Reformat DVR hard drive for PC use

I'm not the one that said anything about a clicking sound. The drive sounds perfectly fine. DVR Hard drives are embedded with specific firmware made base on a linux build. However not even any Linux I've tried could see the drive either. It is made specifically for DVR's however I really want to beat the system and make it work. Also its a SATA drive, and I have connected through USB adapters as well. No such luck with that method either. Oh well

 

I have spent weeks and countless hours trying to hack into the two 500GB HDD's that I removed from two HR22's. Sadly, I have not uncovered the best kept secret in the computing world on how to format a used HDD out of a DVR. IMO once a HDD is installed into a Direct TV DVR it is no longer compatible with a PC. I have better things to do with my time. It's not worth waisting it on a couple of HDD's that are worth less than a hundred dollars. I like a challenge, but there comes a time when you have to ask if this is a winnable campaign worth the cost. I'm not giving up, I'm moving on. I'll keep monitoring this thread for progress on the subject and hopefully someone smarter than I will figure this out. My hats off to those that want to try, good luck!

 

well i dont no if you got you hd formatted or not bet the way i did mine was with linux you can dl any flavor offline that you like for free i preferably like linux mint but just install like you would windows xp !!! hope this helps ????

 

well i dont no if you got you hd formatted or not bet the way i did mine was with linux you can dl any flavor offline that you like for free i preferably like linux mint but just install like you would windows xp !!! hope this helps ????

 

[]I have spent weeks and countless hours trying to hack into the two 500GB HDDs that I removed from two HR22s. Sadly, I have not ..............................SOLVED... EASEUS PARTITION MASTER HOME EDT...drive should show up there,,right click on it and change it from logical to primary..the highlight drive and format.press apply on top tool bar and that should be it,close program and it should b there..worked on a maxtor,,hope it helps,,,,,,maxtor sata drive connected to pc using a external hardrive hub into usb port,,,,,,,,slan

 

I tried today, and it did not show up for me. Different I guess. What OS did you use? Man I've been at this for over a year. Even made it a prize for any of my classmates who could do it. They fail too. Anything else guys?

 

..........................................................................................................Hmmm,i had spent some time trying to figure it out also,,was it connected using usb hub? i was using xp pro on an old desktop, did it not show up in the easeus program? i have another hardrive currently in use in the dvr and when i get time il try it step by step again, il let you know how it goes anyways,,,, dont give up

 

Wondering if using a x360 usb pro could help gain control of the drive? it is a hard drive hacking tool.

team-xecuter.com if you wanna read and decide.. maybe ask on the forums from that website

 

I just did the DVR-to-PC reformat! However - The drive was one I'd originally supplied as an external, and it had been originally formatted for PC use.

I used Seagate's "DiscWizard for PC" (just because it was laying around), but the hard drive in question is a Western 500 GB! I got the boilerplate warning that the software only works with Seagate drives, etc.

But it did see the Western drive (SATA Drive 1). When I asked it to reformat, it took only a few seconds (quick format), and the drive is alive and useable. However, there is a small partition (~500MB) that sits there useless - the Seagate SW didn't offer any partition options. But I now have nearly all the original capacity of the drive back - I tried a few test files in and out with good results.

No idea whether this would help with a drive originally supplied with the DVR. Oh, the DVR is a Scientific-Atlanta 8340, and my OS is Windows XP.

 

Originally posted by KillerBug:
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Try this; it should wipe out whatever is on there and give you a nice clean space to put a NTFS partition:

Open the command prompt as administrator
type diskpart[enter]
type list disk[enter]
type select disk X[enter] (where X is replaced with the number of that disk).
type clean[enter]
type create partition primary[enter]
type exit[enter]exit[enter]

Also, there might be a new firmware file for the drive...I would check the seagate website...even if it is just the first firmware, you never know what the DVR maker might have done to the firmware on the drive.




This is right all the way up till the Exit command
after creaing the partition primary you need to select the partition by typing
(select partition 1)
After getting the prompt that partition 1 in now the selected partition you neeed to make it active by typing
(active)
you'll get a prompt that says that the partition is now active once you get that you'll wat to type
(format fs=fat32)
That process will take a little while but oec its done your disk will pop up in the computer as a local disk or removeable disk if connected by usb.

I've been doin this now for a few friends of mine and I've been able to do direct TV, time warner and personal DVRs with no problem hope this helps ALso I use an IDE/SATA to USB adapter for all of my jobs which makes it a lot easier than having to take your pc apart. about 15 dollars at most computer stores like frys and Micro Center

 

boot from an xp pro disk. format hdd, worked for me. w7 disk wont work.

 

If you gave up on this project I certainly understand but, if not, I solved the problem using a piece of software named hdat2.com and it was a breeze. I can walk you through it if you'd like. That is, of course, if your drive isn't with Davy Jones!

 

Unfortunately I left the drive back at the class I was taking for computers. No idea where it ended up at. I moved on from it though. I made it a prize for who ever could get it to work. Hopefully someone made use of it.

 

u could try with parted magic if u havnt already google it its a free download and a handy tool.

 

I have a WD5000AVVS-63ZWB0 hdd out of a direct tv hr22 box and tried hooking it up and windows xp will not see it(it is a good hdd working in the dvr, I was if anybody ever figured out this drive to work in a pc

 

It does not show in any of these,It doesn't spin up it just acts like it don't have power.

 

yes both plugs are plugged in I hooked up another hdd to the plugs and it was found