# HR34 External Hard Drive Compatibility



## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

I'm having a tough time finding a 2TB external hard drive that has an eSATA connection that is also verified to be compatible with the HMC HR34. I've heard too many examples of other DirecTV HD DVR's not recognizing external drives. I know that DirecTV doesn't sell nor endorse any specific brand or model, but I don't want to purchase one on my own only to find out the HMC HR34 can't read it. Can anyone give me some examples or perhaps a list of manufacturer make and model numbers of 2TB eSATA external hard drives that we know for certain are compatible with and can be read by the HMC HR34?


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Its not the drives, its the enclosures used. I am using a Vantec NexStar 3 NST-360SU-BK External Hard Drive Enclosure (Onyx Black) aluminum air cooled external box with a Seagate Barracuda inside for my HR34. Warm to the touch, not hot. But no fan to worry about sucking in dust, or going out and causing a failure.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

There is a few threads with recommendations/experience for every DVR model and every HDD models and a few enclosures/docks - take your time, it's good reading !


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Thanks Davenlr; which model Seagate Barracuda are you using? Is it a 2TB model?


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

ST320005N4A1AS
5900 RPM drive. 

The 7200 RPM drives will work, as will the Western Digital drives. The ones rated for DVR use (either Seagate or WD) will probably give you longer service, but the cheaper non-DVR rated PC drives have always worked fine on all my boxes, as well as my HTPC, so I havent seen a reason to spend the premium for them.

For what its worth, the HR24 (the only box Ive replaced the internal drive in), came with a Seagate pipeline drive inside. Its also using this above drive, internally. Ive got two of the WD 2TBs in the HTPC as well, and havent had any issues with any of them, except the Seagates are faster in my system. When I access video or music on them, they are instantly streamed. The WD drives appear to delay a while to spin up? first. Not sure if there is a way to solve that, I just used the default settings, and added no jumpers to any of them. I know its those "green" features doing it, but in a DVR, the never have time to go into green mode anyway, so thats not important.

I have also used a "FANTOM" external on my HR20, and HR22...It was only a 1TB, so havent tried it on the HR34.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

WD has the My Book Studio II that has the eSATA connection and it's own enclosure. With the 2 x 1 TB setup though; do you think the HR34 will read both with no issues?


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

Bartman94 said:


> WD has the My Book Studio II that has the eSATA connection and it's own enclosure. With the 2 x 1 TB setup though; do you think the HR34 will read both with no issues?


You want to avoid the WD "MyBook" drives. Stick with their "MyDVR" drives instead.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

See also the eSATA recommendation thread here ....
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=160800


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Yeah I couldn't find any 2TB drives listed in that thread that had been tested with the HR34 (didn't read the entire thing though as it's pretty long). That original drive recommendation from DirecTV only listed like 500GB models. If you know of a specific page on that thread that talks about 2TB eSata EHD's that are tested to work with the HR34 please let me know and I will check it out right away. In the meantime, what about the WDBACW0020HBK-NESN model? Can it be converted to eSata through a cable that has a USB 3.0 connection on one end and an eSata connection on the other? Would that setup work with the HR34?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Bartman94, since you just start looking here - here is useful tip: for each thread you can use "Search This Thread" - say can't read so many pages - search for "HR34" and you will obtain relevant info. Second - you propose very awkward idea - convert USB3.0 port to eSATA (I'm not telling it's just ... impossible), the common wisdom is - avoid any conversion of signals/protocols. Best solution: en enclosure with eSATA port connected DIRECTLY to internal SATA drive. No signal degradation, no additional negotiation by internal controller, nothing. I would accept if your host device [PC, DVR, etc] doesn't have SATA/eSATA port and only USB, but not other way. Third, the "WDBACW0020HBK" is not a drive model, just retail package name; if you could open it - you should get the DRIVE ID; if you can connect to PC then WDC utility will tell you (sometimes the PC OS is lucky to receive ther drive ID from USB port, so check Device Manger under Windows or by similar way for Linux/Mac OS).


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Thanks. When it comes to HDD rotational speed; is there a noticeable difference between the 5900 RPM and the 7200 RPM models? I have found 2 Seagate models that look terrific but I'm trying to decide if the 7200 RPM model is worth the extra money. Also, will the Seagate models ST2000DL003 and ST2000DM001 both work in the Antec MX-1 enclosure via an eSata connection to the HR34?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

RPM ? No difference in term of the DVRs requirement (really, it's written here many times ..).
Search for the drive's models - if no one used, you're the source of new finding ...


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Yeah; I am just hoping someone has tested a setup that we know works - LOL. These external hard drives have so many options that I want to make certain the one I get is going to work and be compatible, and I want which ever one I choose to get here ASAP so I can make sure everything gets stored on it and not on the internal HDD that came with the HR34. I'm really leaning towards the Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Bare Drive with an Andec MX-1 e-Sata enclosure. Will that setup be compatible with the HR34 in your professional opinion?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

It should; but 100% clean, no issue, knowledge will come after your try. 
Counting current [high] prices of HDD and knowing no one DVR is support 6 Gbps speed, I would say you'll pay premium for 7200 RPM and 6 Gbps speed.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Right now Newegg has it for only $139 after my coupon. Check it out...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Bartman94 said:


> Right now Newegg has it for only $139 after my coupon. Check it out...
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834


Don't tell that to Rich  he got a lot of issues with Seagate drives and now he is active proponent of WD drives. I got WD 2 TB [Green AV] for $79 each at Fry's last year.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

What about an internal drive? Would the Seagate Barracuda model ST2000DL003 be compatible and work well in this application with the HR34?


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## Jason Whiddon (Aug 17, 2006)

Just wanted to report back in. I am having no problems with my EARX 2Tb and TT Dock. Best Ive been able to do is 94% full so far.


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

I have a WD Caviar Black 2T drive in my HR34. So far it is working fine. Used it as an external in a RoseWill enclosure for about a month, then put it inside yesterday.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

The WD Caviar Black is $75 - $100 more than the WD Caviar Green. The only difference I can see is the rotational RPM speed. Both have 6gb/s transfer speeds. The rotational speed on the Caviar Green WD20EARX is 5400rpm and on the Caviar Black WD2002FAEX it's 7200rpm. Is that the only difference? Is the Black worth the extra money over the Green in your opinion?


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Bartman94 said:


> Is the Black worth the extra money over the Green in your opinion?


No, I just happened to have one that was earmarked for a server tower that didn't get built. So I re-purposed it. 

The OEM drive is a Green EURS, but can't seem to find them in stock anywhere.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

I'm definitely going with WD then over Seagate for this application based on DirecTV using WD as the OEM. One more question; I can get any one of these 3 through a local source, but which one of these WD models should I go with... the WD20EURS, the WD20EARS, or the WD20EARX?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Bartman94 said:


> I'm definitely going with WD then over Seagate for this application based on DirecTV using WD as the OEM. One more question; I can get any one of these 3 through a local source, but which one of these WD models should I go with... the WD20EURS, the WD20EARS, or the WD20EARX?


I would do proactive search in Internet instead of rely to few responses here. Check Amazon reviews, Newegg, Tigerdirect, etc. Your activity is the key to success!


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## rsblaski (Jul 6, 2003)

litzdog911 said:


> See also the eSATA recommendation thread here ....
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=160800


If you read that thread, start near the end of the messages as some things have changed since the thread was started. Going back about 5 or 6 pages should reveal the generally prefered enclosures/docks, as well as the most recommended hard drives.
FWIW, Thermaltake BlacX docks are easy to use and reasonably inexpensive. If you can put bread in a toaster, you can put a hard drive in a BlacX--really, it is the same.
Most here prefer WD drives.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

rsblaski said:


> If you read that thread, start near the end of the messages as some things have changed since the thread was started. Going back about 5 or 6 pages should reveal the generally prefered enclosures/docks, as well as the most recommended hard drives.
> FWIW, Thermaltake BlacX docks are easy to use and reasonably inexpensive. If you can put bread in a toaster, you can put a hard drive in a BlacX--really, it is the same.
> Most here prefer WD drives.


He is asking us to chose one of three models. Actually.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

I'm going to go with an internal hard drive as the majority of the enclosures I've found including the Antec MX-1 and the Thermaltake BlacX only support a 3 Gb/s transfer speed and I want to go with a 6 Gb/s hard drive unit and I'm also going with Western Digital as it's the OEM installed by DirecTV. The WD20EURS is actually very hard to find so I'm crossing it off the list. The WD20EARS only has a 3 gb/s transfer speed so I'm crossing it off as well. The WD20EARX does have a 6 Gb/s transfer speed but the rotational speed is only 5400 rpm so I'm probably going to dismiss it as well. So after much research and deliberation I'm leaning towards the WD Caviar Black WD2002FAEX. Does anyone know much about the WD2002FAEX? What I mean is whether or not the 6 Gb/s transfer speed and 7200 rpm rotational speed of the WD2002FAEX is noticeably faster, more responsive, and worth the extra money in this application than the 3 Gb/s transfer and 5400 rpm rotation of the WD20EARX. Does the transfer and rotational speed really matter in this comparison or am I just over analyzing it?


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Does the controller in the HR34 actually support anything faster than 1.5 Gb/s? 
As for speed, seek speed and cache size would be my concerns. Usually 7200 rpm drives have faster seek times. As far as actual transfers, 5400 is way more than is required.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Everything has now been decided after completing all of my research. The Western Digital WD20EURS is the absolute perfect upgrade and my final choice. The next question I have is should I use it to replace the factory installed internal hard drive, or should I get an enclosure and just use the WD20EURS externally using an eSATA cable? What's your advice?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Bartman94 said:


> I'm going to go with an internal hard drive as the majority of the enclosures I've found including the Antec MX-1 and the Thermaltake BlacX only support a 3 Gb/s transfer speed and I want to go with a 6 Gb/s hard drive unit and I'm also going with Western Digital as it's the OEM installed by DirecTV. The WD20EURS is actually very hard to find so I'm crossing it off the list. The WD20EARS only has a 3 gb/s transfer speed so I'm crossing it off as well. The WD20EARX does have a 6 Gb/s transfer speed but the rotational speed is only 5400 rpm so I'm probably going to dismiss it as well. So after much research and deliberation I'm leaning towards the WD Caviar Black WD2002FAEX. Does anyone know much about the WD2002FAEX? What I mean is whether or not the 6 Gb/s transfer speed and 7200 rpm rotational speed of the WD2002FAEX is noticeably faster, more responsive, and worth the extra money in this application than the 3 Gb/s transfer and 5400 rpm rotation of the WD20EARX. Does the transfer and rotational speed really matter in this comparison or am I just over analyzing it?


You are betting on length of a tail and color of ears while picking the 'horse'.
[Definitely not reading before posting .]
a) *NO ONR DVR* is support 6 Gbps interface speed.
b) 7200 RPM is not a factor: 1 HD [channel] recording stream is ~1 MB/s, two - ~2 MB/s, OTA - ~2 MB/s; 5400 RPM drive has sustain R/W speed ~30-40-60 MB/s: *ENOUGH !
*
c) no reasonable cache size [8-16-32-64 MB] will help for such stream, one or more.

The mentioned [*many times*] criteria:
- AV type what support 24/7, 
- require less time for internal regular recalibrations,
- taking less energy as possible, ie keep own temperature less then 120 F inside badly ventilated case,
- perhaps low noise, if you keep the DVR close to your ears.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Bartman94 said:


> Everything has now been decided after completing all of my research. The Western Digital WD20EURS is the absolute perfect upgrade and my final choice. The next question I have is should I use it to replace the factory installed internal hard drive, or should I get an enclosure and just use the WD20EURS externally using an eSATA cable? What's your advice?


It's the same as mentioned last few years: for owned DVR - internal, for leased - external.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

Davenlr said:


> Does the controller in the HR34 actually support anything faster than 1.5 Gb/s?
> As for speed, seek speed and cache size would be my concerns. Usually 7200 rpm drives have faster seek times. As far as actual transfers, 5400 is way more than is required.


The HR's currently only support 1.5Gb/sec, the 6Gb/sec drives are pointless in this application. I still have one HR that has a 32MB cache model drive(EADS), and it seems to stay busier if the drive activity light on the BlacX is any indication compared to my EURS with the 64MB cache. I see absolutely no difference in system performance though. I tried a 7200rpm drive at one time as well and all I got was more heat...my experiences say stick with the 5400rpm 64mb cache drives..YMMV. I've been playing with these things for over 5 years now. I cant tell you if the HR34 has a SATA chipset that supports faster transfer rates or not, anyone remember from the 1st look?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

HR34 support SATA 3 Gbps interface speed. Same for BCM7401 based DVRs, like HR22-100.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Thanks guys! Only other question I have now is where can I find the best price on a WD20EURS that's in stock and ready to ship right away?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Spoiler



Internet


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Thanks for the sarcasm - LOL. How about a link or a web address to where I can buy a WD20EURS? I'm simply striking out everywhere I look.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Perhaps post#23 had the answer ?


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

The WD20EURS is not available anywhere unless I want to pay around $240+. The WD20EARX is available for only $115 so as much as I want the WD20EURS as it's a specified AV-GP I don't know that I can justify paying twice as much. The only differences I can see is that the EARX has a 6 Gb/s transfer speed which I won't even use half of anyway compared to the 3 Gb/s transfer speed of the EURS, and I that the EURS is rated specifically for DVR expansion applications. Post #18 in this thread talks about the EARX working pretty good but has anyone else played with it in this application yet? How does the EARX perform in a 24/7 environment, is it noisy at all, and does it run hot at all that I should look out for? Should I just go with the WD20EARX and be confident in it?


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## Jerry_K (Oct 22, 2006)

Over the years I have put 17 different hard drives in DVRs. Never paid one ounce of attention to any of the details of the drive other than the interface was correct and the size was what I wanted. None of those drives ever failed or caused any performance problems in the DVRs. 

Did the same recently with the HR34 and HR24. Just pulled a drive off the shelf that was 2T and installed. Happen to be Seagate Green Barracuda with 5900 rpm speed. Room temp is 78 and temp is 109f in the HR34 right now and it is installed just one inch above the receiver below which produces heat. No closed shelf in between. Just a metal kitchen rack made from coated steel rods. 

Sometimes we can overthink things that have no bearing on performance.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

How many hours of programming will the 2TB WD20EARX hold; how many SD hours and how many HD hours approximately?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

A 34 with 1tb is spec'd at 200 hours HD and 800 SD.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

So with this new 2TB I can anticipate 400 hours of HD and 1600 hours of SD then is that about right?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

When you'll install it, please report exactly real values to us.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Just ordered the Antec MX-1 and the Western Digital WD20EARX! Will report back once they're installed.


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## toms111la (Jun 20, 2007)

Will be anxious to hear


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## mgroups (Apr 28, 2007)

Has anyone tried using a 2.5TB or 3TB drive with the HR34 in an esata enclosure? They won't work with older HRs but could work with the HR34 if it has compatible drivers and software. From Western Digital:

_WD initially led the way in providing solutions for drives larger than 2.19 TB which included a Host Bus Adapter with our 2.5 TB and 3 TB hard drives. This HBA is no longer being provided, and is not needed as updated storage drivers and system software with support for large capacity drives are now available._


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

I did ask to check 2+ TB drives (thinking new FW could support it), but got so much pressure from ppl here ... Cold shower. Up to calling 'don't push us ! - do it by yourself'


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

DirecTV confirmed that the HR34 maxes out at 2TB like the rest of the HR models... no luck on getting to 3TB yet. Drats!


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

Until the OS kernel gets updated, you won't see larger than 2TB support on any of the HR line...


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Bartman94 said:


> DirecTV confirmed that the HR34 maxes out at 2TB like the rest of the HR models... no luck on getting to 3TB yet. Drats!


Thank you for the report.


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## toms111la (Jun 20, 2007)

I just received a new HR24-200 and hooked it up with a new WD20EARX and new BlacX docking station. Everything looked ok but over a period of a few hours, it locked up and rebooted four or five times. I let it start once with the internal drive and it seemed to work ok. I re-started with the WD20EARX and continued to have the same problem. I changed to a different new WD20EARX and tried several different esata cables. After one crash with the current cable and hard drive, it ran ok overnight recording several programs.

I have had a HR24-100 running flawlessly for five or six months with a WD20EARS. For the first few months, it was connected to a BlacX docking station but a month or two ago, it became obvious that the internal fan was failing and it started to overheat. Notwithstanding that it is a leased unit, I opened the case and replaced the fan and moved the WD20EARS inside. It is continuing to work with no trouble.

When I get home today, I will see if the unit is still working ok. It may be that my problems last night were all esata cable related but as mentioned earlier, it did crash once after installing the current drve and cable.

In reviewing the differences between the WD20EARX and the WD20EARS, the specifications looked identical with the exception that the WD20EARX is capable of 6Gb/s transfer while the WD20EARS is specked for 3Gb/s. Earlier posters have indicated that the HR24’s do not support 6Gb/s transfers so I understand that there is no advantage in the 6Gb/s model.

The WD web sight indicates that the WD20EARX can be restricted to a 3Gb/s transfer rate by using a jumper. I am planning on trying the jumper as I can’t see it could hurt.. Do any of you more knowledgeable folks think that this might make my installation more stable?


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

I do...I used to jumper my 3Gb/sec drives down to 1.5Gb/s because I felt they were more stable, but later firmware from D* seems to have negated the need for the jumper. IT isnt going to hurt using the jumper, maybe the drives dont auto-negotiate down to 1.5Gb/sec very well, at least thats a reasonable hunch.


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## toms111la (Jun 20, 2007)

FYI.. I ended up not installing the jumper on the WD20EARX and it seems to be working fine. I guess the early problems were related to bad esata cables. From my limited experience, esata cables tend to be finicky. I would have probably installed the jumper but I am a little unclear as to what the jumper actually does on the WD20EARX. Does it limit the transfer speed to 3Gb/s so it can still negotiated down to 1.5Gb/s or does it try to lock things at 3Gb/s which might cause problems if as some have reported can, the HR24 only operate at 1.5.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

It will lower max rate during negotiation, it's not a lock to particular interface's speed.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Jason Whiddon said:


> Just wanted to report back in. I am having no problems with my EARX 2Tb and TT Dock. Best Ive been able to do is 94% full so far.


That's exactly what you don't want to do. As you fill the HDDs up, the HRs all slow down a lot. I try to keep my 2TB drives about half full and never see this bogging down or slowness of HRs that others report. I've filled up every size of HDD and they all slowed the HRs down as they got past the 30% Available mark on the meter.

For those of you looking at 7200RPM spindle speed Seagates, just remember, they are the ones that started chattering madly a few years ago. And probably will again. If you have to buy a Seagate, I'd really recommend the slower spindle speed HDDs. I just dumped all my 7200 Seagate drives last year for the much quieter WD HDDs.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

toms111la said:


> I just received a new HR24-200 and hooked it up with a new WD20EARX and new BlacX docking station. Everything looked ok but over a period of a few hours, it locked up and rebooted four or five times. I let it start once with the internal drive and it seemed to work ok. I re-started with the WD20EARX and continued to have the same problem. I changed to a different new WD20EARX and tried several different esata cables. After one crash with the current cable and hard drive, it ran ok overnight recording several programs.
> 
> I have had a HR24-100 running flawlessly for five or six months with a WD20EARS. For the first few months, it was connected to a BlacX docking station but a month or two ago, it became obvious that the internal fan was failing and it started to overheat. Notwithstanding that it is a leased unit, I opened the case and replaced the fan and moved the WD20EARS inside. It is continuing to work with no trouble.
> 
> ...


The jumper across the 5 & 6 posts on the HDD will not hurt, but you don't need it. There was a time when you did, but not now.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

toms111la said:


> FYI.. I ended up not installing the jumper on the WD20EARX and it seems to be working fine. I guess the early problems were related to bad esata cables. From my limited experience, esata cables tend to be finicky. I would have probably installed the jumper but I am a little unclear as to what the jumper actually does on the WD20EARX. Does it limit the transfer speed to 3Gb/s so it can still negotiated down to 1.5Gb/s or does it try to lock things at 3Gb/s which might cause problems if as some have reported can, the HR24 only operate at 1.5.


I see nothing finicky at all concerning the eSATA to eSATA jumper cables. I don't think I've ever had a bad one.

Rich


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

I havent either....I'm still using the original cables on all 3 of my enclosures...one over 5 years old.


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## mavs-fan (Aug 31, 2011)

So, if you're going to replace the stock drives in a HR24 and HR34, what's the best way to go. I was considering a WD green 2tb drive like the WD20EARX or WD20EARS. Is there any reason to go with something faster like the WD Cavier black or will the green drives be just as good for DVR upgrades?


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

CCarncross said:


> I havent either....I'm still using the original cables on all 3 of my enclosures...one over 5 years old.


I think they get blamed for "operator failure", especially when the person can't get an external device to work. Couldn't possibly be my fault, must be the cable. That sort of thing.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

mavs-fan said:


> So, if you're going to replace the stock drives in a HR24 and HR34, what's the best way to go. I was considering a WD green 2tb drive like the WD20EARX or WD20EARS. Is there any reason to go with something faster like the WD Cavier black or will the green drives be just as good for DVR upgrades?


The black drives usually cost more and the green drives just work. And work well.

Rich


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## toms111la (Jun 20, 2007)

Rich said:


> I think they get blamed for "operator failure", especially when the person can't get an external device to work. Couldn't possibly be my fault, must be the cable. That sort of thing.
> 
> Rich


You may be correct. I am glad to hear that your cables have been performing well. I have had several instances when I can't get an external device to work properly but it does work after I replace the cable. It just may be a coincidence.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Hay mavs-fan; I don't recommend opening the casing of your D* equipment. Simply using an external enclosure is much simpler, is just as effective, and does nothing to jeopardize your leasing agreement. I am using the WD20EARX inside the Antec MX-1 enclosure. The absolute best HDD to use is the WD20EURS if you can find one as it's specifically designed for DVR applications, but they're rare these days and anyone who has one knows it and will charge you around $250+. Amazon and Newegg have the WD20EARX for only $129. The WD20EARS is also a solid choice as the only real difference between the WD20EARS and the WD20EARX is the transfer speed (the WD20EARS is 3 Gb/s and the WD20EARX is 6 Gb/s). The HR24 and the HR34 are both only capable of 1.5 Gb/s so either HDD is more than you need. The WD Caviar Black drives are simply overkill as the 7200rpm rotational speeds cause the drive to run warmer and it's simply not needed in this application. As stated earlier in this thread; if you have any issues with your external setup, make sure to check your eSata cable before worrying about anything else - LOL. Good luck!


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

toms111la said:


> You may be correct. I am glad to hear that your cables have been performing well. I have had several instances when I can't get an external device to work properly but it does work after I replace the cable. It just may be a coincidence.


I've used many external devices and had no problems with eSATA cables. That doesn't mean that I doubt that others have. I also have no doubt that "operators" can screw up the method of connecting external devices royally.

Rich


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Just ordered my new HMC HR34! It's now officially available to all existing D* customers nationwide instead of only being available for new customers as it was with the initial launch. WARNING... your initial D* customer service rep will try to charge you the full $399.99 retail price and tell you that no discounts are available because the equipment is too new. This is false; I asked for the customer retention department and they took great care of me letting me have the HR34 for only $99 with free installation. The woman in customer retention even got me an accelerated installation date and they are coming this Saturday! One thing about D* is they do value their customers and even though I've been frustrated a few times, in the end they've always taken care of me. I'm going to have them hook up the HR34 and run the standard installation, and then I'm going to record one program on the internal hard drive (this is so that if my external hard drive ever fails and I need to revert back to the internal one I will be able to tell that the internal hard drive has booted back up). Then I'm going to power down my HR34 and unplug it, and then install my 2TB WD20EARX into my Antec MX-1 enclosure. Then I'll boot up the external hard drive, plug it into my new HR34, and then power back up the HR34. It's like Christmas in February! Let's go!


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Good plan, we're waiting for your report.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Took the D* technician close to 5 hours to complete my install today. Got it all done though. Recorded one program on the internal hard drive and then went to work. Powered down the HR34 and then unplugged it from the wall, got the WD20EARX into the MX-1, connected it via eSata to the HR34, booted up the external hard drive and waited a few minutes, and then plugged the HR34 back in and booted it up. And... it works like a charm! Absolutely no noise and silent running from the WD20EARX. With my other 3 HD DVR's I am now able to record ELEVEN shows at the same time, and I have a total of 3.5TB of storage... that's 2,800 SD hours or 5,600 SD 30 minutes shows. I am locked and loaded!


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Now, we will wait for continuous use it during a week at least. To see how it reliable as external drive with the HR34. If you could just fill it up quickly as possible by (24/7) recordings...


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## mavs-fan (Aug 31, 2011)

P Smith said:


> Now, we will wait for continuous use it during a week at least. To see how it reliable as external drive with the HR34. If you could just fill it up quickly as possible by (24/7) recordings...


Will using an external drive slow down the HR34/HR24 at all? We're just evaluating the pros and cons or using an upgraded external vs. internal drive.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

mavs-fan said:


> Will using an external drive slow down the HR34/HR24 at all? We're just evaluating the pros and cons or using an upgraded external vs. internal drive.


It really doesnt. When a larger drive gets filled up, it can be a little slower. I have tried larger drives internally and externally and performance seems to be identical. Full drive performance can be an issue, whether its internal or external...and over the last few years people tried a large variety of drives and enclosures and some were not up to snuff so you would have seen more posts related to poor performance of external setups....If you use the recommended drives and enclosure combinations, you'll barely know the difference. If you have leased dvrs, you really have no choice unless you want to risk a bill for tampering with D*'s equipment.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

mavs-fan said:


> Will using an external drive slow down the HR34/HR24 at all? We're just evaluating the pros and cons or using an upgraded external vs. internal drive.


I'm in the process of filling up a 24-500 to see how that affects the 500. My wife just filled up her stock 24-100 and that experienced no bogging down of the HR. I don't recall anyone doing this yet. The 500 has a 2TB internal drive in it. If I tried this with a 20-700, it would slow the HR down. I'm below 30% Available on the 500 and, so far, I haven't noticed any change in speed when doing anything.

But the 34 is another story. If you stick a 2TB HDD externally on that, you're gonna fill it up quickly with five inputs. I haven't read anything about how the 34s work with a full HDD. You'd think D* took this into consideration when they made the 34 with those five inputs. You'd think.

Rich


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

So far the only downside to the HR34 is the old school orange and blue SD guide. D* is still developing the HD guide for it. I'm still trying to fill up my 2TB external drive. Recorded on all 5 tuners all night and am only at 10% capacity. It will take me a week or so get it 100% filled for complete testing. No issues so far at all though; no slowing or bogging down, etc.


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## Bartman94 (Jan 18, 2012)

Got the WD20EARX over 95% full (finally) and there is not even a slight reduction in response time. Humming along flawlessly now for more than 9 days. Love it!


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Thanks for the report !


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## hunters1234 (Oct 16, 2012)

I'm having my HR34 installed on Sat, and now that it has been a few months since the last post in this thread, I was wondering if there was any new info on what drive I should get to add capacity to the unit. Thanks for any help.


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## Rickt1962 (Jul 17, 2012)

hunters1234 said:


> I'm having my HR34 installed on Sat, and now that it has been a few months since the last post in this thread, I was wondering if there was any new info on what drive I should get to add capacity to the unit. Thanks for any help.


If you can get the lastest Test Firmware on your unit . Do a search on here people are using Raid 5 and can get up to 12 terabytes maybe more !


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## hunters1234 (Oct 16, 2012)

12 TB may be a bit more than what I need. Any thoughts on where to get a compatible 2 TB drive?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

In a store. In Internet stores.


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## hunters1234 (Oct 16, 2012)

Ya thanks. I was thinking "compatible" models that work with the HR34.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Just search/read here - everyone who tried it, already posted results.


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## Rickt1962 (Jul 17, 2012)

WD drives work well with DirectV


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"Rickt1962" said:


> If you can get the lastest Test Firmware on your unit . Do a search on here people are using Raid 5 and can get up to 12 terabytes maybe more !


I'd be wary about going that far. Sure the data is safe, but it might as well be lost if the DVR fan goes out or something.


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## hunters1234 (Oct 16, 2012)

Rick, any WD external eSATA 2 GB drive will definitely work?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I believe it is advised to use one of their AV drives.


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## Rickt1962 (Jul 17, 2012)

hunters1234 said:


> Rick, any WD external eSATA 2 GB drive will definitely work?


Yes


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## hunters1234 (Oct 16, 2012)

How about if I get a WD SATA hdd and put it any eSATA enclosure...would that work? Thanks


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

hunters1234 said:


> 12 TB may be a bit more than what I need. Any thoughts on where to get a compatible 2 TB drive?


Any WD Caviar Green 2TB will work, some folks are using Seagates. You'd have to search for those models.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

hunters1234 said:


> How about if I get a WD SATA hdd and put it any eSATA enclosure...would that work? Thanks


Try the Thermaltake Black X docking station. I'd send you a link, but Amazon won't let me since I've bought them from them and all you'd get is a form for my username and password.

Rich


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

hunters1234 said:


> How about if I get a WD SATA hdd and put it *any* eSATA enclosure...would that work? Thanks


I would not go that far...many have tried various makes and models of enclosures and not all are created equal. That is why in these threads just a few makes and models of enclosures are recommended. The Antec MX-1 and the Thermaltake BlacX are two of the more popular models. There are a few other guys who can recommend RAID enclosures if you are trying to get some kind of data recoverable solution.


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## hunters1234 (Oct 16, 2012)

Thanks for that detailed answer CCarncross


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## bpratt (Nov 24, 2005)

Bartman94 said:


> Hay mavs-fan; I don't recommend opening the casing of your D* equipment. Simply using an external enclosure is much simpler, is just as effective, and does nothing to jeopardize your leasing agreement. I am using the WD20EARX inside the Antec MX-1 enclosure. The absolute best HDD to use is the WD20EURS if you can find one as it's specifically designed for DVR applications, but they're rare these days and anyone who has one knows it and will charge you around $250+. Amazon and Newegg have the WD20EARX for only $129. The WD20EARS is also a solid choice as the only real difference between the WD20EARS and the WD20EARX is the transfer speed (the WD20EARS is 3 Gb/s and the WD20EARX is 6 Gb/s). The HR24 and the HR34 are both only capable of 1.5 Gb/s so either HDD is more than you need. The WD Caviar Black drives are simply overkill as the 7200rpm rotational speeds cause the drive to run warmer and it's simply not needed in this application. As stated earlier in this thread; if you have any issues with your external setup, make sure to check your eSata cable before worrying about anything else - LOL. Good luck!


Amazon.com has the WD20EURS for $108.12 if anyone wants one.


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## stubing (Mar 1, 2013)

Hello - This is my first post here after several months of lurking and researching.  Like many, I've been waiting for DTV to offer the HR34 Genie system to us loyal customers at a reasonable price instead of just the new customers. I called yesterday and was pleased to find out that I finally qualified to get the HR34, 2 clients, SWiM, and Cinema kit - all for free. (With a 2 year contract extension of course  ) So I've got that scheduled for install on March 11th.

Now the fun part. I've been reading in a couple of threads that folks have had good success with the Thermaltake and Antec enclosures, and the WD AV-GP line of drives. A normal person would take that advice and run with it. But I've decided to take one for the team and test out a different enclosure. I just ordered the Mediasonic PRORAID 4 Bay Raid Enclosure (HFR2-SU3S2). After a bit of looking around I found that the cheapest place to get it was from the Mediasonic website. ($199 + free shipping) If someone else on this forum has tested this enclosure I apologize - I haven't seen the thread. I was drawn to this enclosure because it seems to perform more like one would expect during a drive failure and rebuild. Some of the user feedback I've read for the Sans Digital enclosures is downright scary during a drive failure. Some of their enclosures apparently drop offline if a drive fails - as if they are incapable of running in degraded mode. I come from an enterprise data center background and that just doesn't make sense. Feedback that I've read for the Mediasonic above leads me to believe that it will function more like an enterprise class RAID device. (stays online during a drive failure, online hot-swap rebuilds, etc) WE WILL SEE  After all, the only reason I've decided to use an external enclosure is for fault tolerance, so I expect that to function as advertised.

For the drives - I just ordered 4 1TB WD WD10EURX from Amazon for $83/ea. The plan is to run this in a RAID 10 configuration. I went with this config for 2 reasons. It should yield slightly better performance than RAID 5, and it will also give me a net of 2TB. I know several folks have been getting larger sizes working with their DVR's, but I figured I've gambled enough with the enclosure. 

Sorry to be so long winded here, but I'm sure there are a few folks that would love to see if this works or not, including myself. I will definitely report back here with feedback for those interested. It will be mid-March before everything is up and running. Talk to you guys soon.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

stubing said:


> Hello - This is my first post here after several months of lurking and researching.  Like many, I've been waiting for DTV to offer the HR34 Genie system to us loyal customers at a reasonable price instead of just the new customers. I called yesterday and was pleased to find out that I finally qualified to get the HR34, 2 clients, SWiM, and Cinema kit - all for free. (With a 2 year contract extension of course  ) So I've got that scheduled for install on March 11th.
> 
> Now the fun part. I've been reading in a couple of threads that folks have had good success with the Thermaltake and Antec enclosures, and the WD AV-GP line of drives. A normal person would take that advice and run with it. But I've decided to take one for the team and test out a different enclosure. I just ordered the Mediasonic PRORAID 4 Bay Raid Enclosure (HFR2-SU3S2). After a bit of looking around I found that the cheapest place to get it was from the Mediasonic website. ($199 + free shipping) If someone else on this forum has tested this enclosure I apologize - I haven't seen the thread. I was drawn to this enclosure because it seems to perform more like one would expect during a drive failure and rebuild. Some of the user feedback I've read for the Sans Digital enclosures is downright scary during a drive failure. Some of their enclosures apparently drop offline if a drive fails - as if they are incapable of running in degraded mode. I come from an enterprise data center background and that just doesn't make sense. Feedback that I've read for the Mediasonic above leads me to believe that it will function more like an enterprise class RAID device. (stays online during a drive failure, online hot-swap rebuilds, etc) WE WILL SEE  After all, the only reason I've decided to use an external enclosure is for fault tolerance, so I expect that to function as advertised.
> 
> ...


If you're truly afraid of the SansDigital enclosure, which you shouldn't be, then you don't want to go with this one either. It's the same enclosure, just a different name, as one I've used on my HR34 and had no problems though.

Same guts, similar case: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006MB9B2E/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use nothing but Sans Digital enclosures when I want to use RAID on an HR and haven't had any issues.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

RunnerFL said:


> If you're truly afraid of the SansDigital enclosure, which you shouldn't be, then you don't want to go with this one either. It's the same enclosure, just a different name, as one I've used on my HR34 and had no problems though.
> 
> Same guts, similar case: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006MB9B2E/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
> 
> I use nothing but Sans Digital enclosures when I want to use RAID on an HR and haven't had any issues.


Huh. If I recall correctly, your RAID box was only ~ $100. That's a big difference in pricing.

Rich


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Rich said:


> Huh. If I recall correctly, your RAID box was only ~ $100. That's a big difference in pricing.
> 
> Rich


I've used 2 different RAID boxes. A 2 drive version, that was in the neighborhood of $100, and a 4 drive version which is the one I linked to above.


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## stubing (Mar 1, 2013)

RunnerFL said:


> It's the same enclosure, just a different name, as one I've used on my HR34 and had no problems though.
> 
> Same guts, similar case


Thanks for making me aware of this Runner. If anything, this almost guarantees that mine should work since yours does. Maybe the feedback I read was for a cheaper/older Sans Digital enclosure? Regardless, I'm glad to know this. I will still report back once this is up and running.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

stubing said:


> Thanks for making me aware of this Runner. If anything, this almost guarantees that mine should work since yours does. Maybe the feedback I read was for a cheaper/older Sans Digital enclosure? Regardless, I'm glad to know this. I will still report back once this is up and running.


The negative feedback I've read on the SansDigital enclosures has either been from people who have no idea how to use it or about the wrong enclosure completely.


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## unixguru (Jul 9, 2007)

RunnerFL said:


> The negative feedback I've read on the SansDigital enclosures has either been from people who have no idea how to use it or about the wrong enclosure completely.


I am an expert. I've owned two SansDigital enclosures. Never, ever, ever, again.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

unixguru said:


> I am an expert. I've owned two SansDigital enclosures. Never, ever, ever, again.


I too am an expert and have no problem with them.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Who need such "experts" who operating two or four RAID boxes total ?


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

P Smith said:


> Who need such "experts" who operating two or four RAID boxes total ?


I do far more work with RAID than just "two or four RAID boxes total".


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Post your file to verify the credentials ,

my remark related to low count of these SansDigital's boxes.

No one *expert* would draw conclusion based on such small numbers.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

P Smith said:


> Post your file to verify the credentials ,
> 
> my remark related to low count of these SansDigital's boxes.
> 
> No one *expert* would draw conclusion based on such small numbers.


I'm sitting not 50 feet from over 2,500 servers with RAID that I setup. I don't have to verify anything for you.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

my remark related to low count of these SansDigital's boxes.

No one expert would draw conclusion based on such small numbers.

PS. Regardless of number of servers and RAID cards installed, the rank "expert" would mean much more then that.


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## unixguru (Jul 9, 2007)

A decade as a software engineer/architect developing storage-related enterprise software in a top storage-centric company. Designed/spec'ed/evaluated/purchased millions of dollars of high-end storage. Problems are not limited to super cheap low-end enclosures. I've seen arrays >$100,000 from top vendors that were excrement.

I've used 2 different Sans Digital MS2UT. For that model my observations were:

Internal power supply creates a lot of heat
Fans were poor at cooling it (latest firmware I had eliminated speed-control and ran them full blast - an affirmation of the quality of the hardware design)
I had a drive fail on two separate occasions - possibly due to heat
Something about a DVR reboot after a software upgrade always made them start beeping claiming there was a drive failure when there was not
YMMV. Other models or newer versions of that model *may* have improved.

I experienced too many problems to ever consider any of their products again. I replaced with a CalDigit VR and my experience was totally different - absolutely not a single problem, ever. Sure, it costs more. I personally don't want to spend time - repeatedly - messing with something that is as simple as storage.

I picked the MS2UT originally because it was recommended by this forum. Like most consumers I was looking for something inexpensive that would adequately do the job. And as is usually the case, cheapest frequently means inadequate. If someone has a low threshold for adequate then by all means consider a Sans Digital.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Thank you for the detailed reports.


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## franklin_planner (Oct 12, 2011)

3TB EURS AV-GP with a TT dock. So far so good.


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## alcatholic (Feb 20, 2013)

unixguru;3189694 said:


> I replaced with a CalDigit VR and my experience was totally different - absolutely not a single problem, ever. Sure, it costs more. I personally don't want to spend time - repeatedly - messing with something that is as simple as storage.


As a consumer how much value would you see in the using WD Red drives with TLER inside your CalDigit VR?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

It's Enterprise type drive, so in home environment full of dispensable data like recordings it's overkill, waste of money.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

P Smith said:


> It's Enterprise type drive, so in home environment full of dispensable data like recordings it's overkill, waste of money.


The WD Red label are not Enterprise drives. They are "Small Office" or "Home Office".


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Oops. Then it will be right one for your RAID box.


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## unixguru (Jul 9, 2007)

alcatholic said:


> As a consumer how much value would you see in the using WD Red drives with TLER inside your CalDigit VR?


I have enterprise Seagate drives in mine. Reds weren't available the last time I got drives.

I wouldn't use anything that wasn't RAID qualified. Others will, of course, work but *if* the right kind of problem develops then one may find out that they really don't have RAID


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## alcatholic (Feb 20, 2013)

unixguru said:


> I have enterprise Seagate drives in mine. Reds weren't available the last time I got drives.
> 
> I wouldn't use anything that wasn't RAID qualified. Others will, of course, work but *if* the right kind of problem develops then one may find out that they really don't have RAID


Thank you for the response.

Is there anything wrong with using Raid drives as single drives? I'm not sure I want raid at this time, but would like the option to use a Red as a single drive now and as part of a raid later.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

alcatholic said:


> Is there anything wrong with using Raid drives as single drives? I'm not sure I want raid at this time, but would like the option to use a Red as a single drive now and as part of a raid later.


There's nothing wrong with it at all. The thing to remember however is if you're going to add a drive to a RAID array you'll lose all data on it when the array is created. You can't just get another drive and setup an array and keep the data on the drive you have now. You could copy it off, create the array and then copy it back though.


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## alcatholic (Feb 20, 2013)

RunnerFL said:


> There's nothing wrong with it at all. The thing to remember however is if you're going to add a drive to a RAID array you'll lose all data on it when the array is created. You can't just get another drive and setup an array and keep the data on the drive you have now. You could copy it off, create the array and then copy it back though.


Thank you for the response. I'm glad a TLER drive does pose any problems as a stand alone drive.

I understand about losing all the data on a drive when used to create an array. Although, I'm thinking about going with an esata drobo box (if I can find one cheap on craigslist or someplace).

Any thoughts on my notion of using a Drobo box?!


----------



## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

alcatholic said:


> Thank you for the response. I'm glad a TLER drive does pose any problems as a stand alone drive.
> 
> I understand about losing all the data on a drive when used to create an array. Although, I'm thinking about going with an esata drobo box (if I can find one cheap on craigslist or someplace).
> 
> Any thoughts on my notion of using a Drobo box?!


Do any of the DROBO boxes offer eSATA? Apparently an older model DROBO S had eSATA on it, but it looks like they dropped eSATA support on their currnent line.


----------



## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

CCarncross said:


> Do any of the DROBO boxes offer eSATA? Apparently an older model DROBO S had eSATA on it, but it looks like they dropped eSATA support on their currnent line.


Good question. The only ones I saw were USB 2.0 and USB 3.0.


----------



## alcatholic (Feb 20, 2013)

CCarncross;3191060 said:


> Do any of the DROBO boxes offer eSATA? Apparently an older model DROBO S had eSATA on it, but it looks like they dropped eSATA support on their currnent line.


None of the current Drobo boxes offer esata, and, yes, only the older Drobo S offered esata.

So I'm looking at prices for used Drobo S units, just to keep my options open while I wait for the HR44. If I find a good used deal, and there are no known incompatibilities using a Drobo with an hr34, I might consider it.

But I know there are other likely more sensible ways to go.


----------



## stubing (Mar 1, 2013)

Hello all, just wanted to report back on my experience with the Mediasonic enclosure as promised. I hooked it up last night right after the DirecTV tech finished his install. It's working perfectly! :righton: I put 4 1TB drives in (RAID 10), set the fan to "auto" and it is running at the lowest/quietest speed. The air blowing out is cold. I could not be any happier. Here are the model numbers I used again to save everyone the trouble of searching:

Enclosure: Mediasonic PRORAID 4 Bay (HFR2-SU3S2)
Drives: 4 X 1TB Western Digital (WD10EURX)

Success!


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

not that fast  
you just pass install phase

now we will wait for your report after 3-6 months and/or when free space will come to 5%


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

P Smith said:


> not that fast
> you just pass install phase
> 
> now we will wait for your report after 3-6 months and/or when free space will come to 5%


Yup, can't confirm it will work for a long time unless you let it run for a long time... :lol:

Rich


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## Choir (Feb 11, 2008)

Decided to upgrade the storage on my HR34.

Ordered a 3TB WD AV-GP hard drive (WD30EURS) and a Thermaltake enclosure (ST0021U). 
I wanted to get the Antec MX-1 but it is out of stock everywhere, I am wondering if it has been discontinued.

I am going to try and set it up this weekend. 
What is the procedure? 
RBR on the HR34 and power on the enclosure while the HR34 is rebooting?



Thanks,


Choir


----------



## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Choir said:


> Decided to upgrade the storage on my HR34.
> 
> Ordered a 3TB WD AV-GP hard drive (WD30EURS) and a Thermaltake enclosure (ST0021U).
> I wanted to get the Antec MX-1 but it is out of stock everywhere, I am wondering if it has been discontinued.
> ...


Attach the dock, put the drive in the dock and do a menu reboot.


----------



## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

RunnerFL said:


> Attach the dock, put the drive in the dock and do a menu reboot.


Does that method work with the 24s?

Rich


----------



## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Rich said:


> Does that method work with the 24s?
> 
> Rich


It did/does on my HR24-500. I can't speak for the -100 or -200 for sure but I don't think it would be much different.


----------



## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

I recommend completely shutting down the HR, regardless of model, by doing a menu restart receiver, then pull the power cord when all the lights go out. Hook up the dock, insert the drive, power on the dock/drive combo, wait about 15-30 seconds for drive to fully spin up, plug the dvr back in and let it boot. It should recognize the external during boot process, format it, and give you 100% free space.


----------



## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

RunnerFL said:


> It did/does on my HR24-500. I can't speak for the -100 or -200 for sure but I don't think it would be much different.


I can see how it would work, but I'd be afraid of the external device going south.

Rich


----------



## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

CCarncross said:


> I recommend completely shutting down the HR, regardless of model, by doing a menu restart receiver, then pull the power cord when all the lights go out. Hook up the dock, insert the drive, power on the dock/drive combo, wait about 15-30 seconds for drive to fully spin up, plug the dvr back in and let it boot. It should recognize the external during boot process, format it, and give you 100% free space.


Yeah, I'll stick with the method (above) we've been recommending. As I said in my last post, I'd be afraid of the external device (they are cheap) going south. I know *RunnerFL* is using a more expensive RAID setup on his HR34.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

RunnerFL said:


> It did/does on my HR24-500. I can't speak for the -100 or -200 for sure but I don't think it would be much different.


Which external device are you using on the 24-500 and which HDD do you have in it (the external device)?

Rich


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## Choir (Feb 11, 2008)

Choir said:


> Decided to upgrade the storage on my HR34.
> 
> Ordered a 3TB WD AV-GP hard drive (WD30EURS) and a Thermaltake enclosure (ST0021U).
> I wanted to get the Antec MX-1 but it is out of stock everywhere, I am wondering if it has been discontinued.
> ...


Got it installed over the weekend, everything went smoothly.

Only problem I had was with the series links.
I wrote down the series links on the internal drive and tried to duplicate them after I installed the external drive.
Problem was I couldn't figure out a way to add a series link except finding the desired show in the program guide and then hitting "record series".
It took a while to rebuild the program guide (about 20 hours or so), and some of the series links are for shows that aren't on right now (i.e. Boardwalk Empire).

I will update how well the enclosure and HD are doing in a couple months.

Thanks,

Choir


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

If you would go with well known upgrade path while preserving existing content of a drive (recordings, setting, etc) you would be in better position...
See dedicated thread "Copy ..."


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Rich said:


> Which external device are you using on the 24-500 and which HDD do you have in it (the external device)?
> 
> Rich


On my 24-500 I had to go with a WD drive. One of my usual Seagate drives wouldn't work even though the internal is a Seagate.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Choir said:


> Problem was I couldn't figure out a way to add a series link except finding the desired show in the program guide and then hitting "record series".


You can either do it that way or press record twice when the show is highlighted in the guide.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

RunnerFL said:


> On my 24-500 I had to go with a WD drive. One of my usual Seagate drives wouldn't work even though the internal is a Seagate.


I've had that happen a few times. You go thru all that trouble and a Seagate doesn't work externally and you know there's an internal Seagate. Puzzling, to say the least.

What external device are you using? On the 500?

Rich


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Rich said:


> I've had that happen a few times. You go thru all that trouble and a Seagate doesn't work externally and you know there's an internal Seagate. Puzzling, to say the least.


Yeah, very. I was ready to pull my hair out.



Rich said:


> What external device are you using? On the 500?


A TT dock.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

RunnerFL said:


> Yeah, very. I was ready to pull my hair out.
> 
> A TT dock.


Huh, I've had problems with WD drives used externally on 500s. Perhaps the next time I get a leased 500 I'll give a Seagate Pipeline a shot. Thanx.

Rich


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## AndyInNYC (Nov 2, 2009)

Can I configure an external eSata box with a Genie and create a RAID 5 array with 4 3TB drives without issues? I can't seem to find any answers as to whether this will work or not.

thanks,

Andrew


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

AndyInNYC said:


> Can I configure an external eSata box with a Genie and create a RAID 5 array with 4 3TB drives without issues? I can't seem to find any answers as to whether this will work or not.
> 
> thanks,
> 
> Andrew


It all depends on the enclosure you use. See the eSATA recommendation thread, there are several enclosures listed in there.


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