Can I upgrade the Hard Drive on A HR-2X?

[scsiguy72]

I have upgraded the Hard Drives on my other Tivos no problem and the ease of upgrading is one of the reasons I love Tivo.

I am going to go HD soon and may hve to go for a HR-20 (or 21)

If I do jump can I still upgrade hard drives?

[HiDefGator]

You can install as large an external drive as you want to just by plugging it in. If you want to replace the internal drive is a bit harder to get to but can also be done. You don't even need to format the drive first, just plug it in and the Hr2x will do the rest for you.

[scsiguy72]

Thanks,
So the operating system must live on a chip somewhere inside the unit and it just uses the HD for storage?

[badmonkey]

Keep in mind that you will lose any shows recorded prior to the hard drive install (whether internal or external).

[TonyD79]

Yes, the external drive is mated to the unit and cannot be used elsewhere.

Also, when an external drive is added, the internal drive is not used so it is not an additive process but a substitute one.

[JimSpence]

And, the shows on the internal will be available when the external is disconnected.

[incog-neato]

Any may lose any DirecTV warranty on the box if you open it.And, the shows on the internal will be available when the external is disconnected.

[bigpuma]

Any may lose any DirecTV warranty on the box if you open it.

:confused: What does that have to do with anything. Jimspence was pointing out that if you add an external eSata drive it replaces the internal but when you remove the external drive you can still watch the shows previously recorded on that drive. No opening of the box required therefore no warranty problems.

[JimSpence]

Well, the OP did imply upgrading the internal drive since he did that with his other DVRs. The poster just wanted to let people know that the warranty would be void if you open the HR2x.

[badmonkey]

And, the shows on the internal will be available when the external is disconnected.

Hmmm... I didn't know that! I assumed that internal drive was reformatted once the unit went to use it again... I guess I should have tried removing my externals before commenting!

Thanks for the info!

[bigpuma]

Well, the OP did imply upgrading the internal drive since he did that with his other DVRs. The poster just wanted to let people know that the warranty would be void if you open the HR2x.

Good point. I got thrown off because he quoted your post.

[jimb726]

Hmmm... I didn't know that! I assumed that internal drive was reformatted once the unit went to use it again... I guess I should have tried removing my externals before commenting!

Thanks for the info!


All you need to do is power down, yunplug the external and power up. Everything from before will be there.

[incog-neato]

:eek: - Yea, what Jim said.:confused: What does that have to do with anything. Jimspence was pointing out that if you add an external eSata drive it replaces the internal but when you remove the external drive you can still watch the shows previously recorded on that drive. No opening of the box required therefore no warranty problems.

[Jon J]

The poster just wanted to let people know that the warranty would be void if you open the HR2x.Which is only a possible problem if you lease your receiver. If you own it, crack the lid at your leisure. ;)

[HiDefGator]

Which is only a possible problem if you lease your receiver. If you own it, crack the lid at your leisure. ;)

Just for the fun of argument, who would ever know you popped the top on it and voided the waranty? If it does die, pop the top again, put the old drive back in and send it away for replacement. It will be 6 months before anyone opens that box and looks inside it. By then they will just assume it has been repaired before or not care at all.

[rminsk]

Just for the fun of argument, who would ever know you popped the top on it and voided the waranty?There is a tamper tape seal on the back of the unit. With enough solvent those can mysteriously become unattached ;)

[Marino13]

There is a tamper tape seal on the back of the unit. With enough solvent those can mysteriously become unattached ;)

I have four HR20's. Only one of them has a tamper proof seal. The other three do not have anything on them.

[scsiguy72]

I have four HR20's. Only one of them has a tamper proof seal. The other three do not have anything on them.

Anymore? ;)

[Marino13]

Anymore? ;)

No, they actually came that way. I haven't upgraded the hard drive in any of them but I do not see how they could ever tell if I did.

[jimb726]

No, they actually came that way. I haven't upgraded the hard drive in any of them but I do not see how they could ever tell if I did.

I concur, I have three of the HR20-700 and none of them have seals. Two were brand new when I got them and the third was my replacement when my HR10 dies and it was a refurb. No seals on any of them.

[rminsk]

I have four HR20's. Only one of them has a tamper proof seal. The other three do not have anything on them.All four of mine have taper tape on them.

[HiDefGator]

All four of mine have taper tape on them.

it still requires the assumption that someone somewhere cares if that tape has been torn or not. that's the part I have trouble believing.

[Marino13]

it still requires the assumption that someone somewhere cares if that tape has been torn or not. that's the part I have trouble believing.

+1

[incog-neato]

What you say is very true.

The "tamperproof tag" on my 3rd replacement (and finally functioning) HR20-700 actually says "RECONDITIONED - Warranty Void if Vemoved"

As it turns out, it works perfectly (as far as no noise or other obvious problems) but whoever owned it before me must have been a heavy smoker and it STINKS. It's been running for about a week and that smoker stinky ashes smell won't go away. Think spraying it with "Fabreeze" would help? :D I never could understand how smokers can live with that stink stuck to everything. Bleh.



it still requires the assumption that someone somewhere cares if that tape has been torn or not. that's the part I have trouble believing.

[badmonkey]

What you say is very true.

The "tamperproof tag" on my 3rd replacement (and finally functioning) HR20-700 actually says "RECONDITIONED - Warranty Void if Vemoved"

As it turns out, it works perfectly (as far as no noise or other obvious problems) but whoever owned it before me must have been a heavy smoker and it STINKS. It's been running for about a week and that smoker stinky ashes smell won't go away. Think spraying it with "Fabreeze" would help? :D I never could understand how smokers can live with that stink stuck to everything. Bleh.

That's horrible! That smell would be reason enough for me to request a replacement. I'd rather deal with missed recordings that the smell of cigarette smoke!

Well, maybe not... But that smell is pretty bad.

[newsposter]

so how does weakness get away selling already upgraded units if you legally arent allowed to pop the top? are they 'owned' vs leased?

[incog-neato]

Well, it's relegated to my basement computer monitor anyway because I'm still not ready to move it to my L/R PDP in place of Mr. TiVo (as my wife affectionaly calls it - the HR10 that is) and I don't want to take the chance of getting an HR21. I'm hoping in a few more months it will be "de-ashed" and ready for prime time. :) That's horrible! That smell would be reason enough for me to request a replacement. I'd rather deal with missed recordings that the smell of cigarette smoke!

Well, maybe not... But that smell is pretty bad.

[bigpuma]

so how does weakness get away selling already upgraded units if you legally arent allowed to pop the top? are they 'owned' vs leased?

I don't think anyone has suggested it is illegal to pop the top, just that it voids the warranty. Weaknees provides their own warranty to their customers.

[newsposter]

I don't think anyone has suggested it is illegal to pop the top, just that it voids the warranty. Weaknees provides their own warranty to their customers.

ah ok i guess i inferred (but never read the dtv agreeement) that lease means you cant pop the top since you definitely dont own the box.

[slydog75]

Does Incog-neatos practice of putting his response to a quote BEFORE the quote bug the crap out of anyone else? The standard practice is to put the quote first, then respond, but I digress...

If you can swap the internal drive without any formatting or loading of an OS, where is the OS stored?

[JimSpence]

Nope!Does Incog-neatos practice of putting his response to a quote BEFORE the quote bug the crap out of anyone else? The standard practice is to put the quote first, then respond, but I digress...
What does bug me is people who try to quote another thread and mess it up.

[RS4]

Yeah, it's really hard to pull the slide bar down to read the quote ... takes lots of energy... wears me out!!;)

Does Incog-neatos practice of putting his response to a quote BEFORE the quote bug the crap out of anyone else? The standard practice is to put the quote first, then respond, but I digress...

[slydog75]

Yeah, it's really hard to pull the slide bar down to read the quote ... takes lots of energy... wears me out!!;)

Ack! Stop! Don't turn this into a trend! :p

[scsiguy72]

If you can swap the internal drive without any formatting or loading of an OS, where is the OS stored?

The OS would live on an internal Chip, I believe they call it ROMB

(Rom-BEE)

I think it stands for Read Only Memory onBOARD I have a few other devices that do this and the neat thing is, if the Hard drive crashes the unit continues to run, just without any recording capacity. To upgrade the OS you have to flash the chip.

[newsposter]

i knew the os was on the chip but never realize you could still watch live TV if the HR20 drive goes back..impressive

I did know you could just plug in sata and go merrily along and wonder if DTV will ever just start sending out SATA instead of replacement Hr20s

[rminsk]

i knew the os was on the chip but never realize you could still watch live TV if the HR20 drive goes back..impressiveOn the flip side you can not watch recorded programs without a satellite signal during boot.

[newsposter]

I don't think anyone has suggested it is illegal to pop the top, just that it voids the warranty. Weaknees provides their own warranty to their customers.

well i found it is against DTV policy to pop the top on leased receivers (i count popping the top as altering or tampering):

http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1340282&postcount=8


now maybe weaknees has a deal or maybe they are all owned at that site (given the high prices i'd guess so). But it's pretty clear from that post that it's a no-no for a majority of us to be opening this machine up

[bigpuma]

well i found it is against DTV policy to pop the top on leased receivers (i count popping the top as altering or tampering):

http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1340282&postcount=8


now maybe weaknees has a deal or maybe they are all owned at that site (given the high prices i'd guess so). But it's pretty clear from that post that it's a no-no for a majority of us to be opening this machine up

DirecTV policy does not equal the law. That is all I am saying. I understand that it breaks the agreement in regards to leased units but the worst that could happen is DirecTV would charge you $800 or whatever the price of buying the unit is.

As for Weaknees I am sure they are owned units that they are selling and they are also providing the warranty for their units.