Hard Drive upgrade for Pioneer DVR-520H

[1bombel]

I'm sorry for language

PRESENT PROBLEM: (firmware or not???)

Toslink (optical Out) = light =~ 30% (digital sound break on amplifier)!
Anotcher DVDPlayer light = 100%.

Maybe when HDD to exchange... - I damaged something ? (rather no)

Firmware or not ??????

Firmware region free (on CD) its ok! (next DVR...programing)

Damage "digital out".
Cost of repair = 0$ ( installed from old DVD).

Thanks .

[PuzZLeR]

Greetings my friends.

It's been hectic for me in my life this week and it took a few days, but to the folks interested in using the 520's DV-Out port to migrate content to the PC, this should answer many of your questions:

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic366035.html

Since this thread is about hard drive expansion, I felt the DV port discussion is better suited to another thread. Feel free to ask any questions, or raise discussion on it, there.

After this DV port feature discovered, I have absolutely zero interest in any hard drive expansion even if it would be indeed a nice thing.

[montie]

Hello.
I have another questions. In my DVR-720 the is a dvd-rw drive DVR-107(old dvd-rw recorder), can i use a newer model(maybe DVR-116DBK) ?? To this replace should i use a pioneer-dvd-service(something like hdd replace procedure)??
Do You have a sollution to record a dvd+r disc(pioneer only record dvd-r??)

montie

[orsetto]

No, the motherboard in the Pioneer 720 is not programmed with the instructions to activate the burning features of later Pioneer burners, and the chassis is not designed to mount the later burners (which are half the size of the 107). It is not possible to add +R or DL burning options to older recorders, those options need to be activated by software that did not exist when the recorders were programmed at the factory. Firmware upgrades will not help. Enjoy your 720 for the excellent recorder that it is, and buy a newer model if you need to use other types of media. Do not install any other burner than (107) in a 220, 320, 420, 520 or 720. Even with a 107, you will need the service remote, service disc and the burner control board from inside the original burner.

[gdavisloop]

Hello.
I am trying to upgrade the HDD on a DVR-640H. After bugging my service shop friend for two years, I finally got an authentic Pioneer service remote, and what looks like a Pioneer ID disk, although it may be a copy the shop made. (It may even be a copy they made wrong).

First thing that happens when I go to clear the CPRM number, I notice that ALL THE PIONEERS in my room were responding to the service remote. Big mistake! Fortunately was able to back out (hit clear a few times) on the other machines without breaking anything.

Then, I continue the procedure on the target machine, but after I put the ID Data disk in, I get the message

Rom Write NG!

Which is obviously not what I was hoping for.

The one thing I notice about the DATA ID disk is it says "GGV1273 ID DISC Type 2 Vol.2.0"

Maybe VOL.2.0 is the wrong disc?

Maybe GGV1273 isn't new enough for DVR-640H?

HELP ! I was hoping to catch the NASA mission which starts in a few hours... and goes on for 10 days!

thanks--
--Gary

[orsetto]

The GGV 1273 Type 2 should definitely work on a Pioneer 640: it was designed for the 640! Of course its possible later runs of the 640 might have needed a newer disc revision: send a private message to VH member Hkan for advice on quickly getting a GGV1321 Type 2 which is the most recent (and probably final) data disc. If the copy you got from the service shop was duplicated incorrectly it might not work right, or they might have accidentally copied the wrong disc for you (there have been at least a dozen, many with similar model numbers). Type 1 is for the x10, x20 and x30 recorders, Type 2 is for the x40, x50 and x60 series. It is more critical the Type 2 machines be matched with exactly the correct Type 2 data disc specified for each model, if in doubt the more recent the disc the better.

Another possibility is the recorder simply doesn't "like" the hard drive you installed. Unless it is a brand new, completely unformatted drive the recorder will complain and not initialize correctly. Many people think they can just drop in a random drive they took out of their computer, but it isn't quite so easy: if you are re-cycling a computer drive for your Pioneer, it must be completely erased and all formatting removed, including the basic FAT Windows system. Also double check that all ribbon connectors are attached properly and that you put back any foil tapes or rubber cushions exactly where they were on the original drive.

For those who own multiple Pioneers, gdavisloop brings up an important warning: every Pioneer in the room will respond to the service remote! It doesn't matter which "mode" you set them to (1,2 or3): the service code set is a separate "fourth" system they all respond to. Its a good idea to unplug all Pioneers from AC power except the one you want to work on.

[mrmazda]

gdasvisloop, "Rom Write NG! " is what I got on my DVR-633H-S when I tried a service disk that turned out to be too old for my apparently newer machine. Once I got the right newer disk I was quickly back in business using a Harmony 550 remote.

[gdavisloop]

A late follow-up: I tried again with a GGV1321 disc downloaded from a website, and it work! In fact I've done it twice! And yes, it appears that all hard disks made on the machine can be interchanged and still used in the machine, without doing anything special except connecting the HD with the power cord unplugged!

NOW FOR MY NEW QUESTION: Has anyone tried this with the newer model Pioneer DVR-460H (or -560 -660)? Did this work with the same ID DATA disc? (Did I read somewhere that the -x60 models use a SATA disk? Anyone try a disk bigger than 500GB? I'm always afraid the "fixing hard disk" procedure could fail in the hard disk is too big!)

Also, if anyone has used this newer model, and advantages or disadvantages that you've noticed?

Also, has anyone successfully connected a Pioneer hard disk to their computer and accessed the data? I tried it and my computer wouldn't even get through the POST (or to the CMOS setup) with the Pioneer HD connected! I need to try one of those EIDE > USB adaptors...

thanks!
--Gary

[gdavisloop]

The answer to the DVR-460H question, I was told at another forum, is that you can replace the hard drive, but NOT with a larger one, on the x60H and x50H models... so it seems the x40H models were the last ones that you can put in a bigger hard drive -- anyone know differently?
thanks--
--Gary

[orsetto]

Right, the x50 and x60 use more of the "Sony" motherboard DNA than the "more Pioneer" x40 did, and unfortunately Sony is one of those mfrs that locks hard drive recognition to the size the machine shipped with. The GGV 1321 Type 2 service disc will work fine to replace the SATA drive in an x50 or x60, but the machines will not use larger HDDs to full capacity (i.e., a 500GB drive installed in a 450-460-550-560 will format as 160GB, or 250GB if installed in a 650/660).

There is no practical way to read a recorder HDD on a PC, its just impossible. This topic has been covered on many threads, suffice to say recorders all use a proprietary variant of the Unix filesystem that is such a pain to crack it is only worth doing to salvage once-in-a-lifetime videos. Salvage is all you can do, and even that is beyond tedious. Ordinary playback, or even simply locating a specific recording to copy to the PC, is completely impossible.

[Seeker47]

A late follow-up: I tried again with a GGV1321 disc downloaded from a website, and it work!

What website ?

[almayer]

In one of my old PCs, I found a Pioneer DVR-105. Anybody knows if I can replace my faulty 107 from a Pio 720 with this 105?

[orsetto]

You cannot replace the 107 with a 105: the circuit boards are different, so you can't swap the 107 controller board into a 105. If you can't find a 107 burner, look for an entire "dead" 220, 225, or 320 recorder- these "broken" lower-end DVD-only models often sell for $50 or less. They "die" because of power supply defects, but the 107 burners inside them still have a lot of usable life left, and can be swapped into the more-desirable DVD/HDD models.

[mrmazda]

My Pioneer 460H has never had a problem writing to any DVD-R blank yet. OTOH, my 633H often fails to complete copy, making coasters out the same blanks as the 460. Is it likely the burner head itself is the problem and could be swapped for one from one of those "dead" eBay 220, 225, or 320 models to fix my problem? A whole new drive from Pioneer is over $200, but maybe it's the 633H firmare and not the burner itself?

[Seeker47]

You cannot replace the 107 with a 105: the circuit boards are different, so you can't swap the 107 controller board into a 105. If you can't find a 107 burner, look for an entire "dead" 220, 225, or 320 recorder- these "broken" lower-end DVD-only models often sell for $50 or less. They "die" because of power supply defects, but the 107 burners inside them still have a lot of usable life left, and can be swapped into the more-desirable DVD/HDD models.

Yes, I was wondering about that. In fact I think I saw a 220 or 320 on eBay within the last several days.

[orsetto]

My Pioneer 460H has never had a problem writing to any DVD-R blank yet. OTOH, my 633H often fails to complete copy, making coasters out the same blanks as the 460.

It depends. Besides being the single most trouble-prone recorder Pioneer ever sold, your 633 is now four years old, which puts it 18 months past the usual life expectancy for that particular model (most became useless bricks within two to two-and-a-half years). You probably have two combined issues with your 633 burner: it is wearing out, and it was not designed to burn the reformulated media sold in stores today. To replace the burner of a 633, you would need a good, functional Pioneer PC burner (model DVR-109 or DVR-AO9). You would follow the instructions elsewhere on this thread to swap circuit boards between burners. Normally, this burner swap is an affordable, effective way to extend the life of older (pre-640) Pioneer recorders. But I do not advise trying this with a 633: you will more than likely hose it completely. You are better off letting a 633 slowly die, and then discarding it. The 633 is incredibly hostile to repairs and replacement of anything inside it, be it the HDD, burner, or even a fuse. In almost every repair case I've ever witnessed or attempted, the 633 ends worse than if you had just left it alone. The damn thing is totally unrepairable and utterly disposable. (The 533 is nearly as bad, but the 531 can sometimes be fixed).

That said, it could be the blanks you are using. The 460 burner has a modern bulletproof Sony MultiDrive that will burn coffee can lids if you load them: there is nothing a 460 won't burn (at least, until it starts aging). The 633 uses an older, obsolete Pioneer burner that cannot handle most current 16x media. If you don't already have some, order a supply of Taiyo Yuden 8x Silver Premium DVD-R media from supermediastore.com (currently on sale at $50 for 200 discs including delivery). TY 8x will burn even in half-dead recorders, if your 633 won't burn these then you know for sure its toast. You can always use the TY discs in the 460, they are recommended for any recorder. The 8x TY is easier for recorder burners to control and burn, if you experience sudden failures with your usual 16x brand trying TY instead is the default cure (unless the burner is really dead). Many of us with three year old Pioneer 640s, which use the same burner as the current 460, find they will no longer burn 16x but work fine with 8x. After a few years, dust and fingerprint grease accumulates on the burner disc clamp and prevents it getting a secure grip at 16x speeds, though it can still manage 8x.

[marionr26]

Im not looking to go over my 160gb I have in my pioneer 450H I just want mine to quit freezing up. Tired of having to unplug it and wait to plug it back up. If I have to put in another HD Drive my current size is fine. Anyone had the freezing problem?

[Seeker47]

The 460 burner has a modern bulletproof Sony MultiDrive that will burn coffee can lids if you load them: there is nothing a 460 won't burn (at least, until it starts aging).

I think you recently mentioned that the 560 was your all-time favorite model. As far as I could find, the feature list seemed about the same as the 460, so I'm wondering what differences there might be ? The 560 seems to have been the last of the Mohicans, for N. Amer. at least. (Make that Canada, effectively, since neither model was sold directly in the U.S.)

I attribute a lot of the continuing service of my 520 and 640 to feeding them TYGO2 blanks, almost exclusively. That, good power protection in front of them, and pretty good ventilation.

[orsetto]

The Pioneer 460 was the special CostCo Canada version of the 560. They are identical except for the 560 including a GraceNote database which can automatically title many older CD audio tracks you might import into the recorders MP3 jukebox. In my opinion these jukebox features are ridiculous and extremely kludgy to use on the recorders that have them: if you want that kind of complex functionality then you need to use PC. I would not hesitate to accept a 460 in place of a 560, its the same recorder. The GraceNote database in the 560 is not updatable and was obsolete when it was installed at the factory, it is offers no significant advantage over plugging a USB keyboard into the 460 and quickly entering audio track title names manually. If you use these machines for their primary design function, recording video to make DVDs, the 460 and 560 are the exact same model.

[orsetto]

Im not looking to go over my 160gb I have in my pioneer 450H I just want mine to quit freezing up. Tired of having to unplug it and wait to plug it back up. If I have to put in another HD Drive my current size is fine. Anyone had the freezing problem?

I've replied to you in more detail in the the separate thread you started re this topic. In brief, this problem is almost always caused by the hdd SATA cable oxidizing or working itself loose. Unplug the unit, remove the cover, reseat the SATA cables a few times, and the problem should go away.

[mrmazda]

Again, thanks for the reply.

All that said, lack of replacement with similarly competent features, or even a marginally competent replacement like the Magnavox H2160MW9A I also own, means attempting repair is really the most suitable option I'm aware of when failure does occur. Regarding competence, even the 460 software is inferior overall to the 633, although very good compared to the Magnavox. On the bright side, I bought the last 633 in the county, and maybe the state or even the country. I purchased it as a display model with no box or cables March 2007, so in terms of use it's not even 3 years old yet. The back sticker reads August 2005.

I heavily limit use of the 633's DVD drive for simple playback, using the Magnavox recorder or a Sony Carousel player most of the time. I do have the service DVD, which I did need after my aborted attempt to replace the DVD drive with a brand new one from Pioneer that turned out to have been damaged prior to its arrival here. Now that I've had the practice, most likely I'll try again to buy one from Pioneer when this one becomes hopeless.

I bought from supermediastore.com 200 Taiyo Yuden #DVD-R47ZZ100SB UPC Code 899207 001305 labeled -R LACQUER 8X MID:TYG02 according to the shrink wrap label, after your reply, in the 2nd week of September. This does not match the invoice very well, which described them thus: Taiyo Yuden Premium DV-001-0490, Silver Thermal Lacquer 8X DVD-R Media (Premium Line) 100 Pack in Cake Box. They are a bit orangy in color compared to most silver disks, but not as orange as Maxell. Both the 460 and the 633 seem to think they are 16X blanks. When I actually had 8X disks in the past it took twice as much time to burn disks as with these and other 16X blanks. Are these not supposed to be the same thing as you described as "Taiyo Yuden 8x Silver Premium"? Did supermediastore.com put the wrong product in the box they shipped me?

I've now used about 160 of them, probably 2/3 to 3/4 of them in the 633, most of the rest in the 460. In the 633, around 9-10 of them gave the same failed to complete copy message as other disks. Most of these I was able to use in my 460 as virgin 100% freespace disks. :P Even the 460 exhibited the same failure message on one other of those disks not attempted first in the 633.

This failure rate in the 633 is far more reasonable than exhibited by most other brands. The sole quality exception I've found has been Maxell, which out of over two hundred tried have failed at most 3 times, but those I've found to be rarely available below full retail $60 per hundred.

[orsetto]

Do NOT use your 633 as a DVD player! Playback causes as much wear as burning, if not more (because playback is sustained over a much longer period than a high speed burn). It is good practice for every recorder owner to have a separate dedicated player for playing DVDs, and even more important when your recorder is as difficult or impossible to repair as a Pioneer 633. Burners have a half-life of only a year or two, the reader in a typical DVD player can keep going for a decade (I still use my 1997 Sony and 2001 Panasonic players).

The TY 8x silver premium discs are not sold shrink wrapped, only in cakeboxes, so SuperMediaStore must have mistakenly sent you the "Value Line" (TY rejects) which are almost always 16x media even if the wrapping says TYG02. TY is TY, even the "reject" 16x beat most other mfrs for quality which is probably why you're doing OK with them. In future, you might want to call the vendor immediately if they ship you the wrong media: they should pay the return shipping since its their own mistake. (Note the white-top inkjet-printable 8x TY premium is sometimes sold shrink wrapped, its the exception to the TY cakebox rule).

If the 531-533-633 were reliable and as easily repairable as the earlier 510 and 520, I would rate them equally. But my experience of them has not been good. Repairs are insanely tedious and often don't "take" (of the many 2005 Pios I've repaired most come back to me a couple months later). Lovely machines when they work, but overall I can't recommend them. The poorly-designed TVGOS implementation contaminates everything from the motherboard to the hard drive, and since the TVGOS is practically designed to corrupt itself, when it goes down it takes the whole machine with it. As far as I'm concerned the recorder then becomes a very pretty doorstop: I'm getting too old to waste two weeks of my life coaxing a 531-533-633 to accept a new burner or HDD, only to have it go out on me again a few weeks later. Stupid, stupid design: Pioneer should have resisted the inane TVGOS trend, no mfr made it work right except Panasonic and even they didn't get it right until their third (last) try. The Pioneer version of TVGOS thrashes the HDD to death if you don't disable it, but then using the manual timer window requires a magnifying glass and a lot of patience. Also, it really irks me that the 531-533-633 timer is disconnected from the MN speed settings: you can't set multiple timers to use multiple different flex record speeds, as you can on every other Pioneer ever made.

Thats why I rejoiced when Pioneer ditched TVGOS in the 640 and later models- they kept the same great editing and navigation interface but replaced the dopey TVGOS with a sturdy manual timer that lets you set any recording speed for each timer event and lets you pre-title each recording. The only drawback of the 640 and later models is the burner is not user replaceable at all, but this is countered by the more durable design (the burner in a 640, 550 or 560 will outlast the older models by at least 18 months under heavy use).

[mrmazda]

Again, thanks for your reply, and so quickly!

The shrink wrap I wrote about was how the TYG02 labels were affixed to the cake boxes I received.

supermediastore.com http colon slash slash tinyurl dot com slash yb7ldv8 lists 4 out of stock cake box premium 8X silver thermal products.

I remember out of stock was the reason for delay between you offering your recommendation last summer, and my order placement several weeks later.

Besides the expensive Maxells, is there any somewhat reasonable substitute for the TY silver premium for 633 users? If I wait another week or more to order I'll be out before shipment could arrive. I guess I could get another 50 Imations locally for $12 for 460 use to delay running myself out of the TYs for use in the 633.

[orsetto]

Supplies are running low at various vendors because TY is in the middle of a hare-brained transition to rebrand themselves as "JVC": a more demented plan by a more intelligent company, I have never heard of, but there you go. You might try a phone order, explaining this to the CS person, and hope they have a clue. Or try alternate vendors like Rima.com or Avendirect.com. The TY premiums are still floating around, although you might have to pay closer to the normal delivered price of $35/100 instead of the ridiculously cheap $24/100 we've seen in recent months. I hope by January the whole JVC/TY thing clears up and we'll know what type of "JVC" is actually TYG02.

[duylong187]

Sorry for my English.
I want upgrate the HDD for DVR-RT602H-S from 80Gb to 250Gb, so my trouble happening:
- I use PDA as Remote Service (NoviiRemote) and i was clear than put again CPRM ID ok
- When my recoder indicate "input data disc", i load the GVV1179 and than my recoder indicate "Data ID NG". At the end, my recoder alway warning "CPRM ERR" than "HDD ERR" => My recoder become no HDD working...
Now i haven't a GVV1239 version disc, can any people help me get a GGV1239 file. Please...
Thanks for all

[Seeker47]

Supplies are running low at various vendors because TY is in the middle of a hare-brained transition to rebrand themselves as "JVC": a more demented plan by a more intelligent company, I have never heard of, but there you go. You might try a phone order, explaining this to the CS person, and hope they have a clue. Or try alternate vendors like Rima.com or Avendirect.com. The TY premiums are still floating around, although you might have to pay closer to the normal delivered price of $35/100 instead of the ridiculously cheap $24/100 we've seen in recent months. I hope by January the whole JVC/TY thing clears up and we'll know what type of "JVC" is actually TYG02.

Quite recently, I did a sizable order for TYGO2 and TYGO3 from Rima. (I think they just handle the Premium line.) No apparent problem getting them, they look the same as they always did, and I'll assume they are until I see any evidence to the contrary. If sourcing these is going to become a problem, I may just place another large order -- soon.

[xtreme469]

xx

[pioneer531owner]

Hello everyone @ videohelp

Thank you for all the help on this thread.

I replaced my 80GB hard drive last April and it is still running strong. I originally had trouble with the TVGOS losing the listing and reset did not help. I then just used the timer record setting until the TVGOS went blank with just the bare outline of the menu seen. The only thing left to do was jump in with both feet. I burned all the shows I wanted to keep and prepared by reading this whole thread. I purchased a new harddrive for my computer so I could use the old 160GB Seagate 7200.10 for the PVR. I also picked up a refurbished Harmony @ tigerdirect for the service remote. I told my wife that it would be cheaper than buying a new PVR and she let me have more toys

Downloaded GGV1179 service disc
zero filled the entire 160GB to avoid any conflicts
used Knoppix 5.0 to copy the 'firmware'
opened up the lid on the pioneer and played doctor (good fun!)
swapped drives and used service remote and disc to initialize
the new drive was thinner so I had room to put some rubber dampers under it and a bungee over top to quiet the vibration since it is running almost 24/7.
Thanks to silentpcreview dot com for the idea. I can only hear it faintly from up close now. I could hear the old one even from the couch.

I also wiped the old 80GB and it works fine as an extra data drive in my computer. Bonus! Western Digital 7200RPM

THANKS so much to Hkan for the instructions at pioneerfaq and to everyone here on these forums.

[orsetto]

You are STAGGERINGLY lucky that the Knoppix trick worked for you, pioneer531owner: I've been repairing these accursed "TVGOS" models for years, but don't accept them anymore because re-loading the TVGOS inevitably takes multiple attempts with the "Knoppix/put HDD back in Pio/HDD fails/return it to PC" runaround. And at this point the TVGOS is completely useless in America anyway (get raedy: when Canada pulls the analog plug in 2011, you'll face the same issues).

Congratulations on your successful 531 repair, remember to thank your lucky stars you pulled it off!

[Starcraftlj]

I had a DVR-550H-S with 160GB HDD, 2 MB cache, SATA 7200 rpm, WD Caviar Blue (Cache <=> drive speed of 126 MB/s)
Successfully upgraded to 1TB HDD, 64MB cache, SATA 5400 rpm, WD Cavair Green (Cache <=> drive speed of 111 MB/s)
The 64 MB cache make up for the slower cache - drive transfer rate
Aftern upgrade to 1TB, there are 222 hours of XP recording capacity.

The OmniRemote Pro V2.15 from http://www.pacificneotek.com/ works fine with the Palm Tungsten T3 color.
The GGF1381 codes form http://www.remotecentral.com works fine with the OmniRemote Pro and Palm T3
ID Data Disc with help from http://pioneerfaq.info contact them for help on this, much easier and faster.
Everything works in one pass smoothly.


I also try to upgrade to 2TB.
But the 2TB upgrade does not work, it keep giving E02 message even with multiple "Initialize HDD"
Connect the 2TB HDD to the computer, it show a primary partition of 2TB occupying the whole HDD, same as the 160 GB HDD
The 2 TB HDD file format is the same as the original 160GB HDD

When turning on the DVR, it take longer time to read the 2TB HDD than the 1TB HDD.
It seems that the DVR can format the whole 2TB properly.
When the DVR try to read the directory of the 2TB, it seems it exceed the time limit and the DVR think there is a problem.
Does any one have knowledge on this? Take it to the limit one more time

Did not test the 1.5TB though.

I had read the thread from start to end twice, takes me 4 days.
Thanks to all your information contribution.