External HD questions
forya1
Enthusiast - Level 3

I have a 7232 2 DVR that is 80% full. I want to add a sata drive, but I noticed there were only 3 acceptable ones on their site.  Is anyone using a 2TB drive?

What will happen to the recordings already on my dvr.  It says that the new recordings will go to the HD first.  Will it move the recordings off my dvr and onto the new drive?

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Re: External HD questions
AtomicRooster
Contributor - Level 1

@forya1 wrote:

I have a 7232 2 DVR that is 80% full. I want to add a sata drive, but I noticed there were only 3 acceptable ones on their site.  Is anyone using a 2TB drive?

What will happen to the recordings already on my dvr.  It says that the new recordings will go to the HD first.  Will it move the recordings off my dvr and onto the new drive?


I am using a 1 TB drive and it has much, much more room than the on-board drive. I purchased one of the recommended drives.  Once the expander drive is enabled, the new recordings will automatically be recorded onto the Expander drive, the old recordings will remain on the old DVR drive. You will be able to select programs to view from either the expander or the on-board drive (expander recordings have a little hard drive icon nexto to them so you can tell what drive the program was recorded to). There is no way to move programs or copy programs between drives.  Your expander drive will be forever linked to the Box you enable it with, meaning if there is ever a problem with the STB DVR and you need to replace it, all your recordings on the expander will be lost, you will need to reformat the expander with the new STB and then begin to build a library with new recordings.  My expander drive did not come with the required E-SATA cable, and I had to find one with a 6 foot reach, so that is something you need to think about if your purchase does not state a cable is included. I learned the hard way not to locate the expander drive where it cannot be power cycled and unhooked easily!

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Re: External HD questions
nascar
Master - Level 1
I'm using a 2 TB eSATA on one of my DVR's.  Make sure you use a drive that is for AV and 24/7 use.  So far the Seagate and Western Digital are the choices.
Nothing gets moved when you connect the eSATA drive.  The poster above explains what happens.

@forya1 wrote:

I have a 7232 2 DVR that is 80% full. I want to add a sata drive, but I noticed there were only 3 acceptable ones on their site.  Is anyone using a 2TB drive?

What will happen to the recordings already on my dvr.  It says that the new recordings will go to the HD first.  Will it move the recordings off my dvr and onto the new drive?


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Re: External HD questions
forya1
Enthusiast - Level 3

Anyone have a model # for a working 2 tb drive?  

and do you need to powercycle these drives a lot?

also do the drives always spin , or do they go into a sleep state when not accessed? 

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Re: External HD questions
Hellenww
Enthusiast - Level 3

Where did you find the esata cable? I bought the WDBABT0010HBK-NESN  hard drive but it only has a plug for a usb micro B in the back. I bought an esata cable it plugs into the dvr but not the hd and I just get confused trying to find the correct cable. I called WD and got someone who kept reading from their website but couldn't understand my question. Verizon sent me 45 min to their fios store where they said I had to call tech support who sent me there in the first place.

I'm more confused daily.

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Re: External HD questions
InFoman1
Enthusiast - Level 2

As far as Western Digital goes you can choose from theri WD AV-GP family. I went with a WD20EURS and installed it in an external enclosure. They are desiged for 24/7 AV applications.

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Re: External HD questions
EddieN120
Newbie

Hi Hellen,

Where did you find the esata cable?

I just took the serial number of the recommended drive (WDBABT0010HBK-NESN), went onto Amazon.com and typed it into the search box. It took me to this page: 

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Expander-eSATA-External/dp/B003MVZ60S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1...

and in the "Frequently Bought Together" section are compatible eSATA cables.

I haven't bought my Western Digital HDD yet but I probably will soon since I am sick and tired of having to guard against people in the house erasing irreplaceable programs from my DVR.

Hope this helps.

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Re: External HD questions
lenrichardson
Enthusiast - Level 2

I have a Western Digital External Hard Drive connected to my STB/DVR. It works perfectly... in fact too well because I've filled more than 60% of a 2TB drive.

I'd like to know if it is possible to add an additional eSATA drive to this configuration. For example, is there a way I can daisy-chain a 2nd drive and have access to the DVR storage, 1st WD storage, plus 2nd (new) WD storage?

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Re: External HD questions
Keyboards
Master - Level 3

No, there is no provision for daisy chaining.  You can remove your old drive (it will still retain the recordings and can be reconnected any time) and hook up a new onew one.

The drives stay "married" to the DVR on which they recorded.

Re: External HD questions
lenrichardson
Enthusiast - Level 2
Great. At least being able to substitute a new drive is a viable work-around
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