622/722 External HDDs now movable between boxes ?

[adidadi]

3 different tech support people told me there is no limit to switching between same household receivers. However, they may be wrong, who knows. None of them even knew there was a 3 time limit. Got very concerned after being asked to reauthorize.

 

[whatchel1]

In Store ONLY ?

Best way to experiment would be with an extra HDD. I always keep 1 or 2 around. Just picked up a couple of WD 1TB from Micro Center for $180 each (OEM, coupon, no rebate).

I looked online and the 1TB's are $220 each. The 750GB is $190.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I looked online and the 1TB's are $220 each. The 750GB is $190.

I got a 500GB WD for $114 from Amazon last week. Although $220 is cheaper for one TB drive, for sure. The 750GB is not the ideal price point.


Anyway... it sounds like the restrictions are going away, and that is a good thing.

 

[ncted]

My household number is all zeros, but I only hooked up the EHD last night. I'll check it every day to see if it changes.

Ted

 

[Gentleman]

anybody want to try it on a 211. I thought you could do this anyway up to 4 or 5 times.

JT

The household key on my 211 is all 0's while my 722 now has a key

Bob

 

[primetimeguy]

Yesterday I verified what everyone was saying about the household key with all 3 of my drives. Plugged in each one, got the prompt and they all worked fine. Tonight I tried one of the drives and now it says it is configured for a different receiver and if I select "yes" it will erase all archived programs. I then tried the other 2 drives and they work fine.

Is it coincidence that the one that doesn't work is the one I archived a few programs to last night?

 

[David_Levin]

I looked online and the 1TB's are $220 each. The 750GB is $190.

I'm talking about internal drives. You can do better.

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar GP WD7500AACS 750GB 5400 to 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Micro Center Online - the center of .computer shopping

 

[adidadi]

Any definitive word on it being movable infinitely?

 

[guruka]

because of this non-sense a 720GB external disk is damaged. It won't play any movies recorded on it before yesterday. I can see the movies but I can't play them back. I just get a black screen and have to re-boot in order to clear the memory of the 622 since it thinks that it is still playing the movie. This is really bad. What they did for this mess up the external drive. mine is a seagate 750gb.

Yep. I'm seeing exactly what you're seeing. Dang!

.....G

 

[guruka]

The problem is NOT the receiver hardware

David, Sean (and others) - I really think the problem is due to the implementation of the "Household Key" in the DVR software. Problem started on 4/12 and that's when the key changed from 0 to a new hex value. I can plug in a new hard disk and it initializes and works perfectly. I think there's a problem with how the key gets transferred to an existing EHD with recordings already on it. I reported it to Dish (took seven phone calls and much arguing with CSRs) and they are reporting the issue to the software team. If everyone else who has this problem sucessfully reports it, they may even fix it!

.....G

 

[LER]

I noticed the Household key thing when I replaced a 622 that had an issue. I haven't tried moving HDD's between receivers, but I could read the content of the drive on the new receiver. I'll see what happens at the house this weekend.

 

[guruka]

I noticed the Household key thing when I replaced a 622 that had an issue. I haven't tried moving HDD's between receivers, but I could read the content of the drive on the new receiver. I'll see what happens at the house this weekend.

Yeah, I can read the contents of the drive and even select a recording for playback, and then.... nothing... a black screen with the banner of the channel to which the DVR was last tuned. The receiver THINKS it's playing back a recording from the EHD, but it's not. The HD access light on the EHD does not flash and a reboot is required to make the receiver reset so it doesn't think a program is still playing back from the EHD. So basically, all the recordings are there. I just can't view them or restore them to the internal HD in the DVR. <sigh>

.....G

 

[LER]

I was able to move recordings from the EHDD back to the internal HDD on the new receiver, and play them back.

I'll try playing one directly from the EHDD tonight.

 

[David_Levin]

David, Sean (and others) - I really think the problem is due to the implementation of the "Household Key" in the DVR software. Problem started on 4/12 and that's when the key changed from 0 to a new hex value. I can plug in a new hard disk and it initializes and works perfectly. I think there's a problem with how the key gets transferred to an existing EHD with recordings already on it.

I was having similar problems with my WD Essential drive long before the "key" thing happend (months ago). I think the lookup structures are getting corrupted due to a incombatibility with the USB interface.

Perhaps in your case the problem did surface when the drive was "trying" to update the household key.

Normally, when the keys don't match you can't even get to the list of recorded events -> your box is letting you past that point.

I think it time for Dish to publish a list of compatible drives. Using a different model would be "at risk".

 

[guruka]

Thanks for that, David. I wonder why this drive worked just fine for months? Perhaps I'll bite the bullet, switch to a more heavily shielded USB cable and reformat the drive and try it again. Shame to loose over 400 GB of archived HD content though. I guess I could also easily put another homemade external EHD together and just put that one on the receiver and hold this one "on the shelf" for now. What drives have not had ANY problems?

.....G

 

[David_Levin]

Thanks for that, David. I wonder why this drive worked just fine for months? Perhaps I'll bite the bullet, switch to a more heavily shielded USB cable and reformat the drive and try it again. Shame to loose over 400 GB of archived HD content though. I guess I could also easily put another homemade external EHD together and just put that one on the receiver and hold this one "on the shelf" for now. What drives have not had ANY problems?

I tried different cables with my WD. Didn't help though I have no doubt a crappy cable could get you into trouble. You could be right. Drives are cheap and you could always use another. Put it on a shelf for awhile and see if Dish comes up with a fix. It would also be very interesting for you to try the Linux copy method.

I had problems with a number of SATA -> USB cases. This one has worked well for me:
A-Power Cube 3.5'' USB 2.0 Aluminum Ext SATA HDD Enclosure A POWER APCU35SA
A-Power Cube 3.5'' USB2.0 Ext SATA Hard Drive Enclosure
(note: the drive fit is tight - I had to use a wood chisel and trim some internal plastic spacers)

It uses the SATALink SPIF215A-HF021.
The same chip is also in the Eagle W-Series:
Eaglebit.com - Eagle Consus W-Series ET-CSWESU2-BK 3.5 inch eSATA+USB 2.0 to SATA Aluminum External Enclosure with built-in Heat sink - Retail
I've played with this case, seemed ok, but didn't test it for an extended period of time.

--------------------

I've also played with the Eagle Consus N-Series currently on sale for $10:
Eaglebit.com - EAGLE Consus N-Series ET-CSNSU2-BK 3.5 inch USB 2.0 to SATA External Enclosure - Retail

This one uses a different USB chip (I've got it written down at home). Tried some back/forth experiments and it seemed ok. But again, I didn't test it extensively.

Has anyone else tried this box ?

 

[CDH]

This thread seems to be related to something I've been wondering about, but forgive me if this has been answered elsewhere.

I have been having problems with my 622 overheating. If I purchase an external drive, then move content from my 622 to the external drive, and get a replacement 722 will I be able to view the archived content on the new receiver?

Thanks,
CDH.

 

[KAB]

Yes, once you pay the $39.00 for activation. You could even move them back to the 722 if you desire...you'll have more room.

 

[kstuart]

I have been having problems with my 622 overheating.

This may not be due to any particular problems with your 622 - they generally tend to overheat and need an external fan.

Find the "622 Temperature" thread which has lots of info.

 

[tnsprin]

Now that they have announced that External HDD can be switched (see retailer chat recap), how do you get a Household key? Mine are still zero.