Which WD EHD is better?

[Mark A Sparks]

BTW, what is a good way to switch between EHDs? I'm currently moving the power cord and USB from unit to unit. Has anyone tried tying multiple EHDs together w/ a USB hub and then powering up only one unit at a time?

Multiple EHD hub support would would be a great feature to have on a receiver.

I am looking at trying to hook up a hub system to power two or three drives as well.

Would appreciate any comments and or ideas on this.

 

[smjbh5]

Should there be other brands I should be considering? Iomega, Maxtor? It seems most of the folks around here are using WD. Currently have Maxtor 360GB (on my 622), looking for 1TB. Any recommendations? The Maxtor will then go onto my 211.

 

[Jonhern]

Should there be other brands I should be considering? Iomega, Maxtor? It seems most of the folks around here are using WD. Currently have Maxtor 360GB (on my 622), looking for 1TB. Any recommendations? The Maxtor will then go onto my 211.

using seagate expansion 1tb with the power save feature off, working great. And it lies flat if that is a consideration for you. although it does not have a power button so you need to unplug the usb to turn it off. My two WD essentials also do not have power buttons which is great bc i am using with my computer since they just turn on when i turn my laptop on, but most of the new WDs do have a power button.

 

[TazmanianD]

Also if you ever just cut power to the drive this can runin it, happened to one i had connected to a 211.

That may very well be the root of my problems. I only use the drives for archiving purposes so I plug them in, copy files to or from them and then unplug them. I know on Windows you have to safely stop the drive but I don't know of an equivalent way to do that on a dish receiver and assumed that perhaps it didn't do the buffering that could otherwise be a problem.

If I can't simply unplug the drive then how am I supposed to disconnect one?

 

[Jonhern]

That may very well be the root of my problems. I only use the drives for archiving purposes so I plug them in, copy files to or from them and then unplug them. I know on Windows you have to safely stop the drive but I don't know of an equivalent way to do that on a dish receiver and assumed that perhaps it didn't do the buffering that could otherwise be a problem.

If I can't simply unplug the drive then how am I supposed to disconnect one?

if it has a power button push it and wait till it turns all the way off before unplugging. If it is a model with out a power button, just unplug the usb from the dvr and same thing, wait till it turns off then unplug the power. it is a good idea to take out the power adapter since they use energy even when the EHD is off.

 

[ralfyguy]

I have the 500GB of the newer WD Essential drives, and I left the power saver feature on. It works perfectly fine. The drive wakes up correctly after every time it shuts down. However the LED capacity feature on the front only works on a PC with WD Smart Ware installed. On the 722 they stay dark no matter how much is stored. Also after every nightly reboot, the drive is turned on even if you turned it off with the button on the back of the drive. I suppose it doesn't matter, because the drive goes to sleep after 10 minutes without activity.

 

[KKlare]

I have 5 750GB WDs, 3 1TB assorted, and a 1.5TB. One 1TB and the 1.5TB use a plug-in stand--the cheapest way to go per drive. The WD seem to go to a low-power state when not in use, this is unlike the Seagates (before disabling sleep, where it would not do it) but they are ready to go fairly quickly. Unplugging the USB makes the WDs front light go out unlike the others. You could create a hub for the disks but either all but one USB or all but one power must be turned off or both. I just have as many plugged in as I can and push the appropriate USB cable in the front connector. Since I have 2 722s next to each other, it is rather like the old telephone operator's plug board. Clearly they work on either 722.
-Ken

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Should there be other brands I should be considering? Iomega, Maxtor? It seems most of the folks around here are using WD. Currently have Maxtor 360GB (on my 622), looking for 1TB. Any recommendations? The Maxtor will then go onto my 211.

When I was ready to add an ext drive to my 722 I read the posts here praising how well the WD drives worked so I based my decision on that. Pricing between the vendors was comparable, so for me it was a no-brainer....

 

[inazsully]

Newbie here and I have been going around and around on buying an expander. The reviews on amazon are all over the place. Some love them and some hate them. It doesn't seem to matter which brand or model. I see that WD is offering the H1S5000 and 1000 and these are the first I have seen that actually mention "for DVR expansion". If you were going to buy a 1TB unit today for your 722, what would you buy and would you need to do anything other than just plug it in? Should I get Essentials or Elements? I also see the Seagate ST3100SCA101-RK advertised as a good 722 expander. What does all the different letters at the end of the model numbers mean ie. (NEFR, NESN, HCH, etc for WD) and( RK for Seagate)?

 

[KAB]

Newbie here and I have been going around and around on buying an expander. The reviews on amazon are all over the place. Some love them and some hate them. It doesn't seem to matter which brand or model. I see that WD is offering the H1S5000 and 1000 and these are the first I have seen that actually mention "for DVR expansion". If you were going to buy a 1TB unit today for your 722, what would you buy and would you need to do anything other than just plug it in? Should I get Essentials or Elements? I also see the Seagate ST3100SCA101-RK advertised as a good 722 expander. What does all the different letters at the end of the model numbers mean ie. (NEFR, NESN, HCH, etc for WD) and( RK for Seagate)?

As answered in your other post, Elements (NEFR) is discontinued. Seagates have problems waking up. Needs sleep feature disabled. They're a bit of a hassle. Put the brakes on and just get an Essentials. Ignore "DVR expander". It's just a marketing gimmick with a high price tag. You can get a 1T Essentials for the same money as the 500gb Expander.

 

[smjbh5]

So I decided on the my book. In the process of coping over shows from my other EHD. What a pain! Have to move stuff from the old EHD to the DVR, then copy onto the new EHD. Do I have to reboot every time I switch between EHDs? Whenever I switch between EHDs I have to reboot cause the dvr doesn't see it. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[Mark A Sparks]

As answered in your other post, Elements (NEFR) is discontinued. Seagates have problems waking up. Needs sleep feature disabled. They're a bit of a hassle. Put the brakes on and just get an Essentials. Ignore "DVR expander". It's just a marketing gimmick with a high price tag. You can get a 1T Essentials for the same money as the 500gb Expander.

:up

I agree with KAB, stay away from the "DVR expander" bull as they use this just to get your attention and charge you more.

If I were buying another one today I would get this one:

Western Digital - My Book Essential 1TB External USB 2.0 Hard Drive - WDBAAF0010HBK-NESN

And welcome to Satellite Guys inazsully!

 

[inazsully]

Thanks for the welcome. Much appreciated. Sorry to ask such dumb questions and I will get the Essentials you recommended. Two of those dumb questions. I read reviews at Amazon where several people recommended staying away from NESN models. No explanation was given. Actually the WDBAAF0010HBK at Amazon has over 90 owner reviews and the overall rating is 2.5 stars. That's really really bad. Can you explain the differences between all the model numbers? WDBAAH0010HGH, WDBAAF0010NESN, and the one you mentioned WDAAH0010HBK? Also, is 1TB still the accepted limit for size? Things change so fast in the world of home entertainment. What was cutting edge yesterday is status quo today.

 

[bhelms]

Sorry I can't answer your questions, but I will chime in that I'm coming up on 1 year using a MB Essentials 1TB drive (I got it for $99 at Staples which at the time was an outstanding price!) with my 211 just as they pushed the size limit to 1T, and the operation has been flawless (KoW!). I'm now at about 75% full. I have a bunch of stuff to clean-off however that might get me back to about 50%. I would not hesitate to replace it with another identical unit (or newest version thereof) when this one gets close to full.

Welcome, BTW...

 

[KAB]

Thanks for the welcome. Much appreciated. Sorry to ask such dumb questions and I will get the Essentials you recommended. Two of those dumb questions. I read reviews at Amazon where several people recommended staying away from NESN models. No explanation was given. Actually the WDBAAF0010HBK at Amazon has over 90 owner reviews and the overall rating is 2.5 stars. That's really really bad. Can you explain the differences between all the model numbers? WDBAAH0010HGH, WDBAAF0010NESN, and the one you mentioned WDAAH0010HBK? Also, is 1TB still the accepted limit for size? Things change so fast in the world of home entertainment. What was cutting edge yesterday is status quo today.

You are WAY WAY WAY over thinking/anylyzing/model # crunching. Just get the Essential of the size you want. 1.5 T is the limit for 622/722, thus far. Find the best price and pull the friggin' trigger!!!!

 

[Mark A Sparks]

Find the best price and pull the friggin' trigger!!!!

 

[KAB]

Priceless!!

 

[yaz96]

Duke Nukem smilie!

 

[Dish VIP]

I could use some advice here. Will I be able to use my WD PATA drive in a USB enclosure as a EHD, or is SATAII (3Gb/sec.) required?

 

[KKlare]

Any Parallel ATA drive (PATA) would probably too small and new cases are only for Serial ATA, AFAIK. But if you find a USB case for PATA you could use it if over 40GB.

I have 5 WD 750GB (bought first), 1 Cavalry 1TB, 1 Buffalo 1TB, and a stand with either a Hitachi 1TB or WD 1.5TB (or a Barracuda 160GB for my Mac backups.) So a lot will work. And with the stand I'm looking for 6cents/GB or $60/TB--only found it once.

Recommend pulling USB overnight else it will hang for 15 minutes doing something it does not need to do.
-Ken