External Hard Drive Problems and Discussion - See Facts Link in Post 1.

[JoeLouie]

I can't confirm 100% as I've never actually tried it, but I'm going to put all of my money on "no".

[Pinza]

As the 9241 has an Internal drive, it "Archives" to the EHD. The 6131/6141/6400 actually record to the EHD, so you cannot swap EHD's between the PVR an the HD box.

You can swap the EHD between all the 6131/6141/6400's you have on your account.

[JoeLouie]

Are you sure that it will work between the 6131/6141 and 6400? I think I've had someone ask me before, but I couldn't get them a definite answer.

[Pinza]

I spoke with Tasneem at Bell only last week, she confirmed it for me. I myself have not verified it but I can't imagine bad info coming out of Bell TV directly. Can you.?.........

[JoeLouie]

Of course not. In all seriousness though, the only reason the 9241 and 6131/6141 aren't swappable is because they use the external HDD differently. The 6131/6141 and 6400 use it the same way, so if they're not swappable it's only because Bell is making it like that on purpose... In my opinion anyways.

[oldschool1]

i have a 6131 receiver, and is it really a simple as buying a hard drive and plugging it in, and if ss when i buy the hard drive does it come with the cord to plug in as well

and what are the exact modules are work with the 6131

[Jethro]

Would anyone know what could be causing the disconnection of the external hard drive (EHD) from the 6131 receiver? I have a 500GB HDD in a Vantec Nexstar enclosure.

I'm not sure whether the 2 year old receiver is going, USB cable, HDD enclosure or the HDD itself.
We will be watching something from the PVR and it will flash a message that the USB drive removed, rebooting receiver.
It will reboot and start back up again. Sometimes with the EHD installed and sometimes not. Last night it reset 3 times in a row when ever I tried to select a TV show to watch from the PVR list, it would say USB drive removed and then reset again.

I am suspecting the receiver going only because we have had to reset the receiver by holding the front power button 2 times this week because it wouldn't come out of screen save. It had that Bell blurb on screen but no lights were on the receiver. Normally we press "select" and it starts up but nothing worked until I reset the receiver. Happened 2 times now this week. Then the intermittent lose of USB EHD connection is really starting to p*** me off.
And no PVR means life isn't worth living... TV wise. :-) Live TV with commercials sucks.

Anyone have any ideas? Thx

[dsspredator]

Originally Posted by Jethro

I'm not sure whether the 2 year old receiver is going, USB cable, HDD enclosure or the HDD itself.

I had a similar problem. So I just plugged in a different HD and the problem stopped.
So if you have a spare HD try that - or buy one from FS or BB and just return it if that is not the problem.

[Jethro]

Was that the HDD in the same enclosure or just a whole new unit. New glitch last night had the PVR list only show 5 of the 104 recorded items. Just a regular power off then on brought the whole list back up again. Didn't have to power off the HDD enclosure at all.
*sigh*

[MCIBUS]

Originally Posted by Pinza

The EHD is just for archiving your recordings, you cannot record directly to it. Ensure that you never fill it or you will experience major problems, as outlined elsewhere in these forums.

So let me understand this as I'm new to this too.

This EHD is basically a storage place for your recordibngs?

So if you don't record alot of movies/programs with your PVR or actually keep them for good this EHD wouldn't be worth fit or me to buy?(I don't really keep records mainly to view at a latere date then earse.)

A few questions.

1)If I get this EHD can I put it on another 9241?

2)Can I connect this EHD to a computer and watch my recording there?

3)Apparently you can put a EHD on a 6131. Is this only a EHD to view programing or can you buy a recordable HD to turn your 6131 into a PVR.

Thanks.

[57]

MCIBUS 1. Please read posts in the eHDD Facts thread, link below - all your questions answered there.

2. No. Programmes are encrypted.

3. Turns it into a PVR.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=100773

[gdmaclew]

Does anyone know if the EHD on a 6141 becomes fragmented over time or does the OS that controls it defrag it "on the fly" during "quiet" times?

[flaminghomer]

Originally Posted by MCIBUS

3)Apparently you can put a EHD on a 6131. Is this only a EHD to view programing or can you buy a recordable HD to turn your 6131 into a PVR.

I recently attached an old Western Digital 80GB EHD to my 6131, which recognized it immediately, rebooted, and in about 5 minutes I had a second PVR. Appears to have the same UI and all the same functionality as the 9241 (at least as far as I can tell; haven't played around with it much yet.). The only limitation of course is you can't record two shows at once or watch one show while recording another.

Just for reference, 80GB gives me 10 hours recording in HD / 71 hours in SD. More than enough for me since this is a second PVR.

[stillgolfing]

I was actually here looking for troubleshooting info on the 6131 Receiver (Bell upgraded me six weeks ago from a six year old 4100 and it's been nothing but a nightmare so far). I'll be covering that issue in the proper forum.
However, I stumbled across the 2 EDH threads and got interested in adding a drive as a "PVR" (Once Bell get's my Receiver working properly or replaces it). Doing searches I didn't find any info on the overall sequence for adding an EDH (req'd cables, order of hook up, formatting procedure etc.). I assumed since eventually you would need onscreen menus and such to record, that all the related info would be in the 6131 Manual, but nada. Is this info available anywhere here, or on Bell's site?
Thanks in advance. SG

[57]

stillgolfing: Check out the eHDD Facts sticky - lots of questions answered there.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=100773

Q: Does the drive need to be activated by Bell?
A: For most people, it should work without the need for calling Bell, however, if your receiver does not recognize the drive after it is plugged into the USB port, then you should contact Bell.