DirecTV DVR question

[rootabaga]

Hey, folks. I perused the webz and can't really find an answer. I know there are a lot of very tech-savvy people here, so I thought I'd post and see if I can find some useful information.

My GF has an HR34 DTV DVR/receiver and it's pretty much full. Although it has an eSATA connection, connecting an eSATA drive simply disables the internal drive, so that the previously-recorded programs aren't accessible. So you can record onto the new drive, but if you want to watch something previously recorded directly on the DVR, you have to shut everything down, unplug the eSATA, then restart the DTV/DVR. Really stupid design, at least I think.

I recall that in the early days of DVRs, like TIVOs, you could (using certain software) basically clone your small internal drive to a larger one and then swap out the drives, doubling or tripling your recording capacity.

Does anyone know if that's possible with the HR34 DTV/DVR? If it is I'd rather do that instead of dealing with an external drive that has to be continually disconnected and reconnected. Bleh.

Thanks for any wisdom you can impart.

 

[lunatic59]

Most of these things have some form of embedded linux as the OS, so cloning should be pretty straightforward. I do know that DVR's are pretty fussy about the drives they support and I've never popped the case on a DirectTV DVR so I couldn't tell you. Is this your gf's property or part of a DirectTV package?

 

[AZgl1500]

I have the DTV protection plan and every two years, they upgrade me to the best there is.

I just acquired the genie or whatever they call it with a 1 TB drive...
problem solved.