Working eSata Setups:

[houskamp]

Since there have been a lot of questions about "What to buy?" I figuired I'd start this thread:
Please post what Esata drives you are using successfully, include model numbers and any other pertenent info.
Please just post working setups, NO DISCUSSION...

[JMCecil]

Thermaltake Max 4 enclosure. (Used the eSata cable provided with the Max 4 package without a problem)
Seagate Barracuda ST3750640AS - 750gb

[ChrisPC]

Seagate ST3500601XS-RK

[P Smith]

1st - this is eSATA !


Hitachi 1TB SATA drive.

[elixir26]

AZiO ENC311SU31 3.5" eSATA + USB 2.0 External Enclosure

Seagate 750gb ST3750640NS

[Gill Bates]

Seagate Free Agent Pro 750, I have no idea what the actual drive part number is and not about to take apart a unit that has worked flawlessly since early June to find out. :D

[WERA689]

Using a Western Digital My Book 500gig on my -700. Works great.
Using a Seagate FreeAgent 500gig on my -100. Also works great.

[moorhead99]

SansDigital enclosure MS2UT with 2 Seagate Drives(ST3500630AS) configured as 1TB Raid 0.

[jeffshoaf]

When you post a working eSATA drive, please post the cable and source as well since there's been several reports of incompatible cables!

[elixir26]

AZiO ENC311SU31 3.5" eSATA + USB 2.0 External Enclosure

Seagate 750gb ST3750640NS

The AZiO comes with both eSATA and USB cables.

[jwmartillo]

Western Digital Caviar WD7500AAKS - 750GB ($179 from Fry's)
SABRENT EC-ESTS Aluminum 3.5" eSATA External Enclosure ($14 from Newegg!)

Enclosure came with all needed cables! Worked great out of the gate!

[Racer88]

Presently:
SansDigital MS2UT enclosure w/2x MAX3H500F0S5 500GB Maxtor QuickView 500 7200RPM SATA I/II w/16MB Buffer 5yr Warranty in RAID 0 for 1 TB total storage capacity.

Previously:
Apricorn EZ-BUS-DTS-EKIT single drive enclosure with one of the above listed drives.

[MnGuy]

Seagate Free Agent 750gb to HR20-700 (Hard drive on sale for $194 at Costco FYI)

eSata cable from Monoprice, required cutting a bit of the rubber for secure fit to the drive. Works great!

[mikeny]

Rosewill enclosures are listed in my signature, [newegg.com]. It comes with all the cables you need and it has a fan. I have one on each HR20.

The 500 GB Maxtor drives are slightly different models. One is a Maxtor 500 GB "Ultra16" SATA II LO1F500 [retail box/3 year warranty: staples.com].

The other is a "MaxLine Pro 500" 7H500F0 7200 RPM SATA II 3.0 Gb/S [OEM, 1 year warranty from Newegg.com]

They both seem to have the same specs.

I jumpered both down to SATA I. Is it necessary? I don't know.

7 months running without issue.

About 9 months without issue on the other.

[jeffshoaf]

OK, how come nobody warned me about the full length and height yellow light on the Seagate FreeAgent Pro? UPS delivered mine this evening, connected it up with SIIG CB-SA0111-S1 cable and it seems to be working fine... But that yellow light is a bit distracting!

[houskamp]

OK, how come nobody warned me about the full length and height yellow light on the Seagate FreeAgent Pro? UPS delivered mine this evening, connected it up with SIIG CB-SA0111-S1 cable and it seems to be working fine... But that yellow light is a bit distracting!
duct tape is your freind :)

[Bish]

I used black electrical tape.

[lucky13]

Seagate 500GB; came with cable
Seagate Freeagent 750GB. No cable provided, but I forgot where I got it from.
I think the yellow light (looks more orange to me) looks great with the HR20 blue.

[elixir26]

As I replaced my last two Hr10-250's on 7/18/07, I added a Seagate Pro 750 to one of them. I used a THERMALTAKE|A2361 R eSATA cable from NewEgg. I still can't belive that Best Buy and Comp USA don't stock such a simple cable. The install went without a hitch, just plug everything in and turn on the Seagate before you plug in the Hr20. I chose the Seagate Pro for this one as the price was good and the product is well spoken of in the forum.

[finaldiet]

Thanks for yourinfo, but what connection is better, cable or usb?

[elixir26]

Thanks for yourinfo, but what connection is better, cable or usb?

eSATA cable is the only option as the HR20 only uses eSATA for external memory expansion. The USB cable would be for a computer use.

[jeffshoaf]

OK, how come nobody warned me about the full length and height yellow light on the Seagate FreeAgent Pro? UPS delivered mine this evening, connected it up with SIIG CB-SA0111-S1 cable and it seems to be working fine... But that yellow light is a bit distracting!

Well, it was working w/ my HR20-100 up until the HR20-100 decided to stop reading the access card. D* sent a refurb HR20-700; now the 750 GB FreeAgent Pro is working fine with it.

Interestingly enough, I expected the content on the eSATA drive to get wiped when I connected it to a different HR20, but it didn't. All my scheduled recordings and Season Links are still there and working. The stuff I had recorded was still there, but when I tried to play any of it, I got a message indicating the DVR was "Searching for authorized content..."

[Chuck W]

Drive: Seagate Free Agent Pro 750gb to HR20-100
Cable: SIIG eSATA to eSATA (2m) cable CB-SA0211-S1

[dragonbait]

Drives:
2 SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives

Enclosure:
Thecus N2050UD
-RAID 0 for 1 TB of storage
-using the cable that came with it

All bought from Newegg.com

[CobraGuy]

1st - this is eSATA !


Hitachi 1TB SATA drive.

Can you tell us a little more about this setup? What is the model number of the drive? What enclosure, cable, etc? Are you happy with the drive so far? Hitachi has some amazing claims about this drive and I'm seeing some amazing prices for it.

[P Smith]

It was used as internal drive for a couple weeks;
since Hitachi selling only one 1 TB SATA model, you'll not miss it :).

[Fire407]

I just connected a Seagate FreeAgent 750GB today. It is extremely easy to do. Evidently it is very important to have the right cable. After reading the forum I got the SIIG eSata to eSata 2 meter cable from newegg. It is eSata II compliant so you do not have to trim any plastic from the connectors. I would recommend that anyone having problems adding a drive to use this cable. I would imagine that a whole lot of people are going to want to add eSata drives once they know how simple it is.

[anytimeuwnt]

This is some great info guys.....

Here is a quick question. I have a Seagate Free-Agent 350GB Drive. It looks like i will need to get this eSATA Cable to make it all work. My question is will it be worth it??? All of you have these HUGE drives.

How big is the hard drive on the HR20? Will this just add to my storage space or will it use just the external drive? Will my 350 GB drive give me alot more space?

Maybe I am just having trouble quantifying the benefits to me. Now if both drives work in harmony, I can kind of understand why it would be of use. If they don't, it might explain why some of you went with these monstrous drives.

[Michael D'Angelo]

This is some great info guys.....

Here is a quick question. I have a Seagate Free-Agent 350GB Drive. It looks like i will need to get this eSATA Cable to make it all work. My question is will it be worth it??? All of you have these HUGE drives.

How big is the hard drive on the HR20? Will this just add to my storage space or will it use just the external drive? Will my 350 GB drive give me alot more space?

Maybe I am just having trouble quantifying the benefits to me. Now if both drives work in harmony, I can kind of understand why it would be of use. If they don't, it might explain why some of you went with these monstrous drives.

The HR20-700 has a 300gb and the -100 has a 320gb. I don't think using a 350gb is really worth it. I would not use anything less then a 750gb myself. Just my opinion.

[RayJ]

I bought the Free Agent Pro 750 and a cable from Fry's. I asked the clerk if the cable was a new one because of what I read here. He assured me it was.

Yada, Yada, Yada..... had to go to Microcenter to buy a new cable ("QVS" brand eSATA II) and returned the other to Fry's. They are clueless sometimes.

New cable and drive working flawlessly. WAF is high since I can no longer use the excuse that we had to watch something she didn't want to watch because we were running out of room on the disk.

[nellee]

Purchased the Seagate FA Pro 750GB drive at bestbuy this past Saturday on sale for $239 (or was it $229). Used my reward certificates and brought it down to an even $200.

Had already ordered an eSata cable from Monoprice last week.

Got the HR20-100 and dish installed this past Sunday.

Tried to hook up the drive Sunday night but was not sure it was working since I didn't have any recorded programs on it, but realized that the few Series Links I set up prior to plugging in the FA was still there so I realized that it wasn't working.

Unplugged the drive and cable, and grabbed a steak knife :D and started sawing off a sliver of the plastic from the cable.

Recorded a quick show for a few minutes onto the internal drive before I plugged the FA back in and voila, it worked! :grin:

Very Happy camper

[Fire407]

This is some great info guys.....

Here is a quick question. I have a Seagate Free-Agent 350GB Drive. It looks like i will need to get this eSATA Cable to make it all work. My question is will it be worth it??? All of you have these HUGE drives.

How big is the hard drive on the HR20? Will this just add to my storage space or will it use just the external drive? Will my 350 GB drive give me alot more space?

Maybe I am just having trouble quantifying the benefits to me. Now if both drives work in harmony, I can kind of understand why it would be of use. If they don't, it might explain why some of you went with these monstrous drives.
The eSata drive works instead of the internal drive. Whatever space you have on the eSata is your total space. You could occasionally remove the external drive and use the internal drive, but that would require rebooting every time and then it would take a long time to fully download the guide each time you do that. The bigger the external drive, the better. I'm using a 750GB now, but as prices go down and storage goes up, I would imagine that 2 or 3 TB could be very affordable in a couple of years. Also, I'm guessing that it's possible to use one eSata drive for movies, and a different drive for football games for example, as long as you are willing to go through the reboot hassle.

[funhouse69]

I posted this in the other External Drive Thread but with well over 1000 posts I can certainly understand why no one would want to go through them all to find out some info.

My set up that has been working like a champ since the end of March on my HR20-700. I haven't added anything to my Hr20-100 yet but will probably go with the same setup or maybe a 2 drive unit.

This enclosure
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121022

With this drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148134

I tried a different enclosure which worked fine but got WAY to hot which is why I went with this one that has a fan built in to it. This is the only single drive enclosure that I've seen with a fan to date.

[jpoet]

I have not done this yet, but am planning on going with this:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article728-page1.html

Seagate, Samsung and Western Digitial are all supposed to come out with 1tb SATA drives "soon".

John

[mndwalsh]

I have been using this for about 2 months:

Encloser
Antec MX-1

Drive
Seagate 750gb SATA ST3750640AS

seagate has a newer model with NS and not AS

Encloser came with cabel and all, I have had ZERO problems with it and it is very quiet.

[ebsmith1]

I have a Hitachi Deskstar 7A1000 1 TB from NewEgg for $380

My enclosure is a Ultra ULT3053 From Fry's Electronics for $60.
It has USB as well (I checked out my disk first by connecting to a laptop (USB)
Enclosure is plastic but has a small quiet fan.

Working great!

Only slight negative is that the enclosure has rather large/ bright power on and disc access lights. I will cover them up as soon as I finish watching when the disk is accessed.

[turls]

Seagate FA Pro 750GB from Dell ($215 + tax free ship)

SIIG CB-SA0111-S1 Cable from NewEgg

Had to start over anyway because my original HR20 died.

Works like a charm.

[Guitar Hero]

Just curious, do you guys leave the external drive on at all times? Turning it off at all?

If you do turn it off, how does it record shows that are programmed when you're not around? Does the external come on, if it is off, when the programmed show starts?

[Michael D'Angelo]

Just curious, do you guys leave the external drive on at all times? Turning it off at all?

If you do turn it off, how does it record shows that are programmed when you're not around? Does the external come on, if it is off, when the programmed show starts?

You have to leave it plugged it and power up.

[funhouse69]

I'm looking to add external storage to my HR20-100 and I was thinking about going with the Thecus N2050UD 2 Drive Enclosure. Does anyone know if I can start with one drive then add a second without loosing my content or will I have to start over again.

I know in typical RAID Systems you can expand from a single drive but wasn't sure about this enclosure. I checked the company website and didn't really find any info.

[houskamp]

I'm looking to add external storage to my HR20-100 and I was thinking about going with the Thecus N2050UD 2 Drive Enclosure. Does anyone know if I can start with one drive then add a second without loosing my content or will I have to start over again.

I know in typical RAID Systems you can expand from a single drive but wasn't sure about this enclosure. I checked the company website and didn't really find any info.
Same rules apply.. when you add a second drive the whole array will have to be wiped out..

[bbq-allstar]

I posted this in the other External Drive Thread but with well over 1000 posts I can certainly understand why no one would want to go through them all to find out some info.

My set up that has been working like a champ since the end of March on my HR20-700. I haven't added anything to my Hr20-100 yet but will probably go with the same setup or maybe a 2 drive unit.

This enclosure
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121022

With this drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148134

I tried a different enclosure which worked fine but got WAY to hot which is why I went with this one that has a fan built in to it. This is the only single drive enclosure that I've seen with a fan to date.


So what cable did you use? I just ordered this combo from newegg but realized that I need a SATA-eSATA cable right?

***EDIT -- My bad, the enclosure is SATA to eSATA... however, I should've done some price checking... Frys has the same HD for $189 (newegg was $209)

[Griff]

Hitachi 1tb, Vantec enclosure. Enclosure comes with cables, used the included SATA to eSATA cable. Hooked drive up to the computer first to use Hitachi's features utility to set acoustic management to midpoint on the scale. Drive is very quiet running on the HR20-700.

[LI-SVT]

I'm in!

I initially tried the Seagate FA Pro 750g with the Monoprice type I eSATA to eSATA cable. No dice:nono: Even with modifying it the HR20 never saw it.

Next I tried the SIIG CB-SA0111-S1 cable with the FA Pro. MONEY:D The HR20 saw the external drive on the first try.

Recovering all of my series links is a bummer. In the future D* should transfer your searches and series links to the external drive. I don't make this comment out of laziness, some shows that I have links for are on rarely. Now I have to babysit the guide waiting for the shows to come on so I can set the series links. Searches are the same. If you do a title search and the show is not in the guide the search can't be saved.

[bobinyuma]

I have two HR20's. One in the living room with a seagate Pro 500 gig drive. The bedroom HR20 has no external hard drive attached. I am purchasing a seagate pro 750. I would like to put the 500 gig in the bedroom and the new 750 gig in the living room. Since I have little recorded on both HR20's and the new HD from Directv is starting soon, now seems the time to make the move. My question is, and I am assuming that, will I loose the ability to view my recordings on the older 500gig when I transfer it to my bedroom? Really just a question of curiosity because I am making the change regardless. I am assuming I will lose season passes also?

By the way, the current Seagate works flawlessly and is much quieter than the HR20 hard drive. Yellow light is neat, not annoying for me. I bought both drives from buy.com along with their under six buck esata II cable.

[lucky13]

I have two HR20's. One in the living room with a seagate Pro 500 gig drive. The bedroom HR20 has no external hard drive attached. I am purchasing a seagate pro 750. I would like to put the 500 gig in the bedroom and the new 750 gig in the living room. Since I have little recorded on both HR20's and the new HD from Directv is starting soon, now seems the time to make the move. My question is, and I am assuming that, will I loose the ability to view my recordings on the older 500gig when I transfer it to my bedroom? Really just a question of curiosity because I am making the change regardless. I am assuming I will lose season passes also?

You won't actually lose the content on the ESATA drive when you swap it; you just won't be able to play the recordings on any DVR other than the one that recorded them. You'll see the old recordings on the ToDo list, but you'll get an error message if you try to play them.

If the DVR connections are accessible, you might want to move the HR20 and ESATA in tandem to another room.

[kfcrosby]

I took the plunge and got he Seagate Free Agent Pro 750 external eSATA drive with a SIIG CB-SA0111-S1 cable. I was back up and running quickly.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000ND93DO/ref=dp_image_0/002-5164442-2417647?ie=UTF8&n=172282&s=electronics

Yes the light on the from can be a little distracting in low light conditions but I have it mounted in the cabinet with dark Plexiglas in the door.

Much better recording HD programming and not having to constantly delete stuff to make room.

VERY easy mod, and well worth it.

[bobinyuma]

If the DVR connections are accessible, you might want to move the HR20 and ESATA in tandem to another room.


I have no idea why I did not think of this very simple solution. Thanks...it must be Friday!!

[funhouse69]

I posted earlier that I had a working set up on my HR20-700. I recently got a second HR20 but this time its a 100 (unfortunately not black).

With this new one I knew I was going to add on some kind of external storage but couldn't decide if I wanted to go with a multi-drive unit or not. After some debate I decided to stick with old faithful that has been working for several months without a hitch. I bought the exact same set up as I have on my 700 and sure enough it worked immediately without any hassles or modifications whatsoever to the included cable.

Even though I have posted it here before I will post it again just so it is handy.

This enclosure
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817121022

With this drive
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148134

The only thing is that this enclosure has a somewhat BRIGHT blue LED on the front of it. I only mention it because I've read other comments about things like this so I thought I would throw it out there. In my set up it really doesn't matter but if if did I would just put a piece of electrical tape on it or something.

[Michael D'Angelo]

I posted earlier that I had a working set up on my HR20-700. I recently got a second HR20 but this time its a 100 (unfortunately not black).

With this new one I knew I was going to add on some kind of external storage but couldn't decide if I wanted to go with a multi-drive unit or not. After some debate I decided to stick with old faithful that has been working for several months without a hitch. I bought the exact same set up as I have on my 700 and sure enough it worked immediately without any hassles or modifications whatsoever to the included cable.

Even though I have posted it here before I will post it again just so it is handy.

This enclosure
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817121022

With this drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148134

The only thing is that this enclosure has a somewhat BRIGHT blue LED on the front of it. I only mention it because I've read other comments about things like this so I thought I would throw it out there. In my set up it really doesn't matter but if if did I would just put a piece of electrical tape on it or something.

Your links are not working.

[bbq-allstar]

Your links are not working.

Try these...

Enclosure: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121022

Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148134

Drive is on sale for $199

[Michael D'Angelo]

Try these...

Enclosure: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121022

Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148134

Drive is on sale for $199

Now they are working. Thanks.

That is actually the same hard drive I am looking at myself.

[usualsuspect]

Hi everyone:

New to this forum been reading a while to try and educate myself on the HR-20 since I plan on getting on before the new HD channels come on. I also plan on buying a seagate FA 750 for the extra storage.

Can someone tell me roughly how many hours of recording space they get with a 750 gb hd?

Thanks

[jurlwin]

I recently purchased a Buffalo Technology "Quad" drive. 4 x 500 GB drives in Raid 5 mode. Came up fine, switched to HD channel and within about 30 seconds the drive lights go solid and the picture freezes, but audio still moves. Strange. The pic eventually "unfreezes" but rewind, etc are disabled. Just thought preventing someone from buying something not working is as good as telling someone it works...

[elixir26]

I recently purchased a Buffalo Technology "Quad" drive. 4 x 500 GB drives in Raid 5 mode. Came up fine, switched to HD channel and within about 30 seconds the drive lights go solid and the picture freezes, but audio still moves. Strange. The pic eventually "unfreezes" but rewind, etc are disabled. Just thought preventing someone from buying something not working is as good as telling someone it works...

Thanks for the tip. I'm looking at RAID enclosures for my next setup. Did you ever get your setup working? Please keep us posted. "A problem shared...."

[jurlwin]

Thanks for the tip. I'm looking at RAID enclosures for my next setup. Did you ever get your setup working? Please keep us posted. "A problem shared...."

I gave up. I ended up getting a Seagate FreeAgent Pro. I plan on connecting the Buffalo to one of my servers. If you find one, please let me know ;)

[tombet]

Funhouse -
I am thinking of trying that Kingwin enclosure you reference with a 1TB drive. (newegg has them for $350). The enclosure comes with a eSata cable. Can you confirm you are using that cable as well ? If not, what did you use ?

Thanks

[m_jraj]

Seagate FreeAgent 750GB with cable from newegg.

[TriggerDeems]

FreeAgent Pro from Costco. It did NOT work with the eSata cable from Monoprice, their product number 2882, as shipped. I messed with it for a few hours, rebooting everything, changing cables (I bought two, they're cheap), plugging/unplugging, hooking to the computer to run diagnostics--nothing helped. I had read on other posts here that people didn't have to alter that particular cable--that is not correct, as I just found out. Nearing wits end, I finally got out a steak knife and cut a sliver (maybe 1/64th of an inch) off of the black, squarish looking piece between the red-orange cable and the silver plug, obviously on the side nearest the silver plug, so that effectively it could plug further into the FreeAgent, and it now works great! With the steak knife, it only took a few slices on each of the four sides above/around the silver plug, and it was very easy to cut through.

[funhouse69]

Funhouse -
I am thinking of trying that Kingwin enclosure you reference with a 1TB drive. (newegg has them for $350). The enclosure comes with a eSata cable. Can you confirm you are using that cable as well ? If not, what did you use ?

Thanks

I haven't had any issues whatsoever with the included cable. I tried a few other enclosures before settling on this one and even the cables that came with them worked fine. So right now I'm using two Kingwin enclosures one on each of my HR20's (One - 700 and One - 100) they've worked perfect since day one with the included cable.

I've actually been kind of surprised hearing so many issues with eSATA enclosures / cables since I haven't had any **Knock on Wood** :D

[MIMOTech]

I received my HR20-700 on Saturday and I received the components for the external eSATA drive the day before. I got the items listed below:

HITACHI 0A34193 1TB SATA 7200 RPM 32MB Hard Drive
and I put into a,
SATAgear CG-35sata-II-ks enclosure and 18" eSATA
to the HR20-700.

After a couple of tries the 1TB hard drive formated and connect to HR20. Both seem to be operating normally to this point.

[scottmoberly]

This may be a pretty simple question, but how do I know if the receiver is using the eSATA drive vs. the internal drive? I have it connected, but beyond that--how do I know it is working?

[Michael D'Angelo]

This may be a pretty simple question, but how do I know if the receiver is using the eSATA drive vs. the internal drive? I have it connected, but beyond that--how do I know it is working?

If you had any recording's left on the internal drive you would not see them if the eSATA is working. You would not see any series links or any other setting's you may have had set on the internal drive.

You would need to reset up everything.

[scottmoberly]

so I am seeing the shows that were on there, so clearly--it is not working!

[Michael D'Angelo]

so I am seeing the shows that were on there, so clearly--it is not working!

That is correct. If sounds like you may be having the same problem that a lot of people have had with the eSATA cable not connecting all the way into the HR20. Some have had to trim the plastic on the cable a little to get it to connect right.

[tombet]

I am using the KingWin eSata enclosure recommended here ($22 at newegg) with a 1TB Hitachi Deskstar drive ($339 at newegg.) The Kingwin comes with an eSata cable and it works fine and fits fine, with no trimming. The enclosure is black with a blue LED that complements the HR20's LEDs. (According to the Kingwin website, its also available in silver, though I dont see that at newegg.) It has a fan to keep drive cool, yet is very quiet as is the drive itself. All in all, very pleased so far. I've had a few days, so not a long test yet. But it was truly painless. Clearly the 750GB solution would be better on a $/GB basis, but I am pleased with the total price of this for a 1TB solution., and without a higher end Raid enclosure for multiple drives.

Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822145143

Enclosure (with eSata cable): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817121022

================
Reporting back after 5 days of use:

All is working very well. In fact, and I say this very subjectively, I think that I have fewer issues of pixelation with this new drive. Not that I had a big problem before, but I might have had an instance every two hours or so. I haven't noticed it once since using the eSata - it seems improved. Perhaps the large (32MB) cache on the Hitachi drive really makes a difference.

One other note: I saw several people mentioning the Cavalry external drive. It looks to me like it uses the KingWin enclosure - it looks IDENTICAL to me.

[shendley]

Seagate 750 GB Free Agent Pro with Tripp Lite e-sata cable purchased from Amazon.

[herkulease]

seagate 750 free agent pro and e sata cable from svc.com

[skaeight]

Thermaltake Max 4 enclosure. (Used the eSata cable provided with the Max 4 package without a problem)
Seagate Barracuda ST3750640AS - 750gb

I'll second that. I just got mine setup. The fact that the enclosure comes with an eSata drive is really nice, I just wish I would have know that before hand, as I ordered a cable separately.

The main reason I went for the Thermaltake Max 4 was because it has active cooling (fan). That was key when comparing it to the FreeAgent Pro which people say runs very hot. I already have enough heat in my tv cabinet.

[isyp]

I recently purchased a Buffalo Technology "Quad" drive. 4 x 500 GB drives in Raid 5 mode. Came up fine, switched to HD channel and within about 30 seconds the drive lights go solid and the picture freezes, but audio still moves. Strange. The pic eventually "unfreezes" but rewind, etc are disabled. Just thought preventing someone from buying something not working is as good as telling someone it works...

Raid 5 doesn't do well in high write applications. If you can, a Raid 1 or Raid 0 configuration might solve your problem.

[STEVEN-H]

Segate FreeAgent Pro 750GB from Costco $199.00
ESATA to ESATA calbe from newegg $22.98


Plug and play works very well.

[jpoet]

I am now using this enclosure:

http://www.techpalooza.com/p-940792-mx-1-hd-encl-esata-usb20-fan-cbl.aspx

and this drive:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005580

The esata cable which came with the MX-1 works just beautifully. The MX-1 is very cool, and very quiet:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article728-page1.html


John

[kirkusinnc]

SansDigital enclosure MS2UT with 2 750GB Western Digital Drives(WD7500AAKS) configured as 1.5TB Raid 0

[Hobsnow]

Western Digital 1TB (WD10000CSRT) internal drive 16MB cash W/ Antec MX-1 enclosure. Both on sale @ BB (Big Discount!). 1TB Hitachi Deskstar on SALE now @ BB W/ 90 bucks off reg price.

[MiltonThales]

Hitachi Deskstar 1 TB SATA - from NewEgg
Vantec NextStar 3 eSATA Enclosure - from Fry's

(Got a Kingwin enclosure from NewEgg, but the power block was bricked. :nono2:
I decided I couldn't wait so went Fry's.)

Plugged the eSATA cable (from the Kingwin enclosure !) into the drive and into the HR20-700. Worked on boot. :)

[barryhammond]

Segate FreeAgent Pro 750GB from BestBuy for less than $200 including tax.
eSATA cable from firefold.com shipped less than $5.
APC 550VA UPS from CircuitCity for $40 + tax.

The yellow light really bothered me. It can be disabled on the FAP using the utilities that came with it, but it comes back on when the power is removed. So I bought the UPS, and then disabled it using the utility after connecting it to the UPS. The PC couldn't read the disk after it was formatted by the HR20, but it still allowed me to turn the light off. So now the light is off until I lose power for an extended period of time. The drive seems to run cooler with the light off as far as I can tell just by toughing it. It is quiet and I've had no problems.

The UPS will also be nice for keeping the HR20 from going through its 10 minute reboot cycle when the power goes down for a second or two. I just have the HR20 and FAP attached to the UPS to maximize the time it can record when there is no power.

Now the question that I haven't found and answer to is the most proper and safe shutdown and power off sequence since neither of HR20 or FAP have a power button. The HR20 one doesn't really turn off the power. I won't have to do this very often with the UPS, but I did have to do this 3 or 4 times as I was installing all this and it worries me to just pull the plug. Nothing bad happened, but was I just lucky?

[lucky13]

Segate FreeAgent Pro 750GB from BestBuy for less than $200 including tax.
eSATA cable from firefold.com shipped less than $5.
APC 550VA UPS from CircuitCity for $40 + tax.

The yellow light really bothered me. It can be disabled on the FAP using the utilities that came with it, but it comes back on when the power is removed. So I bought the UPS, and then disabled it using the utility after connecting it to the UPS. The PC couldn't read the disk after it was formatted by the HR20, but it still allowed me to turn the light off. So now the light is off until I lose power for an extended period of time. The drive seems to run cooler with the light off as far as I can tell just by toughing it. It is quiet and I've had no problems.

The UPS will also be nice for keeping the HR20 from going through its 10 minute reboot cycle when the power goes down for a second or two. I just have the HR20 and FAP attached to the UPS to maximize the time it can record when there is no power.

Now the question that I haven't found and answer to is the most proper and safe shutdown and power off sequence since neither of HR20 or FAP have a power button. The HR20 one doesn't really turn off the power. I won't have to do this very often with the UPS, but I did have to do this 3 or 4 times as I was installing all this and it worries me to just pull the plug. Nothing bad happened, but was I just lucky?


I requested, on the Wish List, a menu setting on the HR20 that will turn the power off (equivalent to the Shut Down choice on Windows). We've been cautioned not to pull the plug on the box unless absolutely necessary, so Power Off would seem to be a necessary option.

[tombet]

Now the question that I haven't found and answer to is the most proper and safe shutdown and power off sequence since neither of HR20 or FAP have a power button. The HR20 one doesn't really turn off the power. I won't have to do this very often with the UPS, but I did have to do this 3 or 4 times as I was installing all this and it worries me to just pull the plug. Nothing bad happened, but was I just lucky?

This is what I do, though I can't say for certain it is the best thing. I do a menu Restart, and when all the lights of the HR20 go out , I wait 4 secs, and then pull the plug then (which is just before they would again come on - the blue LED's are off for 7 secs on mine with a menu Restart.)

I agree that there should be a way to actually turn it off, and since most everyone agrees that a UPS is a good idea, there should also be a way for the UPS to gracefully shut it down automatically after X minutes of no power, like is done with computers.

[Live4Soccer]

Gonna take the plunge on extra storage...all that new HD content demands it! I fought it till now but the wife is asking me to record all this HD content and the stock drive aint gonna cut it..."I need more COWBELL!"

Gonna go with an internal 750g with a external case. Reason being, when the price on 1TB's come down, I can easily swap out the $200 750g drive and swap in a future $200 1TB drive later on....

HD: HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000 HDS721075KLA330 (0A35154) 750GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822145166)
Why? $200 and 32mb cache...

Enclosure: KINGWIN JT-35E-BK 3.5" eSATA (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817121022)
Seems to be one of the few around with a fan...

Ordering it today...I'll let you all know how it goes...

[tombet]

Enclosure: KINGWIN JT-35E-BK 3.5" eSATA (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817121022)
Seems to be one of the few around with a fan...

Ordering it today...I'll let you all know how it goes...

I think you'll be pleased with that enclosure. I was a little leery as its sort of a no-name. But I've had mine 3 weeks now and it seems like a winner. Hefty fan, but nearly silent. Below is an indepth look at it by an independent site, and then is the link to the manufacturers page. Note the actual "bigbruin" review is of a slightly different Kingwin model that offers both eSata and USB 2.0 support. But as the review mentions, the eSata only enclosure is identical in every other way (except price). For someone who has never put a drive in an enclosure, this review will show you exactly what is involved (and how simple it really is.)

The Antec MX-1 also looks quite nice. But it is more than twice the price, and part of that price is certainly going towards a couple features that won't be used with the HR20 - namely USB 2.0 support and a SATA to eSATA backplane bracket. But Antec is certainly a trusted name in cases and power supplies. I don't think someone will make a mistake with either choice.

http://www.bigbruin.com/2007/kingwinjet_1

http://www.kingwin.com/product_pages/jt35ebk.asp

[funhouse69]

I've been running one Kingwin since early April with no issues and a second one on my Hr20-100 since about July again no issues. I tried another enclosure without a fan and to me it was running to darn hot which is what prompted me to find the Kingwin which I posted here a long, long time ago :D

[jangell2]

Rosewill enclosures are listed in my signature, [newegg.com]. It comes with all the cables you need and it has a fan. I have one on each HR20.Sorry, but I don't see the Rosewill in your sig. What model are you using?

[jangell2]

HD: HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000 HDS721075KLA330 (0A35154) 750GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822145166)
Why? $200 and 32mb cache...
Anyone know what the manufacturer's warranty is on this HD? I like the price.

Edit: looked some more on Hitachi's website and the warranty is 3 years.

[HDMike]

Segate FreeAgent Pro 750GB from BestBuy for less than $200 including tax.
eSATA cable from firefold.com shipped less than $5.


I bought the Seagate this week and ordered the firefold cable thanks to this thread. Saves about $20 over the SIIG, so I hope it is just as reliable. Waiting for the cable to try it out. Tired of fighting available space under 20%!

Mike

[Googer]

I have a pair of HR20 + eSATA setups. :) Both use Antec MX-1 enclosures. My living room setup is using a Western Digital WD5000KS hard drive; my bedroom a Western Digital WD7500AAKS hard drive.

[funhouse69]

Anyone know what the manufacturer's warranty is on this HD? I like the price.

Edit: looked some more on Hitachi's website and the warranty is 3 years.

Please make sure - Some companies offer different warranties for their drives depending on how they are sold. In some cases you might get a 1 year warranty (usually a cheaper drive) and in others you might get upwards of a 5 year warranty.

It is also worth mentioning there are refurbished drives that may only hold only a 90 day warranty.

This is why I buy Seagate Drives from New Egg - 5 years all the way :D

[jjlink]

Working Setup...
Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 HD-0A34193 1 359.99
1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s
Hard Drive, 7200RPM, 32MB
Cache, Model: 0A34193.
Vantec Nexstar-3 External HD Enclosure with eSata

[Terravita]

Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST31000340NS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
ICY DOCK MB559US-1S-B 3.5" USB 2.0 & eSATA External Enclosure - Retail
SIIG 6.56 ft. eSATA to eSATA Cable Model CB-SA0211-S1 - Retail

[MikeekiM]

HR20-700 + Seagate FreeAgent Pro 750GB external drive

Drive was 159.99 + tax... :)

[HDMike]

I bought the Seagate this week and ordered the firefold cable thanks to this thread. Saves about $20 over the SIIG, so I hope it is just as reliable. Waiting for the cable to try it out. Tired of fighting available space under 20%!

Mike

I received the cable from Firefold yesterday and hooked up the 750GB Seagate FAP with no problem. Yeah! :D :D :D

Mike

[jangell2]

How are the sata drives in the enclosures usually jumpered, as masters?

[Terravita]

How are the sata drives in the enclosures usually jumpered, as masters?
This is from the Seagate documentation: The Serial ATA interface connects each disc drive in a point-to-point configuration with the Serial ATA host adapter. There is no master/slave relationship with Serial ATA devices like there is with parallel ATA. If two drives are attached on one Serial ATA host adapter, the host operating system views the two devices as if they were both “masters” on two separate ports. This essentially means both drives behave as if they are Device 0 (master) devices.

Serial ATA drives are designed for easy installation with no jumpers, terminators, or other settings. It is not necessary to set any jumpers on this drive for proper operation. The jumper block adjacent to the signal connector is for factory use only.For Seagate SATA, you remove the jumper. The same applies if you are using the drive for eSATA. I believe this applies to all SATA, but you should check your documentation.

[jangell2]

This is from the Seagate documentation: For Seagate SATA, you remove the jumper. The same applies if you are using the drive for eSATA. I believe this applies to all SATA, but you should check your documentation.
I presume you are using this statement to indicate the jumper should be removed and since I bought the idential drive, if you've removed the jumper, so should I.
It is not necessary to set any jumpers on this drive for proper operation.

Thanks for your help on this. I need to watch some programming on the existing drive and will replace it tomorrow with the new one.

[jangell2]

I was just thinking, this was the OEM seagate and it came with no doc or registration card. I hope I can register it for warranty purposes online.

[Terravita]

I was just thinking, this was the OEM seagate and it came with no doc or registration card. I hope I can register it for warranty purposes online.

You can register your drive with model number and serial number here:
https://partnerreg.seagate.com/prodreg/registration/types.do?source=STX

According to Seagate "Failure to complete and submit this registration will not diminish your warranty rights." The warranty applies to retail and OEM purchases.

You can find the documentation here:
Barracuda 7200.11 SATA 3Gb/s NCQ 1TB 32MB Cache Hard Drive (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=0732f141e7f43110VgnVCM100000f5 ee0a0aRCRD&locale=en-US&reqPage=Support&supportReqTab=Install)

[Terravita]

I presume you are using this statement to indicate the jumper should be removed and since I bought the idential drive, if you've removed the jumper, so should I.Yes, I removed the jumper and you should do the same!

Thanks for your help on this. I need to watch some programming on the existing drive and will replace it tomorrow with the new one.
My pleasure.

[Terravita]

jangell2

I just remembered this and thought I would pass it on. I wrote this in a Newegg.com review:

Cons: When I originally attached this drive to the HR20, it was not recognized. I connected it to my workstation using USB and determine that it only had a capacity of 31 MB. Seagate's technical support had no idea why this happened, and stated that they didn’t support using the drive in an external enclosure. But they did tell me that I could use their SeaTools utility to change the drive to its maximum capacity, 1TB. It was a pain since I had to rig for none RAID access, but it was faster than sending the drive back for a replacement. The drive now works perfectly.

Since my review, another customer wrote this: Cons: You have to initialize this darn drive!! You have to download the utility from Seagate and "prepare" this drive before you start an Installation. Else your BIOS will report 31~33MB! How can Seagate ship their flagship HDD like this? It's just an extra step and you have to 'figure it out'.
If you have the same problem, you will have to use SeaTools, which you can get here: SeaTools (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=SeaTools&vgnextoid=720bd20cacdec010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD )

The drive should not have this problem, but I purchased my drive the first day it was available. Hopefully this problem has been resolved.

[sroh]

I just hooked up a Western Digital 750GB drive in a Kingwin enclosure, connected with the esata cable that came with the enclosure. I chose this one over the Seagate FAP because I needed a horizontal enclosure. Works great.

It still runs a bit warm, even with the fan. I'd be concerned about getting an enclosure without a fan, especially if you house the drive in a closed environment (like an entertainment cabinet).

[jangell2]

If you have the same problem, you will have to use SeaTools, which you can get here: SeaTools (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=SeaTools&vgnextoid=720bd20cacdec010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD )

The drive should not have this problem, but I purchased my drive the first day it was available. Hopefully this problem has been resolved.If this happens, can I just attach it via usb and run SeaTools? I've already removed the jumper, will I have to put it back on?

[Terravita]

If this happens, can I just attach it via usb and run SeaTools?
No, you should attach the drive to your computer's SATA or eSATA connector. When you run SeaTools, it creates a bootable DOS 3 1/2 floppy. You boot DOS from the floppy to initialize the drive. There is also a ISO version of SeaTools to allow you to boot DOS from a CD.

I've already removed the jumper, will I have to put it back on?
No, do not reinstall the jumper.

If you just got the drive, it is highly possible that you will not have this problem. I just didn't want you to spin your wheels like I did.

[Live4Soccer]

I've been running one Kingwin since early April with no issues and a second one on my Hr20-100 since about July again no issues. I tried another enclosure without a fan and to me it was running to darn hot which is what prompted me to find the Kingwin which I posted here a long, long time ago :D

Thanks guys for the info and recommendation...got the drive and enclosure today...hooking it up in a little bit (after I blow through The Office...) Can't wait to fill up the new drive with HD goodness! :joy:

[Live4Soccer]

Hooked up my 750gig w/ext enclosure, re-set the unit, and it fired up like a champ! The guide needs to download again so I didn't get a chance to set my season passes and recordings but other than that, "GOLD JERRY - PURE GOLD!"

I'll tithe my 100gigs to DTV and then 650gigs of coolness! Can't wait...

[jangell2]

Ok, I've got it up and running with the new seagate now. At the same time I was replacing the UPS unit with a better one, so just about everything got unplugged. Of course I had put the HR20 into standby first.

I first plugged the seagate into the sata cord which was already hooked up to the HR20. Then I powered it on and let it run a few moments. Then I plugged in the HR20 and it went through its startup sequence, and everything seems to be working. The List was empty as it should be, and I know the internal drive has one program on it, so it's on the external HD.

However I'm getting some 771 messages, searching for signal, on some stations. Does starting over with a new HD do that, or did I just get unlucky and pick a time when DTV was having some issues?

I'm so happy I didn't have to go through that sequence requiring me to hook up the drive to my PC. Thanks for the help Terravita.

[jangell2]

However I'm getting some 771 messages, searching for signal, on some stations. Does starting over with a new HD do that, or did I just get unlucky and pick a time when DTV was having some issues?Well, an hour later and the 771 problem seems to have cleared up and I did nothing to fix it. It would appear the the HR20 needs a little while to reacquire all the channels after a hard drive change.

[Terravita]

However I'm getting some 771 messages, searching for signal, on some stations. Does starting over with a new HD do that, or did I just get unlucky and pick a time when DTV was having some issues?
I did not run into this problem. I see by your latest post, that the problem is resolved.
I'm so happy I didn't have to go through that sequence requiring me to hook up the drive to my PC. Thanks for the help Terravita.
I am glad I could help.

[dxdenis02]

got my esata to work.... Western-Digital 1TB (WD10EACS) with this kool enclosure to match my stereo gear.... yes looks are important to me to blend in... ICY DOCK MB559US-1SMB ...it has a black mirror finish, esata cable included... will add the hr21 when available to complete the black look

[jangell2]

I think the 771 mesages are related to removing the HR20 from power. I took the UPS that was replaced and used it for our HR20 in the MBR. So it was unplugged for a short time and I got 771s again. I would also get a blank screen and audio. I new the cabling was ok because the HR20 guide and menus always showed up.

Now it seems to have cleared up.

I've got about 2 hours of HD recorded and the list indicator says 99% available.

[Maxfli]

Hey,

Can someone tell me if this enclosure would work? I found it at newegg.com for $799.

NORCO DS-1220 3U 12-bay Hot-swap Rackmount eSATA RAID Hard Drive Storage Subsysteml

I'd like something I could put in my AV rack and split some drives for my HR20 and others into my HTPC. Would this work by itself or are they other components / software needed to make this work?

Thanks,
Max

[Maxfli]

Ok, now I have enough posts to add URLs. Here is the URL from the last post

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816133001

A similar product with (4) bays is this one:

http://www.datoptic.com/cgi-bin/web.cgi?product=RM5_S2M&detail=yes

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Max

[CCarncross]

I dont believe either will work. The 12 bay uses 4 sata connections, and the 4 bay does not even use a eSATA connection, so how would it connect to your HR20?

[bslayton]

I am using the KingWin eSata enclosure recommended here ($22 at newegg) with a 1TB Hitachi Deskstar drive ($339 at newegg.) ....

================
Reporting back after 5 days of use:

All is working very well. In fact, and I say this very subjectively, I think that I have fewer issues of pixelation with this new drive. Not that I had a big problem before, but I might have had an instance every two hours or so. I haven't noticed it once since using the eSata - it seems improved. Perhaps the large (32MB) cache on the Hitachi drive really makes a difference.

One other note: I saw several people mentioning the Cavalry external drive. It looks to me like it uses the KingWin enclosure - it looks IDENTICAL to me.

I purchased the same setup and it hooked up easily and painlessly! We now have plenty of storage for all the food channel shows the wife is recording! :)

One issue is that some recorded shows take about 15 seconds to start playing. After that they play just fine. Anyone else experiencing that problem?

Thanks,
b.

[sroh]

I bought both from Newegg and installed last week. I used the esata cable that came with the Kingwin enclosure. It worked without a hitch for several days. Then I switched over to the internal drive this weekend to watch previously recorded shows.

When I switched back over Sunday night to the external, I started having problems. After a while, the picture would freeze, and the recorded shows would not play. A reboot would fix things for a while but it would happen again. I'm not sure whether it's the drive or the enclosure. My troubleshooting results lead me to think it was the enclosure. In any case, I didn't want to deal with it ao I am returning both to Newegg (got to love their customer service).

I bought a FAP from Costco last night on the way home. I hooked it up using the Kingwin esata cable and it's been running smooth since. Now I just need to pick up a replacement esata cable. Any recommendations on local stores? Fry's, BB and CompUSA are no good, right? How about MicroCenter? What brands should I look for?

[jbart1965]

I am planning to get the Hitachi 1TB internal drive and perhaps the Kingwin enclosure, though I am willing to pay more for the quietest (coolest, best) one out there.

Just wondering though: Can I place the enclosure flat on top of the HR20, or does these things have to stand upright alongside the HR20?

[elixir26]

I am planning to get the Hitachi 1TB internal drive and perhaps the Kingwin enclosure, though I am willing to pay more for the quietest (coolest, best) one out there.

Just wondering though: Can I place the enclosure flat on top of the HR20, or does these things have to stand upright alongside the HR20?

If it's a HR20-700 with vents on the top, I would not suggest blocking it's air flow. I keep all three of my eSATA's behind and out of sight and in clear air behind the TV's. All run cool and only the RAID unit is audible.

[tombet]

I am planning to get the Hitachi 1TB internal drive and perhaps the Kingwin enclosure, though I am willing to pay more for the quietest (coolest, best) one out there.

Just wondering though: Can I place the enclosure flat on top of the HR20, or does these things have to stand upright alongside the HR20?

The Kingwin is working fine for me. It can be either flat or sideways, though I dont think putting it right ontop the HR20 is a good idea.

Its dead quiet, though it has an 80mm fan - pretty hefty. Like you though, I'd like to have the best enclosure I can. I couldn't find any real comparisons on cooling. If you find some, let me know. I just chose the kingwin based on quietness and the 80mm fan, but didn't find a comparison of running drive temps. (I wonder if the Antec might be cooler. They make good products - but I don't have any data to know its cooler. Its twice the price or more, but part of that is for USB support and an eSata backplane bracket - neither of which will be used with the HR20.)

I have used Kingwin removeable drive trays for years, without any issues, but this is my first use of their enclosure. So far so good (about 5 weeks now without even one hiccup.)

Here is a review of the Kingwin followed by the manufacturer product page.

http://www.bigbruin.com/2007/kingwinjet_1

http://www.kingwin.com/product_pages/jt35ebk.asp

[tombet]

Tom's Hardware did a new review of the WD 1TB, and it looks very good. (I am using a Hitachi 1TB, and am very satisfied, but the cooler temps of the WD might have made me make a different choice, had this review been out 6 weeks ago.)

Its not as fast as the Hitachi, but should still be plenty fast enough for the HR20. A lot of the power saving features wont really come into play, since the HR20 is basically always writing to the drive. But the point that caught my eye is how much cooler the drive is under load.

Of course, I do feel good that my Hitachi has been out for several months and has not experienced any widespread failures (its no deathstar), or complaints. It continues to also be extremely well reviewed.

Here's the review, with a bookmark right to the temperature chart:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/11/wd_caviar_gp/page7.html#drive_surface_temperature

[jondiehl]

That Western Digital 1TB just went on sale at Best Buy for only $279.99

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8492026&productCategoryId=abcat0504002&type=product&tab=1&id=1186003685416#productdetail

I was all ready to pull the trigger on the Seagate 750GB FreeAgent Pro for $199.99, but for only ~$100 more (including an enclosure), it might be worth it for the extra 250GB and cooler temps.

[jbart1965]

My HR20 has fan vents on the top. I ask because I dont have much space in my cabinet. Maybe 6 inches high, 4 inches wide in one cabinet and 8 inches high, 4 inches wide, in another cabinet. Looks like the drive and enclosure would fit based on the dimensions I see. Seems like these combos are much smaller than the HR20 iself.

BTW, saw the WD 1TB drive at BB, but its not at my nearby store. Some people seem to think a 32 cache is best and that the WD is slower, but I guess its a small thing in the bigger picture.

[tombet]

BTW, saw the WD 1TB drive at BB, but its not at my nearby store. Some people seem to think a 32 cache is best and that the WD is slower, but I guess its a small thing in the bigger picture.

If you read and trust the reviews, the conclusion is the Hitachi is definitely faster and the WD is definitely cooler. Now the questions for use with the HR20 are not so clear:

1. Is the Hitachi's faster performance likely to in any way make the HR20's use better than the WD's, or is the WD "fast enough" to be everything the HR20 can take advantage of. (IMO, probably yes, the WD is fast enough. Reviews indicate its likely to be at least as fast or faster than the internal drive that the HR20 ships with.) Now in my case, once I moved to the Hitachi, my whole HR20 experience improved - everything got smoother and zippier. However, I may well have had sort of a dud internal drive. Your mileage may vary.

2. Does the cooler temp of the WD translate into longer life ? Thats the big question. Its not so clear. Intuitively you'd think yes, but there was a big study earlier this year (using the drives in the Google data center), that surprisingly did NOT correlate drive failures to drive temperatures. (This study is easily found with an internet search.) That said, I certainly think running cool is a good thing.

The Hitachi drive is extremely quiet - it is the quietest hard drive I have ever owned. (And I have used MANY MANY hard drives.)

So which is better: I dunno. I like my experience so far with the Hitachi, but the WD also looks very interesting to me.

I think you can't answer this for at least a year - with some long term experiences - and even then I think the most likely answer will be that they are both good choices.

[putalydonit]

what model on the hitachi is being used?
thanks

[66stang351]

Drive: Western Digital 1TB WD10000CSRTL
Enclosure: Antec MX-1

[DubMarc]

Drive: Western Digital 1TB WD10000CSRTL
Enclosure: Antec MX-1

x2

[Sirshagg]

Drive: Western Digital 1TB WD10000CSRTL
Enclosure: Antec MX-1

x3 soon to be x4

[jondiehl]

Drive: Western Digital Caviar GP 1TB (got it on sale for $279.99 @ Bestbuy)
Enclosure: KINGWIN JT-35E-BK w/ active cooling ($21.99 @ NewEgg, includes eSATA cable)

Put it together today, unplugged the HR20, fired up the new drive, plugged in the included eSATA cable, plugged the HR20 back in, and everything seems to be working fine.

[ITSec_Guy]

Same rules apply.. when you add a second drive the whole array will have to be wiped out..

I was actually wondering about this myself... I appreciate your help but I have to wonder if this is really the case. The HR20 determines how the drives are read... so if you had a 500gb HD and wanted to add another you could simply unplug the first 500gb HD, plug in the other, format it, plug them both in to the JBOD solution, and it should read as 1tb...

Then again, I am brand-new to DirecTV so I have no idea how this would really work... Ideas?

[ITSec_Guy]

Hey,

Can someone tell me if this enclosure would work? I found it at newegg.com for $799.

NORCO DS-1220 3U 12-bay Hot-swap Rackmount eSATA RAID Hard Drive Storage Subsysteml

I'd like something I could put in my AV rack and split some drives for my HR20 and others into my HTPC. Would this work by itself or are they other components / software needed to make this work?

Thanks,
Max

I was wondering this as well ;)... The esata connection is simple given a converter... It's a pricy solution but I agree that a little extra $ for a lot of extra convienience goes a LONG way!

I was going to buy a hot-swappable solution at Micro Center but, of course, their in-store supply isn't that great. All I can say is try it and keep the reciept... but make sure you post your results ;) so that the rest of us can copy your homework!

[funhouse69]

The NORCO DS-1220 is NOT a RAID Array, it does not have a RAID Controller within it. It uses port multipliers and needs one on the system that you connect it to. Based on that if you connect this to an HR20 you might be able to read a single drive or maybe no drives at all.

There are some RAID solutions out there with a self contained RAID Controller but they are usually pretty expensive. I've seen some for around $1000. Others have been posted here and there but I haven't heard any confirmation that they actually work with the HR20.

Also a lot of people have the Sans Digital 2 Bay RAID unit, It has been posted that if you start with a single drive then add a second drive in a RAID 0 to double the space the HR20 will reformat it to utilize the additional space.

The only way you would be able to avoid that is if you had a unit with a controller that would expand on the fly and even then the HR20 might still reformat to utilize the additional space.

[wyatt9696]

I am using the KingWin eSata enclosure recommended here ($22 at newegg) with a 1TB Hitachi Deskstar drive ($339 at newegg.) The Kingwin comes with an eSata cable and it works fine and fits fine, with no trimming. The enclosure is black with a blue LED that complements the HR20's LEDs. (According to the Kingwin website, its also available in silver, though I dont see that at newegg.) It has a fan to keep drive cool, yet is very quiet as is the drive itself. All in all, very pleased so far. I've had a few days, so not a long test yet. But it was truly painless. Clearly the 750GB solution would be better on a $/GB basis, but I am pleased with the total price of this for a 1TB solution., and without a higher end Raid enclosure for multiple drives.

Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822145143

Enclosure (with eSata cable): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817121022

================
Reporting back after 5 days of use:

All is working very well. In fact, and I say this very subjectively, I think that I have fewer issues of pixelation with this new drive. Not that I had a big problem before, but I might have had an instance every two hours or so. I haven't noticed it once since using the eSata - it seems improved. Perhaps the large (32MB) cache on the Hitachi drive really makes a difference.

One other note: I saw several people mentioning the Cavalry external drive. It looks to me like it uses the KingWin enclosure - it looks IDENTICAL to me.

i just went for this setup. is it just a matter of putting the drive in the enclosure, and hooking it up to the hr20? is there software involved for the drive/enclosure setup, or is it just plug and play? any help is appreciated.

[tombet]

i just went for this setup. is it just a matter of putting the drive in the enclosure, and hooking it up to the hr20? is there software involved for the drive/enclosure setup, or is it just plug and play? any help is appreciated.


No software - put it together, and restart the HR20 with it plugged in and powered on. Its really that simple.

[wyatt9696]

thanks for the info. i appreciate it.

UPDATE: installed drive and enclosure. took 2 minutes, then reboot. all is well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822145143

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817121022

i cannot hear the drive or fan inside the enclosure. so far so good.

[ITSec_Guy]

Could someone please confirm whether or not this RAID enclosure would work? It has the Sil4726 chipset. At $260, with RAID 10, this seems like an enclosure I could grow into once prices come down...

Thoughts?

[funhouse69]

Could someone please confirm whether or not this RAID enclosure would work? It has the Sil4726 chipset. At $260, with RAID 10, this seems like an enclosure I could grow into once prices come down...

Thoughts?

I don't see any link to the Enclosure you mentioned however if it uses the Sil Chipset you mentioned the chances that it will are slim. The reason being is that it uses a port multiplier within the enclosure (The Sil Chipset) and it needs card within the Host system to be able to utilize the multiplexed signal coming from the Enclosure. At the time the HR20 does not have this capability. Maybe someday one of its successors with but that is a big maybe.

[ITSec_Guy]

Sorry... That is what I get for posting at 4am!
http://www.cooldrives.com/sihasaraqudr.html

Now I am REALLY confused! I thought that the Sil4726 was one of the two chipsets that DID work!

I hate to double-post, but if it gets me an answer ;)! I am trying to do a RAID-0 (open to RAID-10 if the $ is right) with the Hitachi 1TB... so the majority of enclosures out there that everyone is in love with won't work as they are limited to 1TB or 1.5TB.

Any help would be appreciated!

[Button Pusher]

Sans Digital MS2UT External Raid Enclosure with two WD 750gb hard drives(WD7500AAKS).

[putalydonit]

just set up a WD 10 EACS 1 TB drive in a kingwin JT-35E-BK case
smooth as silk-all worked easy on first re-boot
recording lots and like mad to rebuild library
sweet

[funhouse69]

Has anyone here had any long term experience with the Sans Digital MS2UT Enclosure? I picked one up recently but thought I might have heard someone say that they have had long term issues / failures with a similar enclosure possibly due to improper cooling?

I want to make sure before I pop in 2 750's and record a ton of content on them that this is a proven option.

[ITSec_Guy]

Has anyone here had any long term experience with the Sans Digital MS2UT Enclosure? I picked one up recently but thought I might have heard someone say that they have had long term issues / failures with a similar enclosure possibly due to improper cooling?

I want to make sure before I pop in 2 750's and record a ton of content on them that this is a proven option.

I've read a lot of posts where people had cooling issues with the MS2UT... I guess you could always just upgrade the fan... It does support 2TB... Hmmm... Intrigue.

[Michael D'Angelo]

I've read a lot of posts where people had cooling issues with the MS2UT... I guess you could always just upgrade the fan... It does support 2TB... Hmmm... Intrigue.

No, the MS2UT will only work up to 1.5TB and you cannot use any larger hard drives than two 750GB drives.

[Button Pusher]

The fan on my MS2UT is already loud enough. I couldn't imagine upgrading it bigger. Anybody else notice this? I may need to turn the back of the unit to the wall. Right now it is turned sideways. Maybe that will help? It should be keeping those hard drives cool enough as fast as that fan is turning.lol

[ITSec_Guy]

People need to know their facts on these boards before they post bad information and mislead others (however mistaken)! The MS2UT supports 2 TB of data.
http://www.sansdigital.com/mobilestor/ms2ut.html

Pardon me for saying so... While I greatly appreciate the help of those who know what they are talking about, all of the misinformation posted within these forums made this process WAAAAAAAAY harder than it needed to be.

End of rant.

[Michael D'Angelo]

People need to know their facts on these boards before they post bad information and mislead others (however mistaken)! The MS2UT supports 2 TB of data.
http://www.sansdigital.com/mobilestor/ms2ut.html

Pardon me for saying so... While I greatly appreciate the help of those who know what they are talking about, all of the misinformation posted within these forums made this process WAAAAAAAAY harder than it needed to be.

End of rant.

You are correct and that is what the specs say now. But a month ago when I bought mine they said 1.5TB with no larger than two 750GB hard drives. They have changed the specs so chill out a little.

[ITSec_Guy]

This has to be posted in multiple forums as it has been discussed in a lot of different places!

I can confirm that the RS-M2TS from CoolDrives for $139 works flawlessly with the 0A35155 version of the 1TB Hitachi drive. This is, to my knowledge, the first enclosure with the Sil5744 chipset that we have tried to use.

I used the
http://www.cooldrives.com/2rasyfor3sah.html

I recommend using ZipZoomFly for purchasing the drives.

[aleicgrant]

Just ordered the RS-M2TS to combine it with 2 WD 1TB drives. Crossing fingers. Should be set to spanning mode correct?

[RMSko]

I'm trying to connect a Seagate Pro 750 gig to my HR20-100 externally via SATA. I turned off my HR20 and then unplugged it. I then connected my Seagate to the HR20 and then turned on the Seagate. I then turned on my HR20. It started to boot up, went through the "checking satellite", then went to a fully white screen, but now seems frozen. It's not responsive to any of the buttons and has been that way for about 10 minutes. Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions?

[aleicgrant]

I am happy to report I am up and running with 2tb of space and my cooldrive RS-M2TS

Record away I go !!!!!!!!!!!

[Podkayne]

Hi everyone:

New to this forum been reading a while to try and educate myself on the HR-20 since I plan on getting on before the new HD channels come on. I also plan on buying a seagate FA 750 for the extra storage.

Can someone tell me roughly how many hours of recording space they get with a 750 gb hd?

Thanks

I'm fairly new myself but I might be able to lend some insight to this one. I've got an HR20-100 with a 320 GB internal drive. I just noticed after watching 4 hours of HD programming and then deleting, that my space remaining went from 32% to 40%. Extrapolating, that yields about 50 hours of programming in HD.

Going to 750 GB should yield about 117 hours, all else being equal.

A 1TB external drive should give us about 156 hours.

A pair of 750's configured to 1.5 TB should hold 234 hours.

The 2TB raid array described earlier would be a whopping 312 hours of storage.

I may add some cost figures to this to decide what $/hr. figure yields the most efficient solution.

[Podkayne]

750 GB 117 hrs Encl + Drive = $223 so $1.91/hr of storage
1 TB 156 hrs Encl + Drive = $328 so $2.10/hr
1.5 TB 234 hrs Encl + Drives = $529 so $2.26/hr
2 TB 312 hrs Encl + Drives = $739 so $2.37/hr

Going larger than 1TB involves the more expensive RAID enclosure, and the 1TB drives are quite a bit pricier than the 750G's.

I probably will get the Kingwin enclosure and the Hitachi 0A35155 1TB drive . This will more than triple the internal storage capacity for $328. It also allows an easy upgrade path to a 2TB system when the price of the 1TB drives permits.

[aleicgrant]

Here is my breakdown

2 1TB drives @ 259.00 each
Raid Enclosure $130

Total $648 or 2.07/hr

not too shabby

[hasan]

HR20-700

Free Agent Pro 750 Gig

Looks like about 150 hrs of MPEG-4 HD

[Podkayne]

Here is my breakdown

2 1TB drives @ 259.00 each
Raid Enclosure $130

Total $648 or 2.07/hr

not too shabby

How did you configure the enclosure? RAID 0, JBOD, or spanning?

[Podkayne]

How did you configure the enclosure? RAID 0, JBOD, or spanning?

Looks like spanning is the correct setting for this setup.

Also, I've read elsewhere in this forum that DTV reserves about 100 GB of disk space in a partition to itself, for recording showcases, and such. That stays fixed, no matter how large the disk. This makes our calculations more interesting:


320 GB (220 recording space) = 50 hrs MPEG4 HD programming
750 GB (650 recording space) = 148 hrs.
1 TB (900 GB recording space) = 204 hrs.
1.5 TB (1.4 TB recording space) = 318 hrs.
2 TB (1.9 TB recording space) = 432 hrs.

Can anyone confirm if these recording capacities seem correct? Someone mentioned their Seagate FAP 750 was yielding close to 150 hrs. recording capacity, so these figures may be pretty close.

[waynenm]

Seagate Free Agent Pro 750
A thing 'o beauty...

[turfster]

750 GB 117 hrs Encl + Drive = $223 so $1.91/hr of storage
1 TB 156 hrs Encl + Drive = $328 so $2.10/hr
1.5 TB 234 hrs Encl + Drives = $529 so $2.26/hr
2 TB 312 hrs Encl + Drives = $739 so $2.37/hr

Going larger than 1TB involves the more expensive RAID enclosure, and the 1TB drives are quite a bit pricier than the 750G's.

I probably will get the Kingwin enclosure and the Hitachi 0A35155 1TB drive . This will more than triple the internal storage capacity for $328. It also allows an easy upgrade path to a 2TB system when the price of the 1TB drives permits.

Podkayne,

I am with you. I installed the WD 1tb with the Kingwin enclosure for $313 with my HR20-100. It has been performing outstanding for me at first plugin. I am going to wait as well until the prices go down on the 1tb and add a 2tb system/raid enclosure at a later date. A bit too pricey right now and I do not want to put all my eggs in one basket at this point; especially since you can not transfer this HD to another receiver without losing your data, etc.

Tony

[tsantanni]

I'm using the Cavalry 750GB unit. Has been working perfect for over 3 weeks now and was relatively inexpensive at right around $200. The enclosure has a fan, and it comes with a cable too so it was plug in and go.

[aleicgrant]

How did you configure the enclosure? RAID 0, JBOD, or spanning?

Spanning. As I know that is the only way for the HR20 to see the full 2tb.

I gotta tell you I LOVE having this much space. Never have to worry about recording too much :)

[MeSue]

Is this a good choice?

"Western Digital Caviar GP WD10EACS 1TB 5400 to 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM "
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136151&CMP=EMC-IGNEFL111307&ATT=N82E16822136151&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL111307-_-HardDrives-_-E1R-_-22136151

$269 with promo code for newsletter subscribers.

In the reviews people are saying it is actually fixed at 5400 RPM, and not variable like the description says. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing for DVR use.

Would pair it with the Kingwin enclosure from Newegg if I get it. But I am trying to wait until after the holidays to see how much more the prices will come down.

[Trekker003]

Are all Seagate Free Agent Pro 750's the same ? Best Buy has 2 models.

[DVDLen]

Could one connect an external eSATA drive, say 750GB, in an enclosure, boot the HR-20 to it so that it becomes the system's drive...then pull the drive from the external enclosure and replace the 300GB internal drive with it?

Would the HR20 then work with a new, internal 750GB drive?

[P Smith]

YES.

[Drew2k]

Could one connect an external eSATA drive, say 750GB, in an enclosure, boot the HR-20 to it so that it becomes the system's drive...then pull the drive from the external enclosure and replace the 300GB internal drive with it?

Would the HR20 then work with a new, internal 750GB drive?Be advised that if you don't own the HR20 outright, opening the case of the HR20 will void your warranty and violate your lease terms.

[rdowdy95]

Be advised that if you don't own the HR20 outright, opening the case of the HR20 will void your warranty and violate your lease terms.

Guys I got the Western Digital Caviar GP WD10EACS 1TB 5400 to 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM for $265 at Fryes last night. I tried to find the $21.99 Kingwin Enclosure at Fryes but they didn't have any so I got this one instead. KINGWIN EL-35EU-SB Aluminum 3.5" Silver w/ Black USB 2.0 & eSATA External Enclosure - Retail you can find it here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121035
I haven't plugged it in yet, but it is going to go kind of behind the LCD TV of mine. Do you think I need to get one with a fan or do you think it will be okay. They are starting to make them all with aluminum now anyway to disipate the heat plus the WD is supposed to run cooler. What do you guys think. Should I just hook this bad boy up and go for it, or would you strongly recommend one with a fan?

[P Smith]

Those 1 TB disk pretty new, so not much experience in the Universe. I would go ahead and use it without fan. Personally I would crank down AAM before to be sure it running cooler/quiet as possible.

[rdowdy95]

Those 1 TB disk pretty new, so not much experience in the Universe. I would go ahead and use it without fan. Personally I would crank down AAM before to be sure it running cooler/quiet as possible.

What is AAM also I got another problem as well. It may be nothing, but the AC adapter on the thing is one of those big sqaures with the plug not to big, but I have not room on the surge protector. I do have an open outlet on the surge, but would it be okayto plug like a extension cord into the surge protector outlet then the ac adapter on the end of the extension cord. It is a 2 prong ac adapter.

[tsantanni]

Buy.com has a great deal on the Cavalry 750GB eSata setup for $180 shipped this week. I have been using it for over a month with no issues at all. I think I might pick up another one for my other HR20.

[DVDLen]

Buy.com has a great deal on the Cavalry 750GB eSata setup for $180 shipped this week. I have been using it for over a month with no issues at all.

How quiet is the Cavalry 750GB eSATA drive? Can you hear it when it's recording?

[tsantanni]

How quiet is the Cavalry 750GB eSATA drive? Can you hear it when it's recording?
I cannot hear any HD noises when its playing back or recording. However, it does have a fan on the enclosure that may drown that sound out. The fan is pretty quiet though...overall I am satisfied with this unit for the price. Here is the link.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=202734456&adid=17070&dcaid=17070

EDIT: I found an additional $5 off with this link. And if you get up over $200, you can take $10 off. I am also grabbing a 2GB microSD card for my phone so its $195 for the drive and card....NICE DEAL!!!

http://www.dealigg.com/story-Buy-com-Coupons-15-off-200-10-off-175-5-off-50-more-1

[captainjrl]

Can anyone with an HR21 tell me what eSATA solution they are using? I've tried a Seagate FAP 750, with no luck. I have siunce pulled the HD out of it in hopes of either finding a different enclosure (preferred) or putting it inside the HR21 (would rather not). TIA.

[jdeaton]

From July through the end of August my 750 GB Free Agent Pro worked flawlessly with my HR20-700. Since the 0x194 CE in early September, I have had problems. With the FAP connected to my HR20-700 I would often get a black screen with no audio when coming out of stand by or the picture would freeze with a loss of audio during live TV. I kept hoping each subsequent CE would cure the problem, but no luck. I eventually exchanged the FAP for another one, I replaced the eSATA cable for one that does not require trimming and finally swapped my 700 for my 100, and I continue to have eSATA related problems. In the case of eSATA and my 100 I encounter continual rebooting. In both cases, disconnecting the FAP from the 700 and the 100 resulted in normal/stable operation of my HR20’s. So… Two FAP’s, two HR20’s and two eSATA cables and problems since 0x194. Is it software or hardware?

[bbroach]

Are all Seagate Free Agent Pro 750's the same ? Best Buy has 2 models.

The ST307504FPA1E3-RK has USB 2.0, Firewire 400, and eSATA interfaces - MSRP is $274.99


The ST307504FPA1E2-RK lacks the Firewire interface - MSRP is $279.99 (?)


I bought a ST307504FPA1E3-RK for my second HR20 online at Fry's today for $198.00


regards, billb....

[cineplex1]

How long does a reformat/reboot take?

Icydock enclosure/WD10eacus 1t drive/HR20-100.

And is it absolutely necessary to disable the 3gb buffer by jumping pins 5-6?

Thank you,
Cineplex1

[cineplex1]

How long does a reformat/reboot take?

Icydock enclosure/WD10eacus 1t drive/HR20-100.

And is it absolutely necessary to disable the 3gb buffer by jumping pins 5-6?

Thank you,
Cineplex1

ANYBODY WANT A $400 PAPER WEIGHT. Just that easy. 3 hours of boot and reboot and nada yet.

[Sirshagg]

How long does a reformat/reboot take?

Icydock enclosure/WD10eacus 1t drive/HR20-100.

And is it absolutely necessary to disable the 3gb buffer by jumping pins 5-6?

Thank you,
Cineplex1

I assume you want to know how long it takes to first boot with a new esata drive - from my experience no longer than normal.

[GAM]

Can anyone with an HR21 tell me what eSATA solution they are using? I've tried a Seagate FAP 750, with no luck. I have siunce pulled the HD out of it in hopes of either finding a different enclosure (preferred) or putting it inside the HR21 (would rather not). TIA.

I am running the HR21-700 with the Antec MX-1 enclosure and a Western Digital 750GB drive. I've had no problems in the month I have been using it.

[Sirshagg]

ANYBODY WANT A $400 PAPER WEIGHT. Just that easy. 3 hours of boot and reboot and nada yet.

I think you mean the wd10eacs (no u).

I'm using that drive with the Antec MX-1 case on one of my 700's with no issues at all. I did disable 3gb via jumpter but I forget exactly which pins it was (5-6 sounds right though)

Connected the drive to the HR20, powered the drive up, menu restart on the HR20 and it booted just fine from the esata drive. It was so quick, and gave no indication of anything special, that I wondered if it actually worked - it did.

[cineplex1]

I think you mean the wd10eacs (no u).

I'm using that drive with the Antec MX-1 case on one of my 700's with no issues at all. I did disable 3gb via jumpter but I forget exactly which pins it was (5-6 sounds right though)

Connected the drive to the HR20, powered the drive up, menu restart on the HR20 and it booted just fine from the esata drive. It was so quick, and gave no indication of anything special, that I wondered if it actually worked - it did.

Been at it since 2 o'clock. Excuse the U. Been through the 5 step process several times. NO go.

HR20-100/icy dock/ wd10EACS 1T / icy dock cable.

Drive is spinning and being accessed. But...................

[minneZ]

HR20-700 running Segate 750Gb in an Antec MX-1 about a month and half no problems. The Antec is a very nice, quiet enclosure w/fan includes the cable and a pci slot connector for your pc as well.

Pretty good price $49 + ship here: http://www.excaliberpc.com/Antec_Veris_Media_MX-1_Actively/MX-1/partinfo-id-575347.html

Also Seagate ST3750640AS 750GB SATA/300 7200RPM 16MB HDD refurb 180 day warranty for $149.99 use savings code SEA750 to get that price here: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ST3750640AS-R&cm_mmc=geekmail-_-daily_html-_-20nov07_750SEA-_-750SEAmain

My drive is a refurb from them although they had it $10 cheaper when I picked mine up.

[Sirshagg]

The Antec is a very nice, quiet enclosure w/fan includes the cable and a pci slot connector for your pc as well.


Agree 100%

I was very skeptical about going this route, mostly because I didn't want to pay $40 for an external case when I could get a FAP. I'm very happy with it. The drives in my HR20 are louder than the esata's in this enclosure.

[Sirshagg]

Been at it since 2 o'clock. Excuse the U. Been through the 5 step process several times. NO go.

HR20-100/icy dock/ wd10EACS 1T / icy dock cable.

Drive is spinning and being accessed. But...................

So what happens? Does it never boot? Get stuck on a certain screen? starts up but using the internal drive?

[cineplex1]

So what happens? Does it never boot? Get stuck on a certain screen? starts up but using the internal drive?

Yes sir;

Will restart using interal HD....

External gets to "Checking Satellite settings. This will take a few (35....40...45) minutes"...

My SWAG is that it is formatted if it gets this far...but what else is there to do?

[captainjrl]

I am running the HR21-700 with the Antec MX-1 enclosure and a Western Digital 750GB drive. I've had no problems in the month I have been using it.

Thanks. I'm gonna try that enclosure with the 750gb drive I ripped out of my Seagate FAP. Just ordered the enclosure from Circuit City for instore pickup and will try it tomorrow.

[cineplex1]

Uncle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gusbuf]

Ran across this on dealuniversity.com website. Personally not a fan of buy.com, but a 1 terabyte e-sata external drive for $229? Sounds too good to be true.

http://www.dealuniversity.com/article17559.html

http://www.buy.com/retail/Product.asp?sku=205770649&SearchEngine=CJaffiliate&Type=CJ&Keyword=205770649&adid=17662

[P Smith]

eSATA, not 'e-sata'

[redwoode]

Cineplex, I'm running a WD Caviar GP WD10EACS 1TB in the KingWin eSata enclosure on my HR21. Is working flawlessly. Fired right up and only took about 5 minutes to initialize the first time.

[redwoode]

Did jumper pins 5 & 6.

[cineplex1]

Did jumper pins 5 & 6.

I'm running a WD Caviar GP WD10EACS 1TB in the icy dock.

I did jumper pin 5-6 to disable the 3gb buffer. It will not boot completely. I worked all afternoon.

Is it the ICY DOCK? I plugged the system into my laptop using the USB2 port and the laptop recognizes the disc drive, but of course since it is not formatted it won't use it. But at least this proves the drive is good.

ESATA, E-SATA, you say tomayto, I say tomahto.

I am open to suggestions.

[captainjrl]

Confirmed HR21 setup working. I am running the HR21-700 with the Antec MX-1 enclosure and a Seagate 750gb drive I ripped out of my non-cooperative FAP.

THANKS GAM!

[GAM]

Confirmed HR21 setup working. I am running the HR21-700 with the Antec MX-1 enclosure and a Seagate 750gb drive I ripped out of my non-cooperative FAP.

THANKS GAM!


No problem!

[P Smith]

<..>
ESATA, E-SATA, you say tomayto, I say tomahto.

I am open to suggestions.

Who careas about you ?
There is a standard, so SATA is SATA and eSATA is eSATA. :)

[elixir26]

Did jumper pins 5 & 6.

I don't understand why my 3 eSATA user configured drives all have been working flawlessly for months with the 3gb enabled. I'm not complaining. Just curious.

[P Smith]

They're have auto-negotiation with a SATA controller for select the speed. And backward compatibility.

[berryb]

Who cares about you ?
There is a standard, so SATA is SATA and eSATA is eSATA. :)

And I agree with you on standards - However, in studying the rear panel of my brand new HR21, I find that DirecTV labeled that particular jack "SATA."

I had to fiddle around with an SATA plug to see if they were correct or not! (They obviously were not!)

I'm new to the HR20-21 world and was attempting to find out what I needed for an external drive. I recently spotted a Western Digital My Book 1 TB USB/eSATA at COSTCO for $299.

I guess from what I'm reading, it sounds like a good deal. Any experienced users out there?

Thanks, Bert

[jangell2]

I'm new to the HR20-21 world and was attempting to find out what I needed for an external drive. I recently spotted a Western Digital My Book 1 TB USB/eSATA at COSTCO for $299.Either this thread or another one has several mentions of the fact that most MyBooks don't work as a dvr drive.

[Podkayne]

Either this thread or another one has several mentions of the fact that most MyBooks don't work as a dvr drive.

+1

This is reported in several threads. Mybooks don't work with DVRs.

[berryb]

+1

This is reported in several threads. Mybooks don't work with DVRs.

Thanks Guys!

After my post, I eventually discovered two posts in other threads that said My Books "Studio" Edition wouldn't work, and I suppose there could be others. Originally, however I expressly searched the forums for "eSATA" and only this thread came up.

As it turns out Western Digital has several similar but slightly different external storage drives, as found on their web site. As well as My Book Studio, they have My Book Pro; My Book Premium; My Book Office; My Book Home: My Book World, etc., etc. They are not all eSATA, of course.

In that same series I found another drive called My DVR Expander, an eSATA 500Gb drive they designed specifically for a TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD DVR and some Scientific Atlanta DVR's. So I suppose it's not too much of a stretch that other models COULD possibly work.

Until I get back to Costco to check, I have no idea which model I saw. But, I wouldn’t go back out today, the ‘Black’ Friday after Thanksgiving, if they were giving them away!

(I’ve at least convinced my wife that this is a great buy and if it doesn’t work on the new box I’ll at least have a good backup drive!)

Thanks again for your quick response.

[davemayo]

This evening I was at Costco and they have the FAP 750 GB drive for $199. I bought it and just ordered a cable from Buy.com for $17.99.

[davemayo]

Thanks Guys!

After my post, I eventually discovered two posts in other threads that said My Books "Studio" Edition wouldn't work, and I suppose there could be others. Originally, however I expressly searched the forums for "eSATA" and only this thread came up.

As it turns out Western Digital has several similar but slightly different external storage drives, as found on their web site. As well as My Book Studio, they have My Book Pro; My Book Premium; My Book Office; My Book Home: My Book World, etc., etc. They are not all eSATA, of course.

In that same series I found another drive called My DVR Expander, an eSATA 500Gb drive they designed specifically for a TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD DVR and some Scientific Atlanta DVR's. So I suppose it's not too much of a stretch that other models COULD possibly work.

Until I get back to Costco to check, I have no idea which model I saw. But, I wouldn’t go back out today, the ‘Black’ Friday after Thanksgiving, if they were giving them away!

(I’ve at least convinced my wife that this is a great buy and if it doesn’t work on the new box I’ll at least have a good backup drive!)

Thanks again for your quick response.

Others have posted that the DVR Expander works with the HR20. There is $50 mail in rebate on those, but you have to buy it by 11/30.

www.apricorn.com

[minneZ]

Seagate FAP at FRYS.com #: 5389518 - $174.99

11/23-11/29 while supplies last

[Jimbo2]

This evening I was at Costco and they have the FAP 750 GB drive for $199. I bought it and just ordered a cable from Buy.com for $17.99.

Unfortunatly the Costco's around here does NOT have this item in stock.

Any definate word on which WD hard drives will work ?

Jimbo

[reubenray]

I am thinking real hard about doing this and it seems that the Seagate Pro is what most of you are using. This will mainly be used to obtain extra space while on vacation.

Will the drive work in my HTPC after I do not need it for the HR20 and will it work on the HR20 after being used on my HTPC? This is of course being empty.

[P Smith]

Reformat will take care of it. Yes, it will do both ways.

[cineplex1]

Cineplex, I'm running a WD Caviar GP WD10EACS 1TB in the KingWin eSata enclosure on my HR21. Is working flawlessly. Fired right up and only took about 5 minutes to initialize the first time.


:nono2: WD Caviar GP WD10EACS 1TB wll not work with an ICY DOCK enclosure. :mad:

I went and bought a ANTEC MX 1 and was up and running in 15 minutes.:joy:

Why would this be?

[reubenray]

Can the Seagate be laid down on its side?

[elixir26]

Seagate FAP at FRYS.com #: 5389518 - $174.99

11/23-11/29 while supplies last


Thanks for the tip. I went to the site yesterday and found it was sold out. Looked again today and found it was in stock. I bought one for my daughters HR20. 182.62 delivered. I've had no problems with my other FAP and it's hard to beat the price and warranty.

New SKU# 5189186

Thanks again.

[minneZ]

Thanks for the tip. I went to the site yesterday and found it was sold out. Looked again today and found it was in stock. I bought one for my daughters HR20. 182.62 delivered. I've had no problems with my other FAP and it's hard to beat the price and warranty.

New SKU# 5189186

Thanks again.

you're welcome

interesting that the # changed but the Seagate p/n is still the same :confused: oh well

[jhylton79]

I think the raid enclosure with two 750G drives is a very cost effective solution. I'm wondering... If, after setting up the enclosure with a single 750G drive, can I add a second 750G drive later?

Joe

[bpatt]

Newegg has the WD 1TB for $269! Very tempting...

[P Smith]

Wait when it will come to normal price: 0.5 TB - $99 (now) and 1 TB - $199 ( sould be).

[BigCat]

I bought it from them for $249 shipped on Thanksgiving weekend. Looks like they adjust the price frequently. Just keep checking if you want to wait for it to come down again.

Mine should be here tomorrow :D

Newegg has the WD 1TB for $269! Very tempting...

[scat]

Before installing my Seagate 750GB FreeAgent Pro at circuitcity_com

for $199.00 I looked at my schedule of shows to be recorded
and decided Sunday before 5pm was a good time, it only took about
5 minutes for the HR20 to format the drive, it is working perfectly,
I love knowing I now have about 3 times the space as before.

I bought this cable from www_monoprice_com

price: $4.13
6ft SATA External Round Cable - eSATA to eSATA (Type I to Type I), Black
search for this poduct ID 3940

I can't post web a address yet
You will need some tape, to cover the light on the top and front
of this drive.

It was installed Sunday 11-25-07
Scat

[mjones73]

"You will need some tape, to cover the light on the top and front
of this drive."

You can connect it to your PC via USB and use the tools that came with it to turn the light off. If it loses power you'll need to repeat these steps though. If you have a laptop or PC close enough to your HR20, you don't even have to disconnect it from the HR20.

[reubenray]

So you can have the PC and HR20 connected at the same time? Can you save stuff to the hard drive from the PC also?

[berryb]

Reformat will take care of it. Yes, it will do both ways.
P Smith responded the above, to a post that asked, "Will the drive work in my HTPC after I do not need it for the HR20 and will it work on the HR20 after being used on my HTPC?"

What file format is used on a Seagate FAP, anyway?

A couple of replies to my earlier post said the "MY Book" drives wouldn’t work on an HR20. Not quite sure why or why not, I went back to Costco and bought that $299 WD 1TB “MY Book Home Edition" eSATA drive.

(For that price, I couldn't resist! It can always become a PC backup, or a door stop at the very least!)

But so far I've been reluctant to try plugging it to my HR21. It apparently comes with about 350 Mb of WD software preloaded, which could be confusing to the DVR. I'd reformat it if I knew what the Seagate FAP's use.

One post I read said something about them just "plugging the FAP into an HR20 and after it (the HR20) formatted the drive, everything worked OK.

(AND I’ve already downloaded a WD s/w replacement copy, in case reformatting the drive for my HR21 doesn't work.)

WD has an eSATA storage drive called "My DVR Expander," a part of the same group as the My Book series. It’s specifically made for a TiVo DVR.

I called WD Tech Support and asked if the “Home” edition would work on a DVR, like their DVR Expander does. They said the ‘Home edition’ would not, since it has a different file format than their 'Expander.' (The ‘Home edition’ according to him, comes with a 32-bit FAT format.)

It seems to me the Seagate FAP's must also a 32-bit file system, since they basically are used for the same file backup purpose. If so, any ideas why one would work and the other not?

So back to P. Smith's reply, "Reformat" back to what?

Thanks for any input,
Bert

[blakevh]

Working esata RAID configuration for an HR21-700:

Sil4726 with five Western Digital WD10EACS 1TB drives in a five bay external case USBG-4726R5 with a RAID 10 configuration with a hot spare drive.

cooldrives.com saiipomu55hd dot html.

I have it configured with a RAID 10 layout so there is 2TB usable space.

There are a few caveats:
1. The RAID configuration must be configured using the SIL4726 Manager prior to connecting the case to the HR21. In my situation that meant loading the SIL4726 Manager software on my PC, connecting the external case to my PC, and then setting up the RAID 10 partition.

2. The drives included in the RAID partition must start with the first port on the SIL4726. The HR21 will not recognize the RAID partition if the partition does not include the drive on the first port on the SIL4726.

3. The SIL4726 cannot re-build the RAID array without OS intervention. What this means is that if one of the four drives in the RAID array fails, I will need to connect the box to my PC to initialize and complete the RAID re-build.

So far I have 14 hours of HD recorded, with 97% free space reported.

[MeSue]

Okay, here is my working combination:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive from NewEgg
Antec MX-1 Enclosure from Staples

I originally tried the HDD listed above with the KINGWIN JT-35E-BK eSATA Enclosure from NewEgg and it did NOT work. I think I just got a dud.

[jdmac29]

I think the raid enclosure with two 750G drives is a very cost effective solution. I'm wondering... If, after setting up the enclosure with a single 750G drive, can I add a second 750G drive later?

Joe


Interesting but I did this on my computer turned single 500gb seagate, added another of the same drive to make a 1tb raid 0 combination but the software on my computer, I think intel matrix storage manager just converted all the data to both drives but I am sure the hr20 would reformat both drives if you added it later. I think you would need software to add it and I can't see directv trying to support add on drives like they do now when you add the esata the internal drive does nothing.

[dsexton]

My apologies if I missed this when I searched the thread, but I am looking for the concensus on whether it is necessary to jumper the WD 1 TB drive to slow it down when putting it into an Antec housing. Thanks.

[GAM]

My apologies if I missed this when I searched the thread, but I am looking for the concensus on whether it is necessary to jumper the WD 1 TB drive to slow it down when putting it into an Antec housing. Thanks.

I didn't set any jumpers on the WD 750GB drive I installed in the Antec MX-1. I don't think any setup is necessary.

[SubSlr08]

Just found this at Buy.com. 750gb eSata/USB by VOX - only $144.99 after two $35 rebates. Good only 12/4 and 12/5 - looks like a nice unit but doesn't appear to have a fan. Also only an 8mb buffer. . . great price. . . and they continue to fall. You'll have to seach for it as I can't yet post a URL here. You can also find the link thru "fatwallet" - hope this helps someone.

[pjo1966]

Just found this at Buy.com. 750gb eSata/USB by VOX - only $144.99 after two $35 rebates. Good only 12/4 and 12/5 - looks like a nice unit but doesn't appear to have a fan. Also only an 8mb buffer. . . great price. . . and they continue to fall. You'll have to seach for it as I can't yet post a URL here. You can also find the link thru "fatwallet" - hope this helps someone.

Has this been proven to work with the HR21 or just the HR20?

[strandboy]

Seagate FAP750 with HR21-700 (yes, the HR21). See my post (#40) in "Does HR21-700 support eSata?" thread (I'm still too new to post links).

--s

[mac65]

Working config with HR20-700:

WD Caviar WD7500AAKS 750GB (Newegg $159.99)
Rosewill RX-358-S Enclosure (Newegg $29.99)

Used cable included with enclosure.

[immax45]

Has anyone successfully connected this to an HR20? I just ordered one from Costco.com.

Thanks,

-max

[immax45]

Has anyone successfully connected this to an HR20? I just ordered one from Costco.com.

Thanks,

-max

sorry that's "Cavalry"

[GAM]

Interesting post at Engadget:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/07/seagate-freeagent-drives-not-down-with-linux/

[dminches]

You can connect it to your PC via USB and use the tools that came with it to turn the light off. If it loses power you'll need to repeat these steps though. If you have a laptop or PC close enough to your HR20, you don't even have to disconnect it from the HR20.

So, while the FAP is hooked up to the HR20-100 and running I can simultaneously hook it up to my laptop and turn the lights off again?

[reubenray]

I just bought the 750 GB Seagate FAP from Best Buy for $199 minus the 12% coupon I had. Did not think about the cable. I just rebuilt my HTPC and it came with several sata cables.

Will these work?

Also where can I find the instructions for setting this up? I have been searching, but have not found it yet.

[Maxfli]

Currently using single FAP 750 but still looking for a multiple drive setup. Can someone confirm if there is still a 2 GB limit to eSATA with the HR20.

If not, will this enclosure work with (4) 750 GB or 1 TB drives or is there another 4 drive enclosure that works better?

http://www.bixnet.com/4espomuraen.html

Thanks,

Max

[Maxfli]

Sorry I meant 2 TB limit on storage.

[Podkayne]

The "port multiplier" RAID enclosures have not received good reports on this thread. Specifically, the SIL 4726 controller RAID boxes don't seem to work; the SIL 3726 box does not seem to have been tried.

There are no reports of anyone getting the eSata external drive to format or otherwise "see" a partition greater than 2TB.

[Podkayne]

This enclosure, and the SansDigital MS2UT are both known to work well with a pair of 1TB drives.

http://www.cooldrives.com/2rasyfor3sah.html

There is a wealth of information on this approach starting on page 6 of this thread.

Good luck.

[dettxw]

Like my signature says using a 1TB Western Digital WD10EACS (bought from Newegg) in an Antec enclosure (bought from Tech Palooza).

Setup was smooth and quick, the drive is quiet, the case looks good and the supplied cable fits perfectly. No problems at all. I'm real happy.

[dettxw]

My apologies if I missed this when I searched the thread, but I am looking for the concensus on whether it is necessary to jumper the WD 1 TB drive to slow it down when putting it into an Antec housing. Thanks.I didn't and mine works well. I think the jumper is simply to force a slowdown which should not be necessary as the drive will automatically adjust.

[100mph]

I seem to have the AMS T4S 4 drive raid enclosure with two 750GB WD7500AAKS's on an HR21.

I've yet to test the capacity by recording X hours of HD but on my XP PC esata port (NOT the raid card, an external esata) the unit appears as one drive of 1399GB (two 750GB ) so I have no reason to believe the HR21 wouldnt see the same.

I set the drive up as "FAST" with the included utility which should be RAID 0

One note. Originally I staggered the two drives in the 4 slots for better air flow but was unsuccessful until I put both drives in the bottom two slots (drive 0 and 1). I suspect you probably just need one in drive 0 (very bottom) though.

[100mph]

The "port multiplier" RAID enclosures have not received good reports on this thread. Specifically, the SIL 4726 controller RAID boxes don't seem to work; the SIL 3726 box does not seem to have been tried.

There are no reports of anyone getting the eSata external drive to format or otherwise "see" a partition greater than 2TB.

Not sure where you saw SIL 4726 Boxes NOT working but just posted my working set up with an AMS T4S which has an internal 4726 controller and IS definitely working - although I've yet to test to ensure I'm getting full capacity of 1.5 TB's

[P Smith]

<...>
I've yet to test the capacity by recording X hours of HD but on my XP PC esata port (NOT the raid card, an external esata) the unit appears as one drive of 1399GB (two 750GB ) so I have no reason to believe the HR21 wouldnt see the same.
<...>

I would say - a reason to believe would be after you'll post 'df' output or similar from your disk array after using with HR21.

And please - eSATA, not 'esata'.

[100mph]

I would say - a reason to believe would be after you'll post 'df' output or similar from your disk array after using with HR21.

And please - eSATA, not 'esata'.


um... not sure what you're saying - what is 'df or similar'?

I've got it recording HD on both tuners as I type, after a day or so I should have a better idea and will post back.

[P Smith]

Ok, I see Linux is not for you - use Disk Management in Windows and post partition's size.

[100mph]

Ok, I see Linux is not for you - use Disk Management in Windows and post partition's size.

Yeah Linux is on the to 'learn' list but ....

I had used Disk Management before hooking it up to HR21 and it showed 1399gb as a single drive.

This was, as I said, not attached to the raid card that came with the enclosure but rather an eSATA port connected to the mobo's SATA port so I assumed then that the enclosure was indeed able to operate in raid independent of a PC.

After being connected to the HR-21 is there a means outside the HR21 to see the actual used and free space?

[P Smith]

Sure, as the HR21 repartitioned it and create own chunks. Definitly post the info after HR21 !

[100mph]

Sure, as the HR21 repartitioned it and create own chunks. Definitly post the info after HR21 !

Looks like its all working fine - I've now got 3 partitions after connecting to the HR21

1. 518 MB
2. 15.01 GB
3. 1381.48 GB


So thats an AMS T4S eSATA enclosure with two 750 GB WD HDD's - under $500 for 1.5 TB solution.

[funhouse69]

I thought I would throw this out there... I've been using Seagate 750Gb Drives in Kingwin eSATA Enclosures with built in fans for many months now. Over the summer I noticed that the enclosures were getting a little warmer then I would like them to.

Since both of my HR20's are in the same entertainment center I decided to try something. I ended up picking up a small desktop case that had several fans in it. I put the drives in and to connect them I picked up a SATA to eSATA Adapter. I had to jump the power supply to get it to come on without a motherboard in it which was easy enough to find online.

The case has several temp sensors and a display that shows them all. I connected the sensors to the drives that I put as far apart in the case as possible (one in the 3.5" bay and the other in the 5-1/4" bay.

Since I used my original drives with a ton of content on them I have to say I was very nervous but I am very happy to say that it has been working flawlessly for well over a week now.

One thing I tried to do was get an automatic fan controller but couldn't really find anything. Sure there are plenty of fan controllers out there but I wanted one that would automatically speed up the fans when the temp rose then slow down when cool.

[spartanstew]

CAVALRY 1 TB (http://www.buy.com/prod/cavalry-1tb-single-disk-dual-interface-usb-2-0-esata-external-hard/q/loc/101/205986373.html) (Single Disk) Dual Interface (USB 2.0 & eSATA) External Hard Drive - CAXE3701T0 - Includes eSATA cable and bridge!!

Been working flawlessly for the last week or so. The front light (blue) is VERY bright. It actually has a little red laser type light inside of the blue that blinks occasionally. If you're distracted by lights on your equipment, you might not want this.

I actually like the lights on my gear, so I don't mind. If I had to guess, I'd say it's twice as bright as the HR20 on full brightness.

[sailermon]

CAVALRY 1 TB (http://www.buy.com/prod/cavalry-1tb-single-disk-dual-interface-usb-2-0-esata-external-hard/q/loc/101/205986373.html) (Single Disk) Dual Interface (USB 2.0 & eSATA) External Hard Drive - CAXE3701T0 - Includes eSATA cable and bridge!!

Been working flawlessly for the last week or so. The front light (blue) is VERY bright. It actually has a little red laser type light inside of the blue that blinks occasionally. If you're distracted by lights on your equipment, you might not want this.

I actually like the lights on my gear, so I don't mind. If I had to guess, I'd say it's twice as bright as the HR20 on full brightness.

This looks like the easiest and most economical solution to 1TB of storage for around $300., including cable. Nice looking, small footprint, good reviews. One reviewer said he hooked it up to the HR-20 and said the drive inside is a Western Digital Caviar 1TB Drive.

Has anyone else had experience with this solution? Anyone set it up successfully with the HR-21-700? Does this enclosure have a cooling fan? Is it quiet?

[sailermon]

I just did some more research on the CAVALRY 1 TB (Single Disk) Dual Interface (USB 2.0 & eSATA) External Hard Drive - CAXE3701T0 and I found out that it does have the new WD Caviar GP (WD10EACS-SE16) variable speed, 1TB drive in it. So if anyone is looking for a plug and play solution like the 1TB WD My Book (which we know doesn't work), this is one that looks mighty good to me at approximately the same price.

Has anyone used one of these with the HR21-700? Feedback please!

[leesweet]

I can't tell from the specs if this Cavalry unit with two 1TB drives would yield the the correct 2.0 TB presentation to a HR2x (if we used RAID 0). Any comments or suggestions?

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=206461304&adid=17070&dcaid=17070

[Joe6269]

I just got my HDDVR21-700 set up a month or so ago and would like to upgrade the recording capacity. Thanks for all the information regarding external drives that will work, but I was wondering if there is a thread that goes into more detail about setting it up? Is it as simple as plugging the thing in to the port on the back of the DVR? I have a limited knowledge of all things related to A/V and was hoping this project would be fairly dummy proof.

Any help is appreacited.

[dminches]

Basically, you need to have the external drive hooked up to the HR21-700 via the eSATA connection when the HR21-700 restarts. I would recommend having a recording on your playlist for the internal drive so you can tell if the system has rebooted to the external drive (since there should be no recordings on its playlist).

[DFDureiko]

I've had a LaCie TwoBig 1TB drive connected since about last february. of course it runs around the clock. in the last two days, pre recorded programs freeze, I seem to hear the HD spinning back up, then video resumes.........is it perhaps fragmented? I erased about 85 percent of stored programs but it's still doing it. should I reformat it?
also noted when this is happing the blue power light on the HR20 goes out momentarily. could this be a control problem with the HR20??
will using the menu and completely "resetting system" wipe it?
had no problems up until now

[Joe6269]

Thanks DMinches,

Any other interesting stuff before I take the plunge? Stuff I should know prior to doing all this? Any help is appreciated.

Joe6269