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  • #1

    Problems Upgrading 2 DVRs

    I'm hoping for some help identifying a problem. We have 2 Hughes DVR machines, one of them an SD-DVR120 we purchased from Weaknees 4 years ago to use as our main machine. The older machine (an HDVR2) we have continued to use with the original small hard drive in our basement.

    Last week the SD-DVR40 started freezing at times, then finally one morning came on with the grey "Powering Up" screen and went no further. After reviewing a lot of the comments on this Forum, I decided the problem was likely the hard drive and decided to replace the drives in both machines at the same time to increase capacity. Obviously the priority, though, was to get the broken one working first. We got the new drives in late Friday afternoon.

    I replaced out the drive on the SD-DVR40, following all the instructions about how to hook up the hard drive adapter to the newer SATA hard drive. Nothing different - the same grey "Powering Up" screen was all I got . I then replaced out the drive in the older HDVR2 - that one seems to work just fine (though I haven't finalized it yet, so that I could compare both installations). I experimented for a little while with the cases open on the 2 machines trying to see if anything appeared different, and all I noticed is that the red light on the hard drive adapter comes on after about 15 seconds and stays on with the set that isn't working, while the red light on the working set acts like a working hard drive - turning on and off as the hard drive works.

    Do you have any idea why the hard drive on the SD-DVR40 would seem to be in some kind of loop on the machine that isn't working ? I thought at first it might be a problem with the hard drive adapter or the cables, but I switched each one out without any effect. I also wondering about the connection between the hard drive and the adapter - it didn't seem overly secure with that foam pad in between - or if the power supply might have gone bad (I know several posts said that losing the hard drive and power supply at the same time was rare but possible).

    Any help would be much appreciated (especially if I need to order something else) - my wife is going through painful TIVO withdrawal symptoms!
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Quick update - I finalized the installation on the older (HDVR2) machine - it is operational, but stopping/starting and pixelating a lot like the other machine was doing before these problems started. Is that just the new hard drive getting "up to speed", or maybe a satellite problem?

    Nothing new on the original problem with the SD-DVR40 - hopefully a tech will have a suggestion. Thanks!

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    • #3
      If you rewind, do you see the pixellation in the same places?

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      • #4
        I tried it with one movie recorded overnight, and the pauses/disruptions did show up at the same spots. My wife said it was bad this morning on both live and recordings, but seems to be better now. I'm assuming it's just the satellite?

        I'm a lot more concerned about the non-working SD-DVR, especially if I need to order more replacement parts (last week your office said orders had to be in by 2-3pm to get out that day), so if you have any ideas there I would appreciate it.

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        • #5
          Sounds like a satellite issue or a bad tuner. See:

          TiVo Blocky / Pixellating Picture : Diagnosis
          TiVo Tuner Repair

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          • #6
            Thanks - any thoughts on the original message?

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            • #7
              Either of these drives should boot in either machine, so you should be able to troubleshoot further that way.

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              • #8
                1 down, 1 to go

                OK, maybe I didn't spell out what I've done so far clearly enough:

                1) SD-DVR40 machine came up with long-term grey "Powering Up" message - after reviewing similar episodes in this Forum, I ordered a new hard drive from Weaknees (plus an upgrade hard drive for an older machine).

                2) Install new hard drive in SD-DVR40 - same "powering up" message

                3) Check and switch out cables and hard drive adapter - no change

                4) Install 2nd new hard drive in SD-DVR40 - no change

                5) Install new hard drive in older machine - works fine

                I now have an upgraded older machine working, while the SD-DVR40 I was originally trying to fix is still kaput. Neither drive booted in that machine (so I'm not sure what else to try "troubleshooting" at this point, plus I'm reluctant to take back apart the only working machine without a specific suggestion of something to test or try)!

                The only difference I noted in the inner workings of the SD-DVR40 (vs. the other machine) is that when I try to test it with the cover off a red light appears on the hard drive adapter after 15 seconds and stays on. When I observed the older machine in the same way, that same red light turned on and off intermittently, like you would expect a working hard drive to act.

                As I mentioned in my first message, the SD-DVR40 is relatively newer (we got it from you about 4 years ago) but gets used a lot more on a regular basis. Everything appears to power up fine, but obviously there's no way to know for sure - all I can see are the lights on the front panel and on the hard drive adapter. I should also note that I did try to test the old hard drive from that machine on my computer using the Seagate diagnostic tools recommended elsewhere in this Forum - it looked "dead".

                I'm happy to try troubleshooting something else if you have a suggestion of something I missed - otherwise I'm looking for other possible solutions. Since I've already paid $169 for a new hard drive, I'm reluctant to spend another $169 on a flat-fee repair until I've tried everything I can from my end. Look forward to hearing other ideas, and thanks!

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                • #9
                  I'd suggest you try swapping power supplies; if that doesn't help, then your SD-DVR is basically beyond repair.

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                  • #10
                    Options for new DVR

                    OK, I finally had time here Labor Day weekend to get back to this project (at least we had one working DVR and a happy wife - now I want MY machine back before the NFL season starts!).

                    As you suggested, I tried switching out everything I could (power supply, SATA-to-IDE converter, hard drive) - I'm pretty satisfied that her old machine is not going to work. I get the same problem with the red error light appearing on the converter every time, no matter what configuration I use.

                    Here's my new question - since I already paid for and received a single 500GB hard drive upgrade kit, I don't really want to waste that money if I can help it. Do any of your newer DirecTV DVRs use that same type of hard drive (and pre-loaded software, of course) that was intended to upgrade the Hughes SD-DVR40 so that I could buy a Bare DirecTV unit and just install the new hard drive into it? I saw on the Weaknees site that you offer Samsung, Philips, and DirecTV R10 bare-bones models - I'm hoping at least one of them is compatible.

                    I would rather get a new machine at this point, but I'd probably go with a used Hughes machine (either from you if available or on EBay) if you tell me I will have to let the $170 hard drive to go "waste" otherwise. Please advise on my next best option - I'd like to get something ordered by Tuesday or Wednesday so I can get it installed next weekend. Thanks!

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                    • #11
                      We should be able to find you a Hughes - call us and we'll make sure and take the order by phone: 888 932-5633.
                      Been here a long time . . .

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