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Upgraded internal HDD for the 630

145K views 263 replies 80 participants last post by  k801809 
#1 ·
For those of you wondering if you can upgrade the hard drive the answer is yes. I put a 1TB 2.5" hard drive in one of my 630's today. It is a little taller (12.5mm) than the normal 2.5" hard drives but there is room for it with about 2 mm to spare.

For those wondering what drive I put in it was a SAMSUNG HM100UI. It gave me 140 hours of HD now.

 
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#2 · (Edited)
Way to go QCK!

Maybe you could report back in the 630 owner's thread after a while and let us know if it helped at all with some of the problems you reported with your 630 that has been upgraded... I assume you didn't upgrade all 4? You may be a perfect test case... I know that upgrading the HD on my 530 (along with a fan) completely stabilized my 530. Maybe there is hope here as well!
 
#4 ·
zbroke, I just did the one receiver to see if it would work.

It is very simple to swap out the hard drive itself, just some screws and the hard drive cable connector to remove. When the receiver boots with the new hard drive you need to get into the settings menu and then enter 4-9-8-8 asap, as if you wait too long the receiver will re-boot again. Once inside that hidden menu you need to do a factory reset which includes erasing the hard drive. After a few minutes the receiver booted up fine. I just had to go online and do a few re-hits on the Shaw Direct website to get all of my subscribed channels restored and getting the advanced channel list back.

So far there has been no issues with it. If there are any issues I'll report back about them.
 
#6 ·
Yes, you use the same bit tool that you would need for the 530 case. The hard drive that was in my 630 was a 320GB Seagate, so no I did not stay with the same manufacturer. There are not a lot of options for 2.5" hard drives once you go above 640GB and I got a good deal on the one I chose.
 
#10 · (Edited)
External Drive

Been running this setup since Sept 16 no problems. (Photo in Albums in my signature)

Totally disconnected stock harddrive, ran regular sata cable to motherboard of 630 from my harddrivedock dock which is self powered externally.

Seagate, PipelineHD 1T, same procedure as QCK outlined to format and setup.

Removed 630 cover, flipped it over, slipped end back into front of receiver, and put a couple of pieces of tape on for a little extra hold, Harddrive dock sits on this inverted cover just above the clock.

Flipping cover upside down creates a 3/4 inch gap on each end of receiver.
Plugged USB powered fan into USB port on front of receiver, with fan blowing in 3/4 inch gap on end of receiver. Air flows side to side, totally cool inside. Receivers small size is great.

Will try some other hard drive makes and sizes shortly
 
#13 ·
When you do a factory reset you will have to have a re-hit. It is not done on a regular basis by SD. When the re-hit is done through their website it is sent to all receivers on your account. You can always call SD and thell them you are missing some channels and they will send the re-hit for you.


7ninty: can you take pictures of each step and put them up on flickr or similar photo sharing site?
There is no need for a step by step picture explaination, although I know it is nice to see pictures. I may post a few later, but it is really simple, just take the three screws on the back side out to take the cover off. Remove the single connector to the hard drive. Next, take out the screws to the bracket holding the hard drive. Take out the screws to the original hard drive. Then just do the reverse for the new hard drive and then do as I said above with a factory reset and send a re-hit or two to get your programming back.
 
#15 ·
I have no problem at all with how fast the 5400 rpm drive responds, infact I'm really pleased with the response time. I doubt you will tell much difference between the two. A 7200 rpm drive may resond a bit faster but it will also run a little hotter too. IMHO I don't think you will see a benefit, if I thought there would be one I would have bought one that speed myself. By the way I have recorded many shows now on the 1TB drive and there are no issues at all to mention.
 
#20 ·
Hi Everyone,

Two quick notes:

1) Warranty
As per page iv of the Motorola User Guide provided with the receiver:

Service: Do not try to service this product yourself. If you open or remove the cover, you may be exposed to dangerous voltage or other hazards and will void the unit's warranty.

Second, be wary when using a "Green" drive. My understanding is that these will basically go into a sleep mode after a certain amount of time, resulting in missed recordings.
 
#23 ·
With being able to mass purchase they could have went from a 320GB hard drive to a 640GB hard drive for about $20 more. If the receievrs had came with that I would have never bothered to put a larger drive in one of my receivers. Aprrox. 45 hours of HD is just not enough free space for a main reciever these days.
 
#24 ·
A 320gig drive is totally to small these days with high definition programming. When I purchased the PVR I actually thought that i would be able to attach an external drive for more storage space - now I am not so sure! Why build the features into the device and then not use them, but this seems to be the theme with Shaw Direct. I will truly be disappointed if these features do not become available.
 
#26 ·
I haven't been able to watch much TV this week, due to family issues, and the 320 Gb drive is doing just fine. 4 hours on Monday, 6 on Tuesday, 3 on Wednesday, and 2 last night (generally, it's 4). All HD. Another 20 in SD and another 4 or 5 tonight in HD. That will result in about half the drive being full.

As much as I like the TV, there aren't enough good shows on a week to week basis to require tripling my capacity. At least, that's my opinion.
 
#27 ·
Krydor, yes that is your opinion, but not mine that is why I upgraded.

If you record some movies to watch at a later time, along with that and then go on vacation for a week or two it does not take long get over 45 hours of HD contenet. We all have different needs, and record very little in SD which makes a difference as well.
 
#28 ·
Bigger Hard Drive

I like to record entire series to watch in the summer when there is nothing on... Could not do that with the 160GB HD on the 530 and won't be able to with the 320GB on the 630 either...thus an upcoming HD upgrade... But I want to wait a little longer and give SD the change to fix some of the bugs via firmware upgrade. I want to rule out anything I might have done wrong when something if something bad happens with my 630.
 
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