DP: Will this drive work?

[DicknVal]

The hard drive (a 20 gig Maxtor) in our DISHPlayer is starting to get loud so we put a new one in today. When we powered the DP back up it connected to MSN TV and did the 62 part download just fine. When it was done, we selected Power Off. The green light blinked for a while, the TV screen flashed blue, the green light blinked for a while, the TV screen flashed blue - over and over again. Pulling the smart card made no difference - it just kept blinking and flashing. Pulling the plug didn’t help either. We can hear the HDD running and the DP is connected directly to 119 - no switch. We put the old drive back in and everything’s fine again.

The new drive is a Seagate ST340810A, 40 gig. Does anybody know if this drive just won’t work with the DP or is there something else we’re missing? We have until Thursday to take it back. We didn’t have any problem when we originally installed the Maxtor a couple of years ago.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Dick and Val

[TopCat99]

How long did you leave it unplugged? Might not hurt to leave it sit for 15 minutes or so. Not sure if that applies to the DPs, but Dish Tech Support has told me to do that with the 501.

[cnsf]

The Seagate itself might be the issue. The WDs seem to work much better.

Did you try the Ben Reser site for the compatibility chart?

[TopCat99]

cnsf: can we have a URL? I'd like to see that too :)

[cnsf]

Here ya go....

http://ben.reser.org/dishplayer/

[TopCat99]

Thanks :D

[Loose Cannon]

DicknVal,

I am having the EXACT same problem with my DP 7200. However, the problem is occurring with the original 17gb disk. Someone on this forum has got to know how to fix this.

[DicknVal]

We had the on-and-off problem too, a couple of weeks ago before we tried putting the Seagate in. The only difference was that the TV screen flashed pink instead of blue and that time a couple of smart card pulls fixed it. Since it happened as soon as we turned on the DP in the morning we figured it was just another of the software "drive-by shootings" that MSN TV seems to like to send along with the nightly EPG download (they do that with WebTV Plus units, too, although they vehemently deny it).

We took the Seagate back to CompuCare and ordered a Maxtor from CompUSA over the internet (the local store is out of them - that's how we wound up the the Seagate in the first place).

I think we'll just sit on this one for a while since the old one is still working and it's possible that the problem is with something that came down with the 63-part MSN TV download. I think that next time, when it's done with the download I'll try connecting to MSN TV instead of powering off. Maybe then I can get to "TV Home."

It could also be possible that the Seagate already had data on it. CompuCare opens the packages "to put our own label on the drive" so there's no guarantee that you're getting a virgin drive.

Time will tell.

Dick and Val

[David_Levin]

DicknVal,

Hope you ordered the correct Maxtor - some have been confirmed NOT to work (been covered many times all ready).

With the bad Maxtors, the DP never takes the download at all. You're Seagate took the download then got stuck. Perhaps a problems with the download.

I probably would have tried zeroing out the drive in a PC and repeating the download.

While in the PC it's always good to run the manufactures diagnostics.

[DicknVal]

David

The one we ordered is a Maxtor K01H040G, which I think is OK. If it doesn't work, I'll just save it for later use in a PC. I thought about zeroing out the Seagate but I don't have the software to do it (unless it's hiding somewhere in XP) and frankly, I just didn't want to bother with it. We didn't really want the Seagate in the first place but figured it wouldn't hurt to try it.

Thanks,
Dick and Val

[David_Levin]

Software to zero out (and test) the drive should be floating around on the Seagate web site.

good luck !!!

[llennhoff]

Is the DiamondMax D540X-4K (as described at http://www.maxtor.com/en/products/ata/desktop/diamondmax_d540x-4k/features.htm ) compatible with the Dishplayer?

I'm interested in the quiet drive aspect, as currently the 3AM download awakens my cats, who awken my wife.

Thanks in advance,

Larry

[Bob Haller]

Western digital has ONLY a one year warranty. Maxtyor 3 years. I know my WD failed at 13 months.

MAXTOR for me!!!

[cnsf]

WDs seem to do better in the DPs. Be careful. Try to keep it 5400 RPM and below for heat reasons. Try to keep it 80GB or below for compatibility reasons. The quiet mode may affect performance and doesn't really make a difference to be honest.

[David_Levin]

Originally posted by llennhoff
Is the DiamondMax D540X-4K (as described at http://www.maxtor.com/en/products/ata/desktop/diamondmax_d540x-4k/features.htm ) compatible with the Dishplayer?

I'm interested in the quiet drive aspect, as currently the 3AM download awakens my cats, who awken my wife.

Thanks in advance,

Larry

The 540X is NOT compatible. There are also a few other Maxtor's with similar 3 digit numbers that are not compatible.

You don't need to stay below 80 gig. I haven't seen any reports of compatibility issues relating to drive size up to 137 gig (an IDE addressing limit).

[cnsf]

Originally posted by David_Levin


The 540X is NOT compatible. There are also a few other Maxtor's with similar 3 digit numbers that are not compatible.

You don't need to stay below 80 gig. I haven't seen any reports of compatibility issues relating to drive size up to 137 gig (an IDE addressing limit).

The reason for staying below 80GB is for performance. Even when using the 40GB, you will see a DP performance decrease. It's just a matter of getting to different spots on the platters. The DP should accept up to the 120GB HDs, but be prepared for slow response.

[Unregistered1]

You can avoid the download (and other potential problems) by copying your old drive to the new one and using the Dishplayer drive upgrade program. Search the Yahoo groups for dishplayer to find the program.

[Loose Cannon]

Just upgarded with a 30gb Maxtor from Staples (cost after rebates = $30). Awesome.