Did you know that if either drive fails you lose recordings vs a single drive system which is more easily recoverable.
Western Digital DVR Expander quality
Are the new WD DVR Expanders better quality than the old ones? The 320GB drive in my premier is not cutting it anymore so I want to upgrade its capacity, but I'm still undecided if I want to break it open (for sure not until its warranty is up). But I heard many horror stories about the old WD DVR Expanders not working correctly.
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Then I will be doing a drive upgrade. Damn AV drives being so expensive.Did you know that if either drive fails you lose recordings vs a single drive system which is more easily recoverable.
Amazon.com has 1 Tb drive for about $60, 2 Tb is about $75.
That price isn't for an AV drive though, unless they aren't really required.
You are going to pay significantly more for a new expander (1TB) than a good green drive twice the size (2TB) will cost.
The ONLY advantage to using an external drive is that you don't have to open the box to expand it. If you are comfortable opening up your computer, DIY upgrades are about as easy as they come, especially if you have a Premiere.
The ONLY advantage to using an external drive is that you don't have to open the box to expand it. If you are comfortable opening up your computer, DIY upgrades are about as easy as they come, especially if you have a Premiere.
I just got a 2TB AV drive from Amazon for $79, which was only a couple dollars more than the non-AV drive. If you can get a 2TB non-AV WD drive for less, there is a utility that can be used (WDIDLE3) to change the noise level to the same as an AV drive.Then I will be doing a drive upgrade. Damn AV drives being so expensive.
I saw some good reviews on the western digital green caviar drive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136514
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136514
The noise doesn't bother me much. I'm used to having a loud computer soI just got a 2TB AV drive from Amazon for $79, which was only a couple dollars more than the non-AV drive. If you can get a 2TB non-AV WD drive for less, there is a utility that can be used (WDIDLE3) to change the noise level to the same as an AV drive.
I will probably end up getting that one, since it sounds like newegg has updated their shipping policy. Of course if the 1tb seagate is still on sale Thursday I may get one of them instead.I saw some good reviews on the western digital green caviar drive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136514
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_sp=Cat_Hard_Drives-_-Spotlight-_-22-148-764
Just picked up a Seagate drive for $39.99 due to an error on the Newegg page.
http://bit.ly/ook0MQ
http://bit.ly/ook0MQ
Good snag... Wish I'd caught that deal...Just picked up a Seagate drive for $39.99 due to an error on the Newegg page.
http://bit.ly/ook0MQ
Of course $49 isn't bad either for a 1TB...
wdidle3 has nothing to do with noise levels, it has to do with a "feature" of the Caviar Greens called intellipark that parks the heads after a period of drive inactivity. Unfortunately the default setting for how long a period triggers the head park is quite short, so if the TiVo warm boots (reboots without wall socket power being disconnected) the heads get parked, the TiVo reboots and queries the drive and doesn't get an answer fast enough and thinks it has no drive attached.I just got a 2TB AV drive from Amazon for $79, which was only a couple dollars more than the non-AV drive. If you can get a 2TB non-AV WD drive for less, there is a utility that can be used (WDIDLE3) to change the noise level to the same as an AV drive.
wdidle3 lets you disable intellipark or set the length of the inactivity period to one long enough to keep it from head parking before the TiVo can reboot and query the drive again.
Noise level adjustment is handled by a different utility, called, IIRC, AAM.
Do I need to worry about anything similar to this for the Seagate I ordered?wdidle3 has nothing to do with noise levels, it has to do with a "feature" of the Caviar Greens called intellipark that parks the heads after a period of drive inactivity. Unfortunately the default setting for how long a period triggers the head park is quite short, so if the TiVo warm boots (reboots without wall socket power being disconnected) the heads get parked, the TiVo reboots and queries the drive and doesn't get an answer fast enough and thinks it has no drive attached.
wdidle3 lets you disable intellipark or set the length of the inactivity period to one long enough to keep it from head parking before the TiVo can reboot and query the drive again.
Noise level adjustment is handled by a different utility, called, IIRC, AAM.
As far as I know only WD has the head park thing going on, or at least the only version that chokes a warm reboot.Do I need to worry about anything similar to this for the Seagate I ordered?
The AAM noise thing, maybe.
Go to the S3 HD drive upgrade thread and search for AAM and Seagate.
Using a Hitachi 1.5tb drive in my TP which so far is working just great.
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