External Hard Drive Archive Bug Thread

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voripteth said:
I disagree. The fact that my drive can recover from sleep mode and play movies but cannot be written to is a problem in the Dish software. I suspect that mere retries won't solve the problem though since I've tried several times to write a file after sleep and it has never worked.

As for archive versus extended, we're in disagreement here as well. An archive only drive would not be able to play movies directly from it. The external drive can play movies directly from it indicating that these should be just as available as recordings on the main unit.

Does anyone know if the disk on the main unit spins down if the drive isn't used for an extended period of time?

Especially considering that this feature was introduced using a Seagate spokesperson I hope that Dish will continue work to make this feature fully functional without requiring the external drive to be constantly running.
Click to expand...

Disagree all you want, the drives work fine when operated in the fashion I described. Many things in life continue to operate in some fashion outside their prescribed use and many warnings have been issued for consumer products of all kinds due to continued use outside their proper parameters. That argument is without merit.

Operation of the MAIN disk is not the same as an archive disk connected by a temporary external connection. There are many "archive" methods that can allow you to access the data in and on them directly, even though this is not the typical method used. Playback from an archive drive is a bonus, not proof that these are really badly programmed "extended" drives.

I would not expect any "fixes" since Dish is allowing you to connect any off-the-shelf drive. To analyze and reprogram the DVR core software to handle every different kind power saving coding in all brands of drives would be extensive and possibly conflicting to the primary operation of the DVR. Dish made this a much simpler operation by expecting that you will turn off your drive when not using it. There are no issues with any of these off-the-shelf data drives when they are connected, used, and disconnected when done.
 
David_Levin said:
As far as I know neither Echostar or the Ext HDD manufacturers say the drive cannot be left on 24/7 (though I tend to keep an eye on how hot the case is getting). Can you provide a quote ?

What if you start a bunch of downloads before going to sleep. Then forget about it the next morning and go to work. The think could easily be on for 24 hours.

There's no reason HDD spin down should be breaking things. PC's do it all the time. Dish can fix this IF they want to.

PS: I do pull mine when I'm not using it. Probably mostly because I don't trust it not to gum up the box.
Click to expand...

If you leave it on overnite, turn it off in the morning. Turn it back on if you need to and it will work as advertised.

It's not just a platter spindown on the Seagate drives but more like a sleep/standby powersave mode.

There may be some repetitive routine that could be written in to query the drive until it comes back up but you would also need to limit that to a time-out and then people would assume that Dish was the problem when their drive was actually off or defective or dead when an error came back.

It's interesting how complex everything is but is made to look seemless and simple and how this creates a huge problem for people who are completely oblivious to the immense complexity of things taken for granted every day.

Dish is not the problem here. Contact Seagate and ask them why their drives don't work right but Western Digital's drives do.

Much simpler and faster, take the FreeAgent back and get a MyBook.
 
I am using a 500GB FreeAgent Destop USB HD. I checked the FAQS on Seagate's Support Section and the answer to the question whether you can leave a USB External HD powered on 24/7 is as follows:

"Yes, you can leave your drive powered on. Drives are designed and tested to continuously spin and in an "on" state without "wear and tear" effects. When spinning, the heads are riding on an air-bearing. The drive is protected against operational shock, but don't transport or move the drive while it's spinning".
 
rwalsh said:
I am using a 500GB FreeAgent Destop USB HD. I checked the FAQS on Seagate's Support Section and the answer to the question whether you can leave a USB External HD powered on 24/7 is as follows:

"Yes, you can leave your drive powered on. Drives are designed and tested to continuously spin and in an "on" state without "wear and tear" effects. When spinning, the heads are riding on an air-bearing. The drive is protected against operational shock, but don't transport or move the drive while it's spinning".
Click to expand...

yes, that information is technically correct. However, the FreeAgent drives come with management and utility software and by default are set to go into a powersave mode after a set amount of time. If you want to run your FreeAgent 24/7, you need to reconfigure the Sleep interval for NEVER.
 
8bitbytes said:
yes, that information is technically correct. However, the FreeAgent drives come with management and utility software and by default are set to go into a powersave mode after a set amount of time. If you want to run your FreeAgent 24/7, you need to reconfigure the Sleep interval for NEVER.
Click to expand...
I just called Seagate Support and they told me to leave it on 24/7 and unplug it each time between transfers. He told me my Model "500Gb FreeAgent Desktop Usb HD has no management and utility software, so I have no problem with powersave mode or sleep timer. I also told them that their Techs need to be aware that Dish has activated the 622 for this purpose. He was not aware of this, so I gave him this Website address and told him they need to see the problems some people are having. He said that he was going to do that. Maybe that will help if we really Tech Support from Seagate.
 
rwalsh said:
I just called Seagate Support and they told me to leave it on 24/7 and unplug it each time between transfers. He told me my Model "500Gb FreeAgent Desktop Usb HD has no management and utility software, so I have no problem with powersave mode or sleep timer. I also told them that their Techs need to be aware that Dish has activated the 622 for this purpose. He was not aware of this, so I gave him this Website address and told him they need to see the problems some people are having. He said that he was going to do that. Maybe that will help if we really Tech Support from Seagate.
Click to expand...

The software is downloadable from Seagate and works on all the FreeAgents, Pro or not.
 
Always liked Seagate drives, in general. But never again based on their sucky support.
thanks for setting things straight 8bitbytes.
Seagate's response shows they really don't care as well as don't understand their rep recommended this drive for use with the 622 on a public broadcast.

Once you set it for NEVER you can avoid having it run 24/7 by my suggestions on page 33 of this thread.
 
adavis720 said:
Yes, the activity light is on.

I guess I should be trusting that, and not the status bar. From now on I will just let the transfer go unless it takes like 5 hours!
Click to expand...

Ok, sent over 4 programs at once and got the blank transfer screen.

I let it go until the hard drive activity light stopped. The last program did not transfer.

I see this as a legitimate bug.
 
622 Hangup - is this a sleep issue??

Has anyone had this experience? I activated the USB port on the 622 and bought a 750 Gb Seagate Free Agent Pro and hooked it up. Everything went smoothly. I copied the TCM movie GREED - 4 hr. SD - to the Seagate in 14 minutes and it played back beautifully.

Several days later, I went to copy two more movies. I immediately got an error message that just said an error has occurred. No elaboration. Several tries resulted in the same message. So I went in and tried playing back GREED. Started just fine but when I pushed the "stop" button, it stopped but instead of reverting back to the menu, it just hung up. Pressing "play" did nothing but pressing the "skip forward" button, continued the playback. Nothing else seemed to work. Only way out of this mess, it seems was to press the "live tv" button.

Being a very long time computer geek, I did what we always do -I rebooted the 622 - what's to lose? As soon as it's up and running, I try copying the two movies and - VOILA - it works fine. So does the playback.

Two days later, I try copying a 30 minute HD program and we're back in the hangup mode..... Reboot...... works fine.......

I know, Jerry, you shouldn't bitch when you've found a solution, but is this what DishNet had in mind when they finally activated that port??? Is this a software problem or is my 622 on the fritz?? Will anyone at DishNet know? Help?
 
jerfilm said:
Has anyone had this experience? I activated the USB port on the 622 and bought a 750 Gb Seagate Free Agent Pro and hooked it up. Everything went smoothly. I copied the TCM movie GREED - 4 hr. SD - to the Seagate in 14 minutes and it played back beautifully.

Several days later, I went to copy two more movies. I immediately got an error message that just said an error has occurred. No elaboration. Several tries resulted in the same message. So I went in and tried playing back GREED. Started just fine but when I pushed the "stop" button, it stopped but instead of reverting back to the menu, it just hung up. Pressing "play" did nothing but pressing the "skip forward" button, continued the playback. Nothing else seemed to work. Only way out of this mess, it seems was to press the "live tv" button.

Being a very long time computer geek, I did what we always do -I rebooted the 622 - what's to lose? As soon as it's up and running, I try copying the two movies and - VOILA - it works fine. So does the playback.

Two days later, I try copying a 30 minute HD program and we're back in the hangup mode..... Reboot...... works fine.......

I know, Jerry, you shouldn't bitch when you've found a solution, but is this what DishNet had in mind when they finally activated that port??? Is this a software problem or is my 622 on the fritz?? Will anyone at DishNet know? Help?
Click to expand...


The issue with the Seagate drives has been discussed many, many times. It goes to sleep after sitting idle for a while and doesn't fully wake up without a reboot of the 622 or the drive (drive is much quicker). What you are seeing is a classic case...it sort of works. There is a work around to keep the drive from going to sleep. I don't have a link handy but try a search.
 
Thanks, Primetime. See you're a fellow Minnesotan. I live in Waseca. Will look for the workaround. I read it back somewhere but didn't realize it was my problem or would have printed it out onthe spot. I was afraid that if I plug the Seagate into my PC now, it would either not recognize it or might erase everything I've saved so far......

Jerry
 
jerfilm said:
Has anyone had this experience? I activated the USB port on the 622 and bought a 750 Gb Seagate Free Agent Pro and hooked it up. Everything went smoothly. I copied the TCM movie GREED - 4 hr. SD - to the Seagate in 14 minutes and it played back beautifully.

Several days later, I went to copy two more movies. I immediately got an error message that just said an error has occurred. No elaboration. Several tries resulted in the same message. So I went in and tried playing back GREED. Started just fine but when I pushed the "stop" button, it stopped but instead of reverting back to the menu, it just hung up. Pressing "play" did nothing but pressing the "skip forward" button, continued the playback. Nothing else seemed to work. Only way out of this mess, it seems was to press the "live tv" button.

Being a very long time computer geek, I did what we always do -I rebooted the 622 - what's to lose? As soon as it's up and running, I try copying the two movies and - VOILA - it works fine. So does the playback.

Two days later, I try copying a 30 minute HD program and we're back in the hangup mode..... Reboot...... works fine.......

I know, Jerry, you shouldn't bitch when you've found a solution, but is this what DishNet had in mind when they finally activated that port??? Is this a software problem or is my 622 on the fritz?? Will anyone at DishNet know? Help?
Click to expand...

If you missed my thread, i discussed this with Seagate via Telephone and He explained to me why I have to Unplug the Ext. HD between Recordings. He got over my head but I know this solves the problem. I have the Power Supply plugged to a surge protector and just cut it off after each transfer. I also cut it off at night.
 
jerfilm said:
Has anyone had this experience? ...

I know, Jerry, you shouldn't bitch when you've found a solution, but is this what DishNet had in mind when they finally activated that port??? Is this a software problem or is my 622 on the fritz?? Will anyone at DishNet know? Help?
Click to expand...


Short answer Jerry:
1) Use FreeAgent utilities to tell drive to never go to sleep

OR

2) Turn off and unplug drive when not in use. You won't have to reboot the 622.
 
Here are the instructions again with a valid download link to the utility. For some reason I am unable to edit my original post.
______________________________________________

This is from memory, so I apologize if the wording is not exact.

For Seagate FreeAgent Drives: To change or disable Sleep Mode or Drive Lights.

1. Download the utility from http://www.seagate.com/support/freeagent/mobile-recovery-efigs.zip
2. Unzip - Specify a folder <I just created one on my desktop>
3. After unzipping run the setup, extract it to your local drive <Choose or create a folder you can easily find>.
4. Go to the folder you extracted to and execute the installation program
5. End the install when it gets to the "backup software" part.
6. At this point you will have a desktop icon.
7. Plug the drive in, let Windows recognize it
8. Double click on the icon
9. Let the software find the drive
10. Select Utilities and set the Sleep Interval to the desired time (You can also adjust the drive lights here.)
11. Select Apply.
12. Exit program

NightRyder
 
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