How to add an external drive to Rogers 8642 HD DVR

Boy am I frustrated. I have literally scoured the internet for a simple answer on this but all I keep coming across is 100 page threads on various forums that are filled with convoluted and conflicting answers. I was so frustrated I ended up doing a search on "how to cure cancer in three easy steps" so I'd at least get some results I'd understand.

Here's what I've got:

• Rogers (Cisco) 8642 HD DVR
• Western Digital Elements 1T external hard drive (new, still in box).

Here's all I want to know:

• How do I hook the drive into the DVR without screwing it up?

Here's what I've found out so far:

• Be sure to keep the DVR off when you plug the drive into it.

Here's the info I'm still missing:

• Do I simply use the USB port to connect the two (the WD drive is USB 2.0)?
• Is the drive I bought compatible?
• Is there anything I'm missing about this?

During my search I've heard people go on about SATA drives and other stuff I do not understand (I'm not into this sort of thing at all). I've even come across picture of people taking apart their DVR to make this work for some reason. Maybe they're replacing the internal drive with a bigger one, I don't know.

I even tried to find a manual for the 8642 so I could see what it says about it, but I can't even find that, not even on Cisco's site.

What I'd love to find is simple, step by step instructions on how to do this. Like: Plug USB cable here, then plus the other end here. Now turn on your DVR and follow the formatting instructions.... that sort of thing.

Anyway, thanks for listening to me rant. If anyone has any really simple advice/instructions, I'd be forever in your debt. Thanks in advance.

Thanks very much for the info, snorlax14. The guy at the BestBuy Geek Squad desk said it would work. I should have known better.

Thanks, I didn't know that.

So I took back the first drive and went to a real computer store and picked up the right one.

Here's what worked for me, based on others:

• Unplugged the DVR
• Plugged in and turned on the HD
• Plugged in the DVR and turned it and the TV on.
• A pop up screen informed me it was going to format the new drive, to which I clicked okay.
• Within a couple of minutes it said the new drive was formatted successfully.
• I then checked the amount of space I'd used on the DVR to see if the percentage had dropped (which I was expecting). It had. This pointed to the new drive space added.

So I finally managed to get it worked out, thank god. Thanks for your help guys.

Huh!?

The insturctions I followed were to do with the SA 8300HD, so if you have that DVR then I suppose it would work. Anything else I wouldn't know.

As for your second questions, I have no idea what you said so I can't answer it.