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5040- should I bother replacing the Hard Drive?

post #1 of 26
1/28/07 at 10:22am
Thread Starter 
Hi there-
I've been reading posts and researching for 7 hours straight and it seems that my 5040 needs a new hard drive... it's stuck at the aggravating very first " please wait... " screen with a little jump in the picture every 20 seconds or so. I tried several reboots. Unplugged and replugged. And after taking the top off I heard the clicking coming from the hard drive. I vaccumed the gunk out and tried to reset it both hard and soft several times and still nothing is changing.

I am completely non techie but can follow directions if given to me in simple words. So I think I can handle replacing it if someone walks me thru it. I know i need to get a new hard drive and that people recomend Maxtor and something about 5400rpm so it doesn't get hot. And I know that I need to get some kind of rt vpatch.

BUT... my question is this.. should I spend the money on a new hard drive ( I think it will cost me about $65 for a new one at tiger direct ) and the time and trouble of doing it all--- if replaytv the company is not going to have the channel guide updated. I have the lifetime membership and don't really understand how I'll be able to use the unit if the company stops running. I mean how will the channel guide be updated and therefore my shows be taped.

Should I just bite the bullet and get the dreaded T*vo. Or should I get the comcast DVR Or should I try to fix this one. I've always bragged about my awesome channel advance Replay but now I don't know what to do.

HELP HELP HELP
Thanks in advance
DeeDee
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post #2 of 26
1/28/07 at 10:53am
What makes you think the guide updates are going to stop? I'm sure they will someday, but there's no sign of it happening anytime soon.

And taking it one step further, the hard drive will always be useful, with or without the Replay.

*here's a link to a site that has all the info you need.
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post #3 of 26
1/28/07 at 12:44pm
Considering a 5040 with a decent size drive is worth $400 or more, the question is more or less a no-brainer. Get a 250 or 300gig 8meg cache drive and upgrade. If you don't want to set it up, get one from Mikeyboy.
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post #4 of 26
1/28/07 at 12:48pm
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post #5 of 26
1/28/07 at 1:47pm
Absolutely. I just did an HD swap in my 5060 and i am very happy with it. I used a WD 3200JB and now i have some elbow room. The swap was a piece of cake and presented an opportunity to give the unit a good cleaning on the inside. As mentioned, no matter what, another hard drive comes in handy.

I didn't think I would really like Replay so I didn't go lifetime.. boy was I stoopid. 5 years of monthly payments but that bill gets paid before the others!

DEATH to COMMERCIALS!

Greb
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post #6 of 26
1/28/07 at 2:12pm
Yeah I know what you mean. A few years ago I got seven extra lifetime 50XXs for $160 each after tax, and could sell them for $350-400 each today.

all of those wasted months. such a shame.
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post #7 of 26
1/28/07 at 3:17pm
Might be good to know where you are. Perhaps some kind soul on the forum would help you.......
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post #8 of 26
1/28/07 at 5:15pm
If you wanna just replace the drive, there are people who sell ready-to-go drives which are quite easy to install. Just remove about a dozen screws, swap the drives and it's ready to go.

Mikeyboy is one of the folks who sells these drives and lurks around here. Here's his website:

http://www.ReplaytvParts.com
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post #9 of 26
1/28/07 at 6:43pm
Thread Starter 
thank you for the comments so far. After hearing all the pros, I have decided to ressurect my beloved 5040 and try to replace my hard drive. I will keep the idea of buying a preprogramed hard drive in mind if I am unable to do this.

So here are a few questions I have:

So I went to tiger direct and they sold me a
--- wd caviar se 160gb eide hd 7200/8mb/ata-100 --- they told me it was western digital and I asked if it ran hot ( because I read that somewhere) and they said no, it would be fine in my dvr. They also sold me a 2.0 ide adapter ( because I told them I was really scared of opening up my computer to format the thing) BTW I couldn't find a HD with 5400rpm. They said they don't make those anymore. Were they lying to me??

#1- So is this above Hard drive compatable? I don't think I will be able to return it once I open it up and start trying to put a patch on it and stuff.

#2- Will I get shocked if I don't ground myself? IF yes, please tell me how to ground myself. ( sorry if this is a stupid questions) I told you i was tech- challenged.

#3 - If I connect my new HD to this adapter and then to the computer will there be steps to walk me thru everything or do I need to write a bunch of stuff down before I get started?


someone shed some light on the subject please oh please and I will be most grateful.

Thanks in advance
deedee
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post #10 of 26
1/28/07 at 7:41pm
I am concerned. Sounds like you could use some help. Tell us (even vaguely ) where you are and maybe a volunteer will step up.
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post #11 of 26
1/28/07 at 8:02pm
Can't put it much better than drlava but you should do fine.

Review this once again: http://www.replaytvupgrade.com/rtvpa...umentation.htm

#1 That drive should work.

#2 When you get the Replay open just touch the metal chassis to tame static buildup. (of course unplug the ReplayTV from the AC before you start)

#3 Follow the directions for the enclosure when you get it. When you first connect it to you computer, if XP asks something about the new drive, say no. Run RTVPatch and let it do the work, following the documentation.

If you have any trouble, professor lava or someone should be here to help.
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post #12 of 26
1/29/07 at 8:54am
Thread Starter 
Thanks everone, so far

I have the new hard drive hooked up to the edi adapter ( the info inside said I didn't need to install the drive because I have XP- so I didn't) I have plugged in everything the usb, edi and the power adapter and ACs) and I am being extremely careful. I have plugged in and replugged in all of them and I have booted and rebooted 3 times and evertime when i run the patch, the screen only tells me there is one drive and it's my computer drive. what am I doing wrong?

TIA
deedee
PS I am posting on two diffent boards. Sorry to those who belong to both. I am just trying to get as many responses and as much help as possible.
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post #13 of 26
1/29/07 at 9:04am
It sounds like you are using a USB 2.0 -> EIDE adapter. Those are very handy but everyone I've ever used has one caveat - the Hard Drive needs to be set to "Master" mode.

There are these very tiny jumpers that you use to switch a drive between Cable Select, Master, or Slave Mode (some also have a "Single" mode). This jumper has to be set to 'master' in order for that USB adapter to work. By default most drives ship in the "Cable Select" mode. This mode is 99% of the time the best way to set the drive and thats why they set it that way.

I found a link on how to do it. Take a look at PAGE 2 of this document where it starts off saying 'EIDE Hard Drive Jumper Settings'. Look at Figure 4 on page 2 of this link and set your hard drive for "Master"

http://www.wdc.com/en/library/eide/2579-001037.pdf

Note: western digital drives are confusing with their 'single' mode. If "master' doesn't work, try the 'single' mode shown in figure 3 also on page 2.
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post #14 of 26
1/29/07 at 9:25am
Thread Starter 
I tried the jumper in the middle as shown for the dual master and also again like I originally tried without using any jumper ( for the single). It still not showing up. Henry ( from another website) asked me to check in device manager and find the adapter/hard drive there and I can't find it there either. Could it be that the adapter is bad?
thanks
deedee
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post #15 of 26
1/29/07 at 9:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by deedee1 View Post

I tried the jumper in the middle as shown for the dual master and also again like I originally tried without using any jumper ( for the single). It still not showing up. Henry ( from another website) asked me to check in device manager and find the adapter/hard drive there and I can't find it there either. Could it be that the adapter is bad?
thanks
deedee

I'm not certain how it'll show up with one of the USB 2.0 -> EIDE adapters. I only used one twice and I never looked in Device Manager to see if it would show up. It is entirely possible the device is bad.

Here is the one I used to do two Replay TV upgrades:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...2IDE-N&cpc=SCH
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post #16 of 26
1/29/07 at 9:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by deedee1 View Post

...It still not showing up...

Does sound perhaps the drive isn't spinning up.

Can you show us a link to the 2.0 ide adapter they sent?
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post #17 of 26
1/29/07 at 10:26am
Thread Starter 
The light on the power supply does go on when it's plugged in. I don't hear anything coming from the plugged in hard drive. Does this mean it's a broken hard drive? The light on the 2.0 ide adapter is going when plugged in.

I cannot find the exact ide adapter online at tiger direct. but it says
usb 2.0 ide adapter usb-2535 -- ide external 480Mb/s

thanks
deedee
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post #18 of 26
1/29/07 at 10:52am
Thread Starter 
okay.. I called tiger direct and told I couldn't hear any spinning and they said I should be able to feel a vibration if it's spinning and I feel NOTHING. So it's off to tiger direct I go to replace the new hard drive.

Thanks for all your help and I'll be posting again , I'm sure with more questions. Do you wish i would lose this website addy already? I'm so sure you are sick of these questions.

thanks
deedee
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post #19 of 26
1/29/07 at 11:00am
Would it be this one? I have one with that type power supply and mine apparently doesn't supply enough current to spin up certain drives.

If you get the dusty old HP open you can put the new Western Digital in there. However RTVPatch doesn't work with ME, so you'd need to make/use the floppy version of that program in such case. But you can see if the drive spins up and avoid needlessly sending it back.

Is it thumb screws on the dell you can't get open?

Getting a little more complicated here. Where is drlava when we need him?
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post #20 of 26
1/29/07 at 11:50am
Thread Starter 
Hi Ken-

Yes, that is the adapter I have. Exactly ! So I'm not going crazy here.

So I had this idea... maybe I am crazy but I tried to use the power ( 4 prong supply) from my HP and the other plugs were plugged into the ide/usb to my current Dell. I tried this and the WD hard drive is still not showing up on the rtv patch and not hearing any spinning from the western digital disk ( though the HP is as loud as a freight train ) and I don't seem to feel any vibrations as well.

Should my conclusion be a bad WD disk?

thanks ken
deedee
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post #21 of 26
1/29/07 at 12:20pm
Could be if the drive is not spinning even when powered by the HP. Could you feel any vibration (on that drive) when you tried that? Or just cold and dead?

At this point it might be quicker to return everything for a refund and get a ready-to-roll drive from Mikeyboy. His prices are very fair, tested/guaranteed to be compatible and work. Already jumpered for Replay. Just plug and play. May be a little more than what you paid but I guess half a day of your time is worth something. Can't go wrong with Mikeyboy.

The other option might be to dispatch ekaxel over to help out for a few bottles of Mad Dog 20/20. But I can't vouch for him.
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post #22 of 26
1/29/07 at 12:38pm
If you do return it, perhaps try a different adapter. Maybe an enclosure might have a better power supply.

The good news is I suspect your (XP) dell should be able to get the job done if you can just get a drive connected to it somehow.
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post #23 of 26
1/29/07 at 3:06pm
Thread Starter 
Okay well.. back from Tiger Direct .. turns out the brand New Western Digital hard drive was in fact defective. It wasn't my imagination.

They had no others to exchange with except a seagate but only with a .9 on it. I know I read several times that the replays don't like .9's and .10's. So opted for a refund. ( can you believe they wanted to charge me a 15% restocking fee for a bad hard drive they sold me in the first place). arrgggg!-- I had to argue with the manager to get my way.

Anyway, I don't have any other computer stores near me so I'm going to see what I can find online and will definately check out mikeyboy to see what he can get me. At this point my aggravation level is extremely high. But in the mean time I have rented a comcast dvr to tape my shows until I get going. I know I will hate it and it will make me appreciate my replay all the more when i get it going again.

Thanks again to you all for your much needed help and advice. It's wonderful to know that there are such kind, brilliant people available to help me.

I'll be sure to post again with any other questions I have.
Have a great night
deedee
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post #24 of 26
1/30/07 at 8:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by deedee1 View Post

I tried the jumper in the middle as shown for the dual master and also again like I originally tried without using any jumper ( for the single). It still not showing up. Henry ( from another website) asked me to check in device manager and find the adapter/hard drive there and I can't find it there either. Could it be that the adapter is bad?
thanks
deedee

From another website, huh?

I can be from this website, too! I just don't post as much in this one, although I was reading along your double post here as well...

Henry
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post #25 of 26
1/30/07 at 10:46am
DeeDee

I think in trying to make this as "simple" as possible, you're getting overly complicated. If you have been plugging this stuff together as you have been would it really be so difficult to pop the cover on the Dell?? It just slides off. Set the jumper on the drive to "cable select" (cs). Unplug your Dell's DVD and substitute the drive. You can probably let the drive hang. If you don't have enough slack on the cable, put the drive on a little carboard sled. When the PC comes up, it will see the drive if it is OK. Hit "cancel" on anything windows wants to do with the drive. Run RTVPatch and set up the Replay drive. Shutdown, replace the DVD, put the drive in the Replay. You're done.
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post #26 of 26
1/30/07 at 12:25pm
First timers almost always miss the "patch" step!
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