My father-in-law has a Hughes SD-DVR40 that I had gotten him a few years ago. It is stock and has been working without any issues.

This week he told me that he can't watch anything that is recorded, can't even pull it up. Now I am not totally sure what he is experiencing as I have not been there to see the unit yet. He said he has rebooted it but nothing changes.

I think he can still watch live TV and he see's the red light come on when it should record.

Does this sound like a potential bad HDD?

Should I purchase a new HDD and bring it with me to install for him?

Thanks for any input.

Phil W.