harddrive for a dm800hd se

[redders1974]

hi all anyone recommend a decent harddrive for the dm800hd se...
i`m after a good make, decent size, price and nice and quite. just wondered what your thoughts are cause theres literally loads to choose from.
thanks

[j1mgg]

I just have an old laptop sata one in mine at the moment, but buying new you may find these are pretty expensive at the moment due to the production of them being limited.

Would all depend on how much you record and store stuff for. I dont use my record function that much and just have a western digital 160gb hdd in it and that does me more than enough.

[IAmATeaf]

I just dunped in a spare 250gb laptop drive that I had, nothing special and it does the job.

[weedman]

What HDD to buy for my dreambox?

I had a broken external HDD lying around.
Turns out that inside was a working 2.5inch Sata HDD (320GB)!

Turns out the circuit board that connects the USB to SATA had broken, and the hard drive was fine!.. (I was about to throw away a hardly used 320GB HDD!!)

If you have a broken External HDD lying around, break it open and test the HDD. (I always thought they had flash memory inside), but you might be able to salvage the HDD!

As for all other specs:

Size: Depends what you want to use it for, I love to play MKV's & AVI's from my Dreambox, so my 320GB is perfect for this. (I can just load up tons of files, and watch them when im ready). I do also like to record stuff to watch later. (Bear Grylls! ), so a big one for me!.. (I've used 120GB of it already!!)

Speed(RPM): Most commonly, 2 types, 5400RPM & 7200RPM. For the dreambox, I'd go with 5400RPM, It will make less noise, generate less heat, and keep your box that little bit cooler (which I think will increase longevity of the box). 7200RPM HDD is not really required. 5400RPM will work fine for everything (EPG, Permenant Timeshift, Play Videos from HDD, & Record/Pause TV)

Price: Whatever you can afford, I'd go with as big as you can afford. But if your not going to play movies and stuff from it, a 40GB - 80GB HDD or so will do just fine. (But I would go with something bigger). Why wouldn't you want to use your dreambox as a DivX player? (It was one of the main reasons I bought my SE)

Conclusion
If you are going to buy a 2.5 inch HDD. I'd say pay extra and go for the biggest you can afford. (The price for extra GB's drops when you buy a bigger drive). For example: a 40GB HDD will be around ?15-?20. A 250GB HDD can be around ?35-40. So for the extra ?20, you get over 200GB of space. (Rough prices of ebay, if you buy smart and at the right time, you'll get much more Value for Money!).

[redders1974]

Thanks for the replies very informative too...
I think i`m gonna go for one of these...
[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0031M9JCE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A17AS5ETPMZ9A1"]Samsung M7 640GB 2.5 inch SATA II 8MB Cache, 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive OEM - Sony Playstation PS3 Compatible: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories[/ame]
someone else in a different thread bought one and i reckon this will cover it...

[weedman]

Thanks for the replies very informative too...
I think i`m gonna go for one of these...
Samsung M7 640GB 2.5 inch SATA II 8MB Cache, 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive OEM - Sony Playstation PS3 Compatible: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories
someone else in a different thread bought one and i reckon this will cover it...

Good choice, excellent brand (Samsung), great spec & good price.
640GB makes me jealous!!.. Hmmm.. maybe i'll buy one to!! :P
Should do you and your dreambox proud!

Installation is a breeze in the SE, literally plug and plug when you get it.

[alom5]

that is one high spec drive for the box mate.

i have a 60gb in my box...old laptop drive. got a 60gb for my sister ?18 from fleabay.

[beats2006]

I had one out of a PS3 in myne for a while and found it caused a few problems, picons were not there all the time when they should be and channels took longer than usual to change sometimes etc

In the end I took it out and got a USB micro sd card holder and a micro sd card off flea bay and its worked a treat ever since fine for recording picons epg etc and cheap.

[weedman]

I had one out of a PS3 in myne for a while and found it caused a few problems, picons were not there all the time when they should be and channels took longer than usual to change sometimes etc

In the end I took it out and got a USB micro sd card holder and a micro sd card off flea bay and its worked a treat ever since fine for recording picons epg etc and cheap.

I had the same problem with my first HDD, It was a second hand HDD I bought off ebay. It was slow and caused my box to `crash` sometimes (I think when it hit a bad sector or something on the drive).
A hardly used drive fixed all the problems for me, everything works great now.
Seemed a dodgy drive will cause you problems, so before you install it, run a scan on it if you can to make sure there are no problems or bad sectors. (Run a scan on a PC, haven't found a way to do it on a DM).

I am now using 180GB of my 320GB HDD. I think I'm going to have to upgrade in the near future. The 640GB above will probably be the one I'll buy next.

[redders1974]

cant get this drive running

right got around to installing drive in my receiver...
but i need help!
i`m running dreamelite 3 with tspanel installed and glass16 skin...
i need a step by step guide to getting this drive running i`ve tried allsorts and i`m frustrated now i`m gonna get an hammer out in a minute!
please help thanks

[weedman]

What problem you having exactly?

Im using NewNigma2, but when I was using dreamelite, I think you press the blue button to get to the blue panel.
And you should be able to:
1. Initialize the drive (Format it, ready for the Linux file system).
2. Mount the drive.

You may also have settings in the menu > system > hard disk.

Play around with the settings, its dead easy to get up and running.

Once you have initialized the drive, you wont need to initialize it again. Every time you install a new image, you just need to mount it.
Remember, when you initialize the drive, it will format it (you will loose ALL data on the drive).
Really you should only have to do it once. Then just mount it so the box can `see` it and use it.

[redders1974]

incompatibilty issues i think

Thanks for the reply mate...
There was something wrong there with dreamelite i was pressing all the right buttons so to speak but it just wouldn`t work.
So i reflashed with newnigma2 and it was a doddle.
I`ve got it running just as i like it now finally!

Just another question well 2 really, i`ve installed flash expander as i`ve put a 8gb stick in the back for the picons and epg, am i right in thinking any plugin i install now will go on the stick as i`ve only got 3Mb left on ROOT.
Also will the permanant timeslip plugin function like a S** box (as in rewind if you didn`t here something), as it is now it will pause and play and rewind from where you paused it...
I could try it but wondered what your thoughts were on both these questions as i`m relectant to install anymore plugins in fear of filling ROOT as it causes problems-crashes etc...

cheers mate

[weedman]

Thanks for the reply mate...
There was something wrong there with dreamelite i was pressing all the right buttons so to speak but it just wouldn`t work.
So i reflashed with newnigma2 and it was a doddle.
I`ve got it running just as i like it now finally!

Just another question well 2 really, i`ve installed flash expander as i`ve put a 8gb stick in the back for the picons and epg, am i right in thinking any plugin i install now will go on the stick as i`ve only got 3Mb left on ROOT.
Also will the permanant timeslip plugin function like a S** box (as in rewind if you didn`t here something), as it is now it will pause and play and rewind from where you paused it...
I could try it but wondered what your thoughts were on both these questions as i`m relectant to install anymore plugins in fear of filling ROOT as it causes problems-crashes etc...

cheers mate

Hi mate,
EDIT: Sorry just reread your post, Your using `flashexpander`, I cant help with this because I dont use it, Dont really need to as you'll read below. Maybe someone else can help with flashexpander. But shouldnt really be needed, (I dont use it, and I have everything working fine with 9mb free on my box).
--
Plugins will be installed in your box flash memory (into the 3mb!). EPG & Picons will be stored on your USB (if set up).
To save space on your box. You can remove unneeded plugins. I dont remember exactly what I removed, but i think your safe to remove:
- Genuine Dreambox
- Picture player
- I dont remember what else comes as standard with NewNigma2!..
- Basically, remove anything you dont need.

What other plugins did you install? I know `Spinner Selector` takes alot of memory.

For comparison, I have NewNigma2, and 9mb of free memory on the box.
The plugins I have installed (in my menu > plugins menu):
- Cool TV Guide
- Swap Manager
- Webinterface
- Transmission (Torrent Client)
- TSPanel
- Media Scanner
- Audio Sync Setup
- CrossEPG downloader.
- Key Manager

I also have HD Glass 1.4 (highly recommend this theme!.. looks sooo cool! Excellent UI) theme installed & TSPanel 4.8.

Let us know what you installed after you flashed your image, and maybe we could free up a little space.

You should have a lot more space then 3mb after a fresh NewNigma2 installation.

Permanent Timeshift
- Yes, Once you install PT, you can rewind live TV (without recording or pausing it), You can rewind up to the point you started watching it. BUT... PT takes alot of space, and is ALWAYS writing to your USB. This is going to cause your USB to get very slow very fast. (USB's use flash memory, which can only be written to a certain number of times before seeing a performance decrease).
I used a 4GB USB when I got my box, and also used it for PT & Recording stuff (just to test). But that USB is now very slow, and I can only write at a very low speed (around 1-2mbps), where I used to be able to write at 5mbps+.
TIP: Consider buying a HDD.. trust me.. you won't regret it!.. Works perfect with everything, PT, Record Shows, Play DivX & MKV from your HDD, Pause Live TV (I can pause for ages, on your 4GB USB, you will only be able to pause for a limited time (even less if your watching HD).

[digicon]

Thanks for the reply mate...
There was something wrong there with dreamelite i was pressing all the right buttons so to speak but it just wouldn`t work.
So i reflashed with newnigma2 and it was a doddle.
I`ve got it running just as i like it now finally!

Just another question well 2 really, i`ve installed flash expander as i`ve put a 8gb stick in the back for the picons and epg, am i right in thinking any plugin i install now will go on the stick as i`ve only got 3Mb left on ROOT.
Also will the permanant timeslip plugin function like a S** box (as in rewind if you didn`t here something), as it is now it will pause and play and rewind from where you paused it...
I could try it but wondered what your thoughts were on both these questions as i`m relectant to install anymore plugins in fear of filling ROOT as it causes problems-crashes etc...

cheers mate

All plugins go into the flash memory by default, i would set the PTS up to use on the Memory stick also just saves the box having to access the hard drive all the time and its also faster.

[redders1974]

hi again in menu/plugin browser i have
-key manager
-setup quick button
-flash expander
-media scanner
-audio sync setup
-webinterface
-tspanel
-cross epg downloader

also glass 16hd

p.s i have mentioned further back about the hdd