External Hard Drive Problems and Discussion - See Facts Link in Post 1. - Page 4 - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

MD · 2010-01-17, 01:46 AM

If I want to move on external HDD between two 6141 units, is there a right and wrong way to do it? Reading a post from earlier up on the page, it seems that simply unplugging the drive and then plugging it back it might get you a prompt for formatting a require a call to a Bell CSR?

Sack Boy · 2010-01-17, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Secret Agent

As the 6131 has no internal HD, when you plug an external HD, it becomes part of the receiver. The receiver itself is constantly powered on even when it's turned off, unless you unplug it or use the power button on the front panel. When you shut it off with the remote, it only goes in a kind of sleeping mode. The receiver is always working, sleeping or receiving updates, so I guess it is normal that your receiver interacts constantly with your EHD.

So I watched the tv while the receiver is "off." It seems that the hard drive accesses coincides with PVR related messages (eg. you have _ recording(s) available, you have _ event(s) scheduled for today, etc).

These messages happen with such frequency (<30secs) that the hard drive never goes to sleep. So why doesn't the receiver "officially" support hard drives with a sleep mode?

One concern I have is that frequent drive access means that the drive will wear down faster. Other than unplugging, is there any way to stop these messages and stop the receiver from accessing the hard drive when it is not needed?

kandkt · 2010-01-17, 12:40 PM

Hard drives are designed for 24/7 operation. The most important thing is to make sure the receiver and hard drive are well ventilated ... heat is the big killer of electronics.

SquidRx · 2010-01-18, 10:53 AM

I have the following Seagate 1 TB EHC hooked up to my 9241 receiver.
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/pro...nsion_desktop/
I originally hooked it up a few weeks ago, it formated correctly and I was able to archive 5 or 6 recordings to it. Probably about 15 hours of HD viewing. Last night I attempted to archive some more recordings and it would not work. I got an error message ( I am sorry, I don't remember exactly what it said ). I wanted to make sure that other functions on the EHD were working so I attempted to watch a program that was stored on it. It played fine, but when I tried to pause or stop, it would just freeze. It would not let me play it again unless I forwarded or rewound. I was not able to get out of the program until I powered off the receiver.
Has anyone else had this problem? Is it the EHD I am using? Anyone with insight please help me out.
Thanks,
Ken

Secret Agent · 2010-01-18, 01:52 PM

After my unsucessful attempts to use a 2TB, I tried with 1.5TB. As some folks here had good results with a 1.5TB, I hoped I would work for me too.

I bought a iPro Drive 1.5TB (IP-HDE1-1.5TB) and hooked it to my 9242 receiver. I was pleased to get 200hrs in HD or 1505hrs in SD. I then checked the partition on my computer: The 1397GB on the drive where partitioned like this: 1GB, 500GB, 500GB and 396GB.

It looks like the receiver can handle all the available space on 1.5TB but not on a 2TB on which it uses only 1TB.

Besides, the 1,5TB iProDrive is very quite (I can barely hear it compared to my other Comstar 1TB that was pretty noisy) and it gets barely warm. On the long run, I'll see if it's all that good.

Sack Boy · 2010-01-18, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kandkt

Hard drives are designed for 24/7 operation. The most important thing is to make sure the receiver and hard drive are well ventilated ... heat is the big killer of electronics.

Hard drives are designed for storage. If data access is actually needed 24/7 then so be it: I'd accept that. But accessing the hard drive every 30secs 24/7 to tell me how many recordings I have? That's hardly necessary. To me, that's wasteful.

kandkt · 2010-01-18, 04:06 PM

Don't disagree with you. That is why I turn mine off when not in use as I only use it every few weeks to archieve movies.

My point was that hard drives can handle the 24/7 service duty. If you are switching it on and off several times a day, that is probably harder on it than leaving it on.

Daveysew · 2010-01-20, 10:42 AM

Hi all, looking for a little guidance with respect to purchasing an EHD for a 9242. I've seen alot of good reviews for the Western Digital WD10EADS Caviar Green 1TB, so I've placed one in my shopping cart on newegg.ca, but when I did a search for "Vantec CX" a recommended enclosure I get nothing. Can anyone recommend a good enclosure for EHD use. Thanks in advance for the help.

dave

WestCDA · 2010-01-20, 02:52 PM

I use a Vantec Nexstar 3 enclosure with a 1 TB WD Caviar Black - no problems with it on my 9242 after about 3 months, for archiving or playback. I've also tested using a Vantec Nextstar NST-D100 HD 'toaster' for rapid drive swapping on the 9242 with a couple of the same drives - that worked fine, but as I only had it set up for a few days I can't comment on it's long term performance.

ScaryBob · 2010-01-20, 03:14 PM

Quote:

when I did a search for "Vantec CX" a recommended enclosure I get nothing.

Try "Vantec Nexstar CX" it's quite a bit cheaper that the Nextar 3 and the USB only CX works better (unless you need eSATA.)

Quote:

hard drives can handle the 24/7 service duty.

I've seen a number of consumer drives that have specified duty cycles of less that 24 hours/day, including some current 2.5" drives. You usually need to go to the manufacturer's site to find that out. It is true that most modern 3.5" drives will operate 24/7 with no problem (within spec) but it may shorten their life.

ScaryBob · 2010-01-20, 07:55 PM

Quote:

is this the Vantec drive you're talking about...

That's the one. It can be picked up cheaper than that at quite a few other stores though.

Not familiar with the Rosewill stuff. I have a feeling it's a house brand and I've had bad luck with that type of product.

Daveysew · 2010-01-20, 08:41 PM

Thanks gents, the order is placed, your help is appreciated.

dave

Eden_20101 · 2010-01-23, 11:08 AM

Have an HD PVR 9242 with Lacie 750GB external HD which disconnects every time I try to watch a transferred show on it. I need to reboot the receiver to see the external HD again.

Called Bell tech support and they claim not to know anything about this issue!

I am able to transfer recorded shows from the PVR unit to the external HD but cannot do the reverse.

Firmware still @ V183.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Keaters · 2010-01-23, 04:49 PM

I had the same problem as well, and the only way I could stop the disconnection is by turning off the automatic updates for the receiver. I just make sure that I turn off the receiver when I am not using it, in order to download any new updates for the guide. As for the receiver software, I do a powercycle but pressing the Power button on the front of the receiver to make sure it downloads the new updates, but it has been a while since the last update!

Eden_20101 · 2010-01-24, 06:03 PM

Keaters,

Thank you for the reply, checked every option in the menu but I cannot find anything to disable automatic updates, the only thing I have is to setup the time of the updates.

Regards,

2010-01-18, 10:53 AM	#49
SquidRx Rookie Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Sherwood Park, AB Posts: 6	EHD Problem with 9241 I have the following Seagate 1 TB EHC hooked up to my 9241 receiver. http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/pro...nsion_desktop/ I originally hooked it up a few weeks ago, it formated correctly and I was able to archive 5 or 6 recordings to it. Probably about 15 hours of HD viewing. Last night I attempted to archive some more recordings and it would not work. I got an error message ( I am sorry, I don't remember exactly what it said ). I wanted to make sure that other functions on the EHD were working so I attempted to watch a program that was stored on it. It played fine, but when I tried to pause or stop, it would just freeze. It would not let me play it again unless I forwarded or rewound. I was not able to get out of the program until I powered off the receiver. Has anyone else had this problem? Is it the EHD I am using? Anyone with insight please help me out. Thanks, Ken

2010-01-18, 01:52 PM	#50
Secret Agent Rookie Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Quebec City Posts: 4	New tests with a 1.5TB EHD After my unsucessful attempts to use a 2TB, I tried with 1.5TB. As some folks here had good results with a 1.5TB, I hoped I would work for me too. I bought a iPro Drive 1.5TB (IP-HDE1-1.5TB) and hooked it to my 9242 receiver. I was pleased to get 200hrs in HD or 1505hrs in SD. I then checked the partition on my computer: The 1397GB on the drive where partitioned like this: 1GB, 500GB, 500GB and 396GB. It looks like the receiver can handle all the available space on 1.5TB but not on a 2TB on which it uses only 1TB. Besides, the 1,5TB iProDrive is very quite (I can barely hear it compared to my other Comstar 1TB that was pretty noisy) and it gets barely warm. On the long run, I'll see if it's all that good.

2010-01-23, 11:08 AM	#58
Eden_20101 Rookie Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 16	External HD disconnecting from HD PVR. Have an HD PVR 9242 with Lacie 750GB external HD which disconnects every time I try to watch a transferred show on it. I need to reboot the receiver to see the external HD again. Called Bell tech support and they claim not to know anything about this issue! I am able to transfer recorded shows from the PVR unit to the external HD but cannot do the reverse. Firmware still @ V183. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Regards,

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2010-01-17, 01:46 AM	#46
MD Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 98	If I want to move on external HDD between two 6141 units, is there a right and wrong way to do it? Reading a post from earlier up on the page, it seems that simply unplugging the drive and then plugging it back it might get you a prompt for formatting a require a call to a Bell CSR?

2010-01-17, 12:40 PM	#48
kandkt Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alberta Posts: 507	Hard drives are designed for 24/7 operation. The most important thing is to make sure the receiver and hard drive are well ventilated ... heat is the big killer of electronics.

2010-01-18, 04:06 PM	#52
kandkt Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alberta Posts: 507	Don't disagree with you. That is why I turn mine off when not in use as I only use it every few weeks to archieve movies. My point was that hard drives can handle the 24/7 service duty. If you are switching it on and off several times a day, that is probably harder on it than leaving it on.

2010-01-20, 10:42 AM	#53
Daveysew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: T.O. Posts: 89	Hi all, looking for a little guidance with respect to purchasing an EHD for a 9242. I've seen alot of good reviews for the Western Digital WD10EADS Caviar Green 1TB, so I've placed one in my shopping cart on newegg.ca, but when I did a search for "Vantec CX" a recommended enclosure I get nothing. Can anyone recommend a good enclosure for EHD use. Thanks in advance for the help. dave

2010-01-20, 02:52 PM	#54
WestCDA Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Calgary, AB Posts: 846	I use a Vantec Nexstar 3 enclosure with a 1 TB WD Caviar Black - no problems with it on my 9242 after about 3 months, for archiving or playback. I've also tested using a Vantec Nextstar NST-D100 HD 'toaster' for rapid drive swapping on the 9242 with a couple of the same drives - that worked fine, but as I only had it set up for a few days I can't comment on it's long term performance.

2010-01-20, 08:41 PM	#57
Daveysew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: T.O. Posts: 89	Thanks gents, the order is placed, your help is appreciated. dave

2010-01-23, 04:49 PM	#59
Keaters Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Chatham, ON Posts: 72	I had the same problem as well, and the only way I could stop the disconnection is by turning off the automatic updates for the receiver. I just make sure that I turn off the receiver when I am not using it, in order to download any new updates for the guide. As for the receiver software, I do a powercycle but pressing the Power button on the front of the receiver to make sure it downloads the new updates, but it has been a while since the last update!

2010-01-24, 06:03 PM	#60
Eden_20101 Rookie Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 16	Keaters, Thank you for the reply, checked every option in the menu but I cannot find anything to disable automatic updates, the only thing I have is to setup the time of the updates. Regards,