[Jake]

Since many people are reporting issues with this enclosure I thought it might be helpful if we could compile the information in one thread. A few people are also reporting success. Rogers and Videotron users are equally effected and are encouraged to post their information here. If you do NOT have any issues with this enclosure please post your information. It could prove to be very helpful.

Enclosure model should be the Vantec NexStar CX - NST-300SU and list the following information.

1. Cable provider
2. PVR model
3. Hard drive model in enclosure
4. Specific issue you are having (recordings not appearing in LIST, eHDD not powering during a scheduled recording, black screen during playback, playback immediately stops and returns to LIST etc.
5. Any trouble-shooting tests done (jumpering 5-6, disabling on-disk power-saving etc)

 

[Steele-in-HD]

I am trouble shooting an eHDD I put on my mom's pvr.

Rogers 8300 PVR with newest firmware (no problems before the firmware update)
Enclosure: Vantec NexStar NST-300SU-BK
HDD: western digital WD5000AAKS

Issues: activity LED starts to flicker very rapidly and seems as though the eHDD cannot be seen by the pvr any more. Some recordings are not accessible as a result. There is not a pattern to when the eHDD starts to become unusable. It will work for a while and then stop.

So far trouble shooting has been cold re-boots and turning the eHDD off and then on again. No long term success yet.

Update: Put a jumper on pins 5-6 no difference.

It does seem that the loss of communication only happens when the PVR is turned off.

 

[Jake]

Without rebooting remove the esata cable and reconnect. See if you get the NOW WORKS message.

 

[Steele-in-HD]

Without rebooting remove the esata cable and reconnect. See if you get the NOW WORKS message.

Yes, it does.

Also I left the PVR on all night and in the morning the eHDD wasn't been seen by the PVR.
So the PVR lost contact even though it was on. So it isn't just when the PVR is off like I speculated in my previous post.

 

[Jake]

So the PVR lost contact even though it was on

The PVR will go to standby even if you leave it on. It usually happens very late at night. If you set a TIMER just before it might prevent this from happening.

 

[Steele-in-HD]

The PVR will go to standby even if you leave it on. It usually happens very late at night. If you set a TIMER just before it might prevent this from happening.

What I am aiming for is to have the PVR and eHDD work normally without problems, like before the firmware update.

While unplugging the esata cable got the "works now" message and operated normally for an hour after, within 5 minutes of turning the PVR off the eHDD started flashing rapidly and had lost contact again.

I suspect I will be best to just replace the Vantec CX with a nextstar3 which is working just fine on my PVR. I probably shouldn't have tried to save a few bucks when I bought the CX for my mom.

 

[ScaryBob]

You might be able to get around this by disabling the sleep timeout on the drive. That can be done with Linux. There might be utilities to change drive parameters using Windows. Note that the CX case is doing what it should. The PVR should not allow standby unless it can wake the drive reliably. Some PVRs and cases keep the drive on 24/7, which is just as bad because it wastes energy and creates premature wear on the drive.