USB HDD Installtion Issues

[Babadem]

I just attempted to install my 1 Terabyte Western Digital USB external hard drive, but for some reason, the record option on the AZBox Elite Menu is grayed out even though the HDD is recognized by AZBox. Even when I press the record button on the remote it says no recording device found! When I first connected the Drive (the drive comes with a separate power supply and USB cable) to the AZBox Elite, it indicated about 930.98 GB NTFS available and 0.0GB used (not sure of the exact numbers). I then formated it using AZBox, and it then it indicated 930.98 GB LINUX available, and 0.0GB used in the "Storage" section on the Menu (not sure of the exact numbers). What am I missing here?!?! A few days ago, I had tested recording with a 125MB thumb drive and it worked flawlessly. Any suggestions/help will be highly appreciated! BTW, I'm using Firmware version 0.9.4585.

 

[Lak7]

the AZBox Elite, it indicated about 930.98 GB NTFS

I don't think you can record to NTFS Drives
You should allow the AXBox for Format.

 

[Babadem]

I just attempted to install my 1 Terabyte Western Digital USB external hard drive, but for some reason, the record option on the AZBox Elite Menu is grayed out even though the HDD is recognized by AZBox. Even when I press the record button on the remote it says no recording device found! When I first connected the Drive (the drive comes with a separate power supply and USB cable) to the AZBox Elite, it indicated about 930.98 GB NTFS available and 0.0GB used (not sure of the exact numbers). I then formated it using AZBox, and it then it indicated 930.98 GB LINUX available, and 0.0GB used in the "Storage" section on the Menu (not sure of the exact numbers). What am I missing here?!?! A few days ago, I had tested recording with a 125MB thumb drive and it worked flawlessly. Any suggestions/help will be highly appreciated! BTW, I'm using Firmware version 0.9.4585.

I don't think you can record to NTFS Drives
You should allow the AXBox for Format.

Please, read the entire post above. I did format with the AZBox, and yet no joy.

 

[pedrogarcia]

I seem to remember a post a couple of months back where it was established the HDD speed on the Tbit drive was too fast for the AZbox. It would recognise the HDD but not record.

 

[AcWxRadar]

The AZBox seems to be very finicky regarding numerous issues with HDD's, internal or USB external.

When my AZBox Premium arrived, I was uncertain what HDD to use with it. I had an AB IPBox 9000HD that came with an internally installed 500 GB Samsung HDD, model HD502HI. I figured that if this drive was good enough for the ABCom company to install and sell in their box, then I figured it should be good with my AZBox. It was! So, I have been sticking with the Samsung HDDs for internal applications. I have since bought a 1TB Samsung internal HDD to test. I went with one of the "GREEN" models and it also worked very well.

As for exteral USB drives, I had to try that also, of course. I just happened to have a Maxtor One Touch 750 GB USB drive. So I hooked that up and found it to work fine. Although the Maxtor HDD was in a sealed case, I just had to find a way to open it and inspect the type of drive used. I found it to be a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 750 GB SATA HDD.

I have read a number of threads on several sites where others were experiencing troubles with WD HDDs being compatible with the AZBox, both internal and external USB types.

Therefore, I am quite leary of the WD drives and at the same time, I am very happy with the Samsung drives.

Reflecting back on Pedrogarcia's post, is there a way to set any jumpers on the WD HDD to adjust the speed? Or is this factory set and unalterable?

RADAR

 

[Babadem]

I seem to remember a post a couple of months back where it was established the HDD speed on the Tbit drive was too fast for the AZbox. It would recognise the HDD but not record.

The AZBox seems to be very finicky regarding numerous issues with HDD's, internal or USB external.

When my AZBox Premium arrived, I was uncertain what HDD to use with it. I had an AB IPBox 9000HD that came with an internally installed 500 GB Samsung HDD, model HD502HI. I figured that if this drive was good enough for the ABCom company to install and sell in their box, then I figured it should be good with my AZBox. It was! So, I have been sticking with the Samsung HDDs for internal applications. I have since bought a 1TB Samsung internal HDD to test. I went with one of the "GREEN" models and it also worked very well.

As for exteral USB drives, I had to try that also, of course. I just happened to have a Maxtor One Touch 750 GB USB drive. So I hooked that up and found it to work fine. Although the Maxtor HDD was in a sealed case, I just had to find a way to open it and inspect the type of drive used. I found it to be a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 750 GB SATA HDD.

I have read a number of threads on several sites where others were experiencing troubles with WD HDDs being compatible with the AZBox, both internal and external USB types.

Therefore, I am quite leary of the WD drives and at the same time, I am very happy with the Samsung drives.

Reflecting back on Pedrogarcia's post, is there a way to set any jumpers on the WD HDD to adjust the speed? Or is this factory set and unalterable?

RADAR

Thanks Guys for you responses. I took a closer look at WD 1TB drive, but have not opened it up yet. The make is WD "My Book Essential "Model: WDBAAF0010HBK. I plugged it to my PC last night, but I couldn't see any option to format it. Looking at the drive on my PC, I saw folders or what appeared to be partitions. Maybe there is a tool that I could use to wipe clean all those enteries. I was thinking that the formating from AZBox should have wiped out all information on the drive? For those that have had success using a 1 TB WD USB drive, could you let me know the model that your using?

 

[alk3997]

I just attempted to install my 1 Terabyte Western Digital USB external hard drive, but for some reason, the record option on the AZBox Elite Menu is grayed out even though the HDD is recognized by AZBox. ....

Have you tried a hard boot of the AZBox? This always worked for me on the Premium when the hard drive wasn't recognized.

By hard boot, I mean hold the "Power" button on the unit (not on the remote) down for 5-6 seconds until you see "rebooting" on the unit's one line display. Any time I pulled the power to the Premium, there was a 50-50 chance it would still recognize the HDD. It always recogized the HDD after the hard boot.

Andy

 

[Babadem]

Have you tried a hard boot of the AZBox? This always worked for me on the Premium when the hard drive wasn't recognized.

By hard boot, I mean hold the "Power" button on the unit (not on the remote) down for 5-6 seconds until you see "rebooting" on the unit's one line display. Any time I pulled the power to the Premium, there was a 50-50 chance it would still recognize the HDD. It always recogized the HDD after the hard boot.

Andy

@ the highlighted: Did that some many times without Success.

 

[Babadem]

I just got off the phone with WD tech support and they recommended these. I also found a post where Stogie5150 gave me an answer to a similar question and also recommended 1TB WD Elements. I will try to return the one that I have now and get either WD My DVR expander or WD Elements.

 

[freezy]

since it's a linux box I would imagine the hdd would need to be formatted fat32 for it to be able to write to it.

Linux can read ntfs partitions but some distros don't recommend trying to write onto a ntfs drive.

problem I think is windows might have an artificial cap on how big a fat32 drive can be.

I know my coolsat 6100 had no problem formatting a 259GB drive

 

[B.J.]

The OP said twice that he's NOT using an NTFS drive. He's formatted it in a lixux format.

I'm wondering if the problem might have something to do with the external hard drive starting up. I think this is related to the powering off vs hard reboot thing mentioned above, but might be brand specific.
Ie I have several hard drives, but one of them will shut down even with a soft boot. Seems like it shuts down whenever the communication with the host is interrupted. I got that hard disk to work with the Azbox, but I'm wondering if you have problems getting a HD recognized, you might try plugging in the USB cable hot, after everything is booted up, or perhaps there is some hard disk setting that could keep the thing running when it's communication is interrupted.
I tried using the linux format once, but found it very inconvenient. Using FAT32, I can move the HD between 3 different receivers, and then use it in my computers without any translation involved. With the linux format, you're pretty much dedicating that HD to the AZbox.

I don't know if there is a maximum size HD allowed or not, but since there have been several people with issues with the 1000 GB drives, I've stayed with 500 GB and below. Since the receiver can't record any high bitrate content, you really don't need tons of capacity. If they ever fix the bitrate cap, then yeah, maybe a bigger hard drive might be important, but even then I think I'd just transfer recordings over to a computer. I think that I'd put the 1000 GB in NTFS on a computer, and use a 500GB FAT32 on the Azbox, and transfer recordings over to the computer for storage, since you can play them from the network anyway.

 

[ebo]

For those that have had success using a 1 TB WD USB drive, could you let me know the model that your using?

I recently purchased a WD 1 TB MAC Mybook (on sale for 79.99, free shipping). Plugged it in and formatted it with the azbox. Works great.

 

[Babadem]

The OP said twice that he's NOT using an NTFS drive. He's formatted it in a lixux format.

I'm wondering if the problem might have something to do with the external hard drive starting up. I think this is related to the powering off vs hard reboot thing mentioned above, but might be brand specific.
Ie I have several hard drives, but one of them will shut down even with a soft boot. Seems like it shuts down whenever the communication with the host is interrupted. I got that hard disk to work with the Azbox, but I'm wondering if you have problems getting a HD recognized, you might try plugging in the USB cable hot, after everything is booted up, or perhaps there is some hard disk setting that could keep the thing running when it's communication is interrupted.
I tried using the linux format once, but found it very inconvenient. Using FAT32, I can move the HD between 3 different receivers, and then use it in my computers without any translation involved. With the linux format, you're pretty much dedicating that HD to the AZbox.

I don't know if there is a maximum size HD allowed or not, but since there have been several people with issues with the 1000 GB drives, I've stayed with 500 GB and below. Since the receiver can't record any high bitrate content, you really don't need tons of capacity. If they ever fix the bitrate cap, then yeah, maybe a bigger hard drive might be important, but even then I think I'd just transfer recordings over to a computer. I think that I'd put the 1000 GB in NTFS on a computer, and use a 500GB FAT32 on the Azbox, and transfer recordings over to the computer for storage, since you can play them from the network anyway.

@ the Red Highlighted: I had thought of those scenerios when trouble shooting the issue, and I rebooted, nothing! I shut off the power from the main back placed switch on the Box, Nothing!!

@ the Blue Highlighted: With USB device cable already connected to the AZBOX after everything was booted up, I did plug in the power to the USB device, Nothing!! I plugged in the USB cable into AZBox with power-on on the USB device after everything was booted up, and again Nothing!

My next move now is to find some tool to wipe the drive clean using my computer, and see if I can salvage the situation. I will try using Swissknife tool to reformat the drive. If anyone knows a better tool that can do over 500GB, please let me know.

 

[Babadem]

For those that have had success using a 1 TB WD USB drive, could you let me know the model that your using?

I recently purchased a WD 1 TB MAC Mybook (on sale for 79.99, free shipping). Plugged it in and formatted it with the azbox. Works great.

Thanks for the update and where did you it from?

 

[pedrogarcia]

Here's that link about HHD speeds and AZbox,

http://www.satelliteguys.us/azbox-d...nstalling-internal-hard-disk.html#post2093185

 

[ebo]

Thanks for the update and where did you it from?

Stumbled upon it on Bestbuy website... probably not on sale anymore.
Although it's pre-formatted for a MAC, since it is USB, it can be formatted for any
operating system.

Ebo

 

[AcWxRadar]

I tried using the linux format once, but found it very inconvenient. Using FAT32, I can move the HD between 3 different receivers, and then use it in my computers without any translation involved. With the linux format, you're pretty much dedicating that HD to the AZbox...

...I don't know if there is a maximum size HD allowed or not, but since there have been several people with issues with the 1000 GB drives, I've stayed with 500 GB and below...

...I think that I'd put the 1000 GB in NTFS on a computer, and use a 500GB FAT32 on the Azbox, and transfer recordings over to the computer for storage, since you can play them from the network anyway.

B.J.

I definitely agree with you on these items and I also recommend using just a 500GB (or less) HDD. I have a 1 TB Samsung internal HDD installed in my AZBox Premium, but I installed it only to test. Others asked about this size of HDD, so I installed one just for the sake of testing it.

I have read from OpenSat sources that 1 TB is the limit for the AZBox. But, if you stay with 500 GB or less, then the HDD will have only one Si Wafer disc. I wonder if there may be possible drawbacks when using a HDD with multiple Si wafer discs.

Therefore, I recommend staying at or below the 500 GB size. Here you are assured to be safe and as you stated, you can use another device connected to your PC for better means of storage anyhow. Transfer the files as you need to and just keep it simple (and less expensive as well).

RADAR

 

[Babadem]

The OP said twice that he's NOT using an NTFS drive. He's formatted it in a lixux format.


I tried using the linux format once, but found it very inconvenient. Using FAT32, I can move the HD between 3 different receivers, and then use it in my computers without any translation involved. With the linux format, you're pretty much dedicating that HD to the AZbox.

I don't know if there is a maximum size HD allowed or not, but since there have been several people with issues with the 1000 GB drives, I've stayed with 500 GB and below. Since the receiver can't record any high bitrate content, you really don't need tons of capacity. If they ever fix the bitrate cap, then yeah, maybe a bigger hard drive might be important, but even then I think I'd just transfer recordings over to a computer. I think that I'd put the 1000 GB in NTFS on a computer, and use a 500GB FAT32 on the Azbox, and transfer recordings over to the computer for storage, since you can play them from the network anyway.

I did a test with a 2GB thumb drive and was able to record, but I noticed that when I recorded some HD content on PBS @ 125.0°W, I noticed that, I couldn't fast forward, or rewind it when the file was playing. On the other hand, the SD program files were able to play, FF & RW, and “time shift” live TV when not in record mode without problems. Are you saying that you can record files from the AZBox using a FAT32 formatted HDD? It wouldn't record on my test 2GB thumb drive formatted in FAT32. What is the make and model of the 500GB that you're using?

B.J.

I definitely agree with you on these items and I also recommend using just a 500GB (or less) HDD. I have a 1 TB Samsung internal HDD installed in my AZBox Premium, but I installed it only to test. Others asked about this size of HDD, so I installed one just for the sake of testing it.

I have read from OpenSat sources that 1 TB is the limit for the AZBox. But, if you stay with 500 GB or less, then the HDD will have only one Si Wafer disc. I wonder if there may be possible drawbacks when using a HDD with multiple Si wafer discs.

Therefore, I recommend staying at or below the 500 GB size. Here you are assured to be safe and as you stated, you can use another device connected to your PC for better means of storage anyhow. Transfer the files as you need to and just keep it simple (and less expensive as well).
RADAR

RADAR, for your HDDs on your AZBox are they formatted using FAT32 or you used AZBox (LINUX) to format?

 

[B.J.]

I did a test with a 2GB thumb drive and was able to record, .....
......
....... Are you saying that you can record files from the AZBox using a FAT32 formatted HDD? It wouldn't work on my test 2GB thumb drive. What is the make and model of the 500GB that you're using?
.....

I'm confused by the question. You first say that you were able to record on a thumb drive, then you say that it wouldn't work on the thumb drive? Or are you saying that it didn't work when the thumb drive was formatted in FAT32, but did work if you let the Azbox format it?
I've recorded to both thumb drives AND hard disks formatted as FAT32, although I'm not sure if I've done it since I upgraded the firmware. I most recently had an 80G Maxtor attached, but I've tried a few different disks. I didn't have a disk in there right now, so I just plugged in a thumb drive, and started it recording. I wasn't watching, so I'm not sure how long after starting up the recording, but shortly after starting it up, I looked up, and the screen was black????? The Azbox was unresponsive, so I had to reboot. Tried this 3 times, and same thing, usually it would hang up the Azbox after recording about 5 minutes. Then I tried it again, but stopped the recording after about a minute. That time the recording was OK. So I pulled the thumb drive (which BTW was one that I dropped in the snow, and it was picked up and spit out 20' by my snowblower... works fine in my computer except it seems to have to be plugged in just right, so maybe the thumb drive is problematic).
At this point, I went and got the 80GB Maxtor (which BTW is in a Lacie enclosure), plugged that in, and the Azbox recorded fine. Both the thumbdrive and HD were FAT32 formatted.
I'm still a bit confused about the thumb drive problems, because I've recorded to that thumb drive before, however that was with older firmware (3877 I think), so I'm not sure if it's the firmware or the thumbdrive at fault.

Possibly off topic or possibly related, I've had to reboot this darn Azbox about 6 or 7 times today. Seems like this new firmware isn't as stable as the previous 3877 that I had been using.

 

[Babadem]

I'm confused by the question. You first say that you were able to record on a thumb drive, then you say that it wouldn't work on the thumb drive? Or are you saying that it didn't work when the thumb drive was formatted in FAT32, but did work if you let the Azbox format it?

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, I was able to record to the thumb drive when it was formatted by the AZbox, but it would not record when formatted in FAT32.