# Motorola HD PVR Hard drive upgrade?



## tonyvdb

Has anybody tried or know if the hard drive in a Motorola (DCT3416 I) HD PVR can be upgraded to a larger one? It come with a 160gb drive but with more and more HD programing being recorded its not really enough as I have run out of space twice.


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## Mike P.

Firmware limits the hard drive to 160 GB. 

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=100801

The external SATA connection is non functioning at the present time.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=80720


http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=73790


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## tonyvdb

That sucks, Why would they do that?

Thanks Mike


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## Mike P.

Motorola has been promising bigger hard drive firmware updates fro years and has never come through. They introduced the PVR530 (Starchoice - I have one) 5 years ago and it hasn't worked properly since day one. I have no faith in Motorola.


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## tonyvdb

Just finished talking with our local Shaw cable guy and he told me that beginning October 2009 All Motorola HD PVRs that have been purchased in the last 3 years will have a firmware upgrade that will allow an external SATA drive to be hooked up to the PVRs Back SATA output allowing users to hook up an external drive (So far there are two drives they recommend using) The Western digital and a Segate 1TB drives. Very good news indeed !


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## mechman

If it's anything like the DirecTV eSATA, your mileage may vary. Try and find something that has been confirmed to work Tony. Otherwise I'd recommend a unit with a fan if you're going to build your own. I have the Western Digital DVR Expander on one of my receivers (it was a bit more finicky) and a Rosewill enclosure on the other. They're both 1tb.


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## tonyvdb

mechman said:


> If it's anything like the DirecTV eSATA, your mileage may vary. Try and find something that has been confirmed to work Tony. Otherwise I'd recommend a unit with a fan if you're going to build your own. I have the Western Digital DVR Expander on one of my receivers (it was a bit more finicky) and a Rosewill enclosure on the other. They're both 1tb.


Thanks Mech, Im looking at getting the Segate that they say has been tested and works. But at almost $200 I may be waiting a few months.


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## hdtvdctsales

Any Motorola HDMI PVR can be upgraded to hold a 1TB hard drive. However, the drive must be specially formatted before it can be used in a unit.


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## therealredforeman

I just bought a Motorola 530 HDPVR for use with Shaw (formerly Starchoice).

I am fairly experienced with computer hardware.

I have some questions:

1) Can one connect a second and/or external drive to a 530 ? 

I do not see an ESata port on the back. Does one of the USB ports become active ? Or are there 2 SATA ports inside, one of which can be extended to an ESATA port with a connector ?

2) Can one install a larger hard drive on a 530 ?

Does the stock drive hold any firmware or does it just hold recordings ? Ie, if I replace the stock drive, can the new drive be empty or does something need to be copied from the stock drive to the new drive ?

If one installs a new drive, how does it need to be formatted ? (FAT, FAT32, EXT, ???)

3) The Motorola manual mentions an MPEG4 port, but I don't see anything on my 530. What gives ?

4) What kind of screws are on the 530 ? Where do I get a driver for them ?

Thanks !


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## Mike P.

> Can one connect a second and/or external drive to a 530 ?


No.




> Can one install a larger hard drive on a 530 ?


Yes, as long as you realize you will void any warranty if you do. The proper procedure for replacing the hard drive is here:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=73790&highlight=hard+drive

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...-hd-pvr-hard-drive-upgrade.html#ixzz16TTr6HpM ​
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