# DirecTV Genie HR54 External Drive



## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

I have had an HR44 and now an HR54 Genie in my home. I have attempted to install an external hard drive to each of them without success. The unit will recognize the drive, even format it, but the system slows to a crawl for any action (change channel/ MENU/ GUIDE/ LIST etc) and then has constant FREEZES that last from 1 sec to 1 minute.

I have tried the following enclosures ...

1) http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-ProRaid-HUR3-SU3S3-Drive-Enclosure/dp/B00KCEAXJW?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

2) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1151007-REG/cineraid_cr_h458_usb_3_0_esata.html

3) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182316

I have attempted to connect these in RAID 0/1/5/10 all with the same results. #3 is a single drive enclosure which I have read on this site is working for someone on the HR54, but it is doing the same crawl/freeze as the RAID enclosures on my unit.

I recently connected it, and then reset the entire unit to factory defaults, but to no avail ... same results.

I have to be doing something fundamentally wrong. Not sure what it is. I have formatted the drives before installing them into the enclosure (exFAT on a MAC using Disk Utility) and the HR44/ HR54 sees them and "Formats External Drive"

The drive is active ... I can record to it. But as an example it will take a minute or two before the recording begins. If I then stop the recording it will take a couple of minutes before it stops and deletes the file. Meanwhile I cannot change the channel on the set or bring up the guide etc.

Any suggestions?
Thanks
Joe


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

You don't need to format the external drive. The DVR will take care of that.

Be sure to give it a couple of days to "settle down" after connecting/initializing the external drive. Lots of background task can make things seem slow for a while.


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

Thanks for the reply. Do you think it normal that it feels un-usable for a few days? I cannot even change channels in less than a minute or so.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

JK, you're miss recent lengthily discussion of the "logic" - it's normal for setup DVR (or like in your, change HDD, regardless if it internal or external).
I'm sure it's not normal, but many procured it is  so be in same boat as DTV


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

Using a RAID just sounds weird to me, i dont know if having a RAID setup will cause this but i would start there first. Try a standard hard drive without RAID, recommend WB My Passport 1TB


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> Using a RAID just sounds weird to me, i dont know if having a RAID setup will cause this but i would start there first. Try a standard hard drive without RAID, recommend WB My Passport 1TB


I have tried a non-RAID enclosure (#3 in my list) ... but as soon as I connect any external drive (the RAID enclosures act exactly the same as the single drive enclosure) the same things happen and the system freezes etc. Bottom line is it does not seem to be a RAID vs non-RAID, it seems that no external drive works properly. I was getting the same issues on the HR44 receiver as well.

I have not had the patience to let it sit in the system for a day or two as it really prevents us from watching TV at all as you cannot really even bring up the Guide and Page up and down to search for programs to watch - it is that S-L-O-W.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

The HR54 has serious problems with RAID. I had 1 RAID1 setup working but that took me a lot of trial and error. I wound up just putting a 6TB drive inside my HR54.

As far as performance it shouldn't take a hit like you're explaining, not even within the first 24 hours. There's no "settle" time when adding an external drive. If anything adding a new drive should improve performance because there are no recordings to index, and so on.

My guess is that in the case of your single drive setup the HR54 just doesn't like that enclosure.


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

Does the HDD have usb 2.0 or 3.0? Just suggestions to look at and try......the joys of troubleshooting.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> Does the HDD have usb 2.0 or 3.0? Just suggestions to look at and try......the joys of troubleshooting.


USB doesn't work for external drives on any HR series. As a Tech you should know that.


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

Techs don't support external HDD that people hook up to their box. Same thing with sound system.

Tech only support DTV hardware and system.

I don't know much about hooking up external HDD, just thought I could help troubleshoot and in return I get some smart-ass remark....


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

RunnerFL said:


> My guess is that in the case of your single drive setup the HR54 just doesn't like that enclosure.


I had read on here that the last drive in my list was working for someone. Is it that variable from unit to unit?

How do you open up the HR54? Do you have to break the tabs on the plastic cover?


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

never open a HR54, only a HR24 that was owned.

you will have to break the void sticker, do you lease the receiver? The HR24 case just pops right off....no screws. You probably will just need a flat head and work it around the case and the base.


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

Thanks DTV_Tech ...

I do not own the HR54 but do own the HR24. I think I will put in a 1 or 2TB drive.

I assume when I take out the existing drive I can copy everything onto the new drive before installing and retain all current series info and recordings?


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

Kinda, you won't be able to transfer the data by plugging it into a computer You will have to a sector by sector copy of the hdd...


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> Kinda, you won't be able to transfer the data by plugging it into a computer You will have to a sector by sector copy of the hdd...


You might want to check your six o'clock.

Changing hard drives isn't anywhere as simple as you're suggesting if they're different sizes AND you want to save the recordings.

Please only post suggestions you HAVE ACTUALLY DONE with success.

Swapping a drive and having the DVR reformat the new drive is "easy".


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

veryoldschool said:


> You might want to check your six o'clock.
> 
> Changing hard drives isn't anywhere as simple as you're suggesting if they're different sizes AND you want to save the recordings.
> 
> ...


yeah its best you get the exact same HDD. You can PM if you like...i can guide you through step by step on doing the copy.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> yeah its best you get the exact same HDD. You can PM if you like...i can guide you through step by step on doing the copy.


I think you must take one major point to YOUR account/memory: you came to the site six (or more) year LATE and missed a LOT of real facts/info (particularly "how-to-copy-DVR-HDD").

So, take a deep breath, hold your posting, spend some time for research/search/reading here.


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

P Smith said:


> I think you must take one major point to YOUR account/memory: you came to the site six (or more) year LATE and missed a LOT of real facts/info (particularly "how-to-copy-DVR-HDD").
> 
> So, take a deep breath, hold your posting, spend some time for research/search/reading here


What you talking about? Its not rocket science to clone a HDD, I've done DOJ backups for the government and forensics backups for litigations.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

oooh, sure - you are THE expert !!!

Please take my advice - start learning new things HERE !

[You got demonstrated enough misconceptions catches by members here]


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

unlike some people around here....I already admitted i dont know everything. It even in my signature for the love of GOD. please stop being bitter.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> unlike some people around here....I already admitted i dont know everything. It even in my signature for the love of GOD. please stop being bitter.


Remember what my last PM said.

Now if you want to get an idea of what is entailed: http://www.dbstalk.com/topic/140114-how-to-copy-and-replace-internal-hard-drive/?p=1883356


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

JKPhoto said:


> I had read on here that the last drive in my list was working for someone. Is it that variable from unit to unit?
> 
> How do you open up the HR54? Do you have to break the tabs on the plastic cover?


Was that an HR54 they had the same enclosure working on? I've found the HR54 to be a completely different animal when it comes to eSATA.

As far as opening the HR54 there are 5 clips that you have to disengage on the bottom. When you're looking at the bottom it's pretty obvious where 4 of them are and after you get those disengaged the 5th is pretty easy to find. Standard disclaimer though... If it is leased, not owned, you shouldn't be opening it.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> Kinda, you won't be able to transfer the data by plugging it into a computer You will have to a sector by sector copy of the hdd...


Not true at all... You really should read some of the posts on transferring recordings to a new hard drive. In fact you HAVE to plug it into a computer and a sector by sector copy means you won't get the full size of the new drive.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> What you talking about? Its not rocket science to clone a HDD, I've done DOJ backups for the government and forensics backups for litigations.


But that's the point, you don't want to clone it if you're getting a bigger drive! He clearly stated he wanted to get a 1 or 2TB drive. If he clones his 500G drive to a 1 or 2TB drive he still only winds up with 500G of usable space.

You'd be best to take everyone's advice and do some reading of your own around here.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> unlike some people around here....I already admitted i dont know everything. It even in my signature for the love of GOD. please stop being bitter.


Admitting you don't know everything is one thing, giving out bad information is something completely different.


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

I believe I did say that it would be best to exact HDD as the receiver, I never said he has to have the exact drive. When I said kinda I was indicating that he wouldn't be able to transfer movie by movie. Feel like you all are misinterpreting on purpose just to talk.

Also there are other programs beside gparted that work better, have more functionality, and easy to use GUI.

Hope you all are having fun...lol


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> I believe I did say that it would be best to exact HDD as the receiver, I never said he has to have the exact drive. When I said kinda I was indicating that he wouldn't be able to transfer movie by movie. Feel like you all are misinterpreting on purpose just to talk.
> 
> *Also there are other programs beside gparted that work better, have more functionality, and easy to use GUI.*
> 
> Hope you all are having fun...lol


you are have really thick skin 
don't want to learn, don't want to read, don't want to understand the subject and TS original question (use BIGGER drive!)

for your last misunderstanding: GPartEd is not copy the content ! It's XFSdump/restore pair ! Also, there is way to use XFS utility to do selective copy. But it wouldn't be taken by you, I'm sure


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> I believe I did say that it would be best to exact HDD as the receiver, I never said he has to have the exact drive. When I said kinda I was indicating that he wouldn't be able to transfer movie by movie. Feel like you all are misinterpreting on purpose just to talk.
> 
> Also there are other programs beside gparted that work better, have more functionality, and easy to use GUI.
> 
> Hope you all are having fun...lol


Yes, you did say that. You said "yeah its best you get the exact same HDD". I'll, again, point out that he stated he wanted to use a BIGGER drive so your advice of using the "exact same HDD" doesn't apply to his purpose.


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

RunnerFL said:


> Was that an HR54 they had the same enclosure working on? I've found the HR54 to be a completely different animal when it comes to eSATA.


I have tried to find the post, but, yes it was the HR54 and I wrote down the drive when I read it as I had already tried the two RAID enclosures and could not get them to work. So when I read the post about the HR54 and the Rosewill enclosure, I ordered one immediately. I used the 2TB drive in it which has to be better than the 1tb that comes in the HR54 (it is HITACHI Enterprise 7200RPM).

Was the enclosure you got to work the SANS DIGITAL?

I tried having a discussion with DTV tech support. They did not pooh-pooh the external HD but they really could not suggest how to get one to work.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

JKPhoto said:


> I have tried to find the post, but, yes it was the HR54 and I wrote down the drive when I read it as I had already tried the two RAID enclosures and could not get them to work. So when I read the post about the HR54 and the Rosewill enclosure, I ordered one immediately. I used the 2TB drive in it which has to be better than the 1tb that comes in the HR54 (it is HITACHI Enterprise 7200RPM).
> 
> Was the enclosure you got to work the SANS DIGITAL?
> 
> I tried having a discussion with DTV tech support. They did not pooh-pooh the external HD but they really could not suggest how to get one to work.


Yes, I got one of my 2 drive Sans Digital enclosures to work in a RAID1 configuration with 2 3TB drives for testing.


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

RunnerFL said:


> Yes, I got one of my 2 drive Sans Digital enclosures to work in a RAID1 configuration with 2 3TB drives for testing.


When it was not working ... did you experience the same slow/lethargic/freezing issues?

What was it that solved the problem(s) and allowed it to work?

I notice though that you also mentioned that you are not using this any longer and have now installed a larger 6TB drive internally. Do you mind me asking why?


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

JKPhoto said:


> When it was not working ... did you experience the same slow/lethargic/freezing issues?
> 
> What was it that solved the problem(s) and allowed it to work?
> 
> I notice though that you also mentioned that you are not using this any longer and have now installed a larger 6TB drive internally. Do you mind me asking why?


No, if any of the enclosures I tried didn't work the drives weren't seen at all. Just going with that enclosure is what made it work for me. No other enclosure or RAID config that I tried would work.

I went to internal to save some electricity. Where I live the power company has gone to outrageous rates, 40+% higher than the power company "next door", so I've been doing everything I can to lower my power consumption. The external enclosures were a power draw I could live without.


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

RunnerFL said:


> No, if any of the enclosures I tried didn't work the drives weren't seen at all. Just going with that enclosure is what made it work for me. No other enclosure or RAID config that I tried would work.


Thanks for the fast response. So to confirm .... is this the enclosure that worked for you with the HR54?

http://www.amazon.com/Sans-Digital-MR2UT-MobileRAID-Enclosure/dp/B007QQ458E?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_4&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Do you think this one would work as well? (I was thinking of using it in RAID 10 to pick up speed and have backup) I know it says RAID 5 in the description but it does 0/1/5/10/CLONE)
http://www.amazon.com/DIGITAL-TR4UTBPN-eSATA-Hardware-Enclosure/dp/B005JOZC0A?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_3&smid=A346RFEUAYAD0Q


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

JKPhoto said:


> Thanks for the fast response. So to confirm .... is this the enclosure that worked for you with the HR54?
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Sans-Digital-MR2UT-MobileRAID-Enclosure/dp/B007QQ458E?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_4&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
> 
> ...


RAID10 definitely will not work. I also tried RAID5 and that will not work. I was only about to get RAID1 to work, 0 wouldn't even work, with the sans digital you provided a link to.


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

RunnerFL said:


> RAID10 definitely will not work. I also tried RAID5 and that will not work. I was only about to get RAID1 to work, 0 wouldn't even work, with the sans digital you provided a link to.


Thanks Runner. I have ordered the 2-Bay Sans Digital. Will advise if it acts the same way for my HR54.

Be well.


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

Anyone have experience using a SSD? if so, is there any performance benefits


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

P Smith said:


> you are have really thick skin
> don't want to learn, don't want to read, don't want to understand the subject and TS original question (use BIGGER drive!)
> 
> for your last misunderstanding: GPartEd is not copy the content ! It's XFSdump/restore pair ! Also, there is way to use XFS utility to do selective copy. But it wouldn't be taken by you, I'm sure


You can make clones with gparted. You dont even know what your doing your just coping & pasting into the console.

xfs utility has the option to do selective copy...but in this case you cant because the HDD is encrypted.

i did look at the process and its kinda incomplete, you should always do a integrity check.


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

You can also do it without hooking up both HDD. You can just hook up the receiver HDD, make the clone. Switch out the receiver drive with the new one and load the clone. (not with your process since your just coping & pasting)

a plus to this that you will have a clone that you can save for later use if your HDD crashes you can load that clone up to a new drive and still have everything from when you made the clone.

Maybe i should just do my own write up....


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> Anyone have experience using a SSD? if so, is there any performance benefits


SSD drive would offer no benefits in a DVR application. And too expensive.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> .....
> 
> Maybe i should just do my own write up....


Isn't there already a thread that describes how to do this?

Oh yeah, veryoldschool linked to it earlier in this thread ....
http://www.dbstalk.com/topic/140114-how-to-copy-and-replace-internal-hard-drive/?p=1883356


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## DIRECTV_Tech (Apr 8, 2016)

I know but it doesn't gives you options to keep the clone, there is updated software with easier to use GUI (graphic user interface).

And to make the trolls happy.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Nobody holding your hands to share your _knowledge_; go ahead - add to existing thread(s) new tidbits as many members did before your escapade or open your own glory thread, duh !


Spoiler



[were you have been when I did initial research of copy/expand storage space for the DVR's, starting from HR20 ?]





> xfs utility has the option to do selective copy...but in this case you cant because the HDD is encrypted.


FYI: metadata what allow you make a selection of particular shows/events does not _encrypted_ - go ahead, write a program like "DVR+ Lister" what pachinko wrote for OTA DVR+ !


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> Anyone have experience using a SSD? if so, is there any performance benefits


Absolutely zero benefits. There's also the fact that SSD drives have finite read/writes.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> You can make clones with gparted. You dont even know what your doing your just coping & pasting into the console.
> 
> xfs utility has the option to do selective copy...but in this case you cant because the HDD is encrypted.
> 
> i did look at the process and its kinda incomplete, you should always do a integrity check.


The process is not "incomplete" and has worked for years. The HDD is not encrypted, the recordings are.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> You can also do it without hooking up both HDD. You can just hook up the receiver HDD, make the clone. Switch out the receiver drive with the new one and load the clone. (not with your process since your just coping & pasting)
> 
> a plus to this that you will have a clone that you can save for later use if your HDD crashes you can load that clone up to a new drive and still have everything from when you made the clone.
> 
> Maybe i should just do my own write up....


What process are you reading that is doing a copy/paste? There's no copy/paste involved, or even a GUI.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

DIRECTV_Tech said:


> I know but it doesn't gives you options to keep the clone, there is updated software with easier to use GUI (graphic user interface).
> 
> And to make the trolls happy.


You don't need to "keep the clone", you'll still have the original. It's not like you're backing up data to store offsite. You're simply coping the drive to a bigger drive. And again, if you "clone" you're not using the full space of the new bigger drive.


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

RunnerFL said:


> You don't need to "keep the clone", you'll still have the original. It's not like you're backing up data to store offsite. You're simply coping the drive to a bigger drive. And again, if you "clone" you're not using the full space of the new bigger drive.


So lets say I end up using a 2TB HD in an external enclosure. If I now decide I want to put in a 4TB drive, is it as simple as connecting the drive to a computer and copying everything over to the larger HD and then installing the larger HD in the previous enclosure?


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

JKPhoto said:


> So lets say I end up using a 2TB HD in an external enclosure. If I now decide I want to put in a 4TB drive, is it as simple as connecting the drive to a computer and copying everything over to the larger HD and then installing the larger HD in the previous enclosure?


Yes, and no. It's not just "hook up the drives and copy" but with just a few steps you can transfer the contents of your 2TB drive to your new 4TB drive and be using all 4TB. If you just "cloned", as has been suggested on here, you'd only get 2TB out of your 4TB drive.

You can read up on it here:
http://www.dbstalk.com/topic/158213-removing-replacing-copying-hard-drive-of-hr2-receiver-photo-tutorial/page-1?hl=+xfsdump


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## Bill Broderick (Aug 25, 2006)

JKPhoto, Have your drive/enclosure combos on a computer as a hard drive to see if you experience the same problems as you are experiencing connected to your Genie? I see that you've swapped out enclosures, but nothing about the hard drive. I'm wondering if there is something with the drive and you're so focused on the enclosures as being the likely point of failure that you may not have tested other possibilities.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Bill Broderick said:


> JKPhoto, Have your drive/enclosure combos on a computer as a hard drive to see if you experience the same problems as you are experiencing connected to your Genie? I see that you've swapped out enclosures, but nothing about the hard drive. I'm wondering if there is something with the drive and you're so focused on the enclosures as being the likely point of failure that you may not have tested other possibilities.


When it comes to the HR54 the enclosures are the issue. It's a very picky animal.


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## Bill Broderick (Aug 25, 2006)

RunnerFL said:


> When it comes to the HR54 the enclosures are the issue. It's a very picky animal.


Yes. But in his initial post, he wrote that he had the same issue with his HR44.


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

Bill Broderick said:


> JKPhoto, Have your drive/enclosure combos on a computer as a hard drive to see if you experience the same problems as you are experiencing connected to your Genie? I see that you've swapped out enclosures, but nothing about the hard drive. I'm wondering if there is something with the drive and you're so focused on the enclosures as being the likely point of failure that you may not have tested other possibilities.


I have connected them to my MAC and there is no problem seeing them, formatting them, or copying to them.

When I put them back on the HR54, I experience the problems I have listed .... slow/lethargic/freezeups. I tried one of the enclosures (#1 from my OP) on the HR44 and all three of them on the HR54.


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## johnnytex (Jul 20, 2007)

JKPhoto said:


> Thanks for the fast response. So to confirm .... is this the enclosure that worked for you with the HR54?
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Sans-Digital-MR2UT-MobileRAID-Enclosure/dp/B007QQ458E?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_4&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
> 
> ...


Dd you have luck getting this enclosure to work?

I did not on my HR54-700. All worked great on my HR44.


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

johnnytex said:


> Dd you have luck getting this enclosure to work?
> 
> I did not on my HR54-700. All worked great on my HR44.


Hello Tex ...
I am on a business trip and will get back on Tuesday .... the unit was ordered and just arrived at the house today.
BTW .... I have an HR54-500
Joe


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

I am back from the business trip and ran home lunchtime to try the enclosure that was waiting for me ...

I hooked it up and immediately the HR54 acted normal ... the guide came instantly up .... the Playlist came instantly up .... no "settling time" as some have suggested. All looks completely normal after 10-15 minutes before I headed back to work.

To summarize ... this was the HR54 and the Sans Digital 2-Bay enclosure in RAID 1 ...
this is the enclosure worked for me ... http://www.amazon.co...d=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Thanks for the help!!


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

You're welcome, glad it worked out for you.


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## JKPhoto (Apr 9, 2016)

Just an update ... have now had the unit working a couple of days and ZERO problems ... it might be possible that the response to "page down" commands etc are even faster than the internal drive - but that is just an impression and not a statement of fact.

I tried recording five programs at once and no problems. Thanks again RunnerFL!!


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

JKPhoto said:


> Just an update ... have now had the unit working a couple of days and ZERO problems ... it might be possible that the response to "page down" commands etc are even faster than the internal drive - but that is just an impression and not a statement of fact.
> 
> I tried recording five programs at once and no problems. Thanks again RunnerFL!!


You're welcome.


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## John Silver (Feb 5, 2005)

My HR44/500 hard drive crashed last night after I deleted a show. Error 23-156. It contained almost two years worth of series and my wife isn't letting me hear the end of it. I have an HR54 coming today. Will this RAID record to both drives simultaneously? And if one fails, will the other work independently, allowing me to watch my shows? After I replace the failed drive, will it copy the existing good drive's contents to the new drive (catching back up)? Also, what hard drives did you use? Thank you!


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

John Silver said:


> My HR44/500 hard drive crashed last night after I deleted a show. Error 23-156. It contained almost two years worth of series and my wife isn't letting me hear the end of it. I have an HR54 coming today. Will this RAID record to both drives simultaneously? And if one fails, will the other work independently, allowing me to watch my shows? After I replace the failed drive, will it copy the existing good drive's contents to the new drive (catching back up)? Also, what hard drives did you use? Thank you!


If you set it up as RAID1, yes. One drive can die and you won't lose a thing and when you replace that drive the RAID array will rebuild. I use Segate Constellation drives.


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

RunnerFL said:


> The HR54 has serious problems with RAID. I had 1 RAID1 setup working but that took me a lot of trial and error. I wound up just putting a 6TB drive inside my HR54.
> 
> As far as performance it shouldn't take a hit like you're explaining, not even within the first 24 hours. There's no "settle" time when adding an external drive. If anything adding a new drive should improve performance because there are no recordings to index, and so on.
> 
> My guess is that in the case of your single drive setup the HR54 just doesn't like that enclosure.


If I replace the internal drive, can anyone offer their recommendations for the most reliable 4tb drive at a low price point, thanks.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

I'd buy this: https://www.amazon.com/Purple-4TB-S...=1547934988&sprefix=wd+4tb+sur,aps,653&sr=8-3

Rich


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

Rich said:


> I'd buy this: https://www.amazon.com/Purple-4TB-Surveillance-Hard-Drive/dp/B071KVB4F8/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1WW748EIODWUV&keywords=wd+4tb+surveillance+hard+drive&qid=1547934988&sprefix=wd+4tb+sur,aps,653&sr=8-3
> 
> Rich


Thanks, any truth to what I've read in reviews that the Red version of that drive is preferred for dvr's because it is more efficient at archiving?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

The major point of HDD in DVR is reliability, not archiving. So Purple is your friend


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

GordonGekko said:


> Thanks, any truth to what I've read in reviews that the Red version of that drive is preferred for dvr's because it is more efficient at archiving?


I have a Red Caviar in my 44. I have an SSD on my 44 because of the Red Caviar. Does that answer your question? The Surveillance HDD I linked to is made to be used with DVRs.

BTW, you would be better served with a 2TB SSD in/on your Genie. From what I've seen the SSDs handle capacity a lot better than the HDDs, you could probably fill a 2TB SSD and not have issues. I almost filled my 44 once and I had the same problems I've always seen on 24s with an almost full HDD. Happened only once but it happened.

Rich


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

P Smith said:


> The major point of HDD in DVR is reliability, not archiving. So Purple is your friend


Thank you, looks like the purple WD drive is the way to go. And thanks to Rich as well.


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## Skypalace (Nov 12, 2006)

The Purple will also not be an SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) drive. Any drive you get, make darn sure it's not SMR. A giveaway is super cheap price per TB. They're sometimes called 'Archive drives'.

You don't want an SMR drive for a use like DirecTV where it's constantly recording. SMR drives are cheaper per GB, and are what are used in the cheap external backup drives, but lots of internal rewriting is required when doing writes to a previously written location (which is happening basically 100% of the time in surveillance or DVR uses). A little like the problems SSD's have where constant writing plays havoc with their internal rewriting logic that needs quiescence (quiet periods) to work.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Skypalace said:


> The Purple will also not be an SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) drive. Any drive you get, make darn sure it's not SMR. A giveaway is super cheap price per TB. They're sometimes called 'Archive drives'.
> 
> You don't want an SMR drive for a use like DirecTV where it's constantly recording. SMR drives are cheaper per GB, and are what are used in the cheap external backup drives, but lots of internal rewriting is required when doing writes to a previously written location (which is happening basically 100% of the time in surveillance or DVR uses). A little like the problems SSD's have where constant writing plays havoc with their internal rewriting logic that needs quiescence (quiet periods) to work.


How do you tell if an HDD is an SMR drive? Do you know if the WD Green and Blue drives are SMR drives?

Rich


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## Skypalace (Nov 12, 2006)

Rich said:


> How do you tell if an HDD is an SMR drive? Do you know if the WD Green and Blue drives are SMR drives?
> 
> Rich


Not sure, red and purple are physically the same but purple firmware optimized for multiple streaming simultaneous writes (read DVR scenario exactly).

Hard to find details, in a quick search on WD site WD talks about 'highest possible aerial density' on their Blue drives so that sounds like code for SMR.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Skypalace said:


> Not sure, red and purple are physically the same but purple firmware optimized for multiple streaming simultaneous writes (read DVR scenario exactly).
> 
> Hard to find details, in a quick search on WD site WD talks about 'highest possible aerial density' on their Blue drives so that sounds like code for SMR.


So the assumption the Purple drives we've been recommending are better for DVRs is valid? How about the speeds of the drives? The Seagate drives I used to use were 7200RPM drives and they were awfully noisy. I switched to the slower WD drives and that did away with the noise but I'm thinking the WD Blue/Green drives are a problem too.

Rich


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## Skypalace (Nov 12, 2006)

Yes, they should be perfect, perhaps a little overkill, you can read more here https://www.seagate.com/files/www-c...ct-smart-safe-solution-cb4-tp694-1-1701us.pdf
which is still marketing material

but WAY better than anything that might be an SMR drive. I don't know what speed they are, it doesn't matter. 5400 or 5900 or 7200 will slightly increase overall throughput rate, and slightly reduce average random seek time, but for streaming situations, you're not limited there, it's the 24x7 write and write-heavy workload, and the WD Purple firmware is exactly designed for those situations.

They're now being marketed as surveillenace drives, but the internal drives in most DVRs are actually similar. I designed a very very large scale storage system (now exabyte scale) that used very large streaming reads and writes, and I wanted cheap drives (I'd spend extra $ on more of them, to increase ALL of storage, throughput, and aggregate I/O time), and ended up with consumer DVR drives, that supported those exact characteristics. Made the drive vendors unhappy as they wanted me to buy their enterprise-grade drives (read $$$) not super-cheap consumer grade drives that are built by the millions. They're super reliable also, esp for their price, since cable and sat companies need to do a truck roll if there's a failure even in multi-year use.


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## Skypalace (Nov 12, 2006)

Note that Seagate has a Surveillance line also, Tom's Hardware likes them, they might be even a little better under super high read/write stress, which these won't really be, so the lower power consumption of the Purple is probably a win. Either would be a great fit and certainly better than standard drives for 24/7 streaming write-heavy workloads.

High-Capacity Hard Drives Built With Surveillance In Mind - Surveillance Hard Drive Shoot-Out: WD And Seagate Square Off


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Skypalace said:


> I designed a very very large scale storage system (now exabyte scale) that used very large streaming reads and writes


Is it for video production ? for movie studio tracks?


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

P Smith said:


> Is it for video production ? for movie studio tracks?


Amazon Fire DVR:Fire TV Recast Teardown Guide - A look inside Amazon's over-the-air DVR

They use Western Digital, anyone know exactly which WD?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

GordonGekko said:


> They use Western Digital, anyone know* exactly which WD*?


Reading the article you can see good picture of the HDD with clearly readable white label...


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

GordonGekko said:


> Amazon Fire DVR:Fire TV Recast Teardown Guide - A look inside Amazon's over-the-air DVR
> 
> They use Western Digital, anyone know exactly which WD?


This is it: https://www.amazon.com/WD-AV-25-TB-...=UTF8&qid=1550856307&sr=8-1&keywords=wd10juct

Rich


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

P Smith said:


> Reading the article you can see good picture of the HDD with clearly readable white label...


Appears to be this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CVT9G4...olid=1TG4Q79JNC7C4&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it


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