External Hard Drive Archive Bug Thread

[mntwister]

Do you have a 622 or 722. Interestingly, I have one brand of external enclosure that seems to work fine on the 722, but experiences errors like yours on the 622.

I have 2 suggestions:

First, once you get an error like this, I would reboot the 622/722 before trying another drive.

Second, go get a Linux stand-alone boot cd and use it to run a check disk on the drive. The file structures are probably broken.

here's the command I like to use (from a terminal):

sudo e2fsck -f -C 0 /dev/sdl1
sudo e2fsck -f -C 0 /dev/sdl2
sudo e2fsck -f -C 0 /dev/sdl3

Your device will be different, but a 750 gigger will have 3 partitions. Use the Partition editor to figure out the device. Close the partition editor and unmount the drive before running e2fsck.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-ne...ed-error-linux-e2fsck-repair.html#post1524339

Sometimes I have found missing programs in the "lost and fount" folder after the repair. It is possible to move them back, should you'll need to make yourself root to do this. Make the folder structure look the same.

Here's some more interesting reading:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-ne...r-recordings-one-ehd-another.html#post1280090

Thanks for your response. First, I did several reboots of the 622. Second, I am very confused as to your other instructions. I am not familiar with the Linux stand-alone disc and what it is or where to get it. Since I am not familiar with it and the other instructions are a little too high tech for me (I am an expert at audio video but not so much with computers) that I am afraid of doing something to the contents of the drives.

It seems strange to me that all 3 drives, at the same time, would have trouble beginning at the same time after working so well for almost a year. I called Dish and they are sending me another 622 as they felt something might be wrong with the 622 UBS port that I have since all 3 started having trouble. I am wondering, after reading your post, if I should instead get a 722!

Here is what is happening.

I plug in one drive, and it shows that I have connected a drive, and then go to view its contents. It works fine but sometime during the movies on it, it freezes and I can't do anything with my remote, the movie frame is frozen on the screen. After a few minutes of pressing "stop" the 622 goes back to the TV signal. Then I try and hook up the other 2 drives and both say "You have connected a device that is unsupported by Dish Network." This varies, one day it's one thing, the next day it is another. One day it reads one drive, the next day it will read all 3 drives, the next day a movie starts and freezes after 5 minutes or 60 minutes, it's never the same.

I have spent the last year and a half recording my favorite movies in high def. I hate to lose what I have taped. Do you all think I should try a 722? None of this makes sense as one day it reads the drives, the next day there's problems, could it be a bad 622 USB input or something?

I have a new 622 coming (called today, but it's Sunday and I can still call them to change it to a 722 and just pay the extra). What do you guys recommend? I am using Seagate Freeagents, one 750gb pro model and 2 500gb regular models. I am very afraid I don't understand your directions with the Linux disc and almost sure I would screw it up.

 

[long_time_DNC]

Mntwister,

How do you have your 3 drives connected to your 622? Via a usb hub? The 622 only has 2 usb ports, so I'm assuming you're using a hub. You don't try to operate with more than 1 drive turned on at a time, do you? That would definitely cause problems.

I have 4 750gb drives connected to the rear usb port via a powered usb hub and only power on ONE drive at a time and haven't ever had any issues since they allowed external storage.

 

[mntwister]

Mntwister,

How do you have your 3 drives connected to your 622? Via a usb hub? The 622 only has 2 usb ports, so I'm assuming you're using a hub. You don't try to operate with more than 1 drive turned on at a time, do you? That would definitely cause problems.

I have 4 750gb drives connected to the rear usb port via a powered usb hub and only power on ONE drive at a time and haven't ever had any issues since they allowed external storage.

I connect them separately. When I want to use one of them, I plug in the USB cable first then the power cable (both to the drive I want to use). So the USB cable always stays in the dvr, I just connect the other end to the drive I want to use (along with the power cable for the drive). So I use them separately (I have printed out a sheet of what is on them so I know which one to use). I don't have them hubbed.

 

[mntwister]

Mntwister,

How do you have your 3 drives connected to your 622? Via a usb hub? The 622 only has 2 usb ports, so I'm assuming you're using a hub. You don't try to operate with more than 1 drive turned on at a time, do you? That would definitely cause problems.

I have 4 750gb drives connected to the rear usb port via a powered usb hub and only power on ONE drive at a time and haven't ever had any issues since they allowed external storage.

WOW! I have to seriously thank you for mentioning the 2 ports. I never saw the other USB port in the front. Basically I only opened that door for rebooting...I switched the USB cable to the jack in the front and tried all 3 drives and everything seems to be working. I can't believe it. Something must be wrong with the back port. Of course I'll post back in a day or two after watching a few movies on them and let you know how it goes. And this after months of movies stopping after 5 minutes or 60 minutes and freezing! I feel rather stupid right now.

If this was the simple solution all along, all I can say is DUH in defense of myself. Being an audio/video nut, I am surprised I never really looked there to see what else was in that front panel. And I am even more angry at the customer service of Dish who I called twice about this and I told them I suspected something might be wrong with that USB port, they NEVER suggested trying the front jack.

Now I need to decide. The guy at Dish ordered me a replacement 622, which cannot be cancelled (what an idiotic system, 1 hour later and they can't cancel it). So I called and he said I can either exchange them or refuse the shipment, no charge to me. The 622 I have was brand new when I got it, the 622 they are sending is reconditioned. With the back port bad but the front one working, I am not sure if I should exchange it, are the reconditioned ones reliable?

Anyway, I'll post again here after a few days and let you know if they are working now with the front port. Thanks so much long_time for mentioning the fact that it has 2 ports. I never bothered to look in the front door except for the power button.

 

[long_time_DNC]

Hey, no problem! I'm glad to have been of help!

As for reconditioned vs. keeping what you have... I'm not qualified to comment. I've had my original 622 for over two years without any hardware issues, so I've needed a replacement receiver. You might do some searches in the forums for "reconditioned 622" (without the quotes) or some kind of related terms and see what turns up.

You may not want to keep the front door open all the time with a cable sticking out...each person has their own opinions on cable asthetics. I prefer them to not be terribly conspicuous myself...

Be interesting to hear back from you in a few days...

 

[mntwister]

Hey, no problem! I'm glad to have been of help!

As for reconditioned vs. keeping what you have... I'm not qualified to comment. I've had my original 622 for over two years without any hardware issues, so I've needed a replacement receiver. You might do some searches in the forums for "reconditioned 622" (without the quotes) or some kind of related terms and see what turns up.

You may not want to keep the front door open all the time with a cable sticking out...each person has their own opinions on cable asthetics. I prefer them to not be terribly conspicuous myself...

Be interesting to hear back from you in a few days...

I am just curious what you would do. The back port USB is obviously bad because the front works for the external drives, but everything else has worked perfectly, would you accept the new refurbished model they are sending ? I went and looked at the threads and many say that the refurb can actually be better because they are updated and thoroughly tested..... My 622 was from the first month they were released, I had just signed with Dish and he said it was the first week the 622 was out. Some of the threads say that later models worked better. Not sure what to do. Whatever I decide I am transferring everything from the DVR hard drive to external and I think I might test the new one for a few days (she said you have 10 days to return it). I was just curious which way you would go. Like I said, nothing else is wrong but that back port, but this was off the first line because it was a new model when I got it and I wonder if the refurbished are later than that.....one post mentioned that his later model worked better. I have no idea what to do, but will have to figure it out this week lol.

 

[long_time_DNC]

I'd give it a try and see how it works, and if it's stable (put it through it's paces with timers, etc) and if you like it, keep it. I'd rather have the rear usb port working anyway...

 

[sonomabob]

My vip722 will not let me "manage" the external WD hard drive so I can not longer access any recordings. It causes the 722 to default to a black screen and reboot. I have filled up 750 Gb Western Digital which is now a doorstop. Dish says it is not its software--but everything was ok for a year with only occasional transfers to/from the external WD. Bob

 

[sonomabob]

How do I post my question as a question? Bob

 

[David_Levin]

My vip722 will not let me "manage" the external WD hard drive so I can not longer access any recordings. It causes the 722 to default to a black screen and reboot. I have filled up 750 Gb Western Digital which is now a doorstop. Dish says it is not its software--but everything was ok for a year with only occasional transfers to/from the external WD. Bob

There's just no quick answer here. Don't expect any help from dish.

Which Western Digital ? If it's the Essential w/ the round light, myself and others have reported problems with this drive.

Have you tried the front and rear USB ports ? Have you tried a different USB cable ? Is the drive spinning (power brick ok?)?

After this it comes down to time and skill level....

You could try plugging the drive into a windows PC and verify that the 3 partitions are seen by "disk manager" (don't attempt to format it).

Then, grab an ubuntu boot disk
Download Ubuntu | Ubuntu

1) boot it
2) plug in the usb drive
3) use the "partition editor" to figure out the device name (/dev/sdxx)
(menu -> administrative tools)
4) quit the parition editor
5) right-click the icons on the left and unmount the drive
6) Open a terminal (command line)
(menu -> applications (something like))
7) run check disk:
sudo e2fsck -f -C 0 /dev/sdx1
sudo e2fsck -f -C 0 /dev/sdx2
sudo e2fsck -f -C 0 /dev/sdx3
(the 750 gig drive will have 3 paritions)

Of course, it's also possible the drive has failed.

 

[120inna55]

My WD Essentials 750 GB is failing for the second time. The first time it failed (several months back) I could not access recordings on the drive. I reformatted it with Windows and then let the ViP622 format it.

Hesitantly, I began using it. Only putting things on it that wouldn't be to devastating* should they be lost. Like an idiot, I began to trust it and started off loading entire seasons of programs I'd not had time to see yet. Well, now I can not put more programs on the EHD despite the fact it says there's 250 GB free. It tries for an unusually long amount of time before I receive an error stating the transfer could not be completed. I've tried the other USB port and even tried my other DISH receiver (ViP722). Interestingly, I can restore recordings from the EHD to the DVR, but I can not move recordings to the EHD.

Also interestingly, I note that after I move recordings from the EHD to the DVR, the recordings are available and playable from both the receiver and the EHD. It has let me effectively copy recordings.

I know this all spells eventual doom for the drive, so I'm moving recordings back to the receiver while I can.

Now I need to find a drive that is better suited for this. I know I remember a thread about the "best" drives, I just need to find it...

 

[Smith P.]

I did recommend to use bootable floppy/CD with MHDD.EXE; check first your disk SMART table ( better make snapshots before and after ), then run Scan with Remap=On.

 

[120inna55]

I did recommend to use bootable floppy/CD with MHDD.EXE; check first your disk SMART table ( better make snapshots before and after ), then run Scan with Remap=On.

Danol?

Smith, with all due respect, you're on a different plane from me. I simply do not understand 99% of your posts.

 

[120inna55]

I got a Seagate FreeAgent Go 250 GB (I just wanted to off-load some SD stuff on a separate drive). The 722 keeps saying it's formatting the drive. It goes through the usual reboot, etc. But when I attempt to access the drive, it tells me it needs to be formatted.

Is this because I'm using a FreeAgent "Go"?

 

[David_Levin]

I got a Seagate FreeAgent Go 250 GB (I just wanted to off-load some SD stuff on a separate drive). The 722 keeps saying it's formatting the drive. It goes through the usual reboot, etc. But when I attempt to access the drive, it tells me it needs to be formatted.

Is this because I'm using a FreeAgent "Go"?

is the go a compact drive that takes it's power off the usb port? this is not recommended (and also a lot more $$$ per gig) ? You could try a powered USB hub.

 

[120inna55]

is the go a compact drive that takes it's power off the usb port? this is not recommended (and also a lot more $$$ per gig) ? You could try a powered USB hub.

Yeah, I kind of figured that. I actually bought the drive suspecting that might be a problem, but I thought I'd ask. I've already reformatted it with Windows NTFS and I'll use if for other purposes with Windows.

Back to the WD MyBook 750 (with green circle light) (Model WD7500C032). It has failed (or at least failed to work with my receivers). It only lights up for a few seconds, then stops ,while the drive continues to spin.

I looked into the aforementioned posts of using Ubuntu, but it's just not worth it to me.

Before the drive actually quit, I was able to restore Freakylinks (series) that I would hate to lose. Unfortunately, the last season of Battlestar Galactica is lost. I guess I'll have to buy it on Blu Ray. I also lost the last season of Heroes, but my wife and I lost interest in it anyways.

Because I've seen that others have has similar problems with the WD MyBook with the amber circle light, I've just chalked it up to that. However, the replacement is another WD MyBook, but it's the newer one with the blue slim light,and it's a 500 GB (Model: WDH1U5000N). My hope is that it will work better.

 

[David_Levin]

Because I've seen that others have has similar problems with the WD MyBook with the amber circle light, I've just chalked it up to that. However, the replacement is another WD MyBook, but it's the newer one with the blue slim light,and it's a 500 GB (Model: WDH1U5000N). My hope is that it will work better.

I believe others are using that drive w/o problems. Let is know how it works out (after a few weeks).

 

[120inna55]

I believe others are using that drive w/o problems. Let is know how it works out (after a few weeks).

I thought I'd edited my post soon enough, but apparently you quoted me before it was posted, so just for clarity: The problematic drive is WD MyBook Essentials 750 (with green circle light) (Model WD7500C032). The new, hopefully working drive is: a WD MyBook Essentials 500 (with the blue slim light) (Model: WDH1U5000N)

And an update: Since the problematic drive was no longer recognized by my receivers (neither of them even acknowledged that a drive USB device was even connected), I opened the case and had a look. I was suspicious about the power connection or USB connection. I don't really know what I was expecting to see, but everything looked fine. No loose connections. No rattling coming from the disc itself, etc. So, I reassembled it and connected it to my Windows XP laptop with intentions of reformatting it to NTFS. Not that I think I would trust it for anything other than a backup of a backup of a backup. Disk management immediately saw it and the 3 partitions I expected to see. On a whim, I plugged it back into the 722 and it was recognized immediately. Now, some things can not be restored from the drive as was the initial problem, but at least I'm able to retrieve some other things like concerts recorded from RAVE HD, etc. BSG is still a loss, but I guess it gives me an excuse to purchase the Series Set on Blu Ray when it comes out.

So, if anyone else comes across a similar problem, first try connecting the drive to your Windows PC and just go to disc management (RIGHT CLICK MY COMPUTER--> MANAGE-->DISK MANAGEMENT) Then don't do anything. That may be all you need to get the receiver to recognize the drive again.

This may all be hocus pocus, but it helped me to salvage a few more things without having to do the Ubuntu thing mentioned above.

 

[mntwister]

OK guys I thought I better report this. For over a year I've had nothing but problems, as you can see by my earlier posts with my 622 and my Seagate Freeagent drives (2-500gb and one 750gb). Errors like "Drive is in use by other TV" or "Drive not compatable with Dish Network" or the movie freezing somewhere and not being able to use any function on the remote, it never ended.

I finally called Dish and said I wanted a new DVR 622. I got it yesterday and have been doing testing with all 3 drives and not a single glitch. I will report in about a week after I watch more movies but this is the most time I have gone without errors.

So while some may thing it's their drive, don't rule out the possibility that it COULD be your DVR. I am wondering if some 622's just had bad USB wiring or connections. When I first got Dish it was the first week that Dish had the 622 so it was a brand new model. This one, I suspect, is refurbished but that means it was checked thoroughly.

So I am just saying that here's a case where Dish told me to do everything else but try a new DVR and now it works like magic. Just FYI

 

[120inna55]

...So while some may thin[k] it's their drive, don't rule out the possibility that it COULD be your DVR...

Very true. In my case I believe its a problem with the DISH software causing corruption on the drive. I had same problems on both my ViP622 and ViP722 using different USB cables and ports.

I hope all your issues resolve with your new DVR.