Upgrading or replacing the internal hard drive of a SCRIBE or SERVIO

WARNING: Triggering the initialization process will result in the loss of all data and recordings on that drive.

Hard drive layout: GPT partition table with protective MBR, one partition of type 8300, XFS filesystem, HDHomeRun directory containing sub-directories with recordings.

If a new blank hard drive is installed the HDHomeRun will automatically initialize the drive. (The hard drive is considered blank if the first sector/512-bytes is all zeros). The green HDD LED will flash rapidly to indicate the hard drive is being initialized. The process takes about 15 seconds per TB of drive capacity.

If the hard drive is not blank and the first partition is not XFS the HDHomeRun will not write to the hard drive - this is to avoid accidental data loss. To initialize the hard drive (and lose all data) run the following command:

Windows:

"C:\Program Files\Silicondust\HDHomeRun\hdhomerun_config" <device id> set /hdd/debug format_hdd

Max/Linux:

hdhomerun_config <device id> set /hdd/debug format_hdd

The HDHomeRun will automatically reboot and initialize the hard drive. The green Ethernet LED will flash rapidly to indicate the hard drive is being initialized. The process takes about 15 seconds per TB of drive capacity.

Advanced: To copy recordings first install the new drive in the HDHomeRun so the HDHomeRun can initialize it, then move the drives to a Linux PC to do a file level copy.

The replacement hard drive must be 7mm tall to fit correctly.

The HDHomeRun SCRIBE and HDHomeRun SERVIO models ship with a video spec hard drive suitable for DVR use. Replacing the hard drive with a different hard drive may result in different performance, fault handling, power save handling, acoustic noise, etc.

Do not create the XFS filesystem using a PC - use the HDHomeRun to initialize the drive.

Do not resize the XFS filesystem - to upgrade to a larger hard drive use the HDHomeRun to initialize the new drive, then do a file level copy.

The BIOS in some PCs will automatically create a Host Protected Area on any hard drive installed in the PC. This will corrupt the contents of the hard drive by making the accessible hard drive capacity smaller (data at the end of the drive is lost).

The HDHomeRun warranty does not cover modifications made to the HDHomeRun hardware or damage done while making modifications. The original hard drive must be reinstalled before making a RMA claim.

  • Last modified: 2024/02/15 23:10