I have the exact same problem you describe on my 211k since about a month ago. One day, all my recordings for years have error 05. The receiver reports the drive has hundreds of recording hours available when it shouldn't. All the recorded shows are present in the list, but none will play. I installed a new external HDD twice, same issue happens over and over now. I don't know the exact timeframe when this happens, but I check a recorded show a week later and they have error 05. If I check a recorded show the same day, its fine. I already unplugged the receiver, reset to factory default, but the issue still comes. I don't want a Hopper and don't want to pay more than I already do. I have not contacted technical support about this yet, but I'm sure I get the same run around and sales pitch to upgrade. I personally think they changed something on their end. The software on my box is L870. I'm not sure when an upgrade actually took place if it did.