This is due to an Apricorn power supply going bad. MANY people have had it go out. Call them and they will send you a new one even if you are well past your warranty.

xnappo

Thanks again xnappo .... I just got off the phone with Apricorn and they confirmed the issue with power supplies and they are sending me one gratis.

Actually, all the HDCs for the past year or two (in my market) have come with ODN/Navigator. FWIW, there is another version (MDN) that seems only aimed at 8300HD boxes that DOES seem to work more than not with external drives.

Complicating things, the "latest" DVR TWC is using (Samsung 3090) only runs ODN AND we've had several filed swaps for 320G drives be successful. Not to mention every now and then, customers get a 320G 3090 right from TWC.

The key to your statement is 'in my market'. My statement wasn't clear - I meant to say that external drives do not work with the latest version of Navigator for HDC boxes.

xnappo

That's strange because they gave me this receiver last week... I am in a very small market in Upstate NY, so maybe they don't have the newest equipment yet. If I hold the pause button and get to the Status Summary page and it says that I'm running SARA, that is, in fact, the program that the DVR is running on correct?

The SARA information page(Pg 11/63) means that is the program my 8300HDC is running right? Also pg14/63 says the SARA Version It's running is 1.90.5.116

Thanks for the help guys!

Yes, add you location to you profile and signature so we know. I'm in Central NY and the Time Warner division here covers most of upstate. I might be able to provide you with info.

BenJF3,

I am also in CNY. I live in Groton and Time Warner lumps all of Tomkins County together for channels and services. If you need any more info let me know

Thanks!

Ok, you fall under the Syracuse DMA then? Tompkins splits between Elmira and Syracuse. Are your locals WSYR, WSTM, WTVH etc? Anyhow, if you can get your hands on an 8300HD without CableCard you'd be better off. I have an 8300HD with a 1TB Seagate drive in an Antec MX-1 and it performs beautifully.

Now, that said, keep in mind they are testing Navigator and it is most likely that once deployed eSATA support will be history and so will my Time Warner DVR. With any luck, they will allow for eSATA support at some time. Personally, I'm hoping Tivo releases a Series 4 before Navigator deploys so I'll have an option.

Note, see my sig.

Yes I have Syracuse locals...Sounds like my HDC will not work even before the Navigator comes out then right? Can I just call up Time Warner and tell them I want an 8300?

Yes I have Syracuse locals...Sounds like my HDC will not work even before the Navigator comes out then right? Can I just call up Time Warner and tell them I want an 8300?

I have not attempted to install an eSATA drive on an HDC with that software. I would call TW or visit a local office and see if you can change it for one. They are required to distribute "C" model boxes, but if you specifically request a non "C" set top and they have one, they will likely give it to you. It can't hurt to check into it. I'm glad I hung onto mine. That or the box is picky about what you are hooking to it. The other option is to get a Western Digital "My DVR Expander" as these are tested and know to work with SA set tops as long as the cable company hasn't blocked that functionality.

I just bought the Western Digital 1tb earlier today at Amazon...so I'll see if that works. If not I'll try asking for the non "c" receiver... Thanks for the help! Holy **** do I miss my Dish Network DVR!

If the drive doesn't work, and the local office will not exchange it, do you know if I can buy an 8300HD from eBay and just have it activated or not? Thanks!

The key to your statement is 'in my market'. My statement wasn't clear - I meant to say that external drives do not work with the latest version of Navigator for HDC boxes.

xnappo

Indeed I have learned to always add in some "weasel words" because I DO know not everything is the same in every market, even if all logic says they should be. There WERE 8300HD/Passport (same version as I) set-ups seemingly identical to me that actually had different features.

Besides, it also seems that there's always someone posting they CAN do what nobody else seems able to do. Sometimes I doubt them, but then again, the words "only 3% bulletproof software" and TWC don't belong in the same galaxy!

If the drive doesn't work, and the local office will not exchange it, do you know if I can buy an 8300HD from eBay and just have it activated or not? Thanks!An eBay purchase would not be activated by the cable company. If from the US 99% chance considered stolen or comes from Canada where they do own them. /Dan

Well, mainly I was just making sure the drive actually worked... It wouldn't hurt to format it, but at this point I am thinking you 8300HD has a bad eSATA port. Over the last 2-3 years there has been at least one case of this that I know of...

xnappo

sorry for the late reply, i plugged the hard drive externally using the esata port and it formatted fine and works fine, so now im back to the same issue, it doesnt work with my pvr, unless i try model WD5000AAKS

I would like to join the external drive club here.

Here's what I have: SA Explorer 8240 HDC (TWC Lincoln Ne.).

I need a list of exactly what I should purchase, Please point/link me to the right equipment to order so I can join the club.

How much HD fits on a 500G?

Also, would like a simple step by step procedure for hooking it up and getting it to work.

Thank-U

HH

I would like to join the external drive club here.

Here's what I have: SA Explorer 8240 HDC (TWC Lincoln Ne.).

I need a list of exactly what I should purchase, Please point/link me to the right equipment to order so I can join the club.

How much HD fits on a 500G?

Also, would like a simple step by step procedure for hooking it up and getting it to work.

Thank-U

HH

This is going to require some work on your part. First off you need to determine whether your box is running SARA, Passport or Navigator. Go to this link to make that determination:

http://baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl?htx=/xnappo/main

Then you will need to browse thru the various entries for your SW type to determine which drive setups seem to work best for your HW / SW configuration.

I have a 750 GB external drive on my DVR and I record a lot of stuff in HD and haven't come close to filling it up. If you extrapolate the record capacities that TWC gives you for your 160GB drive you should be able to guesstimate the capacity for the drive you select.

I happened to select an Apricorn drive when it was on sale at Newwegg and it was very simple to setup.

Good luck.

this is going to require some work on your part. First off you need to determine whether your box is running sara, passport or navigator. Go to this link to make that determination:

navigator

http://baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl?htx=/xnappo/main

then you will need to browse thru the various entries for your sw type to determine which drive setups seem to work best for your hw / sw configuration.

hh

hh

Navigator on an HDC box - don't bother, it's not going to work. If you want eSATA now, see if you can get 83000HD (not HDC) instead. Else wait for a newer version of Navigator that may fix the eSATA issue introduced in 3* versions of Navigator.

Navigator on an HDC box - don't bother, it's not going to work. If you want eSATA now, see if you can get 83000HD (not HDC) instead. Else wait for a newer version of Navigator that may fix the eSATA issue introduced in 3* versions of Navigator.

Thanks for the info.

I'll check Monday to see if they have a 83000HD (is it 8300 or 83000?)

HH

Thanks for the info.

I'll check Monday to see if they have a 83000HD (is it 8300 or 83000?)

HH
8300, that was a typo

Write-up of my issue for the information base. No replies needed and does not seem to be the "sleep" issue, which would hit after 3 hours of no use:

Navigator MDN 2.4.4-16
SA 8300HD
Apricorn ADVRE-1000 1TB DVR Expander

Hook up was fast and easy and works great (while connected). First night was fine, then second night disconnected and needed to reboot 8300HD to get back external drive. Same disconnect next night. If I rebooted in the morning and left unused (no recordings) all day (8+ hours) no problems. So, I found a nightly show at 3AM and set that to record and it did not disconnect until Monday morning when I see the show was not on that night and nothing was recorded. Added a show that night too.

So, seems to be some kind of activity that happens in the early morning that disconnects the external drive. Don't know if the 3AM show was just a good guess of when the problem arises or anything around that time (say 1-5AM) would work. I have had Tonight Show being recorded until 12:30 AM, but it would disconnect by morning with that. Whenever the 3AM show recorded, no disconnects for over a week now.

/Dan

Write-up of my issue for the information base. No replies needed and does not seem to be the "sleep" issue, which would hit after 3 hours of no use:

Navigator MDN 2.4.4-16
SA 8300HD
Apricorn ADVRE-1000 1TB DVR Expander

Hook up was fast and easy and works great (while connected). First night was fine, then second night disconnected and needed to reboot 8300HD to get back external drive. Same disconnect next night. If I rebooted in the morning and left unused (no recordings) all day (8+ hours) no problems. So, I found a nightly show at 3AM and set that to record and it did not disconnect until Monday morning when I see the show was not on that night and nothing was recorded. Added a show that night too.

So, seems to be some kind of activity that happens in the early morning that disconnects the external drive. Don't know if the 3AM show was just a good guess of when the problem arises or anything around that time (say 1-5AM) would work. I have had Tonight Show being recorded until 12:30 AM, but it would disconnect by morning with that. Whenever the 3AM show recorded, no disconnects for over a week now.

/Dan

I record SD ESPNNEWS constantly keeping only one episode as the title every half hour is mostly the same. I don't see how 3 a.m. would be important. Anyone know if this the for all sa8300hd's anywhere?

Don't know if this would affect it or not but some cable companies send out software upgrades in the early morning hour.

Don't know if this would affect it or not but some cable companies send out software upgrades in the early morning hour.

It's the Program Guide that they update nightly. I think that they do it more than once per night, just to be sure that you get it.

So do most leave their STB on 24/7?

So do most leave their STB on 24/7?

FWIW, power draw seems identical whether the box is ON or OFF. It seems that when OFF, one indicator light goes off and no signal is sent to the TV... otherwise everything seems to be the same.

I record SD ESPNNEWS constantly keeping only one episode as the title every half hour is mostly the same. I don't see how 3 a.m. would be important. Anyone know if this the for all sa8300hd's anywhere?
I have been paying attention the last few days since my note. I am recording "Poker After Dark" which starts at 2:05 AM 6 days a week (SD NBC) and I think runs 1 hour. Was fine with a 3:05 AM show but that was not on as many nights. Has been fine now until Sunday night (Monday early morning) when that show was not on and my external drive lost connection. I added a series Sunday night (Monday AM) now to see how it goes next week. So, recording a show between 2-3 AM has been working. I don't like the idea of recording one channle all the time because of the second tuner being tied up and leaving on all the time would take some family training.

Also, with Passport you could set the internal drive to shutoff when box off, but not with Navigator, so I think the power draw is nearly the same on or off. I need to get the Kill-A-Watt out and check.

/Dan

FWIW, power draw seems identical whether the box is ON or OFF. It seems that when OFF, one indicator light goes off and no signal is sent to the TV... otherwise everything seems to be the same.
It may be similar but cannot be identical. You can tell that there is a difference as the PVR is hotter when it is on compared to when it is off. Heat equates to power usage.

My choice is to turn the unit on when watching something, and turn it off after with no adverse effects.

Also, with Passport you could set the internal drive to shutoff when box off, but not with Navigator, so I think the power draw is nearly the same on or off. I need to get the Kill-A-Watt out and check.

/Dan

Actually that is an example of the same hardware/software/version having different capabilities depending on division. For 3+ years in NYC, we did NOT have the ability to shut the drive down w/Passport because it lacked any choice. The ONLY way we had was to tune to a non-buffering channel on each tuner before shut off.

MDN appears to automatically spin the drive down when "OFF." BUT that also means that the "ability" Passport DID have to be buffering WHILE off. Kinda almost like start-over... I would tune to my favorite news channel and even if I missed the exact start of it, it was being buffered, so I could go back and watch from the start.

As for power draw, I would think it might be less if the drive spun down. I've had a Kill-a-Watt on my system for quite a while now and I see virtually NO different power draw under ANY circumstances. I se the exact same wattage use with Passport & MDN, with the box on or off, with a video playing or not, recording or not. Wellll, it did sometimes show a single watt difference, but I could never see any pattern at all.

All,

FYI - I am probably not going to be keeping up with this thread much anymore . I went TivoHD over the weekend (with an internal 1TB drive).

If there is serious maintenance of the DB needed, feel free to PM me.

xnappo

All,

FYI - I am probably not going to be keeping up with this thread much anymore . I went TivoHD over the weekend (with an internal 1TB drive).

If there is serious maintenance of the DB needed, feel free to PM me.

xnappo

If you haven't left yet, do you like your Tivo? I'm not sure about how I like mine. It has a lot of good features, but I miss some of the Navigator features that it doesn't have.

-barry

If you haven't left yet, do you like your Tivo? I'm not sure about how I like mine. It has a lot of good features, but I miss some of the Navigator features that it doesn't have.

-barry

So far:

Likes:
- Can transfer/archive shows on my PC(very easy)
- Customizable guide
- 30 second skip
- Series manager with priority
- Netflix
- Search

Dislikes:
- Guide is slow(bearable though)
- No conflict manager
- No clock
- Guide doesn't clearly show things setup to record
- Tuning adapter is a hacky solution

For the record, the installer who came out knew what he was doing - cable card and tuning adapter seem to be working fine.

xnappo

So far:

Likes:
- Can transfer/archive shows on my PC(very easy)
- Customizable guide
- 30 second skip
- Series manager with priority
- Netflix
- Search

Dislikes:
- Guide is slow(bearable though)
- No conflict manager
- No clock
- Guide doesn't clearly show things setup to record
- Tuning adapter is a hacky solution

For the record, the installer who came out knew what he was doing - cable card and tuning adapter seem to be working fine.

xnappo

I agree with all your likes, except I haven't really explored customizing the guide. The Netflix thing I already had via Roku, so that's not a biggie for me. I've been trying to find out if Netflix will support two separate devices on one account, but I guess I have to try it myself.

As to the dislikes: I strongly agree with the no clock one (also no channel display). I also don't like the fact that to do anything with the Tivo functionality (check the list of recorded shows, check the series, adjust priorities, etc.) you have to stop watching anything. On my 8300HD, I can watch a show (in a quarter screen) while I tend to DVR housekeeping.

I, too, had a good installer who knew what he was doing. I didn't need a tuning adapter here in NYC.

-barry

I also don't like the fact that to do anything with the Tivo functionality (check the list of recorded shows, check the series, adjust priorities, etc.) you have to stop watching anything. On my 8300HD, I can watch a show (in a quarter screen) while I tend to DVR housekeeping.

Indeed that would drive me nuts... then again, I am VERY unhappy there's not one director mentioned in my guide data... something I USED to have but that I hear TiVO does have.

I also don't like the fact that to do anything with the Tivo functionality (check the list of recorded shows, check the series, adjust priorities, etc.) you have to stop watching anything. On my 8300HD, I can watch a show (in a quarter screen) while I tend to DVR housekeeping.
-barry

Have you tried the web interface to do this? It is actually *very* cool. I don't know about you, but I have a laptop by my TV and the web interface is way faster to find shows and setup series recordings... It makes up for the inability to watch while scheduling.

Sorry for the OT discussion...

xnappo

What an excellent idea! I have my Tivo in the 'office', so my PC is right there. I'll give it a try this evening.

Thanks for the suggestion.

-barry

PS: I also apologize for the OT comments.

Indeed that would drive me nuts... then again, I am VERY unhappy there's not one director mentioned in my guide data... something I USED to have but that I hear TiVO does have.

Yes, Tivo has way more meta-data than any other DVR I've seen.

-barry

Yes, Tivo has way more meta-data than any other DVR I've seen.

-barry

I thought you had a 8300HD/MDN? Or is that in addition to the TiVO?

FWFW, they pushed MDN 2.4.6.21 down to us last night... shocked the hell pout of me because it always seems we were the last to get revs... last vrsion I read about seemed to be 2.4.6.19.

Yes, right now I have an 8300HD (living room, primary unit), a Tivo HD (home-office / backup unit), and a 3090 (testing). I plan on getting rid of the 3090 soon. After more than a month, of having all three, the 8300HD is still my favorite with the Tivo in second.

I know you've been through hell with your 8300HD; hopefully, this new (minor?) fix will solve some of your problems. For me, this House debacle was my first real problem with MDN, and it seems to be a problem with all boxes. I'm trying to learn from your issues, though, and I am setting the Tivo up to record a backup of all my Fox shows in SD from channel 5.

-barry

I'm on Comcast (Albuquerque) with a SA 8300HD (SARA). I just added a Western Digital My DVR 500GB Wednesday and it formatted correctly per the instructions here. My recodring space went from 68% to 15%. The problem is several scheduled recording tonight only recorded 14-15 minutes of an hour-long program. During the last one which was to record for 2 hours, I watched the record light and it was on for the entire two hour program (9-11 PM), but when I just checked the recording length it only showed about 20 minutes of it was recorded. Up to now my 8300HD has been working well, and I only wanted to get a greater recording capacity for it. What gives? What can I do? Thanks in advance for any help you may all give me.

Yes, right now I have an 8300HD (living room, primary unit), a Tivo HD (home-office / backup unit), and a 3090 (testing). I plan on getting rid of the 3090 soon. After more than a month, of having all three, the 8300HD is still my favorite with the Tivo in second.

I know you've been through hell with your 8300HD; hopefully, this new (minor?) fix will solve some of your problems. For me, this House debacle was my first real problem with MDN, and it seems to be a problem with all boxes. I'm trying to learn from your issues, though, and I am setting the Tivo up to record a backup of all my Fox shows in SD from channel 5.

-barry

Check my post in the NYC thread, I had the same issue with Bones & Fringe last night... I followed my own advice and watched both live so I could switch to 05 and see the last quarter of each show. Yes, I am making an educated guess I wasn't alone, it wasn't just me that saw House issues AND we have a good year of "system wide" issues with Fox HD (705 in NYC).

Very interesting, your opinion is! I sure did have a few annoyances or things that COULD have been better in Passport, but can now say from experience, the gulf is far more than what I could infer from simply reading about issues with ODN/MDN. There are simply hundreds of minor-ish downgrades from what I was used to... like when using the guide to find where I wanted to go, with MDN it will NOT switch to a 10:00 PM show until it was a good 30 seconds PAST 10:00 PM; before it would switch oif one was within 2 minutes. Yes, not a major issue, but there are way too many of these "smallish" issues. Like no longer being able to see the time when the box is off like I could under Passport.

So far I have noticed NO changes in overall behavior under ...21. One of my 60+ series recordings got deleted as a series recording and one that remained in the series manager failed to mark a non conflicting show as needing to be recorded, so I'm still muddling through... next week the Ken Burns thing will be over, except for the software update, it has worked fine. Next week I'll give a shot at getting a 3090. I take it the 3090 won't be replaced by anything else... that you are evaluating it as a replacement for the HD?

NB: whoops, right after I posted this I realized this ain't the thread for these issues, I was just responding!

So do most leave their STB on 24/7?

I never turn my SA-8300 (non HD model) off. It does go off by itself sometimes in the middle of the night which means I have to turn it back on when I want to use it plus turn it's volume all the way up again. Wish there was a fix for both of these minor issues!! I'm in the Houston area on Comcast & the DVR has Sara software. Oh & the WD 500 GB My DVR Expander still works great after about 18 months of use.

Question: Is there a way to clone (that is copy) the contents of a 500 GB WD My DVR Expander drive to the 1 TB version WD has & the drive works fine after that with the 8300? I'd like to keep the shows I've got & have the extra hard drive space as well.

I bought a Cavalry 1TB (CAXM3701T0) but when I connect it, the 8300HD refuses to see it. I've turned on the DVR first, then plugged in the drive as well as vice versa, but I still never get the message about formatting the drive.

I've seen others in this forum and on the eSATA database who have at least had success getting the drive recognized, but at this point I'm out of ideas. The only possibility is that the eSATA port on the SA8300HD is malfunctioning.

Anyone experience similar issues?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I never turn my SA-8300 (non HD model) off. It does go off by itself sometimes in the middle of the night which means I have to turn it back on when I want to use it plus turn it's volume all the way up again. Wish there was a fix for both of these minor issues!! I'm in the Houston area on Comcast & the DVR has Sara software. Oh & the WD 500 GB My DVR Expander still works great after about 18 months of use.

The DVR seems to draw the same wattage either on or off. BUT, when "off" the drive spins down and the unit gets quiet... as it's in my bedroom, this is a good thing so I turn it off.

Question: Is there a way to clone (that is copy) the contents of a 500 GB WD My DVR Expander drive to the 1 TB version WD has & the drive works fine after that with the 8300? I'd like to keep the shows I've got & have the extra hard drive space as well.
Yes. Search this forum for "clone AND jruhnke", or see the extensive Canadian forum
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=856903#post856903

Hi All,

Just out of curiosity, has anyone managed to break the encryption used by these 8300HDs so that your eSATA-connected "content archive" can be used with another 8300HD unit in the event one would need to replace the original unit?

Thank you!

I've been searching threads here for a while but haven't yet found what I'm looking for:

Has anyone figured out a way to use an Apricorn DVR expander drive with an 8300HDC on Manhattan TWC (w 72nd st area) under current software? I've got a 1GB Apricorn I've been unable to use for many months now. Sure would be nice to get it back.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I've been searching threads here for a while but haven't yet found what I'm looking for:

Has anyone figured out a way to use an Apricorn DVR expander drive with an 8300HDC on Manhattan TWC (w 72nd st area) under current software? I've got a 1GB Apricorn I've been unable to use for many months now. Sure would be nice to get it back.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.You didn't state what software your box is using. The latest version of Navigator software for the 8300HDC (also called ODN) broke external drive capability. (It seems to happen every other release.) Since TWC doesn't explicitly support external drives on their system, those of us with the 8300HDC are just praying that the next version fixes it.

You didn't state what software your box is using. The latest version of Navigator software for the 8300HDC (also called ODN) broke external drive capability. (It seems to happen every other release.) Since TWC doesn't explicitly support external drives on their system, those of us with the 8300HDC are just praying that the next version fixes it.

It's the latest version, whatever the number is (I think it's the same as the one in your sig). It worked when I first got it, early this year, for about 2 months, then got disabled by TWC's remote update process.

Someone else has suggested that the Samsung 3090 box might work with the Apricorn. Anyone else tried it on TWC in Manhattan?

New to TWC with a 8300HDC box with ODN 3.1.3_2

Looking around the thread I'm guessing I shouldn't even waste the 130 bucks or so for the WD My DVR expander? Anyone having luck with version 3.1.3_2 or is this the version that broke eSATA?

I cant get over how ancient this box is. Man was I spoiled with Dish.

Don't bother ... yet. They broke ODN with version 3.x.x_x. Since I've had the 8300HDC, TWC has fixed and broken esata twice. Perhaps the next release??

New to TWC with a 8300HDC box with ODN 3.1.3_2

Looking around the thread I'm guessing I shouldn't even waste the 130 bucks or so for the WD My DVR expander?

Got mine new on ebay for $85. 500GB which more than doubled the SA box. Just wished the 8300HD would turn the WD HD off.

I was hoping for advice - there's so much information here (261 pages?!?), and the info changes so much, that I was hoping someone could help me with some advice for my specific setup.

I want to add an external drive to my time warner NYC 8300HD, running mystro. I am hoping someone has accomplished this under the same parameters and can report on a setup that is confirmed to work.

thanks very much!

sorry - also... I have a couple of 2.5" laptop drives sitting around, and was thinking I could get an esata enclosure and use that. just wondering if if anyone has experience with a setup like this. (drives are 5400rpm - does this cause issues?)

again, thanks for any info - it seems there are SO many variables, and that the process is SO touchy - I dont want to just start making blind stabs at this.

I was hoping for advice - there's so much information here (261 pages?!?), and the info changes so much, that I was hoping someone could help me with some advice for my specific setup.

I want to add an external drive to my time warner NYC 8300HD, running mystro. I am hoping someone has accomplished this under the same parameters and can report on a setup that is confirmed to work.

thanks very much!
The version of Mystro might help someone (some work better than others) and Google search "xnappo navigator database" for what has worked with others. It is touchy and very version specific on what your results will be even with the same external drive. /Dan

I recently spent 100 bucks on a Seagate HDD (500g) with an SATA connection following the instructions in the SA 8300HDC manual. It is running TW Passport and won't recognize the drive at all. $100 down the drain? is there any way to force recognition - this really sucks. thanks. Bill

I recently spent 100 bucks on a Seagate HDD (500g) with an SATA connection following the instructions in the SA 8300HDC manual. It is running TW Passport and won't recognize the drive at all. $100 down the drain? is there any way to force recognition - this really sucks. thanks. Bill

The HDC boxes do not recognize external drives. You need to find an 8300HD box. I have 2 of them, and the drives work fine.

The HDC boxes do not recognize external drives. You need to find an 8300HD box. I have 2 of them, and the drives work fine.

Only true for Navigator!! He has Passport. Probably an incompatible drive. Check the databases in my sig.

xnappo

The HDC boxes do not recognize external drives. You need to find an 8300HD box. I have 2 of them, and the drives work fine.

I'm also from Erie, and also just bought an eSATA drive to expand my SA8300HDC, with no joy. Are the 8300HD boxes available at the local Cablevision office, do you know? As it's now the weekend, I can't find out from them until next week.

I'm also from Erie, and also just bought an eSATA drive to expand my SA8300HDC, with no joy. Are the 8300HD boxes available at the local Cablevision office, do you know? As it's now the weekend, I can't find out from them until next week.

I got both of mine about 6 months ago. I had to go to the Millcreek office by the mall and to the office in Erie to get them. I don't now if they still have them, but if you tell them you really want that model maybe they can find them for you.

I am trying to help my brother add a Western Digital 500Gb My DVR Expander to a 8300HD (I believe it is SARA). The cable system provider is Videotron. He plugged the drive in. The 8300HD recognized the drive and asked him to format it. No errors were generated. When he looks at the space remaining, it still says 97% which was the space remaining on the interal hard drive.

What test can I have him run to make sure the drive is functioning correctly?

Is the remaining space statistic supposed to reflect the added drive space or does it only show the space remaining on the original drive?

Appreicate any help. Take Care

On mine it showed the total used space for both drives. It could be that since he only had a small amount used on the DVR drive, the added space didn't affect the total, like rounding error. Just a thought.

I am trying to help my brother add a Western Digital 500Gb My DVR Expander to a 8300HD (I believe it is SARA). The cable system provider is Videotron. He plugged the drive in. The 8300HD recognized the drive and asked him to format it. No errors were generated. When he looks at the space remaining, it still says 97% which was the space remaining on the interal hard drive.

What test can I have him run to make sure the drive is functioning correctly?

Is the remaining space statistic supposed to reflect the added drive space or does it only show the space remaining on the original drive?

Appreicate any help. Take Care
If the external is working, it will record next since it has the most space left. Record a 3-4 hour HD football game (or the like) this weekend. If it drops 10-13% the external is probably not there. If it drops 0-3% it is. 0% would be if you are being reported the internal only and all recording went to external. I do not know SARA at all. Big test would be to pull the plug on the external and see if you can play back the show, then you know if it was recorded internal (plays back) or external (not available now). /Dan

Thanks for the comments. The free space showed up correctly when the 8300HD was rebooted so he is off to the race.

Been lurking on this thread for a long time. Finally got around to buying a case and drive. Looks like it's fine so far, but I need to wait and see how the play back goes.

Had a bit of trouble getting it going, kept getting a check connection message. Finally got to the format, but then got a bad connection message again. Several tries and no luck. I finally pushed hard on the esata cable plug and voila. I'm kinda concerned about whether the plug will stay seated. I read a long time ago about the plugs not fitting far enough into the socket and this seems like it may be the case here. Anyway, kinda cool to drop from 75% full to 9% (1 terabyte external drive).

TWC NYC 8300HD here in Manhattan. Currently using Seagate 7200.10 500GB eSATA with Enermax Jazz enclosure. While it was recognized instantly by my Mystro 8300HD, there are frequent stuttering and dropped frames.

I'm thinking about using the same enclosure but getting the DVR specific Seagate DB35.3 750GB drive (eSATA as well).

May I ask if there's anyone out there with experience with the DB35.3 Seagate?

In theory, the DB35 series from Seagate should be a perfect match for this purpose, while my current 7200.10 is really a data drive.

Thanks in advance.

My Navigator 8300HD seems to be working perfectly with the 1TB Western Digital MyDVR.

-barry

Before I bought my set up I poured over the Xnappo's data base to see what did and didn't work.

TWC NYC 8300HD here in Manhattan. Currently using Seagate 7200.10 500GB eSATA with Enermax Jazz enclosure. While it was recognized instantly by my Mystro 8300HD, there are frequent stuttering and dropped frames.

I'm thinking about using the same enclosure but getting the DVR specific Seagate DB35.3 750GB drive (eSATA as well).

May I ask if there's anyone out there with experience with the DB35.3 Seagate?

In theory, the DB35 series from Seagate should be a perfect match for this purpose, while my current 7200.10 is really a data drive.

Thanks in advance.

Lurking here, but after searching and failing and losing my mind trying to read through 200 plus posts, can someone please tell me where to get the cable thats required ?

I have just purchased what I thought was a SATA to eSata cable, only to find it doesnt fit into the 8300HD SATA port on the back.

Any help is greatly appreciated...

Before I bought my set up I poured over the Xnappo's data base to see what did and didn't work.

Good advice. You can second guess the database if you want, but all the knowledge of what works and what doesn't is in there.

One tidbit though[for eieio] - while you should use the Navigator database primarily since you have Navigator, in general we have found the same drives haves problems across the three software platforms and vice versa.

THE EXCEPTION is Navigator on the HDC boxes - in that case the external drive support is currently broken.

xnappo

i understand and thx for such an extensive database.

the issue is the made-for-DVR hard drive from Seagate, the DB35 series, is what many professional installers/mods use. I would think that therefore, it would be the one that would be least likely to have stuttering, considering that it is specifically designed for video streams.

i wonder why there seems to be so few folks using it on this thread/forum?

Lurking here, but after searching and failing and losing my mind trying to read through 200 plus posts, can someone please tell me where to get the cable thats required ?

I have just purchased what I thought was a SATA to eSata cable, only to find it doesnt fit into the 8300HD SATA port on the back.

Any help is greatly appreciated...

SATA and eSATA are 2 very different connection methods. "Regular" SATA is meant for internal only... eSATA was proposed for external connections.

At this point, I'd guess the vast majority of external connectors are eSATA, so you probably need a eSATA to eSATA cable.

SATA and eSATA are 2 very different connection methods. "Regular" SATA is meant for internal only... eSATA was proposed for external connections.

At this point, I'd guess the vast majority of external connectors are eSATA, so you probably need a eSATA to eSATA cable.

Hi Riverside, Thanks for the reply, the 8300HD has a port on the back that eSata cable doesnt fit into, I have a eSata to eSata. At the beginning of this thread, page 1, it mentions Sata 1 to eSata cable.

I will see if I Can grab a nice photo of this port on the back of the box and see if that helps explain what I have.

- Dustin

That's pretty odd. The port is labeled "eSATA". All the literature on the 8300 says "eSATA". I'm guessing that your cable is NOT eSATA or you need to try and turn it over.

Hi Riverside, Thanks for the reply, the 8300HD has a port on the back that eSata cable doesnt fit into, I have a eSata to eSata. At the beginning of this thread, page 1, it mentions Sata 1 to eSata cable.

I will see if I Can grab a nice photo of this port on the back of the box and see if that helps explain what I have.

- Dustin

Thanks for the reply guys, here is the port on the back of the 8300HD Cablevision IO / Long Island New York box I have:
http://www.dustinfinn.com/gallery/Posted_2009/2009.11.25_145215_DVR_IMG_4198_web_.jpg

It looks like eSata but it doesnt detect the multiple types of cables I have been trying, I cannto seem to get to the version screens to see what version of software I am using... maybe its just disabled ? which would suck.

Ah, I don't think that's what you said before. I had a similar problem and I know it's been a problem before. The plug does not seem to go into the port quite far enough. Try pushing real hard on the plug. You can research it here, but some people were forced to shave a little plastic off the plug so it would go farther into the port. Perhaps someone here can explain it a little more.

Thanks for the reply guys, here is the port on the back of the 8300HD Cablevision IO / Long Island New York box I have:
http://www.dustinfinn.com/gallery/Posted_2009/2009.11.25_145215_DVR_IMG_4198_web_.jpg

It looks like eSata but it doesnt detect the multiple types of cables I have been trying, I cannto seem to get to the version screens to see what version of software I am using... maybe its just disabled ? which would suck.

Ah, I don't think that's what you said before. I had a similar problem and I know it's been a problem before. The plug does not seem to go into the port quite far enough. Try pushing real hard on the plug. You can research it here, but some people were forced to shave a little plastic off the plug so it would go farther into the port. Perhaps someone here can explain it a little more.


Right, well, this is part of the issue. I had to clip a little off the eSata cable.

What is confusing, and I wish someone would edit the original post, post 1 of this ridiculously long thread, is that you dont need a SATA 1 to eSata cable, you just need an eSata cable.

What also isn't explained here, is when to turn off the box and how. Meaning; Do you need to UNPLUG the power from the box, or just turn it off at the power switch. Turning it off at the power switch, you cna still hear the internal drive powered up and spinning, seems like a bad idea to go plugging in an external device...

So I was unplugging the box, waiting for the stupid long boot time and then finally getting it go into the DVR - only to find, that sometimes, it never detected the external drive.

So, right now, I still dont know what I did to get it to work. Just a bunch of different power cycles and finally its working..

To set some of the points correct here:

1. eSata to eSata cable was all needed for this 8300HD box, even tho the port on the box says "sata" its really eSata.

2. Antek external enclosure with 1TB black WD 7200 RPM drive is working fine.

3. Powering off and bakc on the box seems to finally get it to be detected.

Glad to see you got it going. Your experience was almost identical to mine. Pushing on the plug, numerous (interminable) boots, and then finally success. I'm afraid to even jostle my cable at all as it might lose connectivity.

Good point about the esata to esata. Perhaps the earlier external cases had a plain sata connection? In any event, I didn't really give it any thought and just used the esata cable that came with my case.

Right, well, this is part of the issue. I had to clip a little off the eSata cable.

What is confusing, and I wish someone would edit the original post, post 1 of this ridiculously long thread, is that you dont need a SATA 1 to eSata cable, you just need an eSata cable.

What also isn't explained here, is when to turn off the box and how. Meaning; Do you need to UNPLUG the power from the box, or just turn it off at the power switch. Turning it off at the power switch, you cna still hear the internal drive powered up and spinning, seems like a bad idea to go plugging in an external device...

So I was unplugging the box, waiting for the stupid long boot time and then finally getting it go into the DVR - only to find, that sometimes, it never detected the external drive.

So, right now, I still dont know what I did to get it to work. Just a bunch of different power cycles and finally its working..

To set some of the points correct here:

1. eSata to eSata cable was all needed for this 8300HD box, even tho the port on the box says "sata" its really eSata.

2. Antek external enclosure with 1TB black WD 7200 RPM drive is working fine.

3. Powering off and bakc on the box seems to finally get it to be detected.

Bye guys. Switched to a Moxi. HD picture is much better. Save a bunch of money over long term. It has 500GB drive + 750GB eSata that stopped working well with my SA8300HD that I turned in. Good riddance.

i understand and thx for such an extensive database.

the issue is the made-for-DVR hard drive from Seagate, the DB35 series, is what many professional installers/mods use. I would think that therefore, it would be the one that would be least likely to have stuttering, considering that it is specifically designed for video streams.

i wonder why there seems to be so few folks using it on this thread/forum?

Price. Historically they have been much more expensive than the WD drives that so many have had success with. I had *0* stuttering with mine (I have a TiVo now).

xnappo

Good point about the esata to esata. Perhaps the earlier external cases had a plain sata connection? In any event, I didn't really give it any thought and just used the esata cable that came with my case.

Exactly - this thread is OLD and when it was started eSATA was a new thing. We have PMed the guy who started this thread in the past and he has edited it. Just send him a PM with what you want to replace it with...

xnappo

I believe I saw somewhere, possibly this thread, that the "e" stands for external drive.

I believe I saw somewhere, possibly this thread, that the "e" stands for external drive.

Not exactrly, it simply mean external. The internal SATA connections were meant to be plugged in and left that way for the life of the drive. People started using this connection method (the only one available) for external drives, so they designed a connector allowing many plugs and unplug cycles.

IMO they failed to include some form of an ability to lock the connector. Same with HDMI.

I just purchased the Apricorn 1TB DVR eXpander (the black one) to add storage to my Scientific Atlanta 8300HD. I live in Brooklyn and have Time Warner cable. The drive is connected via eSata cable that came with the drive. Running Navigator (mystro).

The drive installed very easily and was formatted in just 2 minutes by the SA 8300HD. The recording works fine and has added 120 hours of HD recording time to my DVR.

The problem is that with HD recordings, I get a hiccup or pixilation every 30 to 60 seconds. It happens in the same spot during playback, so I believe it is in the recording.

I tried a couple of things to try and isolate the problem …

It seems to be worse when recording two HD programs at once. When I am recording just one HD program (and either nothing else on the other tuner or a non-HD program on the other tuner) the recording is better. There are still some hiccups, but not as many.

I have also tried to hook it up to another box I have, and 8300HDC – but it did not recognize the drive. I hear the HDC’s don’t work with eSata expanders anyway.

At this point I can only narrow it down to a couple things – either the signal is not strong enough (which I kind of doubt because I never had the pixilation problem on the embedded hard drive in the DVR) or the eSata cable that I have the drive connected to the 8300HD is not of high enough quality (could this be?).

Anyone have any ideas of what to do? Could it be that the Apricorn is simply not fast enough at data transfer to record two HD programs at once?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I just purchased the Apricorn 1TB DVR eXpander (the black one) to add storage to my Scientific Atlanta 8300HD. I live in Brooklyn and have Time Warner cable. The drive is connected via eSata cable that came with the drive. Running Navigator (mystro).

The drive installed very easily and was formatted in just 2 minutes by the SA 8300HD. The recording works fine and has added 120 hours of HD recording time to my DVR.

The problem is that with HD recordings, I get a hiccup or pixilation every 30 to 60 seconds. It happens in the same spot during playback, so I believe it is in the recording.

I tried a couple of things to try and isolate the problem …

It seems to be worse when recording two HD programs at once. When I am recording just one HD program (and either nothing else on the other tuner or a non-HD program on the other tuner) the recording is better. There are still some hiccups, but not as many.

I have also tried to hook it up to another box I have, and 8300HDC – but it did not recognize the drive. I hear the HDC’s don’t work with eSata expanders anyway.

At this point I can only narrow it down to a couple things – either the signal is not strong enough (which I kind of doubt because I never had the pixilation problem on the embedded hard drive in the DVR) or the eSata cable that I have the drive connected to the 8300HD is not of high enough quality (could this be?).

Anyone have any ideas of what to do? Could it be that the Apricorn is simply not fast enough at data transfer to record two HD programs at once?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

There is also a possibility that something (the eSATA port?) is wrong with 8300HD. I had hiccup issues a long time ago with my 8300HDC that happened only on recordings that were on the eSATA drive. Swapping the box for another of the same kind fixed the problem (for a while, anyway - once they forced 3* version of Navigator on that box, eSATA stopped working completely, which is a known problem).

I had almost the exact same problems with my 8300HD and Apricorn drive (mine was 500MB) in the Passport days. I've since switched to a 1TB WD My DVR drive and (of course) Navigator, but I no longer have hiccup or pixelation problems. I cannot be sure that the Apricorn was the culprit, because I changed drives and software at approximately the same time, but I feel like the WD drive made the difference.

-barry

I just purchased the Apricorn 1TB DVR eXpander (the black one) to add storage to my Scientific Atlanta 8300HD. I live in Brooklyn and have Time Warner cable. The drive is connected via eSata cable that came with the drive. Running Navigator (mystro).

The drive installed very easily and was formatted in just 2 minutes by the SA 8300HD. The recording works fine and has added 120 hours of HD recording time to my DVR.

The problem is that with HD recordings, I get a hiccup or pixilation every 30 to 60 seconds. It happens in the same spot during playback, so I believe it is in the recording.

I tried a couple of things to try and isolate the problem …

It seems to be worse when recording two HD programs at once. When I am recording just one HD program (and either nothing else on the other tuner or a non-HD program on the other tuner) the recording is better. There are still some hiccups, but not as many.

I have also tried to hook it up to another box I have, and 8300HDC – but it did not recognize the drive. I hear the HDC’s don’t work with eSata expanders anyway.

At this point I can only narrow it down to a couple things – either the signal is not strong enough (which I kind of doubt because I never had the pixilation problem on the embedded hard drive in the DVR) or the eSata cable that I have the drive connected to the 8300HD is not of high enough quality (could this be?).

Anyone have any ideas of what to do? Could it be that the Apricorn is simply not fast enough at data transfer to record two HD programs at once?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

There is also a possibility that something (the eSATA port?) is wrong with 8300HD. I had hiccup issues a long time ago with my 8300HDC that happened only on recordings that were on the eSATA drive. Swapping the box for another of the same kind fixed the problem (for a while, anyway - once they forced 3* version of Navigator on that box, eSATA stopped working completely, which is a known problem).

I have no external drive and sure as hell have very similar issues. They wax and wane, sometimes going 2-3 days with nary a glitch, but invariably, I'll hit a show that is totally unwatchable as so much dialog gets missed.

I've got decent signal strength and very good sn ratio... I still have doubts about the head end and their distribution system.

So I conclude that while such issues MAY be caused by issues with external drives, they COJLD be from whatever issue TWC has on their end. BTW, according to what a read here, I'm NOT the only one with such issues... and I mean among those who do NOT use an external drive.

I recently set up an external drive. I am pretty sure I have more glitches than I used to have. It is intermittent so I don't think it is an inherent problem of the external drive. I need a little more experience with it to determine if the glitches are more prevalent when stressing the system by watching a recording while recording two other programs.

I have no external drive and sure as hell have very similar issues. They wax and wane, sometimes going 2-3 days with nary a glitch, but invariably, I'll hit a show that is totally unwatchable as so much dialog gets missed.

I've got decent signal strength and very good sn ratio... I still have doubts about the head end and their distribution system.

So I conclude that while such issues MAY be caused by issues with external drives, they COJLD be from whatever issue TWC has on their end. BTW, according to what a read here, I'm NOT the only one with such issues... and I mean among those who do NOT use an external drive.

Anyone get it to work with Western Digital's 'My Book' Home edition? 1.5 TB capacity.

If not, what's the best external drive to get in the 1 TB range that I can pick up at my local Best Buy?
I'm on my phone and it's a bit difficult to search the database.

Thanks, guys.

K

Pretty sure that won't work as far as I can remember. Forget Bestbuy. Look at the data base, buy a case and a drive from Newegg. Put it together in two minutes. It couldn't be a simpler thing to do.

Anyone get it to work with Western Digital's 'My Book' Home edition? 1.5 TB capacity.

If not, what's the best external drive to get in the 1 TB range that I can pick up at my local Best Buy?
I'm on my phone and it's a bit difficult to search the database.

Thanks, guys.

K

I would rather get something locally if I could.
I'll see what I can find.

Thanks,

K

I just purchased the Apricorn 1TB DVR eXpander (the black one) to add storage to my Scientific Atlanta 8300HD. I live in Brooklyn and have Time Warner cable. The drive is connected via eSata cable that came with the drive. Running Navigator (mystro).



I have not had those issues with the same drive. Glitches once in a while, but no worse than the internal drive. Have other issues losing connections, but that surely is Navigator and 8300HD. Use a timer to reboot the box every morning and everything fine. /Dan

I would rather get something locally if I could.
I'll see what I can find.

Thanks,

K

BB does have the WD DVR Expander. /Dan

Just for the halibut, I did a controlled drop of the drive unit from a height of 2 feet.You just gave a new meaning to the term "hard drive crash"! :eek:

http://www.pcstats.com/ArticleImages/200903/getdataback2.jpg

Looks more like 2000 feet. How can it have done that? Was it spinning at the time and flew loose?

You just gave a new meaning to the term "hard drive crash"! :eek:

http://www.pcstats.com/ArticleImages/200903/getdataback2.jpg

Ok here is what is happening. When I first plugged in the drive, powered it up and turned on the cable box, it gave a drive has bad disc error (or something like that). Then I remembered that people have said to unplug the box for 10 sec, turn on the SATA drive first, and then turn on the cable box. When I did this, it went through all the menus, the mystro screen (I have the navigator software just newly updated through the cable company, everyone’s box was in my area) and after it did the updates and turned off, I turned it back on and it did detect the hard drive. It said press a to format drive. So I pressed a, after a few seconds the msg box cleared and I thought it had done its thing. When I look at my used space though, it did not add any more capacity to the %. I was at 36% and it still said 36% used. The drive I added was a Calvary external that has a 1TB drive in it. I was going to get into the diagnostic mode to check my exact software version but neither of the 2 methods I have see described works anymore, I guess since this latest update because I did get in it before and look around about 6 months ago. If i turn the cable box off, shut off the drive, and power back up it still says the exact same amount of used space as it does with the drive on. Since it wasn't working I decided to plug the drive into my computer to make sure that it was working. When I did it said it had to set a master boot record to the drive to make it useable. I thought that this might be the problem so I let it and left it as unallocated space in windows. Then I plugged it back into the unit, unplugged the cable box, powered up the sata drive first, and then did the full cold boot again (holding the power button down on the 8300 when plugging the cord back in) and it did not say anything about the drive needing to be formatted or anything when it finally came back up. So next I took it back to my computer and formatted it ntfs hoping that when the cable box saw the external drive again it would want to try to format it to whatever format it needs but once again after the full procedure of rebooting the cable box and having the drive turned on first it didn't mention anything about the drive.

My question is, why did it detect it at first and want to format it but it didn't work right and now no matter what I do to the drive it will not ask to format it again? I did read online that some people got the Calvary brand to work with the 8300, although I did read the some Calvary external drives came with different brand sata drives according to their build date. Could it just be the brand of drive that is in the external case? Why did it see it and try to format it at first? I am thinking about taking another one or my drives out of my computer and swapping with the one in the external Calvary enclosure but I was hoping that someone else might have some insight. I have read through a lot of posts and can't find anyone with the same exact problems that I am having.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

For anyone to help you, you're going to need to specify cable company, cable box type (8300HD or 8300HDC), software (passport, sara, or navigator), and version.

If it happens to be a TWC HDC box, it ain't going to work until they come out with a new release (maybe).

I had the very same problem. First thing I saw was press A to format. I did. Waited a long time, check % usage- not changed. Did this a number of times. Usually I would get a message that the external drive was not properly connected. Finally I pressed the esata plug hard into the 8300 and viola. Not saying this is your problem, but it might be. (Some people had to shave off some of the connector to allow it to go further into the 8300 port.)

Ok here is what is happening. When I first plugged in the drive, powered it up and turned on the cable box, it gave a drive has bad disc error (or something like that). Then I remembered that people have said to unplug the box for 10 sec, turn on the SATA drive first, and then turn on the cable box. When I did this, it went through all the menus, the mystro screen (I have the navigator software just newly updated through the cable company, everyone’s box was in my area) and after it did the updates and turned off, I turned it back on and it did detect the hard drive. It said press a to format drive. So I pressed a, after a few seconds the msg box cleared and I thought it had done its thing. When I look at my used space though, it did not add any more capacity to the %. I was at 36% and it still said 36% used. The drive I added was a Calvary external that has a 1TB drive in it. I was going to get into the diagnostic mode to check my exact software version but neither of the 2 methods I have see described works anymore, I guess since this latest update because I did get in it before and look around about 6 months ago. If i turn the cable box off, shut off the drive, and power back up it still says the exact same amount of used space as it does with the drive on. Since it wasn't working I decided to plug the drive into my computer to make sure that it was working. When I did it said it had to set a master boot record to the drive to make it useable. I thought that this might be the problem so I let it and left it as unallocated space in windows. Then I plugged it back into the unit, unplugged the cable box, powered up the sata drive first, and then did the full cold boot again (holding the power button down on the 8300 when plugging the cord back in) and it did not say anything about the drive needing to be formatted or anything when it finally came back up. So next I took it back to my computer and formatted it ntfs hoping that when the cable box saw the external drive again it would want to try to format it to whatever format it needs but once again after the full procedure of rebooting the cable box and having the drive turned on first it didn't mention anything about the drive.

My question is, why did it detect it at first and want to format it but it didn't work right and now no matter what I do to the drive it will not ask to format it again? I did read online that some people got the Calvary brand to work with the 8300, although I did read the some Calvary external drives came with different brand sata drives according to their build date. Could it just be the brand of drive that is in the external case? Why did it see it and try to format it at first? I am thinking about taking another one or my drives out of my computer and swapping with the one in the external Calvary enclosure but I was hoping that someone else might have some insight. I have read through a lot of posts and can't find anyone with the same exact problems that I am having.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the stats on my box as much as I can tell you without going into diagnostic mode. Ever since the update 2 weeks ago I cannot get either of the 2 methods to bring it up. Is there a new botton combination that you use to get it to go into diagnostic?

Brigthouse Tampa bay (used to be time warner over 5 yrs ago)
8300HDC
Navigator
Not sure of version but they just upgraded everyone in the area to Navigator a couple of weeks ago so it's probably one of the latest ones

My main thing is why did it at first detect the hard drive and try to format it. When it did come up and ask to format it i pressed A and after a couple of seconds the screen cleared. I don't think it did anything since I think people said when it finished it came back and said something about format complete. I did not get any more space. No matter what I try on the drive now, format it in windows to NTFS, turn it back into unallocated space in widows it never asks to format it again.
I know some people act like since a new update that the esata drives don't work anymore, but I have read that other people called and they said they need to reset their box and if started working again. On these boxes that won't work anymore, what errors do you get? Just like what I am getting?
Could it be from the brand of HD in my external enclosure(which I don't know what it is without opening it up and voiding the warrenty? Will swapping a different one it there maybe solve the problem? I hate to void the warrenty on my new drive, but I bought this drive just for this purpose so I don't really have a lot to lose.

My typical luck,
Swamibob

Yeah, I went through the same thing. I'm using a drive that worked well on the previous release of Navigator and behaved as you describe after the update some months ago (thus my signiture). There is a general consensus that Navigator on an HDC box no longer works.

My main thing is why did it at first detect the hard drive and try to format it.

I think it's because in the 2.x series of ODN, there was code in there that mostly seemed to support external drives. I suspect that code didn't exactly get all removed in the 3.x series, but was screwed up enough that generally it doesn't work.

I also very much think their "in house" programmers are more like a couple of tweens as opposed to a good, mature, seasoned bunch of programmers. I bet you they are hired to a budget, rather than being well qualified.

Does anyone know what format the 8300HDC uses when you plug a eSATA drive into it? Also, is there a different button combo to get into the diagnostic mode now since the old methods do not work for me any more since the update?

Does anyone know what format the 8300HDC uses when you plug a eSATA drive into it? Also, is there a different button combo to get into the diagnostic mode now since the old methods do not work for me any more since the update?

I know from the personal experience that it is a bitter pill to swallow, but listen to phousley and others - it simply does not work with HDC and Navigator 3*. My experience included getting a recording from the internal drive deleted every time I tried (unsuccessfully) to format the external drive (as an added insult, the recordings were marked as "Do Not Delete").

To get to diagnostics, hold Select until the mailbox light on the box starts flashing, then hit Arrow Down.

Thanks PedjaR for the diagnostics info. That worked.
My ver is ODN 3.1.3_2 the same as phousley is using. I read in another thread somewhere that some people got it working after the update. Is this not the case? No one with the new software can use an external sata anymore. Why the hell would they release a new software version that does not support the same devices the old one did? That is just stupid. They have to be working on a new build that does support it right?

A Day late and a $105 short (what I paid for my new eSATA 1TB drive),
Swami

I don't think they remove sata support; I think they just screwed it up. This happened once before. The pattern so far is that it quits working every other major release.

Yes, there was one guy who "claimed" he finally got it to work, but no one was able to successfully reproduce his procedure. I actually got it to work, but it failed when I rebooted it. Like PedjaR, I finally lost so many recordings from my internal drive during the attempt to get it working, I had to give up.

I have a SA 8300 HD SARA DVR with a Fantom 1TB esata drive connected. Drive is formatted and connected. I have tried recording music shows which are 2-4 hours long and even though the record light stays on for the entire time when I check the recording when its done only parts of the program are recorded!! I have tried it several times and same issue each Time. I ahve rebooted etc with no help

I have a SA 8300 HD SARA DVR with a Fantom 1TB esata drive connected. Drive is formatted and connected. I have tried recording music shows which are 2-4 hours long and even though the record light stays on for the entire time when I check the recording when its done only parts of the program are recorded!! I have tried it several times and same issue each Time. I ahve rebooted etc with no help
You might explain by "music shows" do you mean the radio station type channels? I believe these are not buffered and may have issues with recording. I have not tried so can't help further. /Dan

Seeing how this thread acted as my reference guide for attaching an external SATA drive to my SA 8300HD, I thought I'd give something back to the thread. Here is my success story:

Cable Specs:
- SA 8300HD
- Mystro, 2.4.6-19-pvt
- TWC Columbus, OH

Hardware purchased:
- Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive OEM ($79.99 + tax; OEM = simply the bare drive in wrapping, nothing else comes with it - bought at local retailer)
- Antec MX-1 USB2.0 & eSATA External Enclosure, which includes necessary eSata cable that fits into back of 8300HD and WD drive ($50 no tax; bought online)

Setup/Install:
1. Followed the steps exactly as outlined in post #7693 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17061535#post17061535) (hat tip to phousley) of this thread.
2. After 8300HD finished booting up, and turned power on 8300HD box, it asked whether I wanted to format the newly found drive. Selected "A" on remote control (for yes), wait 10 seconds or so while drive is formatting, and then the 8300 displayed a "Successful format…" message on the screen.
3. All Done

Results/Testing
- DVR List went from showing 75% full to 10% full after new HDD installed
- Recorded multiple programs simultaneously without any glitches, skips, or freezes
- FF, Rewind, Instant Replay, Slow Motion, Pause all still worked without issue while recording multiple programs

Comments:
- I made the hardware choices I did due to the fact that the combo of WD hard drive and Antec enclosure work well with many of the various boxes (I also have an 8240HDC in another room) and software versions that TWC employs. And of course I chose them because both products had favorable reviews and some other factors I desired (cooling capabilities of enclosure and quiet/energy efficient drive). This combo may also prevent me from having to incur hardware replacement costs down the road in the event TWC makes some major changes or I move.
- There are I'm sure cheaper solutions, depending on sales and such, that work just as well. Remember to check this link for other hardware alternatives: (http://www.baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/main).

Good luck.

I recently replaced the TWC SA8300 HD with a SA8300 HDC because it is supposed to have fixed a bug in the SARA which caused problems with more than two consecutive overlapping recordings. (TWC has apparently stopped deployment of any new versions of SARA for the SA8300 HD due to problems.)

Anyway, I connected an Apricorn ez bus dts enclosure which I had installed an Hitachi 2 TB drive in. When I powered up the 8300 HDC after attaching the external drive it was recognized and appeared to be formatted when I selected that option. When I checked the diagnostics the drive was listed. Several hours later when I got around to using the thing I noticed that it had missed a recording which I had scheduled prior to attaching the 2 TB drive. When I attempted to schedule another recording I was unable to do so. It gave a "you can not record three programs" error message when only two were present or even when only the one I was attempting to schedule. It would not make a manual recording. I noticed that the pause, rewind and so on would not work.

Thinking it was a problem with the box, I spoke with tech support and they reauthorized the box and I did another hard reboot. Same result.

Today I removed the external drive and checked the box with no external drive attached and everything appears to work. I then attached another Apricorn enclosure with a WD 1 TB Green drive that I had previously used with the 8300 HD. Everything seems to function with that drive attached. (The same cables and power supply were used for both enclosures/drives.) A previously scheduled recording began on its own. Pause, rewind, fast forward and the "Live" button all appear to function.

I can not figure out why the drive should have disabled the functionality of the box. Any ideas?

Does anyone know if there is a limitation on the size drive that the 8300 HDC will address? (I have a 1.5 TB Seagate Barracuda I may try just to see if it does any better before I get a bunch of recordings on the 1 TB drive.)

Thanks!

Time-Warner Cable
SA 8300 HDC (cable card)
SARA 1.90.5.116 (01/20/09)

Other Firmware, if of interest.
ROM Image 1.5.3.4006 (01/26/09)
OS 6.20.51.102 (01/05/09)

Hard Drives:
Internal is the usual,
WD1600AABB-56PUA0

eSATA Drive that works,
Apricorn ez bus dts enclosure
WD10EADS-00L5B1 (1 TB Green)

It seems that when I was reviewing the data base before buying and setting up my external, there were no successes for any drive over 1 TB. Did you check that out?

I recently replaced the TWC SA8300 HD with a SA8300 HDC because it is supposed to have fixed a bug in the SARA which caused problems with more than two consecutive overlapping recordings. (TWC has apparently stopped deployment of any new versions of SARA for the SA8300 HD due to problems.)

Anyway, I connected an Apricorn ez bus dts enclosure which I had installed an Hitachi 2 TB drive in. When I powered up the 8300 HDC after attaching the external drive it was recognized and appeared to be formatted when I selected that option. When I checked the diagnostics the drive was listed. Several hours later when I got around to using the thing I noticed that it had missed a recording which I had scheduled prior to attaching the 2 TB drive. When I attempted to schedule another recording I was unable to do so. It gave a "you can not record three programs" error message when only two were present or even when only the one I was attempting to schedule. It would not make a manual recording. I noticed that the pause, rewind and so on would not work.

Thinking it was a problem with the box, I spoke with tech support and they reauthorized the box and I did another hard reboot. Same result.

Today I removed the external drive and checked the box with no external drive attached and everything appears to work. I then attached another Apricorn enclosure with a WD 1 TB Green drive that I had previously used with the 8300 HD. Everything seems to function with that drive attached. (The same cables and power supply were used for both enclosures/drives.) A previously scheduled recording began on its own. Pause, rewind, fast forward and the "Live" button all appear to function.

I can not figure out why the drive should have disabled the functionality of the box. Any ideas?

Does anyone know if there is a limitation on the size drive that the 8300 HDC will address? (I have a 1.5 TB Seagate Barracuda I may try just to see if it does any better before I get a bunch of recordings on the 1 TB drive.)

Thanks!

Time-Warner Cable
SA 8300 HDC (cable card)
SARA 1.90.5.116 (01/20/09)

Other Firmware, if of interest.
ROM Image 1.5.3.4006 (01/26/09)
OS 6.20.51.102 (01/05/09)

Hard Drives:
Internal is the usual,
WD1600AABB-56PUA0

eSATA Drive that works,
Apricorn ez bus dts enclosure
WD10EADS-00L5B1 (1 TB Green)

It seems that when I was reviewing the data base before buying and setting up my external, there were no successes for any drive over 1 TB. Did you check that out?

I checked the database, but I had the drive and just wanted to try it. I did not expect it to disable the box though. I thought that any eSATA implementation was not supposed to have an address (size) limitation, but who knows with SA/Cisco?

It would certainly be nice to have a larger drive that worked.

It would certainly be nice to have a larger drive that worked.

For that, you need a DVR that works with external drives. And that would pretty much mean 8300HDs running MDN. 8300HDCs and 3090s running ODN in general do not work with external drives.

Cisco specs say 1.5 TB max for eSATA HDD.

Riverside_Guy,

This is my first experience with the 8300 HDC after using an 8300 HD for a number of years. At this point I think that my external drive (1 TB WD Green) is working, but I need to get enough recordings made to see if it really is taking things or is merely appearing in the diagnostics.

I am unfamiliar with the ODN. Is it set to not enable external drives? The SARA on the 8300 HDs I have used "enabled" external drives, although TWC did not support them, in the sense that they would not troubleshoot them or make recommendations.

Is there a way other than putting a bunch of recordings on the machine (to exceed the capacity of the internal drive) to see if the external drive is actually being used?

holl_ands,

Thanks, I missed the Cisco posting. I think I will try a 1.5 TB Seagate I have around just to see what happens. I know that the Seagates have a less than stellar record of working, but I have it handy and it has not yet been placed in service for its intended use so I might as well give it a try. If it appears to work I will probably track down a WD or some such to actually leave attached to the 8300 HDC.

Thanks to all!

Recordings are made to the disc with the lowest percentage used. So, if you had nothing on the external, the very next recording would go to it and so on.

You can try the 1.5 TB, but did you find any instance of one working in the data base? As I recall, there were none, but there weren't many tries.

Riverside_Guy,

This is my first experience with the 8300 HDC after using an 8300 HD for a number of years. At this point I think that my external drive (1 TB WD Green) is working, but I need to get enough recordings made to see if it really is taking things or is merely appearing in the diagnostics.

I am unfamiliar with the ODN. Is it set to not enable external drives? The SARA on the 8300 HDs I have used "enabled" external drives, although TWC did not support them, in the sense that they would not troubleshoot them or make recommendations.

Is there a way other than putting a bunch of recordings on the machine (to exceed the capacity of the internal drive) to see if the external drive is actually being used?

holl_ands,

Thanks, I missed the Cisco posting. I think I will try a 1.5 TB Seagate I have around just to see what happens. I know that the Seagates have a less than stellar record of working, but I have it handy and it has not yet been placed in service for its intended use so I might as well give it a try. If it appears to work I will probably track down a WD or some such to actually leave attached to the 8300 HDC.

Thanks to all!

Riverside_Guy,

This is my first experience with the 8300 HDC after using an 8300 HD for a number of years. At this point I think that my external drive (1 TB WD Green) is working, but I need to get enough recordings made to see if it really is taking things or is merely appearing in the diagnostics.

I am unfamiliar with the ODN. Is it set to not enable external drives? The SARA on the 8300 HDs I have used "enabled" external drives, although TWC did not support them, in the sense that they would not troubleshoot them or make recommendations.

Is there a way other than putting a bunch of recordings on the machine (to exceed the capacity of the internal drive) to see if the external drive is actually being used?

holl_ands,

Thanks, I missed the Cisco posting. I think I will try a 1.5 TB Seagate I have around just to see what happens. I know that the Seagates have a less than stellar record of working, but I have it handy and it has not yet been placed in service for its intended use so I might as well give it a try. If it appears to work I will probably track down a WD or some such to actually leave attached to the 8300 HDC.

Thanks to all!

If your external drive has a light on the front that tells you it's being accessed (most do) you'll see the drive lights going on very frequently when it's being recorded to (played back from). So it should be pretty easy to tell if you're recording to the internal or external drive.

scott_bernstein,

An excellent point! I will take a look at it when starting a recording.

BIGA$$_TV,

I am not looking at the database at the moment, but my recollection pretty much matches your observation that there are mostly, if not all, failures with the 1.5 TB drives. I have a 1.5 TB Seagate and so will try it and see. If it does not work there is nothing lost as I bought it for other use and have not yet placed it in service (ditto with the 2 TB Hitachi).

I do not know the ODN which Riverside_Guy says the 8300 HDCs run on. When I get home I will take a look at the diagnostics and see what I can see about it. I do know that it has SARA 1.90.5.116 (01/20/09) showing.

Riverside_Guy,

This is my first experience with the 8300 HDC after using an 8300 HD for a number of years. At this point I think that my external drive (1 TB WD Green) is working, but I need to get enough recordings made to see if it really is taking things or is merely appearing in the diagnostics.

I am unfamiliar with the ODN. Is it set to not enable external drives? The SARA on the 8300 HDs I have used "enabled" external drives, although TWC did not support them, in the sense that they would not troubleshoot them or make recommendations.

Ooops, I tend to forget at times there some SARA lingering out there... sorry! My market got converted to Craptigator, so we have ODN running on HDCs and Samsung boxes, with a variant called MDN running on HD boxes. The curious thing is that the MDN/8300HD combo appears to allow external HDD use, none of the others do. The collective wisdom seems to point to the software being the issue, not the hardware (HDCs running the 2.x version of ODN did work with external drives, but ever since ODN went to a 3.x series, it doesn't work with external HDDs).

Riverside_Guy,

I spoke with TWC tech support and got what is probably a mixture of misinformation and who knows what. The said that an external drive should not work with the 8300 HDC and several other things that are problems. My external enclosure does not have an activity light, but I put my hand on it during a recording and I felt drive activity. To validate this observation I shut down and unplugged the box, turned off the external drive and disconnected it. When I rebooted the box, I went to the list of recorded programs and tried several of them. The result was that there was nothing there to play back and so I have concluded that it is actually recording to the external drive. The used disk space display is a bit confusing as it is showing 9% of capacity used with what I think should be less than 9% of 1 TB, but I do not know for sure.

The other thing that I am still investigating is the "Record to VCR" function which now plays the program which is being output, which the 8300 HD did not do, and I am unable to control the box at all once it has begun. Only when the program being output is completed and the menu reappears can I get the box to do anything else. I put a call in to a contact from trying to get a SARA bug fixed (which dealt with overlapping consecutive programs) and he said that he would speak with SA and get back to me. If this is the best that the 8300 HDC has to offer I am going to take it back and ask for the 8300 HD back. Why, oh why, does TWC release these things when they have to know that they are not right? Grrrrr!

So what you are saying is that there is not even one program on your internal drive? That doesn't jive with the SA manual that says it records to the drive with the least percentage usage.

WRT to the record to vcr issue, are you saying that when you press record to vcr and then the "A" button (I hope you are following the instructions and pressing "A"!), the menu is frozen? If so, try a hard reboot, if that doesn't solve the problem, get a new box.

Riverside_Guy,

I spoke with TWC tech support and got what is probably a mixture of misinformation and who knows what. The said that an external drive should not work with the 8300 HDC and several other things that are problems. My external enclosure does not have an activity light, but I put my hand on it during a recording and I felt drive activity. To validate this observation I shut down and unplugged the box, turned off the external drive and disconnected it. When I rebooted the box, I went to the list of recorded programs and tried several of them. The result was that there was nothing there to play back and so I have concluded that it is actually recording to the external drive. The used disk space display is a bit confusing as it is showing 9% of capacity used with what I think should be less than 9% of 1 TB, but I do not know for sure.

The other thing that I am still investigating is the "Record to VCR" function which now plays the program which is being output, which the 8300 HD did not do, and I am unable to control the box at all once it has begun. Only when the program being output is completed and the menu reappears can I get the box to do anything else. I put a call in to a contact from trying to get a SARA bug fixed (which dealt with overlapping consecutive programs) and he said that he would speak with SA and get back to me. If this is the best that the 8300 HDC has to offer I am going to take it back and ask for the 8300 HD back. Why, oh why, does TWC release these things when they have to know that they are not right? Grrrrr!

So what you are saying is that there is not even one program on your internal drive? That doesn't jive with the SA manual that says it records to the drive with the least percentage usage.

WRT to the record to vcr issue, are you saying that when you press record to vcr and then the "A" button (I hope you are following the instructions and pressing "A"!), the menu is frozen? If so, try a hard reboot, if that doesn't solve the problem, get a new box.

I do not know whether some recordings were on the internal drive or not, but the ones I sampled were not. That and the vibrations from drive activity when a program is being recorded cause me to believe that the external drive is active on this box.

When I press the "A" button (as I did with the 8300 HD) the menu disappears and the program which is being output is shown on the TV and there is nothing I have been able to find which will all me to change to a live channel or another recording until the 8300 HDC is done with that recording.

Well there are two possibilities. Your box is screwed up or the input to the tv is set to VCR or DVD whichever you are sending the recording to. That is, if the TV input is set not to the SA box but to the DVD/VCR then you are only going to see whatever you are sending to the recorder until that program finishes. My guess is that you have the TV set to the wrong input.

I do not know whether some recordings were on the internal drive or not, but the ones I sampled were not. That and the vibrations from drive activity when a program is being recorded cause me to believe that the external drive is active on this box.

When I press the "A" button (as I did with the 8300 HD) the menu disappears and the program which is being output is shown on the TV and there is nothing I have been able to find which will all me to change to a live channel or another recording until the 8300 HDC is done with that recording.

I haven't been on this thread for a while, since I added the external hard drive 3 or more years ago.

I just wanted to share that the original external drive stopped working several months ago. After several swaps and troubleshooting, I diagnosed the problem with the old Vantec enclosure and not the HD or the cable box. I replaced it with a Rosewill RX355-X2 BK from Newegg, plugged in the old 450meg hard drive and it picked right up as before and didn't lose any recordings. I would have dropped in a 1TB drive I have lying around, but did not want to lose any of the shows I had not yet watched.

I like the Rosewill enclosure better anyway, since it seems to have better cooling and is easier to open up to swap drives. It is nearly silent, but does have a fairly large blue light which is always on and flickers with drive access. Use black tape if it bothers you.

Hi,

I have a 8300HD, and my cable provider is videotron. After having carefully read the SA8300HD eSATA Compatibility Database (SARA), I decided to go and purchase the most popular setup:

Enclosure: Vantec Nexstar3 (NST-360SU-BK)
Hard Drive: WD5000AAKS (Caviar Blue) 7200/16M

At first it seemed to work, and the 8300HD, detected the hardware and proceeded to formatting. Recording one HD show was ok. I did the ultimate test of recording two HD channels simultaneously, while watching one of these differed. To my surprise I got tons of image and sound glitches. So many that it was more or less unwatchable. Even recording one HD show, and watching it at the same time failed.

I went back and reread these forums, and this setup seems to work for most, and people were talking about signal levels and strength which could be the culprit. After verifying, seems my signal levels were fine.

Before returning everything to the store, I had an old hard drive (WD1600JS 7200/8M) that I decided to try. To my surprise this one worked perfectly with the same Nexstar3 enclosure. Record 2 HD shows and watch one simultaneously, all good, no glitches whatsoever!

I went back to the store and returned the WD5000AAKS, and decided to try a WD3200AAKS (smaller size). This one also gave me all the problems of constant sound and image glitches as the WD5000AAKS.

So if it works with my old hard drive, then it is not a signal strength issue. However, I am unable to explain what is happening. The setup that it works for everyone (even other videotron users), doesnt work for me. It only works with an older 160 gig WD drive, with 8 Megs cache.

Is it the 8 Megs cache? Is it the fact that this WD1600JS is a very similar drive that is internal to my 8300HD? Is my 8300HD too old (pruchased it in 2007)

If anyone has any insight as to why this is happening. Let me know, as I would love to be able to boost my external drive to more than just 160 gigs.

Thanks,
Martin

I've got the same Vantec and Caviar green. I "think" it worked good at the beginning. However, now if I record two HDs and watch something else, big time glitches. It seems to work fine with one recording or maybe two recordings with the box off. If there is any solution I'd be happy to find out what it is.

Hi,

I have a 8300HD, and my cable provider is videotron. After having carefully read the SA8300HD eSATA Compatibility Database (SARA), I decided to go and purchase the most popular setup:

Enclosure: Vantec Nexstar3 (NST-360SU-BK)
Hard Drive: WD5000AAKS (Caviar Blue) 7200/16M

At first it seemed to work, and the 8300HD, detected the hardware and proceeded to formatting. Recording one HD show was ok. I did the ultimate test of recording two HD channels simultaneously, while watching one of these differed. To my surprise I got tons of image and sound glitches. So many that it was more or less unwatchable. Even recording one HD show, and watching it at the same time failed.

I went back and reread these forums, and this setup seems to work for most, and people were talking about signal levels and strength which could be the culprit. After verifying, seems my signal levels were fine.

Before returning everything to the store, I had an old hard drive (WD1600JS 7200/8M) that I decided to try. To my surprise this one worked perfectly with the same Nexstar3 enclosure. Record 2 HD shows and watch one simultaneously, all good, no glitches whatsoever!

I went back to the store and returned the WD5000AAKS, and decided to try a WD3200AAKS (smaller size). This one also gave me all the problems of constant sound and image glitches as the WD5000AAKS.

So if it works with my old hard drive, then it is not a signal strength issue. However, I am unable to explain what is happening. The setup that it works for everyone (even other videotron users), doesnt work for me. It only works with an older 160 gig WD drive, with 8 Megs cache.

Is it the 8 Megs cache? Is it the fact that this WD1600JS is a very similar drive that is internal to my 8300HD? Is my 8300HD too old (pruchased it in 2007)

If anyone has any insight as to why this is happening. Let me know, as I would love to be able to boost my external drive to more than just 160 gigs.

Thanks,
Martin

Why not try the Western Digital My DVR Expander?

I have an 8300HD box using MDN. I have an Apricorn 1TB external attached. I'm getting short bursts of pixelization on our local HD channels. This is pretty annoying, as the sound is affected too. The problem does not occur when the cable is hooked directly to the TV or if I unhook the hard drive. I've tried 2 different hard drives too, with the same problem occurring. Any suggestions?

I got a 2 TB Fantom GD2000EU this Christmas, which got an eSATA connexion, so I tried it with the SA 8300HD. Short story: it's a failure. It's logged in the Xnappo database.

The 1.5 TB limit mentioned above is interesting. My provider (Videotron) does not mention any such limit, so that may explain the problem I got. I wonder if it's an arbitrary limit in the firmware (i.e. will it be increased in a firmware upgrade?).

Here's the account of my trials.

First, each time the 8300 HD was rebooted, it recognized the drive but found it corrupted, prompting for a re-format, even if it was formatted during the previous session. When this happens, the diagnostic mode shows that the drive is recognized as Device ID 2 with 1863 GB of free space, which is exactly what it's supposed to be. However it lists the partitions as follows: 1 GB for ITFS, 0 GB for AVFS, and 1 GB reserved.

After a few reboots I tried cancelling the re-format. At the next reboot the drive was recognized as usable by the PVR, with a 1 GB ITFS, 1861 GB AVFS and 1 GB reserved. The used space dropped from 87% to 10%, which was encouraging.

However, with this setup, absolutely no recording whatsoever could take place. Not only scheduled recordings were not performed (the RECORD light light was not even lit), I could not pause or rewind live TV either. Diagnostic mode listed this in the SOFTWARE ANOMALIES sections:

WARNING! 100108.22:25 [SARA Main] @ CRecordTV.cpp:1484 (Exception -0x8 startRecordTvp)
WARNING! 100108.22:25 [CONFIG] @ config.c:1442 (CONFIG: Skipping INVALID PARAMETER type 20 for owner 11)
WARNING! 100108.22:25 [CONFIG] @ config.c:1442 (CONFIG: Skipping INVALID PARAMETER type 19 for owner 11)
WARNING! 100108.22:25 [CONFIG] @ config.c:1442 (CONFIG: Skipping INVALID PARAMETER type 18 for owner 11)

This is post was more a description of my experience than a request for advice, but if anyone has any hint to make this drive work, or a confirmation that 2 TB drives can't work with the 8300 HD, I'd be glad to hear them.

I'm using an 8300HD with MDN. I bought a new Apricorn 1TB drive to replace an older 500GB drive. It sets up OK and works OK with the DVR. But now it seems that overnight the DVR stops recognizing it. I have to reboot the DVR every morning to get it to recognize the drive again. I didn't have this problem with the old 500 GB drive. What is going on here?

I'm using an 8300HD with MDN. I bought a new Apricorn 1TB drive to replace an older 500GB drive. It sets up OK and works OK with the DVR. But now it seems that overnight the DVR stops recognizing it. I have to reboot the DVR every morning to get it to recognize the drive again. I didn't have this problem with the old 500 GB drive. What is going on here?
I have this issue too with same set-up. I did not have other drive or other than MDN to test with. Hoping next MDN rev fixes this. I have the DVR on a timer that turns the power off for a half hour every morning at like 5:30 AM. Works fine for most days, have to reboot once in a while. I do not have the pixelation you talk about with regard to the external drive. I do get some viewing for 2-4 weeks everytime they add HD channels. I heard they take a while to get the compression balanced out. /Dan

I've been having similar issues of needing to reboot my box every single morning. I posted this in my local HDTV reception thread but am posting here in case someone can shed some light.


The last three days or so every time I come home and turn on the TV and list my recorded shows it says 0% full even though I have programs listed there that I've recorded. When I press play it says "(Name of program) is currently unavailable. Please try again later". The dialog box also says Error: 13 (or sometimes Error: 3) in the upper right hand corner. If I do a hard reboot (following the instructions I found on this site) it will get everything back to normal.

This is a bit of a pain as it has to be done EVERY day now.

I have a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD running Navigator with a My DVR Expander (500 GB).

If I do a hard reboot without power cycling the external hard drive the DVR will start to do a countdown in hexadecimal digits. It does this for quite some time. After that it will try to reboot/initialize but it always gets stuck on the second to last square/box on the initialization and refuses to come back up. So the hard reboot process HAS to include power-cycling the external hard drive in order for me to get my DVR and external hard drive working properly.

When I posted this in the other thread someone mentioned that the countdown is reinstalling the software and I think the poster is right.

I've read earlier in this thread people saying that recent Navigator software versions may have broken compatibility with external hard drives but I think that is with 8300HDC only right?

I've been having similar issues of needing to reboot my box every single morning. I posted this in my local HDTV reception thread but am posting here in case someone can shed some light.


The last three days or so every time I come home and turn on the TV and list my recorded shows it says 0% full even though I have programs listed there that I've recorded. When I press play it says "(Name of program) is currently unavailable. Please try again later". The dialog box also says Error: 13 (or sometimes Error: 3) in the upper right hand corner. If I do a hard reboot (following the instructions I found on this site) it will get everything back to normal.

This is a bit of a pain as it has to be done EVERY day now.

I have a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD running Navigator with a My DVR Expander (500 GB).

If I do a hard reboot without power cycling the external hard drive the DVR will start to do a countdown in hexadecimal digits. It does this for quite some time. After that it will try to reboot/initialize but it always gets stuck on the second to last square/box on the initialization and refuses to come back up. So the hard reboot process HAS to include power-cycling the external hard drive in order for me to get my DVR and external hard drive working properly.

When I posted this in the other thread someone mentioned that the countdown is reinstalling the software and I think the poster is right.

I've read earlier in this thread people saying that recent Navigator software versions may have broken compatibility with external hard drives but I think that is with 8300HDC only right?

My experience is that the external drives only work with the 8300HD box. The new 1TB Apricorn drive I tried disconnected overnight, so I returned it. The drive I'm using now does not disconnect overnight:
http://discountechnology.com/8300HD-eSATA-Hard-Drive-for-Scientific-Atlanta-8300HD-DVR-500GB;jsessionid=0a010c641f434a8f245eec7f45d0a29bbd15b35578c 4.e3eSc3mSaxuPe34Pa38Ta38Maxb0?sc=2&category=4277

It is more expensive, but it does work.

lmdc....having the exact same problem with my cavalry 500 gb external...can find the shows if i reboot so I know they're still there. But after a period of time, even with the tv still turned on, the shows will be unavailable. All these problems started after the DVR upgraded to MDN 2.4.1 Glad you wrote all those things down cause i was too lazy(and frustrated. This drive used to work flawlessly for almost 2 years! So any help would be appreciated, though i'm not too optimistic with this MDN "upgrade".

It looks like they won't be satisfied until they've screwed up MDN as badly as ODN.

How do we seem to keep going backwards in this area? It mind boggling. We wait years to be able to add space and just when we think we're rounding the corner they manage to screw us again! And still no great options from the providers to make more space available, even at their ridiculous prices. Frusrtrating

I agree with butterfieldgfd here -- it's frustrating considering the price of the device and the simplicity of adding support for external hard drives. One thing that annoys me to no end is that I haven't found any way to contact tech support from what is left of ScientificAtlanta. Since it has been bought by Cisco, Cisco simply redirects you to your cable provider, and of course they can't offer any advice as to why a particular hard drive do not work. Anyway, firmware upgrades in my area can only be pushed by the provider, so this is mainly hopeless. I managed to pinpoint the error to a particular line in a particular software source file, but this is useless as the device certainly won't be updated even if I could talk to a programmer at SA.

Anybody managed to contact some tech with hands-on knowledge of the 8300HD? Maybe via Cisco?

I agree with butterfieldgfd here -- it's frustrating considering the price of the device and the simplicity of adding support for external hard drives. One thing that annoys me to no end is that I haven't found any way to contact tech support from what is left of ScientificAtlanta. Since it has been bought by Cisco, Cisco simply redirects you to your cable provider, and of course they can't offer any advice as to why a particular hard drive do not work. Anyway, firmware upgrades in my area can only be pushed by the provider, so this is mainly hopeless. I managed to pinpoint the error to a particular line in a particular software source file, but this is useless as the device certainly won't be updated even if I could talk to a programmer at SA.

Anybody managed to contact some tech with hands-on knowledge of the 8300HD? Maybe via Cisco?

I think the issue is that cable cos who buy these things seem able to have them customized in some ways. Also, think about the external drive issue... Cisco provides the hardware level support (i.e. an eSATA connection), but TWC screws it up... so would you wonder why they send angry customers back to the MSO???

lmdc....having the exact same problem with my cavalry 500 gb external...can find the shows if i reboot so I know they're still there. But after a period of time, even with the tv still turned on, the shows will be unavailable. All these problems started after the DVR upgraded to MDN 2.4.1 Glad you wrote all those things down cause i was too lazy(and frustrated. This drive used to work flawlessly for almost 2 years! So any help would be appreciated, though i'm not too optimistic with this MDN "upgrade".I have my MDN DVR on a timer and have it shut off power between 5-5:30 AM. This mostly works keeping the connection or else I lost it pretty much every day. /Dan

So it basically reboots then at this particular time every morning and the the STB re-recognizes the external drive...That I get, the other problem I seem to have is that the STB will "kick out" or not recognize the recordings even if i haven't turned the tv off. I can view the recordings with no problem for a couple hours or so, then the titles will remain in the Recordings log but i get that "show unavailable" message.

So it basically reboots then at this particular time every morning and the the STB re-recognizes the external drive...That I get, the other problem I seem to have is that the STB will "kick out" or not recognize the recordings even if i haven't turned the tv off. I can view the recordings with no problem for a couple hours or so, then the titles will remain in the Recordings log but i get that "show unavailable" message.
That means it lost the connection and the STB needs a reboot. It keeps the recording title list on the internal drive (or in RAM when it boots up, I am not sure) and that list is available. I do have to reboot every couple weeks still since it still loses connection sometimes during the day. Can't find a pattern for any of this. /Dan

Yeah, my rebooting is every couple of hours so ive given up on relying on the external drive for now. Maybe something acceptable will be available in the near future but i'm not holding my breath. thanks for the input.

Hi,

I have a 8300HD, and my cable provider is videotron. After having carefully read the SA8300HD eSATA Compatibility Database (SARA), I decided to go and purchase the most popular setup:

Enclosure: Vantec Nexstar3 (NST-360SU-BK)
Hard Drive: WD5000AAKS (Caviar Blue) 7200/16M

At first it seemed to work, and the 8300HD, detected the hardware and proceeded to formatting. Recording one HD show was ok. I did the ultimate test of recording two HD channels simultaneously, while watching one of these differed. To my surprise I got tons of image and sound glitches. So many that it was more or less unwatchable. Even recording one HD show, and watching it at the same time failed.

I went back and reread these forums, and this setup seems to work for most, and people were talking about signal levels and strength which could be the culprit. After verifying, seems my signal levels were fine.

Before returning everything to the store, I had an old hard drive (WD1600JS 7200/8M) that I decided to try. To my surprise this one worked perfectly with the same Nexstar3 enclosure. Record 2 HD shows and watch one simultaneously, all good, no glitches whatsoever!

I went back to the store and returned the WD5000AAKS, and decided to try a WD3200AAKS (smaller size). This one also gave me all the problems of constant sound and image glitches as the WD5000AAKS.

So if it works with my old hard drive, then it is not a signal strength issue. However, I am unable to explain what is happening. The setup that it works for everyone (even other videotron users), doesnt work for me. It only works with an older 160 gig WD drive, with 8 Megs cache.

Is it the 8 Megs cache? Is it the fact that this WD1600JS is a very similar drive that is internal to my 8300HD? Is my 8300HD too old (pruchased it in 2007)

If anyone has any insight as to why this is happening. Let me know, as I would love to be able to boost my external drive to more than just 160 gigs.

Thanks,
Martin

Martin,

Just to let you know, I followed the same path.
Provider is videotron as well,
Got the same enclosure (Nexstar NST 360SU-BK)
Chose a different drive 1.0TB WD10EADS (Green) for noise and cooling reasons but have the same awful glitches (even with a single recording).
One strange thing though, the software version on the info pages do not compare at all with the SARA DB listing (un less i do not look at the right page). Here's what shows up:
PTV OS : OS, Home Server Edition 1.10
Flash : DVR 1.5.2_8300_MR.LR_F.P.1702
APPS: Bstmapp v3.13.2.06124
nvccore v1.2.80

One last comment, my SA8300HD has 160GB internal drive but is rather old (more than 4 years)

Jean

Has anyone had any luck using an external drive with the Samsung 3270 DVR?

Has anyone had any luck using an external drive with the Samsung 3270 DVR?

While there are a few odd reports/claims of working external HDDs, the general consensus is that all versions to date of ODN 3.x do NOT support the use of external HDDs. This issue is galling for those who had ODN 2.x and COULD use external HDDs... for those folks, it meant the disappearance of a feature they had used and loved (even though TWC never SAID one could do it or falsely advertised it was available, unlike other lies they feel comfortable voicing in public).

That being said, there is a very new rev of ODN just barely launched in a few markets. Technically support can't be totally ruled out yet, but I think it should be doubtful they actually fixed the bugs for a feature they never touted in the first place.

The only slightly good news is it appears in several markets that a Samsung 3090 CAN be upgraded by the end user with a very specific 320G drive. Not to mention that some 3090s with a 320G drive are trickling out (it's a crap shot to get one). There's also a 3270 DVR that seems to only be, happening in SD... those are supposed to all come with a 320G drive, BUT you also end up completely losing any PIP function.

Martin,

Just to let you know, I followed the same path.
Provider is videotron as well,
Got the same enclosure (Nexstar NST 360SU-BK)
Chose a different drive 1.0TB WD10EADS (Green) for noise and cooling reasons but have the same awful glitches (even with a single recording).
One strange thing though, the software version on the info pages do not compare at all with the SARA DB listing (un less i do not look at the right page). Here's what shows up:
PTV OS : OS, Home Server Edition 1.10
Flash : DVR 1.5.2_8300_MR.LR_F.P.1702
APPS: Bstmapp v3.13.2.06124
nvccore v1.2.80

One last comment, my SA8300HD has 160GB internal drive but is rather old (more than 4 years)

Jean

Here's an update:

Tried an older 320Gig drive I had WD3200KS and it did work like a charm, no glitches at all.

Not really sure which drive I should go now to increase overall storage capacity, any advice ?

Here's an update:

Tried an older 320Gig drive I had WD3200KS and it did work like a charm, no glitches at all.

Not really sure which drive I should go now to increase overall storage capacity, any advice ?

Unfortunately your only choice is to try something else from the database. Please make sure to document your exact model there.

xnappo

I just successfully connected a Fantom Drives Green 1 TB drive to my SA8300 HD. No issues whatsoever currently. I used a cheapo eSTATA to eSATA plug, connected it, rebooted, and it asked me to format.

One thing I do see from time to time is it telling me with a message that an external hard drive is connected and I should wait 2 minutes after the box is off to disconnect it. This seems to occur randomly and just requires a push of the "A" button and it goes away. It does not affect performance. Does anyone know how to get rid of this notification? Maybe something in the service menu? How do I get to that again?

Thanks,

Pat

Pat,

Could you tell me which Fantom drive you have? I have a friend with a GD1000EU that works fine. I just purchased a GDII1000EU and am getting glitches and dropouts. I know now the internal drives are different (his WD/mine Hitachi).

It sounds like your 8300 thinks it lost communication with the drive and gave you a warning as if you powered down the drive first. Make sure all your connections are secure. I find the power connection on the Fantom a bit loose.

Steve

57% used --> 7%

Used the Vantec that seemed to be working for everyone else with 1TB WD Greenline

I would rather get something locally if I could.
I'll see what I can find.

Thanks,

K

I looked 3 times locally and couldn't justify the price increase. Coun'd find the exact models so the DVR expander was the best bet which is way overpriced. Even getting the components alone was $30-50 more and not the ideal model as listed on the compatability matrix.

I've got that same setup but I have a serious playback glitching problems when I record two HD programs at the same time. I now try to manage my recordings to minimize simultaneous recordings.

57% used --> 7%

Used the Vantec that seemed to be working for everyone else with 1TB WD Greenline

My experience is that the external drives only work with the 8300HD box.
I was never able to get my Apricorn 500GB drive to work reliably with the 8300HD on Navigator MDN ver. 2.4.6-19-ptv (Mt. Sherman) software. While the DVR would recognize the drive and format it, recordings would end randomly before the program was finished. Sometimes it would work, sometimes it would quit 10 or 20 minutes into recording a program. I finally disconnected it out of frustration.

I would really like to know if anyone has gotten eSATA to work with the new ODN ver. 3.2.0_15. I also have an SA8300HDC which has this new version now. It used to work well with the Apricorn back when ODN was on earlier versions, but I took it off when updates reached the 3.x versions that broke eSATA.

TT

Pat,

Could you tell me which Fantom drive you have? I have a friend with a GD1000EU that works fine. I just purchased a GDII1000EU and am getting glitches and dropouts. I know now the internal drives are different (his WD/mine Hitachi).

It sounds like your 8300 thinks it lost communication with the drive and gave you a warning as if you powered down the drive first. Make sure all your connections are secure. I find the power connection on the Fantom a bit loose.

Steve

I have the one your friend bought, the GD1000U. I am not sure the type of drive inside, I suspect WD. The green drive light stays green all the time (at least while I am there), but I will double check the connection. This occurs randomly, which would support your hypothesis. I am thinking of just not turning off the DVR ever, now I do turn it off along with the TV on the harmony. What do you do?

Thanks,

Pat

I've got a WD My DVR Expander w/ my SA 8300HD and it never shuts down. According to WD, it's not getting any command from the 8300HD.

Pat,

Yes, you have a WD and I have a Hitachi. This could be the issue for me. I have emailed Fantom with no response.
With your 8300, you might try leaving it on. The sata communication on this unit is very particular, like the old firewire days. That said, I do power my 8300 down and have not seen the message your getting on power up.
You may know with the 8300 you have to power down and unplug before turning off the external drive, so that it is fully unmounted.
When I tried reformatting the Fantom it took a couple of tries because it would lose connection with my computer. I discovered this to also be the power connection...one small interrupt and the format would stop. I'm beginning to think I got what I paid for.

Steve

Hi
just installed Nexstar CX ( NST-300SU-BK ) with WD1001FALS
my provider is Videotron

according to the database, it's a successful setup

however, I am unable to make it work
pvr say the hard drive is in problem..

tried to format it first on my computer and plug it back, no sucess

here is what I did

pulling out power to the pvr, plugged external hard drive, turn on hard drive, few minutes later I've put power to the pvr..
no sucess...

any idea what I can try ?

btw the hard drive work in windows...

Siffleu,

My personal experience is that the 8300HD is *very* picky when connecting the drive, but once it acknowledges the drive, it will work flawlessly. I have the same drive working with a NST360SU-BK enclosure and it works perfectly.

My suggestion to you - connect the eSATA cable at the back of your 8300HD, but *not* at the back of your hard drive enclosure just yet. Power up the hard drive (again, not connected). Then, plug in your 8300HD and let it boot up. Once fully booted, with your enclosure already powered up and your harddrive spinning at full speed, plug in the eSATA cable. Wait for the message from the PVR. If it says the drive is malfunctioning, unplug the eSATA cable from the drive, wait 5 seconds, and plug it back in. The PVR should acknowledge it and ask you if you want to format it.

If that does not work, verify that your WD1001FALS hard disk has a jumper covering pins 5 & 6. This will downgrade to standard SATA speeds (as opposed to SATAII) - though this should fix stuttering problems, not the recognition itself by the PVR.

Finally, I'd like to add that sometimes after formatting, the PVR will just sit there - not giving any feedback that the formatting has completed AND not giving you the extra space. I would give it 5 minutes - if you don't see any additional space at that point, do the following. First, turn off your hard drive. Your PVR will say something about the device having been disconnected - this is ok. Then, unplug the power cord of your PVR and disconnect the SATA cable from your hard drive. Then, just like for the formatting, fire up your external enclosure, and plug in your PVR's power cord and let it boot fully. Once booted, connect the eSATA cable. This time, instead of asking you to format, it will simply acknowledge that an external drive has been attached.

Go check your used space in the recordings menu, and it will have dropped accordingly.

Let me know how it goes.


Spark

Hi
just installed Nexstar CX ( NST-300SU-BK ) with WD1001FALS
my provider is Videotron

according to the database, it's a successful setup

however, I am unable to make it work
pvr say the hard drive is in problem..

tried to format it first on my computer and plug it back, no sucess

here is what I did

pulling out power to the pvr, plugged external hard drive, turn on hard drive, few minutes later I've put power to the pvr..
no sucess...

any idea what I can try ?

btw the hard drive work in windows...

Hey Spark. What's this about the pin jumper? I'm having a lot of glitching when recording two HD programs at the same time. Is this a fix for that problem?

BIGA$$TV,

It could be - but I'm not saying it is. Which hard disk are you using ?

I've been doing a lot, and I mean a LOT of reading before my first attempt - and from my own account, the WD black series of hard drives is what I was reading as being the most often being successful from other people. Paired with the right enclosure, obviously.

Having said that, some people were still having some glitches from time to time - a bit like what you describe - during high-demand (read - recording 2 programs and watching a third, pre-recorded one). The fix I saw for that was forcing the harddisk back into SATA I mode. It seems as if some PVRs have problems with the hard drive being in SATA II mode - not sure why.

In any case, for some people, sticking a jumper on pins 5 & 6 for the WD hard drive fixed the problem. Knowing this from reading, my first attempt with a 1TB drive - I stuck a jumper on those pins from the get-go. Everything went really smooth. I have a basic 160GB 8300HD that was at 50% already at that point (10 hours HD free space). So I recorded all day, 2 HD programs at the same time, and played a 3rd one at the same time. I checked back and forth during the day, and played some content recorded at the end of the day, and not a single glitch.

I also went into the service menu, and no reported errors. So far, so good, after a week and lots of recording.

I would suggest you give a shot to pins 5 & 6 if you have a WD hard drive - let me know how it goes. Otherwise, check on your HD label and see if there is a jumper setting to force the drive into SATA I.

Let me know, I'm curious to hear how it turns out.


Spark

Hey Spark. What's this about the pin jumper? I'm having a lot of glitching when recording two HD programs at the same time. Is this a fix for that problem?

I have the Caviar Green. Probably the same situation. I presume the pins are numbered? Where does one obtain a jumper shunt? I guess best bet is to go to a computer store as the shipping on a dime item is silly.

BIGA$$TV,

It could be - but I'm not saying it is. Which hard disk are you using ?

I've been doing a lot, and I mean a LOT of reading before my first attempt - and from my own account, the WD black series of hard drives is what I was reading as being the most often being successful from other people. Paired with the right enclosure, obviously.

Having said that, some people were still having some glitches from time to time - a bit like what you describe - during high-demand (read - recording 2 programs and watching a third, pre-recorded one). The fix I saw for that was forcing the harddisk back into SATA I mode. It seems as if some PVRs have problems with the hard drive being in SATA II mode - not sure why.

In any case, for some people, sticking a jumper on pins 5 & 6 for the WD hard drive fixed the problem. Knowing this from reading, my first attempt with a 1TB drive - I stuck a jumper on those pins from the get-go. Everything went really smooth. I have a basic 160GB 8300HD that was at 50% already at that point (10 hours HD free space). So I recorded all day, 2 HD programs at the same time, and played a 3rd one at the same time. I checked back and forth during the day, and played some content recorded at the end of the day, and not a single glitch.

I also went into the service menu, and no reported errors. So far, so good, after a week and lots of recording.

I would suggest you give a shot to pins 5 & 6 if you have a WD hard drive - let me know how it goes. Otherwise, check on your HD label and see if there is a jumper setting to force the drive into SATA I.

Let me know, I'm curious to hear how it turns out.


Spark

BIGA$$TV,

Is you Caviar Green the WD10EADS ?

A few people seem to have had success with this drive, but most people who have tried it report that it glitches after a while. You see, the Caviar Green is meant for quieter, cooler, less energy-consuming operation - at the expense of performance. It is a 7200RPM drive that can slow its spindle speed to 5400RPM when the demand gets lower. Unfortunately, for realtime applications like video recording (multi-stream in our case), this is not ideal. It can cause stuttering and skipping by lacks in the sound/video streams.

The Caviar Black is on the opposite side of the spectrum - stays at 7200RPM all the time, and has dual-processors on-board to insure the lowest response time possible. It is more power hungry than the WD Caviar Green, but has reliable response time even when the demand goes down.

That said, it's definitely worth a shot to put a jumper on pins 5-6 of your drive and see if it fixes things up. I personally have a handful of jumpers around from old, dismantled computers I have in the basement. Whenever I throw out an old computer, I take a minute and take out the clock battery, jumpers and other things I tend to salvage and keep handy.

You should be able to find jumpers at an electronics store - the kind of place where you would be able to buy resistances, capacitors, circuit boards, etc... Sometimes it can be difficult to find something so simple !

Good luck. Let us know how things go with the jumper, please.

PS. For those who aren't familiar with available solutions to extend the 8300HD, have look at the SARA database (Type these two words in Google, it's the first link that comes up). It basically is the account of some people trying to extend their 8300HD with the list of parts they try (hard drive, enclosure), and the results they got. It's a good place to start if you are thinking of ordering/buying new parts - you will see that the WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS is succesfull most every time.

I have the Caviar Green. Probably the same situation. I presume the pins are numbered? Where does one obtain a jumper shunt? I guess best bet is to go to a computer store as the shipping on a dime item is silly.

PS. For those who aren't familiar with available solutions to extend the 8300HD, have look at the SARA database [...]

Also linked in the first post. Used to be in my sig, but since I don't have a SciAtl box anymore...

xnappo

xnappo,

Thanks for the link. Couldn't post it myself. I'm new here and it seems I am not allowed to post links until I have a few posts under my belt. I didn't read the whole thread from the start, so I didn't realize you were hanging out here.

BTW, thanks for that database. I'm sure it's been useful for lots of people - I know it was for me. Great work, there.

Quick question : I realize you don't have a SciAtl anymore, but from memory, do you know if anybody has had success with 2 TB drives ? Knowing my 1TB WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS is working perfectly, I was thinking of giving a shot to the 2TB WD Caviar Black WD2001FASS. I have read only one account of someone trying it (with success), but with only minimal testing, i.e. about 6 hours of recording dual HD streams. Since this is a 300$ drive, I'm obviously looking to read some experiences about it before ordering. And... I know, 240hours of recording in HD would be a little on the nutty side :)


Spark

Spark.

Also linked in the first post. Used to be in my sig, but since I don't have a SciAtl box anymore...

xnappo

Quick question : I realize you don't have a SciAtl anymore, but from memory, do you know if anybody has had success with 2 TB drives ?

Spark.

As usually with this stuff, the answer is murky. The closest info I have is when people tried 1.5TB drives. There were a couple of people we had success, some who didn't and others who only started having problems when the drive filled up.

Again that is from memory - the database seems to confirm this though regarding 1.5TB.

xnappo

Yes, it's the WD10EADS. Yes, last night I was thinking, hey, I have a couple of old DVD drives from my old computer hanging around, I wonder if they might have a jumper. Then I read your post this morning and checked. Yep, got one.

I'll report what happens, but it might take a few days to get around to it. If this doesn't work, maybe I'll buy a Caviar Black and throw the Green into my computer for a back-up drive.

Thanks for your help.

BIGA$$TV,

Is you Caviar Green the WD10EADS ?

A few people seem to have had success with this drive, but most people who have tried it report that it glitches after a while. You see, the Caviar Green is meant for quieter, cooler, less energy-consuming operation - at the expense of performance. It is a 7200RPM drive that can slow its spindle speed to 5400RPM when the demand gets lower. Unfortunately, for realtime applications like video recording (multi-stream in our case), this is not ideal. It can cause stuttering and skipping by lacks in the sound/video streams.

The Caviar Black is on the opposite side of the spectrum - stays at 7200RPM all the time, and has dual-processors on-board to insure the lowest response time possible. It is more power hungry than the WD Caviar Green, but has reliable response time even when the demand goes down.

That said, it's definitely worth a shot to put a jumper on pins 5-6 of your drive and see if it fixes things up. I personally have a handful of jumpers around from old, dismantled computers I have in the basement. Whenever I throw out an old computer, I take a minute and take out the clock battery, jumpers and other things I tend to salvage and keep handy.

You should be able to find jumpers at an electronics store - the kind of place where you would be able to buy resistances, capacitors, circuit boards, etc... Sometimes it can be difficult to find something so simple !

Good luck. Let us know how things go with the jumper, please.

PS. For those who aren't familiar with available solutions to extend the 8300HD, have look at the SARA database (Type these two words in Google, it's the first link that comes up). It basically is the account of some people trying to extend their 8300HD with the list of parts they try (hard drive, enclosure), and the results they got. It's a good place to start if you are thinking of ordering/buying new parts - you will see that the WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS is succesfull most every time.

If that does not work, verify that your WD1001FALS hard disk has a jumper covering pins 5 & 6. This will downgrade to standard SATA speeds (as opposed to SATAII) - though this should fix stuttering problems, not the recognition itself by the PVR.

At first, I think "how can degrading the i/o speed fix" stuttering issues? I have TONS of that, have had for years... with only a stock DVR. Let us not forget this a symptom that can NOT always be 100% ascribed to an external HDD.

Then again, I also find it curious that I have read over and over that the internal drive is an IDE one!

Riverside_Guy,

Do not confuse stuttering due to bad signal coming in from your coax cable and stuttering appearing after adding an external hard drive on a PVR that was perfectly working prior to that.

Stuttering / black squares appearing on your stock PVR is more than likely due to a weak signal coming in. Getting a signal booster could potentially fix this, but ideally I would suggest calling your cable service provider if they made the installation inside your house. If you have splitters that you installed yourself, cheap splitters / too many of them can greatly weaken the signal - and since everything is transmitted digitally, missing information translates to stutters / black squares.

The internal drive in the PVR is IDE. It is so because at time of design, it was the most popular interface for hard disks. Though it is possible to extend the PVR internally using an IDE->SATA converter, and go above the now-limited hard disk sizes available for IDE. You could, for instance, swap the 160/320 gig internal hd for a 1TB one - and save yourself the hassle of having an external enclosure next to your PVR.


Spark



At first, I think "how can degrading the i/o speed fix" stuttering issues? I have TONS of that, have had for years... with only a stock DVR. Let us not forget this a symptom that can NOT always be 100% ascribed to an external HDD.

Then again, I also find it curious that I have read over and over that the internal drive is an IDE one!

I read through many of the pages and decided to get a drive and case that has been proven to be good in my area.

Here's my set-up:

Chandler, AZ, Cox Cable (Phoenix metro)
SA8240HDC SARA v1.90.5.a113
Antec MX-1 case
WD Caviar Black 1 TB drive

When I first plugged the drive in, the box froze for a few seconds but that was it. I ran the diagnostics and it shows that the device is attached, but shows the space to be 0kb.

I unhooked the eSATA cable and turned off both devices and unplugged both cables. I followed some directions on previous posts on how to hook up the drive and box then reboot....etc...

The box will reboot but won't recognize the drive or format the drive. Any suggestions on how to format the drive so the box will recognize it?

Thanks in advance

Except for a couple of rare reports, the CableCARD "C" version doesn't work without problems
in either SARA or Navigator.
In Xnappo's SARA database, there are only two v.19.5.a113 entries: one fail and one has glitches.
Note that the one with glitches (COX-PNX) is the only one reported with 8300HDC...cuz they don't work....

Except for a couple of rare reports, the CableCARD "C" version doesn't work without problems
in either SARA or Navigator.
In Xnappo's SARA database, there are only two v.19.5.a113 entries: one fail and one has glitches.
Note that the one with glitches (COX-PNX) is the only one reported with 8300HDC...cuz they don't work....

They work fine. I have installed about two dozen of the pre-packaged Western Digital DVR Expanders for friends in Las Vegas and other markets using SARA and Passport software and the 8240 HDC (8300 cablecard version). It's Time Warners version of ODN/MDN that breaks the expansion capability.
Product details (If this doesn't work, then nothing will)
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=334


vegggas

vegggas: Could you please update Xnappo's SARA eSATA database?

I now see that <sschnath> reported success with Apricorn EZ-BUS-DTS-KIT using 1.90.5.113 in 8300HDC.

Do you know difference between 1.90.5.113 and 1.90.5.a113 (CoxPHX glitchy report)???

holl_ands and vegggas

CoxPHX from Xnappo's SARA database here.
Do you know why the 8240HDC is so problematic with an external hard drive? My setup seemed to work fine for the first few days. Every hard boot the drive is recognized and a message says it will work, and it does, except often with glitches.

When I first connected the external drive I had a downloaded application called hgra v3.3.31 That application is now gone and does not reappear after reboots with or without the ext HDD.

SARA v1.90.5.a113
Wintec FileMate 3FME3B2TB-R set-up did not work without glitches, DVR did not like the Cavier Blue HDD
WD5000AAKS

Here is a 3-page PDF Parts List Set-Up with No-Enclosure. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=177673&stc=1&d=1276249248) / Google Doc link for non-AVSF members: (https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B5ROWkwGJipCZjVhNDE4ODQtY2FjMi00OTlmLTgxYTgtYWRmYjQ 0YTk2MTg1)
This is what I have been using since Feb 2010 with no problems. I have swapped the WD1001FALS 32MB Cache for a WD1002FAEX 64MB Cache, both work without issues.
The reason I recommend using no enclosure is to eliminate the need to find a compatible enclosure that will not cause your Ext HDD to glitch during recording. Some enclosures that worked in the past have changed the chipset inside and may no longer work as well as they have in the past.

Updated 11/05/11:
Currently beta testing Passport Echo Vers. 3.1.091 and PowerTV Vers. 6.20.75.106sp (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=20928638#post20928638), This update has fixed the formatting issue with the 8240HDC.
I strongly suggest you set all recordings and series recordings to "Save Until Manually Erased" -- The Blue Diamond ♦ next to the recording indicates this setting.
After a CableCARD update was pushed to the DVR, I lost all recordings that were marked "Save Until Space Is Needed".
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r26515535-

Updated 06/25/11:
Still running Passport Echo Vers. 3.1.086 and PowerTV Vers. 6.20.75.103sp, Without issues. Other than no "New" Ext HDD formatting.
Waiting for Cox to deploy an update for the 8240HDC to once again recognize a "New" Ext HDD for formatting.
Cox Arizona has confirmed several times an update is testing, to be released summer 2011.

Updated 12/23/10:
Both Cox San Diego and Cox Las Vegas have now updated to Passport Echo Vers. 3.1.086 and PowerTV Vers. 6.20.75.103sp, and compromised eSATA External HDD Expansion on the 8240HDC.

Updated 12/06/10:
I just discovered that with the new Passport IPG, in PHX AZ, my 8240HDC will no longer format a "New" External HDD. The one that was previously formatted while running SARA still works. I am hoping and contacting Cox to find out why. The 8300HD still will format a New Ext HDD. Cox Arizona acknowledges the problem and states they are working with Rovi Corp to try and resolve the issue. The same issue was reported by a customer with Blue Ridge Communications using Passport Echo Vers. 3.1.086 and PowerTV Vers. 6.20.75.103sp


Updated 11/10/10: External HDD working as expected.
Just downloaded Passport to my 8240HDC

Version: Passport Echo 3.1.085 - Sep 13 2010 16:20:06
OS Version: PowerTV 6.20.75.103sp - Jun 2 2010 2:20:38 PM


Updated 11/05/10: Still no issues, Still on SARA, should be upgraded to Passport Echo around 11/10/10. I will report back how the transition goes.

Updated 8/27/10: Swapped the WD1001FALS 32MB Cache for a WD1002FAEX 64MB Cache. Still solid performance, no issues to report, Still on SARA, waiting for delayed CoxPHX transition to Passport.

Updated 8/15/10: Still solid performance, no issues to report, Still on SARA, waiting for delayed CoxPHX transition to Passport.

Updated 5/14/10: I just wrapped my bare Ext. HDD in a SIIG CE-PR0112-S1 Hard Disk Protector Sleeve (http://www.siig.com/hard-disk-protector-sleeve-for-3-5-drive.html) for 3.5" Drive, Really reduces the noise and vibrations, but doesn't raise the temperature.

Updated 5/08/10: I returned the Ext. HDD to my bare drive config. (no enclosure) w/ a harddrive cooler (http://www.vantecusa.com/en/product/view_detail/102) attached. With summer here the HDD was at 140°F in the enclosure. Bare HDD w/ the cooler, it dropped to 86°F. Still solid performance.

Updated 5/03/10: No Glitches since install on 2/07/10, Ext. HDD still installed in a Wintec FileMate 3FME3B2TB-R enclosure
I installed my bare HDD into a Wintec FileMate 3FME3B2TB-R enclosure on 4/16/10 to see if the drive glitched with that particular enclosure. And the answer is NO GLITCHES. But, in an enclosure, in the AV cabinet, the HDD gets mighty hot (though cooler than the DVR itself) while recording two HD streams and watching a third time shifted. But the combo does work. I will probably return to the Direct Connection, to avoid any heat build-up issues.

Recommended HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB, Enclosure: None (See PDF at Top of post) or Wintec FileMate 3FME3B2TB-R or Vantec NexStar 3 NST-360SU-BK Current reviews are that Vantec may have changed the chipset (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=19241853#post19241853) in their enclosure and some report the newer Vantec NexStar 3 may not be as successful.

BTW the WD10000LSRTL - Retail Box is the same drive as the WD1001FALS Bare Drive

Updated 4/16/10: No Glitches since install on 2/07/10 w/ the HDD Direct Connection

Thanks to "Jon8RFC" for this suggestion, see his comments: http://baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/comment?db=main&Id==276

Try this, if you have not found a setup that works, it worked for me with the following drive WD1001FALS. I also have the SA8240HDC SARA v1.90.5.a113, in Phoenix. http://baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/comment?db=main&Id==482

Instructions for a bare drive connection (no enclosure), I recommend adding a HDD cooler (http://www.vantecusa.com/en/product/view_detail/102) and a HDD Protector Sleeve (http://www.siig.com/hard-disk-protector-sleeve-for-3-5-drive.html)
1) Connect drive to computer, delete all partitions, format HDD (If it is a brand new drive this should not be necessary)
....Instructions on how to reformat (using windows) an already DVR formatted HDD: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18414497#post18414497

SARA IPG Instructions for connecting an External eSATA HDD
2) Unplug power from the DVR
3) Use an SATA to eSATA cable. (I-L) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00180F236/
4) Connect SATA connector directly to bare drive - eSATA connector to eSATA port on the DVR
5) Connect power to external drive. (power connection supplied by an auxiliary molex power supply: http://www.amazon.com/110v-4pin-molex-Power-Adapter/dp/B000MGG6SC/ with a SATA power converter cable on the end: http://www.amazon.com/ATX-Molex-Power-SATA-Adapter/dp/B001ENSZ8Q )
6) Wait a few minutes for drive to spin-up.
7) Plug in power to DVR.
8) Wait until the time displays on the DVR
9) Turn on DVR and you should get a message to press A to format, wait until the second message that this drive now works with this DVR, Done.

Note the difference in power-up sequence between SARA and Passport.
Passport IPG Instructions for connecting an External eSATA HDD
First, Power up the DVR with TV on, (Ext HDD powered off.)
Second, Power up the connected Ext eSATA HDD with the DVR running, and you should be prompted to press "A" to format.
The Passport IPG now only recognizes the Ext if the DVR is running, not during the bootup process like it did with SARA.

Diagnostic Mode for Passport
To Enter Diagnostic Mode: Simultaneously press and hold the SELECT and EXIT buttons (on the DVR itself) until "DIAGNO" or "DIAG" appears. Release the buttons, then press EXIT and the the box tunes itself to the multi-page Diagnostics channel. After this process the Diagnostic pages can be accessed by directly tuning to that channel using the remote, once you know the channel.
Most likely the Diag Menu is a channel listed in the guide also.

With SA8300HD, may have to reboot a second time before it fully recognizes the drive....

I am wondering what might have gone wrong here. I plugged in a sata drive; the 8300HD recognized it and formatted it. I rebooted the 8300HD; but no extra space showed up.

Is this normal?

Navigator doesn't display stats on the second drive.
The only thing that changes is the PERCENTAGE available.

So if the percentage available does not increase...which it did not....then I gather that the added drive did not work.

I had only rebooted once....there was a suggestion to do it again.

Any other suggestions? Is there a way to reformat the drive again in case something went wrong?

Thanks.

Try this, if you have not found a setup that works, it worked for me with the following drive WD1001FALS. I also have the SA8240HDC SARA v1.90.5.a113, in Phoenix.

1) Connect drive to computer, delete all partitions, format HDD
2) Unplug power from the DVR
3) Use an SATA to eSATA cable. (I-L)
4) Connect SATA connector directly to bare drive - eSATA connector to eSATA port on the DVR
5) Connect power to external drive. (power connection supplied by an auxiliary molex power supply with a SATA power converter cable on the end)
6) Wait a few minutes for drive to spin-up.
7) Plug in power to DVR.
8) Wait until the time displays on the DVR
9) Turn on DVR and you should get a message to press A to format, wait until the second message that this drive now works with this DVR, Done.

Thanks for the reply Bryan. If I am reading this correctly, he attached the drive to the computer and then to the cable box at the same time -or- it sounds like he formatted the drive first and doesn't have a case for the drive, just a typical power supply with SATA connections that will attach to the drive.

In essence, there will be a bare drive (with no case) and a power supply with the drive connected to the power supply via the SATA slot. He then connects the drive to the box via eSATA connection.

I'm not really savvy with computers but if the scenario is what I explained, I think I got it.

Am I close or missing the boat?

Thanks

Formatting your External Hard Drive using the computer is a separate procedure from connecting it to the DVR. This process allows your DVR to recognize the drive as a new drive and will force a new formatting by the DVR.
A) Use your drive in your enclosure, using the usb connection to computer. Google formatting an external hardrive with your operating system. It might prompt you to format immediately when you plug it in. If not you will need to use Computer Management/Disk Management. Just make sure you have the correct disk and you are not formatting one of your computers harddrives. Here is a good article on formatting: http://www.ehow.com/how_6026_format-hard-drive.html

B) Once the hardrive is formatted remove it from the computer and the enclosure.

C) You now need an eSATA to SATA Cable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00180F236/ I bought mine at Fry's Electronics.

D) You also need a Molex Power Adapter: http://www.amazon.com/110v-4pin-molex-Power-Adapter/dp/B000MGG6SC/ and a Molex to SATA power adapter http://www.amazon.com/ATX-Molex-Power-SATA-Adapter/dp/B001ENSZ8Q

Now follow the steps above to attach the bare drive to the dvr. (Note the power is supplied by the Molex Power Adapter not the DVR)
I simply used a thick mouse pad to sit the bare drive on a shelf, directly placed on the wood it vibrated too much.

That's interesting to know. My only question is what is the advantage of doing this rather than just leaving the drive in the case? Or, are you saying that the existing case is not an esata case, just a USB case and your procedure let's one avoid having to buy an esata case?

Formatting your External Hard Drive using the computer is a separate procedure from connecting it to the DVR. This process allows your DVR to recognize the drive as a new drive and will force a new formatting by the DVR.
A) Use your drive in your enclosure, using the usb connection to computer. Google formatting an external hardrive with your operating system. It might prompt you to format immediately when you plug it in. If not you will need to use Computer Management/Disk Management. Just make sure you have the correct disk and you are not formatting one of your computers harddrives. Here is a good article on formatting: http://www.ehow.com/how_6026_format-hard-drive.html

B) Once the hardrive is formatted remove it from the computer and the enclosure.

C) You now need an eSATA to SATA Cable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00180F236/ I bought mine at Fry's Electronics.

D) You also need a Molex Power Adapter: http://www.amazon.com/110v-4pin-molex-Power-Adapter/dp/B000MGG6SC/ and a Molex to SATA power adapter http://www.amazon.com/ATX-Molex-Power-SATA-Adapter/dp/B001ENSZ8Q

Now follow the steps above to attach the bare drive to the dvr. (Note the power is supplied by the Molex Power Adapter not the DVR)
I simply used a thick mouse pad to sit the bare drive on a shelf, directly placed on the wood it vibrated too much.

Okay guys, I just pulled my external drive and tried using the jumper as suggested by Sparkdude. I thought the pins would be numbered, but they weren't so I took a shot at it with the chance of being right 50-50 (5-6 is either one from the right or one from the left.). Well after reconnecting, booting, etc. several times I always got the "bad connection" message and most of my recordings were inaccessible. I was starting to get nervous. I pulled the external and moved the jumper. Booted back up and voila!

I stress tested the recorder and I still got a minor amount of glitching. Perhaps a little less than one per minute, but the glitches were much less noticeable/disruptive. So while it seemed to help quite a bit, it was not an absolute cure. I'll run it for a a couple of weeks like this and report back.

Thanks again, Sparkdude.

I found this quote and it made a lot of sense to me:
Source: http://baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/comment?db=main&Id==276

Jon8RFC writes:

My DVR is 8240HDC supplied by Time Warner Cable of San Antonio, TX.

"This has been a big, frustrating process to get everything working. I got it working and my conclusion is that many external enclosures use some form of processing to convert the SATA connection to USB and/or firewire (or any other additional port), but the eSATA connection on the enclosure is not pass-thru...it goes through the processor first. I used a computer expansion slot SATA to eSATA cable, then connected the SATA side to the drive, and the eSATA cable to the expansion slot cable, then to the DVR. This was my solution: no processing of the drive connections, just a straight connection to the DVR and power connection supplied by an auxiliary molex power supply with a SATA power converter cable on the end."

Updated 2/11/10
I have used this direct connection setup with a Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS harddrive and have not had a single glitch since. This is why I recommend a direct connection to a bare drive and I found the WD Cavier Black to work flawlessly, I cound not get the WD Cavier Blue to work without glitches.

Updated 2/21/10
Still working fine no glitches with this Direct Connection
SA8240HDC SARA v1.90.5.a113
External eSATA WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS, Direct Connection

Thanks, I see the rationale. It makes sense inasmuch as there really shouldn't be glitches from an external and perhaps the case board is the culprit. I'm not too excited about having a bare drive laying by my TV, but I just might give this a shot sometime

I found this quote and it made a lot of sense to me:
Source: http://baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/comment?db=main&Id==276

Jon8RFC writes:

My DVR is 8240HDC supplied by Time Warner Cable of San Antonio, TX.

"This has been a big, frustrating process to get everything working. I got it working and my conclusion is that many external enclosures use some form of processing to convert the SATA connection to USB and/or firewire (or any other additional port), but the eSATA connection on the enclosure is not pass-thru...it goes through the processor first. I used a computer expansion slot SATA to eSATA cable, then connected the SATA side to the drive, and the eSATA cable to the expansion slot cable, then to the DVR. This was my solution: no processing of the drive connections, just a straight connection to the DVR and power connection supplied by an auxiliary molex power supply with a SATA power converter cable on the end."

Updated 2/11/10
I have used this direct connection setup with a Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS harddrive and have not had a single glitch since. This is why I recommend a direct connection to a bare drive and I found the WD Cavier Black to work flawlessly, I cound not get the WD Cavier Blue to work without glitches.

If you feel the need to have an external case, I found this one that does not have any on board electronics: SABRENT EC-ESTK Aluminum 3.5" eSATA External Enclosure. I may even get one myself. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817366009

This case only provides power to the hard drive inside. It brings the drive SATA port straight out to the eSATA connector. This enclosure does not slow down the native drive speed at all, and cannot cause any compatibility problems that are often caused by USB/eSATA enclosures.

Intriguing, but I notice it says capacity to 500gb. I'm scratching my head about why that would be since basically all it does is supply power to the drive and provide a sata to esata link.


If you feel the need to have an external case, I found this one that does not have any on board electronics: SABRENT EC-ESTK Aluminum 3.5" eSATA External Enclosure. I may even get one myself. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817366009

This case only provides power to the hard drive inside. It brings the drive SATA port straight out to the eSATA connector. This enclosure does not slow down the native drive speed at all, and cannot cause any compatibility problems that are often caused by USB/eSATA enclosures.

Intriguing, but I notice it says capacity to 500gb. I'm scratching my head about why that would be since basically all it does is supply power to the drive and provide a sata to esata link.

It's like a lot of things when talking about using HDDs with cable boxes. What box you put a OEM dive in, what capacity, whether they provide multiple i/o channels all work just as designed when used with pretty much any computer (with a relatively late version OS). However, when hooking to some cable DVR, all these seem to come into play.

The responsibility for functioning with equipment that works as designed is 100% the function of the MSOs, and the DVRs they get paid for. Barring any possible DOA issues, pretty much ever drive, box, i/o situation works as designed, they store digital data and can read and write it reliably.

That being said, as users we see some combos seem to work for some folks in some areas. So we say "the XVY drive in a ABC case seems to work on more than 2 of the same DVR." BUT to me, it's more like the other way around... it's the MSO box working WITH a drive. Perhaps a subtle distinction, all I'm saying is don't blame the drive/box because it is NOT their issue.

This has absolutely nothing to do with use with a DVR. The description of the case itself says that it has a 500 gb cap. All I said was this seems weird inasmuch as the case is so simple that it has no processor board and is simply a means of enclosing a drive and providing power to it.

It's like a lot of things when talking about using HDDs with cable boxes. What box you put a OEM dive in, what capacity, whether they provide multiple i/o channels all work just as designed when used with pretty much any computer (with a relatively late version OS). However, when hooking to some cable DVR, all these seem to come into play.

The responsibility for functioning with equipment that works as designed is 100% the function of the MSOs, and the DVRs they get paid for. Barring any possible DOA issues, pretty much ever drive, box, i/o situation works as designed, they store digital data and can read and write it reliably.

That being said, as users we see some combos seem to work for some folks in some areas. So we say "the XVY drive in a ABC case seems to work on more than 2 of the same DVR." BUT to me, it's more like the other way around... it's the MSO box working WITH a drive. Perhaps a subtle distinction, all I'm saying is don't blame the drive/box because it is NOT their issue.

You are correct in it has nothing to do with the dvr. That enclosure should support any size hard drive if it does indeed just pass through the connection to the cable. The fact it has a 500 gig limitation makes no sense other the the fact maybe the case came out when 500 gig hard drives were the biggest drive available at the time and it was a sales
hype thing. Most likely the description is old and has not been updated. Again this all assumes this enclosure does no processing.

I was thinking the same thing. This case came out quite some time ago and perhaps 500gb was THE biggest drive at that time.

You are correct in it has nothing to do with the dvr. That enclosure should support any size hard drive if it does indeed just pass through the connection to the cable. The fact it has a 500 gig limitation makes no sense other the the fact maybe the case came out when 500 gig hard drives were the biggest drive available at the time and it was a sales
hype thing. Most likely the description is old and has not been updated. Again this all assumes this enclosure does no processing.

Thank you all for the advice on getting an external SATA drive to work with the 8300HD. As noted a few posts back; booting twice did the trick. Now space used went from 80% plus to 40% plus. So it recognized the external drive.

I apologize in advance if there is a forum for this, but i have searched for hours and have found nothing

I have a 640GB WD caviar black (WD6401AALS) 32MB cashe external connected with a dock station (blacx) to a Explorer 8240HDC by eSATA. TWC is my provider.

The drive connects fine and records fine. Here are the big problems i encounter:

1) sometimes the drive will erase itself. Sometimes its bc the box turns off, other times its just random.

2) sometimes it will show all of my recordings, but says 0% for used space. if i try to select one of the recordings i just get a black screen. Any attempt to reconnect the external, or power off will erase all data. the box will reformat the drive after powering up whether the external is attached before or after reboot

3) some of the recordings dont always finish. some will record 3 min/60 or 40/60. random

PLEASE help! I had this problem with my 8300HDC also, and havent been able to find a fix. ill do anything at this point to fix this damn pos

I'm guessing, since you have HDC boxes on TWC, you have the TWC Navigator software. I'm sorry to tell you that TWC seems to break the esata function every other release of Navigator, and they're currently on a broken cycle. Your symptoms are similar to mine and everyone else who has tried it. You'll probably find, if you keep at it, that it will also start deleting perfectly good recordings from your internal drive.

Okay, I've now tried everything and nothing works very well to stop glitches at maximum stress. Tried the jumper on the new drive. Tried a direct connection, i.e., no case, just a straight power into the bare drive and Sata-Esata out to the DVR. Glitches remain.

I guess the next step is to ditch the Caviar Green and go with the Black.

Quick question. Can I leave recordings on the Green and start recordings on the Black and then later watch and clear out the Green? Pretty hard to get the external cleared out while you need to record new programming. I assume I can use both expternals but just wanted to make sure.

Okay, I've now tried everything and nothing works very well to stop glitches at maximum stress. Tried the jumper on the new drive. Tried a direct connection, i.e., no case, just a straight power into the bare drive and Sata-Esata out to the DVR. Glitches remain.

I guess the next step is to ditch the Caviar Green and go with the Black.

Quick question. Can I leave recordings on the Green and start recordings on the Black and then later watch and clear out the Green? Pretty hard to get the external cleared out while you need to record new programming. I assume I can use both externals but just wanted to make sure.

Yes, you should be able to swap drives back and forth. At least I was able to with my DVR. SA8240HDC SARA v1.90.5.a113
Try the Caviar Black with the direct connection and let us know how that works. I was not able to get my DVR to work without glitches using the Caviar Blue using a direct connection.

In my "proof of concept" experiment, I used my most unreliable and noisy SATA drive. I am considering replacing the drive with a better unit.

Is there a recommended method to transfer the content from the old drive to a new drive?

In my "proof of concept" experiment, I used my most unreliable and noisy SATA drive. I am considering replacing the drive with a better unit.

Is there a recommended method to transfer the content from the old drive to a new drive?

First, was your "proof of concept" experiment successful over time, without glitches?
Second, a new drive and a fresh formatting by the DVR is your best shot at success, and I believe that drive should be a WD Caviar Black, it has two processors and 32MB cache, my direct connect external setup has worked flawlessly for a couple of weeks now.
http://baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/comment?db=main&Id==482

As noted above you can always swap drives back and forth to access recorded content. I am even able to hot swap the already formatted harddrives.

In my "proof of concept" experiment, I used my most unreliable and noisy SATA drive. I am considering replacing the drive with a better unit.

Is there a recommended method to transfer the content from the old drive to a new drive?
Since the DVR uses a non-standard format, "HDD mirroring" routines
running under Windows (e.g. Norton Ghost) may or may not work.

Self-booting HDD Disk Utilities are usually downloadable from the
HDD manufacturer's website. You are looking for a utility that does
a track-by-track copy (aka "clone"). I would try this FIRST.....

Old General Purpose Disk Utilities running under DOS 5.0 would need
to have the manufacturer's disk driver software installed in order to
(hopefully) "see" the large disk sizes....but other problems may arise...

You might also research Disk Utilities that run under LINUX.

I don't recall anyone actually trying this....
And then there be the issue of whether you can clone one HDD
onto a much larger HDD and not be limited to the original disk size....

Apricot engineer said that in their lab they swapped DVR Expanders
all the time....this was a few years ago, under PASSPORT...
And Bryan_CoxPHX says he swaps HDD's under SARA....
Since HDD is controlled by the common, underlying PowerTV RTOS,
I would expect this would not be a problem using MDN NAVIGATOR,
which is, after all, just a display driver.

Note: I remain skeptical whether ODN NAVIGATOR will ever work right
with SATA in the 8300HDC....apparently it's too much of a time hog....
resulting in either glitches....or hangups....in all but a couple boxes....

I don't recall anyone actually trying this....
And then there be the issue of whether you can clone one HDD
onto a much larger HDD and not be limited to the original disk size....


Actually many people have done it successfully. And how to do it is ... somewhere in this thread. I REALLY meant to link to it from the database page, but apparently never got around to it.

You do need to use special software, if I remember correctly the software in question is available for a free 30 day trial.

xnappo

[Found it!] http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12575357&postcount=1

and for grins:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14314149&highlight=bitwise#post14314149

First of all, thank you to all of those who posted these very helpful replies. Once again, the AVS Forum community comes through.

To answer a previous question, I purchased a cheapo SATA box from Monoprice about 8 months ago. I determined that the drive would be compatible based on some earlier posts on this forum. I had to do that because my Seagate 750 gb sata drive turned out to be incompatible. Interestingly, the Seagate works fine with XP but not Windows 7. My PC dual boots, so there is a workaround when I need it.

Yes, the cheapo enclosure does in fact work. But as noted earlier, I put an old, noisy and likely to fail (soon) drive into the enclosure. It was recognized by the 8300HD, which did format the device, and after a few boots the available space has increased.

I do not know if the drive works "reliably" yet, as I only got it running two days ago. I did record a bunch of "junk" to test it, and will play with it this weekend. But I am assuming that all is well, so my next step would be to put in a better quality drive.

I get a kick out of Comcast. I called them a while ago, while still fiddling with the Seagate drive. They adamantly insisted that an external drive would not work. I would understand if they said "unsupported"....but to say it will not work when it clearly does is an unusual stance to take, in my opinion.

I will keep testing in the meantime.

After reviewing this thread and the associated database, I purchased a Vantex NexStar 3 and a WD Caviar Green 1TB (TSD-1000EADS) HD. I installed the HD in the enclosure, un-plugged the 8300HD, connected and powerered up the external drive, plugged the 8300HD back in and voila! The 8300HD recognized the external HD and asked to press A to format. After the format was complete I checked the amount of recording space that was used and it was still at 65%, so I re-booted the 8300HD again. This time I got a message saying the external drive was connected and working. After the re-boot was complete a check of the used space revealed that I am now using only 8% of the available space. Total cost: $124.98 and less than 15 minutes of assembly and installation. I had not seen much info from others on the TWC New England system, so thought I'd post this in case anyone is interested. I will also try to add this info to the database.

Have you stress tested your setup? I have the exact same setup and I get glitches when I record two HD programs while watching a recorded HD program. Works great when recording one program at a time.

After reviewing this thread and the associated database, I purchased a Vantex NexStar 3 and a WD Caviar Green 1TB (TSD-1000EADS) HD. I installed the HD in the enclosure, un-plugged the 8300HD, connected and powerered up the external drive, plugged the 8300HD back in and voila! The 8300HD recognized the external HD and asked to press A to format. After the format was complete I checked the amount of recording space that was used and it was still at 65%, so I re-booted the 8300HD again. This time I got a message saying the external drive was connected and working. After the re-boot was complete a check of the used space revealed that I am now using only 8% of the available space. Total cost: $124.98 and less than 15 minutes of assembly and installation. I had not seen much info from others on the TWC New England system, so thought I'd post this in case anyone is interested. I will also try to add this info to the database.

I bought a WD Caviar Black 1TB drive and a ThermalTake Max 4 enclosure (I liked the cooling in this enclosure since it will be running 24/7) for my 8300 (SARA). Plugged it in, connected it to the (unplugged) DVR and rebooted. The first reboot got me a message that the external recording device wasn't working properly. I rebooted and got the message allowing me to format the drive, but the reported percentage of space used remained unchanged.

Rebooted once again and got the message telling me that the HD was working with the DVR and the percentage dropped from 38% to 4% (!).

So far, so good. No recordings yet to confirm everything is working without glitches, but the first hurdles are cleared.

Thanks a million to this forum for all the invaluable advice and information. You guys rock!

By the way, the cheapo enclosure that I purchased from Monoprice appeared to have the same innards as the Nexstar, which is why I ordered that particular model.

I can record two programs simultaneously; it just makes a huge racket. But that is most likely a function of the feeble drive I am using.

I tried some playbacks last night, and everything was fine. At times the first few seconds of the playback stuttered, but then the system "got in the groove" and no further issues arose. From my perspective, that was fine.

Well, after a couple of days of testing (multiple recordings, rewinding live TV, etc.) I have disconnected the entire setup. Glitches occur while simply watching regular TV. Recordings are just horrible and are unacceptable.
I did not realize that the WD Green HD is a 5400 RPM HD, but it appears this could be the problem. Has anyone had good success with the Vantec enclosure? If so, what HD are you using? I'm going to back to the database and take another look to see if there might be answers there. Any suggestions would be helpful. At least I know my TWC 8300 HD recognizes the external drive! I can use the WD Green Drive in another computer!
Again, any suggestions would be helpful!

I was afraid you were going to have the same experience I did. I just ordered a Caviar Black which seems to to have a good track record according to the data base. I won't have the Black for several days. I'll post the results. (BTW, I changed my results on the data base to fail.) I too will throw the Green into my computer once I watch everything that is on it. It's going to be a awkward few weeks trying to record on one external and watch on the other.

Pretty sure that the Green is also 7200 rpm. I am optimistic that there is some difference between the Black and Green such that one works well and the other doesn't.

Well, after a couple of days of testing (multiple recordings, rewinding live TV, etc.) I have disconnected the entire setup. Glitches occur while simply watching regular TV. Recordings are just horrible and are unacceptable.
I did not realize that the WD Green HD is a 5400 RPM HD, but it appears this could be the problem. Has anyone had good success with the Vantec enclosure? If so, what HD are you using? I'm going to back to the database and take another look to see if there might be answers there. Any suggestions would be helpful. At least I know my TWC 8300 HD recognizes the external drive! I can use the WD Green Drive in another computer!
Again, any suggestions would be helpful!

I did not realize that the WD Green HD is a 5400 RPM HD...Pretty sure that the Green is also 7200 rpm.There are actually multiple "Green" versions.

From Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=caviar+green+1tb&x=0&y=0): WD10000CSRTL is 7200RPM; WD10EARS is 5400.

You're right; it seems that when I bought it, it was somewhat unclear what the speed was. Had I known, I would have bought the Black from the get go. Hope the speed diff is the reason one works and one doesn't.

There are actually multiple "Green" versions.

From Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=caviar+green+1tb&x=0&y=0): WD10000CSRTL is 7200RPM; WD10EARS is 5400.

I looked at the WD website and it has no info no RPM of these drives. Mine is the TSD-1000EADS which looks like it is the 5400 RPM version. It came from Tiger Direct. Looks like I'll have to give the "Black" version a go as well - might wait a couple of days to see how it goes with BIGA$$TV.
Question - is it worth trying the jumper trick on this HD?

The jumper didn't really help on mine. I hope to get my Black by the first of next week and test it. You might wait until then.

I looked at the WD website and it has no info no RPM of these drives. Mine is the TSD-1000EADS which looks like it is the 5400 RPM version. It came from Tiger Direct. Looks like I'll have to give the "Black" version a go as well - might wait a couple of days to see how it goes with BIGA$$TV.
Question - is it worth trying the jumper trick on this HD?

FYI,
This might apply to you if you purchase a WD1001FALS Cavier Black, I read this on the label and was very confused. Do not use a jumper, 3Gbps is the default.

http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5330&p_created=1264186662&p_sid=_8enDhVj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_srch=1&p_lva=2533&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ 9MTcsMTcmcF9wcm9kcz0wJnBfY2F0cz0wJnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfc2VhcmN oX3R5cGU9YW5zd2Vycy5zZWFyY2hfZm5sJnBfcGFnZT0yJnBfc2VhcmNoX3R leHQ9V0QxMDAxRkFMUw!!&p_li=&p_topview=1

Thanks BIGA$$TV - will wait to see how it goes for you. Busy between now and then anyway!

Bryan - thanks for the heads up on the jumper!

Got my Caviar Black today. Format and start-up worked flawlessly. I put it to the stress test- record two HD programs while watching a recorded HD program. I did a 15 minute test. There were zero video glitches and one tiny audio glitch during this time. Looks like the Black works perfectly. I'll put it into the data base after a few more days of recording just to make sure it continues to work well.

Has anyone tried to swap hard drives without cutting the power and rebooting the 8300, i.e. just switching the Esata connection from one external to the other? I ask because I have to finish watching the programs on my old Caviar Green and it is a real pain going through the power off/reboot process.

Has anyone tried to swap hard drives without cutting the power and rebooting the 8300, i.e. just switching the Esata connection from one external to the other? I ask because I have to finish watching the programs on my old Caviar Green and it is a real pain going through the power off/reboot process.

Yes, I am able to swap hard drives by turning of the power on the DVR wait a few seconds, power down external hard drive, switch hard drives and power second external hard drive back up first then DVR. You should get a message that this hard drive works with this DVR and press Exit.
***Note that all programs from all three drives will be listed but only the ones from the active drives will be playable. If you delete a program that is on a disconnected drive, once you reconnect it will not be accessible.

Thanks, Bryan. I'll try this tomorrow.

Yes, I am able to swap hard drives by turning of the power on the DVR wait a few seconds, power down external hard drive, switch hard drives and power second external hard drive back up first then DVR. You should get a message that this hard drive works with this DVR and press Exit.
***Note that all programs from all three drives will be listed but only the ones from the active drives will be playable. If you delete a program that is on a disconnected drive, once you reconnect it will not be accessible.

Thanks everyone for the info. I failed miserably in my attempt to create more storage space. For the first attempt, I used the set-up I listed a few weeks back....

Chandler, AZ, Cox Cable (Phoenix metro)
SA8240HDC SARA v1.90.5.a113
Antec MX-1 case
WD Caviar Black 1 TB drive

that didn't work...then I went to the direct connection with the auxiliary molex power supply with a SATA power converter...when I connected that to the DVR, my Caviar drive started to smoke and got real hot.

needless to say I ruined the drive - I don't know if one of the converter cables wasn't properly grounded or what. I gave up and called Cox to see if they had any plans of upgrading the user interface and machines any time in the near future - the cust svc rep said "no" but said I could get one of the recommended DVR drives for $150 or so.

I've had enough with Cox and the horrible interface and lack of storage so I just ordered Direct TV.

I feel defeated.....

Just a follow-up to confirm that the Black Caviar is working flawlessly in my Vantec case. I think the Green Caviar is flawed. Perhaps those that said it worked hadn't tested it under stress conditions.

Hello All,

I bought a HDD (WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS) with a Vantec NexStar3 3.5" (NST-360SU-BL), so I did my homework before buying (a lot a people reported this combo is working flawlessly) for my 8300HD w/SARA. I plugged in the whole thing, it was recognized and formatted. After a second reboot, my disk usage went from 70% to 7% so everything was fine.

The problem started the next day, the disk usage was back to 70%. I did a hard reboot and it was back down to 7%. It worked the rest of the day but the next day it was back to 70%. It looks like the SPIN DOWN feature running at 1h00 am is spinning down my external hdd but it's not "waking" up the next morning when we turn on the PVR. Only a hard reboot brings it back (which is annoying to do every day). Any idea what's going on?

I tried to search the forum but couldn't find anyone with this exact problem.

Any thoughts / ideas on a solution for the 8240 HDC - the more I read the more I seem to run into something that someone says killed their box.

I need something - recording in HD kills the hard drive space!

Thanks all -

Any thoughts / ideas on a solution for the 8240 HDC - the more I read the more I seem to run into something that someone says killed their box.

I need something - recording in HD kills the hard drive space!

Thanks all -

Study the following well: http://baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl?htx=/xnappo/main
It will all depend on the DVR software, If running SARA the following should work well. The only difference between a 8300HDC and a 8240HDC is that the 8240HDC is a digital only tuner. My 8240HDC actually has 8300HDC firmware.

I recommend directly connecting the external HDD to the DVR without an enclosure or using an enclosure with only an eSATA or SATA connection and no USB or firewire connection. However many report success using the Vantec Nexstar 3 (NST-360SU-BK).

Here is my recommendation: http://baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/comment?db=main&Id==482

Use a WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS HDD and save yourself a lot of problems.

1) Connect drive to computer, delete all partitions, format HDD. (If using a brand new HDD this should not be necessary but if your having problems try it.)
2) Unplug power from the DVR.
3) Use an SATA to eSATA cable. (I-L) (I used the Link Depot Rounded SATA to eSATA Cable (Blue, 3 Feet))
4) Connect SATA connector directly to the bare drive - eSATA connector to eSATA port on the DVR
5) Connect power to external drive. (power connection supplied by an auxiliary molex power supply with a SATA power converter cable on the end)
6) Wait a few minutes for drive to spin-up.
7) Plug in power to DVR.
8) Wait until the time displays on the DVR.
9) Turn on DVR and you should get a message to press A to format, wait until the second message that says this drive now works with this DVR, Done. (Some users report having to do a hard reboot more than once)

Cox Cable Box - SA8240HDC, BTW my box has a CableCard installed in the rear of the box.
Info from page 3 of the diagnostic menu.
Software Versions
PTV OS: OS,Home Server CableCARD Edition 1.2
Flash: DVR1.5.3_8300HDC_LR_F.p.3901
App(s): SARA v1.90.5.a113

Any thoughts / ideas on a solution for the 8240 HDC - the more I read the more I seem to run into something that someone says killed their box.

I need something - recording in HD kills the hard drive space!

Thanks all -

I think you have Navigator in NY right? If so, external drives will NOT work with an HDC box...

xnappo

I think you have Navigator in NY right? If so, external drives will NOT work with an HDC box...

xnappo

I think upstate still has a LOT of areas running SARA. The interesting thing about upstate is it seems like they will be getting 8640s, a box I am very interesting in hearing field reports on... not to mention it SEEMS it may come standard with a 320G drive!

Study the following well: http://baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl?htx=/xnappo/main
It will all depend on the DVR software, If running SARA the following should work well. The only difference between a 8300HDC and a 8240HDC is that the 8240HDC is a digital only tuner. My 8240HDC actually has 8300HDC firmware.

I recommend directly connecting the external HDD to the DVR without an enclosure or using an enclosure with only an eSATA or SATA connection and no USB or firewire connection. However many report success using the Vantec Nexstar 3 (NST-360SU-BK).

Here is my recommendation: http://baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/comment?db=main&Id==482

Use a WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS HDD and save yourself a lot of problems.

1) Connect drive to computer, delete all partitions, format HDD. (If using a brand new HDD this should not be necessary but if your having problems try it.)
2) Unplug power from the DVR.
3) Use an SATA to eSATA cable. (I-L) (I used the Link Depot Rounded SATA to eSATA Cable (Blue, 3 Feet))
4) Connect SATA connector directly to the bare drive - eSATA connector to eSATA port on the DVR
5) Connect power to external drive. (power connection supplied by an auxiliary molex power supply with a SATA power converter cable on the end)
6) Wait a few minutes for drive to spin-up.
7) Plug in power to DVR.
8) Wait until the time displays on the DVR.
9) Turn on DVR and you should get a message to press A to format, wait until the second message that says this drive now works with this DVR, Done. (Some users report having to do a hard reboot more than once)

Cox Cable Box - SA8240HDC, BTW my box has a CableCard installed in the rear of the box.
Info from page 3 of the diagnostic menu.
Software Versions
PTV OS: OS,Home Server CableCARD Edition 1.2
Flash: DVR1.5.3_8300HDC_LR_F.p.3901
App(s): SARA v1.90.5.a113

I'm running SARA according to my guide:

SARA Browse By Date [curved backarrow]

We are in the Binghamton region (Cohocton, NY actually).

So my best bet is to attach a Caviar Black, no external enclosure, SATA to eSATA cable.

Not sure about this part: 5) Connect power to external drive. (power connection supplied by an auxiliary molex power supply with a SATA power converter cable on the end). Where does this plug in to give me power to the drive? A link to the cable maybe?

Do you plug the power adapter into the plug on the DVR or in the wall? With me shutting down the DVR everynight will this play havoc on the attached drive?

I'm thinking about going with the Vantec case - seems easier. Do I have to format the drive if it's a fresh drive out of the box?

Thanks alot all -

I'm running SARA according to my guide:
SARA Browse By Date [curved backarrow]
We are in the Binghamton region (Cohocton, NY actually).

So my best bet is to attach a Caviar Black, no external enclosure, SATA to eSATA cable.
Definitely use the WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS HDD. If you are uncomfortable hooking up the bare drive then try using an enclosure, but if that produces glitches during recordings try the bare drive setup. I used this setup to eliminate the possibility of the on board electronics of the enclosure interfering with the processing of the signal. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18112566#post18112566

Not sure about this part: 5) Connect power to external drive. (power connection supplied by an auxiliary molex power supply with a SATA power converter cable on the end). Where does this plug in to give me power to the drive? A link to the cable maybe?
If you want to try the bare drive setup, See my prior postings: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18111933#post18111933 & http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18111933#post18111933

Do you plug the power adapter into the plug on the DVR or in the wall? With me shutting down the DVR everynight will this play havoc on the attached drive?
Plug the power adapter into an unswitched plug, not the back of the DVR. Shutting down the DVR should not affect the external drive. But it is recommended you leave both the DVR and the external HHD plugged (powered up) in all the time. If you do want to unplug them, just make sure you power up the external HHD first before you power up and reboot the DVR. You should receive a message that "This drive drive works with this DVR" and promt you to press Exit.

I'm thinking about going with the Vantec case - seems easier. Do I have to format the drive if it's a fresh drive out of the box?
Try the Vantec eSATA enclosure and let us know how it works, If it is a new drive you do not need to format it first.

I never unplug the DVR put I do turn off the power and the end of the night. Will this cause an issue?

Normally it shouldn't. I always turn off my DVR at night and at other times as well. No problem. Now I have read about some DVRs perhaps with certain software that do something in the middle of the night that causes problems. But I think there are some work-arounds.

I never unplug the DVR put I do turn off the power and the end of the night. Will this cause an issue?

Anyone know if the 8300 HD supports a JBOD configured enclosure like the Vantec NST-400MX-SR?

http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/view_detail/277

Check the data base, but I kind of doubt it. If you already have one, try it. But, at that cost, I wouldn't buy it on a flyer it might work. Very doubtful that the 8300 would support two drives at the same time- it doesn't appear to even support one drive over 1 tb, but who knows.

Any one know if the 8300 HD supports a JBOD configured enclosure like the Vantec NST-400MX-SR?

http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/view_detail/277

I would add that there is no way for the 8300 to switch between the drives in the case like a PC can. Again, seems like a bad bet.

Any one know if the 8300 HD supports a JBOD configured enclosure like the Vantec NST-400MX-SR?

http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/view_detail/277

I'm wondering if the 8300 HD can communicate with 2 drives housed in an enclosure that has configured the drives as 1 logical drive using JBOD concatenation or RAID 0.

I'm wondering if the 8300 HD can communicate with 2 drives housed in an enclosure that has configured the drives as 1 logical drive using JBOD concatenation or RAID 0.

Maybe, but it seems that there is an arbitrary 1.5 TB limit in the software (SARA) running on the 8300 HD. Thus unless you concatene or put into RAID two 750 GB drives or smaller, it would be useless. My provider (Videotron) just pushed a software update... I'll try again with my 2 TB drive just to see if it works now but I'd be surprised. The Xnappo database doesn't contain any successful attempt for drives bigger than 1 TB I think.

Having multiple drives in an enclosure that can "present itself" as a single volume means using USB or FireWire as the interface in most cases. Yes there's a way to send multiple SATA connections in a single wire (port multiplying), but I think they would present themselves as multiple volumes. Unless such a box also had some RAID hardware. Not to mention that port multiplication is relatively new, pretty much all (vast majority) the SATA controllers out there now do not support it.

All of such devices work just fine with multiple computers, running vastly different OSes. Yet we see via xnappos wonderful DB) that certain drives seem to have more success than others. So it is made clear the issue is with the host (the DVR). If said DVRs work with some but not other HDDs, then forget it working with multi-drive scenarios!

UNLESS you have a Moxi. They spec up to 6T of additional storage... clearly, their engineers actually know how to access storage as any common desktop OS does.

I was making a new attempt with my 2TB FantomDrive which never worked before with the 8300HD, now that a software update has been pushed by my provider.

Now even if the drive is formatted with various partitions, or completely erased, when I plug it into the 8300HD, I get the "This drive can work with this PVR" message. However it doesn't seem recognized by the system as the used space does not change.

Is there a way to actually force the drive to be reformatted by the PVR? If not... well I guess that software update won't help me.

Maybe the programmer made a typo, meant to say "...CAN'T work...". :) I don't remember seeing a message like that with the two drives I have added. I either got the "do you want to format..." or "the connection is bad" or something similar.


I was making a new attempt with my 2TB FantomDrive which never worked before with the 8300HD, now that a software update has been pushed by my provider.

Now even if the drive is formatted with various partitions, or completely erased, when I plug it into the 8300HD, I get the "This drive can work with this PVR" message. However it doesn't seem recognized by the system as the used space does not change.

Is there a way to actually force the drive to be reformatted by the PVR? If not... well I guess that software update won't help me.

I talked to a tech rep on march 16 2010 and he told me we get Navigator in two weeks time,I hope that doesn't screw up my extremal HD I use a WD 1TB green 7200 drive . but I think Ill get the black as I have been turning the boxes in every 3 months as they crash all my saved movies . I turned in a 8240 and they had a 8300hdc left so I grabbed it. I love this forum and just registered so I can contribute all my mistakes.......cheers

I turned in a 8240 and they had a 8300hdc left so I grabbed it. I love this forum and just registered so I can contribute all my mistakes.......cheers Extremely unlikely (99+% chance of failure) that Navigator, 8300HDC and external drive will work. I think I have only heard of one that has gotten an Navigatored HDC to work with an external drive. /Dan

Originally Posted by vegggas View Post
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18338316#post18338316

I just talked to tech support in Phoenix and it is TRUE, PASSPORT Very Soon.
Call Cox and express your concern over external eSATA HDDs
I sure hope our external eSATA HDDs will still work, the tech was not very informed and didn't even know what SARA was. He also said it would just be rolled out without notice. Possibly a note on the cable bill, just checked mine no note.

Originally Posted by vegggas View Post
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18338316#post18338316

I just talked to tech support in Phoenix and it is TRUE, PASSPORT Very Soon.
Call Cox and express your concern over external eSATA HDDs
I sure hope our external eSATA HDDs will still work, the tech was not very informed and didn't even know what SARA was. He also said it would just be rolled out without notice. Possibly a note on the cable bill, just checked mine no note.

Do Not Worry! Existing programs are safe! No Need to call Cox!
If you have an approved DVR Expansion drive, such as the WD DVR expander kit, things will go smoothly (as should home brew kits, but nothing can be tested). You will need to reschedule the series recordings as Passport series recordings, but there is nothing destructive about the change to existing recordings.

vegggas

I swapped the 8240 for a 8300( july 2007 manf date) and I waited a few days to record enough programs and it seems that the dvr doesn't see the extrenal drive at all. it's up to 76% full already ans should be about 10 to 15 % at the most......I have a 7200 rpm WD 1TB green drive.I did see a post somewhere here about this and him rebooting to make it work. see if I can find that post and try that otherwise I trade it for another 8240........

I swapped the 8240 for a 8300( july 2007 manf date) and I waited a few days to record enough programs and it seems that the dvr doesn't see the extrenal drive at all. it's up to 76% full already ans should be about 10 to 15 % at the most......I have a 7200 rpm WD 1TB green drive.I did see a post somewhere here about this and him rebooting to make it work. see if I can find that post and try that otherwise I trade it for another 8240........

Who is your provider? and Do you know if you have SARA software on the DVR? If you do it should see the ext HDD at reboot and ask you to format.
The DVR does not work well with the Caviar Green though. When it records often times you will get many glitches per hour. I found the WD Cavier Black to work best.

Why are people still choosing a homebrew kit these days? The Western Digital MY DVR Kit is an approved complete Expansion drive kit for Tivo, Dish and SA DVR's and if it doesn't work, you can return it. Piecing together your own parts doesn't seem to save much, if any, cash, especially if you are gambling with trying to get a homebrew system working and not sure what is wrong. I just went through having a customer trying to build a setup and he originally balked at the kit price, but still wound up spending more on parts in the DB that kept glitching than if he just got the kit to begin with. He is now going through return process for multiple items and vendors (trying to get a lowball price) and finally got the kit out of frustration through retail at Best Buy (for a bit more!) just to record a marathon.
I typically get the WD DVR 500Gb kit for about $99 and the 1Tb DVR kit for about $120. Sometimes deals come around, but those are average prices for a verified complete warrantied solution. I see the Vantec case, similar drives and a cable go for roughly the same or more than those costs, but with a lot more frustration "built in".

comments?

vegggas

Had you used the external drive with the 8240? If so, you might have to reformat it on a PC to clear it out and then connect it to the 8300 for its own format. When you first fired up the 8300 with the external connected, did you get any message at all? You should have gotten something.

And, as Bryan said, I can attest to the Caviar Green being problematic with regard to glitches. I had to give up and get a Caviar Black.

I swapped the 8240 for a 8300( july 2007 manf date) and I waited a few days to record enough programs and it seems that the dvr doesn't see the extrenal drive at all. it's up to 76% full already ans should be about 10 to 15 % at the most......I have a 7200 rpm WD 1TB green drive.I did see a post somewhere here about this and him rebooting to make it work. see if I can find that post and try that otherwise I trade it for another 8240........

I have time warner ( Rochester NY area ) they use Sara software. I didnt get a format or ok dvr message.It worked on the 8240 and all previous boxes except for the crashes that wiped out the programs that seemed to happen every couple of weeks.I found the tips for rebooting and they are not quite precise, you cant reboot by turning off the box you have to pull the power plug out .so I turn off the box then pulled the plug, then turn off the pwr to the HD then turn on the pwr to the HD then plugged in the box after a while it finishes rebooting ( not fast mind you) turned it on and check prog usage and its up to 85% with 14 programs recorded...so its not seeing the ext HD still ..I also tried pulling the esata plug from the box and plugging back in but no joy there.....bummer looks like I need to try a 8240 ...seems like most here think the Navigator software wont work with ext HD and that software goes online in 2 weeks.....if the Navigator supports ext HD then I'll get the black drive to replace the 7200rpm green as this might be an issue....

Well, you should get a message of some sort when you start the DVR after it reboots. If the external is okay, you will get a message that an external drive is connected and available. No need to do trial recordings.

You didn't respond to may suggestion of formatting the external drive on a PC. It could very well not be working because it has recorded stuff on it from your previous DVR as well as it being encoded with the old DVR's code. You should try reformatting it on your PC.

May be all moot if your upcoming software is going to kill external support.

I have time warner ( Rochester NY area ) they use Sara software. I didnt get a format or ok dvr message.It worked on the 8240 and all previous boxes except for the crashes that wiped out the programs that seemed to happen every couple of weeks.I found the tips for rebooting and they are not quite precise, you cant reboot by turning off the box you have to pull the power plug out .so I turn off the box then pulled the plug, then turn off the pwr to the HD then turn on the pwr to the HD then plugged in the box after a while it finishes rebooting ( not fast mind you) turned it on and check prog usage and its up to 85% with 14 programs recorded...so its not seeing the ext HD still ..I also tried pulling the esata plug from the box and plugging back in but no joy there.....bummer looks like I need to try a 8240 ...seems like most here think the Navigator software wont work with ext HD and that software goes online in 2 weeks.....if the Navigator supports ext HD then I'll get the black drive to replace the 7200rpm green as this might be an issue....

Because that takes all the fun out of it! :) Seriously, I'm kind of glad I went the "home made" route as I learned a lot of little things from it.

Why are people still choosing a homebrew kit these days? The Western Digital MY DVR Kit is an approved complete Expansion drive kit for Tivo, Dish and SA DVR's and if it doesn't work, you can return it. Piecing together your own parts doesn't seem to save much, if any, cash, especially if you are gambling with trying to get a homebrew system working and not sure what is wrong. I just went through having a customer trying to build a setup and he originally balked at the kit price, but still wound up spending more on parts in the DB that kept glitching than if he just got the kit to begin with. He is now going through return process for multiple items and vendors (trying to get a lowball price) and finally got the kit out of frustration through retail at Best Buy (for a bit more!) just to record a marathon.
I typically get the WD DVR 500Gb kit for about $99 and the 1Tb DVR kit for about $120. Sometimes deals come around, but those are average prices for a verified complete warrantied solution. I see the Vantec case, similar drives and a cable go for roughly the same or more than those costs, but with a lot more frustration "built in".

comments?

vegggas

Definitely use the WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS HDD. If you are uncomfortable hooking up the bare drive then try using an enclosure, but if that produces glitches during recordings try the bare drive setup. I used this setup to eliminate the possibility of the on board electronics of the enclosure interfering with the processing of the signal. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18112566#post18112566


If you want to try the bare drive setup, See my prior postings: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18111933#post18111933 & http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18111933#post18111933


Plug the power adapter into an unswitched plug, not the back of the DVR. Shutting down the DVR should not affect the external drive. But it is recommended you leave both the DVR and the external HHD plugged (powered up) in all the time. If you do want to unplug them, just make sure you power up the external HHD first before you power up and reboot the DVR. You should receive a message that "This drive drive works with this DVR" and promt you to press Exit.


Try the Vantec eSATA enclosure and let us know how it works, If it is a new drive you do not need to format it first.

First and foremost - Thank you!

I went with the WD Black Caviar 1TB WD1001FALS and the Vantec NexStar3 3.5" (NST-360SU-BL) - both from Newegg for $146 ($99 for the drive $47 including shipping).

Drive fit like a glove in the enclosure and went together well - the reviews were way off in terms of too tight, cable don't fit, etc. Used the eSata cable that came in the box and followed these directions from Bryan_CoxPHX (thanks!):

1) Connect drive to computer, delete all partitions, format HDD. (If using a brand new HDD this should not be necessary but if your having problems try it.)
2) Unplug power from the DVR.
3) Use an SATA to eSATA cable. (I-L) (I used the Link Depot Rounded SATA to eSATA Cable (Blue, 3 Feet))
4) Connect SATA connector directly to the bare drive - eSATA connector to eSATA port on the DVR
5) Connect power to external drive. (power connection supplied by an auxiliary molex power supply with a SATA power converter cable on the end)
6) Wait a few minutes for drive to spin-up.
7) Plug in power to DVR.
8) Wait until the time displays on the DVR.
9) Turn on DVR and you should get a message to press A to format, wait until the second message that says this drive now works with this DVR, Done. (Some users report having to do a hard reboot more than once)

Thanks to BigA$$TV for the PM information back and forth.

Everything worked the first time and I went from 62% to 9% :eek::D

I recorded two HD shows at the same time while watching a show show already previously recorded and all three were glitch free!

Swwwwweeeeetttttt!

One last question - how do I disconnect it and not screw anything up? I need to move some cables around and re-do some power plug-ins.

Thanks again all....

Glad to see everything went well. The only thing you have to remember is when disconnecting the setup, as the first step, turn off the power to the DVR then pull the plug to the DVR. When setting it back up, the LAST STEP is to connect the plug to the DVR and turn it on. In other words, reverse the order of the setting it up.

Since you've already set up the external when you disconnect and reconnect, after the DVR boots back up, you'll get a message saying that an external is connected and working. I've gone through this a dozen times or so as I try to bleed off my recordings from my first external, a Caviar Green. I have my Green set up with a bare drive connection to minimize case-changing.


One last question - how do I disconnect it and not screw anything up? I need to move some cables around and re-do some power plug-ins.

Thanks again all....

Because it was much more fun???
Seriously though, the WD Caviar Black is a far superior and robust HDD than the one they use in the WD DVR Expander (WD AV-GP series), also as in my case having no enclosure means no processing of the signal between the DVR and the HDD. And to be totally honest when I was shopping a DVR expander everyone including Western Digital were out of stock of the WD DVR Expander, So I'm glad things worked out as they did. I learned a lot and now have all you new online friends :)

Apricorn specifically states: "DVR Expander does not work with Scientific Atlanta 8300-HDC models, only HD models are supported" - »http://www.apricorn.com/product_detail.php?type=family&id=55 sorry, not supported:(

WD My DVR Expander has several reports by customers that it too does not work with 8240HDCs or 8300HDCs. WD's site does not list HDC boxes as compatible: »http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=334 sorry, not explicitly supported:(

Also, there are those that buy their computers off the shelf and those that build their own, I personally build my own, so logically I would probably piece together my own DVR extender too. Besides there is just this sense of satisfaction when your done and it worked.


Why are people still choosing a homebrew kit these days? The Western Digital MY DVR Kit is an approved complete Expansion drive kit for Tivo, Dish and SA DVR's and if it doesn't work, you can return it. Piecing together your own parts doesn't seem to save much, if any, cash, especially if you are gambling with trying to get a homebrew system working and not sure what is wrong. I just went through having a customer trying to build a setup and he originally balked at the kit price, but still wound up spending more on parts in the DB that kept glitching than if he just got the kit to begin with. He is now going through return process for multiple items and vendors (trying to get a lowball price) and finally got the kit out of frustration through retail at Best Buy (for a bit more!) just to record a marathon.
I typically get the WD DVR 500Gb kit for about $99 and the 1Tb DVR kit for about $120. Sometimes deals come around, but those are average prices for a verified complete warrantied solution. I see the Vantec case, similar drives and a cable go for roughly the same or more than those costs, but with a lot more frustration "built in".

comments?

vegggas

Why are people still choosing a homebrew kit these days? The Western Digital MY DVR Kit is an approved complete Expansion drive kit for Tivo, Dish and SA DVR's and if it doesn't work, you can return it.

comments?

vegggas

I tackle that one! I've been building DIY drives for 15 years at least... I actually have enough skill that I do a far neater job than most kits (years ago I had a HeathKit clock fail and they kept arguing with me that they did NOT sell a factory assembled unit because it looks so good). Yes, the $$ differential is there, but not hugely significant.

What I find telling is the whole business of this drive working, that drive doesn't. I don't buy the "optimized for DVR" thing, uh, the drive in a ton of DVRs isn't even SATA, being an older ATA drive. To me, if the DVR had proper storage software, all drives SHOULD work equally well.

Yes I know many will take exception with that, that's fine. BUT I go back a LONG way with computer technology so I am not simply yakking out of the side of my mouth.

Letters Matter! Under Navigator, the 8300HD works fine with an external drive, but the 8300HDC does not. The older 8300HD runs under MDN while the newer 8300HDC runs under ODN. Other than external drives, there are only small differences between the two. Also, the Samsung 3090 (another ODN model) does not support external drives. Very rarely, you hear of somebody who manages to coax their ODN box to work with an external drive, but it really is rare.

I have not yet read of anybody getting the 8240 to work (or even fail) with an external drive.

-barry

I have time warner ( Rochester NY area ) they use Sara software. I didnt get a format or ok dvr message.It worked on the 8240 and all previous boxes except for the crashes that wiped out the programs that seemed to happen every couple of weeks.I found the tips for rebooting and they are not quite precise, you cant reboot by turning off the box you have to pull the power plug out .so I turn off the box then pulled the plug, then turn off the pwr to the HD then turn on the pwr to the HD then plugged in the box after a while it finishes rebooting ( not fast mind you) turned it on and check prog usage and its up to 85% with 14 programs recorded...so its not seeing the ext HD still ..I also tried pulling the esata plug from the box and plugging back in but no joy there.....bummer looks like I need to try a 8240 ...seems like most here think the Navigator software wont work with ext HD and that software goes online in 2 weeks.....if the Navigator supports ext HD then I'll get the black drive to replace the 7200rpm green as this might be an issue....

To me, if the DVR had proper storage software, all drives SHOULD work equally well.

Re-reading what I wrote, I find this not terribly informative... it's more about proper i/o with more than the boot volume. All that SHOULD be needed is recognizing more than one volume AND being able to create an i/o path to a volume other than the boot drive (there's more to it, but this I think is the basic fundamental thing the OS needs to do).

Letters Matter! Under Navigator, the 8300HD works fine with an external drive, but the 8300HDC does not. The older 8300HD runs under MDN while the newer 8300HDC runs under ODN. Other than external drives, there are only small differences between the two. Also, the Samsung 3090 (another ODN model) does not support external drives. Very rarely, you hear of somebody who manages to coax their ODN box to work with an external drive, but it really is rare.

I have not yet read of anybody getting the 8240 to work (or even fail) with an external drive.

-barry

FWIW, I tend to attribute the issues far more to the software than anything having to do with the hardware. As long as the hardware includes a functioning SATA controller, the rest is up to the software.