I fixed my Philips DVDR 3455H dvd/hdd recorder

[kaupz]

I formatted the hdd of my dvdr3590h/97. The hdd was seagate 250gb. I wiped the hdd clean using acronis partitionexpert. I reinstalled the firmware. The unit just says 'STARTING'. 29th Aug 2010 07:20

I got same problem, just one night dvdr3595h/31 unit was in Starting cycle.

did Self Test with "REC and Play (>|) keys" and got "Pass".

did the CD upgrade with "REC and NEXT (>>|) keys" to v3.06.
nothing, still STARTING over and over again.

do not want to format hdd and loose recordings.
will try to take it out to ide->usb box and watch wit laptop, if i can copy recordings.
if not, will try "hdd regenerator" to repair hdd, (have got one old Samsung ide hdd back to work with windows, where it wasn't recognized before at all).

[kennywally]

My Philips DVD/hdd recorder died recently, and before throwing it out I decided to try to fix it by replacing the hdd. I was successful and I wrote some notes in case I have to do it again. Here are those notes:

---
Philips DVDR 3455H (DVD recorder with 160GB hard drive)

Replacing the harddrive.

1. Get the new hdd ready to install.

- The old hdd is an IDE WD 160GB. Replace with similar (larger sizes have been reported to work). Format your new drive FAT32 using SwissKnife (freeware) utility in Windows XP. Remove the jumper.

2. Replace old hdd with new hdd.

- Remove three screws on back of unit (left, right, middle)
- Remove two screws on left side of case.
- Remove two screws on right side of case.-
- Lift up on cover in the back to 45 degree angle.
- Pull back on cover and it comes loose.
- Unplug power connector from hdd.
- Unplug IDE cable from hdd.
- Remove two screws on left side of hdd base.
- Remove three screws on right side of hdd case.
- Remove hdd.
- Remove four screws on bottom side of hdd to get the hdd mount.
- Install mount on new hdd.
- Put case back together.

3. Boot new system and install firmware.

- Power on the system.
- Press 'eject' button.
- Place firmware disc in drive.
- Close drive by pressing 'eject' button.
- Follow on-screen prompts to upgrade/install firmware.
---

Those are my notes. The firmware is available on Philips' website and so are instructions for installing it. I hope these notes help somebody else. It's a great recorder even if the remote could be better. I was shocked to see the price for used 3455H's when mine died, so they must still be valuable.


Darryl

darryl


thanks for taking the time to post this valuable info...as there is no help available from philips.

I have a philips dvdr3576h/37... came with the seagate 160 hdd it still worked but was full
I'm taking a shot in the dark, with a refurbished 2t hitachi sata
I just tossed it in to see what happened as the sata are to self adjust so no jumper settings to mess with,
but only got an error code on the unit.

I wasn't expecting much.

another thing to check out if using the jumpers on an ide, is to go to the mfrs website for that particular hdd from the philips recorder
and dbl check the settings, then go to the mfrs website for the hdd YOU have and make sure you know which jumpers to now use.

I just got the sata drive and an ide refurbished too, just in case the sata refuses to fly, I SHOULD be able to get the 250 sized western digital to work [ fingers crossed ]

anyways, good thing I kept trying different types of searches and hit upon this forum I almost forgot about
so, I'll report back as time permits.

I'm gonna pull the drive, format to fat 32 and report what happens afterwards

[jkozura]

All-
The O-ring you need to replace the optical drive tray opening/closing belt is a #30. They sell at Lowe's for about $2 for 10 or 20 of them in a pack.
You can replace the belt from the front of the unit once you have become familiar with it. Otherwise, you can still replace it without removing the optical drive from the chassis by removing the top cover of the drive.
I have replaced my belt twice over the years. I found it is most easily done working from the front of the unit using a hemostat and small flathead screwdriver. I got the belt around the big pulley first then stretched it around the smaller pulley, which is on the motor shaft.

[Alectronic]

I found this problem also on XBOX360 game consoles and pc dvd-drives, refusing to open the plateau or refusing to eject the disc.

I am almost certain that it has to do with the magnet in the top plastic wheel. When it gets too strong and after a long period also magnetizes the metal in the bottom plateau parts, this problem starts happening! Of course it could also be a rubber snare that lost strength but mostly it isn't !

What you can do is simpel, and I did this with a few XBOX360 dvd players that wouldn't eject the plateau anymore. You fix this problem easily just by weakening the magnetic strength of the magnet pressure wheel in the top (That is only needed to keep the disc in place when it is turning).
And the way to do this is by sticking 1 or two layers of not deforming tape needly in the shape of the round wheel in top of the player. And you'll notice that the drive will open the plateau much easier.

But carefully not to apply too much tape so the disc still will stay centered on the turntable motor when read, without danger of getting loose. And of course you better use tape that sticks well and is not easily removed so you make sure it won't break the inside of your drive !
It is in most cases a good solution to enjoy your original DVD player or DVD burner much longer.

Alectronic, Weert, The Netherlands.

[tribeca]

A Philips disk format can be copied to another disk in Windows (or any other OS as disc is bootable) by using
Easeus disk copy. Download the ISO file and burn to a CD. This CD is bootable. Boot into Easeus and follow instructions for copy disk. The Philips original disk, of course, must be OK in its machine. On the new disk the format will be overwritten. Whatever format, or not, doesn't appear to matter on the new disk. Disk copy recognises Usb so both disks can be put into Usb caddies.
You can probably abort copy disk around 2Gb (Poss 1GB) as 80Gb takes about 2hrs. I have done both and actually the 2Gb copy loaded easier into machine, the 80Gb messed me about.
My machine is a 3300H but I assume same format on all later Philips.

What do you mean "abort copy disk around 2gb"?

What does the files look like when you open them in windows again? Mpeg?

[Brad]

The post you're responding to was made 5 years ago. It was his first and only post, and he hasn't logged in since 2011.

He was referring to setting up a new HDD to use Philips' file system so that it can be used as a replacement inside the DVD recorder. That's why he suggested aborting the copy early to save time; his goal was not to backup the original files, and certainly not to view them in Windows as you would like to do.

The tool he used likely did a bit-for-bit copy, so it didn't need to actually interpret the file system. He probably had no opportunity to view the files with this program even if he wanted to.

[mikewswcoast2004]

I have an LG LRH-780 that I've had since January 2007. Last night (February 17) I accidentally turned off that recorder and have had nothing but trouble ever since. It won't completely start up and I'm thinking the hard drive is on its last legs and need a way to get the content transferred off. (Said content only comprises of about 30 hours worth in 4-hour mode, out of a possible 80 hours at the outset, and some of the stuff I have on it I have no plans to keep beyond playback. And I can re-record some episodes of one CBC program later this summer in reruns if necessary.)

I had a power outage late on January 29 (weather-related) and it took about 10-15 minutes at the time for the unit to fully activate. At that time, I surmised to myself the unit cannot be allowed to be off for a prolonged period of time. This incident last night meant I couldn't turn it off at all.

I did buy a new (in the loosest sense) LG HDD recorder last Christmas and it works perfectly (the only surprise I got out of it was a previously recorded program done in 2011, probably in Ontario (and I'm in Newfoundland) which I've kept). Unrelated, I have a Toshiba D-R7 DVD recorder (no hard drive) that has preservation issues, and I've put it in storage until someone can repair it. (Bought a D-R5 at a yard sale last summer for $5, and despite its hit-and-miss situations during/after recording, has been an able secondary unit whenever there's a scheduling conflict.)

[hech54]

I have an LG LRH-780 that I've had since January 2007. Last night (February 17) I accidentally turned off that recorder and have had nothing but trouble ever since. It won't completely start up and I'm thinking the hard drive is on its last legs and need a way to get the content transferred off. (Said content only comprises of about 30 hours worth in 4-hour mode, out of a possible 80 hours at the outset, and some of the stuff I have on it I have no plans to keep beyond playback. And I can re-record some episodes of one CBC program later this summer in reruns if necessary.)

http://ifndef.altervista.org/index_eng.html
http://www.satacables.com/SATA-Hard-Drive-to-usb-adapter/SATA-IDE-ATA-66-ATA-100-ATA-1...ata-drive.html

You'll need to remove the HDD from the unit, hook it up to your PC with an adapter kit like the one I linked to, then run either "from hdd lg to pc v1.12" or "from hdd lg to pc v2.06" softwares available on the website I also linked to.
The recorded programs are in MPEG-TS - straight MPEG2 files.

[mikewswcoast2004]

My old recorder is running again, and I did absolutely nothing! What I did do was I switched it on either Thursday or Friday night, and let it try to warm up overnight; as of this morning, it's running again and I can transfer stuff as long as (a) I don't shut it off accidentally again or (b) the power goes out. This (for now) ends a week and a half of inactivity.

[hech54]

My old recorder is running again, and I did absolutely nothing! What I did do was I switched it on either Thursday or Friday night, and let it try to warm up overnight; as of this morning, it's running again and I can transfer stuff as long as (a) I don't shut it off accidentally again or (b) the power goes out. This (for now) ends a week and a half of inactivity.

Can't beat that with a stick...

[harky]

How do u get the hdd file inside readed?
i try to plug in to my pc but it dont read

i using win 10

[Vladimir Putim]

HDD replacement procedure
=========================
1. Install the new HDD.

2. Upgrade the software by forced download ("REC"+"Next >>|" while powering
on the mains) with the upgrade disc to the latest software
2.1 Press and hold the REC and NEXT (>>|) keys on the front panel while you
reconnect the recorder to the mains. The message "Download" will appear
on the recorders display.
2.2 After a while, the tray will be ejected and your recorder displays
the message "Put disc".
2.3 Place the download disc on the tray and push in the tray.
Your recorder will now start the upgrade process, which will take
around 10 minutes.
2.4 After the download is completed, the disc tray will eject automatically.
Remove the disc and push back the tray.
2.5 When you see the message "DONE" on your recorders display,
switch off and restar your recorder in order to complete the upgrade.

3. Format the HDD drive (forced formatting)
3.1 Press and Hold the "Previous |<<"+"Stop" key combination while powering
on the mains.
3.2 The set will start to display “FMT KEY”, and then it will show “FMT HDD”
while formatting HDD.
3.3 If the formatting is completed successfully, the set will display
“FMT DONE”. If the formatting is failed, it will show “FMT FAIL”
!!!Notes: Do not power off the set immediately when the “FMT DONE” is seen.
Wait until the time or --:-- is displayed before powering off the set.

The new HDD is ready to use. Some of the user information
may be lost after HDD Replacement.

from Russia with Love

[bithead9]

My old recorder is running again, and I did absolutely nothing! What I did do was I switched it on either Thursday or Friday night, and let it try to warm up overnight; as of this morning, it's running again and I can transfer stuff as long as (a) I don't shut it off accidentally again or (b) the power goes out. This (for now) ends a week and a half of inactivity.

you probably have some capacitors going bad. once you plug in and let sit they can "charge" a bit overnight and then work!