HR2x / HR34 External Hard Drive FYI/Support (eSATA)

[perUano]

HR-22 External Hard Drive question...on or off?

Hi guys, I just added a 1TB external hard drive to my HR-22 everything works great but when I turn the receiver off the HD stays on spinning, is it safe to turn it off once the receiver is off or should I just leave it on all the time? I don't want to risk loosing the shows I've already recorded. Thanks for your advise

 

[Ramy]

Hi guys, I just added a 1TB external hard drive to my HR-22 everything works great but when I turn the receiver off the HD stays on spinning, is it safe to turn it off once the receiver is off or should I just leave it on all the time? I don't want to risk loosing the shows I've already recorded. Thanks for your advise

You will have to leave it on, because the DVR is still on when you turn it off. All it does is shut off the video and audio outputs. It still records when it is turned off.

 

[perUano]

Thanks for your reply ramy, I'll leave it on then, but wont that wear down the hard drive faster if it is spinning 24/7 365 days a year?

 

[Ramy]

Thanks for your reply ramy, I'll leave it on then, but wont that wear down the hard drive faster if it is spinning 24/7 365 days a year?

Nah, not really. Mine have been spinning for over a year now with no problems. The one in your DVR would be spinning 24/7 365 days a year even if you didn't ad the others.

 

[hdtvtechno]

Hey you alll
what brand of External Hard drives do you guys have hooked up to your HR21 DVR that is working with no problems ?

Im getting fed up with my external HD.. it keeps on shutting down and deleteing shows off it..

My HR21 DVR doesnt like my External HD look like it..
so i swtiched it my HR20-700 and the External HD has been working without issues for the past week or two.. :up

 

[Ramy]

My HR21 DVR doesnt like my External HD look like it..
so i swtiched it my HR20-700 and the External HD has been working without issues for the past week or two.. :up

That's strange, but at least it works on one of them.

 

[Ravenrose]

I need some serious help. I have tried just about everything and have failed miserably. I have an HR-21 receiver and I'm trying to attach an external hard drive to it. I have the Vantec NexStar MX ESATA external enclosure. I started out by putting in two Seagate 1.5 TB hard drives. Which was my first mistake because the enclosure is rated for only 2TB. I tried both and the HR-21 wouldn’t read them at all. I tried one, still the same result. I then purchased a 1 TB Western Digital WD10EACS which I know works with the HR-21. Still no luck the HR-21 would not read it at all either. I then read the ESATA cable could be cheap and causing the problem, so I ordered a new one of those. Still nothing. The HR-21 always fires up with the internal hard drive only. I have invested a ton of money in this project and have gotten no where. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ramy]

I wish I had an answer for you, but sometimes there are a few enclosures and external drives that don't work for some reason. Try looking through this thread, yeah I know it's long, for ideas on what you need to use.

 

[iceturkee]

I need some serious help. I have tried just about everything and have failed miserably. I have an HR-21 receiver and I'm trying to attach an external hard drive to it. I have the Vantec NexStar MX ESATA external enclosure. I started out by putting in two Seagate 1.5 TB hard drives. Which was my first mistake because the enclosure is rated for only 2TB. I tried both and the HR-21 wouldn’t read them at all. I tried one, still the same result. I then purchased a 1 TB Western Digital WD10EACS which I know works with the HR-21. Still no luck the HR-21 would not read it at all either. I then read the ESATA cable could be cheap and causing the problem, so I ordered a new one of those. Still nothing. The HR-21 always fires up with the internal hard drive only. I have invested a ton of money in this project and have gotten no where. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

do you only have the hr21? i ask because i bought a seagate external hd from a fellow member who informed me it wouldn't work with the hr21 but worked fine with the hr20.

 

[Ravenrose]

Yeah I have read through here which gave me the ideas I have already explored. I only have the HR21 so I can't explore other receivers. It' like the ESATA is not reading the external drive no matter what I have in the enclosure. I read about the Segate hard drives which lead me to pick up the proven WD which gave me the same results.

 

[cummingsje]

I know this is a very simplistic question and I hope I don't insult your intelligence but I only suggest this since I could see myself doing it! Have you made sure the switch on the enclosure is turned on? I am running a similar setup (vantec with 750gb WD green drive) and that was just recently upgraded from a 500 gb WD green drive. Both drives have worked flawlessly with my HR21-100. Again, I don't mean to insult your intelligence just wanted to ask the question!

 

[Smith P.]

Lets me test his skills of troubleshooting .

Had you connect the enclose/disk/cable to your PC and run some trivial tests ?
I recall ( may be at DBSt ) it was lengthly discussion about fit/not fit eSATA connector and circumcising it.

 

[Ravenrose]

I have built computers and I have taken classes in the past. I know there are some dense people out there, I don't consider myself one of them. I have read all 17 pages of this post and tried all suggestions. I have turned the external on prior to rebooting the HR-21. I have hooked the external to my computer via USB, but not ESATA because I don't have an ESATA card to plug it into. There were issues with the Segate 1.5 TB's because the enclosure is only rated for a total of 2 TB. I removed one and it worked fine. I tried the WD I bought and it also worked fine. I know this case works because the reviews on newegg state it does. I know the WD hard drive I bought works as well. I just can't get my HR-21 to recognize the external drive and look past the internal one.

 

[Smith P.]

Then test the eSATA cable. Pretty obvious suggestion, I would say.

 

[Ravenrose]

I tried the one that came with it and then ordered a reputable one from newegg and tried it with the same results. This was my most recent attempt.

 

[Smith P.]

You should resolve potential eSATA connector/eSATA cable points of failure - perhaps time to invest USB-eSATA adapter, I did use one from Fry's - it's connecting to your NB or PC to USB port and have eSATA female slot.

 

[Ravenrose]

I'll see if I can't pick one up today and give that a shot.

 

[readmorebooks]

My HR 22 with a 1TB external HD began to fail. Directv technitions replaced the DVR with a HR 23. The external HD's playlist showed up on the TV screen as expected, but when I tried to play a recorded program, I got a "searching for authorized content" message.

Did my old HR 22 encrypt those existing shows so that the only DVR the external HD can support is the DVR that recorded the show?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Ramy]

You can only play what was recorded on the exact machine it was recorded on...............Yeah it sucks.

 

[Smith P.]

Switch to Dish and enjoy EHD between all your DVR ( but same family) for $40 .