External HD reverts to internal must reboot to get back

[davee]

I have an external WD 1tb connected to the rear esata on a hr20/700. every other day or two the reciever reverts back to the internal HD and i have to reboot the reciever to get it back. Of course if i forget to check i miss my scheduled shows.
Am i looking at a hardware issue with the WD?
Is there something i need to do on the D* to make this connection permanent?
Is there anywhere to look at what time it reverted? a log?
Is this just normal and i need to check this everyday?
thanks for any input.

D

 

[raoul5788]

I have an external WD 1tb connected to the rear esata on a hr20/700. every other day or two the reciever reverts back to the internal HD and i have to reboot the reciever to get it back. Of course if i forget to check i miss my scheduled shows.
Am i looking at a hardware issue with the WD?
Is there something i need to do on the D* to make this connection permanent?
Is there anywhere to look at what time it reverted? a log?
Is this just normal and i need to check this everyday?
thanks for any input.

D

I could be you are using one of the hard drives that isn't compatible with the HR20-700. There is a thread on Satguys that tells you which drives work with which dvrs. Sorry, but I am too lazy to find it for you!

 

[davee]

I will go look in the threads for this.
Its a WD10eacs 1tb if anyone has this info handy. i have it sitting in an esata cradle with a cable to the rear esata connector.

by incompatible i would assume it will exhibit flaky performance but would work?

 

[yorktown]

Is this just normal and i need to check this everyday?
thanks for any input.
D

No, It's not just normal.

 

[cfb]

Getting any power fluctuations or have a loose power cord on the dvr or disk drive? If you had a power blip and the receiver checked for the drive before the drive reported as ready, it'll flip over and use the internal. Also, if it loses connection with the external while running, it'll reboot and revert to the internal.

One last aside, I hate those bare drive esata cradles. Fine for a lab where you're swapping disks in and out and running them for short periods. I dont think they're adequate for 24x7 dvr usage.

I'll bet if you put the drive in a quality esata enclosure like the MX-1 and put both the dvr and disk drive on a small UPS, this problem will disappear.

 

[dfergie]

Set your regular timers for your internal drive also, that way if you lose the EHDD, you still have your program...

 

[Tom Bombadil]

You may be thinking of this thread:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/directv...external-hard-drive-fyi-support-esata-41.html

But it is a very poorly organized thread. There is no "master" post that is updated and provides the sought-for information. It is just a long, rambling thread that occasionally provides external HD info for a receiver now and then. You have to read through all of it, sort out bad information, and try to find what is recommended for your specific receiver.

 

[raoul5788]

I will go look in the threads for this.
Its a WD10eacs 1tb if anyone has this info handy. i have it sitting in an esata cradle with a cable to the rear esata connector.

by incompatible i would assume it will exhibit flaky performance but would work?

I just checked the Directv website. The only 1tb hd they list is the WD WDG1S10000. I know others work because I have a Calvary 1tb connected to my HR20-700 that has worked fine for about two years.

 

[davee]

Well this morning i can see the dtv is on and has rebooted and is looking at the internal drive again. Last night i did move the esata cradle's power to my main monster power strip. I don't think it is a power fluct. i will move the drive to an esata enclosure tonight.
thanks for all the suggestions
d

 

[davee]

Well i put the WD HD in an enclosure and i have not had any issues. This cradle i was using must not be good for the 24X7 connections. good to know.
thanks everyone.

dave

 

[jdspencer]

May I suggest that you put the DVR and eSata on a UPS. It's just good insurance against power outages. And if the outage is longer than the battery lasts, it will power up when the power returns to normal parameters.

 

[cfb]

Good advice. I found that going back to my series 1 tivo days and through my current HR20 days, that I have far fewer 'weird' problems when I put the receiver and any external connected piece parts like disk drives and SWM or long run amp power supplies on a small UPS. I find deals on them at the office supply stores for $10-25 for the very small ones. They'll only run for about 5-7 minutes on the little UPS's, but thats good enough to cover for voltage sags and momentary glitches.

I've found that all the dvr makers use cheap power supplies, and if the voltage sags much under 100v they keep running, but do lots of weird things like lose the network or modem ability, stop responding to the remote, etc. Some of the weird stuff is persistent even after the voltage comes back up to normal.