totally Unofficial Thread on Compatible External Storage for the VIP 622

[Andyjunction]

How quiet is this unit? This is a bit of a concern for me because I have an open tv stand.

It seems extremely quiet to me but it's the first external HD I have any experience with so my frame of reference is limited. But I had to put my ear right next to it to hear it at all over my laptop on the other side of the room.

edit: refers to this unit -
Hitachi - 1TB External Hard Drive - H31000U

 

[cparker]

This is what I have. No problems at all.
Newegg.com - Eagle Consus W-Series ET-CSWSIU2-BK 3.5" USB2.0 to IDE + SATA Aluminum External Enclosure - Retail

Found this direct from Eagle for $26.99 and free FedEx shipping.
just FYI in case anyone wants to go this route. I think I'm going to pick one up. I can slap an exising, unused 160GB IDE drive in it for now and later use a SATA drive if I want to go bigger. Nice to have options.

 

[KAB]

Found this direct from Eagle for $26.99 and free FedEx shipping.
just FYI in case anyone wants to go this route. I think I'm going to pick one up. I can slap an exising, unused 160GB IDE drive in it for now and later use a SATA drive if I want to go bigger. Nice to have options.

Actually, I got mine from Eagle as well, just found the newegg one faster for reference. That is the way to go over off the shelf externals, for several reasons.

 

[cparker]

Actually, I got mine from Eagle as well, just found the newegg one faster for reference. That is the way to go over off the shelf externals, for several reasons.

Ok... good enough recommendation for me. And at that price..... I ordered one. First time with this merchant. If I like the service, I'll order a couple more. I have hard drives laying around in drawers, unused... may as well use them for something.

 

[keenan]

I'm using this case:Hitachi - 1TB External Hard Drive - H31000U

with this drive:Newegg.com - HITACHI Deskstar T7K500 HDT725050VLA360 (0A33437) 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

It's whisper quiet and has worked perfectly since install. Only drawback is the big red power LED, but 2 pieces of electrical tape fixes that quite nicely.

 

[treiher]

Western Digital Premium Capacity Meter

Can anyone confirm if the capacity meter feature works on the Western Digital Premium hard drive? I can't imagine why it wouldn't, but I didn't know if the different formatting might affect it.

 

[jdr01930]

Can anyone confirm if the capacity meter feature works on the Western Digital Premium hard drive? I can't imagine why it wouldn't, but I didn't know if the different formatting might affect it.

I had to set up a couple of these at a client site recently (nothing dish related), and noticed in the documentation that it said you have to install drivers on the PC it's attached to to get the "meter" to work. So, I don't think it will work on a 622 unless you can find a linux driver and magically install it on the 622.

 

[B_Kranski]

Simple tech 500gb works fine here

500GB SimpleDrive USB 2.0 External Hard Drive (designed by Pininfarina)

 

[David_Levin]

My Search for an SATA Enclosure

I've had a heck of a time finding an SATA enclosure that gets along with the 622. The ATA enclosures seem to be less problamatic.

The first three I tried use JMicro interface chips:

Geeks Generic: 3.5" USB 2.0 External SATA HDD Enclosure w/OTB (Black) 3006SB 3006SB
A-Power: A-Power 3.5" USB 2.0 Aluminum External SATA HDD Enclosure APOWER AP35SATA AP35SATA
JM20339
Intermittant freeze up. Light stuck on. Recovers after a delay.

Beyond Micro
External Hard Drives - 500GB USB 2.0/eSATA External Hard Drive (Beyond Micro) - eCOST.com - electronics, computers, laptops, mp3 players
JM20336 (Product_JM20336)
Freeze during x-fer 622 Disconnects w/ Red Light Stuck On.
If locks during playback - leaves 622 hosed - needs reboot.

Then I tried this one:
A-Cube (currently on sale for $16.50)
2 Amp Power supply.
A-Power Cube 3.5'' USB 2.0 Aluminum Ext SATA HDD Enclosure A POWER APCU35SA APCU35SA
It uses the SATALink chip (popular among the TiVo people).
SATALink SPIF215A-HF021 MQH9062.1
This one is working fine.

Note that the drive fit is too tight.
There are some ridges on the inside of the top cover that I had to chisel off to get the cover to fit (was not difficult).

I also purchased the Eagle that someone here recommended:
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
1.5 Amp Power Supply.
Turns out is uses the same SATALink chip:
SATALink SPIF215A-HF021 MQM5181.1
It's $25 (free shipping), and provides both USB & eSATA (not useful for the 622). Please note that I haven't played with this yet since I've got the A-Cube working. I'll get to it shortly.


Geeks currently has the Seagate SATA 750 refurbished on sale for $140. I've bought a number of these for two PCs and both 622s.

They come with a 180 day Seagate warranty.

One developed a SMART error (too many remaps) and went back to Seagate for exchange. I have another that required 1 remap after running diagnostics. I'm going to test this guy further before putting it into use. Also, I'll keep it in a PC where Vista monitors the SMART.

I'll leave it up to you if the refurbs are worth the hassle. I definately recommend Seagate's Zero & Long diagnostics before putting them into use. My feeling is if they get through the 180 days they'll be fine for normal use.

The Deals are Getting BIGGER and BETTER at Geeks.com

PS: This ATA enclosure had problems too:
Beyond Micro (USB Only)
500GB Mobile Disk Edition USB 2.0 External Hard Drive (Beyond Micro) - eCOST.com
Lockups. Chip: Prolific PL-2506