# External Hard Drive



## chris83 (Aug 16, 2006)

Would this external hard drive work with my ViP722K?

http://www.imation.com/en-us/Imation-Products/External-Hard-Drives/Apollo-Portable-Hard-Drive/


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

No.

Look for that one what has external power supply !


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## chris83 (Aug 16, 2006)

P Smith said:


> No.
> 
> Look for that one what has external power supply !


This one perhaps?

http://www.imation.com/en-eu/Imatio...ive-Systems/Imation-RDX-Removable-HDD-System/

Thank you!


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Too complex for EHD, any cheap USB-SATA enclosures with external power supply will works fine as EHD. 
Check tigerdirect, newegg, frys...


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## thomasjk (Jan 10, 2006)

One like this will work with all VIP receivers except the 211/211K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136471


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## chris83 (Aug 16, 2006)

Thank you both very much! Out of curiousiity, why is the external power source the key?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Nobody knows except of that engineer who calculate and limited USB load to the ports of 922. 
No one reveal the max current and official word is "no for USB powered drives".
One day I would connect my eLoad box to it and will check it. 

By official USB org spec, a powered USB port could provide up to 500 mA after successful enumeration by a host.


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## Grandude (Oct 21, 2004)

P Smith said:


> By official USB org spec, a powered USB port could provide up to 500 mA after successful enumeration by a host.


I would suspect that the USB ports do not supply enough startup current to get the platters/motor spinning. I don't have the equipment to test/prove this theory but do have some anecdotal evidence.

I have a bare drive pulled from an old 721 or 921, can't recall which, but I put it in an external enclosure and the power block didn't supply enough current to spin it up. It had the typical DC connector with + and ground.

I found another enclosure which had four wires, I suspect two for the motor and two for the electronics, and it spins up the drive every time.

Maybe someone with the proper equipment could prove or disprove this theory once and for all and we then would have the evidence to point to whenever this question comes up again. And I know it will.:grin:


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

a. That would be a IDE Desktop type of drive. It draws way more than .5Amp 

B. The USB port only provides 5Volts and that type of drive needs 5 Volts and 12 Volts.


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## Grandude (Oct 21, 2004)

TBoneit said:


> a. That would be a IDE Desktop type of drive. It draws way more than .5Amp
> 
> B. The USB port only provides 5Volts and that type of drive needs 5 Volts and 12 Volts.


The example I used to press my point about the startup of a motor in a drive was indeed an IDE type drive but it was installed in an enclosure designed to handle that type of drive. My point is still that even in a USB drive, the startup of the motor could be the reason that it would not work without external power when connected to a 622/722 due to a lack of current to get the motor spinning.

Another anecdote I have is a recent purchase of an external USB DVD drive. It came with a USB cable which had two connectors at the computer/laptop end which would/should imply that a single USB connector might not provide enough current to do the job. The manufacturer decided it would be cheaper to provide the split cable rather than a power block.

I wish that I had the proper equipment to test my theory, but alas, too late in life to think about adding to all the crap now on my workbench.:grin:


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## Tecmo SB Guy (Sep 28, 2007)

Just curious, do you guys turn off your external hard drive when not in use or just leave it on all the time?


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

I usually turn off the external drives when I'm not planning on using them. I've had issues with the daily update hanging if the drive is powered on.


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## Tecmo SB Guy (Sep 28, 2007)

Thanks, Kent.

I just bought an external hard drive today.

Also what's the best way to move it safely? Like how long should it be off before I attempt to move it to another location? 

I know with the DVR's, I thought I read somewhere you have to unplug it and wait 5 minutes before moving it to another location.


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

When I move the EHD between my 612 and 722k I unplug it and move it. I've never had an issue doing that.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Tecmo SB Guy said:


> Thanks, Kent.
> 
> I just bought an external hard drive today.
> 
> ...


You can hear the sound of spinning down drive ... 5-15 seconds.


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## Tecmo SB Guy (Sep 28, 2007)

Do you guys unplug the external hard drive when you don't use it?

I used the power button to turn it off last night and unplugged it.

This morning I plugged it back in and it just turned right on without me touching the power button. I was thinking that might not be good for it. That it might be better just to leave it plugged in all the time. Also the DVR was on and recording at the time when I did that. Maybe that's why it turned on without the power button. I don't know.


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## Ray [email protected] Network (Dec 28, 2010)

Tecmo SB Guy,

I have my EHD plugged in all the time and I haven't had any problems with it. I have a WD 1.5 TB drive. When you plugged the EHD back into the receiver, did a message pop up on the TV stating you have connected an external drive into the USB port? That's all that should happen when you plug it back in. Thanks.


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## Tecmo SB Guy (Sep 28, 2007)

Ray [email protected] Network said:


> Tecmo SB Guy,
> 
> I have my EHD plugged in all the time and I haven't had any problems with it. I have a WD 1.5 TB drive. When you plugged the EHD back into the receiver, did a message pop up on the TV stating you have connected an external drive into the USB port? That's all that should happen when you plug it back in. Thanks.


Yeah it said that. Although it did that after the power light on the EHD blinked for a while. Like the EHD needed a while to get booted up and get recognized by the 722K.


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## RASCAL01 (Aug 2, 2006)

I also leave mine on all the time. I just unplug it from the usb port which is need for other items like the ipod


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## dishman1999 (Sep 26, 2011)

The 4 TB BlackArmor® NAS 220 server from Seagate


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

dishman1999 said:


> The 4 TB BlackArmor® NAS 220 server from Seagate


Read the thread http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=194702


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## Grandude (Oct 21, 2004)

dishman1999 said:


> The 4 TB BlackArmor® NAS 220 server from Seagate


Suddenly it dawned on me..........you were joking....:grin:


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## Tecmo SB Guy (Sep 28, 2007)

Yeah I have a minor problem.

Sometimes, when I turn on my external hard drive, the 722K doesn't recognize it so I have to remove and plug in the USB cord again to the DVR in order to get it to recognize the external hard drive.

Is there an easier way to get the 722K to recognize the EHD?


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## sliderbob (Aug 10, 2007)

I cannot wait until the petabyte drive comes out...lol....that's 1,000tb or 1,000,000gb. Image up to 1 million shows on your drive.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Tecmo SB Guy said:


> Yeah I have a minor problem.
> 
> Sometimes, when I turn on my external hard drive, the 722K doesn't recognize it so I have to remove and plug in the USB cord again to the DVR in order to get it to recognize the external hard drive.
> 
> Is there an easier way to get the 722K to recognize the EHD?


Change USB cable; try front USB socket if using back or visa versa; replace USB enclosure; try the drive in TT dock station ...


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

Since I might only use the external hard drive once or twice a month I always pull the power to reduce wear and tear. 

I do the same thing with the external drives for my computer. I Only power them on when I want to use them. The computer generally is on once a week on Sunday


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## dishman1999 (Sep 26, 2011)

TBoneit said:


> Since I might only use the external hard drive once or twice a month I always pull the power to reduce wear and tear.
> 
> I do the same thing with the external drives for my computer. I Only power them on when I want to use them. The computer generally is on once a week on Sunday


I do the same when I'm not use it I keep it unplug.


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## dishman1999 (Sep 26, 2011)

Grandude said:


> Suddenly it dawned on me..........you were joking....:grin:


if I was joking I won't ask I just post it and then


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## Tecmo SB Guy (Sep 28, 2007)

P Smith said:


> Change USB cable; try front USB socket if using back or visa versa; replace USB enclosure; try the drive in TT dock station ...


Thanks for the suggestions.

I probably don't know about technology as much as I should. Could you explain the last two. What you mean by, "replace USB enclosure"? And also what you mean by "try the drive in TT dock station"?


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## jbjsm (May 15, 2005)

My 622 is asking me to reformat my WD EHD. It's never been disconnected from the DVR and has over 2.5 years worth of programs recorded on it. I tried unplugging the USB cable, but it still doesn't reccognize the drive. My other 622 has no problem with this drive. Is it the 622? Time to call Dish?


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

jbjsm said:


> My 622 is asking me to reformat my WD EHD. It's never been disconnected from the DVR and has over 2.5 years worth of programs recorded on it. I tried unplugging the USB cable, but it still doesn't reccognize the drive. My other 622 has no problem with this drive. Is it the 622? Time to call Dish?


If it works on one but not the other it may be the Household Key got corrupted. Dish might need to 're-hit' the receiver. PM one of the DIRT members here or try an online chat.


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## bnborg (Jun 3, 2005)

One or two of my EHD's caused a message like "Your EHD needs to be upgraded to work with this receiver" or something like that. I was afraid to let it, thinking it meant that it had to reformat it.

After a few days though I decided the drives didn't do me any good the way they were. So I let the DVR have its way. To my surprise, it did not delete all my transferred recordings. Maybe it was because of a firmware update or something.

Somethimes I have to "play" with the drive or USB connection to get it recognized. This involves turning the drive on and off or unplugging and replugging it. I can always tell when the DVR will see it because I see the activity light on the drive flashing. Then it pauses and then it starts flashing again. If I don't see the pause, etc. I know I have to play with it.


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## Orion9 (Jan 31, 2011)

That sounds like my drives. My drives work the first time about half to a third of the time when I plug them in. Other times, I have to go through a couple of cycles of connect/disconnect and/or powering down the drive to get the 722k to recognize them. Once they get recognized - all is well. Unfortunately this is random enough to make it difficult to find any pattern. I've thought I had found a pattern/trick several times only to have it fail a few days later.

Once the receiver said I connected an unsupported device, but usually the flashing of the drive light just stops early and the receiver says nothing at all.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

*If you get such message, your first action is REBOOT the DVR first !*


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## bnborg (Jun 3, 2005)

P Smith said:


> *If you get such message, your first action is REBOOT the DVR first !*


You are correct. I had tried that, of course. Some people need to be told.

I am beginning to think USB is inherently "fussy". I've got computers that will not recognize the USB keyboard or mouse until I play with them.


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