# R15 Harddrive dead, need help



## SEGA

*Ok I need help fixing my Directv Plus+ R15.

It was working fine until I moved it from one room to another, I think I rubbed it against my shirt when walking and static killed the Hard drive.

It's making the clicking noise as if I held a magnet to it and will not load, regardless I know the hard drive is toast.

I can not find an install disc for this thing, I have a 150gig (same as inside the DPR15) but there is nothing about installing a new OS to a New Hard drive so I can get it to work.

I called Directv but they said I own this receiver and can't fix it, but they will send me a refurb for a 2 year extension.. I said No. This is like my 3rd Directv TiVo/DVR in the past 3 years, not going to get an extension to be put back in the same situation months down the road.

I would just buy a new one, but I lost my job 2 months ago and i'm on fundsarelow.

Looking for a way to get a New Hard drive to work with my R15.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.*


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## SEGA

*I read that post a couple hours ago.

But at the end the guy said he put in a new drive and nothing worked, and nobody replied, so i was wondering if there was something else I had to do.

If it's a simple as putting in a new drive and starting it up, what is the best drive to get..

a 7200 right?

EDIT: um... what happened to the reply to my thread? I just made this reply to a reply, but now it just shows I'm replying to myself?
*


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## Jhon69

SEGA said:


> *I read that post a couple hours ago.
> 
> But at the end the guy said he put in a new drive and nothing worked, and nobody replied, so i was wondering if there was something else I had to do.
> 
> Is it's a simple as putting in a new drive and starting it up, what is the best drive to get..
> 
> a 7200 right?
> 
> EDIT: um... what happened to the reply to my thread? I just made this reply to a reply, but now it just shows I'm replying to myself?
> *


I deleted it because I read too fast thought there was an answer.When I realized there wasn't an answer I deleted my post.Suggest you google"Replace hard drive in directv's R15".Good Luck! and:welcome_s


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## SEGA

*Ya Google was the first place I looked, came up with nothing but the link you posted, reviews, and sales.

I find odd, because allot of people have these R15's but not allot of people try to upgrade.

Upgrading a Directv R15 is like trying to Upgrade a Dell computer.*


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## Jhon69

SEGA said:


> *Ya Google was the first place I looked, came up with nothing but the link you posted, reviews, and sales.
> 
> I find odd, because allot of people have these R15's but not allot of people try to upgrade.
> 
> Upgrading a Directv R15 is like trying to Upgrade a Dell computer.*


Alot of people did upgrade to the HR20-21's.

Some bought DirecTivo's off of Ebay or weaknees.com.

Other's have been in the right areas to upgrade to the R22-100's.


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## dodge boy

you can not increase the recording capacity of an R15. If you replaced the hard drive then restart it and when the screen goes to black (between blue screens) try holding down the record button and the down arrow button on the face of the R15 until the orange light turns on. This formats the drive and should make it compatable with the R15 OS which is downloaded from memory chips in the R15.

I would not consider the TiVo an upgrade... Yes I have both. If your locals come from the 72.5 degree satellite you might want to try to get an R22.


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## carl6

The procedure dodge boy outlines should work. Just remember you have to use the same size and type of drive that is already in there, 160GB IDE (parallel ATA) drive.

Install the drive. Power up. When the first blue screen goes away (turns black) push and hold down arrow and record button. Hold for at least 5 seconds, until record light turns on. Let go and let it come up.

Carl


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## Doug Brott

I believe that you can use a larger HDD, but the recording capacity will not increase so there is no need to use a larger HDD than what is already in there.

There is no firmware, OS or anything to load onto the HDD. All of that lives in flash memory and the HDD is for storage of your programs. What you will need to do, however is format the HDD. You can do this by using the procedure outlined above by dodge boy.

Please keep in mind that the HDD format could take a long time 1-2 hours. This is because it is a deep format that can be used potentially recover some drives that are having problems.

Please let us know how it goes.

Cheers


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## carl6

Doug Brott said:


> I believe that you can use a larger HDD, but the recording capacity will not increase so there is no need to use a larger HDD than what is already in there.


I think up to a 250GB drive will work, but the R15/R16 will only use 160GB. I do not think a driver larger than 250GB will work.


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## SEGA

*Well alright guys thanks for the help.

I put in a new 160gig and it did the "checking disk this could take 30min" because I wanted to see if it would work without the format and it did, but it wouldn't change channels, and was lagging, then it wouldn't turn back on after I turned it off.


But now I did the Reformat and it's doing it's thing (thats what I was looking for)

Thanks for the help, I'm glad I found the right forum.

Update: got to 1% then restarted, now it's doing it's "30 minute scan".

This can't be good. lol*


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## Jhon69

Thanks to dodge boy,Carl6,and Doug Brott.I searched this forum and came up empty.
This is something that all R15 owners need to know.


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## SEGA

*40gig FTW... lol

My other 160hd didn't work either, I think it was one of my bad ones as well.

And sense I'm all out of money...

I found a 40gig laying around.

:lol: So I have a 40gig R15... Beat That!! ok ya I know, but hey it works.:grin: *


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## carl6

SEGA said:


> *So I have a 40gig R15... Beat That!! ok ya I know, but hey it works.:grin: *


Hah!

Let us know how it works when it starts to get some programs recorded on it. I'm really wondering if the R15 is smart enough to recognize there is only 40 gig there, or if it will keep trying to record beyond that.

Carl


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## SEGA

*lmfao recorded a total of 15 minutes, at 98% of space left.

I think I can pull off 1 episode of Star Trek Voyager, and 1 and a half episodes of Friends...

*

Note: don't hate me because of the shows I record... lol


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## xmguy

I've had to replace drives before on my Replay TV DVR. (I know apples and oranges) But would any of these work?

$44 was the lowest listed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=160GB+IDE&x=0&y=0


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## ThomasM

If you really know what you are doing, you can install a new HDD in your R15. The procedure (and a software download you will need) are located elsewhere on DBSTALK.COM, but unfortunately I don't know where! 

I read the entire thread long ago and in essence you CAN NOT just put a "native" HDD into the R15 and get it to work. HDD's have to be "prepped" and a certain sector written to before they will work in an R15. And you can't use Windows and a PC to do it, either. But you CAN use a PC and that download I mentioned. Apparently, it loads a small version of UNIX on the PC which then lets you prep the drive.

Once the HDD is "R15 ready", you start up the R15 and hold down the RECORD BUTTON and the DOWN ARROW key on the front panel simultaneously for about 15 seconds when the "Your DirecTV receiver is starting up" message appears. If the record light remains lit, you did it. This "reformats" the HDD creating all new file tables and also writing a special unique encryption code to it which then only allows shows recorded on that HDD to be played back on that specific R15. It also copies the OS from NVRAM to the HDD so that the only OS on the HDD is the current one.

Good luck!!


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## xmguy

ThomasM said:


> If you really know what you are doing, you can install a new HDD in your R15. The procedure (and a software download you will need) are located elsewhere on DBSTALK.COM, but unfortunately I don't know where!
> 
> I read the entire thread long ago and in essence you CAN NOT just put a "native" HDD into the R15 and get it to work. HDD's have to be "prepped" and a certain sector written to before they will work in an R15. And you can't use Windows and a PC to do it, either. But you CAN use a PC and that download I mentioned. Apparently, it loads a small version of UNIX on the PC which then lets you prep the drive.
> 
> Once the HDD is "R15 ready", you start up the R15 and hold down the RECORD BUTTON and the DOWN ARROW key on the front panel simultaneously for about 15 seconds when the "Your DirecTV receiver is starting up" message appears. If the record light remains lit, you did it. This "reformats" the HDD creating all new file tables and also writing a special unique encryption code to it which then only allows shows recorded on that HDD to be played back on that specific R15. It also copies the OS from NVRAM to the HDD so that the only OS on the HDD is the current one.
> 
> Good luck!!


I know what you are talking about. With my ReplayTV Drive. I had to "Bless" the drive.


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## sonicflood

I've searched and read every post I could find here about dead HDDs in an R15. So far, I've read conflicting information regarding swapping out hard drives. Some say:

1) That you need to download a file and write it to certain sectors on the new drive prior to installation. Note: I have also read that this only required with older firmware revisions and not required in newer ones.

~or~

2) That all you need to do is partition a new HDD between 160-250gb, replace dead one and perform the reformat (down arrow and REC button).

Well, I'm in the process of testing the 2nd solution as mine died two days ago. I was having the skipping problems and when watching recorded content the screen would go black and exit out to live TV. I tried a forced software update, system reset, red button and then finally a reformat of the drive. The reformat must have killed it as I can only get the welcome screen, almost there, checking disk this could take 30min & then the notice that there was a problem with the drive, please unplug for 1 minute.

It's my last hope for this box. I own it and don't have the insurance. I'd rather not get into a 2 year commitment right now if I don't have to.

I'll post back the results of my HDD replacement. If successful, I'll post all the details in hopes of helping someone else who may also be confused by the conflicting information. Wish me luck!


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## sonicflood

UPDATE...

*SUCCESS!!!*

I performed option 2 (in my above post) and it works! With all due respect to ThomasM who posted above that it cannot be done, I believe that possibly the early firmware revisions were the ones that would not allow a standard HDD swap. I know that this is NOT the case with new firmware as I did it!

Here's the info on my setup and what I bought/did:

Model: R15
Manufacturer: 500
Software:
Original Version- 0x120C
Past Upgrade- 0X120C (I had forced a software update prior to the drive dying. That's why it is the same version as original)
Future Upgrade- Not Scheduled

I bought a Western Digital 160GB Caviar SE HDD

Model: WD1600JBRTLW
UPC: 18037 11725

Bought it from Wal-Mart (on closeout) for $59.98

Here's the steps that I took:

1) I installed the new drive in my PC with the jumper settings on default (cable select).
2) Powered up the PC 
3) Inserted the Data Lifeguard Tools CD that came with the drive
4) Partitioned the drive as one partition @160GB
5) Turned off PC and disconnected newly partitioned drive
6) Swapped defective drive in R15 with new drive
7) Reconnected all A/V cables to R15
8) Powered up R15 and initiated reformat (Down Arrow and REC button)
9) R15 then began reformatting drive (took approximately 2 hours)
10) R15 restarted and setup screen was present
11) Entered all pertinent data for my area and completed setup
12) Back in business!!!

Only my local channels are not present but as I understand it, they will return after a couple of hours as DTV has to reinitialize them.

I certainly hope that this helps others here. I'm glad that I took the chance as it paid off!

UPDATE 2: Local cannels are back in lineup. Only took about 30 minutes.


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## ThomasM

sonicflood said:


> UPDATE...
> 
> *SUCCESS!!!*
> 
> I performed option 2 (in my above post) and it works! With all due respect to ThomasM who posted above that it cannot be done, I believe that possibly the early firmware revisions were the ones that would not allow a standard HDD swap. I know that this is NOT the case with new firmware as I did it!


Wow! That's *GREAT NEWS!!*

For once, I am totally pleased that I was wrong!!

Glad you got your R15 up and running without any involvement of DirecTV!


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## weattv

Jhon69 said:


> Alot of people did upgrade to the HR20-21's.
> 
> Some bought DirecTivo's off of Ebay or weaknees.com.
> 
> Other's have been in the right areas to upgrade to the R22-100's.


There might be better options these days than buying a DirecTiVo from weaknees. They charge _$289_ for a 70-hour model -- the one that's going often for _$20_ on eBay these days, & even has a legitimate ID number & is said to be working, & comes with all parts.


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## styrum

sonicflood said:


> UPDATE...
> 
> *SUCCESS!!!*
> 
> I performed option 2 (in my above post) and it works! With all due respect to ThomasM who posted above that it cannot be done, I believe that possibly the early firmware revisions were the ones that would not allow a standard HDD swap. I know that this is NOT the case with new firmware as I did it!
> 
> Here's the info on my setup and what I bought/did:
> 
> Model: R15
> Manufacturer: 500
> Software:
> Original Version- 0x120C
> Past Upgrade- 0X120C (I had forced a software update prior to the drive dying. That's why it is the same version as original)
> Future Upgrade- Not Scheduled
> 
> I bought a Western Digital 160GB Caviar SE HDD
> 
> Model: WD1600JBRTLW
> UPC: 18037 11725
> 
> Bought it from Wal-Mart (on closeout) for $59.98
> 
> Here's the steps that I took:
> 
> 1) I installed the new drive in my PC with the jumper settings on default (cable select).
> 2) Powered up the PC
> 3) Inserted the Data Lifeguard Tools CD that came with the drive
> 4) Partitioned the drive as one partition @160GB
> 5) Turned off PC and disconnected newly partitioned drive
> 6) Swapped defective drive in R15 with new drive
> 7) Reconnected all A/V cables to R15
> 8) Powered up R15 and initiated reformat (Down Arrow and REC button)
> 9) R15 then began reformatting drive (took approximately 2 hours)
> 10) R15 restarted and setup screen was present
> 11) Entered all pertinent data for my area and completed setup
> 12) Back in business!!!
> 
> Only my local channels are not present but as I understand it, they will return after a couple of hours as DTV has to reinitialize them.
> 
> I certainly hope that this helps others here. I'm glad that I took the chance as it paid off!
> 
> UPDATE 2: Local cannels are back in lineup. Only took about 30 minutes.


I confirm: this way works! I got fed up with R15 locking up even after I had done the "Down Arrow+Record" reformatting (BTW the new firmware displays the progress of the reformatting process!). So, when updating my PC recently I was left with an about 3 yr.old 160GB PATA Samsung HDD - exactly what's needed! While having it connected to my new PC, using regular Windows Disk Manager application, I deleted the partition and then created it again (but didn't do any formatting). Then I simply turned off and opened the R15 and replaced the drive (didn't even disconnect the antenna and other cables!) Well, it's kind of laborious actually: You will have to handle 5 screws to take off the cover, then 4 screws to remove the pedestal to which the hard drive is attached, then 4 more screws to detach the drive from the pedestal. Of course, you will have to deal with all these 13 screws one more time to put everything back together. The HDD is one of the two noise sources in the R15 (the other is the fan), so they have rubber washers on the screws between the HDD and the pedestal. However, there are no washers between the pedestal and the case. If you find them of suitable size and put it there, I think it can make the R15 quieter.

I turned on the DVR and while it was saying "almost there..." I pushed the Down Arrow and Record button together and had held for about 10 seconds before the Reformatting screen appeared. After the reformatting had been done (yeah, about 2 hours!) it apparently rebooted. I got scared when the screen was black for quite a while (half a minute or so), but then it it came up with the regular guided setup process. So it's working now and hasn't got stuck ever since (about 2 weeks)!:hurah:


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## Jhon69

I'm going to put a post in here for all R15 users.First be sure you OWN your R15.If you had your R15 before March 2006 you should OWN it.After March 2006 you are LEASING your R15.With DirecTV's Protection Plan DirecTV will replace your R15 for FREE,without it's $19.95 S&H.

Also even if you do OWN your R15 it would be a good idea to check with DirecTV.You may be in an area that will need DirecTV's R22-100.DirecTV's Tech Support should be able to tell you this information.


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## ThomasM

Jhon69 said:


> I'm going to put a post in here for all R15 users.First be sure you OWN your R15.If you had your R15 before March 2006 you should OWN it.After March 2006 you are LEASING your R15.With DirecTV's Protection Plan DirecTV will replace your R15 for FREE,without it's $19.95 S&H.
> 
> Also even if you do OWN your R15 it would be a good idea to check with DirecTV.You may be in an area that will need DirecTV's R22-100.DirecTV's Tech Support should be able to tell you this information.


Well, I'm going to toss in my $.02 worth also.

If you LEASE your R15 and the HDD dies, you will get stuck with a 2 year programming commitment extension if you decide to get it replaced for the $20 S & H option. If you have the protection plan, you get it replaced at no extra charge and no programming commitment extension BUT you pay $72/year for this priviledge. I do not find the protection plan cost-effective.

Meanwhile, if you decide to replace the HDD yourself, there is no programming commitment extension, no visit from a technician that might exchange your DVR with a reconditioned clunker, no problem at all.


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## Jhon69

ThomasM said:


> Well, I'm going to toss in my $.02 worth also.
> 
> If you LEASE your R15 and the HDD dies, you will get stuck with a 2 year programming commitment extension if you decide to get it replaced for the $20 S & H option. If you have the protection plan, you get it replaced at no extra charge and no programming commitment extension BUT you pay $72/year for this priviledge. I do not find the protection plan cost-effective.
> 
> Meanwhile, if you decide to replace the HDD yourself, there is no programming commitment extension, no visit from a technician that might exchange your DVR with a reconditioned clunker, no problem at all.


Ah yes but if your R15 is Leased and you replace the HDD then it turns out to be something else.Then you send it back to DirecTV they notice the seal is broken.Then DirecTV has the option of blaming you and might possibility bill you for the total cost of the R15.:eek2:


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## downrange

styrum said:


> I confirm: this way works! I got fed up with R15 locking up even after I had done the "Down Arrow+Record" reformatting (BTW the new firmware displays the progress of the reformatting process!). So, when updating my PC recently I was left with an about 3 yr.old 160GB PATA Samsung HDD - exactly what's needed! While having it connected to my new PC, using regular Windows Disk Manager application, I deleted the partition and then created it again (but didn't do any formatting). Then I simply turned off and opened the R15 and replaced the drive (didn't even disconnect the antenna and other cables!) Well, it's kind of laborious actually: You will have to handle 5 screws to take off the cover, then 4 screws to remove the pedestal to which the hard drive is attached, then 4 more screws to detach the drive from the pedestal. Of course, you will have to deal with all these 13 screws one more time to put everything back together. The HDD is one of the two noise sources in the R15 (the other is the fan), so they have rubber washers on the screws between the HDD and the pedestal. However, there are no washers between the pedestal and the case. If you find them of suitable size and put it there, I think it can make the R15 quieter.
> 
> I turned on the DVR and while it was saying "almost there..." I pushed the Down Arrow and Record button together and had held for about 10 seconds before the Reformatting screen appeared. After the reformatting had been done (yeah, about 2 hours!) it apparently rebooted. I got scared when the screen was black for quite a while (half a minute or so), but then it it came up with the regular guided setup process. So it's working now and hasn't got stuck ever since (about 2 weeks)!:hurah:


can someone tell me something about the formatting (r15-500)? my dvr had the pwr and rec buttons flickering yesterday morning with a faint clicking coming from the back and seemed to be dead (was having skipping in recorded programs for about 2 days before this).

I had an old 160GB laying around that I swapped in and after a couple minutes more of the dvr lights flickering it finally started up. the "formatting hdd xx:xx:xx" message came up and 2 hours later it reached "100%"; then it just sat there. I left it for ~40 minutes but nothing more was happening. I finally unplugged it and it started over again at 0% (another 2-hour format)

I can see why the dvr buttons would be needed to force a low-level format once the disc has a fat/ntfs partition but the one I swapped in was from a linux machine (ext2 partitions); the dvr seemed to know it had 'no partition(ing)' so started low-level format by itself so how come it seemed to be hung at 100%? do I need to wait even longer than 40 minutes at that point? and if I have to format the drive with windows first, is it fat32? ntfs?


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## ThomasM

Hello and welcome to DBSTALK.COM! :welcome_s

Don't believe everything you read in this thread as it is almost a year old!!

The firmware in the R15 should now accept a native (blank) HDD and automatically format it and prep it for use simply by installing it. However, others have said that the drive from an R15 can be viewed on a linux machine so maybe your R15 is being confused by some of the linux info on the drive you are trying to use.

My suggestion would be to put the drive back in the linux machine and format it there to remove any possible files that have hung around. Or you could put it in a windows machine and format it for FAT32 or NTFS which, of course, would completely overwrite any linux info. Then I'd try installing it in the R15 again and let it do it's thing.


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## downrange

thanks, and thanks 

do you know why the format hits 100% then just hangs? or some trick to get past it? 

I formatted the disc with ntfs (a single 160G partition) after last night's hang, hit rec-dn arrow, let it format again for 2 hours then just like last night it gets to "100%" but never does anything else. tonight I let it sit at 100% for two hours before hitting the reset button by the access card (and again it wants to start all over formatting at 0%).

edit: the problem with this dvr seems to be almost certainly the original hd is dead. I took out my drive, put back the original and I just get the constant flickering of pwr and rec buttons just like the morning I came out and saw the dvr was dead. then I put my drive back in, a couple flickers later it was powering up wanting to format it. I just don't understand why it stops doing anything once it reaches 100%.


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## downrange

well I tried a 30G disc just to see if the format would complete but about halfway through it failed, maybe because it's too small. I'll buy another 160G disc so long as I know the DVR will still work afterward so I was hoping the 30G test would at least confirm that.

anyway, all I really want is to be able to watch tv  is the formatting (and a drive) utterly critical to just being able to watch live programs? once I hit the "100%" mark the orange light just stays lit (hdd still warm) and it seems like anything I do to interrupt it simply starts the entire 2-hour format over again once I power the dvr back on.

so does anyone know how I can just tell this stupid thing "forget the damn drive, just show me some channels"


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## RobertE

The format shouldn't take but a few minutes. It's possible that it's not the drive thats bad, but the drive controller on the R15s motherboard.


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## downrange

aren't there any service menus I can get at using buttons on the box, to either see what's the matter or force something to happen? I hit the reset button, pressed and held four buttons on the case and some grid with "RF RCU MODE" came up but I don't know what any of it is. 

tbh I really don't care if I can't save programs, I just want to watch tv. but every damn time I start it with one of the 'unformatted' drives it wastes my time either saying "format failed" for a 30G and 60G drive or hangs at 100% for the 160G drive. I've been reading posts here about how the dvr software is stored in eeprom and/or flash so how do I force this thing to skip the reformats and just let me get the dvr software started so I can watch tv?


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## vlj9r

RobertE said:


> The format shouldn't take but a few minutes. It's possible that it's not the drive thats bad, but the drive controller on the R15s motherboard.


My 160gig replacement drive took close to two hrs to format before it was ready for use.


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## ThomasM

Jhon69 said:


> Ah yes but if your R15 is Leased and you replace the HDD then it turns out to be something else.Then you send it back to DirecTV they notice the seal is broken.Then DirecTV has the option of blaming you and might possibility bill you for the total cost of the R15.:eek2:


Doubtful. One of my R15's is a reconditioned, leased unit. There was no seal on it when the installer brought it!! To be sure they don't suspect anything, if the unit does ever have to be returned in the future I'd keep the defective HDD around and put it back in before returning the unit.


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## ThomasM

downrange said:


> so does anyone know how I can just tell this stupid thing "forget the damn drive, just show me some channels"


After it gets to 100% and then you reboot it, how far does it get before it decides to try reformatting again? Do you get "hello your DirecTV receiver is starting up"? There is a command to bypass setup and guide download and go directly to watching live TV. It is ACTIVE and DOWN buttons on front panel pressed simultaneously. Another command you might try while it is starting up is ACTIVE and UP. This supposedly takes you to System Setup and Info/Test directly. Worth a try!!


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## bww

I have an R15 which I own and it is about 4 years old. It works but lately the drive has been making more and more churning noise (it is in our bedroom) so I had this newer 160gb that was in a directivo (which we don't use anymore), it was a Seagate very similiar but newer then the one in the R15. I put the tivo one in the R15 and did the down arrow and record, then the diagnostic window came on for about 3-4 minutues and then the downloading satellite data for about 3-4 mintues and then live tv.

I expected a long formatting process, however the whole thing only took about 7-8 minutes. Everything seems to be working fine (guide data is updating), Everything seems intact.

Did this avoid the formatting because this drive was linux from the tivo? I am not complaining, it is very quiet and everything (I am writing this about 6 hours later)is working great.


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## The Merg

bww said:


> I have an R15 which I own and it is about 4 years old. It works but lately the drive has been making more and more churning noise (it is in our bedroom) so I had this newer 160gb that was in a directivo (which we don't use anymore), it was a Seagate very similiar but newer then the one in the R15. I put the tivo one in the R15 and did the down arrow and record, then the diagnostic window came on for about 3-4 minutues and then the downloading satellite data for about 3-4 mintues and then live tv.
> 
> I expected a long formatting process, however the whole thing only took about 7-8 minutes. Everything seems to be working fine (guide data is updating), Everything seems intact.
> 
> Did this avoid the formatting because this drive was linux from the tivo? I am not complaining, it is very quiet and everything (I am writing this about 6 hours later)is working great.


You should be fine. One thing to be aware of is if the R15 is owned or leased. I know you state that you own it, but "owning" a DirecTV receiver is a misnomer. Most people actually lease their DVR. Verify that you actually own it and not lease it.

That being said, if you are leasing it, it is a violation of your subscriber agreement to open up the DVR and make any changes to it. If you own it, well, you just extended the life of your DVR.

- Merg


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## bww

Yes I do really own it, purchased before leasing went into effect. Does anyone out there know why the drive seemed to skip the reformatting??


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## The Merg

bww said:


> Yes I do really own it, purchased before leasing went into effect. Does anyone out there know why the drive seemed to skip the reformatting??


It probably just performed a Quick Format. Think of when you used to format floppy diskettes. You could perform a quick format or a full format. In essence, the quick format just erases the list of files on the disk so that the computer thinks the disk is empty. Because of that it will just overwrite anything that it is there.

- Merg


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## glackowitz

I have an R15-500 and it started continually rebooting so I unplugged it. I plugged it back in and now it chirps and flashes the Rec and power light. I pressed the reset button but no fix. I pulled power and let it sit for awhile then plugged it back in and still get the hard drive noise but now only the Rec light flashes. I pulled the drive out and put it in my computer and it showed up and seems to run fine, shows alot of file folders. I placed it back in the Sat unit and all I get is flashing Rec light

Is it possible My drive is ok and its something else?? or drive shows bad to the unit and needs a new one??

Any thoughts??
Thanks
Glack


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## The Merg

glackowitz said:


> I have an R15-500 and it started continually rebooting so I unplugged it. I plugged it back in and now it chirps and flashes the Rec and power light. I pressed the reset button but no fix. I pulled power and let it sit for awhile then plugged it back in and still get the hard drive noise but now only the Rec light flashes. I pulled the drive out and put it in my computer and it showed up and seems to run fine, shows alot of file folders. I placed it back in the Sat unit and all I get is flashing Rec light
> 
> Is it possible My drive is ok and its something else?? or drive shows bad to the unit and needs a new one??
> 
> Any thoughts??
> Thanks
> Glack


There could still be issues with the drive. The problem might be in the boot sector, which you would be bypassing by putting it in your computer as a slave drive. If not your drive, there is something definitely wrong with your R15. Do you know if you own your receiver or if it is a lease? If you received it after March 2006, it is most likely a lease and the fee you paid for it was just an upfront lease fee. If that is the case, you *DON'T* want to open it up as that would be a violation of your Equipment Lease Agreement.

Do you have the Protection Plan? If so, you can get the receiver replaced at no cost, whether the receiver is owned or leased. If owned, your replacement will also be tagged as owned.

If you do not have the PP, you can still get it replaced for the cost of shipping ($20), although some people get that waived as well. If your receiver is currently owned, the new one will be a lease and will require an additional 2 year commitment.

Unfortunately, any recordings and settings you have on your current receiver will not be able to be transferred over to the new one.

- Merg

BTW, Welcome to DBSTalk! :welcome_s


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## glackowitz

I do own the unit as I am a dealer..A/V company. so we had to buy them. I just ordered a drive to put in and see if it fixes it, If not then I will buy a HD unit. I am hoping it cures the issue and all is well as a 40.00 drive is way less than a new HD unit, Although I would like the VOD service and some HD content.

Thanks for the info, will update my findings when the drive arrives and gets installed


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## glackowitz

OK here is an update...New drive...No go did the same rec light blink and no action on the hard drive.

So reading from another forum there was mention of a couple of capacitors that seemed to be bulging....I looked and there were 2 that had slightly lifted tops. They were 1000uf 10v electrolytic capacitors.Radio shack doesnt have 10v so I used 35v. A tad larger in diameter but still fit down in there, re installed the power board and BAM...blue screens and a HDD format screen. I powered it down and reinstalled old drive and TADA..it was working too and still has my shows on it. Wife is happy now and all is well

The Drive I bought was a Seagate ST3160212ACE 160gb which is what comes in the R15-500 units it seems

Thanks for all the info 
Glack


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## The Merg

Glad to hear you got it fixed. Look into where you are keeping the DVR and make sure that it has enough ventilation. You might also want to check to see what temperature it is running at. If the capacitors are starting to bulge on you, that can definitely be indicative of a heat issue within the DVR.

- Merg


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## glackowitz

OK, new update...Drive failed again

I have a new HR23 coming. Enough messing around with the R15.
I did install the other drive I bought and it seems to be formatting just fine
The Original drive was causing reboots at random and was stuck on the formatting hard drive screen with no progress for awhile...never started

I also have a new 55" Toshiba LCD display so HD is now required...LOL


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## weattv

FWIW, our R15 was caught in the rebooting cycles failure for weeks, a couple of years ago. Didn't work at all during that time. It looped endlessly around the 2 messages saying to let it work for 30 minutes, or to restart it, as I recall. I couldn't find an explanation except suggestions the hard drive was dead. I finally gave up & unplugged it, replacing it with a TiVo that repeatedly loses the tuner signal

More than a year later, I plugged it back in just out of curiosity. When I checked a while later, it was working fine & all the old recordings were there. Wondering if an update had fixed it. 

It might be worthwhile to try replugging a "dead' unit back in.


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## ncguy68

I was not successful trying to repalce the hard drive in my R15 following this techique. I DVR would never recognize the drive or format it. WhenI attempted to format I received the following message: Fail, Error Ox7b.

The replacement drive works fine in a computer and the old DVR drive still works in the DVR, but the drive is four years old and starting to fail (constant reboots).

My DVR has software version OX1274....does anyone know if they no longer allow replacement drives with the newer software updates?



sonicflood said:


> UPDATE...
> 
> *SUCCESS!!!*
> 
> I performed option 2 (in my above post) and it works! With all due respect to ThomasM who posted above that it cannot be done, I believe that possibly the early firmware revisions were the ones that would not allow a standard HDD swap. I know that this is NOT the case with new firmware as I did it!
> 
> Here's the info on my setup and what I bought/did:
> 
> Model: R15
> Manufacturer: 500
> Software:
> Original Version- 0x120C
> Past Upgrade- 0X120C (I had forced a software update prior to the drive dying. That's why it is the same version as original)
> Future Upgrade- Not Scheduled
> 
> I bought a Western Digital 160GB Caviar SE HDD
> 
> Model: WD1600JBRTLW
> UPC: 18037 11725
> 
> Bought it from Wal-Mart (on closeout) for $59.98
> 
> Here's the steps that I took:
> 
> 1) I installed the new drive in my PC with the jumper settings on default (cable select).
> 2) Powered up the PC
> 3) Inserted the Data Lifeguard Tools CD that came with the drive
> 4) Partitioned the drive as one partition @160GB
> 5) Turned off PC and disconnected newly partitioned drive
> 6) Swapped defective drive in R15 with new drive
> 7) Reconnected all A/V cables to R15
> 8) Powered up R15 and initiated reformat (Down Arrow and REC button)
> 9) R15 then began reformatting drive (took approximately 2 hours)
> 10) R15 restarted and setup screen was present
> 11) Entered all pertinent data for my area and completed setup
> 12) Back in business!!!
> 
> Only my local channels are not present but as I understand it, they will return after a couple of hours as DTV has to reinitialize them.
> 
> I certainly hope that this helps others here. I'm glad that I took the chance as it paid off!
> 
> UPDATE 2: Local cannels are back in lineup. Only took about 30 minutes.


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## Sea bass

Is your R15 a 500? Not sure if this makes a difference...


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## ncguy68

Yes, my R15 is a 500.


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## Sea bass

Not sure what to say...I've had a few issues with the reboots. I changed the power supply C7 capacitor in mine as it was bulged, still getting the reboots. I have not tried replacing the HDD yet...I have read the C7, C8, & in some circumstances the C10 caps have been an issue, and if bulged, they need replacing...I may still change the C8 & C10 caps anyway. Last resort is the HDD.

Were you just getting random reboots like I am, or was the HDD making the clicking sound with the record light blinking? How do the caps look?


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## ncguy68

I am getting random reboots....It happens once or twice a week while watching television...I don't know if it happens while the receiver is in standby mode. The caps all look fine...none of them appear to be bulging. I have ran all the diagnostic tests and they report fine....including the hard drive.


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## Sea bass

Must be the HDD. Strange, 99% of my recent recorings are fine, I had 2 in the list last week that were skipping a head near the end of the recorded show...Sorry, I wish I could help more, I have never changed the HDD, but that may happen soon! It sucks having these issues


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## Sea bass

Another way I know if it has rebooted through the day, the "tv mail" deletes whenever the unit reboots...


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## tong

ncguy68 said:


> I was not successful trying to repalce the hard drive in my R15 following this techique. I DVR would never recognize the drive or format it. WhenI attempted to format I received the following message: Fail, Error Ox7b.
> 
> The replacement drive works fine in a computer and the old DVR drive still works in the DVR, but the drive is four years old and starting to fail (constant reboots).
> 
> My DVR has software version OX1274....does anyone know if they no longer allow replacement drives with the newer software updates?


Same issue, r15-500, sw 0x1274, same error code. Played around in the diagnostic menu. It's as if the dvr cant talk to the drive.

WDC 160gb caviar blue, runs and tests jsut fine on a pc (ran wdc diag tools).

Back to the aging oem one for now. It had gotten a bit more life pulling it from the dvr and running the extended seagate tests on a pc (to remap bad sectors) + a reformat by the dvr a few months ago.

FWIW my r15 has replaced caps in the powersupply.


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## WalkGood

tong said:


> Back to the aging oem one for now. It had gotten a bit more life pulling it from the dvr and running the extended seagate tests on a pc (to remap bad sectors) + a reformat by the dvr a few months ago.


Can you give more details on the seagate tests please? Where did you get the software?

Thanks


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