and the light from the SATA went out... weird.


I've been running the last couple of days with the internal drive without a hitch. Maybe it's just the software. The eSATA connection is activated but not supported. Might not be up to snuff yet.

[P Smith]

Marco, I suggest to use UPS; before that any problem with power will cost you lost recordings.

[Marco in HD]

Marco, I suggest to use UPS; before that any problem with power will cost you lost recordings.


We'll it's not really "Lost" recording, the whole HHD is whiped clean.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

[P Smith]

Do you mean timers, prefences, etc too ?
Anyway, bad power line is real problem for DVRs.

[Marco in HD]

Do you mean timers, prefences, etc too ?
Anyway, bad power line is real problem for DVRs.

Yeah, like it's a whole new box.

[Cyrus]

No, I would come home from work, turn on the tv and check the DVR and all the shows would be gone. Hard drive is Totaly empty, even my guide setting are missing.

Is it rebooting by its self somehow... good question, I've never caught it in he act. Others have reported that it freezes while they are watching it, then after they reboot the HDD is empty.

Yeah, it maybe rebooting by itself. You can dim the LEDs to make sure (they will be back to bright blue after reboot).

There have been some reports of people losing data after a reboot but I don't remember any cases while hr20 was running (you can check the History on your hr20 to see if any info is there). It makes more sense after a reboot since I think that's when hr20 checks to see if the partitioning/file system is OK (which may cause a reformat of hard drive if errors are detected).

[ChrisPC]

I found a 500GB Seagate eSATA drive on clearance at CompUSA yesterday for $139! It even comes with an eSATA PCI card and cable. Apparently, it's been discontinued in favor of the FreeAgent Pro.

I plugged it into my HR20 and it works great. I recorded HD movies today with no problems; in fact the receiver seems to run a bit faster. Here's a link to it on their site:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?pfp=BROWSE&N=200112&product_code=341441&Pn=eSATA_500GB_Hard_Drive

[P Smith]

The thread would recommend 3.75 TB soluton ;).

[Pluvious]

So I'm going to pick up the 750GB FreeAgent Pro drive from Fry's this week ($230) and wanted to know if I had to FIRST hook up the drive to my PC and wipe the drive clean before plugging it into the HD-20 100 model. Or can I just plug it into the DVR and have it work?

[Michael D'Angelo]

So I'm going to pick up the 750GB FreeAgent Pro drive from Fry's this week ($230) and wanted to know if I had to FIRST hook up the drive to my PC and wipe the drive clean before plugging it into the HD-20 100 model. Or can I just plug it into the DVR and have it work?

All you have to do is unplug the HR20. Then plug the eSATA cable into the hard drive and then into the HR20. Plug the power to the hard drive in and wait for it to start all the way up. Then plug in the HR20 back in and the HR20 will do everything else for you.

[Pluvious]

Thank you BMoreRavens.. I was thinking I should clear out the stuff on the FreeAgent but it would be alot easier to do it your way. :)

[mx6bfast]

So how many HD hours will I get with either a 500 or 750 gb drive? I am a season behind on Smallville and am really thinking of tivo'ing this season from the CW at the same time I am tivo'ing last season from HDNet so I can start catching up. Many of my friends watch Smallville and talk about it and I have to walk away. Maybe I can get in the discussions at the end of the season. :) It looks like I will have to save up to 22 hours of HD programming if I have to tivo all episodes.

We usually delete the program after we have watched it. This is taking into consideration mpeg-2 streams.

[Sidewinder]

So, from all that I have read on this thread, for my HR20-700 and WD My Book Premium ES Edition 500 GB eSATA/USB Drive, I will need a eSATA to eSATA cable? Is that correct?

Any recommendation for which one and where to get it? I see a few at NewEgg. Are those recommended and would it be better to get a 3 foot or 6 foot cable? Would the connection maybe be more reliable with a shorter length cable?

Thanks.

[Michael D'Angelo]

So, from all that I have read on this thread, for my HR20-700 and WD My Book Premium ES Edition 500 GB eSATA/USB Drive, I will need a eSATA to eSATA cable? Is that correct?

Any recommendation for which one and where to get it? I see a few at NewEgg. Are those recommended and would it be better to get a 3 foot or 6 foot cable? Would the connection maybe be more reliable with a shorter length cable?

Thanks.

:welcome_s to DBStalk

1) Yes you need eSATA to eSATA

2) I don't think what cable really matters. I also don't think length really matters but I would probably go with the shortest length you are able to use.

[Robert Norman]

So how many HD hours will I get with either a 500 or 750 gb drive? I am a season behind on Smallville and am really thinking of tivo'ing this season from the CW at the same time I am tivo'ing last season from HDNet so I can start catching up. Many of my friends watch Smallville and talk about it and I have to walk away. Maybe I can get in the discussions at the end of the season. :) It looks like I will have to save up to 22 hours of HD programming if I have to tivo all episodes.

We usually delete the program after we have watched it. This is taking into consideration mpeg-2 streams.


With the 750GB drive the operating system will take around 90 to 100GB for it's operation leaving you around 650 to 660GB left for programming. High Definition using MPEG2 coding will require around 6.1GB per hour of programming when recording off the air from your CW station. 650GB / 6.1GB = 106.5 hours of high definition Smallville if that was all you recorded.
Mike

[mx6bfast]

With the 750GB drive the operating system will take around 90 to 100GB for it's operation leaving you around 650 to 660GB left for programming. High Definition using MPEG2 coding will require around 6.1GB per hour of programming when recording off the air from your CW station. 650GB / 6.1GB = 106.5 hours of high definition Smallville if that was all you recorded.
Mike
Thanks for the info. It looks like a 500 gb drive would be just fine for me.

[P Smith]

With the 750GB drive the operating system will take around 90 to 100GB for it's operation leaving you around 650 to 660GB left for programming. <skip>
Mike

Wouldn't you provide a source of the numbers ?

More and more ppl start using it prominent, without bother to proof as a fact.:confused:

[Conky]

With the 750GB drive the operating system will take around 90 to 100GB...

Holy Hannah!

Thats alotta bytes for an OS! Think of the installation time; that's like 11 or 12 DVD-ROMs worth of info. C'mon now.

[anubys]

I recall reading somewhere that the OS takes up 50 GB of the 300 GB internal drive. Even allowing for the larger file size in a 750GB hard drive, I doubt that would mean the OS would take 100 GB...

[Michael Hilley]

My problem was with a cable manufactured by a company called Link Depot.

BTW, I've contacted both Seagate and Link Depot about this problem. It took several rounds of e-mail to convince them that I purchased the right cable, etc. Seagate is convinced that the cable isn't up to industry specs. I'm still working with Link Depot.

I've pointed both companies at this thread so they know that many folks are having this problem.
______

The cable might NOT be up to industry specs...

There were an abundance of non-compliant serialata.org "(External) Serial ATA II: Cable and Connector: Volume 2 Specification: Revision 1.0: 20 May 2004" cables/plugs and devices/receptacles which were manufactured to eSATA (internal SATA heritage) draft specifications. Market driven considerations resulted in products developed in advance of the final specification. The following excerpt (in blue) is taken from that specification document: (I'm not allowed to post links)

5 Single Lane External Serial ATA Data Interface

5.1 Purpose and Use Cases

The Single Lane External Serial ATA Data Interface provides a single lane connection between a PC/Laptop and a commodity storage device using standard Serial ATA devices. This interface is for the use of an external drive that sits outside the PC chassis, similar to USB or 1394 hard drives and optical drives. While this does not exclude other usages, the requirements are derived based on this usage model.
Power is supplied to the external storage device via a separate means, which is outside the scope of this specification. This separate means is expected to be similar to power delivery for USB or 1394 external drives.
The scope of the specification is to define the external interconnect, compliance points, and associated electrical requirements/parameters for device interoperability.
The primary implementation is:
• A HBA containing a host chip connected to a shielded external connector. A buffer IC is required to protect a standard internal Serial ATA host, unless the Serial ATA host used is explicitly designed for direct external connection.
• A shielded Serial ATA cable for external usage.
• A Serial ATA device enclosure with a corresponding external connector. A buffer IC is required to protect a standard internal Serial ATA device, unless the Serial ATA device used is explicitly designed for direct external connection.
A second potential implementation is a Serial ATA host directly assembled on the motherboard connected to a shielded external connector via a pigtail to the motherboard connection. In this implementation, the external Serial ATA cable and the drive assembly are similar to figure 5.1, but another cable and connector pair between the motherboard and the external cable is introduced, placing an additional discontinuity point between host and drive.
There are two compliance points for the Single Lane External Serial ATA Data Interface, one at each shielded external connector. As with other Serial ATA specifications, interconnect between the IC/PHY and the connectors at the mating interface are outside the scope of definition and are considered part of the delivered PHY solution. Implementations that have additional connections between the PHY/IC and the shielded external connector must provide such interconnects as part of the engineered solution. For an implementation such as shown in Figure 5.2, the compliance points remain at the shielded external connectors.
The typical cable length is 2 meters (6 feet); long enough to reach from a floor mounted PC to a drive placed on the desktop. The compliance points for both ends of the external cable shall meet the Gen2m electrical specification.
The use of a standard internal Serial ATA host or device not specifically designed for direct external connection requires a buffer IC as part of the implementation. Note that since Single Lane External Serial ATA cables are a straight through design, (pin to pin), the host and device external connections, using the same external connector, have the same pin one locations but opposite signal definitions. Refer to the Serial ATA 1.0a specification for both host and device connection signal assignments.
5.2 External Serial ATA Component General Descriptions

Five components are defined in this section to support external Serial ATA.
• A shielded external cable receptacle for use with shielded (external Serial ATA) cabling.
• A fully shielded RA PCB mounted SMT plug, (and reversed pin-out version).
• A fully shielded RA PCB mounted through-hole plug.
• A fully shielded vertical PCB mounted SMT plug.
• A fully shielded vertical PCB mounted through-hole plug.
Footprints and recommended panel cutouts are included to encourage greater interoperability from multiple vendors.
The external cable connector is a shielded version of the connector specified in Serial ATA 1.0a, with these basic differences:
• The External connector has no “L” shaped key, and the guide features are vertically offset and reduced in size. This prevents the use of unshielded internal cables in external applications.
• To prevent ESD damage, the insertion depth is increased from 5mm to 6.6mm and the contacts are mounted further back in both the receptacle and plug.
• The retention features are springs built into the shield on both the top and bottom surfaces.

The entire 40 page document is available at serialata.org and includes quite a bit more information, including:
eSATA connectors are designed for maximum 2500 mate/demate cycles, whereas the internal SATA connectors were designed for maximum 50 cycles. (likely more than it would see in a PC enclosure)
eSATA connectors/cables are designed for 500mV for 2m length, whereas the internal SATA is designed for 400mV for 1m length. (likely more than it would see in a PC enclosure)
eSATA connector receptacles are fully enclosed metallic housings (Faraday cage) to provide a ground return path for the external devices for ESD protection.
eSATA blind mating orientation is accomplished by shifting the signal contacts off center within the connector.

Conclusion:

Although removing the "extra" (6.6mm-5.0mm) 1.6mm from the end of the connector allows for mating and (pseudo-semi-reliable) functionality, it isn't a very good idea. There is a potential risk to damaging components, the HR20 as well as the drive.
The problem is compounded by the fact that not only are there non-compliant cables, but there are non-compliant drives, and one scenario is that the cable and drive fits together because they are both non-compliant. Obviously, these show up at the discontinued superstores such as Fry's, but BB/CC are not immune. Exercise caution when you purchase any eSATA parts.

I apologize if this has already been posted, but I hadn't run across it, and I thought it was important because a significant number of HR20 owners are undoubtedly going to avail themselves of the eSATA drive feature.

[P Smith]

That's really good information - thanks.

But what was funny - "at the discontinued superstores such as Fry's" :)

[jhays]

If you are looking for an eSATA cable for use with the FreeAgent Pro 750GB, this one (Tripp-Lite P950-361) seems to work OK, without any need for trimming to fit:

(Sorry, I can't post the URL!)

[Pluvious]

Excellent post Mr. Hilley. Thanks for posting that info. Would explain why so many where having problems with their eSATA cables.

jhays: Wasn't there a problem with Tripp-Lite cables back a few pages ago?.. I was going to get an I-Connect brand because of it.

[geneb11]

hello all, I am just stating to get caught up on this HR20. Have been with Tivo for a while. I just have a few quick questions.

When adding an ESATA the DVR will only play recorded streams from the satellite?

I can not put movies from my computer on the ESATA drive to watch on the DVR?

Only one drive works at a time?

Does Each drive need their own set of season passes and favorites and such?

[Michael D'Angelo]

hello all, I am just stating to get caught up on this HR20. Have been with Tivo for a while. I just have a few quick questions.

When adding an ESATA the DVR will only play recorded streams from the satellite?

I can not put movies from my computer on the ESATA drive to watch on the DVR?

Only one drive works at a time?

Does Each drive need their own set of season passes and favorites and such?

Yes the eSATA will only be able to record and play programs the SAT's. You can only hook up one eSATA drive.

[elixir26]

hello all, I am just stating to get caught up on this HR20. Have been with Tivo for a while. I just have a few quick questions.

When adding an ESATA the DVR will only play recorded streams from the satellite?

I can not put movies from my computer on the ESATA drive to watch on the DVR?

Only one drive works at a time?

Does Each drive need their own set of season passes and favorites and such?

No The DVR acts normally

No

Yes

Yes

:)

[focker]

Yes the eSATA will only be able to record and play programs the SAT's. You can only hook up one eSATA drive.

Will it not record OTA programs like the current hard drive does?

[Michael D'Angelo]

Will it not record OTA programs like the current hard drive does?

Sorry I should have worded it a little better. Yes it will record OTA. It will record any TV program the HR20 can receive.

[focker]

Thanks Mike for clarifying :D

[anubys]

the "only one drive at a time" answer isn't exactly right...

as I understand it, you can get two 500 GB drives and stack them in an enclosure (I'm not sure I'm using the correct terminology)...the HR20 would see only one drive that is 1 TB...

but I think the poster meant that you cannot use the external AND the internal drives at the same time (the HR20 will only see the external drive)...

[illinileo]

WD 750gb sata drive for $179 at Frys. For me, this makes a 2 drive RAID solution seem affordable.



http://shop3.outpost.com/product/5309408?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

[sshams95]

WD 750gb sata drive for $179 at Frys. For me, this makes a 2 drive RAID solution seem affordable.



http://shop3.outpost.com/product/5309408?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

already sold out...

[freshone]

Guys,

I had my setup running beatiful. Unforetuneately, my house was hit by lighting the other day and fried my receiver. Now with the replacement, I cannot get WMP or Twonky to recognize the HR20-700. I can see when I go into WMP the UNKNOWN DEVICE. Whereas before I selected it anyway, THIS time the ALLOW button is greyed out?

I don't understand why. Does anyone have an idea?

Thanks!

[sshams95]

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=179896&c=1

sorry, kinda of a newbie when it comes to these things, will the HDD work w/HR20?

[Michael D'Angelo]

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=179896&c=1

sorry, kinda of a newbie when it comes to these things, will the HDD work w/HR20?

Yes. That is the one a lot of members on here have got for the HR20.

[sshams95]

Yes. That is the one a lot of members on here have got for the HR20.

thanks!!!

[Robert Norman]

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=179896&c=1

sorry, kinda of a newbie when it comes to these things, will the HDD work w/HR20?

Do a search using google and you can find this drive at a cheaper price. You have to buy the ESATA cable to go alone with the drive.

[ralphyboy]

First time poster here, so hopefully I don't sound like a complete idiot. I have read through some of the pages, but my head is spinning, so I will just post my question.

I have an HR-20 and am looking to download recorded shows to my hard drive and wiew them on my laptop. If I get a esata equipped hard drive, will this work? Can I then archive them onto dvd? Next, if I hookup my harddrive tp the HR20, I understand that it takes up 100GB to do that, but it also makes the internal drive on the HR20 obsolete? Can I unplug the hard drive and revert back to using the internal drive?

Thanks and keep up the great info!

[P Smith]

OH NO ! NOT AGAIN ! Oh boy !

But welcome to DBSTalk and thank you for be a curious member.

[rsblaski]

OH NO ! NOT AGAIN ! Oh boy !

But welcome to DBSTalk and thank you for be a curious member.

I believe that P Smith might be suggesting that you click back about 53 pages in this thread. All your questions will be answered.

[mx6bfast]

First time poster here, so hopefully I don't sound like a complete idiot. I have read through some of the pages, but my head is spinning, so I will just post my question.

I have an HR-20 and am looking to download recorded shows to my hard drive and wiew them on my laptop. If I get a esata equipped hard drive, will this work? Can I then archive them onto dvd? Next, if I hookup my harddrive tp the HR20, I understand that it takes up 100GB to do that, but it also makes the internal drive on the HR20 obsolete? Can I unplug the hard drive and revert back to using the internal drive?

Thanks and keep up the great info!
If you don't want to go back 53 pages :) here is the short answer to your question.

When you begin using any hard drive the HR20 will wipe it clean and then load it's image on there. The data that you put on an external drive will not be viewable on a pc or another HR20. The HR20 cannot read both an internal and external drive at teh same time.

[P Smith]

Who want internal 1 TB disk ? Fry's have it on sale ;) - just $389.99.
Hitachi Deskstar SATA/300 HDD.

[P Smith]

Just tested Hitachi 1 TB as internal disk - same size for first two partitions, last one got a rest - 916 GB for recordings.

[harsh]

Ralphyboy,

Short and long answer: NO!

[raddison1971]

I was reading through this thread and I did not find anything that said that this could or could not be done. With most eSATA drives you can daisy chain them together to make a much bigger drive. So if I had three 300GB eSATA drives would it see them as one 900GB drive?

Has anyone tried this yet?

Do you have to have them all added at the start? Or can you add more later?

Thanks for your help!

[houskamp]

I was reading through this thread and I did not find anything that said that this could or could not be done. With most eSATA drives you can daisy chain them together to make a much bigger drive. So if I had three 300GB eSATA drives would it see them as one 900GB drive?

Has anyone tried this yet?

Do you have to have them all added at the start? Or can you add more later?

Thanks for your help!
You would need an enclosure with "built in" raid.. this does work and has been tested to 3.75 terabytes:eek2:

[raddison1971]

You would need an enclosure with "built in" raid.. this does work and has been tested to 3.75 terabytes:eek2:


Any recommendations for an enclosure?

[harsh]

With most eSATA drives you can daisy chain them together to make a much bigger drive.SATA does not support daisy chaining. Each cable connected to a SATA port must appear to have only one drive connected to it.

[houskamp]

Any recommendations for an enclosure?
Trying to get a list here : http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=92029
there is also one called "esata this is the one" in here (you may have to go back a while) that has the 3.75 one..

[ralphyboy]

So there is no way to transfer shows, either from the HR20 or external drive to a pc to archive them via dvd?

[houskamp]

So there is no way to transfer shows, either from the HR20 or external drive to a pc to archive them via dvd?
only by the old play it-record it method.. and I doubt there ever will be due to "content providers" restrictions..

[HDTVFanAtic]

Who want internal 1 TB disk ? Fry's have it on sale ;) - just $389.99.
Hitachi Deskstar SATA/300 HDD.

Many have it for the $350 mark.

ZipZoomFly has it for $349 with free shipping.

[P Smith]

Yeah, HDD prices constantly goes down, if you can wait you'll have better deal; hope it will in par with 2x500GB disks ( $200 ) soon.

[uncrules]

Edit: Nevermind, I found my answer

[geneb11]

Anybody using the MyBook WDG1SU5000N? It is back on sale again at BB for $149.

[cartrivision]

Technically, this may be off-topic for this thread, but has anyone just pulled their original internal drive and replaced it with a larger SATA drive? Will the bootstrap code somehow download the OS to a blank disk or do you need to start with a disk with the OS on it?

[Michael D'Angelo]

Technically, this may be off-topic for this thread, but has anyone just pulled their original internal drive and replaced it with a larger SATA drive? Will the bootstrap code somehow download the OS to a blank disk or do you need to start with a disk with the OS on it?

:welcome_s to DBStalk

Yes a few people have done it and it will work but you break you lease agreement.

[Marco in HD]

Technically, this may be off-topic for this thread, but has anyone just pulled their original internal drive and replaced it with a larger SATA drive? Will the bootstrap code somehow download the OS to a blank disk or do you need to start with a disk with the OS on it?


My friend did. Says it works great...b@5tard.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=62741&page=7

[anubys]

Technically, this may be off-topic for this thread, but has anyone just pulled their original internal drive and replaced it with a larger SATA drive? Will the bootstrap code somehow download the OS to a blank disk or do you need to start with a disk with the OS on it?

what would be advantage of doing that? just so you don't have an external HD out there?

[Michael D'Angelo]

what would be advantage of doing that? just so you don't have an external HD out there?

You would not have a external hard drive. It would be cheaper. That is if DIRECTV does not charge you for breaking the lease agreement. You won't have to plug the eSATA into power since it is internal.

[Marco in HD]

what would be advantage of doing that? just so you don't have an external HD out there?


If I didn't have a leased unit I would. Like some, I can't get the external HD to work right.

[P Smith]

Technically, this may be off-topic for this thread, but has anyone just pulled their original internal drive and replaced it with a larger SATA drive? Will the bootstrap code somehow download the OS to a blank disk or do you need to start with a disk with the OS on it?

There is a post#1394 (http://dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1005332&postcount=1344)on previous page.

[Would be usefully for newcomers to read the thread before posting ? :confused: ].

[cartrivision]

what would be advantage of doing that? just so you don't have an external HD out there?

That and so that you don't have an unused HD spinning inside your DVR, increasing both noise and UPS battery drain during blackouts. I suppose one can just disconnect the power from the internal drive, but I was thinking about putting the bigger replacement drive inside the DVR for use as the main “every day” disk and putting the smaller original drive in an eSATA enclosure to occasionally use hooked as an external drive to archive certain programming.

[cartrivision]

There is a post#1394 on previous page.

[Would be usefully for newcomers to read the thread before posting ? :confused: ].

You are assuming a little too much. I did read through the thread before posting, but since the thread was not specifically about internal drive replacement, and was the only thread listed in the FAQ about adding drive capacity, plus the fact that the thread contained more than 1300 posts, I didn't read and digest every single word of every one of the 1300+ posts, so don't be so offended that I missed your post on the subject, and I do thank the other posters who pointed me to the other thread about internal drive replacement. Perhaps there should be a pointer to that thread in the FAQ too as it contains lots of good information.

[Bish]

My friend did. Says it works great...b@5tard.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=62741&page=7

I replaced the internal drive also. 3 weeks later the second tuner failed and I had to replace it with a unit from Directv. I swapped the original drive back in and shipped it back to Directv and I did not get charged anything. That was a month or so ago.

[anubys]

Sorry if this is a stupid question...I can work around some things but don't know enough...

I'm looking at this RAID solution http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5251837?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

since I'd like to get at least 1 TB of storage...my question is this: if I buy this enclosure, do I need to get an external or internal hard drive for it?

[Chuck W]

Sorry if this is a stupid question...I can work around some things but don't know enough...

I'm looking at this RAID solution http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5251837?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

since I'd like to get at least 1 TB of storage...my question is this: if I buy this enclosure, do I need to get an external or internal hard drive for it?

You would need internal drives.

[anubys]

You would need internal drives.

cool...um...what kind? ata? sata?...etc.

[anubys]

BB has a 500GB drive on sale for $131

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7821967&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat107700050004&id=1142294266760

would this fit in the enclosure I mentioned above? that would get me to 1 TB for about $400 total...

[Chuck W]

cool...um...what kind? ata? sata?...etc.

Sata.

BB has a 500GB drive on sale for $131

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7821967&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat107700050004&id=1142294266760

would this fit in the enclosure I mentioned above? that would get me to 1 TB for about $400 total...

Those should work.

**EDIT**

Don't forget to order an eSATA to eSATA cable, as they are hard to come by, at retail outlets. Looking at that drive enclosure, it doesn't look like it comes with an eSATA cable.

[anubys]

Excellent...thanks for your help!

[anubys]

ok...two 500 GB coming on Monday...Enclosure and cable coming on Monday or Tuesday...I should be ready to rock with 1 TB within a week...

sweet :D

thank you all for your help...I got sick of worrying about HD space...now I have a lot of movies to watch before the internal HD gets bypassed ;)

[msimanyi]

I installed my 1TB drive last night, following the directions to have my HR20 fully powered off before connecting the ESATA cable.

Restart went smoothly, with the previous List now empty, and I managed to record a couple shows last night.

One question: how long does it take the program guide to repopulate? I expected - apparently unreasonably - that it would be filled in for the next two weeks this morning, but I still had many empty spaces beyond this Tuesday. Should it take this long or is something misbehavin'?

Mike

[Michael D'Angelo]

I installed my 1TB drive last night, following the directions to have my HR20 fully powered off before connecting the ESATA cable.

Restart went smoothly, with the previous List now empty, and I managed to record a couple shows last night.

One question: how long does it take the program guide to repopulate? I expected - apparently unreasonably - that it would be filled in for the next two weeks this morning, but I still had many empty spaces beyond this Tuesday. Should it take this long or is something misbehavin'?

Mike

:welcome_s to DBSTalk

It should take 24 to 48 hours to fully populate. How far is the guide loaded now?

[msimanyi]

:welcome_s to DBSTalk

It should take 24 to 48 hours to fully populate. How far is the guide loaded now?

When I left the house this morning, it had loaded most programming through Tuesday afternoon, had some programming - mostly the Paid Programming - filled in for the next 10 days, and had some of the regular programming filled in through Thursday.

I didn't see any pattern to the update, which struck me as odd. I expected to see it downloaded pretty much sequentially and it wasn't even close to that. Unfortunately for me, most of the shows I want to record are those that hadn't yet updated - Formula 1 in particular.

Thanks for the information.

Mike

[ebsmith1]

I installed my 1TB drive last night, following the directions to have my HR20 fully powered off before connecting the ESATA cable.

Restart went smoothly, with the previous List now empty, and I managed to record a couple shows last night.

One question: how long does it take the program guide to repopulate? I expected - apparently unreasonably - that it would be filled in for the next two weeks this morning, but I still had many empty spaces beyond this Tuesday. Should it take this long or is something misbehavin'?

Mike

I too bought a Hitachi 1TB. I bought the AMS DS-2316SUESBK enclosure to put it in. When they arrived, I discovered the AMS will only support up tp 750GB. I'm sending it back.
I'm ready to buy a replacement enclosure but want to be sure it will work with a 1 TB drive.

What is your enclosure?

[AlbertZeroK]

I would bet your enclosure would handle more than a 750G drive. Most external eSATA enclosures are nothing more than a box and power supply, there is rarely components between the internal sata and external esata ports on the box.

[anubys]

I too bought a Hitachi 1TB. I bought the AMS DS-2316SUESBK enclosure to put it in. When they arrived, I discovered the AMS will only support up tp 750GB. I'm sending it back.
I'm ready to buy a replacement enclosure but want to be sure it will work with a 1 TB drive.

What is your enclosure?

the enclosure that I bought (mentioned about 10 posts or so before this) can hold two 750 GB drives...

[midlifez]

Heres the scoop.... Bought a Seagate FreeAgent 750 GB eSATA drive and cable. Got it home, turned off the DTV receiver and unplugged it. Plugged in the 750GB drive and connected the cables to the HR20 and powered up the drive. After 15 min or so plugged the DTV receiver back in and waited, all was good, REC button went red for a bit indicating that the external drive was being formatted. When all was done the TV picture was displaying the message that came up a few days ago about the latest software upgrade, etc. My favorites were gone along with the shows I had recorded in the past, all was good since this was expected and indicated that the receiver was now using the external drive.

Then things went South. While putting the equipment back in it's place the eSATA cable to the drive came unplugged. From that point on no matter what I have tried the HR20 will not recognize the external drive. I even went so far as connecting the drive to my notebook and reformatting it then going through the steps for the HR20 to acquire it again - NO LUCK. As a last resort I returned the FreeAgent and exchanged it for a brand new one. Going through the same steps described here I cannot get the HR20 to 'see' the external drive.

Any suggestions before I either take it back and get a refund or maybe suggestion for a different brand of external drive?

[Chuck584]

Heres the scoop.... Bought a Seagate FreeAgent 750 GB eSATA drive and cable. Got it home, turned off the DTV receiver and unplugged it. Plugged in the 750GB drive and connected the cables to the HR20 and powered up the drive. After 15 min or so plugged the DTV receiver back in and waited, all was good, REC button went red for a bit indicating that the external drive was being formatted. When all was done the TV picture was displaying the message that came up a few days ago about the latest software upgrade, etc. My favorites were gone along with the shows I had recorded in the past, all was good since this was expected and indicated that the receiver was now using the external drive.

Then things went South. While putting the equipment back in it's place the eSATA cable to the drive came unplugged. From that point on no matter what I have tried the HR20 will not recognize the external drive. I even went so far as connecting the drive to my notebook and reformatting it then going through the steps for the HR20 to acquire it again - NO LUCK. As a last resort I returned the FreeAgent and exchanged it for a brand new one. Going through the same steps described here I cannot get the HR20 to 'see' the external drive.

Any suggestions before I either take it back and get a refund or maybe suggestion for a different brand of external drive?

It sounds to me like there is an issue with the eSATA in the HR20 since your notebook can access the drive.

I would guess you're using the USB port on the notebook so it is remotely possible both eSATA ports on the Seagates went bad. If possible have the store try the drive on an eSATA port on one of their computers. If it works on their eSATA port, the HR20's port (or internal cable) went bad. :crying_sa :crying_sa

[midlifez]

Hmmmm... Another possibility is the cable I am using? Looking at the calbe ends have "eSATA" stamped on them. Should the cable be SATA to eSATA or is it OK to have eSATA for both ends?

Yes, when I connected to my notebook I used the USB port on the FreeAgent and the notebook.

Would seem waaaaaaaaaay unusual I would think for the SATA port on the HR20 to have gone bad it would seem to me...
-----------------------------------------------------------------

It sounds to me like there is an issue with the eSATA in the HR20 since your notebook can access the drive.

I would guess you're using the USB port on the notebook so it is remotely possible both eSATA ports on the Seagates went bad. If possible have the store try the drive on an eSATA port on one of their computers. If it works on their eSATA port, the HR20's port (or internal cable) went bad. :crying_sa :crying_sa

[Chuck W]

Hmmmm... Another possibility is the cable I am using? Looking at the calbe ends have "eSATA" stamped on them. Should the cable be SATA to eSATA or is it OK to have eSATA for both ends?

Yes, when I connected to my notebook I used the USB port on the FreeAgent and the notebook.

Would seem waaaaaaaaaay unusual I would think for the SATA port on the HR20 to have gone bad it would seem to me...
-----------------------------------------------------------------

For the Free Agent Pro, you need an eSATA to eSATA cable.

[Villager]

Since you report that the cable became unplugged when you moved it, it is possible that you don't have a good connection. If the end that became unplugged is the end that went in to the Free Agent, you may be experiencing what many have noticed. Often, the esata plug needs a little trimming to fit snugly into the Free Agent. There are many reports on this in this thread.

[jeff125va]

Heres the scoop.... Bought a Seagate FreeAgent 750 GB eSATA drive and cable. Got it home, turned off the DTV receiver and unplugged it. Plugged in the 750GB drive and connected the cables to the HR20 and powered up the drive. After 15 min or so plugged the DTV receiver back in and waited, all was good, REC button went red for a bit indicating that the external drive was being formatted. When all was done the TV picture was displaying the message that came up a few days ago about the latest software upgrade, etc. My favorites were gone along with the shows I had recorded in the past, all was good since this was expected and indicated that the receiver was now using the external drive.

Then things went South. While putting the equipment back in it's place the eSATA cable to the drive came unplugged. From that point on no matter what I have tried the HR20 will not recognize the external drive. I even went so far as connecting the drive to my notebook and reformatting it then going through the steps for the HR20 to acquire it again - NO LUCK. As a last resort I returned the FreeAgent and exchanged it for a brand new one. Going through the same steps described here I cannot get the HR20 to 'see' the external drive.

Any suggestions before I either take it back and get a refund or maybe suggestion for a different brand of external drive?
I had a similar problem I posted about a few pages back in this thread. I got my HR20-100 and added an eSATA drive a few days before the 0x168 software upgrade came out. It worked fine until then, just like yours, then it stopped. It would only work with the internal drive. I also reformatted mine with my PC, but no luck there either. As a test, I hooked it up to one of my other HR20's and it worked fine, so I know that the drive/enclosure and cable are ok.

I'll probably end up swapping the HR20's because I don't need extra storage for the one connected to my bar TV, but I'll probably always be worried that I'm going to lose a whole bunch of recordings in the middle of the TV season. I'd only had the unit a few days so I didn't really lose anything, but still.

[midlifez]

SUCCESS! It was indeed the cable, pulled out a razor blad and trimmed some of the plastic off so that the plug would go in further. Sure wish that the eSATA cables plugged in more securely though, i.e. 'locked' in place.

Thanks for all the help to all here! Now if D* would just get off there keesters and:
1. make it so the space on the internal HD is not lost
2. Ability to copy saved content to the new external
3. enable the ethernet port

Always something 'aint it? :)

Since you report that the cable became unplugged when you moved it, it is possible that you don't have a good connection. If the end that became unplugged is the end that went in to the Free Agent, you may be experiencing what many have noticed. Often, the esata plug needs a little trimming to fit snugly into the Free Agent. There are many reports on this in this thread.

[empire_of_one]

i hooked up a Seagate FreeAgent 750GB drive to my HR20 this weekend. everything seemed to be going well, i had reset some season passes, recorded a couple movies, and reset my favorite channels, until several hours later when the HR20 spontaneously rebooted and came back up, now back with the internal drive. tried an RBR and still came back up with the internal drive, so i unplugged both the HR20 and FreeAgent, checked the eSATA cable connection, then powered them back up. it came back up with the FreeAgent successfully, but then sometime overnight last night, it rebooted again and came back using the internal drive.

has anyone else had this problem? i've seen some of the issues reported about esata cables not sitting in the drive properly, could that be causing these reboots?

for reference, here is the eSATA cable i am using. has anyone else had problems with this cable? i'd prefer not to have to use the razor blade method other people have used, but i suppose i will if i have to. are there any cables that have been proven to work without having to shave them down?

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16812191016

[Michael D'Angelo]

i hooked up a Seagate FreeAgent 750GB drive to my HR20 this weekend. everything seemed to be going well, i had reset some season passes, recorded a couple movies, and reset my favorite channels, until several hours later when the HR20 spontaneously rebooted and came back up, now back with the internal drive. tried an RBR and still came back up with the internal drive, so i unplugged both the HR20 and FreeAgent, checked the eSATA cable connection, then powered them back up. it came back up with the FreeAgent successfully, but then sometime overnight last night, it rebooted again and came back using the internal drive.

has anyone else had this problem? i've seen some of the issues reported about esata cables not sitting in the drive properly, could that be causing these reboots?

for reference, here is the eSATA cable i am using. has anyone else had problems with this cable? i'd prefer not to have to use the razor blade method other people have used, but i suppose i will if i have to. are there any cables that have been proven to work without having to shave them down?

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16812191016

I think the cable may be your problem. When it falls out or disconnects the units probably reboots because of it. I know some people have had to cut a little off of the connectors to get it to connect better.

[empire_of_one]

I think the cable may be your problem. When it falls out or disconnects the units probably reboots because of it. I know some people have had to cut a little off of the connectors to get it to connect better.

that's what i was afraid of, i was hoping i could avoid shaving the cable. which connector needs to be cut down, the one that connects to the HR20 or the one that connects to the external drive, or both?

[Michael D'Angelo]

that's what i was afraid of, i was hoping i could avoid shaving the cable. which connector needs to be cut down, the one that connects to the HR20 or the one that connects to the external drive, or both?

I think it is the side that connects to the HR20 that is the problem.

[empire_of_one]

I think it is the side that connects to the HR20 that is the problem.

ok, i had another reboot today so i tried shaving off some of the plastic and reconnecting. however, there's a metal tab that extends at the middle of the connector, and i couldn't shave off much plastic below it without bending it, and i didn't want to do that. i've attached an image that shows the area i shaved off of and the tab in the middle. do all esata cables have this tab? should i try to shave off the plastic from below this tab too?

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/8144/esataconnectorrz5.jpg

[midlifez]

that is not where I shaved, I shaved off a sliver all the way around just above where the one your picture says "CRIMPING SATA". That way it will go further in the socket. Worked like a charm!

[QUOTE=empire_of_one;1025612]ok, i had another reboot today so i tried shaving off some of the plastic and reconnecting. however, there's a metal tab that extends at the middle of the connector, and i couldn't shave off much plastic below it without bending it, and i didn't want to do that. i've attached an image that shows the area i shaved off of and the tab in the middle. do all esata cables have this tab? should i try to shave off the plastic from below this tab too?

[Fire407]

After reading this forum I learned that getting the right cable is very important. I got the SIIG 2 meter SA0211-S1 and it fits both sides perfectly with no trimming. I plugged it in and it worked like a charm the first time. The description on the package for the cable says that it is Serial ATA II compliant. Got it from newegg.

[HDTVFanAtic]

fwiw, the eSata connector on the Seagate Free Agent Series is known to be flakey.

[jeff125va]

Is the problem definitely with the cables themselves? Is it possible that the socket is different in the -100 vs. the -700? If the cable were the problem, would it have worked fine for several days and then suddenly stop working (the same day the software was updated)? My cable is the one that came with my Thermaltake MAX4 enclosure. It worked fine at first in my HR20-100, and works just fine in my -700.

[P Smith]

There is an eSATA standard and all devices and cables should be certified.

[jeff125va]

I'm hoping someone else with the Thermaltake Max 4 Enclosure could help me. I just noticed that the connector for the power cable where it connects to the drive enclosure has 5 pins, and another spot where it looks like there was a 6th pin that broke off. This is the connector that looks like an S-Video connector. I'm wondering if this is supposed to have 6 pins or just 5. Although either way, it probably wouldn't explain my problem since it suddenly stopped working, and worked later connected to my PC and to another HR20. Still very curious though, thanks.

[DogLover]

I have installed the Seagate Freeagent Pro 750 as well, and had to modify the cable end that goes into the Freeagent. Cut off just a little bit of the rubber part. Don't know the proper term for it, but it's the part that you put your fingers on when you plug in the cable. Worked like a charm after that.

It's great having lots of space!

(OK, I'll admit it, my husband actually did the cutting. He's the knife person in the family.)

[Ryan]

there is a discussion of esata cable trimming (and two different standards) on the Tivo community forums

it seems a very similar issue with loose connections exists with the Tivo S3 esata port

they do offer some images of esata and esata II (which seem to be longer out of the box--no trimming) connectors

I got mine from provantage in Ohio (quick regular shipping to PA):

http://www.provantage.com/tripp-lite-p950-18i~7TRPA1HV.htm

Tripp Lite expands its line of hard drive cables with the introduction of our new line of eSATA ( SATA II ) cables. This 18" data cable connects any high speed eSATA drive, PVR/DVR, or SETOP box to an eSATA controller. SATA-II delivers higher data transfer rates (up to 3 Gbps), and the double-shielded cable design is perfect for the new generation of External SATA -II drives....

[anubys]

my enclosure came today from Fry's and my two 500 GB drives also came...putting the whole thing together took about 10 minutes...

the enclosure came with a ton of cables, including eSATA to eSATA, so I just wasted $12 on a cable I didn't need :(

Didn't need any trimming (yet!)...drives were up and running and the HR20 had a picture in about 5 minutes (which worried me, I thought it would take longer)...reset my favorites and will wait a couple of days to set my SPs...

crossing my fingers... but so far, so good!

[empire_of_one]

that is not where I shaved, I shaved off a sliver all the way around just above where the one your picture says "CRIMPING SATA". That way it will go further in the socket. Worked like a charm!

i shaved off the plastic end because the rubber part doesn't even come close to the eSATA connector on the HR20. with or without it shaved, there's a noticeable gap between the edge of the rubber part and the HR20 connector.

After reading this forum I learned that getting the right cable is very important. I got the SIIG 2 meter SA0211-S1 and it fits both sides perfectly with no trimming. I plugged it in and it worked like a charm the first time. The description on the package for the cable says that it is Serial ATA II compliant. Got it from newegg.

this is the same cable I have, except I got the 1-m version. since i've had problems with mine, apparently getting the right cable isn't enough.

fwiw, the eSata connector on the Seagate Free Agent Series is known to be flakey.

I'm hoping someone else with the Thermaltake Max 4 Enclosure could help me. I just noticed that the connector for the power cable where it connects to the drive enclosure has 5 pins, and another spot where it looks like there was a 6th pin that broke off. This is the connector that looks like an S-Video connector. I'm wondering if this is supposed to have 6 pins or just 5. Although either way, it probably wouldn't explain my problem since it suddenly stopped working, and worked later connected to my PC and to another HR20. Still very curious though, thanks.

so it sounds like i need to shave off the RUBBER part on the SEAGATE end, NOT the PLASTIC part on the HR20 end. guess it's back to the drawing boards.

[ray652]

Well, after a lot of reading here, I also had problems attaching the FA.....and it was obvious that the Fry's heavy blue eSata cable was not even close to making contact on the FA.

After slicing off a small piece of the plastic, it works fine BUT yes, the FA eSata connector is very flaky.

My solution....wrap a rubber band (6mm wide or so) around the head of the eSata cable FA end...the end I removed plastic.......then take the free end and wrap it around the drive stem between the HD and its base.......that way the cable is always being pulled INTO the socket.

I also read that not all FA750 external drives are the same.....and if I knew for sure, I would open my FA and install it internally.......anyone know how to determine the internal drive size of the FA internal drive?

[Chuck W]

Well, after a lot of reading here, I also had problems attaching the FA.....and it was obvious that the Fry's heavy blue eSata cable was not even close to making contact on the FA.

After slicing off a small piece of the plastic, it works fine BUT yes, the FA eSata connector is very flaky.

My solution....wrap a rubber band (6mm wide or so) around the head of the eSata cable FA end...the end I removed plastic.......then take the free end and wrap it around the drive stem between the HD and its base.......that way the cable is always being pulled INTO the socket.

I also read that not all FA750 external drives are the same.....and if I knew for sure, I would open my FA and install it internally.......anyone know how to determine the internal drive size of the FA internal drive?

I honestly don't think it's as much the FA Pro's connection, as it is some of these cheaply made cables, that is the problem. The SIIG cable I got from Newegg, connects just fine with the FA Pro. No trimming or anything was necessary. It just plugged right in and it worked. I've moved my drive around, quite a bit(trying to find a spot where the yellow glow doesn't stand out too much) and it has stayed plugged just fine too.

[ShawnL25]

Can someone recommend an External eSATA hdd that I can buy ready to go for the HR20-700, I want a 1TB plus drive. The only technical work I want involved is unplugging the dvr hooking up the hdd and plugging the dvr back in. Is there an option out there for me? I have an open shelf so heat will not be an issues.

[Fire407]

my enclosure came today from Fry's and my two 500 GB drives also came...putting the whole thing together took about 10 minutes...

the enclosure came with a ton of cables, including eSATA to eSATA, so I just wasted $12 on a cable I didn't need :(

Didn't need any trimming (yet!)...drives were up and running and the HR20 had a picture in about 5 minutes (which worried me, I thought it would take longer)...reset my favorites and will wait a couple of days to set my SPs...

crossing my fingers... but so far, so good!
That's what surprised me as well. After connecting the external drive and booting up, it didn't take long at all to be up and running---far faster than if you just reboot with the internal drive. It still takes a while to fully load the guide, but getting up and running is a breeze.

[HDTVFanAtic]

Well, after a lot of reading here, I also had problems attaching the FA.....and it was obvious that the Fry's heavy blue eSata cable was not even close to making contact on the FA.

After slicing off a small piece of the plastic, it works fine BUT yes, the FA eSata connector is very flaky.

My solution....wrap a rubber band (6mm wide or so) around the head of the eSata cable FA end...the end I removed plastic.......then take the free end and wrap it around the drive stem between the HD and its base.......that way the cable is always being pulled INTO the socket.

I also read that not all FA750 external drives are the same.....and if I knew for sure, I would open my FA and install it internally.......anyone know how to determine the internal drive size of the FA internal drive?


Well, all 750GB drives are 3.5 inches.

Now, if you can figure out how to get the drive out of the FA cleanly, please let me know!

[anubys]

Can someone recommend an External eSATA hdd that I can buy ready to go for the HR20-700, I want a 1TB plus drive. The only technical work I want involved is unplugging the dvr hooking up the hdd and plugging the dvr back in. Is there an option out there for me? I have an open shelf so heat will not be an issues.

this enclosure "http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5251837?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG"

from Fry's (I bought it from them last week for $129) can take two 750 GB drives and comes with a good eSATA to eSATA cable already...

you plug the hard drives in the enclosure (6 phillips head screws per drive) and plug into the HR20...I had them up and running in less than 10 minutes...

[empire_of_one]

I honestly don't think it's as much the FA Pro's connection, as it is some of these cheaply made cables, that is the problem. The SIIG cable I got from Newegg, connects just fine with the FA Pro. No trimming or anything was necessary. It just plugged right in and it worked. I've moved my drive around, quite a bit(trying to find a spot where the yellow glow doesn't stand out too much) and it has stayed plugged just fine too.

i have the EXACT same cable and have had problems, so it's not just the cables. perhaps some drives and/or HR20 boxes are more reliable than others.

strangely enough, since i shaved down the wrong plastic part of the wrong (HR20) end of the cable, i haven't had a reboot in over 2 days. so who knows? since i've been away most of this week and won't have another chance to look at it until saturday, i wasn't planning on doing anything more with it til the weekend anyway. i ordered a new cable (provantage that someone linked to above) and if the reboots return, i will try that one, and will try some of the suggestions for getting the cable to fit the seagate drive better. fingers crossed.

[jpoet]

this enclosure "http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5251837?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG"

from Fry's (I bought it from them last week for $129) can take two 750 GB drives and comes with a good eSATA to eSATA cable already...

you plug the hard drives in the enclosure (6 phillips head screws per drive) and plug into the HR20...I had them up and running in less than 10 minutes...

If I could pick that enclosure up for $129, I probably would. Was it available at that price on their web site?

How loud is it?

Thanks,

John

[anubys]

If I could pick that enclosure up for $129, I probably would. Was it available at that price on their web site?

How loud is it?

Thanks,

John

Not sure...but I think you can hear it...the LCD screen is bright...but really the only annoying thing for me is the blinking blue lights (when it's accessing the drives)...nothing that black tape can't fix ;)

I'll try to pay attention to the noise...it's not a big issue for me since it's in the basement and I'm only down there when the TV is on...

[nagor]

Can someone recommend an External eSATA hdd that I can buy ready to go for the HR20-700, I want a 1TB plus drive. The only technical work I want involved is unplugging the dvr hooking up the hdd and plugging the dvr back in. Is there an option out there for me? I have an open shelf so heat will not be an issues.

Buy.com has a Calvary 1 TB external drive for $249.00 that may work for you. Let me know.

[Volman]

this enclosure "http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5251837?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG"

from Fry's (I bought it from them last week for $129) can take two 750 GB drives and comes with a good eSATA to eSATA cable already...

you plug the hard drives in the enclosure (6 phillips head screws per drive) and plug into the HR20...I had them up and running in less than 10 minutes...

I assume the reason for buying an enclosure like this one(versus a standard external enclosure+eSATA HDD.... or an "all-in-one style external eSata HDD like the Seagate 750GB many mention) is it's capacity to 1.5TB.Are there other reasons to consider one like yours rather than the Seagate FreeAgent Pro 750GB?Thanks.

[anubys]

If I could pick that enclosure up for $129, I probably would. Was it available at that price on their web site?

How loud is it?

Thanks,

John

ok...went back and checked...I have an HD-Tivo and an HR20...the enclosure is in between...it's not as loud as either but you can hear it...it does have two hard drives spinning in it, after all...

the HD-Tivo is much louder (also upgraded with a second hard drive)...

[anubys]

I assume the reason for buying an enclosure like this one(versus a standard external enclosure+eSATA HDD.... or an "all-in-one style external eSata HDD like the Seagate 750GB many mention) is it's capacity to 1.5TB.Are there other reasons to consider one like yours rather than the Seagate FreeAgent Pro 750GB?Thanks.

I did it because I like the flexibility of getting internal drives that I can always pop into a PC if I want to...and as you mention, the 1.5 TB possibility...

good 1 TB drives seemed to go for about $400 unless there's an unbelievable sale and usually you had to buy an enclosure for them...

so this seemed like the most flexible way to get a minimum of 1 TB for the same price as a 1 TB drive...

[jpoet]

ok...went back and checked...I have an HD-Tivo and an HR20...the enclosure is in between...it's not as loud as either but you can hear it...it does have two hard drives spinning in it, after all...

the HD-Tivo is much louder (also upgraded with a second hard drive)...

Thanks for the info.

John

[JSFord]

Should the dvr still be showing a picture on the channel it was last on?

It wont let me do anything else, change channel etc. But I thought I read that the record light would come on? The activity light on the esata is blinking to indicate activity so something is happening..........right???

[lucky13]

Should the dvr still be showing a picture on the channel it was last on?

It wont let me do anything else, change channel etc. But I thought I read that the record light would come on? The activity light on the esata is blinking to indicate activity so something is happening..........right???

It will remain on the previous channel.
It should let you change the channel, however.
Can you access any menus?

[JSFord]

No menus no channel changing no nothing.

[bgullicksen]

JSFord,

I am assuming that you connected the Esata drive with the unit off and unplugged? The HR20 should then have booted up, the record light will come on red for a few seconds while it detects and formats the external drive. Then it should download the guide, etc. to the new drive and then everything should work normally.

If that didn't happen, the first thing I would try is power off, unplug, remove and reconnect the esata drive and power up. If it doesn't come up normally this time, you can try to force format the esata drive using these instructions:

This info is from the D* Tech Tips site

Instructions for doing a FULL FORMAT (you lose all settings and recordings). This will attempt to clean and prepare your hard drive:

1. Press the red reset button

2. You wll see the "Hello Welcome to DIRECTV" screen.

3. Then you will see the "Almost There" screen.

4. When you see the "Almost There" screen, on the HR20 front panel, PRESS and HOLD DOWN (at the same time) the RECORD button and THE DOWN ARROW button, until you see the "Hello Welcome to DIRECTV" screen (Note: the box will reboot during this time, this is normal).

5. DO NOT unplug/reset or interrupt power at this time! The estimated wait time until you see the "Hello Welcome" screen after pressing and holdingdown the Record & Down Arrow buttons could take UP TO TWO MINUTES. Average time is 1 minute.

6. At this point the box has rebooted and the drive has been reformatted.

7. Then you should see the 1st guided setup scree, the language selection screen, in about 5 to 6 minutes.

8. Continue installing as normal

If that doesn't work you may have a problem with the drive, enclosure or cable.

I hope that helps you.

-Bill

[JSFord]

it seems to have worked this time by redoing the original instructions. How can I verify it is working off the esata drive? Is there a space remaining meter soewhere?

Just switched from 10-250 and new at the H20

Thnaks

[bgullicksen]

Not really,

If you click your list button, there is an available space % down at the bottom. If you record a few HD shows you should notice that the % available drops much slower than when you were using the internal drive. If your external is much larger, you will be able to tell pretty quickly.

I've got a 750GB drive and I have currently about 35 recordings and my available is 87%. With the internal, I'd be getting close to full about now.

You should also be able to see the drive activity on the external if it working. That's about the only way to tell.

Bill
[

QUOTE=JSFord;1032546]it seems to have worked this time by redoing the original instructions. How can I verify it is working off the esata drive? Is there a space remaining meter soewhere?

Just switched from 10-250 and new at the H20

Thnaks[/QUOTE]

[69hokie]

About 30 minutes ago, I joined the many who have added storage by adding a 750 Seagate FA Pro using a SIIG Serial ATA II compliant eSata to eSata cable (2meter). No problems at all with the connection on either the receiver or the drive enclosure at this point that others have had with other cables. Only apparent issue was that when the red record light came on indicating fomatting in progress, it never went out. The picture came back and the "old" List was gone and the % use of the drive was indicating 0%. Tested recording and everything seemed to work fine except for the continuous red recording light. I did a menu reset, the red light went out with the reset and never came back, and the "old" List was still gone, so I believe I am up and running on the new Seagate drive. I have scheduled a couple of HD movie records that overlap on different channels to check the recording via both satellite tuners and listing features are working and hopefully to get an indication via the % use of the storage that the new drive is in fact in use and verify the size the receiver is seeing. Really easy setup except for the hung up red light...hope it isn't an indicator of problems!! We will see.

[gazzie4]

I too went esata today and have the same issue with the red record light staying on even 30-45 minutes after restart, could this be the receiver downloading guide data?!?

[Cyrus]

I too went esata today and have the same issue with the red record light staying on even 30-45 minutes after restart, could this be the receiver downloading guide data?!?

A menu reset should get rid of the rec light.

[anubys]

I've got a 750GB drive and I have currently about 35 recordings and my available is 87%. With the internal, I'd be getting close to full about now.


are those recordings SD? I have 1 TB and no way I'd be at 87% with 35 recordings...I was at around 90% yesterday with 10 or so things recorded (they were all HD...half were OTA and a couple were HDNet...the rest were HBO & ESPN)...

one weird thing I've noticed is SPs that are set for first run now record repeats as well (that did not happen before going to the external drive)...can't explain why that would be...

[lucky13]

are those recordings SD? I have 1 TB and no way I'd be at 87% with 35 recordings...I was at around 90% yesterday with 10 or so things recorded (they were all HD...half were OTA and a couple were HDNet...the rest were HBO & ESPN)...

one weird thing I've noticed is SPs that are set for first run now record repeats as well (that did not happen before going to the external drive)...can't explain why that would be...

Check the info on the repeats scheduled to record. Are they generic (e.g., The Simpsons: Homer and Marge raise three children in suburban Springfield...") or episode-specific. If they're generic, the guide doesn't have the episode info; since it doesn't know if it's a repeat, it defaults to record.

If you have episode-specific info, double-check your SL settings.

[Fire407]

are those recordings SD? I have 1 TB and no way I'd be at 87% with 35 recordings...I was at around 90% yesterday with 10 or so things recorded (they were all HD...half were OTA and a couple were HDNet...the rest were HBO & ESPN)...

one weird thing I've noticed is SPs that are set for first run now record repeats as well (that did not happen before going to the external drive)...can't explain why that would be...
You might want to double check that you are actually using the external drive and not still on the internal drive. First, it seems that you should have a whole lot more space available on your drive with only 10 or so HD things recorded. Second, when you boot to the new drive, you should lose all of your previous scheduled recordings and series links, and you should have to reset them all from scratch. I only have a 750GB drive, but I have 87% space available after recording 7 movies including King Kong.

[anubys]

You might want to double check that you are actually using the external drive and not still on the internal drive. First, it seems that you should have a whole lot more space available on your drive with only 10 or so HD things recorded. Second, when you boot to the new drive, you should lose all of your previous scheduled recordings and series links, and you should have to reset them all from scratch. I only have a 750GB drive, but I have 87% space available after recording 7 movies including King Kong.

I'm using the new drives...I lost my ToDo and had to reset all my SPs...I do notice a big improvement in space, but not as much as you indicated...since I went from 300 GB to 1 TB, I expected a 3-fold increase, and that's about what I get...yours sounds a lot more dramatic, that's all...

[rcoleman111]

I'm using the new drives...I lost my ToDo and had to reset all my SPs...I do notice a big improvement in space, but not as much as you indicated...since I went from 300 GB to 1 TB, I expected a 3-fold increase, and that's about what I get...yours sounds a lot more dramatic, that's all...

It sounds like you are using the new drives but you don't really have 1TB of storage. Is it a single 1TB drive or an array? If you have an array, it's possible you have it set to RAID1 instead of RAID0. That would cut the available storage in half - from 1TB to 500GB.

I have a 1TB disk RAID0 array connected to my HR20 and it works as expected. I've counted the hours of HD programming at times (taking into account MPEG2 and MPEG4) and the available space is always close to what it should be.

[geneb11]

Anybody using the MyBook WDG1SU5000N? It is back on sale again at BB for $149.

I bought this drive and it works just fine,but I did have to shave down the cable end that goes into the drive so that it would go in deeper.

[anubys]

It sounds like you are using the new drives but you don't really have 1TB of storage. Is it a single 1TB drive or an array? If you have an array, it's possible you have it set to RAID1 instead of RAID0. That would cut the available storage in half - from 1TB to 500GB.

I have a 1TB disk RAID0 array connected to my HR20 and it works as expected. I've counted the hours of HD programming at times (taking into account MPEG2 and MPEG4) and the available space is always close to what it should be.

shoot...you're right...I think I left it at the factory default (RAID1)...

oh man...I have to reset everything again...:mad:

thanks for the tip...:D

[jp41]

Does anyone know if this would work for an external drive and if I need a case to go with it or can you just plug it in and go? Seems like a good deal but I don't know anything about Hitachi drives. I was going to go with Seagate since I read they were quiet but this seems like a great price.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8355497&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat107700050005&id=1177112455081

[Michael D'Angelo]

Does anyone know if this would work for an external drive and if I need a case to go with it or can you just plug it in and go? Seems like a good deal but I don't know anything about Hitachi drives. I was going to go with Seagate since I read they were quiet but this seems like a great price.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8355497&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat107700050005&id=1177112455081

It will not work because it only has USB out. You need a eSATA hard drive.

[jp41]

It will not work because it only has USB out. You need a eSATA hard drive.

Thanks, I figured it was too good to be true.

[virodeath]

I have been reading thru the posts and was wondering what so far would be the largest & quietest HD for internal mounting?

Also if I have a HTPC with lots of internal space for HD's and it is right next to my HR20 would it be possible to run a eSATA cable from the HR20 to the back of my HTPC and run several drives in a raid configuration just using my HTPC as the case and source of cooling?

Last question, I bought my HR20 off a dealer on eBay, when it was installed the service dude tried to get me to sign a lease contract on the HR20, I told him to take a flying leap (in so many words) since I didn't buy it from DTV. He said they are required to try to get the customers to do that and didn't blame me for not wanting to sign it. So my question is does DTV have some kinda blanket lease on all units hooked to their service (ie claim over my unit) or can I mod my HR20 without worrying about them kicking in my door yelling RAT!

Thanks!

Viro

[airmark]

If someone has successfully found a way to enable the D* HR20-700 box to allow backup of recorded HD programing to PC I haven't been able to find it. (Enable sounds better than hack, right?)

Do we know what kind of Operating System the RX / DVR runs? What format on its hard drive? Possibly a Linux-based OS? Or, some proprietary disk format with encryption??

I recently tried a Win s/w called "MacDrive 7" that enables Win XP to read & write a Mac OS formatted drive. I think similar is possible between Linux OS / HD format --> with Windows.

If networking on the fast ports on these boxes will remain blocked indefinitely, I hope there is a way around.

If we knew the HardDrive format of the DVR and had Win or Mac s/w to Read/Write that format, would networking be solved so puters can backup the DVR's HD programs?


*** P.S. Further searching, found thread titled 'HR20 seems to be running Linux...possible GPL violations?' with links to more threads on the subject.
I gather the HR20 (and some TiVos) run on Linux, but there's also talk of encryption. So if puters could read the DVR's HD format, that may not be a solution.

[AlbertZeroK]

If someone has successfully found a way to enable the D* HR20-700 box to allow backup of recorded HD programing to PC I haven't been able to find it. (Enable sounds better than hack, right?)

Do we know what kind of Operating System the RX / DVR runs? What format on its hard drive? Possibly a Linux-based OS? Or, some proprietary disk format with encryption??

Encryption on the Tivo's was never broken, it was just turned off. So I doubt there is little hope for un-encrypting anything off the HR20 IF you can figure out the disk structure.

[HDTVFanAtic]

Last question, I bought my HR20 off a dealer on eBay, when it was installed the service dude tried to get me to sign a lease contract on the HR20, I told him to take a flying leap (in so many words) since I didn't buy it from DTV. He said they are required to try to get the customers to do that and didn't blame me for not wanting to sign it. So my question is does DTV have some kinda blanket lease on all units hooked to their service (ie claim over my unit) or can I mod my HR20 without worrying about them kicking in my door yelling RAT!


Any unit activated on Directv after March 1st of 2006 is leased.

There are some exceptions that concern replacement of owned equipment, but they are few and far between - and clearly nothing that lets you own the HR20 you purchased off eBay.

If you activate it - it's leased.

[empire_of_one]

just an update...

after the reboot problems my first weekend with the seagate and SIIG esata cable, with about 4-5 reboots over a 3 day period, i haven't had a reboot problem in a week and a half now, so i feel safe in saying that i think the reboot problem has been fixed, though i'm not sure exactly how. i attempted to shave off the plastic end (not the rubber grip part) of the connector end that goes to the HR20, and at the same time, i did a full power-down, unplug-replug of everything (but not a reformat), so maybe the cable wasn't sitting properly in the seagate too, and replugging it got it to sit right. whatever it was, everything seems to be humming along ok now. the extra space is very nice, but for me, the best part (and the main reason i got the external drive to begin with) is that i don't have to listen to the constant loud clicking of the internal HDD. since i only sit about 9' away from my entertainment center, and thus the HR20, that clicking noise would drive me nuts anytime i was trying to watch something quiet. the seagate is so much quieter, i can't hear it from 9' at all unless everything else is turned off.

[rosmith51]

When you switch back and forth between an external and an internal does the programming list for each of the drives stay intact...

That is if I use the external for a while then switch back to the internal is the same to-do list that was on the internal before I switched to the external still there?

I may want to keep sporting events and particular movies on the external drive for instance while keeping the standard daily programming on the internal so I'd want the internal drive to keep it's schedule of what to record since I'd only be using the external 10-12 hours a week for the special events.

So I'd really only use the external drive when I wanted to either record something to it or watch something that was on it...

Does that work?

[mx6bfast]

When you switch back and forth between an external and an internal does the programming list for each of the drives stay intact...
No. When it "sees" a new hard drive it will format the drive and wipe out whatever is currently on there.

[jeffshoaf]

No. When it "sees" a new hard drive it will format the drive and wipe out whatever is currently on there.

That's not right - it only re-formats if it hasn't been formatted by an HR20. My HR20-100 lost it's access card reader and was replaced with an HR20-700. When I plugged in the eSata drive that was originally formatted on the -100 into the -700, the drive was not reformatted. All the SL's and scheduled recordings were still there and recorded properly. The recorded shows were still there as well, but they wouldn't play.

[Chuck W]

No. When it "sees" a new hard drive it will format the drive and wipe out whatever is currently on there.

It does NOT reformat the drive, if it was already formatted, previously. The recordings will stay intact. It only formats a drive that has never been attached to an HR20 before.

[mx6bfast]

It does NOT reformat the drive, if it was already formatted, previously. The recordings will stay intact. It only formats a drive that has never been attached to an HR20 before.
Huh, I thought it would wipe out everything and start off like a brand new hdd. I coulda sworn I read about it on here. Well, guess I was wrong. Please disregard my earlier post.

[DonCorleone]

Is it ee-SAT-uh or ee-SATE-uh?

[Rich]

It sounds like you are using the new drives but you don't really have 1TB of storage. Is it a single 1TB drive or an array? If you have an array, it's possible you have it set to RAID1 instead of RAID0. That would cut the available storage in half - from 1TB to 500GB.

I have a 1TB disk RAID0 array connected to my HR20 and it works as expected. I've counted the hours of HD programming at times (taking into account MPEG2 and MPEG4) and the available space is always close to what it should be.

What results did you arrive at after counting hours?

[Rich]

When you switch back and forth between an external and an internal does the programming list for each of the drives stay intact... Yes, everything stays the same. You do not lose the recordings or the settings That is if I use the external for a while then switch back to the internal is the same to-do list that was on the internal before I switched to the external still there? Yes.

I may want to keep sporting events and particular movies on the external drive for instance while keeping the standard daily programming on the internal so I'd want the internal drive to keep it's schedule of what to record since I'd only be using the external 10-12 hours a week for the special events.

So I'd really only use the external drive when I wanted to either record something to it or watch something that was on it...

Does that work?

Yes, to everything on your post. Your "dormant 300 G HD" and the eSATA will keep all your recordings and all your settings.

What I don't get is, why can't you swap eSATAs from HR20 to HR20?

[HDTVFanAtic]

Yes, to everything on your post. Your "dormant 300 G HD" and the eSATA will keep all your recordings and all your settings.

What I don't get is, why can't you swap eSATAs from HR20 to HR20?

You sub to HBO and SHO, your neighbor doesn't.

Why should he be able to view the shows you paid for and captured.

[rsblaski]

Is it ee-SAT-uh or ee-SATE-uh?

I've wondered the same thing.
So I don't sound stupid, I verbally refer to it as "external S-A-T-A".

[renov]

With the new HD channels coming on line soon I'm looking to upgrade to an external drive. Does anyone have any experience with this drive?

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Seagate-750GB-FreeAgent-Pro-ST307504FPA1E2-RK/sem/rpsm/oid/179896/catOid/-12976/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

[Chuck W]

You sub to HBO and SHO, your neighbor doesn't.

Why should he be able to view the shows you paid for and captured.

:confused:
Because I let them? I guess I should never invite my neighbor over to watch something on HBO or SHO, because they don't pay for it and I do or I should not let them view a DVD I bought and paid for, since I paid for it and they didn't... :rolleyes:

[jeffshoaf]

With the new HD channels coming on line soon I'm looking to upgrade to an external drive. Does anyone have any experience with this drive?

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Seagate-750GB-FreeAgent-Pro-ST307504FPA1E2-RK/sem/rpsm/oid/179896/catOid/-12976/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

That's what I and a lot of others here have. The only reported issues that I've seen were due to using relatively cheap eSATA cables that were probably designed before the standard was set. I'm using a SIIG cable I ordered from NewEgg and haven't had any problems at all.

[jeffshoaf]

Yes, to everything on your post. Your "dormant 300 G HD" and the eSATA will keep all your recordings and all your settings.

What I don't get is, why can't you swap eSATAs from HR20 to HR20?

It's programmed that way... The "other" HR20 can see the recordings, but when you try to play them, you get a "Searching for authorized content..." message.

What's frustrating about this arrangement is that you basically lose access to all recordings when you have to swap HR20's due to a failure. It'd be nice if all HR20's on one account could be authorized to play each other's recordings, especially since there's currently no way to make a backup. That's one reason I didn't go to the time, effort, and extra expense to set up a RAID array - with the current state of hard drive reliability, the HR20 is more likely to crap out than a hard drive.

[anubys]

It's programmed that way... The "other" HR20 can see the recordings, but when you try to play them, you get a "Searching for authorized content..." message.

What's frustrating about this arrangement is that you basically lose access to all recordings when you have to swap HR20's due to a failure. It'd be nice if all HR20's on one account could be authorized to play each other's recordings, especially since there's currently no way to make a backup. That's one reason I didn't go to the time, effort, and extra expense to set up a RAID array - with the current state of hard drive reliability, the HR20 is more likely to crap out than a hard drive.

there is a thread for the eSata wish list here...

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=62207

[hdtvfan0001]

What's frustrating about this arrangement is that you basically lose access to all recordings when you have to swap HR20's due to a failure. It'd be nice if all HR20's on one account could be authorized to play each other's recordings, especially since there's currently no way to make a backup.
I'd have to agree.

The reason it is the way it is now, is that they are protecting copyrighted material so that it cannot be migrated to another user.

That said, I find it hard to believe that they simply can't change the code to trigger the use of eSata (or any drive for that matter) based on a flag for the account number, not the device.

This is long overdue as a change, and will impact more people over time as hard drives or boxes fail, and also as they eventually push out a Multi-room media configuration.

[Rich]

When you switch back and forth between an external and an internal does the programming list for each of the drives stay intact...

That is if I use the external for a while then switch back to the internal is the same to-do list that was on the internal before I switched to the external still there?

I may want to keep sporting events and particular movies on the external drive for instance while keeping the standard daily programming on the internal so I'd want the internal drive to keep it's schedule of what to record since I'd only be using the external 10-12 hours a week for the special events.

So I'd really only use the external drive when I wanted to either record something to it or watch something that was on it...

Does that work?

It's programmed that way... The "other" HR20 can see the recordings, but when you try to play them, you get a "Searching for authorized content..." message.

What's frustrating about this arrangement is that you basically lose access to all recordings when you have to swap HR20's due to a failure. It'd be nice if all HR20's on one account could be authorized to play each other's recordings, especially since there's currently no way to make a backup. That's one reason I didn't go to the time, effort, and extra expense to set up a RAID array - with the current state of hard drive reliability, the HR20 is more likely to crap out than a hard drive.

I guess I could have phrased that better. I know they are programmed that way, but why? This seems to be glitch that D* could fix for those of us that use eSATAs.

[Rich]

You sub to HBO and SHO, your neighbor doesn't.

Why should he be able to view the shows you paid for and captured.

My intentions were not to give away recordings to anyone. My concern is that a DVR will stop working and I will lose the recordings on my eSATA which will have to be replaced.

[hdtvfan0001]

My intentions were not to give away recordings to anyone. My concern is that a DVR will stop working and I will lose the recordings on my eSATA which will have to be replaced.
A concern several of us share.... :eek2:

[Rich]

A concern several of us share.... :eek2:

I know, and the killer is, I can easily replace the HR20 and the eSATA, but the recordings...oy.

[jeffshoaf]

I guess I could have phrased that better. I know they are programmed that way, but why? This seems to be glitch that D* could fix for those of us that use eSATAs.

I meant to indicate that it is not a technical issue or an oversight, but that the limiting factor was actually programmed in on purpose. An artificial constraint.

My assumption is that they want to prevent us from moving an external drive to a PC and copying the drive image to another external drive for someone else.

[Rich]

I meant to indicate that it is not a technical issue or an oversight, but that the limiting factor was actually programmed in on purpose. An artificial constraint.

My assumption is that they want to prevent us from moving an external drive to a PC and copying the drive image to another external drive for someone else.

Can't you do that with a networked DVR? I really don't know, never hooked up a DVR to a computer. Can't you do that with a DVD recorder?

So, D* did this deliberately? That's terrible! And hardly seems typical. I find this quite unacceptable, but since D* doesn't advertise the feature and most of the CSRs seem to have little or no knowledge of the eSATA feature, I guess they can get away with it. So all the people that buy eSATAs at BB and CC are screwed if their HR20 goes kaplooey? That's wrong. Just not right.

[raddison1971]

Just looking at this as a relatively cheap RAID enclosure but wanted to see if anyone else had tried it out? Once you go to this link search the page for: AEEX4R35S3G, as most of the page talks about internal enclosures.

Sorry it won't let me post the URL:
w w w .addonics.com/products/raid_system/ae4rcs35nsa.asp

[diggityDawg]

I've been readin/lurking for a while here and am getting excited about upgrading my storage to eSATA in the near future... Wondering if anyone has tried using a DROBO (drobo. com - won't let me post urls yet) for storing shows?

[raddison1971]

I've been readin/lurking for a while here and am getting excited about upgrading my storage to eSATA in the near future... Wondering if anyone has tried using a DROBO (drobo. com - won't let me post urls yet) for storing shows?


This won't work for you as it does not support eSATA, only USB 2.0

[hdtvfan0001]

I know, and the killer is, I can easily replace the HR20 and the eSATA, but the recordings...oy.
I raised this point a number of months ago, and was basically met with "you'll live" as overall feedback.

It would be nice to be able to know my Superbowl (hear that Earl), Masters, PGA Championship, and other HD recordings don't go bye-bye in the event of an HD DVR or hard disk failure.

Hopefully, this gets more consideration going forward.

[HDTVFanAtic]

:confused:
Because I let them? I guess I should never invite my neighbor over to watch something on HBO or SHO, because they don't pay for it and I do or I should not let them view a DVD I bought and paid for, since I paid for it and they didn't... :rolleyes:

And your response is why your eSata is tied to your HR20.

My intentions were not to give away recordings to anyone. My concern is that a DVR will stop working and I will lose the recordings on my eSATA which will have to be replaced.

And because of people like Chuck W, that is why it is currently designed as it is.

Don't feel bad - the cable companies are the same way with their external eSata drives as well.

The only device I know that can move copyrighted material from one machine to another is the S3 Tivo with the code that is coming out of beta and the hands of the beta testers - and that is done over a network connection.

[Chuck W]

And your response is why your eSata is tied to your HR20.



And because of people like Chuck W, that is why it is currently designed as it is.

Don't feel bad - the cable companies are the same way with their external eSata drives as well.

The only device I know that can move copyrighted material from one machine to another is the S3 Tivo with the code that is coming out of beta and the hands of the beta testers - and that is done over a network connection.

There you go putting words in peoples mouths in an effort to justify your argument. Where did I(or anyone else) say anything about letting someone copy it? You can't with the HR20. In the HR20's current form, even if the drive can be recognized and read by another HR20, they cannot copy it to that machine, because the internal drive does not function, when an external drive is connected. So they already have the avenue covered. Nice try tho.

Letting someone VIEW something you have recorded is what I stated as being done. It's NO different than someone burning to DVD something they have recorded and letting someone else view it or inviting someone else over to view it.

[leww37334]

There you go putting words in peoples mouths in an effort to justify your argument. Where did I(or anyone else) say anything about letting someone copy it? You can't with the HR20. In the HR20's current form, even if the drive can be recognized and read by another HR20, they cannot copy it to that machine, because the internal drive does not function, when an external drive is connected. So they already have the avenue covered. Nice try tho.

Letting someone VIEW something you have recorded is what I stated as being done. It's NO different than someone burning to DVD something they have recorded and letting someone else view it or inviting someone else over to view it.

You are right, it is no different, both are piracy.

[Chuck W]

You are right, it is no different, both are piracy.

Again, then I guess I shouldn't ever invite people over to watch HBO or any pay station or anything I have ever recorded, if that is the case.

[rcoleman111]

leww37334 wrote:
Letting someone VIEW something you have recorded is what I stated as being done. It's NO different than someone burning to DVD something they have recorded and letting someone else view it or inviting someone else over to view it.

You are right, it is no different, both are piracy.

Incorrect. Making a DVD from something you recorded from TV is not considered piracy from a legal standpoint. Neither is letting someone else view something you've recorded.

[jpoet]

Have been using the Cavalry ESATAs for several months and have gone thru seven or eight until finally getting updated units. These seem to have the noise problem licked, but I will have to use them for several months before I will trust them.

Anyhow, thru all the changes, my DVRs have kept the series links and the settings have remained the same. I just shut off one ESATA the other day so I could watch a movie on the internal HD and when I restored the ESATA the settings were unchanged.

I noticed this deal:

2TB for $680:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822101049

For the paranoid, it can be run in Raid5 with a resulting capacity of 1.5TB.

I don't own it so cannot comment on heat/noise, but that seems like a good price for that much storage.

John

[mocarob]

Has anybody tried using the USB port for connecting an external HDD?
Rob

[Rich]

I've been readin/lurking for a while here and am getting excited about upgrading my storage to eSATA in the near future... Wondering if anyone has tried using a DROBO (drobo. com - won't let me post urls yet) for storing shows?

I've tried a couple of brands and the Seagate Free Agent Pro is the superior eSATA. That's not an opinion, in my mind, but an objective fact. Works properly right out of the box and is so quiet you won't even know it is there. I went thru eight or nine of one brand and found one that works well, but is noisy. Has a small fan. You wouldn't believe the sound that tiny fan puts out. If you are really interested in eSATAs, send me and email or a PM.

I just checked the Drobos and...email me or PM me.

[Rich]

I raised this point a number of months ago, and was basically met with "you'll live" as overall feedback.

It would be nice to be able to know my Superbowl (hear that Earl), Masters, PGA Championship, and other HD recordings don't go bye-bye in the event of an HD DVR or hard disk failure.

Hopefully, this gets more consideration going forward.

I'll "live" if one of my HR20s goes bad, but only because I have the programs backed up on TiVos. I end up paying more than I should because of the number of TiVos I have to use. If I could play any eSATA on any HR20 I would have a lot more faith in the HR20. My Seagate eSATAs have been rock solid since I got them. Only had to return one and that was because I hooked it up to a 100 that promptly went kaplooey and took the eSATA with it.

Perhaps we could get a "heads up" on this subject from Doug, Earl or Tom?

[Rich]

And your response is why your eSata is tied to your HR20.



And because of people like Chuck W, that is why it is currently designed as it is.

Don't feel bad - the cable companies are the same way with their external eSata drives as well.

The only device I know that can move copyrighted material from one machine to another is the S3 Tivo with the code that is coming out of beta and the hands of the beta testers - and that is done over a network connection.

I haven't worked on a TiVo in quite a while, but I believe you can take a HD out of one TiVo and put it into the same make and model and you will retain the programs. Not positive, but if I remember correctly...

[Rich]

There you go putting words in peoples mouths in an effort to justify your argument. Where did I(or anyone else) say anything about letting someone copy it? You can't with the HR20. In the HR20's current form, even if the drive can be recognized and read by another HR20, they cannot copy it to that machine, because the internal drive does not function, when an external drive is connected. So they already have the avenue covered. Nice try tho.

Letting someone VIEW something you have recorded is what I stated as being done. It's NO different than someone burning to DVD something they have recorded and letting someone else view it or inviting someone else over to view it.

You hit that right on the button! :)

[Rich]

Has anybody tried using the USB port for connecting an external HDD?
Rob

I asked Earl that question a couple of weeks ago because a CSR told me the USB port would be activated HDs. What I couldn't understand was how the USB port could be enabled for networking (which it is) and then be activated for an external hard drive.

Earl stated that the CSR was wrong and there are no plans to use the USB port for HDs. Can't remember Earl ever being wrong about technical issues, and it seems logical to me, so the answer to your question is "no".

[HDTVFanAtic]

I haven't worked on a TiVo in quite a while, but I believe you can take a HD out of one TiVo and put it into the same make and model and you will retain the programs. Not positive, but if I remember correctly...

That's still not the same as transferring it seemlessly between Series 3 Tivos via your network with a few clicks of a mouse versus a shutdown and screwdrivers.

[HDTVFanAtic]

There you go putting words in peoples mouths in an effort to justify your argument. Where did I(or anyone else) say anything about letting someone copy it? You can't with the HR20. In the HR20's current form, even if the drive can be recognized and read by another HR20, they cannot copy it to that machine, because the internal drive does not function, when an external drive is connected. So they already have the avenue covered. Nice try tho.

Letting someone VIEW something you have recorded is what I stated as being done. It's NO different than someone burning to DVD something they have recorded and letting someone else view it or inviting someone else over to view it.


Once again you missed the whole point.

I am not arguing what is right or wrong in your world.

I am stating that is why you cannot move the eSATA drive from one HR20 to another - because they were forced to deal with people of your beliefs.

Your beliefs may or may not be right - but it is why you cannot move eSATAs between 2 different units.

[coffelt]

NewEgg dropped their (weekly?) ad in my inbox today with a great deal on an external eSATA and USB2 HDD enclosure -- $39.99 after MIR. Nothing fancy, but if you're looking to add capacity, this would be a cheap route. Note that the manufacturer's website (http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=77150) indicates that this enclosure DOES include the eSATA cable, a nice add-on. The link is:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371008&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL081407-_-computercases-_-E3R-_-17371008&CMP=EMC-IGNEFL081407&ATT=N82E16817371008

I've never used this product, and am no endorsing this model or brand. Just thought it might be useful for someone out there.

--Lee

[Rich]

That's still not the same as transferring it seemlessly between Series 3 Tivos via your network with a few clicks of a mouse versus a shutdown and screwdrivers.

I can't imagine hooking up my 4 HR20s to a computer. I like the Internet, and I don't mind using a computer for a purpose, like writing a post, but I hate working on them. I have been using computers since 1962 and I am just tired of working on them. I guess I just don't see the purpose in networking DVRs. I'd be interested to learn how you use your setup and what the benefits are.

Anyhow, I wasn't advocating changing HDs as useful, what I meant was simply that I thought it could be done on similar Series 2 TiVos.

[jeffshoaf]

I can't imagine hooking up my 4 HR20s to a computer. I like the Internet, and I don't mind using a computer for a purpose, like writing a post, but I hate working on them. I have been using computers since 1962 and I am just tired of working on them. I guess I just don't see the purpose in networking DVRs. I'd be interested to learn how you use your setup and what the benefits are.

Anyhow, I wasn't advocating changing HDs as useful, what I meant was simply that I thought it could be done on similar Series 2 TiVos.

I'd like to be able to dump recordings off the HR20 to a computer via the network and restore them to the same (or a replacement) HR20. While I wouldn't mind being able to stream photos and music from my PC to the HR20, that hasn't pushed me to network my HR20, but being able to archive and restore HR20 recordings to free up hard drive space would!

[jpoet]

NewEgg dropped their (weekly?) ad in my inbox today with a great deal on an external eSATA and USB2 HDD enclosure -- $39.99 after MIR. Nothing fancy, but if you're looking to add capacity, this would be a cheap route. Note that the manufacturer's website (http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=77150) indicates that this enclosure DOES include the eSATA cable, a nice add-on. The link is:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371008&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL081407-_-computercases-_-E3R-_-17371008&CMP=EMC-IGNEFL081407&ATT=N82E16817371008

I've never used this product, and am no endorsing this model or brand. Just thought it might be useful for someone out there.

--Lee

I almost jumped on that deal, until I found this one:

http://www.techpalooza.com/showproduct.aspx?productid=940792

Same net price, but no rebate to deal with.


John

[Rich]

I'd like to be able to dump recordings off the HR20 to a computer via the network and restore them to the same (or a replacement) HR20. While I wouldn't mind being able to stream photos and music from my PC to the HR20, that hasn't pushed me to network my HR20, but being able to archive and restore HR20 recordings to free up hard drive space would!

How big a HD do you have on the computer? Surely not larger than a 750 eSATA?

How many DVRs can you use on a computer? I have about 12 running right now. 4 HR20s. Could you hook up four to a computer?

Swapping eSATAs seems simpler to me.

[Rich]

I've wondered the same thing.
So I don't sound stupid, I verbally refer to it as "external S-A-T-A".

The Seagate CSR I talked to a few weeks ago pronounced it e-sat (as in "I sat down.")-a. Good enough for me. It's actually an "external, serial ATA".

[rsblaski]

The Seagate CSR I talked to a few weeks ago pronounced it e-sat (as in "I sat down.")-a. Good enough for me. It's actually an "external, serial ATA".

Thanks,
that was my inclination, but with the written word, it is impossible to know for sure.

[jeffshoaf]

How big a HD do you have on the computer? Surely not larger than a 750 eSATA?

How many DVRs can you use on a computer? I have about 12 running right now. 4 HR20s. Could you hook up four to a computer?

Swapping eSATAs seems simpler to me.

If everything is networked, all DVRs are hooked up to all PCs.

Most of the recordings I make are for time-shifting; once I've watched it, I delete it, but there are a few things I'd like to keep. It'd be nice to free up the space on the eSATA for more time-shifting.

I don't see how anyone keeps more than one or two DVRs straight - do you replicate your SL's on every one? If not, how do you keep track of what's recorded on which DVR?

And if you're swapping eSATA's in and out, how do you make sure your SL's are duplicated? I think if I wanted to do the eSATA hokey-pokey, I'd want small drives so that I could use them almost like DVRs...

Hmmm... How about another option: Enable the USB ports so that I can dump recordings out to USB sticks? The price on the memory sticks keeps dropping and they take up a lot less room than a DVD or eSATA drive!

[rsblaski]

I don't see how anyone keeps more than one or two DVRs straight - do you replicate your SL's on every one? If not, how do you keep track of what's recorded on which DVR?



I can only address this part of your post as I haven't found that I need e-sata yet. I have two hr20s in my a/v cabinet. Both are fed to my Denon 4306 via HDMI and from there to my tv, also with HDMI.

Since on some occasions, I want to record three things as the same time, I have one dvr on which I record NBC, CBS and HBO. On the other dvr, I record FOX, ABC and Showtime. Anything else, like CW, TNT, etc, I just drop on whichever dvr is active and open for the time period of recording.
This makes it easy to find what I'm looking for (in most cases) but does prevent duplicating recordings, except for very important shows, which I deliberately record on both machines for that secure belt/suspenders feeling, lol.

[Steve Rhodes]

I've tried a couple of brands and the Seagate Free Agent Pro is the superior eSATA. That's not an opinion, in my mind, but an objective fact. Works properly right out of the box and is so quiet you won't even know it is there. I went thru eight or nine of one brand and found one that works well, but is noisy. Has a small fan. You wouldn't believe the sound that tiny fan puts out.

Do you mean that you went through 8 or 9 of the Seagate Free Agent Pros before you found one that works well? Were you able to take some many back w/o problems?

[Steve Rhodes]

I have a 1TB disk RAID0 array connected to my HR20 and it works as expected. I've counted the hours of HD programming at times (taking into account MPEG2 and MPEG4) and the available space is always close to what it should be.

Which 1TB do you have and would you recommend it now?

[funhouse69]

Which 1TB do you have and would you recommend it now?

The only 1TB Drive that is released so far is the Hitachi

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145167

But I know that Seagate as well as others have announced theirs, they just haven't started shipping them as of yet.

As far as I know Hitachi does not have an external eSATA Version as of yet. You would have to get the drive and install it in an enclosure yourself which is very easy to do.

[Rich]

If everything is networked, all DVRs are hooked up to all PCs.

Most of the recordings I make are for time-shifting; once I've watched it, I delete it, but there are a few things I'd like to keep. It'd be nice to free up the space on the eSATA for more time-shifting.

I don't see how anyone keeps more than one or two DVRs straight - do you replicate your SL's on every one? If not, how do you keep track of what's recorded on which DVR? First, I make sure that all the recordings I want have SLs on a TiVo and an HR20. Then I just look at the Lists on each DVR that is in the room we are using and decide what to watch. I used to record everything on VCRs and had to keep a log book with titles and date recorded. Now, with the recordings listed by date, it is quite simple to keep track of what I have recorded.

And if you're swapping eSATA's in and out, how do you make sure your SL's are duplicated? I think if I wanted to do the eSATA hokey-pokey, I'd want small drives so that I could use them almost like DVRs...Takes just a couple minutes to swap eSATAs and reboot the HR20. I hope it doesn't come to that and shouldn't as long as my wife doesn't have to start globe trotting again.

Hmmm... How about another option: Enable the USB ports so that I can dump recordings out to USB sticks? The price on the memory sticks keeps dropping and they take up a lot less room than a DVD or eSATA drive! You would be better off asking Earl, or Tom or Doug or the Shadow. Good idea though. I don't think D* has any plans for that.

[jayerndl]

Sorry if this has already been addressed but, is there anything in the works for the HR20 to enhance the external drive capabilities to be similar to what's available on the Dish 622/722? Namely:

1. support internal and external drive at the same time

2. allow to move to and from external and internal drives

3. connect mutiple external drives at the same time (future Dish capability)

4. allow external drives to be moved to other DVRs on the same account (future capability)

I am looking at replacing my HR10-250 and might consider switching to Dish due to the recent external drive support just released. It would be nice to know if Directv was moving in the same direction as Dish with regards to external drive support. Thanks.

Jay

[P Smith]

Sorry if this has already been addressed but, is there anything in the works for the HR20 to enhance the external drive capabilities to be similar to what's available on the Dish 622/722? Namely:

1. support internal and external drive at the same time

2. allow to move to and from external and internal drives

3. connect mutiple external drives at the same time (future Dish capability)

4. allow external drives to be moved to other DVRs on the same account (future capability)

I am looking at replacing my HR10-250 and might consider switching to Dish due to the recent external drive support just released. It would be nice to know if Directv was moving in the same direction as Dish with regards to external drive support. Thanks.

Jay

You got good grip of Dish solutions, but lost important moment - USB working as network but SATA as MONO channel.

[jayerndl]

You got good grip of Dish solutions, but lost important moment - USB working as network but SATA as MONO channel.I don't understand what you are trying to say. The Dish PVR doesn't have SATA. It uses USB drives. It is planned to use a USB hub for mutiple drive support.

Jay

[P Smith]

Well, then look where you posting - DirecTV. So, say "eSATA". "No USB". Etc.

[ddingle]

I am having trouble getting my HR20 to recognize the Seagate External drive. I have a monoprice esata cable as well. The Seagate lights up when the power is on the HR20. I have tried numerous times and the HR20 remains connected to it's internal drive.
The process I have used is to turn the pull the plug on the HR20 with the drive not connected and then connect the drive and restart the HR20
I have also tried resetting the receiver,waiting for the first "Banner" and then unplugging and restarting with the drive connected.
I am using beta software just downloaded last night.
Any insights? I am beginning to think something is defective.Thanks

[Michael D'Angelo]

I am having trouble getting my HR20 to recognize the Seagate External drive. I have a monoprice esata cable as well. The Seagate lights up when the power is on the HR20. I have tried numerous times and the HR20 remains connected to it's internal drive.
The process I have used is to turn the pull the plug on the HR20 with the drive not connected and then connect the drive and restart the HR20
I have also tried resetting the receiver,waiting for the first "Banner" and then unplugging and restarting with the drive connected.
I am using beta software just downloaded last night.
Any insights? I am beginning to think something is defective.Thanks

You have to unplug the HR20. Then plug the eSATA cable into the eSATA hard drive and then into the HR20. Plug the eSATA hard drive power in and let that start up. Once that is started all the way up plug the power to the HR20 back in.

Some have had to trim the connection some on the side of the eSATA cable plugging into the HR20. They said some of the cables do not sit right in the connection. I don't have one yet so I am not sure how much you may have to trim if the above directions do not work for you.

[jayerndl]

Well, then look where you posting - DirecTV. So, say "eSATA". "No USB". Etc.I didn't think it was that difficult of a question. All I want to know is what the future plans are (if any) to enhance the external drive capability of the HR20. Maybe someone else knows and can help without the sarcasm.

Jay

[ddingle]

You have to unplug the HR20. Then plug the eSATA cable into the eSATA hard drive and then into the HR20. Plug the eSATA hard drive power in and let that start up. Once that is started all the way up plug the power to the HR20 back in.

Some have had to trim the connection some on the side of the eSATA cable plugging into the HR20. They said some of the cables do not sit right in the connection. I don't have one yet so I am not sure how much you may have to trim if the above directions do not work for you.

Still no success. The plug seems to fit fine in both the drive and HR20.
The light on the Seagate does not come on each time? Not sure what the light indicates. I have not heard many complaints of the combination not working?
PS:I tried the Seagate on a standard USB connection to my computer and it works fine