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Large Clusters

1995 Views 45 Replies 14 Participants Last post by GadgetGuy, Jun 2, 2002

Tim Messenger

Discussion Starter · May 3, 2002

Anybody out there try a dual drive upgrade with >140 hours? I thought about 2-80s, 2-100s, or 2-120s.

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lizard_boy

· #2 · May 3, 2002

in the 4000's several people have bought 4040's & turned them into 4320's (ed, alan, kenl - who else ??0

for the older models - i know a few people have put in dual 100GB drives, don't remember seeing anything larger than that...but with the new large cluster patch should work well with dual 120's or 137's (160's)

Mikeyboy

· #3 · May 3, 2002

Tim, I've run 160 and at times 200 gigs in my Showstopper with no problems.

With large clusters the limitation is with replay channels (not to be confused with guide channels). Replay channels suck up memory and in doing so force you to limit the number kept.

By my observation the replay guide limit is

Tim Messenger

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 3, 2002

Thanks, Mikeyboy.

I found a great deal on Maxtor 100s for $125 each, I will upgrade my Showstopper soon.

GadgetGuy

· #5 · May 9, 2002

I am so glad that there is a way to deal with the memory issues.

I love having my 100GB Showstopper. I have had it ever since 100GB first became available and love it but I do get an occasional lockup after a net connect that I figure is a memory issue.

Where is the version of RTVPatch that includes the support for larger clusters? I went to:

http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...group_id=17245

and selected version 2.1 but I did not see in the release notes anything about adding larger cluster support. I want to repatch my drive for larger clusters. Should I be going somewhere else for this? I saw a thread that had a zip file of a beta that could be downloaded but I figure there must be a newer version.

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KenL

· #6 · May 9, 2002

You can find it buried in this thread . Hopefully as soon as things settle down for FlipFlop he can give us a linux version, and get those onto sourceforge? It seems to be testing out pretty well.

jvidalny

· #7 · May 9, 2002

I upgraded one of my 3060 to 200GB using large clusters (120+80) a couple of months ago, and I have it setup with DISH.

Haven't had any problems yet.

KenL

· #8 · May 15, 2002

From all indications... so far so good with the large cluster patch!

Bigjohns

· #9 · May 15, 2002

what is the benefit of large clusters? in 'computer world' larger clusters are bad due to wasted space (i.e. with a 64K cluster, an 8k file still uses at least one cluster - 64k space...)

toots

· #10 · May 15, 2002

The benefit of large clusters is reduced memory requirements on the Replay box itself. It keeps the disk's file allocation information in RAM, so bigger clusters means fewer clusters, which means a smaller file allocation table.

Since the 2000/3000/Showstopper models showed memory full conditions with RRBDs, big clusters reduce this problem.

As for wasted space:

Standard cluster size on the Replay's MPEG partition is 256K Bytes (yes, really), which equates to roughly 1 second at standard, 1/2 second at medium or 1/3 second at high quality. Doubling or quadrupling the cluster size would have a proportional effect on the length of time represented by each cluster.

So, if you look at a 4x normal sized cluster as creating an average of 2 seconds of wasted space at the end of each TV show... well, that doesn't sound so bad now after all, does it?

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Wasatch Rider

· #11 · May 15, 2002

How about cooling?

I upgraded my 2020 to a single drive 100hr unit. I had a lot of problems with heat until I found a nice cool location for it. I still have a lockup about once a month. I'm not sure if it's memory or heat related. Is there a way to tell?

Mikeyboy

· #12 · May 15, 2002

When low on memory the unit will act sluggish to remote commands and chances are you'll get failed connections along with a message.

If your memmeter is above 160/170 it should perform normally although no where near ideal (250and higher).

Heat shouldn't be a problem with unobstructed air vents and a single 5400 rpm drive.

Wasatch Rider

· #13 · May 15, 2002

How about if I add a second drive? Are you having any problems with 2 drives and heat?

Mikeyboy

· #14 · May 15, 2002

The fix for 2 drive excess heat is to install a cooling fan to lower the case temperature.

I've crashed my dual drive showstopper while running it with the cover off during 90 deg weather last summer.

Cooling is a consideration on these units.

Wasatch Rider

· #15 · May 15, 2002

Take a look here replaytivo external cooling and see if you think that will work. They also claim to have a second drive mounting bracket in production.

Mikeyboy

· #16 · May 15, 2002

I've read posts from people that use laptop coolers and I suppose they work. I'm confused are you upgrading a 3000 or a 4000 replay or both?

I didn't see 3000 drive brackets at ReplayTivo.net (not that you need them) just 4000 unit.

Wasatch Rider

· #17 · May 15, 2002

I'm thinking about upgrading a 2020 and a 3060. I was going to buy a 4040 but waited too long and now they are gone. Then I thought about waiting for the 4500 series...but why if I can get 240hrs out of each of my old ones. I just don't want to have an unreliable system. Like all of us Replayites, I get very testy when my Replay locks up and misses a very important show (aren't they all?).

As for the brackets for the 3000s & 2000s. The ReplayTivo web site says they are in production as we speak (or type).

Mikeyboy

· #18 · May 15, 2002

I use the top of the hard drive cover for the second drive mount and use tie straps to secure the drives.

Did you use the 7200 rpm 100 gig Western Digital drive?

My 240 gig dual Maxtor showstopper is running quite nice!!

Wasatch Rider

· #19 · May 15, 2002

No, I used the 5400 Maxtor 100GB. It worked for a long time w/o incident, then about 4 months into it it locked up about once a week. I moved it out of the AV rack and it was good for about 4 months until I got tired of ti on the top of my TV. When I shifted it to a wire rack above my other replay unit it started locking up again (heat rising from the other unit). Now its's on the bottom and I added an internal fan....so far so good (about a month).

Mikeyboy

· #20 · May 15, 2002

Wouldn't hurt to remove the lid and foam if installed.

You may have already solved the problem, just curious what memmeter readings you get.

Should be a nice running recorder.

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