PC Village Computers shows the WD5000AAKB on their web site though it does indicate that they are currently out of stock.

Not sure I if anyone is interested since the 500G drives are the bang for the buck champs right now, but I notice a couple of weeks ago that NCIX had the WD3200AVJB (consumer electronic) drive listed. Since this was the first I’ve seen one of these drives listed in Canada, I was curious and ordered one. It arrived this morning. Unfortunately since my PVR is still under warranty (11 months old) I’m reluctant to crack it open. I’ll report back in a month or sooner if I can’t control my curiosity.

Well my curiosity got the best of me and I upgraded the drive in my PVR with the WD3200AVJB. As others have mentioned, it was very simply process. The hardest thing was getting the power connector out of the old drive. As I expected the WD3200AVJB is very quiet. While recording two HD programs and playing a third, I found no video or audio glitches. I plan on recording a bunch of stuff over the next few days to fill it up a couple of times. So far I’m very happy with my choice.

Dell has an expansion drive on their Deal of the Day (http://accessories.dell.com/sna/products/External_Hard_Drives/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&sku=A1351086) today. 500G for $139.99 including the enclosure. "DVR Xpander - 500GB - Compatible with Scientific Atlanta 8300 Series PVR"

That should probably be in the external HDD thread, but I see that someone has already posted there.

I determined that the WDC drive came from the factory with acoustic management disabled and when I set it to quiet mode the seek noise dropped dramatically with no apparent impact on performance

lonetreejim

did you just change setting to Enable (Automatic) or Enable (User-defined) option and put the slider to the far left position for the quietest setting ?

All the way to the left. Quietest.

All the way to the left. Quietest.

Thanks

If somebody needs to get T10 tamper proof bit in downtown Toronto, I got one in the small hardware store (don't remember the name) on Queen/University (South side of Queen street, just west of Simcoe, can't miss it). They sell them individually, paid $2.79 including tax

lonetreejim

Did you check acoustic management setting after you enabled it and rebooted the PC ? I enabled it (didn't hear any difference though, drive is very quiet with AM disabled), rebooted PC and setting is back to disabled, even every time you enable it, it says "sucessfully enabled", but somehow the setting is not being saved after reboot. So, I guess I'm not going to bother with it.

My upgrade is done, followed instructions from this topic and everything went smooth. After new drive was installed it took 10-15 minutes and couple of reboots for everything to work.
I'm a happy camper now, thanks everybody for the great topic !!!!

lonetreejim
Did you check acoustic management setting after you enabled it and rebooted the PC ? I enabled it (didn't hear any difference though, drive is very quiet with AM disabled), rebooted PC and setting is back to disabled, even every time you enable it, it says "sucessfully enabled", but somehow the setting is not being saved after reboot. So, I guess I'm not going to bother with it.

I did not, but the drive is unquestionably quieter.


Jim

My upgrade is done, followed instructions from this topic and everything went smooth. After new drive was installed it took 10-15 minutes and couple of reboots for everything to work.
I'm a happy camper now, thanks everybody for the great topic !!!!

Your welcome. I'm happy to report mine has been running smooth for 18 months now. I'm happy this thread helped people do the upgrade. With so much HD programming available it is a must.

Thanks for the guide! I haven't upgraded yet, but will probably do it soon. In the meantime, I picked up a 33 piece "security" bit set for 1/2 price today at a store near Victoria Park and Steeles Ave. Here is a link to info for the bit set: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=77006

All I need now is the 500G Western Digital (WD5000AAKB) drive.

Job done! Thanks for all your help. I upgraded to the Western Digital 500GB (WD5000AAKB) IDE drive today successfully. I also took some detailed step-by-step pictures to share. Is there anyway to post it here to compliment this thread?

I have the 8300HD and I think there are some differences how to remove the hard drive (e.g. the number of screws, where they are located, etc.) between the 8000, 8300, or 8300HD.

I find this internal HDD upgrade to be very easy and clean. No need for extra cables and power of an external drive. No need to worry about powering up the external enclosure first after a power failure, etc.

The cost, time and difficulty is very minimal. My only cost was a Torx10 security bit, a 500 IDE HDD, and 30-45 minutes of my time (even including taking pictures). I'd highly recommend this internal upgrade over an external upgrade, IMO. Also, the process is completely reversible without leaving any evidence of the mod (as far as I can tell).

BTW, what's the best way to confirm the new HDD size? I went on the diagnostic screen and on page 33, it says I now have 469GB, but on page 3, it showed some crazy file size like, 93,354,453,353

469 (TRUE) GB is more like the Real McCoy. HDD makers consider a GB to be
(1000)**3 bytes, whereas a TRUE GB is (1024)**3 bytes.

500*(1000/1024)**3 = 465.7 GB

SuperGoop, the power up sequencing for the external drive is no longer a requirement. The issue was solved a while back with a Firmware update. You can power up both at the same time.

SuperGoop, to post pictures, you must have the photos hosted on a separate site such as photobucket. Then you just use the [img] tags. I'd love to see your photos on the internal installation. It may sway a lot of people to tackle the job.

I don't think this site allows pictures so I posted the pictures at another forum with detailed step-by-step commentary and provided a link here. However, my post was deleted by someone. I assumed it must be against forum rules. If you want to see my pictures, just google my name and this topic.

Most people use some sort of picture hosting site, like Flickr for their photos. Then you simply need to post the URL into your post.

Your previous link was against forum rules and was deleted following discussion by several mods and the admin. We would appreciate it if you were to post a (direct) link to your photos.

I can host the pictures, but I want my step-by-step commentary to go with the pictures to make them meaningful. It will make more sense with the captions above each picture, rather than simply linking a bunch of pictures. Plus, it is easier to read with all the pictures (and comments) under a single link.

Anyways, my guide is up. Feel free to google it.

I abide and appreciates all forum rules, so it is ok. I just wanted to help.