# PVR Hard Drive



## tmagrino

Does anyone know if hard drive in the PVR 501 can be replaced by the user? I want to replace the noisy 40 Gig hard drive with a newer, and quieter, Maxtor 120 Gig drive. If I format the new drive with my PC, will the 501 reciever be able to use it? Or does Dish put their own operating system on the drive? Thanks.


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## NEBUGEATER

Not a likely posability.

Welcome to the board.

GO here for some more detail on this subjet in anther thread.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=19795&highlight=pvr+hard+drive


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## Jacob S

Is there a company that does these upgrades for consumers for a charge other than the 7100/7200 PVR's?


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## JohnMI

tmagrino said:


> Does anyone know if hard drive in the PVR 501 can be replaced by the user?


Yes, it can -- but it isn't a trivial matter.



> I want to replace the noisy 40 Gig hard drive with a newer, and quieter, Maxtor 120 Gig drive.


This would be difficult and, depending on what you have, possibly not possible at all. You could go to an 80GB (DVR508), but might not be able to go to a 120GB (DVR510).



> If I format the new drive with my PC, will the 501 reciever be able to use it?


You basically erase the drive completely and then get the DVR501 to "marry" itself to the drive. No, you can't just format it in your PC and put it in and have it work.

You may want to visit the "dishmod" group on Yahoo Groups for more information on changing your hard drive. But, again, it isn't trivial -- and might not be worth the hassle for you.

- John...


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## JohnMI

Jacob S said:


> Is there a company that does these upgrades for consumers for a charge other than the 7100/7200 PVR's?


Not that I know of. I haven't heard of any or seen one ever mentioned on dishmod.

- John...


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## tmagrino

Thanks for all the good information. I am not interested in hacking into the system to make the hard drive work, I was just looking for an easy way to fix a noisy hard drive. I guess I will just have to put up with the noisy drive. I complained to Dish several times and they will not do anything about it. They suggested I put the receiver in another room where I can't hear it and use the UHF remote to control it from the room where the TV is.



jgoggan said:


> Yes, it can -- but it isn't a trivial matter.
> 
> This would be difficult and, depending on what you have, possibly not possible at all. You could go to an 80GB (DVR508), but might not be able to go to a 120GB (DVR510).
> 
> You basically erase the drive completely and then get the DVR501 to "marry" itself to the drive. No, you can't just format it in your PC and put it in and have it work.
> 
> You may want to visit the "dishmod" group on Yahoo Groups for more information on changing your hard drive. But, again, it isn't trivial -- and might not be worth the hassle for you.
> 
> - John...


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## JohnMI

tmagrino said:


> Thanks for all the good information. I am not interested in hacking into the system to make the hard drive work, I was just looking for an easy way to fix a noisy hard drive. I guess I will just have to put up with the noisy drive.


Well, if you just wanted to replace the drive with an exact duplicate (meaning down to the model number), then this isn't quite as difficult a task and could be done without any extra hardware really -- just a bit of skill.



> I complained to Dish several times and they will not do anything about it. They suggested I put the receiver in another room where I can't hear it and use the UHF remote to control it from the room where the TV is.


Yes, my FOURTH 501 (first one died after a year, second one didn't work out of the box, third one worked for 2 days and then gave HD error) works, but is quite loud. I'm just waiting for it finally die so that I can get it replaced also. Dish's practice of replacing warrantied drives with junk refurbished ones is really a problem.

I'm also tired of Dish blaming UPS for the drives dying so quickly. The CSRs that I have spoken with constantly talk about how all the refurbished units are fine when they leave, but then UPS treats them badly and that is why the drives are dying. Well, that's a bunch of garbage. heh.

In any case, all you can do is have a warranty and hope for death of your PVR... Unless you decide to go for it and try the drive swap. Provided that you can find the exact drive, of course -- and that, if you do, it is more quiet. 

- John...


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## Jacob S

Couldn't one go in and change the model number that is shown on the hard drive to make it look like one that would work?


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## JohnMI

Jacob S said:


> Couldn't one go in and change the model number that is shown on the hard drive to make it look like one that would work?


Change the model number in the HD firmware itself? Yes, if you had the right tools and the right drive -- but, so far, that has not been available.

Change the model number in the Dish firmware? In the past, yes -- but they are now doing a more advanced checksum from within the firmware itself to make sure that people are not doing this.

So, unless you want to run P169 for the rest of your life, using a drive not listed in the actual, current firmware is pretty much a bad idea.

- John...


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