How do I replace a Hopper full of shows?

[Luddite by Choice]

4 Dish techs have told me, beginning when it was new, that my Hopper 3 w/Sling is buggy. It's getting worse, and they tell me to buy a 2TB self-powered external HDD (no SSD or flash drive) for $60-$80, archive my Hopper contents onto it, replace the Hopper, then dump those EHD contents onto the new Hopper.
1. I can't find a self-powered 2TB EHD on the internet. They're apparently dinosaurs.
2. I'm not about to archive my Hopper onto an EHD unless I am sure I can retrieve its contents. I've lost too many entire Spectrum and Dish drive contents with "sure things".
3. What am I not finding? Are there any self-powered EHDs available that are simple plug and play (reformatting is OK, but anything beyond that is gobbledygook to this Luddite by Choice.)

 

[HipKat]

4 Dish techs have told me, beginning when it was new, that my Hopper 3 w/Sling is buggy. It's getting worse, and they tell me to buy a 2TB self-powered external HDD (no SSD or flash drive) for $60-$80, archive my Hopper contents onto it, replace the Hopper, then dump those EHD contents onto the new Hopper.
1. I can't find a self-powered 2TB EHD on the internet. They're apparently dinosaurs.
2. I'm not about to archive my Hopper onto an EHD unless I am sure I can retrieve its contents. I've lost too many entire Spectrum and Dish drive contents with "sure things".
3. What am I not finding? Are there any self-powered EHDs available that are simple plug and play (reformatting is OK, but anything beyond that is gobbledygook to this Luddite by Choice.)

2TB is the old standard. You can go as high as 7 TB now. And you don't have to transfer them to the new Hopper, just connect the drive as additional storage. That IS a sure thing - unless your Hard Drive is bad.
Regardless, I do want to remind people, when you record shows, you don't own those shows. They are only playable on Dish Hoppers. At some point, you'll probably leave Dish - hopefully not soon - and have no way to play those recordings.

 

[John2021]

why would you want a self powered drive there slower than ones that come with an AC plug??? there is a way to transfer shows via eithernet. that's providing the drive isn't bad then it won't transfer your shows and that takes days to do

 

[HipKat]

why would you want a self powered drive there slower than ones that come with an AC plug??? there is a way to transfer shows via eithernet. that's providing the drive isn't bad then it won't transfer your shows and that takes days to do

The Ethernet method rarely works anymore. An EHD is the only way that works all the time

 

[navychop]

At some point, you'll probably leave Dish - hopefully not soon - and have no way to play those recordings.

Or even if you stay, you may lose whole drives of programming. I did. Major sticky point for me with Dish. Now, other con$ideration$ take precedence.

 

[Bossmas4325]

The Ethernevant method rarely works anymore. An EHD is the only way that works all the ti

can i watch the shows off the EHD or do they have to be onm the hopper 3 to watch them?

 

[HipKat]

can i watch the shows off the EHD or do they have to be onm the hopper 3 to watch them?

You can watch them off the EHD

 

[Bobby]

You can watch them off the EHD

Except when you are using DishAnywhere.

 

[Bossmas4325]

You can watch them off the EHD

what kind of EHD do i look for ?

 

[navychop]

WD is popular. I'd get a smaller one, so as to not put all eggs in one basket. Just large enough to copy what's on the internal HDD with a margin.

Self powered.

 

[Strega]

I've only used common WD Elements 2TB portable (bus powered) drives with my Hopper 3. I do plug them into a powered hub, which I believe makes them essentially self-powered as far as the hopper 3 can tell. At least I've had no issues using them.

 

[John2021]

I've only used common WD Elements 2TB portable (bus powered) drives with my Hopper 3. I do plug them into a powered hub, which I believe makes them essentially self-powered as far as the hopper 3 can tell. At least I've had no issues using them.

self powered drives will get power from the hopper a usb port is all that's needed

 

[navychop]

I've only used common WD Elements 2TB portable (bus powered) drives with my Hopper 3. I do plug them into a powered hub, which I believe makes them essentially self-powered as far as the hopper 3 can tell. At least I've had no issues using them.

I do that. But my EHDs are toast. Dish destroyed access.

 

[navychop]

self powered drives will get power from the hopper a usb port is all that's needed

Short term. Long term- ???

I suggest only powering them when in use.

 

[John2021]

Short term. Long term- ???

I suggest only powering them when in use.

short term just long enough to transfer programming back and forth to the hoppers then unplug it.. though from what i researched a transfer could take days..

 

[HipKat]

I've only used common WD Elements 2TB portable (bus powered) drives with my Hopper 3. I do plug them into a powered hub, which I believe makes them essentially self-powered as far as the hopper 3 can tell. At least I've had no issues using them.

Correct. The hubs handle the power requirement

 

[HipKat]

self powered drives will get power from the hopper a usb port is all that's needed

No. The specs call for power not from the USB, but a wall outlet or, like mentioned above, a powered hub

 

[John2021]

No. The specs call for power not from the USB, but a wall outlet or, like mentioned above, a powered hub

kk missed that

 

[DialgaChampion]

4 Dish techs have told me, beginning when it was new, that my Hopper 3 w/Sling is buggy. It's getting worse, and they tell me to buy a 2TB self-powered external HDD (no SSD or flash drive) for $60-$80, archive my Hopper contents onto it, replace the Hopper, then dump those EHD contents onto the new Hopper.
1. I can't find a self-powered 2TB EHD on the internet. They're apparently dinosaurs.
2. I'm not about to archive my Hopper onto an EHD unless I am sure I can retrieve its contents. I've lost too many entire Spectrum and Dish drive contents with "sure things".
3. What am I not finding? Are there any self-powered EHDs available that are simple plug and play (reformatting is OK, but anything beyond that is gobbledygook to this Luddite by Choice.)

I use a WD Elements 6TB HDD. It has a separate AC adapter for power.

Only issue is that occasionally, the nightly reset for the Hopper 3 results in not always seeing the external hard drive afterwards when pulling up the DVR menu, even though it's still plugged into it. Red button reset or unplugging/replugging the power cord for the external drive solves it though.

The annoying part of DVRs is that because recordings can only be saved on one drive at a time, if whichever hard drive you have your recording on fails, you've lost it. Doesn't matter if it's external or internal, because you can't duplicate the recordings as a backup.

 

[Strega]

You can backup and rearrange recordings if you wish. I have done it. The video and audio is encrypted but you can still move and copy files. Using a linux system is the most versatile way, but you could use a bit-for-bit disk copy to copy the entire disk on any platform.