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Tom Speer
Tom Speer
Staff member Pub Member / Supporter Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in DIRECTV General Forum

Possible failing Hard Drive on HR54

steve615 said:
I have noticed some brief glitches on my HR54-700 recently. Occasional slow / sluggish responses to remote commands appears to be the main glitch at the current time. That and the program guide on the HR54-700 tends to "freeze" for brief periods of time, when attempting to access and use it.
Click to expand...
I have not noticed anything like that with my HR54-200. What you are describing fits what many people have described as their hard drives are failing. I replaced my HR54 hard drive about 7 years ago with a Western Digital Red HDD, which was marketed at that time for video surveillance continuois recording systems. A Genie server is much the same kind of duty. Today the WD Red is marketed for NAS systems with lots of users.
Since the hard drives in a DIRECTV Genie server is spinning continuously, and constantly in use, I don't like SSD's because they have a limited number of write cycles. I expect my WD Red to outlive DIRECTVs satellites.
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Tom Speer
Tom Speer
Steve615: Any authorized solution to your failing hard drive will involve the loss of all of your recordings. Some solutions which involve violation of your customer agreement also would cause the loss of your recordings.

1. The simplest authorized way to take care of a failing HDD in a HR54, is to sign up for DIRECTV's protection plan and when it is in effect, and you have definite signs of the failing hard drive, call customer service and have them send you a new HR54, if you can get one. They may try to upgrade you to a HS17 Genie server, with an additional client. That would start a new 2 year commitment AFAIK.

2. Does your HR54 have an ESATA port? I hear that some later models don't have one and can't add an external drive. If you have the ESATA port, you should be able to buy an External ESATa drive, or an External ESATA case or docking station and a high quality 4TB drive like the WD Purple I mentioned. I believe the HR54 is limited to a 4 TB drive size, don't try anything larger. Adding the external drive disables the internal one.

3. I use a couple of different Esata docks. I can't find them online anymore. The only one i see on Amazon is StarTech SDOCK2U33EB. I can't comment on quality of the Esata enclosures, Esata external Drives, or Esata Docks on the market today. THe Esata interface is largely being replaced by the high speed USB ports.

3. Replacing the Internal drive is technically quite simple, but violates your customer agreement. Here is a Youtube video showing how it is done. He uses a bent large paper clip to release the latches. I just used a flat bladed screwdriver on my owned HR54. You do need a torx securiy bit (I got some at Harbor Freight),

We have lost a lot of information on this subject from online forums. Anything that we had at Iamanedgecutter has been lost. If there is anything at the other DBS forum, I couldn't find it.

It is possible, if you remove the original drive to copy it and expand the available space to use the whole new hard drive with a PC booted into Linux and using the GPARTED program. I did it, but I had some instructions.
The partitions on the Genie HDDs are not standard Linux file systems. Copying means you have to connect the old and new hard drives to a computer at the same time.
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R
randycat
Tom Speer said:
Steve615: Any authorized solution to your failing hard drive will involve the loss of all of your recordings. Some solutions which involve violation of your customer agreement also would cause the loss of your recordings.

1. The simplest authorized way to take care of a failing HDD in a HR54, is to sign up for DIRECTV's protection plan and when it is in effect, and you have definite signs of the failing hard drive, call customer service and have them send you a new HR54, if you canget one. They may try to upgrade you to a HS17 Genie server, with an additional client. That would start a new 2 year commitment AFAIK.

2. Does your HR54 have an ESATA port? I hear that some later models don't have one and can't add an external drive. If you have the ESATA port, you should be able to buy an External ESATa drive, or an External ESATA case or docking station and a high quality 4TB drive like the WD Purple I mentioned. I believe the HR54 is limited to a 4 TB drive size, don't try anything larger. Adding the external drive disables the internal one.

3. I use a couple of different Esata docks. I can't find them online anymore. The only one i see on Amazon is StarTech SDOCK2U33EB. I can't comment on quality of the Esata enclosures, Esata external Drives, or Esata Docks on the market today. THe Esata interface is largely being replaced by the high speed USB ports.

3. Replacing the Internal drive is technically quite simple, but violates your customer agreement. Here is a Youtube video showing how it is done. He uses a bent large paper clip to release the latches. I just used a flat bladed screwdriver on my owned HR54. You do need a torx securiy bit (I got some at Harbor Freight),

We have lost a lot of information on this subject from online forums. Anything that we had at Iamanedgecutter has been lost. If there is anything at the other DBS forum, I couldn't find it.

It is possible, if you remove the original drive to copy it and expand the available space to use the whole new hard drive with a PC booted into Linux and using the GPARTED program. I did it, but I had some instructions.
The partitions on the Genie HDDs are not standard Linux file systems. Copying means you have to connect the old and new hard drives to a computer at the same time.
Click to expand...
i've done this a few times:
www.dbstalk.com

Removing / Replacing / Copying Hard Drive of HR2*...

This document is intended to aid as a tool for instructional purposes. Please realize that opening your receiver may violate your DIRECTV Customer Agreement if you lease the equipment. The procedure below is only recommended if you actually own the equipment. Before I get into the steps of my...
www.dbstalk.com www.dbstalk.com
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Tom Speer
Tom Speer
randycat said:
i've done this a few times:
www.dbstalk.com

Removing / Replacing / Copying Hard Drive of HR2*...

This document is intended to aid as a tool for instructional purposes. Please realize that opening your receiver may violate your DIRECTV Customer Agreement if you lease the equipment. The procedure below is only recommended if you actually own the equipment. Before I get into the steps of my...
www.dbstalk.com www.dbstalk.com
Click to expand...
That is the information I was looking for. Thank you.
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steve615
steve615
Thanks for the replies and information. As for the Protection Plan, I have had that on my account since day one with DIRECTV. It has come in handy over the years, that is certain. Approximately a month or so ago, I made the decision to replace a couple of C61K clients on my account. During my phone discussions with Tech Support, it was suggested by them that I replace the HR54 with an HS17. I thanked them for the offer, but politely declined. Over the course of the last few days and nights, the glitches that I noticed and mentioned in my original post have now stopped. For the time being, I will continue using the HR54-700 as is. If the hard drive eventually dies, I will give DIRECTV Tech Support another call and have it replaced. I imagine nowadays, I would end up with an HS17 for a replacement. Many thanks again for the replies, suggestions and thoughts on this matter.
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Former member 208119
Former member 208119
looks like a new setup would be an HS-17 and the gemini and a standard HD mini unless you wanted to upgrade to another gemini. i don't think they even let you pick and choose clients anymore except for the gemini upgrade... were sticking with the C61K mini's as the gemini client made the tv go stupid :rolleyes: :shh:coco
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Former member 209992
Former member 209992
Last reply · posted in SatelliteGuys Support Center

Site is slooooow

For some reason, the satelliteguys.us site is loading a lot slower than usual on both Chrome on my Asus laptop and Safari on my iPhone.
I'm also seeing longer appearances of the blue bar at the top and the "3 blue bars" loading symbol.
Is anyone else also having the same problem? Thanks in advance.
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Foxbat
Foxbat
Yeah. It's probably something going on with the MacBook as my iPhone has been pretty snappy.
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Scott Greczkowski
Scott Greczkowski
I have been optimizing the site the past few days... and got us here now. :) We are rocking now!

Screenshot 2026-10-15 144737.webp
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Foxbat
Foxbat
Foxbat said:
Yeah. It's probably something going on with the MacBook as my iPhone has been pretty snappy.
Click to expand...
I rebooted my MacBook Air and it's zipping right along. Sorry, but it was taking over 20 seconds to load pages, with the pulsing blue bars so it was munching on something.
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Scott Greczkowski
Scott Greczkowski
Remember folks... just like DNS... its always Foxbat. :D
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Foxbat
Foxbat
Scott Greczkowski said:
Remember folks... just like DNS... its always Foxbat. :D
Click to expand...
WTF… …What the Foxbat!😱
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in Internet Television (IPTV) Discussion Forum

Hughesnet cancelling email addresses

Wasn't exactly sure where to post this. Just had a customer come in inquiring about internet. He has HughesNet and had heard good things about mine. He asked if we provided email addresses and it kinda caught me off guard. I said he should be able to keep whatever email he had been using....my sister in law is still using a BellSouth email addy and they haven't been around here for many years. He said he had gotten a letter from HughesNet stating that they had until Nov 16th to save, move, forward, whatever, their Hughesnet emails because they would lose them after that date.

I have never heard of a company simply mass-deleting email accounts (the customer still has his HughesNet service). From what I understand, in the past, the company who was ditching their email service simply sold the customer base to a company like Google.

Anyone else getting this letter. He said he would show it to me tomorrow when I go out there and set up his internet.
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Foxbat
Foxbat
Doing a Google of the HughesNet Email notice, it seems that HughesNet has been trying to eliminate hosting emails since 2019. And with HughesNet filing Chapter 11 back in August, it would be a smart move to switch to a more stable Email provider. Even AT&T farmed out their Email to Yahoo! years ago.

SpaceX's Starlink and the Cellular 5G Home Internet solutions have pretty much relegated HughesNet and its high latency, low bandwidth Internet service to History. If Earth had shorter days, maybe a Geostationary Internet Solution might have stood a fighting chance…
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Well, I helped him set up a gmail acct....I actually wanted to see what the new process is for setting up a gmail acct since it had been years since I set mine up. Anyway, I showed him how to forward the emails he wanted to keep over.
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navychop
navychop
Foxbat said:
If Earth had shorter days,
Click to expand...

Wouldn't we then die of old age sooner?

🙄
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Foxbat
Foxbat
navychop said:
Wouldn't we then die of old age sooner?

🙄
Click to expand...
Still the same number of years, just more Sunsets…😉
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Man falls to his death on roller coaster at 6 Flags in GA

Can't help but wonder if a worker overlooked checking the harness. I rarely ride a roller coaster anymore but when I do I check the harness myself pretty aggressively.
Can't imagine what the son is going through.

www.dailymail.com

Dad levitated and bled then fell to his death from coaster

Eyewitnesses have shared fresh details of the horrific accident that happened at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday afternoon.
www.dailymail.com www.dailymail.com
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Jimbo
Jimbo
Back on the Goliath Roller Coaster ... I'm interested to find more details as well ...
Like where on the track did this happen (somewhere I read that it was on the climb up the top), which is impossible ...

They really need to take that ride and add at the very least, seatbelts ...

The Park is opening back up on Friday, the ride will Not be opening ... personally, I would keep it closed until different type of restraints can be designed and installed (over the winter).

I find it hard to believe that this ride is even allowed to be running with the restraints that exist at the moment, there are other rides that use the same type and they have been shut down across the country.

You got to believe that every ride has at least 2 types of restraint systems in place.

I wonder what and when we will hear from the Manufacturer ... and whatever governing bodies control these ...

Just think, this is a Major Amusement Park .... I would not have any problem getting on the Roller Coasters I have rode ...

Imagine what these County Fairs and others like them, I would not be caught Dead on one of them ... they get put up and tore down every other week, where is the safety for those rides ... No Thank You.
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Jimbo
Jimbo
bgtsafari.com

Could B&M’s Patent on the “Clamshell” Ride Restraint Design Offer Clues as to What Happened on Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia?

Incredibly sad news out of Six Flags Over Georgia as it’s being reported one man was killed after being ejected from Goliath, the B&M hyper coaster. Many news outlets have posted pictures of pe…
bgtsafari.com bgtsafari.com
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navychop
navychop
Jimbo said:
I would not be caught Dead on one of them
Click to expand...

Yet IF you were on one, you might be caught dead.
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Jimbo said:
bgtsafari.com

Could B&M’s Patent on the “Clamshell” Ride Restraint Design Offer Clues as to What Happened on Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia?

Incredibly sad news out of Six Flags Over Georgia as it’s being reported one man was killed after being ejected from Goliath, the B&M hyper coaster. Many news outlets have posted pictures of pe…
bgtsafari.com bgtsafari.com
Click to expand...
Had no idea there were that many redundancies built into those restraints.
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Jimbo
Jimbo
dishstaller said:
Had no idea there were that many redundancies built into those restraints.
Click to expand...
It makes sense, however, I would want more types of restraints, so if one doesn't work, the other does ... the restraints coming over the shoulder I would have expected ... with a Seat belt as last resort.

Fwiw, I inquired with what they use on Coasters at Cedar Point, various Coasters, different restraints according to what the car and track requires ...

NONE of the Coasters at CP use THAT particular system :)
I'm glad to see ...
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Jimbo said:
with a Seat belt as last resort.
Click to expand...
According to the article, when you see a seat belt on a ride like this, it is basically used as a way of making sure the rider isn't too large/fat to safely ride the ride.
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Ham Radio 2.0
· posted in Ham Radio 2.0

Kenwood TM-D750 vs ICOM ID-5200: Don't Buy One Before Watching This!

Time for another AWESOME video from Ham Radio 2.0!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGlC_BDgwZo


Direct YouTube Link - Kenwood TM-D750 vs ICOM ID-5200: Don't Buy One Before Watching This!
Ham Radio 2.0 Website
Ham Radio 2.0 on Facebook
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H
Houston Rockets
Last reply · posted in FTA Receiver / Equipment Support

OTHER  Mini Multiswitch

I just received 6 receiver 2 port mini Multiswitch and it work great, no external power need it, and you can connect 6 receiver instead of 4 on most Mini Multiswitches... If anyone is interested in where they can get one PM me....
IMG_1786.webp
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Titanium
Titanium
Have you tested using external power? Over the years, have found unpowered polarity switching to be unreliable. Especially problematic when used with DiSEqC motors or switch stacking.
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H
Houston Rockets
No I have not. I just got it the other day and it is connected to six receivers working just fine. What I do is non power mini multi-switches work best with LNBF's and with LNB's
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Tech News Weekly 459

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CELCVXF_wXA


Direct YouTube Link - Tech News Weekly 459
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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TheRatPatrol
TheRatPatrol
Last reply · posted in TV Shows

NCIS

Anyone else watch this show? Any guesses as to what was in the box Gibbs gave to Abby that was on her desk? It look liked it was glowing.

I also heard that someone was leaving the show at the end of this season. Any guesses as to who thats going to be?
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TheRatPatrol
TheRatPatrol
Wait, Tony is the director now? Apologies, I stopped watching a while ago.
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Jimbo
Jimbo
TheRatPatrol said:
Wait, Tony is the director now? Apologies, I stopped watching a while ago.
Click to expand...
Was Gibbs still there when you quit watching ?
If so, A Lot has happened ....

It's been pretty good all along , once you get use to Gibbs being gone.
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Jimbo
Jimbo
Jimbo
Jimbo said:

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BIdMzUBHvjw?feature=share
Click to expand...

Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
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Howard Simmons
Howard Simmons
Jimbo said:
Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
Click to expand...
Tony as the director.🙄
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Jimbo
Jimbo
Howard Simmons said:
Tony as the director.🙄
Click to expand...
Would you rather have LaRoche ???
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iJustine
· posted in iJustine

Meet up in San Francisco! NVIDIA RTX Spark Meet & Greet 10/16!

Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!


View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Qd-RuBfiRUM


Direct YouTube Link - Meet up in San Francisco! NVIDIA RTX Spark Meet & Greet 10/16!
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Apple's New Smart Home Ecosystem

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!


View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VzOS-cQ-WkM


Direct YouTube Link - Apple's New Smart Home Ecosystem
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club

4 ft LED tube bulbs now come with color selector

I bought the fixed color version of these bulbs for my store several years ago...work great and no more replacing ballast. Finally had one go out and when I went back to Amazon I saw that now they come in selectable versions so no more guess work as to what color light would do best in a certain area. They are now double OR single ended...used to be strictly one way or the other. If any of you are looking at replacing the old style 4 or 8 ft bulbs, you might want to give these a try. The 8 footers are BRIGHT. I put 5 in my shooting/target shed and you can get a decent tan if you are in there long enough.

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Foxbat
Foxbat
When we re-lamped my in-Laws' house for sale last year, we were able to get all the Edison bulbs and a few fixtures with switch-selectable Color Temperature. We tried a few and settled on 3000°K as the best fit for the house. Matching the lighting in all the rooms made for an inviting experience. The Shop was the only place that we went with 4000°K for the LED 4' fixtures.

The house was sold within a month of going on the market, so we must have done something right.

The other advantage is if the new owners decide that they prefer a warmer light, they can unscrew the bulbs (I think it was close to 70 bulbs) and set them to the 2500K/2700K settings.

I'll have to check these out. Thanks!
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