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Here's an update on the Pioneer DVR upgrade movement...
Success with both the addition and replacement of drives in both the Pioneer DVR-57H and Pioneer DVR-810H* units.
Here's the scoop:
1) regardless of whether you plan on replacing or adding a drive you'll need a backup of a DVR-57H image, as the DVR-810H images thusfar have, for some reason, been impervious to utilization by MFStools (ie MFStools doesn't work for the software image on the DVR-810); with that in mind, if you have a DVR-810H you really have no choice whether to replace or not, its just a question of whether you want to replace with one or two drives. if you've got a DVR-57H, you do have the option of simply adding a drive. this can be done with MFStools or BlessTiVo, but bear in mind, that if you add a drive, the two will be married - so best to have a backup in case of a drive failure in the future.
Update: As mentioned previously... many Pioneer 810HS models do not behave "as expected" when it comes to expanding images using the -x or mfsadd commands. Up until a few months ago, there were a few 810HS images floating around that were "expandable" but many folks found that the traditional backup/restore and expand operation did not work as expected. With that said, JamieP developed a tool called "toshiba_unlock" which solves this problem for the Pioneer/Toshiba DVD models that exhibit this behavior. The tool is bundled with our LBA48 CD (free download) available here.
2) for drives greater than 137GB, you'll need a bootable CD, such as our free lba48 cd available here, so that you can fully access the capacity; there are details on using tpip for initializing your swap space on the site, as well in the startup for the bootable drive - but keep in mind that reliably creating a > 127GB swap file on Pioneer units is not yet possible, and that there is a bug in mfsfix on the TiVo 5.2 OS, so its unlikely that anyone will benefit from a > 127GB swap file on these units; you can use MFStools in whatever way you are most comfortable.
3) adding a drive, from a hardware perspective, is not as easy as replacing a drive; you need to remove the DVD recorder and then the tray beneath to expose both IDE interfaces, and replace the secondary IDE interface cable with a dual IDE cable. Removing the tray is not *that* difficult, but you do need an extra long #2 Philips screwdriver to get to one of the screws near the front cover. you will also need to open the DVD drive while the power is on and unsnap the bezel from the front of the drive tray (very easy to do) so that you can slide the DVD drive off the tray from inside. i'm sure we'll have some photos of this shortly.
4) the real issue when adding a drive is where to mount it, and we're considering some possibilities there. SmartStart should handle any concerns related to power (we've tested with a Maxtor and Samsung together), but certainly not a requirement as the unit boots just fine with two drives and the DVD recorder. Cooling is definitely a concern, but not something we're particularly worried about as long as the unit is in a properly ventilated space.
My overall feeling here is that adding a drive is something to shy away from for a variety of reasons, however for those who are 'into it' its certainly quite doable for those willing to completely disassemble what appears to be a nice new toy.
Lou
Success with both the addition and replacement of drives in both the Pioneer DVR-57H and Pioneer DVR-810H* units.
Here's the scoop:
1) regardless of whether you plan on replacing or adding a drive you'll need a backup of a DVR-57H image, as the DVR-810H images thusfar have, for some reason, been impervious to utilization by MFStools (ie MFStools doesn't work for the software image on the DVR-810); with that in mind, if you have a DVR-810H you really have no choice whether to replace or not, its just a question of whether you want to replace with one or two drives. if you've got a DVR-57H, you do have the option of simply adding a drive. this can be done with MFStools or BlessTiVo, but bear in mind, that if you add a drive, the two will be married - so best to have a backup in case of a drive failure in the future.
Update: As mentioned previously... many Pioneer 810HS models do not behave "as expected" when it comes to expanding images using the -x or mfsadd commands. Up until a few months ago, there were a few 810HS images floating around that were "expandable" but many folks found that the traditional backup/restore and expand operation did not work as expected. With that said, JamieP developed a tool called "toshiba_unlock" which solves this problem for the Pioneer/Toshiba DVD models that exhibit this behavior. The tool is bundled with our LBA48 CD (free download) available here.
2) for drives greater than 137GB, you'll need a bootable CD, such as our free lba48 cd available here, so that you can fully access the capacity; there are details on using tpip for initializing your swap space on the site, as well in the startup for the bootable drive - but keep in mind that reliably creating a > 127GB swap file on Pioneer units is not yet possible, and that there is a bug in mfsfix on the TiVo 5.2 OS, so its unlikely that anyone will benefit from a > 127GB swap file on these units; you can use MFStools in whatever way you are most comfortable.
3) adding a drive, from a hardware perspective, is not as easy as replacing a drive; you need to remove the DVD recorder and then the tray beneath to expose both IDE interfaces, and replace the secondary IDE interface cable with a dual IDE cable. Removing the tray is not *that* difficult, but you do need an extra long #2 Philips screwdriver to get to one of the screws near the front cover. you will also need to open the DVD drive while the power is on and unsnap the bezel from the front of the drive tray (very easy to do) so that you can slide the DVD drive off the tray from inside. i'm sure we'll have some photos of this shortly.
4) the real issue when adding a drive is where to mount it, and we're considering some possibilities there. SmartStart should handle any concerns related to power (we've tested with a Maxtor and Samsung together), but certainly not a requirement as the unit boots just fine with two drives and the DVD recorder. Cooling is definitely a concern, but not something we're particularly worried about as long as the unit is in a properly ventilated space.
My overall feeling here is that adding a drive is something to shy away from for a variety of reasons, however for those who are 'into it' its certainly quite doable for those willing to completely disassemble what appears to be a nice new toy.
Lou
