Hi, I used the free cloning disk tool Disk Copy 2.3 from
http://www.easeus.com/disk-copy/

It is the best cloning tool I have found around.

I was able to clone the 160 gigs into a Maxtor DiamondMax 11 model 6H500F0 - 500 gigs within 4 hours.

Also, I have tried a 2TB internal hard drive in the PVR. Guys, forget about this possibility. The maximum partition size the PVR creates is 1 TB. Has anyone tried a 2TB over the eSata port ? Just curious if that works.

jrmtl06, I was successfull with a Seagate Barracuda ES.2 - 1TB, even with an adapter that has a SunChip on it.

...The maximum partition size the PVR creates is 1 TB. Has anyone tried a 2TB over the eSata port ? Just curious if that works.
1.5 TB as per post one of the eHDD thread:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=23773

I am looking to change my internal drive to a bigger one but after reading all this thread I am not sure if I can upgrade to anything bigger than 500gb.
By using a PATA to SATA adapter you can internally install a larger SATA drive. The thread discussing this is here (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=94262).

I successfully upgraded my Rogers 8300HD today using a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (ST3750640A) 750GB IDE drive.

Further to my previous post, I noticed a lot more "bad" recordings with this drive.. a lot of dropouts, digital artifacts, etc. I put the original 160GB drive back in to confirm, and indeed had no more recording issues. So, in summary, I cannot recommend the Barracuda 7200.10 for this application. I'm going to buy myself the WD 500GB recommended here and hopefully that one works as well as the factory drive...

I'm going to buy myself the WD 500GB recommended here and hopefully that one works as well as the factory drive...

OK, so I visited my local CC store and picked up the WD 500GB drive recommended in post #225. I also downloaded the program mentioned and set the acoustic value to 128. Installed the drive in my 8300HD, and so far so good.. recorded several HD shows at once while watching another recorded HD show.. no dropouts or other issues. The drive is also nice and quiet, just like the original 160GB unit. So in other words, much better results than I had with the Seagate 750GB drive I tried earlier. FYI, I checked the acoustic setting on that Seagate drive using the same software, and it does not even support that function.. however it supports something called Advanced Power Management which the WD drives do not.. so perhaps this contributed to the issues I was having with that drive.. perhaps it was doing some type of power saving crap and therefore caused dropped video while recording? Just a theory. :)

Hi, everybody that upgraded their PVR to a 500G drive in this tread seems to own an SA8300HD. Does anybody with an SA8000HD did the 500G upgrade successfully ?

I posted in 2006 in this tread (#32) that I had upgraded my drive to a Maxtor 300G drive and that it was successful, but a few months later the power supply in my PVR failed, the maxtor drive was pulling 3 times the current on the 12V supply than the original drive.

I had the supply replaced and put back the original drive!

Now 3 years later, I just found out that WD is making drives that does not draw a ridiculous amount of power from the 12v supply, but I want to make sure that 500G is not too big for the original SA8000HD.

Thanks

Pierre

I have the 8000HD and have had a Seagate DB35 750gb IDE working a-ok for over a year now.

Super !

Thanks Calvin

I had installed a WD5000AAKB which worked for a little more than a year (still on warranty) and I now installed a WD5000AVJB which is working fine in case someone would like to install this audio/video HD.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you purchase the WD5000AVJB? A couple of years ago, I went looking for 2 WD3200AVJB drives. I called WD Canada and they didn't know what i was talking about. I finally found them at Ncix in BC and they have been running flawlessly ever since.

Hi LeadFoot,

I bought it from an eBay seller based in the US, he had a few but I just looked and they are all sold now.

Greetings,

I found this forum by the way of AVS Forums. I have a 8300HDC in the U.S. I cloned the drive from the OE 160GB to a 500GB Hitachi, using a hardware-based cloaning device doing sector-sector copy.

With the new drive in for the first time, I observed the hex countdown. Upon the first boot, I see all the recorded content, but not more space.

I looked at the partition, and it shows that all the partition was used.

Any idea why I am not seeing more space? I looked at the partition with a partition management tool, and see that the entire 500GB is used...

Also, how does one invoke the diagnostic mode/display?

Cheers.

Diagnostics (assuming SARA Firmware): http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17719

Useful Post for those new to the forum:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741

Did you check out the link regarding cloning in post 1 of this thread?

You may need to perform a second reboot in order to see all the space. Also, I not familiar with the hardware device you mentioned. What space is reported in the diagnostic page?

Thank you both, 57 and Jake, for your prompt and helpful responses.

I did look at the thread regarding cloning. My next step was to use the software others have successfuly used, either Active or the Linux method.

I still do not see addtional capacity after several reboots. When I go to the DVR's "remaining capacity" display, both the old and new hard disc show 75% used/25% remain.

-HOWEVER-

Under the diagnostic screen, the capacity for the old HD is 312,450,736 and the new is 976,511,024.

This seems to suggest that the additional capacity is recognized. The ITFS and AVFS (file systems?) numbers remained the same.

I am puzzled.

I'd appreciate any input.

Others are more knowledgeable in cloning troubleshooting. But it was discussed heavily in this thread. I used a live Linux distro to do the clone. It worked the first time. I would suggest you try that method to eliminate as many variables as possible.

I used a live Linux distro to do the clone. It worked the first time. I would suggest you try that method to eliminate as many variables as possible.

I used DD/Linux to clone and received the same results. The diag screen (top portion) seems to report the additional space, but under DVR, it is still behaving as if it is an 160GB drive. Any other ideas?

Thanks.

Edit: I will try Active tomorrow, but not holding breath. It seems like everyone's DVR "sees" the additional capacity after DD or Active cloning but mine does not. I wonder if it is because of firmware differences with my provider?

I wonder if it is because of firmware differences with my provider

Who is your provider?

Charter. Thanks Jake.