I am considering buying an ILO DVDRH04 from Wal-Mart and I was wondering if anybody know if the hard drive is upgradable? I would like to open the box and put a bigger hard drive at some point. Thanks
i don't believe you can upgrade to a bigger hard drive. The firmware won't allow it. If you install a bigger hard drive - it will just format an 80gb partition and use that.. so it would be a waste.
I have a ilo DVDRH04. I t works great. Use the latest upgrades from the ilo hack site also use the hacked firmware. It works great. Follow directions, they are simple and they work. Look at form site [Instruction for firmware upgrade on ilo Recorders (Grtman)] I don't know about the systems acceptance of a larger hard drive. He would. I have heard that the HDD format is compatable with windows. Is a windows format compatable with the ilo. I don't believe the ilo has a format process. SO! what is the ilo HDD format?
Hi, Its just FAT32. Just install the new hard drive and go to tools and erase for HD. It should just reformat the drive and adapt accordingly. Currently, the firmware is not written to accommodate a drive higher than the 80GB.
I don't believe the erase function formats the drive. It just eliminates the systems ability to see the file and write over it, much like a P.C. The drive has a regular IDE drive connection. I have heard about the use of the ilo drive in FAT32 and a P.C. I removed the drive and installed it in a win, 98se Fat32 and a win. XP NTFS system. The drive was not recognized by either, in any configuration. It does not appear to be a FAT32 or NTFS system. The drive is a Seagate and I went to their site. It is listed separately and appears to be a specific use item. I’m not sure if the drive firmware used, would restrict its use in a PC. I feel that there is confusion as to the erasing and formatting a drive. They are not the same. I'm not sure if the ilo firmware will restrict it to 80gb.
Hi, It was recongized by my XP, which is NTFS, when I first hook it up to my computer. The erase IS formating. After reading your comment, I took a spare 18GB drive and deleted all patitions. I hooked it up to Ilo. The first thing that it says is an error " please call ...", but I could still navigate to the tools utilities. I just use erase and sure enough, the drive is been formated. I then tested by recording some shows, which worked. The formatting also allowed Ilo to adapt to the size of the drive, which in my case turned out to be 13+ hours of recording. Afterwords, I hook the drive up to my computer. The drive and its contents was recongized by XP.
Hi, By the way, the volume name on the drive that Ilo assigns is LITEONFAT. If you still have doubts, try the test yourself.
alfrednew The drive in the ilo is a Seagate. It was jumper connected [cable connect]. I tried the drive in that setup and also as a master or slave. It did not respond as a FAT32 format as you stated. I did not explore the NTFS format as throughly, but I will. It has been stated by ilo and others that the erase does not format the drive. Your referance to the volume name of the drive being LITEONFAT would indicate that the drive responded to your NTFS format. If it is NTFS that could be why it did not respond to a FAT32 system. I have extra drives and will try your test.You say that you deleated all partitions. I would assume that you used Fdisk to remove them and than let the ilo partition and format the drive with erase. I will persue it. THANKS for your info
I think that probably the ILO formats the hard drive to 80GB. But I wonder if you take a bigger hard drive, say 120, format it on your PC as FAT32 then install it in your ILO it will work? My guess is the machine would work ok until you reformat on the ILO. Then the ILO would format it to 80GB.
Hi, No problem. Yes, I used fdisk to delete all partitions and hooked up to Ilo. The drive was Formatted to FAT32. I read the drive also on my fat32 system and it worked.
gt1815a, I think you're right, as long as you include Ilo created folders and files in the PC formatted drive. Otherwise Ilo will not record any shows. I try to format my drive as often as I can, since the "deleted" data are still in the drive. So formatting a drive larger than 80 GB from a PC would not be a choice I'd choose in the long run.
So has anyone actually formatted a larger drive on a PC, installed the ILO folders, and tested that it works in the DVDRH04? I'd be extremely interested in this, as I just picked one up to replace my Philips DVDR72/17. On a side note, every unit I saw at my local Wal-Mart appeared to have been re-taped (returns?), and the unit I purchased was definetly a store return, as the instructions had been opened and flipped through, and the foam on the unit was not re-packed right. None of them were labeled as such, or discounted. In fact, when I asked if an open unit could be discounted (had no instructions), the checkout guy just flatly said no. Boy I hope I don't regret this purchase as much as the Philips DVD Recorder.
I don't think you will be unhappy. The ilo is a good unit, I have one. There are a lot of comments on putting in a larger drive, format, etc. If you realy want a unit with a bigger drive get a LiteOn [same as the ilo, bigger drive] The ilo is ok as is. Make sure you install the latest firmware upgrades along with [1194]. It will fix the major problems. Go to site www.ss3f.com/ilo for the upgrades and hacks. Check with Gtrman or Guitarman.This is a well supported unit. You can always take it back to Wal Mart.
newsboy A person should always save a reciept. Wal Mart will even give you a credit without a reciept. Within return date [save the box and bar code]. You can always have trouble with any iten. Wal Mart and ilo are very good about a warranty thing. Yes the ilo had firmware problems and they have been fixed. Other units have had problems and still do. The ilo is a good unit and so is support. It does what it was designed to do and with the hack its outstanding. Upgrading anything is always more expensive than getting what you want at the begining. I feel that the largest problem is the operator not understanding the equipment and/or expecting more than it was designed to do. Obviously gt1815a feels the ilo drive is two small and feels negativly towards the ilo. SO why even consider it, as in the original post. If you feel that the ilo fits your needs, its a very good unit. Remember the unit is stero but the tuner itself is mono. I don't know about your state. In mine the warranty card is not needed. The reciept is proof of purchase. I would advise not using the warranty card until you go over the return date to Wal Mart.
LCSHG I think that the 80GB drive is good enough but I think that it would be a neat project to upgrade it to a bigger drive sometime in the future. Sure you can buy a recorder with a bigger drive but it is a lot more fun to upgrade it yourself as a hobby.
just on an aside - i returned my original HD04 to Walmart when it fried during a firmware update. I returned it without a receipt or anything.. and they took it back no questions asked. I had gotten it from someone else who had bought it longer than over the 90 day return period.. so depending on your walmart and if they're flexible, you may have good luck returning it. P.S. I love my current HD04 and won't be returning it at all - minus a major meltdown.
ande1352 Are you sure a firmware upgrade was the cause of any problem, I have gone back an forth wirh firmware and have had no problems. With the new 1194 I dom't have to. A friend with an ilo had firmware problems and blamed the ilo. It turned out that it was the result of a bad download that was corrected. Take a look at the thread [on this form I believe page 2] Instructions for Firmware Upgrade On ILO Recorders by Gtrman. I don't mean to imply that your problem was a bad download. The information on this site is very good. Also visit www.ss3f.com/ilo. While I can get p---- at Wal Mart. Their return policy IS OK
Yes I am sure the problem was caused by the firmware upgrade. as i mentioned above, the ilo was fried during a firmware update.. it gave me a message after the update got to 99% - "firmware update failed", and then the drive would not open no matter what i did. I did find several others on the forums at the time who had the exact same issue after a failed firmware update. It most likely was either a bad firmware download - bad burn or just a faulty unit (that's what ILO support said). Now that I think about it - it must have been a faulty unit as I used the same disc to update the firmware on the new unit I picked up - and that one updated just fine (hacked firmware from guitarman's site of course)..
ande1352 I [think???] Guitarman and Gtrman are the same, but different web site. Their advice, the hsck and the site ss3f.com is the best. By the way I use my ilo in conjunction with a Go Video dual VHS/DVD.[Costco $80.00] It works very well and looks like it came from the same factory. The size, color and face are a match.
