The HD is Dying on my HR54 (engineering test model).

[alnielsen]

The hard drive is dying on my HR54. This is a pre-release engineering test model I don't believe is a lease unit. It's been giving me notifications of issues for some time, then it would just continue working. A simple reset didn't work. I had to disconnect the power for 12 hours to get it back to normal operation. Is there a menu option to format the drive? Does the drive have a SATA interface like current ones? If I remember right, you can just install a new drive and the reciever will take over and make it ready for use.

 

[DirecTVFanSince2016]

If I recall, you can hold down record and the down arrow to format the hard drive.
Wait. It's an HR54. Dang it.

 

[jcrandall]

If you install a new drive it will auto-format and be up and running just fine. I'd recommend a WD Blue 1TB SSD, currently less than $50 on Amazon and widely available. Receiver will operate slightly faster, and the drive should last 5-10 years with no issue. No moving parts in the SSD may increase reliability and reduce heat.


Pickup one of these to hold the smaller drive in the 3.5 inch bay:
SSD HDD Holder 2.5 to 3.5 Mounting Bracket Hard Drive Adapter (2 Pack) (Black)

 

[jcrandall]

How to video:

View: https://youtu.be/rxgmn_L29Sc

 

[alnielsen]

Update: Cold Shutdown of the receiver seem to have done something. I don't get the errors any longer. I do have a couple 1TB SSD's at work. They were removed when a group of client's wanted 2TB's in their Precision laptops. So, I have that to go to if the errors show up again.

 

[Jimbo]

Update: Cold Shutdown of the receiver seem to have done something. I don't get the errors any longer. I do have a couple 1TB SSD's at work. They were removed when a group of client's wanted 2TB's in their Precision laptops. So, I have that to go to if the errors show up again.

Curious ....
What is a "Cold Shutdown" ???

 

[John2021]

Curious ....
What is a "Cold Shutdown" ???

unplugging it would be my guess

 

[alnielsen]

Yes, I powered down for about 12 hrs and then restarted.

 

[Tom Speer]

With the drive being powered down, it may have assigned alternate tracks for the failing ones. I have a similar age pre-release HR54. After a few years, I installed a 2TB Western Digital Red drive, deigned for constant video surveillance use. So far, it seems immortal.

 

["MysteryMan"]

I too have a pre-release HR54-200 (June 2015). It's received dozens of CE software and National release software updates and is running on it's original hard drive. As Tom put it, it seems immortal.