# HR20 Chirping Sound



## bullitt (Apr 27, 2002)

My DTivo HR10-250 was replaced 2 weeks ago with the HR20, I'm still getting used to it but in past week or so I've noticed a chirping sound that is coming from unit and it is loud and often enough to be annoying. My DTivo box was always quiet and my remaining DTivo box in bedroom is also quiet. 

 Has anyone else experienced this, could it be a Hard Drive problem?


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## HD in LA (Aug 28, 2006)

Yes. I feel your pain. I had two replacements and the chirp was still there. According to the CSR, it is a known issue. The only way for me to stop the chirp was to use an eSATA drive. That did the trick.


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## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

What model is it? 100 or 700? Does it make any clanking or clunking noises?


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## bullitt (Apr 27, 2002)

HD in LA said:


> Yes. I feel your pain. I had two replacements and the chirp was still there. According to the CSR, it is a known issue. The only way for me to stop the chirp was to use an eSATA drive. That did the trick.


Have there been any posts anywhere regarding this issue?


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## bullitt (Apr 27, 2002)

mhayes70 said:


> What model is it? 100 or 700? Does it make any clanking or clunking noises?


It's a 700 and it just makes this chirping metallic sound not a clunk or clank.


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## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

bullitt said:


> It's a 700 and it just makes this chirping metallic sound not a clunk or clank.


Hmmm.....Mine never did that. Mine was making alot of clanking noises and the picture would freeze during playback. That told me that the hard drive was going bad. So, they replaced it. I'm sure someone here with more knowledge on the hard drives will give some more suggestions.

If I were you I would keep calling them until you get someone that will replace it for you free of charge. I don't think it should be making any noises.


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## CHDinCT (Dec 23, 2006)

bullitt said:


> It's a 700 and it just makes this chirping metallic sound not a clunk or clank.


Sounds are tough to communicate via the board, but there is a known stuttering sound issue on some local MPEG4 HD feeds, particularly fox feeds. The audio will stutter loudly for a brief few seconds. I mention in case that is what you're experiencing, in which case, it's not the receiver, but the encoding of the MPEG4 signal.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

What he is describing is most likely bearing noise from the hard drive. This is relatively rare on new drives, but as a drive ages and the lubricant wears out, it often starts to make a sort of chirping or squeaking sound.


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## gmmorrell (Aug 25, 2006)

I thought I was imagining things. I get the chirp too. It is not stuttering, cos the TV is **off**

But even with the TV off, I hear the chirp (there are no other audio components, just the TV and the HR20).

Its shocking that they say use eSata. That implies it is the hard drive making the noise (as some have mentioned). In all my years dismantling and rebuilding PC's, I have never heard a hard drive do that.

Can I spritz some WD40 in there? :hurah: :lol:


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## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

Titan25 said:


> What he is describing is most likely bearing noise from the hard drive. This is relatively rare on new drives, but as a drive ages and the lubricant wears out, it often starts to make a sort of chirping or squeaking sound.


So, does that mean that the hard drive will fail sometime soon?


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

mhayes70 said:


> So, does that mean that the hard drive will fail sometime soon?


Not neccesarily...I've seen drives in servers run for years after they start making bearing noise. It's generally not a good idea to risk it, however.


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## drx792 (Feb 28, 2007)

i only get the chirping sound when the HR20 is going into standby then it stops. weird?? I hope this isnt a bad thing........my HR20 never had any problems at all and i cant afford to loose all of the recordings i have. 

Just out of curiosity if i put an eSata drive on it and record shows on that can i hook it up to my computer and transfer the recordings.........or is it like some encoding the PC wont read.....none the less it would be a away to store content for later as i could transfer a show i want back from the pc to the HDD.


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## cygnusloop (Jan 26, 2007)

drx792 said:


> i only get the chirping sound when the HR20 is going into standby then it stops. weird?? I hope this isnt a bad thing........my HR20 never had any problems at all and i cant afford to loose all of the recordings i have.
> 
> Just out of curiosity if i put an eSata drive on it and record shows on that can i hook it up to my computer and transfer the recordings.........or is it like some encoding the PC wont read.....none the less it would be a away to store content for later as i could transfer a show i want back from the pc to the HDD.


There is no way to transfer files (and have them viewable) from an HR20 formatted drive to your PC.


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## Xagoth (Jul 16, 2007)

I just switched from the HR10-250.

And to be honest this thing sounds like a blender compared to that machine.

The chirping is literally going to drive me insane. It sounds like a cricket is stuck inside and pleading to be let out!

From what I can gather from reading various posts on the internet about this issue, its just the hard drive accessing and writing info that causes the "chirp" and not anything defective. I have built computers for the last 10 years and NEVER had a hard drive THIS loud. 

Is this true? If there is ANY chance I can take this thing back and get another one that DOESN'T make that noise, I will do it in a heartbeat. But if they all do this, guess I am just stuck with this one.

I honestly prefer the interface over Tivo's (I know a LOT disagree with this) and really like the machine overall (I realize a lot of the Tivo people REALLY despise this machine, but I don't see what the hate is all about). But, man....this chirping noise is like dripping water when you are trying to sleep.


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

Xagoth said:


> I just switched from the HR10-250.
> 
> And to be honest this thing sounds like a blender compared to that machine.
> 
> ...


If it's that loud I'm afraid you have a bad drive.. I would have to put my ear right up to mine to be able to here anything and even then it's just a soft click.. about what I would hear from any computer..


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## Xagoth (Jul 16, 2007)

houskamp said:


> If it's that loud I'm afraid you have a bad drive.. I would have to put my ear right up to mine to be able to here anything and even then it's just a soft click.. about what I would hear from any computer..


Thats what I was afraid of.

As I said, I have been building computers for over 10 years and am well aware that hard drives make SOME noise.

But I am sitting about 8 foot from the receiver and can hear it VERY clearly over the television even.

Somewhat of a relief to hear you say its a bad drive though. As I said, I actually like the machine, but that chirping noise is near intolerable.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

Both my HR20s make the same noise, and it sure is annoying. If I were to get an E SATA drive, would that cure the problem (e.g. does the internal drive stop spinning and writing when the ESATA is enabled?) A poster above seems to indicate "yes," but before I lay out the bucks, I want to be sure.


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

houskamp said:


> If it's that loud I'm afraid you have a bad drive.. I would have to put my ear right up to mine to be able to here anything and even then it's just a soft click.. about what I would hear from any computer..


+1


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## Skooz (Jul 20, 2007)

You know, that is the sound I get when the signal is poor to that particular channel. In my case, it is always accompanied by a slight pixalation--sometimes intermittent. 

Does it do it on all channels?


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## grate88 (Sep 14, 2006)

I am in the "needed an esata drive to fix the problem camp" as well.

It was the only way to stop the read/write chirp of the hard drive.


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

both of mine have chirped since day one. The chillmat on top muffles some of the noise because it covers the vents.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

So then, it does stop the noise. That's good to know.


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## grate88 (Sep 14, 2006)

jal said:


> So then, it does stop the noise. That's good to know.


It was a double positive for me - Stopped the noise and doubled my recording space.

Of course I also has case buzzing, which is another issue entirely (search "buzz")

That took a lot longer to stop with paper shims and felt feet.


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## Insomniac2k (Aug 22, 2007)

I think mine just started chirping too. I just got a replacement for a unit that went bad after 5 days. Now it has been 6 days and I heard a loud chirp from a couple rooms away. I thought maybe it was a smoke detector and I heard it coming from the HR20. As I glanced over I saw the red light go out. It has not chirped for about 10 minutes, but the drive is noticeably louder (quieter chirps). I've been building PCs for almost 20 years and never heard a drive sound like that when it was normal. I'll wait and see if it gets louder and more constant. But it doesn't look good. Just when I thought all was OK.


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## Insomniac2k (Aug 22, 2007)

Argh! I may have screwed myself over. The HD died in the HR20. If I unplugged it and plugged it in, it would work for a while and die again. They did not want to ship out a new one and insisted on sending out a service tech. Instead of just leaving it alone, I unplugged/plugged it in and it has worked all night. The tech will be here this afternoon and with my luck it will still be working. Then it will die after he leaves and I get to do this again. When can I just watch/enjoy (HD)TV in peace?

It also was making this loud buzzing sound for about 5 minutes this morning. Very audible over the TV volume. Gone now of course.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I replaced the TiVo in the bedroom with an HR20. Personally I think the drive noise is about the same: noticeable mostly when actually recording (not just buffering). Mrs. Shadow notices it a bit more.


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