DVR Hard drives

DonLB · 12-14-2006, 01:54 PM

I have a number of old DVR's, one has a 40 gig HD and the other has a 100 gig HD.

I am no longer using them and want to use the Hard Drives in a computer. I have taken them apart, made the hard drives a second drive and can not get them to be recognized nor can I reformat them.

Any software out there that will delete the partition that Direct TV put on them so I can use them in a computer. Hate just to throw them away.

voyager1 · 12-14-2006, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonLB

I have a number of old DVR's, one has a 40 gig HD and the other has a 100 gig HD.

I am no longer using them and want to use the Hard Drives in a computer. I have taken them apart, made the hard drives a second drive and can not get them to be recognized nor can I reformat them.

Any software out there that will delete the partition that Direct TV put on them so I can use them in a computer. Hate just to throw them away.

wipedrive..........or........partion magic should do it.

DonLB · 12-14-2006, 06:58 PM

Those would be great IF the computer recognized the hard drives. They do not. I cannot remember which program I tried but, no luck. The hard drive is formated with a special format that windows does not recognize.

voyager1 · 12-14-2006, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonLB

Those would be great IF the computer recognized the hard drives. They do not. I cannot remember which program I tried but, no luck. The hard drive is formated with a special format that windows does not recognize.

this app will also do the job.
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/pr...drivecleanser/

you are wiping a linux based as on directv systems . trust me . i do computers for a living :

like i said before...wipe drive will do the job too . a mac based os will wipe the drive too. no problem .

DonLB · 12-14-2006, 07:45 PM

LOL, ok I trust you. If I use any of those programs, do I just let windows load and then clean the slave drive with one of those programs through windows?

Forgive my questions and thank you for taking the time to answer.

voyager1 · 12-14-2006, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonLB

LOL, ok I trust you. If I use any of those programs, do I just let windows load and then clean the slave drive with one of those programs through windows?

Forgive my questions and thank you for taking the time to answer.

depends which one you use.some boot from cd/flash drive/floppy.most you just open the app.then when you reboot,it will promt you for what you want to wipe clean . there is a freeware app to do this,it has slipped my mind which app it is,i will look through my apps and try to find the free one for you to use. some of these apps are not cheap . looking now for the freeware one i used in the past.

i am 99% sure this is the free one that works well.
http://www.killdisk.com/?gclid=COqT-...FTAEJQodUVjn5w

HondoHDTV · 12-14-2006, 09:29 PM

I believe the DRV uses Linux as it operating system. To get a windows based machine to see the drive you will need to a) run FDISK.EXE to smoke the non DOS partition, b) them recreate the partition via the same FDISK utility.

Once you have the newly formed partition you can run FORMAT.COM (this uses paths & switched - type format.com /? for the list) - Make it a slave drive to the primary drive of you PC. Keep mind, some PC use the pin jumpers on the drive itself to denote whether it's a master or slave drive... that may be the problem - I'd check that first.

You can also go to maxtor.com, westerndigital.com or whatever brand name drive is to get the pin information for master / slave settings.

you should be able to find FDISK.EXE & FORMAT.COM in the Command directory in Windows - C:\Windows\Command\

voyager1 · 12-14-2006, 10:16 PM

after format. you will need to make the new drive active :
http://www.d-silence.com/feature.php?id=246

u may want to print out this link. good info here on how to :
good luck ..need more help. feel free to ask . I am no expert on directv,but,i know computers,LOL .

DonLB · 12-14-2006, 10:37 PM

Thanks for all the help. I did it, was able to format the hard drive and used Windows XP to format it. Now I have a good 40 gig hard drive. The wife said I should have taken the 200 gig out of the DVR plus and used it and put the 40 in that cause we only use it to pause and rewind. Don't need the big hard drive. LOL

Thanks so much. Nobody else I asked had any idea what to do.

voyager1 · 12-14-2006, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonLB

Thanks for all the help. I did it, was able to format the hard drive and used Windows XP to format it. Now I have a good 40 gig hard drive. The wife said I should have taken the 200 gig out of the DVR plus and used it and put the 40 in that cause we only use it to pause and rewind. Don't need the big hard drive. LOL

Thanks so much. Nobody else I asked had any idea what to do.

great !! now maybe you can help me with directv one day !!! that is what the world is about,helping people !!! dang good group here,i must say !!!!!!!!!!!!

ok.off for letterman in H.D now...dave is a madman,is he not ?
to much pc work today,gives me a pain in the ol gulliver,LOL.

DonLB · 12-14-2006, 11:21 PM

Will try to do that. Have a great Christmas. Maybe I'll get the 108 download before then. LOL

DonLB · 12-17-2006, 09:32 AM

The hard drive is in the computer as a secondary.

12-14-2006, 01:54 PM	#1
DonLB High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Syracuse New York Posts: 38	DVR Hard drives I have a number of old DVR's, one has a 40 gig HD and the other has a 100 gig HD. I am no longer using them and want to use the Hard Drives in a computer. I have taken them apart, made the hard drives a second drive and can not get them to be recognized nor can I reformat them. Any software out there that will delete the partition that Direct TV put on them so I can use them in a computer. Hate just to throw them away.

12-14-2006, 09:29 PM	#7
HondoHDTV Shake & Bake - WOOOO! Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 204	I believe the DRV uses Linux as it operating system. To get a windows based machine to see the drive you will need to a) run FDISK.EXE to smoke the non DOS partition, b) them recreate the partition via the same FDISK utility. Once you have the newly formed partition you can run FORMAT.COM (this uses paths & switched - type format.com /? for the list) - Make it a slave drive to the primary drive of you PC. Keep mind, some PC use the pin jumpers on the drive itself to denote whether it's a master or slave drive... that may be the problem - I'd check that first. You can also go to maxtor.com, westerndigital.com or whatever brand name drive is to get the pin information for master / slave settings. you should be able to find FDISK.EXE & FORMAT.COM in the Command directory in Windows - C:\Windows\Command\ __________________ HondoHDTV Toshiba 56HM66 DLP 720p - 56 inch Toshiba S4990 DVD Upconversion DirecTV 5 LNB Dish AU9 Slimline HD Local OTA HD20 700 DVR HD 20 DirecTV Receiver DirecTivo (SDTV) DirecTV DVR (SDTV) Last edited by HondoHDTV; 12-14-2006 at 09:31 PM.

12-14-2006, 10:16 PM	#8
voyager1 High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 379	after format. you will need to make the new drive active : http://www.d-silence.com/feature.php?id=246 u may want to print out this link. good info here on how to : good luck ..need more help. feel free to ask . I am no expert on directv,but,i know computers,LOL . __________________ steve

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12-14-2006, 06:58 PM	#3
DonLB High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Syracuse New York Posts: 38	Those would be great IF the computer recognized the hard drives. They do not. I cannot remember which program I tried but, no luck. The hard drive is formated with a special format that windows does not recognize.

12-14-2006, 07:45 PM	#5
DonLB High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Syracuse New York Posts: 38	LOL, ok I trust you. If I use any of those programs, do I just let windows load and then clean the slave drive with one of those programs through windows? Forgive my questions and thank you for taking the time to answer.

12-14-2006, 10:37 PM	#9
DonLB High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Syracuse New York Posts: 38	Thanks for all the help. I did it, was able to format the hard drive and used Windows XP to format it. Now I have a good 40 gig hard drive. The wife said I should have taken the 200 gig out of the DVR plus and used it and put the 40 in that cause we only use it to pause and rewind. Don't need the big hard drive. LOL Thanks so much. Nobody else I asked had any idea what to do.

12-14-2006, 11:21 PM	#11
DonLB High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Syracuse New York Posts: 38	Will try to do that. Have a great Christmas. Maybe I'll get the 108 download before then. LOL

12-17-2006, 09:32 AM	#12
DonLB High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Syracuse New York Posts: 38	The hard drive is in the computer as a secondary.