Receiver cannot format drive

[mmcl26554]

I have a 500GB external drive that I used on a 622 & a 211k for a year or 2 until the A/C adapter died. Because of that the data on the drive was corrupted. I had a 250 GB drive that I put in the enclosure and adapted a new A/C adapter and it worked fine. I took the original 500GB drive and was able to delete the partition and created a new ntfs partition and used it as a data drive. Well ultimately the 250 drive stopped working (another cheap chinese A/C adapter bit the dust!) So I mounted the original 500GB drive in a new enclosure, repartitioned it with ext3, and connected it first to a 211k which wouldn't format it (it recognized it and wanted to format but the format failed)so I tried it on a 722K still wouldn't format it. I removed the partition, the 722k still wouldn't format it. Partitioned it with ntfs but no go. Still the drive works fine as a data drive but Dish receivers won't have anything to do with. This really doesn't pose a problem for me but I am wondering why it is a drive which once worked fine with the Dish receivers, still works fine as a data drive but now won't work with the Dish receivers. Oh and I did run a surface scan and there were no errors were found and S.M.A.R.T. data is all OK also. So why is this.
Michael

 

[TheKrell]

I think the partition table is somehow confusing your Dish receivers. I've sometimes had to use the Linux dd command to zero out the first few sectors, in order to regain sanity from certain devices (raid enclosures in my case). Then let the receiver reformat the way it wants.

 

[mmcl26554]

I use a program called "MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition" it's free and works very well. I can write "0's" over the disk. then should a create a partition or just leave it full of "0's"? If yes what kind do you suggest. Primary or logical. What kind of file system fat, ntfs, ext3 or 4.
Michael

 

[TheKrell]

I'd leave it without a partition table and let the receiver write it's own.

 

[mmcl26554]

Thanks Krill, I'll give it a shot and post back results.
Michael

 

[TheKrell]

It's "Krell", not krill!!! I feel so small and insignificant when people call me that.

 

[Tampa8]

Krill. :

 

[mmcl26554]

Krell,
Sorry about that, it was just a typo on my part. I am developing a close relationship with typos. A gift of being older, my fingers are not as nimble as they once were. No insult intended!
Michael

 

[DishSubLA]

I use a program called "MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition" it's free and works very well. I can write "0's" over the disk. then should a create a partition or just leave it full of "0's"? If yes what kind do you suggest. Primary or logical. What kind of file system fat, ntfs, ext3 or 4.
Michael

And that MiniTool Partition is the ONLY one I've found that EASILY partitions already formatted and in use Win7 system drives, without the hassle of other methods or limitations of other partition software, and it's FREE!

 

[mmcl26554]

I'd leave it without a partition table and let the receiver write it's own.

krell,
I did what you said, wrote "0's" over the whole drive did NOT partition it. The 722k would not connect to it until I created a partition. I used an ntfs partition as it was the quickest to create. The receiver did connect to it but still the format failed. I'm out of ideas! Like I said it isn't problematic for me as I can use it for data, but I sure am curious as to why this is happening.
Michael

 

[KAB]

What's the fuss? I loved both "Kill Krill's".

 

[whatchel1]

It is due to the fact that it isn't spinning up. I trying to find a way around this problem I have a 500 Gb HDD from a DTV DVR that i want to do the same thing with myself. I was able to format the drive by hooking it up to a E* DVR which sent the command to spin up, then hooked it to a Win 7 PC via a USB to SATA jumper. But I still can't use it. I'm going to have to see if there is a way to up date the firmware on it.

 

[mmcl26554]

It is due to the fact that it isn't spinning up. I trying to find a way around this problem I have a 500 Gb HDD from a DTV DVR that i want to do the same thing with myself. I was able to format the drive by hooking it up to a E* DVR which sent the command to spin up, then hooked it to a Win 7 PC via a USB to SATA jumper. But I still can't use it. I'm going to have to see if there is a way to up date the firmware on it.

I'm certain it is spinning it up as I can hear it and feel it spin. So I don't know the problem is other than it's dish!
Michael

 

[whatchel1]

I know the drive I'm using isn't. As I have it in an external docking station. I doubt that it is spinning up even if you think it is. I expect you are hearing something else. A DVR HDD doesn't spin up w/out a command sent to it. As far as I can find out Win 7 doesn't spin up a drive that comes out of either an E* or D* DVR. I'm trying to find out someway to get it to work. It shows in management due to the fact that Win is sees the hardware on the HDD not the spinning platters.

 

[n0qcu]

Did you try formatting the drive with a FAT partition?

Sent from my iPhone

 

[mmcl26554]

Well I can put my ear to the external USB drive enclosure and when I turn the switch on hear the motor spinup, I can also put my hand on the enclosure and feel the slight vibration of the spinning disk and finally if I hold the enclosure in my hand and move it slightly I can feel the gyroscopic effect of the spinning disk. So something of some weight is most definitely spinning. What else in a hard drive would spin but the disk? I hear and feel the same things on any hard drive, the sound, the vibration, and gyroscopic effect. Now as to have I tried FAT, the answer is yes, also NTFS, ext3, ext4 and no partition or formatting. The hard drive in question at one time worked fine as an external drive to a Dish receiver. It will work just fine for data storage when attached to a computer as either an external USB or internal drive. Just not with Dish. One thing I haven't tried which might be interesting is to format another drive with the 722k and then clone it to the drive in question. I think I'll try that. A while ago I purchased a 1TB drive to replace another 500GB drive and I used Acronis to clone the 500GB to the 1TB and it worked, I'm still using the 1TB drive without any problem so I know I can clone these drives.
Michael

 

[Jim5506]

Wayne, this is an EHD not the internal drive on the DVR. It sounds like the drive might have a bad spot on the Linux boot area preventing the DVR from formatting it.

If you know someone who has a copy of Gibson Research Spin-Rite you might try analyzing the drive with it.

I usually use any old copy of Windows XP to remove the partition and then use the final OS to format the drive, especially if the drive was Vista from an OEM manufacturer and I'm upgrading it to Win7 or Win 8 and don't want the Vista recovery partition.

 

[mmcl26554]

I don't know of anybody who has Spin-Rite, but if there is damage to the drive's boot sectors, then if I were to attempt to load Ubuntu on it would I expect problems? Or would GParted experience problems with it? Or is there any other program I can use to test it. How about a program that does a surface scan integrity checks? Would that work? Or how about our old friend chkdsk?
Michael

 

[whatchel1]

OK, since it is spinning up but the DVR can format. Then it sounds like a locked HDD.

 

[mmcl26554]

OK, since it is spinning up but the DVR can format. Then it sounds like a locked HDD.

It works OK as an external drive to any of my computers, It can be partitioned, formated and will accept data read & write. So, I don't think it is locked. The only device that cannot use it is my Dish receivers (3 722k's and one 211k) because they can't format it, but the computers can.
Michael