Sony DVD recorder, hard disk full.

Hi there

I have had my Sony DVD recorder for over a year and the hard disk which is = about 3 Gb. I suppose, is full now and I do not want to delete all the film= s etc.

How about changing the hard disk for a bigger one? Does anyone know if it a= n ordinary ide connection and standard power lead and if so is there any pr= oblem with a bigger one, will the software pick up the change if I do it?

It is out of warrantee now, but before I start, I wondered if anyone has do= ne it, or if there is any way to dump the contents of the hard disk to a bi= g 1.5 Tb. disk I use for backup for other stuff. There is a USB connectio= n, but can it be programmed to allow this? I could do it via a laptop. I ha= ve transferred some to dvd, but with an HD documentary, for instance, I hav= e to reduce the definition to get it all onto one dvd. It takes ages as wel= l. I would like to have an external ide/power connection outside the machi= ne so I could keep several HDs for various subjects.

Any comments would be welcome, before I tear it apart.

Thanks George.

Any comments would be welcome, thanks George.

Reply to
georgewbell
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Can't say with any certainty for that model, but with many manufacturer's machines that appear to use a perfectly normal IDE drive, they are in fact an OEM version, and the machine looks for an identifier block in the drive's control software. If it doesn't find what it's looking for, the drive is not recognised.

Arfa

>
Reply to
Arfa Daily

Hmmm. That doesn't sound too good. I wonder if there is a way to fool it? Maybe there is a way to export the contents of the HD instead. Thanks for the thoughts though. Regards George.

Reply to
georgewbell

You could probably export using Clonezilla

formatting link

or HDAT2, which gets right into the very heart of the disk drive - hidden areas, passwords, change apparent size of drive, hardware reset etc.

formatting link

Both of these are freeware.

(I have rescued a couple of apparently dead hard drives with HDAT2, its a scarily good program)

Gareth.

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

"Arfa Daily" wrote in news:cqoDr.117228$ snipped-for-privacy@fx26.am:

You could probably plug the old drive into a PC and access the movie files that way. they're probably just standard video files. unless the box has DRM; Digital Rights Management,then you're screwed.

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Jim Yanik
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Reply to
Jim Yanik

"Gareth Magennis" wrote in news:bJpDr.160451$ snipped-for-privacy@fx15.am:

What is the disk size limit for disk to disk cloning with Clonezilla? Their docs are a bit silent on this info.

Reply to
Sjouke Burry

No idea, I'm afraid.

Gareth.

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

On Sun, 17 Jun 2012 18:25:25 +0100, "Arfa Daily" put finger to keyboard and composed:

If the OP can determine what the recorder is looking for (eg model number, serial number, firmware version), then I can show him how to use HDDHackr to modify a recent model WD drive for use in the machine. However it may be that Sony limits the capacity to that of the original HDD. Also, the OP will need a SATA-to-IDE adapter PCB (< US$10).

I may also be able to modify other brands and models of HDD, eg older Maxtors.

I suspect that Sony merely uses the standard ATA Identify Device command to retrieve a 512-byte information block from the drive.

BTW, a HDD model number would help ...

- Franc Zabkar

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Reply to
Franc Zabkar

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The DVD recorder is a RDR-DC100 No. 4516279 44w and it has a 160 Gbs Hard Disk I have yet to strip it down so I do not know the details of the HD. I shall have a look tonight and see if I can get the covers off.

Thanks for all the information. George.

Reply to
georgewbell

I have found it useful in the 300 GiB+ range. I think the devs avoided inbuilt limitations.

?-)

Reply to
josephkk

Tell you what I would do.=20

Most PCs now have SATA drives, but they usually also have an IDE controller= which is usually used for the CD and DVD drives. So, if it is IDE obviousl= y you will need a new IDE drive. I don't know the biggest you can get but a= ssuming it's IDE, in a PC you can unplug the optical drives and plug both t= he old and new drives in.=20

Now you are not booting from either, you boot normally. (if it is a SATA dr= ive then still, same thing) You do not disturb your boot drive or OS at all= . You download a utility from the HD manufacturer's website for cloning. Al= most all of them have one and I have yet to se one that is brand specific. = For example while I wouldn't hit a dog in the ass with a Western Digital, t= heir cloning software should work fine.=20

You simply clone drive to drive, letting the default "shrink or grow partit= ion" to be. This SHOULD work.=20

Now the problem is if it will use the extra space. You would think it's plu= g and play that way but the capacity might be encoded in firmware or someth= ing. Manufacturers are MFs that way sometimes. Of course there may be a ser= vice menu setting for that. You will find out I guess.

If that is the case then you might need approximately the same sized drives= , and clone the original to all of them. Then delete everything on all of t= hem except for the original. You have a blank slate, and your backup to be = plugged in at will.=20

These utilities are pretty much the same thing as Norton Ghost, they copy a= n image sector by sector, not file by file. Therefore if the partition is n= ot DOS or NTFS, it should still work.=20

From what I've heard they were formatted with the Unix/Linux system, which = makes some sense for a couple of reasons I need not go into. Back then I he= ard that to replace a bad drive in these things you needed to use that form= at. This was of course in case of a drive failure, which is not the case he= re.=20

And having an external plug for a HD is not hrd to achieve, get the right c= ables and drill a hole, literally. I did something quite similar with a PC = a long time ago. I had some super long cables. But then this thing is not a= ll that big, standard cables should make it to the outside of the case. I h= ad a full server case at the time, a DVR is considerably smaller. Just don'= t count on being able to hotswap them.

If the drive is SCSI, you have a new set of problems. Solvable, but new. Mo= st PCs will need an interface card to deal with them. Probably twenty bucks= really, but then it doesn't disturb your OS or other drives. It would be n= ice actually to be able to access the files via PC but I wouldn't count on = it. MAYBE if you are running Linux. Maybe.

In fact I could be dead wrong and the cloning utilities don't work for Linu= x, if that is the format. Then you just need their version of the utility. = It's all free and if necessary you can just load a USB stickdrive and run f= rom that. Once the process is over, just put everything back the way it was= . Linux does not require installation to run.

J
Reply to
jurb6006

er which is usually used for the CD and DVD drives. So, if it is IDE obviou= sly you will need a new IDE drive. I don't know the biggest you can get but= assuming it's IDE, in a PC you can unplug the optical drives and plug both= the old and new drives in.

drive then still, same thing) You do not disturb your boot drive or OS at a= ll. You download a utility from the HD manufacturer's website for cloning. = Almost all of them have one and I have yet to se one that is brand specific= . For example while I wouldn't hit a dog in the ass with a Western Digital,= their cloning software should work fine.

ition" to be. This SHOULD work.

lug and play that way but the capacity might be encoded in firmware or some= thing. Manufacturers are MFs that way sometimes. Of course there may be a s= ervice menu setting for that. You will find out I guess.

es, and clone the original to all of them. Then delete everything on all of= them except for the original. You have a blank slate, and your backup to b= e plugged in at will.

an image sector by sector, not file by file. Therefore if the partition is= not DOS or NTFS, it should still work.

h makes some sense for a couple of reasons I need not go into. Back then I = heard that to replace a bad drive in these things you needed to use that fo= rmat. This was of course in case of a drive failure, which is not the case = here.

cables and drill a hole, literally. I did something quite similar with a P= C a long time ago. I had some super long cables. But then this thing is not= all that big, standard cables should make it to the outside of the case. I= had a full server case at the time, a DVR is considerably smaller. Just do= n't count on being able to hotswap them.

Most PCs will need an interface card to deal with them. Probably twenty buc= ks really, but then it doesn't disturb your OS or other drives. It would be= nice actually to be able to access the files via PC but I wouldn't count o= n it. MAYBE if you are running Linux. Maybe.

nux, if that is the format. Then you just need their version of the utility= . It's all free and if necessary you can just load a USB stickdrive and run= from that. Once the process is over, just put everything back the way it w= as. Linux does not require installation to run.

That all sounds very do-able. Thanks very much. FYI the disk is a seagate ST3160310CS it says it is a Pipeline HD which does not make a lot of sense to me but the seagate description seems to be talking about a pretty standard device. Is Ghost still available as I used to use this in another life about ten years ago. If it has not changed much I can probably work out how to use it again. Thanks very much again I understand nearly all of what you said !! I have a friend who knows all about LInux too. We should be able to work something out.

Best Regards George.

Reply to
georgewbell

troller ...

That is not an IDE disk, it's SATA. And, it isn't 3GB, it's 160 GB. Probably, it isn't formatted in FAT or NTFS, so a PC won't read the files UNLESS YOU BOOT YOUR PC FROM LINUX.

Reply to
whit3rd

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