# Anybody have dishplayer hard drive / hardware failures?



## Jacob S (Apr 14, 2002)

Has anybody experienced any hard drive failures in the dishplayer? What kind of hard drive was used for this receiver? Do these go bad as often as the 501? I never hear of problems with this receiver hardware wise, just software wise.


----------



## Randy_B (Apr 23, 2002)

I believe Quantum was the first brand and then they switched to Seagate.

I wonder how many people STILL have the original HD in there?


----------



## Geronimo (Mar 23, 2002)

Mine has a Maxtor. That was the second manufacturer used in 7200s. But in most cases you can look through the vents on top and see waht brand of HD you have.


----------



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

I tried using a Western Digital 7200 RPM hard drive and after a month it failed. Apparently, the higher RPM hard drives build up too much heat unless you have some sort of external cooling. 

My recommendation would be to use a good 5400 RPM hard drive. They are cheap work just as well as the 7200's.


----------



## cnsf (Jun 6, 2002)

I believe Maxtor purchased Quantum and Seagate was also purchased by one of the two. 5400 is definitely the better bet, and they are quieter.

If you're having a problem and hope to just replace the bad HD with the same HD, hopefully, you were smart enough to get the Extended Warranty plan for $1.99/month before it failed.....


----------



## Jacob S (Apr 14, 2002)

Has there been more of an issue with the dishplayers than with the 501 with the original hard drives? How much do hard drives cost if you were to replace it yourself? Also if you would open up the case and had the 1.99/mo. warranty plan would they cover it even though you opened it up?


----------



## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

I had a WD HD fail at just over a year old. Now buy Maxtor with 3 year warranty. I have the $2 a month system warranty but havent worried about DP failure.

Reportedly A DP failure under system warranty is NOT replaced by another DP. What they do is give you a 501 for $99 or similiar.

E does NOT want the old DP returned either....

So to the trash it goes, or use as a door stop.

Now my DPs, if they change the software are both going to die.

Hopefully at this point I will get 508s. I will fight for this. After al;l we suffered thryu DP $#@%$# all these years.

So go ahead and swap out the HD if you want, or buy the system warranty and wait 31 days and report your DP died, and get a 501 for $99/


----------



## Dmitriy (Mar 24, 2002)

If I will upgrade my DP's HD will the speed increase? I mean decrease of loading times in the menu and stuff like that.


----------



## Kerry High (Apr 28, 2002)

I had a 40GB 5400 rpm Maxtor fail after about a year of use. It was replaced under warantee for the same model and the new one has been working since Feb. 2001.


----------



## Jacob S (Apr 14, 2002)

Doesnt the receiver still work without the pvr functions even when the hard drive fails? I know the 501 receiver still worked just did not do the pvr functions.


----------



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

> _Originally posted by Dmitriy _
> *If I will upgrade my DP's HD will the speed increase? I mean decrease of loading times in the menu and stuff like that. *


When I upgraded the hard drives in my DP's, I saw a very slight speed increase but nothing to write home about. The main improvements are quieter hard drive and more recording time.


----------



## Kerry High (Apr 28, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Jacob S _
> *Doesnt the receiver still work without the pvr functions even when the hard drive fails? I know the 501 receiver still worked just did not do the pvr functions. *


No. It first tries to call WebTV for new software, and when that doesn't work, it gives an error message.

Fortunatelly, when mine started to fail, I was able to replace it before it stopped working altogether. It started having really bad blackouts, which I initally blamed on software, but they became worse, and the hard drive was making a funny noise whenever one happened while watching live TV. The diagnostic program that I downloaded from Maxtor's website didn't show any problems with the disk, but replacing it completely solved the problems.


----------



## Jacob S (Apr 14, 2002)

So its kind of like those tv's with built in vcr's, when one thing quits working the whole thing goes. 

How come it is like this with the dishplayer yet the 501 will work even after a hard drive failure (even though there are no pvr fucntions).


----------

