# 921 HDD - QuickView vs. DiamondMax



## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Upon looking at the pics [thread=38204]in this thread[/thread], specifically this one, I noticed that keitheva has a Maxtor DiamondMax HDD.

I have one blurry pic from an early 921 adopter and the model label sure seems to be a shorter word ("QuickView"?). I haven't been able to find any decent pics of a 'bare' QuickView to confirm this.

Anyway, I've been meaning to open my 921 to blow out the dust, so this was the time. Sure enough, I've got a DiamondMax, too.

The performance specs are considerably different between the two HDD families. Specifically, the QuickView drive has different microcode that is optimized for streaming at the expense of data integrity.

If some 921s have DiamondMax while others have QuickView, it could explain some differences in behavior.

If anyone else has opened their 921 - or is willing to, it would be good to get HDD model info from other users.

*Unplug it first, use AT LEAST the same caution as a PC, and do NOT do it if you have not gone under the covers of a regular PC or are uncomfortable doing so. I am NOT responsible if you touch something bad - like the open and unprotected power supply!*


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Maxtor DiamondMax 16 250 GB ATA/133 HDD 4A250J00802P1


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Bump.

I should've made this a poll. Maybe a mod can help me out. 
Question: "What type of hard drive is in your 921?"
Three answers: "DiamondMax", "Quickview", "Other - please post make & model"


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

I've added the poll, but by doing so am in no way encouraging users to open their 921s to take a look. If you do so, you do it at your own risk. If you break something, or break yourself, DBSTalk and it's staff is in no way responsible for your actions. Do so only at your own risk.


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## dfergie (Feb 28, 2003)

Mark Lamutt said:


> I've added the poll, but by doing so am in no way encouraging users to open their 921s to take a look. If you do so, you do it at your own risk. If you break something, or break yourself, DBSTalk and it's staff is in no way responsible for your actions. Do so only at your own risk.


 Not gonna open mine, got in Nov... mebe next Nov... Btw the Replay boxes come with Maxtor Fireball 3's (at least 2 of mine did...)


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## ntexasdude (Jan 23, 2005)

Having been inside and built dozens of PC's I'm not afraid to open it. My question is will it void the warranty? SimpleSimon makes a good point about the dust. Since the fans run all the time it's got to get really dirty inside like any PC.

If it won't void the warranyt I'll open it up and post the results.

Robert


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## ntexasdude (Jan 23, 2005)

Well, does anybody know if it will void the warranty?  

Robert


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

SImpleSimon:

You should go to the website weakknees.com and take a look - read on Michael's thoughts of the two drives for DVR performance. I'm not sure what drive my 921 has but I have upgraded all my new HDTIVO drives with the Quickview. They seem to be very reliable ( I have two paired sets of Quickview 300G drives) but I would not go as far as giving a testimonial that they perform better than the original HDTIVO drive which was a Western Digital 250G. That drive still works fine and I have swapped it out several times to watch some archived movies. It takes about 4 minutes to reboot after the swap, the same as the quick view paird drives.


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

Robert - if you make any modifications to the inside of your 921, your warrenty will be voided.


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## ntexasdude (Jan 23, 2005)

Thanks Mark


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## LASooner (Jan 24, 2005)

Most computers will tell you what kind of drive is in your machine on bootup, I wonder if there is some sort of diagnostic data that will indicate which you may have without opening up the box


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Mark Lamutt said:


> I've added the poll, ...


Thanks, Mark - but the drives are QuickView/DiamondMax, not Quickmax/Diamondview.


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

:blush: fixing now...


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Thanks, Mark!


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