Hi

My 8300hd just started to reboot by itself all the time with those characters on the front screen : -^u- (^ is actualy a ''u'' upside-down) until it shut down and do it again. I tried different things to start it up again but nothing worked until I completely removed the hard drive. Without it, the unit work A1 but as soon as I plug the hard drive, all the symbols come back and it shut down do it again...

So, I bought today a used hard drive from kijiji : western digital WD2500JB (250 gb) and tried it.

Results : as soon as I plug the power into the hard drive, the pvr just shut down totally and won't restart until the hard drive power is unplugged. I retry the same thing with the old hard drive (only plug the power cable) and when I do this, I hear the hard drive spinning + the -^u- part comes back.

Do you guys think I have 2 bad hard drive or is it the power that has a problem ?

I've searched all around the internet for solutions but couldn't find anything explaining my problem :(

I'd like to thank everyone (esp. the OP) for the tips on how to upgrade!!

I unfortunately just read the replace HD and cloning posts not knowing about the firmware limitations for the cloning a 160GB to a 500GB :o

So a 15 minute job was instead a 3hr (cause of cloning) job :rolleyes:

Since Rogers "accidentally" erased all my recordings on my external HD (so they claim), it was no big deal for me to start from scratch. (Does anyone know how to get the recordings back?)

I'll keep everyone posted on the PVR and how things go.

Cheers!!:)

1. The index is kept on the iHDD.

2. I'm confused, did you clone the iHDD or not.

3. What is the make/model of your new iHDD.

4. If the index is still on the iHDD, you may still have access to the programming on your eHDD - I've never heard of Rogers erasing the drive, since the only way to do that is by connecting the eHDD to a computer and formatting, or connecting it to another PVR. If the index is not on the iHDD, the recordings are gone forever - internal and external.

c/o 57

Yes I did clone the 160gb hd to the 500gb hd, but after reading the posts about how the new firmware on the pvrs won't allow the pvrs to recognize the extra space, I could've saved some time ;)

What had happened before with the original PVR, one day my PVR "re-booted" early one evening, when that happened all my recordings on the external were no longer accessible. When I checked my available space, I noticed that I had a lot of recording space available (can't remember the exact value, but it was different than when the recordings on the external were available). I tried rebooting the PVR, the external HD, numerous times for both, with no results - the recordings on the external were just not working.

I agree with you, there was no way that Rogers could've cleared the external, it just didn't make sense. After a few calls to them, I was told that the recordings on the external drive are gone for good. There was no way to get them back. I have a few friends who had the same issue with their external drives - recordings just disappeared.

Since my PVR was acting up (I thought it was the internal drive), I figured it was time to upgrade the internal drive. I got my hands on a rare WD 500gb IDE so I figured since my external recordings were gone, I may as well upgrade.

I kept both the old 160GB internal and 500GB external drive intact just in case, hoping that one day I'd get the recordings off the external (I had the Vancouver Olympic Opening, Closing, Hockey Gold Medal on it).

So far so good with the internal upgrade - no issues so far. Just the odd PVR reset every week or two.

Hope this makes sense.

Cheers.

Thanks for the feedback. I assume that the new iHDD is only recognized as 160 GB. Are you using an eHDD?

Yes I did clone the 160gb hd to the 500gb hd, but after reading the posts about how the new firmware on the pvrs won't allow the pvrs to recognize the extra space, I could've saved some time

Should you ever watch all the shows on the new drive, you may want to take the opportunity to reformat it so that you can use the entire 500 MB. However, you will lose many of the settings when you do that.

When I cloned the 160GB to the 500GB the programs on the external drive were still not available, so I ended up reformatting the 500GB drive to get the extra space. I decided not to use the eHDD for now, since I think this was the main issue of my PVR acting up (and to hopefully retrieve the recordings one day since I still have the original iHDD intact).

Thanks all for the feedback!!

Happy New Year!!!

Does anyone know if this Western Digital drive would work?

Western Digital Caviar Blue (WD3200AAJB) 320GB IDE 7200RPM 8MB Buffer

^^^^
Probably, since it's IDE.

Someone please post the model of the latest hard drive that's currently on the market which they've had success with.

Looks like I just lost all my recordings on my external, so this might be a good time to go internal-only, with the biggest drive I can get.

Thanks.

Using a seagate 360 IDE hard drive, used the program "Killdisk" to clear drive, confirmed jumper on CS, and installed as internal hard drive (old maxtor drive fails to spin) as per page 9 on this thread. Powered up unit, and it goes thru a series of h### counts going up to 900 and restarts at 0##, this has been going on for 3 hours. What have I one wrong? I also tried the ,Press pause till mail ,down page ,and then list 3 times, with same result of the display h###

Seagate Barracuda 7200, 320GB, ST3320620A (was working in an external case for computer file backup)

Problem solved as per above post. When you see a Roger's red van at the end of your drive, it should give you the clue that the cable input might not work. After they repaired problem on cable, PVR went through paces in about 15 minutes.:rolleyes:

So is there a list of currently working internal hd's that are working right now that are still available? I don't care about size, just want something that works.

WD IDE drives - 160 and 320 GB - around $100. The 500s seem to be gone.

I was fortunate to have purchased a 500 GB IDE drive and replaced the original when they were somewhat easier to obtain.

Still have the original 160 GB from the 8300HD and don't need it so if you would like it please PM.

Hello, i have a question in regards to a Standard def PVR that i purchased new several years ago. The hard drive has recently crapped out, its a pvr for the kids. I am very new to this but need a starting point or direction to get started in regards to replacing the hard drive, i think there is just a 25 gig in there now, im not looking for 1T or even 500 g. I just want it up and running. I can still view tv and stations as normal, but cannot access the list and pvr functions.

I have swapped hd's in pc's before, but have never messed with a PVR.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, for your help!
:confused:

1. I've moved your post to this existing thread - please read post 1, the links there, as well as some recent posts, etc.

2. I believe the original is an 80GB HDD in the SD8300.

3. You can purchase 80, 160 or 320 GB IDE (PATA, not SATA) HDDs for around $100 these days.

4. Since it's about $100 for a new drive, you may wish to consider purchasing a new HD PVR (8642) - granted, a few more $ but future proofing included.

Here's a useful post - FAQs, Search Tips, Optimization, etc:

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

WD IDE drives - 160 and 320 GB - around $100. The 500s seem to be gone.
Yeah, I just noticed that. Weird. The WD3200AAJB 320 GB is available for $110 locally but I can't find the 500 GB model anywhere.

I currently have a 500 GB drive in my 8300HD, but it seems to be dying. I was hoping it was the feed, but it's locking up far too often, so I think it's the actual drive.

Hmmm... Interesting... You can get refurbished Maxtor 320 GB drives from about 8 years ago for less than half the price of a new one. I'm almost tempted to chance it. Almost.

BTW, I wonder if anyone has tried a laptop drive. I don't recall seeing that posted but I may have just missed it. (Just curious.)

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=1278981&highlight=laptop#post1278981