# HR21-700 A problem has been detected in your hard drive



## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

This afternoon I walked by the HR21 in the bedroom and saw the blue circle spinning. I turned on the TV and it has the above message on it. The scanning process is at 37 % and it has found over 9000 errors. What are the chances it will recover? It is a leased receiver but I do not have the protection plan. What is the normal charge for a replacement, just a shipping charge, or is it luck of the draw?


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

No protection plan will cost you $20 in shipping charges and you will not have a choice of what model receiver you get it will be any of the HR2x series.


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

Even if it does recover, watch everything you can because it probably wont be long before it dies.


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## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

I gave up on it tonight and ordered a replacement for the $19.95 shipping charge. In 13 years of having satellite TV this is the first time I had a receiver go bad. I guess I was due!!


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

I hope you didn't lost too many shows that you cannot find again, I was thinking about that when I finally sat down and watched the last episode of the season of "V" last night.

Maybe you will get a new HR24 as a replacement, at least something good will come from it.


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## Mickstix (Feb 13, 2008)

We just lost our HR21-700 saturday morning.. Got basically the same thing as the OP, but the screen was just frozen until a RBR and then a "Diagnostic code: 14-607" (Basically a internal harddrive issue).. Unfortunately we lost about 25hous of programming..  Let me tell ya, trying to run down online episodes is for the birds.. They either only have the lastest couple episodes, or if the show is over for the season they have the finale' and like the first 4 episodes.. So, were licking our wounds and contemplating buying episodes from "Itunes" for like 1.99 each... That can get expensive just to see public tv shows.. Anyway, tomorrow our new "box" arrives.. I'm hoping for a HR24, but being realistic, I imagine it'll just be another 21-700 or similar.. (We lease, w/no PP) I dont mind the 20$ s/h fee, but for that much you think they could get it here overnight, or at least 2nd day.. Oh well, Im just ramblin now, so take care!


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## RCoop (Mar 17, 2008)

Same problem only no errors and no problems found. Is it toast? did a search and did not find anything. csr told me to check to see if it was plugged in ??????????????????


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## MONSTERMAN (Aug 18, 2007)

Same thing happened to me with the HR21-700. Wasted hours trying to let it fix the internal errors itself. You've got to realize everything "MADE IN CHINA" will only last a couple of years. Little to no QA is performed in these sweat shops. Would be nice if we could buy some HI-END receivers "MADE IN JAPAN".

I had mine swapped out for an HR24-500 (KOREA) during my MRV upgrade for no cost, hate wasting money on that stupid protection plan. Also, with ordering a replacement via mail, you will most likely end up with the same model receiver. Directv is trying to move out their old stock of receivers.


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## gtheel (Jun 28, 2007)

I had a similar situation last night (can't remember which HR2x I have). I had seen occasional pixellation and stuttering (both during live and recorded programs) over the last week or so. Then, when I deleted a recorded program, it froze for a few minutes and then rebooted. (This is actually the second time this has happened recently, and each time it was the same program I tried to delete.) After going through the startup sequence, it came to the disk check screen and slowly started creeping up. 

After running overnight it the blue circle is still spinning, but the screen is blank (HDMI) so I can't check the disk check status. I don't know how long I should wait before doing a RBR. I don't want to interrupt it in the middle of repairs and potentially cause more damage, even though it seems like the hard drive is going south anyway. Any ideas?


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## STEVEN-H (Jan 19, 2007)

My HR21-100 started acting up last week with disk problem. Then unplugging it fixed it. Now it will not boot. Get the blue screen call direct which I did replacement on the way. At times I can get it into diagnostic mode and disk checks out fine. I have a feeling it is the disk controller not the disk.


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## Ozwaldo (Dec 20, 2007)

My HR-21 is acting up also as of 8/20 and I don't have PP. My question is when you do the replacement with the $20 shipping does that start your commitment period over again ?


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## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

Wow, a lot of HR 21's are going out at the same time! They sent me a HR21-200 to replace my 700. I asked if it would extend my commitment and they said no. I know they are supposed to refurbish these things but my replacement had several scratches on it, the LED's hardly light up at all and the fan is caked with dirt.

It does work OK but I wonder for how long!


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Ozwaldo said:


> My HR-21 is acting up also as of 8/20 and I don't have PP. My question is when you do the replacement with the $20 shipping does that start your commitment period over again ?


No.

Rich


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## gtheel (Jun 28, 2007)

I'm a bit confused. If my HR2x is indeed dead, and I don't have the protection plan, do I have to pay the full price for a new one, or will D* send me one for the $20 shipping charge?


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## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

"gtheel" said:


> I'm a bit confused. If my HR2x is indeed dead, and I don't have the protection plan, do I have to pay the full price for a new one, or will D* send me one for the $20 shipping charge?


They will send you one for the shipping charge only. They will try and sell you the protection plan!


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Phil T said:


> They will send you one for the shipping charge only. They will try and sell you the protection plan!


Which, I think, is a good thing to have. I know it's saved me a small fortune over the years. Some folks get away without ever using it and brush it off as something that nobody really needs. But when you need it...

Rich


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## beachlover (Feb 27, 2010)

rich584 said:


> Which, I think, is a good thing to have. I know it's saved me a small fortune over the years. Some folks get away without ever using it and brush it off as something that nobody really needs. But when you need it...
> 
> Rich


How about enlightening us on how it actually saved you money....I only have it because of fear the receivers will quit....


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

:nono2: Looks like the HR21 series have run their course.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

beachlover said:


> How about enlightening us on how it actually saved you money....I only have it because of fear the receivers will quit....


Brushing aside all the problems I had with TiVos and Ultimate TV DVRs that the Protection Plan took care of, I had a really crappy high def dish installation in the fall of '06 and, between then and April of '08, I must have had...I don't really know how many service calls to fix problems caused by that install. My complete cabling system, dish/dishes and several multi-switches were all replaced or refitted. If I had been charged for all this work, I can't begin to imagine how much it would have cost.

The PP's CSRs are, for the most part, more knowledgeable and easier to deal with than the CSRs you get if you don't belong to the PP. They quickly transfer you to the Case Management Group or Retention if they cannot correct the problem. Try that without the PP.

If your dish get, blown off the roof by winds or lightning, the PP quickly will replace the dish and any collateral damage will be fixed.

For what, $6 a month? How can you beat that? I'm a firm believer that most warranties are unnecessary, but in my case, I'm damn glad I spent that $6 a month since day 1 with D*.

Now I'll probably get a few answers to this post from folks who have been using D* for forty or fifty years and have never had a problem and think I'm nuts for spending that paltry amount, but they'll never change my mind. I think it's foolish not to be a member of the PP.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

MysteryMan said:


> :nono2: Looks like the HR21 series have run their course.


And a slow course it has been.

Rich


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## gtheel (Jun 28, 2007)

gtheel said:


> I'm a bit confused. If my HR2x is indeed dead, and I don't have the protection plan, do I have to pay the full price for a new one, or will D* send me one for the $20 shipping charge?


After running through the disk check overnight, it was only at 3% with around 12 errors found and repaired. I figured this meant it was hung, so I did a RBR with no luck and eventually unplugged it for a few minutes.

After that, it started up successfully. However, there is still noticeable stuttering and pixellation, so it seems like it's only a matter of time on the hard drive.

Will D* send a replacement if mine is not actually dead but just showing signs that the end is near? The pixellation is more of an annoyance right now, but hard drives are generally kind enough to give warning signs before they go.


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## longrider (Apr 21, 2007)

This thread is surprising, I can add one more to the list. I came home Friday night to the spinning circle and when I turned on the TV I got the message A problem has been detected in the storage device...diagnostic code 14-599 The onscreen reboot did not fix the problem but a 5 minute power down did and it has been fine since. It has been getting a fair amount of use over the weekend as I am trying to catch up on what is recorded on it.


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## beachlover (Feb 27, 2010)

rich584 said:


> Brushing aside all the problems I had with TiVos and Ultimate TV DVRs that the Protection Plan took care of, I had a really crappy high def dish installation in the fall of '06 and, between then and April of '08, I must have had...I don't really know how many service calls to fix problems caused by that install. My complete cabling system, dish/dishes and several multi-switches were all replaced or refitted. If I had been charged for all this work, I can't begin to imagine how much it would have cost.
> 
> The PP's CSRs are, for the most part, more knowledgeable and easier to deal with than the CSRs you get if you don't belong to the PP. They quickly transfer you to the Case Management Group or Retention if they cannot correct the problem. Try that without the PP.
> 
> ...


Most of your problems seem to have been with a lousy install and couldn't one make a case that they would be responsible to fix anyways? Failing cables and multi switches usually takes years, if not decades. 
So may I sum up, and correct me if I'm wrong....paying for the PP gets you a bit faster service, saves the shipping for receivers ($20), gets the blown off dish reinstalled ($50 handyman, or myself and bigger lag bolts,free). But I guess most importantly, gets "owned" receivers replaced with "owned" receivers instead of "leased".......


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

beachlover said:


> Most of your problems seem to have been with a lousy install and couldn't one make a case that they would be responsible to fix anyways? Failing cables and multi switches usually takes years, if not decades.
> So may I sum up, and correct me if I'm wrong....paying for the PP gets you a bit faster service, saves the shipping for receivers ($20), gets the blown off dish reinstalled ($50 handyman, or myself and bigger lag bolts,free). But I guess most importantly, gets "owned" receivers replaced with "owned" receivers instead of "leased".......


I dunno what would have happened or how much I would have had to pay. I do know I paid nothing. And I did forget about the owned HRs. I have six and all have huge HDDs in them. Without the PP, should any of these fail they would revert to leased HRs. I bought them with the PP in mind. Wouldn't have considered buying a leased HR on eBay. (Before anyone says you can't activate a leased HR that you've bought on eBay, in certain circumstances you can.)

I don't know how many HR replacements I've had over the years, but at $20 apiece for shipping (I know, I could get that waived most of the time) it would still be a lot of money. As for a "handyman", I can do it all myself, I'm an electrician by trade. But for six bucks a month, I'd rather have people that do these jobs everyday, rather than once in a blue moon, and have the correct equipment.

Rich


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

rich584 said:


> I dunno what would have happened or how much I would have had to pay. I do know I paid nothing. And I did forget about the owned HRs. I have six and all have huge HDDs in them. Without the PP, should any of these fail they would revert to leased HRs. I bought them with the PP in mind. Wouldn't have considered buying a leased HR on eBay. (Before anyone says you can't activate a leased HR that you've bought on eBay, in certain circumstances you can.)
> 
> I don't know how many HR replacements I've had over the years, but at $20 apiece for shipping (I know, I could get that waived most of the time) it would still be a lot of money. As for a "handyman", I can do it all myself, I'm an electrician by trade. But for six bucks a month, I'd rather have people that do these jobs everyday, rather than once in a blue moon, and have the correct equipment.
> 
> Rich


Rich, I think you're the perfect customer for the PP, while I'm the worst. My two leased HR20s have been here working fine from Nov '06 & Mar '07.
I have had one time when the dish seemed to have been hit by the tree it was nestled in at the time, which sheared a rivet locked the mast that the dish mast was connected to. The CSR waived the service call charge. I currently have spares for everything but the dish's reflector. Clearly I'm not the normal DirecTV customer. :lol:


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> Rich, I think you're the perfect customer for the PP, while I'm the worst. My two leased HR20s have been here working fine from Nov '06 & Mar '07.
> I have had one time when the dish seemed to have been hit by the tree it was nestled in at the time, which sheared a rivet locked the mast that the dish mast was connected to. The CSR waived the service call charge. I currently have spares for everything but the dish's reflector. Clearly I'm not the normal DirecTV customer. :lol:


We both know you're not the "normal" D* customer. I was just getting ready to post that fact when I read the last line of your post. Made me laugh. "_*Not normal*_", there's a big understatement. :lol:

Rich


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## Bitgod (Sep 23, 2006)

I'm getting the 14-955 error on mine now and pulling the power several times, with and without the eSATA plugged in, and doing a red button restart hasn't fixed it. Interesting that we're getting a large number of drive issues at the same time. SIGH. Oh well, I would have been more mad had this happened next month, as long as I get a replacement before Labor Day weekend, I'm not going on a killing spree. If I miss the start of college football season though, all bets are off.

Edit: called dtv today, replacement dvr on it's way. Just have to decide now if I'm going to stick with my 2 year old 1TB or get a 2TB drive.


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## flogduh (Nov 4, 2005)

rich584 said:


> Brushing aside all the problems I had with TiVos and Ultimate TV DVRs that the Protection Plan took care of, I had a really crappy high def dish installation in the fall of '06 and, between then and April of '08, I must have had...I don't really know how many service calls to fix problems caused by that install. My complete cabling system, dish/dishes and several multi-switches were all replaced or refitted. If I had been charged for all this work, I can't begin to imagine how much it would have cost.
> 
> snip
> 
> Rich


Hey Rich, me thinks your initial install was done by a Red Sox fan....


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

flogduh said:


> Hey Rich, me thinks your initial install was done by a Red Sox fan....


He was from Staten Island and I do hope he's a Mets fan. Man, talk about screwing something up! And the next guy that came to fix his mistakes (from Staten Island, naturally) was worse. I could go on, but it's all the same. Took four months working with the Case Management Group to finally get everything straightened out.

The reason I keep mentioning Staten Island is that it takes a lot of money to live there and the turnover rate must be sky high for installers because they just don't make much money. High churn rate, not much training, not a good situation.

Rich


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## IndioinHD (Jan 9, 2008)

Same problem for me the same time back in August, HR21-700 drive dies and never reboots, haven't called for a replacement yet figuring the delay will increase the chances of snagging an HR24, then my HR20-700 with an external Seagate 1TB goes into drive scan, took three days to scan as I did not want to interrupt it, when finished it rebooted and I began to watch as much programming as possible, the drive now freezes every few minutes needing another reboot, the refurb HR20-700 and Seagate are only about 1 year old with the drive being about 70% full, the HR internal drive seems fine, a lot of HR's going out around the same time, what gives?


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## cerrdor (Sep 16, 2010)

beachlover said:


> Most of your problems seem to have been with a lousy install and couldn't one make a case that they would be responsible to fix anyways? Failing cables and multi switches usually takes years, if not decades.
> So may I sum up, and correct me if I'm wrong....paying for the PP gets you a bit faster service, saves the shipping for receivers ($20), gets the blown off dish reinstalled ($50 handyman, or myself and bigger lag bolts,free). But I guess most importantly, gets "owned" receivers replaced with "owned" receivers instead of "leased".......


Only thing I can say is if the install is crappy you signed the paper stating everything was good, so in the eyes of DTV legal beagles in your opinion everything was fine so if something fails more than 90 days after the install its your problem because 1) you signed the order for the installer stating everything is great 2) Dish, cables, multiswitch, and remote are all owned by the customer only the stb is leased so if something is wrong with YOUR equipment it costs DTV $200 dollars to roll a truck out so you have to pay 50 bucks of that if YOUR equipment is messed up after your install (only guaranteed for 90 days after the install)

PP is well worth the $6 dollars a month, I wouldn't drop it for anything!


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

IndioinHD said:


> Same problem for me the same time back in August, HR21-700 drive dies and never reboots, haven't called for a replacement yet figuring the delay will increase the chances of snagging an HR24, then my HR20-700 with an external Seagate 1TB goes into drive scan, took three days to scan as I did not want to interrupt it, when finished it rebooted and I began to watch as much programming as possible, the drive now freezes every few minutes needing another reboot, the refurb HR20-700 and Seagate are only about 1 year old with the drive being about 70% full, the HR internal drive seems fine, a lot of HR's going out around the same time, what gives?


Seagate HDDs used to be my hard drive of choice on my 20-700s. Then an NR did something a while back that caused most of my Seagate drives to begin chattering. Then, for the first time, a large Seagate Cuda drive that I had put in one of my owned 20-700s stopped working. First time, that I can recall, a large internal failed. I put a stock WD 300GB HDD in it and it was silent. Now it has a 2TB EVDS in it and it's still silent. Wasn't the 20-700. It was the Seagate.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

cerrdor said:


> Only thing I can say is if the install is crappy you signed the paper stating everything was good, so in the eyes of DTV legal beagles in your opinion everything was fine so if something fails more than 90 days after the install its your problem because 1) you signed the order for the installer stating everything is great 2) Dish, cables, multiswitch, and remote are all owned by the customer only the stb is leased so if something is wrong with YOUR equipment it costs DTV $200 dollars to roll a truck out so you have to pay 50 bucks of that if YOUR equipment is messed up after your install (only guaranteed for 90 days after the install)


That happened to me, but I didn't know how bad the install was at the time. When the 21s came out it became obvious that the initial installation was bad.



> PP is well worth the $6 dollars a month, I wouldn't drop it for anything!


Me too, they rebuilt my whole system, from the dish/dishes to the cabling, to the multi-switches. Took four months and many truck rolls to get everything right and trouble-free. Without the PP, I would have spent a fortune. I've said this before and I'll say it again, _*if you don't know exactly what you are doing*_, not having the PP is foolish.

Rich


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## IndioinHD (Jan 9, 2008)

rich584 said:


> Seagate HDDs used to be my hard drive of choice on my 20-700s. Then an NR did something a while back that caused most of my Seagate drives to begin chattering. Then, for the first time, a large Seagate Cuda drive that I had put in one of my owned 20-700s stopped working. First time, that I can recall, a large internal failed. I put a stock WD 300GB HDD in it and it was silent. Now it has a 2TB EVDS in it and it's still silent. Wasn't the 20-700. It was the Seagate.
> 
> Rich


I really wanted to go with a 2TB drive but opted for this one because D* had it on their "recommended" list, figured it would be more stable long term, looks as if I'm about to lose a year's worth of programming anyway.


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

rich584 said:


> Brushing aside all the problems I had with TiVos and Ultimate TV DVRs that the Protection Plan took care of, I had a really crappy high def dish installation in the fall of '06 and, between then and April of '08, I must have had...I don't really know how many service calls to fix problems caused by that install. My complete cabling system, dish/dishes and several multi-switches were all replaced or refitted. If I had been charged for all this work, I can't begin to imagine how much it would have cost.
> 
> The PP's CSRs are, for the most part, more knowledgeable and easier to deal with than the CSRs you get if you don't belong to the PP. They quickly transfer you to the Case Management Group or Retention if they cannot correct the problem. Try that without the PP.
> 
> ...


I also have the PP and have had to use it 3 times.

Also, add me to the list: my HR21-200 died about three weeks ago (hard drive). The sent me a refurb HR21-100 and it works just fine. No complaints here. The PP folks were terrific as far as my dealings with them have been.

...and I'll second the opinion that the PP people are considerably more knowledgeable and cooperative than the typical CSRs may be.


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

IndioinHD said:


> I really wanted to go with a 2TB drive but opted for this one because D* had it on their "recommended" list, figured it would be more stable long term, looks as if I'm about to lose a year's worth of programming anyway.


I went with the 2 TB EADS drive and Thermalite dock that Rich recommends. I have the drive, the dock should be here tomorrow. I'm putting it on my HR20-700.


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## IndioinHD (Jan 9, 2008)

I didn't have the PP until '09, then had a myriad of issues, bad lnb, multi's, cables etc., I was going to buy the equipment and replace myself until D* offered the PP, everything would be fixed including multiple service calls for 5.99 monthly, this vs a huge bill and being able to sign up AFTER the fact was a no brainer.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

IndioinHD said:


> I really wanted to go with a 2TB drive but opted for this one because D* had it on their "recommended" list, figured it would be more stable long term, looks as if I'm about to lose a year's worth of programming anyway.


They really should take the Seagate Showcase off their recommended list. Seagate originally recommended the Showcase for Dish DVRs and Pace (they make the HRs that end in "700") DVRs. After I called them and explained that D* has several other manufacturers they took that recommendation off their website. Seagate has told me time and again, they don't recommend any of their HDDs for DVRs. I haven't talked to them in quite a while and they may now have one such as the WD EVDS that is now specifically made for DVRs.

Rich


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

rich584 said:


> They really should take the Seagate Showcase off their recommended list. Seagate originally recommended the Showcase for Dish DVRs and Pace (they make the HRs that end in "700") DVRs. After I called them and explained that D* has several other manufacturers they took that recommendation off their website. Seagate has told me time and again, they don't recommend any of their HDDs for DVRs. I haven't talked to them in quite a while and they may now have one such as the WD EVDS that is now specifically made for DVRs.
> 
> Rich


Rich, if you have somehow managed to fill up that 2 TB drive (to a large extent), have you noticed any slow-down as the drive gets "fuller"? I can't imagine I'll ever get over 60%, as I never exceeded that with my 750. Then again, 2 TB could make me lazy.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

hasan said:


> Rich, if you have somehow managed to fill up that 2 TB drive (to a large extent), have you noticed any slow-down as the drive gets "fuller"? I can't imagine I'll ever get over 60%, as I never exceeded that with my 750. Then again, 2 TB could make me lazy.


I deliberately filled up a Cavalry 2TB RAID eSATA set to full so I had the full 2TBs of capacity and I did get a slowdown at around 30-20%. This can be easily corrected by a Menu Restart. At the time *russdog* and I were trying out all sorts of things for his thread which I think is still active even tho he has disappeared from the forum. Every eSATA that I tried at the time exhibited the same slowdown when I reached the 30-20% Available area of capacity. And every one of those eSATAs cleared up when I restarted the HR. *VOS* tipped me off to that.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

hasan said:


> Rich, if you have somehow managed to fill up that 2 TB drive (to a large extent), have you noticed any slow-down as the drive gets "fuller"? I can't imagine I'll ever get over 60%, as I never exceeded that with my 750. Then again, 2 TB could make me lazy.


Under normal use, it's damn near impossible to fill up a 2TB drive. But if you don't delete shows, after a while you will fill it up. Mine usually run at about 50% full. So do my 1.5TB drives.

Rich


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## IndioinHD (Jan 9, 2008)

rich584 said:


> They really should take the Seagate Showcase off their recommended list. Seagate originally recommended the Showcase for Dish DVRs and Pace (they make the HRs that end in "700") DVRs. After I called them and explained that D* has several other manufacturers they took that recommendation off their website. Seagate has told me time and again, they don't recommend any of their HDDs for DVRs. I haven't talked to them in quite a while and they may now have one such as the WD EVDS that is now specifically made for DVRs.
> 
> Rich


Yes they should, a new Seagate should not die in a year, guess I need to look at the setup hasan mentioned you and he are running.

Still no way to extract programming in HD format when something goes wrong?


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

rich584 said:


> Under normal use, it's damn near impossible to fill up a 2TB drive. But if you don't delete shows, after a while you will fill it up. Mine usually run at about 50% full. So do my 1.5TB drives.
> 
> Rich


I'll have to wait at least one more day, perhaps 3. I have the drive, I have the spare eSATA cable, but the Thermalite Dock, which was scheduled for delivery today, did not show up. I even went down to the post office to check. They went through everything received since this morning's delivery went out. No joy.

I'm supposed to call the PO from work tomorrow morning for a "heads up", but if it doesn't show, then it:s Monday afternoon.

I'm not being too anxious for it to get here, am I 

pl.s. That drive is surprisingly heavy, which I always take as a good sign.


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## 07A3 (Jan 21, 2010)

My HR21-500 bit the dust this weekend...drive failure. I guess maybe they have an expiration date on them?! I have an older HR21-100 that is still working fine, although I have external drive connected to that. I have been looking for an excuse to upgrade MRV anyway...


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

IndioinHD said:


> Yes they should, a new Seagate should not die in a year, guess I need to look at the setup hasan mentioned you and he are running.
> 
> Still no way to extract programming in HD format when something goes wrong?


I have a lot of HRs and back up everything in triplicate. So, I've never had to worry about losing programming if an HDD or an HR fails. There are ways to do it, perhaps someone else can point you to the thread.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

hasan said:


> I'll have to wait at least one more day, perhaps 3. I have the drive, I have the spare eSATA cable, but the Thermalite Dock, which was scheduled for delivery today, did not show up. I even went down to the post office to check. They went through everything received since this morning's delivery went out. No joy.
> 
> I'm supposed to call the PO from work tomorrow morning for a "heads up", but if it doesn't show, then it:s Monday afternoon.
> 
> ...


This is why I pay for Prime shipping from Amazon. $79 well spent and I don't drive myself crazy waiting for my toys to come. 

Rich


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## ColdCase (Sep 10, 2007)

My HR21-700 has been giving me a few freezes, like a drive issue. I'm using an external 2TB WD20EADS in an eSATA Antec housing (as was recommended here about a year ago) about 25% filled. I did a RB reset, was distracted reading emails when I looked up the DVR said it was formatting the drive... lost all my programming and scheduled items, kinda suspect the drive is on the way out (but only in use 13 months, I thought the WDs were good drives). I have a DTV TIVO unit thats lasted over 6 years.

So I power down and disconnect the external drive but the HR21-700 now dies with a 14-174 storage device error. Hmmph... this internal drive was used for maybe a month at the most.... so I guess they are failing regardless of whether you use them or not.

Anyway before I call DTV for a replacement DVR, could i have done anything wrong that caused the 14-174 error?

What's the latest on the best 1-2TB drive for these DVRs? Anyone go through the WD warrantee process? 

Is this a drive thing or perhaps a HR21 software or hardware problem?

My HR22-100 seems to be working fine.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

ColdCase said:


> My HR21-700 has been giving me a few freezes, like a drive issue. I'm using an external 2TB WD20EADS in an eSATA Antec housing (as was recommended here about a year ago) about 25% filled. I did a RB reset, was distracted reading emails when I looked up the DVR said it was formatting the drive... lost all my programming and scheduled items, kinda suspect the drive is on the way out (but only in use 13 months, I thought the WDs were good drives). I have a DTV TIVO unit thats lasted over 6 years.


The mistake you made was using the red button. The proper way to reset an HR with an external device is to unplug both the power cords from the HR and the external device and then plug in the external and wait a bit and then plug in the HR. NEVER do a reboot with an external connected by using the RBR method. Haven't touched that red button for a long time and haven't had any problems.

The EADS were the best that WD had when we recommended them. We had no way of knowing how long they would last. Now the best is the WD EVDS line of HDDs. Specifically made for DVRs.



> So I power down and disconnect the external drive but the HR21-700 now dies with a 14-174 storage device error.  Hmmph... this internal drive was used for maybe a month at the most.... so I guess they are failing regardless of whether you use them or not.


You gotta remember that the internal drive still runs when you connect an external HDD. And with a 21-700, as soon as the HR recognizes the external HDD the fan shuts off inside the HR. If you check the temp of a 21-700 with an external HDD, you'll see 77 degrees. That means the fan isn't running and it's gonna read 77 degrees no matter how hot it gets. The 20s don't work in this manner. When you hook up an external HDD to a 20-700 the fan keeps running and you get the proper readout of temps inside the HR.



> Anyway before I call DTV for a replacement DVR, could i have done anything wrong that caused the 14-174 error?


Yup. You never want to use the RBR method or the Menu Restart option with an external device connected. You might get away with it or you might get the results you see before you.



> What's the latest on the best 1-2TB drive for these DVRs? Anyone go through the WD warrantee process?


Again, any WD EVDS model HDD. Never had to use the warranty. My EADS have been running perfectly for over a year. I've switched to buying the EVDS model now and am putting them in Thermaltake docking stations rather than the MX-1s.



> Is this a drive thing or perhaps a HR21 software or hardware problem?


It's probably a problem with the 21. And I don't think you can fix it. I'd be willing to bet that if you put that external setup you have on another HR it will work. The EADS and the MX-1s are a good setup.



> My HR22-100 seems to be working fine.


Why don't you stick the MX-1 with the EADS HDD on the 22. Betcha it works.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

ColdCase said:


> My HR21-700 has been giving me a few freezes, like a drive issue. I'm using an external 2TB WD20EADS in an eSATA Antec housing (as was recommended here about a year ago) about 25% filled. I did a RB reset, was distracted reading emails when I looked up the DVR said it was formatting the drive... lost all my programming and scheduled items, kinda suspect the drive is on the way out (but only in use 13 months, I thought the WDs were good drives). I have a DTV TIVO unit thats lasted over 6 years.
> 
> So I power down and disconnect the external drive but the HR21-700 now dies with a 14-174 storage device error. Hmmph... this internal drive was used for maybe a month at the most.... so I guess they are failing regardless of whether you use them or not.
> 
> ...


By the way, don't mention the external device when you call D*. Ever.

Rich


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

There is one sure thing in life, well a few, but in this case, electronics fail. I've got pc's with 6 or 7 year old drives in them, I've got one where the drive started failing after a year, I've had a few over the years that were DOA....its the nature of the beast...


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## ColdCase (Sep 10, 2007)

Thanks for the insight, I appreciate it. 

I've read here that some use the menu reset when drives reach 25-30% capacity to fix slow performance issues. Is that just for internal drives? 

The WD has been working fine with the HR-21 since it was reformatted, but I haven't really tested it. Not sure if I should trust it, any thoughts? 

My experience has been that the gray screens, slow channel changes, and stalling on play back with no response to remote buttons have always been a sign that the receiver is having to deal with errors on the hard drive. I pushed the BRB when the the HR continued playing a recorded show for several minutes but would not respond to any remote control or front panel inputs. I was reluctant to just yank the power cord, but now I know better.

I don't think the HR-21 quick format blocks out the bad sectors, it was so quick it couldn't have done a scan?

Is the kind of reset that happens when DTV pushes updated software also dangerous to external drives?


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

CCarncross said:


> There is one sure thing in life, well a few, but in this case, electronics fail. I've got pc's with 6 or 7 year old drives in them, I've got one where the drive started failing after a year, I've had a few over the years that were DOA....its the nature of the beast...


True, but having an external drive and not following the proper method for rebooting them is a recipe for failure.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

ColdCase said:


> Thanks for the insight, I appreciate it.
> 
> I've read here that some use the menu reset when drives reach 25-30% capacity to fix slow performance issues. Is that just for internal drives?


Most of the time a full HDD whether internal or external will bog down the HR once you reach between 20-30% Available. You can safely use the Menu Restart with internal drives, but with HRs with external drives I recommend pulling the power cords on both the HR and the external device and then plugging in the external device and then plugging in the HR. Especially with the 24s.



> The WD has been working fine with the HR-21 since it was reformatted, but I haven't really tested it. Not sure if I should trust it, any thoughts?


I'd trust the EADS but not the 21. Based on your original post.



> My experience has been that the gray screens, slow channel changes, and stalling on play back with no response to remote buttons have always been a sign that the receiver is having to deal with errors on the hard drive. I pushed the BRB when the the HR continued playing a recorded show for several minutes but would not respond to any remote control or front panel inputs. I was reluctant to just yank the power cord, but now I know better.


I've been pulling the plugs on the HRs since I got them. Before that I had UTV DVRs and TiVos and pulled the plugs on them to reset them. Works every time.



> I don't think the HR-21 quick format blocks out the bad sectors, it was so quick it couldn't have done a scan?


I don't have the patience for the diagnostics. I look at what the symptoms are and act on what I think is bad. I think you have a bad HR. Happens.



> Is the kind of reset that happens when DTV pushes updated software also dangerous to external drives?


Absolutely. I usually reboot all my HRs with externals on them after an NR (National Release of software or firmware). The 20-700s aren't prone to failure after an NR with an external attached, but why take the chance?

Rich


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