Sony RDR-HX725 Hard drive replacement

Towbar · Member Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Location: Up north UK

Hi Guys i have a Sony RDR-HX725 which comes with a 160Gb Hard drive my machine is now 12 months old and therefore out of warranty. I would therefore like to replace the 160Gb Maxtor SATA drive with a segate Barracuda 320GB SATA

What i'd like to know however is how do i format the new drive i've checked the manual and there's nothing in there, nor is there anything in the settings.

Am I therefore right in presuming you need some sort of engineers disk or does it need to be hooked up to some sort of interface.

If someone could point me in the right direction it would be appreciated, that is presuming it can be done of course
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Murphy was an Optomist

MJA · Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005 Location: IL

lol.did sound like you are talking about a PC. nothing about DVD recorder

are you sure the the HD in your recorder is SATA?

Towbar · Member Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Location: Up north UK

HI MJA

this is a stand alone DVD player many thanks
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Murphy was an Optomist

crirob · Member Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Location: United Kingdom

The method for formatting a hard drive on this machine is in the manual (near the back). If your manual does not have this in check out http://support.sony-europe.com/manuals/manuals.aspx?l=en&c= where the pdf does have this instruction.

You hold down the HDD button for 10 seconds or until the FORMAT message appears on the LCD screen.

I just tried replacing my drive with a larger capacity one since the old one appears to have died. Unfortunately it doesn't work and won't format. My guess is that the hardware is wired for a disk of a particular size/platters etc.

If you get further please let me know since there may be a more serious problem with my machine.

Good luck, Rob

trashman8800 · Member Joined: 11 Nov 2007 Location: Switzerland

sardus · Member Joined: 13 Feb 2008 Location: Italy

cbourbou · Member Joined: 23 Jul 2008 Location: Switzerland

My Sony HX725's hard disk is in its final gasps, too.
Q: Anybody successfully added a bigger HD?
One user said that it seems not possible, but that was with Format Option 1 "Press HDD for 10 sec" - what if the second option mentioned is used "press buttons while connecting the power"? Might a bigger HD work, then?

And by the way, looking at HDs in the online shop: Is '3,5" S-ATA II' the right format?

Thanks, Tino

orsetto · Member Joined: 31 Oct 2007 Location: NYC

The Sony RDR-HX725 was developed in cooperation with Pioneer and is very similar in servicing to the Pioneer DVR-650. The difference is, Pioneers require a special service remote and service disc which are a pain to obtain and use, while Sony wisely chose to incorporate a service mode directly accessible in the unit itself.

The service instructions posted by trashman8800 sound correct to me, I think I read something similar on another forum awhile back. I'm pretty sure that like the new Pioneers, the Sony will accept any standard 3.5" SATA drive within reason. Unlike the Pioneers, some Sonys apparently do not auto-recognize drive capacity larger than what they shipped with, so if you put a 320GB drive in a Sony that shipped with a 160GB drive, it might format the new drive to 160GB. That behavior is hardwired into the recorder and cannot be hacked. After you replace drives, follow trashman8800's instructions for formatting and resetting it. The most important step is telling it to transfer its EEPROM ID code to the new drive, otherwise the unit will display NG and HDD ERR. Note also, just like the Pioneer SATA units, often the SATA cable oxidizes its connectors or works itself loose after being improperly fitted at the factory: if your recorder suddenly goes wonky when trying to use its HDD, try removing and reconnecting the drives SATA cabling before spending money on a replacement drive you might not need.

You might also take a look at this site and download the 12 page illustrated PDF file which explains how to service the similar RDR-HX525:

osborneDOTwwwDOTidnetDOTcom/hx525%20repairDOTpdf

(replace the DOTs with periods)

cbourbou · Member Joined: 23 Jul 2008 Location: Switzerland

As described, swapped the red SATA cable for a new one - first tests look promising. For instance a movie which before I couldn't transfer to DVD (several tries) was written without problems on the first try after the swap. Hope, other problems are also gone - time will tell....

Cheers, Tino