# Hopper External Hard Drive



## HD IS MY LIFE

I'm getting 2 Hoppers With 2 Joeys installed next week and i'm just wondering if i can continue using both external hard drives that i currently have on my 922 with the Hopper without losing my recordings


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## Stewart Vernon

Yes. you are supposed to be able to use 622/722/922 external hard drives w/ content on a Hopper installation. I guess we won't know 100% for sure until some customers go through it, though.


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## P Smith

Interesting, would you return back H/J boxes if your EHD will not work ?


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## WynsWrld98

I did a chat with DISH online today and they said a 722 DVR's external hard drive would work with the new Hopper. I want confirmation about this as well before jumping in. Someone who was in beta test for Hopper who did it perhaps can post to confirm??


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## P Smith

There was such reports, I did read them. So, yes it's works.


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## kstevens

I had my hopper/joey installed yesterday. I was going to copy recordings to an external hd, but the regional manager (who came to my house for the install since I was the first in his region to get it) said the vip dvr's used a different format and was not compatible with the hopper. So I didn't bother copying them down...


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## Joe Bernardi

The Hopper recognizes and uses the EHD that I had been using with a 922.

There is no problem between a Hopper and an EHD that was used on any VIP receiver (622, 722, 922).


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## steff3

Am I understanding that it is possible to retain recordings saved on an ext hdd and play them on a new/different box (in the event of a box failure for example)?


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## P Smith

yes


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## clotter

Will the Joeys also play content from the EHD?


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## P Smith

Yes, thru h2k as they are pure clients and can't do anything without it (at least for now)


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## steff3

steff3 said:


> Am I understanding that it is possible to retain recordings saved on an ext hdd and play them on a new/different box (in the event of a box failure for example)?





P Smith said:


> yes


Thanks P Smith...this is huge for me and something not curently allowed with my D* DVR's


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## Ray [email protected] Network

The EHD must be from a receiver active on your account and of a like receiver family (722, 622, 922, Hopper).

It will not work on other DVRs or 211/211k. If plugged into the receiver it will ask if you want to reformat. Thanks.



steff3 said:


> Thanks P Smith...this is huge for me and something not curently allowed with my D* DVR's


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## steff3

Ray [email protected] Network said:


> The EHD must be from a receiver active on your account and of a like receiver family (722, 622, 922, Hopper).
> 
> It will not work on other DVRs or 211/211k. If plugged into the receiver it will ask if you want to reformat. Thanks.


Yes, that is what I was understanding and I think this is a great function.


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## Tortolita

Upgrading on Sunday (Thanks to RaymondG!)
I know the EHD I use with a 211 will have to be reformatted, but will I have to pay again to use the EHD with the Hopper?


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## Stewart Vernon

Tortolita said:


> Upgrading on Sunday (Thanks to RaymondG!)
> I know the EHD I use with a 211 will have to be reformatted, but will I have to pay again to use the EHD with the Hopper?


I haven't seen for sure... but they eliminated the EHD fee for 622/722/922 receivers, so I have to assume no EHD fee for the Hopper either.


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## Joe Bernardi

Stewart Vernon said:


> I haven't seen for sure... but they eliminated the EHD fee for 622/722/922 receivers, so I have to assume no EHD fee for the Hopper either.


Correct, there is no fee for using an EHD with the Hopper.


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## duffasaurus

Ray [email protected] Network said:


> The EHD must be from a receiver active on your account and of a like receiver family (722, 622, 922, Hopper).
> 
> It will not work on other DVRs or 211/211k. If plugged into the receiver it will ask if you want to reformat. Thanks.


I had a Hopper and 3 joeys installed on Friday morning and also was concerned whether or not my EHD from my 722 would transfer to the Hopper. The day before the install, I called Dish CSR/Tech support about 10 times and only one out of ten confirmed the data would transfer! Don't you think everyone at Dish should be on the same page? 
P.S. It took 3 techs from a Dish contractor 5 hours to install 1 Hopper & 3 Joeys!


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## P Smith

And your 722's EHD working fine. Right ? I see you omitted to inform us .


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## WynsWrld98

What's the maximum size hard drive that can be used as an external hard drive on the Hopper? I did a chat with DISH last night and the person went off to research for a long time and said she couldn't find an answer.


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## P Smith

40 Gb to 2 TB

For similar questions remember one basic thing - the h2k based on 922, that means many basic limits/functions are the same.


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## duffasaurus

P Smith said:


> And your 722's EHD working fine. Right ? I see you omitted to inform us .


Yes, the EHD from the 722 is working fine on the Hopper!


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## wtrjock

I have a 1tb external drive from my 722 that is working fine. When you go to the dvr screen you select External Drive 1 under the My Hopper menu and all the recordings are there. I also copied about 10 recordings last night without issue.

The external drive 1 label makes me think we might be able to used multiple external drives. I one have 1 with plenty of space left.


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## P Smith

wtrjock said:


> I have a 1tb external drive from my 722 that is working fine. When you go to the dvr screen you select External Drive 1 under the My Hopper menu and all the recordings are there. I also copied about 10 recordings last night without issue.
> 
> The external drive 1 label makes me think we might be able to used multiple external drives. I one have 1 with plenty of space left.


As known, the h2k is based on 922, you should use up to four EHD, using USB hub.


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## WynsWrld98

Would a dual docking station like this qualify as a "USB hub"?: http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1346&ID=2047 (I'm asking because I already have one these laying around that I'm not using)

Also, is the USB connection on the Hopper USB 2.0 or 3.0? I hope 3.0 but I tend to doubt it...


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## P Smith

WynsWrld98 said:


> Would a dual docking station like this qualify as a "USB hub"?: http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1346&ID=2047 (I'm asking because I already have one these laying around that I'm not using)
> 
> Also, is the USB connection on the Hopper USB 2.0 or 3.0? I hope 3.0 but I tend to doubt it...


If your PC seen it as two drives, then the DVR could works too, but for sure you need to test on real h2k. It's USB 2.0 ports.


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## WynsWrld98

P Smith said:


> If your PC seen it as two drives, then the DVR could works too, but for sure you need to test on real h2k. It's USB 2.0 ports.


Yeah my PC does see both drives with this docking station each with a drive letter so sounds like it should work. Off topic but does the 722 DVR also support USB hubs? If so I could try it with my current 722 DVR (plan on upgrading to Hopper/Joey soon).


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## tommiet

Please help me... Other than moving to a single DVR, what would a Hopper and 2 Joeys give me that I don't have now with my 722 and my 612. I have both mirror'd to another TV.


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## P Smith

tommiet said:


> Please help me... Other than moving to a single DVR, what would a Hopper and 2 Joeys give me that I don't have now with my 722 and my 612. I have both mirror'd to another TV.


We cant. You're posting the question what totally off-topic. :nono2:


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## Joe Bernardi

tommiet said:


> Please help me... Other than moving to a single DVR, what would a Hopper and 2 Joeys give me that I don't have now with my 722 and my 612. I have both mirror'd to another TV.


You would have HD on 3 TVs, ability to record all 4 networks in prime time on one tuner (assuming you get HD locals through Dish) while still having two other tuners available, whole house DVR (pause a program in one room and pick it up in another), do all your recording on one DVR with the ability to watch it on any of 3 TVs (no more duplicating timers on two receivers).

IMHO, a better picture quality. HDTV now looks about as good to me as it did ten years ago when I started with Dish HD.


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## bnborg

I have a similar USB 3.0 dual bay docking station by Cavalry. A PC sees it as a hub with the two drives to it.

My 722K only sees one drive if two are in it. If the docking station is turned on with two in it the DVR will either pick one at random or say it is an unsupported device. If the drives are inserted one at a time, the 722K will see only the first one.


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## P Smith

It's only 922 can get up to four EHD. Perhaps H2k will too.


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## bnborg

P Smith said:


> It's only 922 can get up to four EHD. Perhaps H2k will too.


I know.

I was just reporting the results of my tests.


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## txsrooster

So I am getting ready for my install today and am copying all my recorded shows from the 722 yesterday. Everything fine. Get up this morning to move some of last nights recordings to my EHD and the 722 shuts down flashes a think vertical white line and boots back up. I go to check to see if the recordings moved and it says if I want to use the hard drive I need to format it..are all my recordings gone? I did not say yes to format the drive.


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## P Smith

You don't need post your question in many threads - you did open new one for the issue ...

Reading, searching will help you find a solution.


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## txsrooster

i searched and after page 6 of results of EHD results that did not match my problem, I posted here. Then thought maybe I should post in the 722 section sense maybe someone there had experience with the same. Did not post in "Many". But thanks for replying to both..your help is greatfully appreciated.


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## P Smith

Try toi search for "EHD format"...


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## txsrooster

Thanks for the search suggestion, it narrowed down the results considerably. I will post the outcome once I either fix it or fling it. :grin:


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## P Smith

txsrooster said:


> Thanks for the search suggestion, it narrowed down the results considerably. I will post the outcome once I either fix it or fling it. :grin:


Don't bother.
You're on a hook of DIRTeam.


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## dunkonu23

I had two Hoppers and two Joeys installed yesterday. I upgraded from VIP receivers. Each had an EHD attached and both were functional until the upgrade. Unfortunately, neither hard drive works, now. The Hoppers do not recognize the drives. I called Dish last night asking about this. They said to wait 24 hours. I waited. Still no EHD on either Hopper.

I've tried different USB ports, swapping drives from one Hopper to the other. Power down resets. I find the likelihood of two EHD's that had been working fine failing in exactly the same way on different devices to be remote.

Any suggestions?

Scott


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## txsrooster

I purchased a new enclosure moved the hard drive to it, it still fails to recognize it. So I will race you to the fix.


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## dunkonu23

You will win! Short of buying new hard drives, I'm lost. My wife is anxious to get to her stuff on the one in the bedroom!

Scott


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## WynsWrld98

Did u unplug for 30 seconds then come up? My install was today my EHD from 722 recognized with all programs show up on Hopper and Joey after I unplugged and booted up Hopper.


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## dunkonu23

Yes. I unplugged and waited. I unplugged, waited, and swapped ports, too. Every permutation of this I could think of I've done. My wife is going to kill me for doing this and losing all her shows. I could care less about my stuff. 

Scott


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## wtrjock

Sounds like your Hopper might be broke. My EHD works great. Did you look under My Hopper on the DVR screen? You should see External Drive 1.


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## steff3

Are the EHD's plug and play or do I need to completly power down the Hopper > connect and power up the EHD> power back up Hopper?


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## tommiet

I can play back my recordings on my external hard drive now!!!!! No need to transfer to view.


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## dunkonu23

wtrjock said:


> Sounds like your Hopper might be broke. My EHD works great. Did you look under My Hopper on the DVR screen? You should see External Drive 1.


Both Hoppers? The same way? Yep, I look there every time I change something.

Scott


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## dunkonu23

tommiet said:


> I can play back my recordings on my external hard drive now!!!!! No need to transfer to view.


Told you you'd be fixed before me.

Edit... actually, I didn't tell you that. 

Scott


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## dunkonu23

One drive is dead--it doesn't spin up, even when connected to the computer. The other drive is alive, spins up, and I get configuration information and show the partition table from my computer. On either Joey, that drive initializes (lights blink) during a reset of either Hopper, once the Hopper has finished starting, it doesn't see the drive. So, I guess I should call support again in the morning. Fun stuff. 

Scott


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## P Smith

If you can - try use same [working] drive in different enclosure or just USB-SATA adapter.


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## barken

P Smith said:


> As known, the h2k is based on 922, you should use up to four EHD, using USB hub.


Any update from users on the ability to connect more than 1 EHD to the h2k? Currently I have 3 EHDs connected via switch to USB port on 722. The 722 recognizes the EHD I have selected (can't select more than 1 at a time).


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## dunkonu23

P Smith said:


> If you can - try use same [working] drive in different enclosure or just USB-SATA adapter.


That's a good suggestion. I did just that last night as I have an enclosure and separate USB adapter. I first tried it on the drive that wouldn't spin: it's indeed dead. I did the same thing with the drive that spins and it is still recognized by Windows (can't read anything but the partition table). I'm gonna call support to see if there is something I'm missing and if not, I'm going to just buy a two terabit drive (user guide says it will work on a Hopper). It's funny, you do all you can to make sure everything is backed up, then boom! In an instant, it's all gone. At least it was just TV! (I did lose Michael Schumacher's last race for Ferrari, though... )

Scott


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## Grandude

dunkonu23 said:


> That's a good suggestion. I did just that last night as I have an enclosure and separate USB adapter. I first tried it on the drive that wouldn't spin: it's indeed dead.Scott


One thing you might try. I had a couple of old WD drives a number of years ago that wouldn't spin up. In all cases I was able to get them to start by holding them in my hand with power applied and giving them a quick twist back and forth.

Second. Some drives require more start up current than supplied by separate enclosures. I had one that way. I was able to find an enclosure that would work. It had four(4) leads from the power brick instead of the more common coax power connector.

Third. Have you called Dish to make sure that they have done a rehit to your system with your previous house code? (This for the drive that is spinning OK) A DIRT member should be able to help.


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## domingos35

can i use an external hard drive that was previously used with a Vip 211 receiver?


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## Grandude

domingos35 said:


> can i use an external hard drive that was previously used with a Vip 211 receiver?


I would presume so. It will have to be reformatted to the Hopper. Format is different on the 211s as compared to the 611/711s which work without reformatting.

It would be nice if there was some way to recover the saved programs from a 211 EHD to a VIP/Hopper drive. Maybe someone will write and app to do this.


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## dunkonu23

Brian,

I'm hanging on until at least 12-21-12, too.  

1 and 2. Yep. Tried that. The drives, believe it or not are IDE, I have an adapter for that, too. Separate power, too. I even thought the adapter might be USB 1, but it shows as 2 on the computer.

3. Software is S204 NACB 3/23/2012 7:34PM, last status update was 3/25 7:06AM. I'm calling them now because I've also got LNB drift on 129. I had to stay up to watch F1 this morning as it wouldn't record. 129 22 locks but gets no name on tuner 1.

Scott


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## dunkonu23

I called Dish support. 

1. If the issue with the dropped signal comes back (it will), they want me to call to schedule a tech.

2. EHD not recognized is a known problem that they say will be fixed in the next software update sometime this week. They say some drives are recognized, some are not. 

So... here I sit.  I'm not upset. I realize this is on the bleeding edge so, what's happening now, will be fixed. 

Scott


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## barken

Has anyone successfully connected more than one EHD to a h2k?

Can the joeys use the multiple EHDs?


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## patmurphey

barken said:


> Has anyone successfully connected more than one EHD to a h2k?
> 
> Can the joeys use the multiple EHDs?


Don't know about 2 EHDs, but the Joeys can see the EHD of whichever Hopper it's connected to in a 2 Hopper setup.


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## P Smith

barken said:


> Has anyone successfully connected more than one EHD to a h2k?
> 
> Can the *joeys *use the multiple EHDs?


These are clients... only a server [h2k] support EHD connection.

Use a USB hub for connect up to four EHDs - his ancestor [922] can serve multiple EHD that way.


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## dunkonu23

If by Friday this compatibility between different hard drive types isn't resolved, I'm just going to go out and get two, two terabit drives and be done with it. As it stands now, everything BUT my EHD issue has been resolved so I'm happy with the installation. PTAT is the shiznit. 

"ancestor"... that's funny, sir! 

Scott

Edit: I'm probably going to introduce another issue today: a Sling adapter is arriving. This is fun stuff. I truly love the bleeding edge!


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## P Smith

Give them a call - demand the EHD's hit !


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## steff3

Is there any lag using a USB EHD? I was using eSATA with D* but really don't know if there is a difference with USB or not. Thanks.


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## Rsmith7226

So if I upgrade to a hopper will I be able to hook up a external hard drive to my 722 and copy all of my recorded shows and play them on the hopper?


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## patmurphey

steff3 said:


> Is there any lag using a USB EHD? ...


It was slow on the old 622/722 setup, but on the Hopper the EHD seems to operate about as fast and smoothly as the internal drive. The information is cached on the menu, so that you have immediate access.


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## steff3

patmurphey said:


> It was slow on the old 622/722 setup, but on the Hopper the EHD seems to operate about as fast and smoothly as the internal drive. The information is cached on the menu, so that you have immediate access.


Great, thanks Pat! I will give it a try.....


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## domingos35

Rsmith7226 said:


> So if I upgrade to a hopper will I be able to hook up a external hard drive to my 722 and copy all of my recorded shows and play them on the hopper?


u should be able to


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## dunkonu23

P Smith said:


> Give them a call - demand the EHD's hit !


Got it and no joy. At least the Sling Adapter is working with only minor workarounds on the iOS apps for iPhone and iPad. Seems it doesn't like changing channels but once. It's cool, just go to the guide and hit Live TV. The channel you want will play. Haven't tried DVR access, yet.

Scott


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## barken

P Smith said:


> These are clients... only a server [h2k] support EHD connection.
> 
> Use a USB hub for connect up to four EHDs - his ancestor [922] can serve multiple EHD that way.


I should have been more clear. I understand the joey is a client. What I meant to ask was, can the joey see two EHDs connected to the h2k?


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## steff3

Can't get my Hopper/Joey to see my EHD. TT dock w/ Western HDD. This worked fine on my old D* boxes. Even tried unplugging power from system, powering up EHD first then powering back up the Hopper...still nothing. Anyone having issues with these ext. docks from ThermalTake (Black X)?


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## vicki2365

HD IS MY LIFE said:


> I'm getting 2 Hoppers With 2 Joeys installed next week and i'm just wondering if i can continue using both external hard drives that i currently have on my 922 with the Hopper without losing my recordings


I have 2 external hard drives connected to my hopper one from a 922 and one from a 612 and they both kept all the shows on them and all work perfect. Now if I could just record something other than prime time because it says I reached my limit. It's a software problem.


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## vicki2365

Grandude said:


> I would presume so. It will have to be reformatted to the Hopper. Format is different on the 211s as compared to the 611/711s which work without reformatting.
> 
> It would be nice if there was some way to recover the saved programs from a 211 EHD to a VIP/Hopper drive. Maybe someone will write and app to do this.


No reformat external hard drives from former dish recievers do not reformat on the hopper. I connected 2 external HD on the back of my hopper and both kept all programming


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## vicki2365

HD IS MY LIFE said:


> I'm getting 2 Hoppers With 2 Joeys installed next week and i'm just wondering if i can continue using both external hard drives that i currently have on my 922 with the Hopper without losing my recordings


Yes you can I already added to external Hard drives from my 922's to one hopper on the back connections and both kept their progams


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## vicki2365

Rsmith7226 said:


> So if I upgrade to a hopper will I be able to hook up a external hard drive to my 722 and copy all of my recorded shows and play them on the hopper?


If you had an external on your 722 and all your shows are in the Ecternal you just plug it into the back of the hopper and everything is there.


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## turbo240z

I had 2 722k and used 1 external drive to back up both DVR's. I now have 2 hoppers and was able to restore or watch the shows from the external drives on / to both hoppers.

I tried the esata port and they are not enabled. I get this feature is not active... something like that. 

For the person with the question on what's the difference between esata and usb port. The esata run's the same speed as the internal sata drive so it's very fast. Also faster than USB 3.0 hard drive. I don't know if the Hoppers have a USB 3.0 ports?


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## tcatdbs

EXT HD question... do they function the same as on a 722, no ability at all to organize content. Sure would be nice to be able add/edit folders as you can on the internal drive.


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## chriscpmtmp

By restore, do you mean copy from the EHD to the internal Hopper drive? If that is what u mean, how do you do it? I can play EHD content, but don't see how to move it yet.



turbo240z said:


> I now have 2 hoppers and was able to restore or watch the shows from the external drives on / to both hoppers.


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## P Smith

chriscpmtmp said:


> By restore, do you mean copy from the EHD to the internal Hopper drive? If that is what u mean, how do you do it? I can play EHD content, but don't see how to move it yet.


There is no *restore* per se. It's a MOVE. That mean you cannot have more them ONE instance of recording.
It's a move to EHD and it's move from EHD.


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## BobaBird

chriscpmtmp said:


> I can play EHD content, but don't see how to move it yet.


That's because it's not on the DVR menu where the rest of EHD management is controlled. You have to go to the main menu, 2nd row, and look for something similar to Media Transfer.

This is a useability design flaw carried over from the 922.


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## steff3

Question (sorry if it has been discussed or if is common knowledge...) there are three USB ports, twe rear and one front. Is it possible to plug and use two EHD's at one time into two different ports?


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## dunkonu23

New software, still no EHD. No biggie. It'll come. 

Scott


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## P Smith

steff3 said:



> Question (sorry if it has been discussed or if is common knowledge...) there are three USB ports, twe rear and one front. Is it possible to plug and use two EHD's at one time into two different ports?


Up to four as it's parent - 922. To use four EHD need USB hub.


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## steff3

P Smith said:


> Up to four as it's parent - 922. To use four EHD need USB hub.


Cool, thanks again P Smith. How long should it take to re-format a 1 TB external? Its already been on an hour formatting.


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## P Smith

Disconnect it, now. It's need a couple minutes MAX !
Run check from PC first. Use Victoria under Windows or MHDD (self bootable CD).


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## steff3

P Smith said:


> Disconnect it, now. It's need a couple minutes MAX !
> Run check from PC first. Use Victoria under Windows or MHDD (self bootable CD).


Got it, thanks.


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## chriscpmtmp

Right, one instance. In the 622 it was under manage external device or something. I can seem to find the MOVE command on the hopper. Two drives seem to work easily though.



P Smith said:


> There is no *restore* per se. It's a MOVE. That mean you cannot have more them ONE instance of recording.
> It's a move to EHD and it's move from EHD.


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## James Long

BobaBird said:


> That's because it's not on the DVR menu where the rest of EHD management is controlled. You have to go to the main menu, 2nd row, and look for something similar to Media Transfer.


It is in the 3rd row (off the screen when one first enters the menu) and is currently the last icon "Recordings Transfer".


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## P Smith

chriscpmtmp said:


> Right, one instance. In the 622 it was under manage external device or something. I can seem to find the MOVE command on the hopper. Two drives seem to work easily though.


Menu: Transfer ...


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## chriscpmtmp

I see the 3rd row now. I can play by EHD movies recorded from my 622, but the "recordings transfer" say the feature is not active. I paid for the EHD feature on my 622. I think that should transfer to the Hopper, right?



James Long said:


> It is in the 3rd row (off the screen when one
> first enters the menu) and is currently the last icon "Recordings Transfer".


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## P Smith

chriscpmtmp said:


> I see the 3rd row now. I can play by EHD movies recorded from my 622, but the "recordings transfer" say the feature is not active. I paid for the EHD feature on my 622. I think that should transfer to the Hopper, right?


Call them, ask for send a 'hit' to refresh a status of your DVR.


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## chriscpmtmp

I guess the transfers need to be done on the Hopper, not the Joey. The EHD programs play from either The Hopper or the Joey.



P Smith said:


> Call them, ask for send a 'hit' to refresh a status of your DVR.


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## steff3

P Smith said:


> Disconnect it, now. It's need a couple minutes MAX !
> Run check from PC first. Use Victoria under Windows or MHDD (self bootable CD).


Well I did this and let it run overnight, no errors. Maybe the Hopper just doesn't like the Antec Enclosure???????


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## Ray [email protected] Network

The EHD has to be connected to the Hopper. The is an option in the Main Menu, Recordings Transfer, where you can transfer your recordings to and from the EHD, if the Hopper sees the EHD.

We do have a known issue where some Hoppers are not recognizing some EHDs. A software update should address this issue in the future. Thanks.



chriscpmtmp said:


> I guess the transfers need to be done on the Hopper, not the Joey. The EHD programs play from either The Hopper or the Joey.


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## P Smith

chriscpmtmp said:


> I guess the transfers need to be done on the Hopper, not the Joey. The EHD programs play from either The Hopper or the Joey.


Only h2k has a drive. Only h2k has control of EHD.


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## scredsfan

My Hopper occasionally doesn't recognize my Western Digital EHD. Then, when I do a restart/reset of the EHD, it's recognized. A bit of a hassle, but hoping that a software update will fix the problem.


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## P Smith

scredsfan said:


> My Hopper occasionally doesn't recognize my Western Digital EHD. Then, when I do a restart/reset of the EHD, it's recognized. A bit of a hassle, but hoping that a software update will fix the problem.


Did you try to disable spin-down of the drive and/or enclosure's controller ?


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## GeeWhiz1

scredsfan said:


> My Hopper occasionally doesn't recognize my Western Digital EHD. Then, when I do a restart/reset of the EHD, it's recognized. A bit of a hassle, but hoping that a software update will fix the problem.


I am having the same issue with my WD EHD. And, it does work after a restart of the EHD. But it just gets lost overnight.

P Smith has consistently suggested turning off the spin down, but I have not been able to find a way to do that. I am currently switching to a different EHD that was connected to my other 622, but since it's also a Western Digital I don't expect anything different. I just want to try it.


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## P Smith

GeeWhiz1 said:


> I am having the same issue with my WD EHD. And, it does work after a restart of the EHD. But it just gets lost overnight.
> 
> P Smith has consistently suggested turning off the spin down, but I have not been able to find a way to do that. I am currently switching to a different EHD that was connected to my other 622, but since it's also a Western Digital I don't expect anything different. I just want to try it.


Isn't customer service of WDC what for ? I would call, check its web site, write email, etc.


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## chriscpmtmp

The EHD plugs into the Hopper. Either the Hopper or the Joey can PLAY the EHD content. Only the Hopper can MOVE it. If that is what you meant by control, then OK.



P Smith said:


> Only h2k has a drive. Only h2k has control of EHD.


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## P Smith

That's correct. Perhaps, 'managing' would be more correct word.


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## bnborg

P Smith said:


> Isn't customer service of WDC what for ? I would call, check its web site, write email, etc.


Correct. http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?wdc_lang=en

SmartWare is the necessary software.


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## texasmoose

This set-up is huge, I wish I had known about this b4 i leased my pos hr-34 & another 2-yr committment, argh.


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## chriscpmtmp

If I had a wish, I'd use it for something better than that!

One tip though, you can shave a little from the end of you DTV deal. When I was running DTV for the Sunday Ticket, they let me put my account in vacation mode off season, while counts as part of the 2 years. If they still let you do that, it might help.



texasmoose said:


> This set-up is huge, I wish I had known about this b4 i leased my pos hr-34 & another 2-yr committment, argh.


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## GeeWhiz1

OK, after digging through the WD site and doing all the tech research, I have an EHD that is so old that they don't have support/software to turn off the spindown.

My wife and I decided that we aren't going to worry about it. All it takes is to get the EHD to spin up when it doesn't show on the Hopper/Joey, then the Hopper will recognize for the rest of the day.

Hopefully Dish will come up with an update that fixes it. I don't see the need to replace the drive since it does work. I will just continue to use it until it needs to be replaced. Then I'll get one with more storage. I will also probably put a USB hub on the Hopper and hook up my other drive too.


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## adam1115

Anyone know what the max external hard drive size is for the Hopper?


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## dunkonu23

Manual says 2TB.

Scott


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## P Smith

adam1115 said:


> Anyone know what the max external hard drive size is for the Hopper?


Everyone knows- it is 2 TB.


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## adam1115

...and it combines the internal and external, so total of 4 TB?


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## James Long

adam1115 said:


> ...and it combines the internal and external, so total of 4 TB?


The customer only gets control of 1 TB of the internal hard drive. The other half is used for VOD and PrimeTime Anytime.

It is also not a combined space.


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## P Smith

he could get many more TB if he wish, at least simultaneously four EHD by 2TB each using simple USB 2.0 hub; if you'll count offline EHD boxes, then the sly is limit .. and his pocket eventually


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## chriscpmtmp

Should 4 drives work with the current firmware through a USB hub? I've tried 4, but I can only see the content from 2 of them to play. I can see all 4 from the transfer menu though. I tried a USB 2.0 hub and then a USB powered 3.0 hub. Same deal with both. One or more drives will disappear after a while. Wouldn't disabling the spin down continue to use power when they are just sitting there?



P Smith said:


> he could get many more TB if he wish, at least simultaneously four EHD by 2TB each using simple USB 2.0 hub; if you'll count offline EHD boxes, then the sly is limit .. and his pocket eventually


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## P Smith

chriscpmtmp said:


> Should 4 drives work with the current firmware through a USB hub? I've tried 4, but I can only see the content from 2 of them to play. I can see all 4 from the transfer menu though. I tried a USB 2.0 hub and then a USB powered 3.0 hub. Same deal with both. One or more drives will disappear after a while. *Wouldn't disabling the spin down continue to use power when they are just sitting there?*


That's the reason. Disable the feature first and check if after that all four will stay.

Perhaps old bug in ViP line come back - older FW didn't handle EHD if HDD did spin down. But it has been fixed before h2k ...


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## adam1115

Sorry, I guess I should've phrased my question more generically?

What are the expansion capabilities of the hopper?

From reading the posts so far, you lose the 1 TB they give you if you expand, you can add somewhere between 2 and 4 2 TB external USB hard drives.

Can you add an esata drive? Does that affect the USB capabilities? Do you lose 1 TB of the added drives?


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## P Smith

only gain, nothing to lose

*EHD is archive type, recordings exist only in one instance*
EHD drives could be 2 TB max
but you could have many EHDs
using four simultaneously connected


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## adam1115

So Hopper includes 1 TB usable, you can add 4 USB drives (with USB Hub) at 2 TB each, so 9 TB usable online? (Don't care about archiving.)

No ESATA?


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## Stewart Vernon

adam1115 said:


> So Hopper includes 1 TB usable, you can add 4 USB drives (with USB Hub) at 2 TB each, so 9 TB usable online? (Don't care about archiving.)


I think you are missing what P Smith was saying about "archiving"...

Dish EHDs are additional storage from that on the DVR itself... but recordings can't be copied, only moved... so the EHDs are "archive" drives by that operation.

You can playback from the EHD without restoring to the DVR itself... but you can't record directly to them. You have to record to the DVR internal drive, then move them off to an archive drive.


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## chriscpmtmp

Spin down aside, I don't think 4 drives work. Only 2 show up on mine, except for the transfer screen.

If the disabling spin down continues to use power, I would never do that. I'm just not a waster. These drives worked fine for years on the 622s I have. The power down to near zero power consumption when idle.



P Smith said:


> That's the reason. Disable the feature first and check if after that all four will stay.
> 
> Perhaps old bug in ViP line come back - older FW didn't handle EHD if HDD did spin down. But it has been fixed before h2k ...


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## P Smith

Then you should wait for new version with the bug fixed ...


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## chriscpmtmp

I hope it gets fixed. These are just two bugs so far. The transfers between drives and the Hopper trashed a bunch of recordings I had, so that is a third big bug. I was just doing what I thought was housekeeping. I'm just going back to plugging in one drive at a time for the near future, then not doing any moves.


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## JeffN9

I'm glad to see that the Hopper can handle more than one EHD at a time, initial reports said no. I'm not glad to see that I might have the same issues that I have had with my 922 since day 1. Since the Hopper apparently was built on the same platform as the 922 I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

Occasionally my 922 does not see the two WD EHD's I have connected. A front panel reboot usually fixes the problem but it's a hassle waiting. One of the drives has WD Smartware the 2nd doesn't so turning off the power save feature (spin down) doesn't seem like it would make any difference, at least in my situation. 

I do have to say that it's much more stable now. Early on I would lose connection every 3-4 weeks. Now it's more like 3-4 months.


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## chriscpmtmp

I put my power meter on one of my drives. When it spins up it takes 12w or so, then settles into 6w. When actively reading, it goes to 8w or so. Then after a while is drops to 1w. In the 1w mode its not spinning, so the Hopper needs to wait for a spin up, but the Hopper continues to see the drive. After a few days the Hopper lost it again. When I checked the meter, it was in the 6w mode. 

Very weird. I expected it to be zero and completely shut off. So the Hopper is probably sending some weird command. This is just a basic WD essentials drive. I have a few of them.


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## James Long

chriscpmtmp said:


> The EHD plugs into the Hopper. Either the Hopper or the Joey can PLAY the EHD content.


Dumb question ... I finally connected my 622 EHD to my Hopper and I can see the content and transfer it to the Hopper hard drive - but ...

I don't see how to play it without transferring it to the Hopper drive.
Does this "Either the Hopper or the Joey can PLAY the EHD content" apply only to content that has been transferred to the Hopper?


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## chriscpmtmp

Either the Hopper or Joey should play content from the EHD or the internal Hopper drive. The interface is the same to start playing either.

I did have the hopper corrupt some of my recording in the transfer. For those, after I hit play, I just get a blank screen. I think I did copies that were too big - like 6 hours straight.



James Long said:


> Dumb question ... I finally connected my 622 EHD to my Hopper and I can see the content and transfer it to the Hopper hard drive - but ...
> 
> I don't see how to play it without transferring it to the Hopper drive.
> Does this "Either the Hopper or the Joey can PLAY the EHD content" apply only to content that has been transferred to the Hopper?


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## James Long

chriscpmtmp said:


> Either the Hopper or Joey should play content from the EHD or the internal Hopper drive. The interface is the same to start playing either.


On the 622 I had a "Media" folder that allowed me to see the content on the connected drive (kind of like the Prime Time Anytime folder under "My Recordings"). I don't see anything like that on the Hopper or Joey. 

I can see the content under "recordings transfer" but can't see a way of watching it without transfer.


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## James Long

James Long said:


> I can see the content under "recordings transfer" but can't see a way of watching it without transfer.


Ah ... there it is! The box at the top where I can see the content on the other Hopper. For some reason it was not showing the EHDs (and now it is).


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## Stewart Vernon

I assumed it would have something similar to the way the 922 does it... The 922 added a drop-down in the "My Recordings" area if you have an EHD connected so that you can select from the DVR internal drive and connected EHDs.

I haven't seen the Hopper/Joey interface to know if they implemented it the same way, but since they appear to have started with 922 code it would make sense.


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## OinkinOregon

I connected a 3 TB Seagate external drive to my Hopper and it formatted and shows available approximately 2.8 TB available. I do not think the limit is 2 TB. I think it will count whatever you connect to it.


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## P Smith

Time to try 4 TB drives ...


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## P Smith

Actually, there is a problem - using TT BlacX dock, the 3 TB drive (Seagate) has been formatted as 2 TB as I checked the partition's tables (yes, there are many extensions) and what is a bummer: the drive doesn't recognizing by h2k after formatting and request format again after reconnecting.
Another moment of oops: after activity (formatting) came to the end, the window Att 869 does not went away by itself. Turn OFF/ON by remote cleared it.

Perhaps it's BlacX's USB-SATA controller limitation. I'll check with Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk enclosure.
It's got right this time: free space is 2,793 GB.

Here is part's info:
all type EXT3 (no XFS)
P1: 1 GB
P2: *500 GB*
P3: *500 GB*
p4: 1.8 GB (extension)
-- P5: *500 GB*
-- p6: 500 GB ? (extension)
---- P7: *500 GB*
---- p8: 500 GB ? (extension)
------ P9: *500 GB*
------ p10: 293 GB (extension)
-------- P11: *293 GB*

Seems to me the coder is missed opportunity to create more then one partition in one extension and made it three times plus put wrong size into p6.

Also, I don't last partition by using the partition's data, only by manual calculation (!) - here is all partitions (one sector's size is 4 KB).

EDIT: For sure that coder made more bugs: he did improperly calculated offsets for second and third extensions while first was OK (that's why I missed third extension and another 500 GB).
*It will be messy for ppl archiving more 1.5 TB of data if the coder will not get fixed his partition's creating routine. *


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## P Smith

It's time for install the 3 TB inside ...


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## tapinsharon

Hopper won't read data from EHD. 
We have data on an EHD from 612 and 722. Hopper wants to reformat and so we would love everything. CSR recommended she send out a 211 to view recordings on. We agree to that, but when tech came out to install, the 211(K) also wanted to reformat. Told no solution. We have had tech out two times so far, one day tech was a no show. Three days wasted on this and now we are reverting back to the 612 and 722. Very disappointing.


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## P Smith

See threads/posts how to make it work by backup/restore process of "DishArc' folders. Search here for it.


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## garys

[email protected] said:


> Hopper won't read data from EHD.
> We have data on an EHD from 612 and 722. Hopper wants to reformat and so we would love everything. CSR recommended she send out a 211 to view recordings on. We agree to that, but when tech came out to install, the 211(K) also wanted to reformat. Told no solution. We have had tech out two times so far, one day tech was a no show. Three days wasted on this and now we are reverting back to the 612 and 722. Very disappointing.


An EHD formated for any HD dvr will not work on the 211 and should never have been suggested. I'm surprised the tech didn't know that, the csr should have as well.


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## JeffN9

[email protected] said:


> Hopper won't read data from EHD.
> We have data on an EHD from 612 and 722. Hopper wants to reformat and so we would love everything. CSR recommended she send out a 211 to view recordings on. We agree to that, but when tech came out to install, the 211(K) also wanted to reformat. Told no solution. We have had tech out two times so far, one day tech was a no show. Three days wasted on this and now we are reverting back to the 612 and 722. Very disappointing.


There have been other posts about this issue. I believe the remedy is to have a CSR send a "re-hit" to your Hopper to enable the EHD function.


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## P Smith

The re-hit will not help, you have only one option: backup/restore disharc folder(s) - see here


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## slightwv

FYI: The 722 EHD format is not recognized in the Hopper with Sling.

Just had one installed and there is currently no way to access the programs. This was confirmed by three different support folks.

Best that I was told is they are working on a fix but there is no information on the release date.

After another call to support, the next person couldn't even find any information on the 'fix' so I suspect I was having smoke blown somewhere personal.


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## P Smith

you did ... 

the format is the SAME

the FW bug well known from beginning a deployment of H , if you searching and reading the forum (at least post#136)


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## slightwv

So the only fix is the bootable Linux as described in: Summary of repair?


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## P Smith

if you want your recording badly:
- get another EHD formatted by your new H2
- run Linux with two EHDs, old and new
- copy DishArc folders from old to new
- remember each EHD with size > 0.5 TB divided for partitions of 0.5 TB and rest of the drive's space in last partition


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## slightwv

Thanks for that info. I think I like that option better since there is less of a chance of trashing the original.


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## slightwv

P Smith,

You rock! It worked perfectly!


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## Redwingsfan

I had the hopper and three joeys installed last week and I have three WD EHD's I used with my old 922. The hopper sees all three EHD's in the transfer section but for viewing programs I can only see and use two drives,any ideas as to why I can't view programs on that third drive? I'm using a powered usb hub.


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## puckwithahalo

Redwingsfan;3198797 said:


> I had the hopper and three joeys installed last week and I have three WD EHD's I used with my old 922. The hopper sees all three EHD's in the transfer section but for viewing programs I can only see and use two drives,any ideas as to why I can't view programs on that third drive? I'm using a powered usb hub.


That is a software limitation. The hopper can only display two external drives in the recordings screen.


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## dunkonu23

You know, after a year, the one remaining EHD we have still doesn't get recognized by either Hopper no matter what. Oh, well... I'm pretty much sure it doesn't matter anymore, but it would have been a nice thing to have. 

Scott


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## P Smith

dunkonu23 said:


> You know, after a year, the one remaining EHD we have still doesn't get recognized by either Hopper no matter what. Oh, well... I'm pretty much sure it doesn't matter anymore, but it would have been a nice thing to have.
> 
> Scott


you have a good chance to recover your recordings by using Linux (search for the method by a keyword "DishArc")


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## fudpucker

I have a 1T EHD with a lot of programming on it, and we are close to moving from our 722/612/612 setup to a Hopper w Sling/Hopper/Joey setup. My understanding is that the Hopper will recognize the EHD if it was formatted by the 722 - will it recognize it if it was formatted by the 612? I don't recall which IRD I used to format it - is there a way to tell?

Thanks


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## P Smith

It should, if It Will Ask For Format Again, Cancel And Go With Linux/disharc Route.


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