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  1. 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
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    Darryl,

    I really didn't want to throw out mine either so finally after hours of scouring the net for solutions I came upon this post. There really isn't alot of repair instructions out there so just know that you helped at least 1 person to fix their unit.

    Thank you for your instructions as they led me to reviving my 3455h from the dead. Your instructions saved me between $25(for a firmware preloaded HD on ebay $85+$15shipping)and $400cdn for a new recorder. It works just like it did before.

    I went with the 160gb hd as a precautionary measure to match at least the size of the original hd that was already in the unit.

    I'd just like to add a couple of things.

    The drive I got was a WD 160gb. It was a PATA.
    My eject wouldn't work because it would hang on the Philips screen and then restart. I had to use a small screwdriver to slide the manual mechanism under the cd drive. I then put the firmware disc in the tray and plugged in the unit and when I turned the power on it auto-closed and started reading the firmware disc. So if the eject button is not an option use this method.

    The loading of the firmware was tedious it took a couple of tries but after waiting it out with the display going from Load to Copy to Boot (I think in that order) the firmware loaded on the new HDD. Affter the firmware loaded I went into the SETUP SCREEN then to the HDD options and deleted HDD. It formatted the HDD as it deleted it.

    NOTE FOR OTHERS THAT MAY GO THIS REPAIR ROUTE, NEVER TRY AND PRY THE CD DOOR OPEN! Look at the bottom of your recorder and you will see a slot with a plastic tab inside, slide it to the opposite side and the door will open. Wait out the loading and copy of the new firmware. If at first it doesn't take give it a little time or a few tries.

    Awesome man (hope you get to see my thanks!),

    Thanks again and Peace,

    MaccaM
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  3. I find a lot of electronics work again if you just unplug from wall for a minute, this resets them.
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    Originally Posted by handyguy
    I find a lot of electronics work again if you just unplug from wall for a minute, this resets them.
    While that is very true and was the first thing I tried. I left it unplugged for 8 hrs and 27 hrs and it didn't do any good. Personally I knew that it was a dead hard drive based on the hangs and resets on the Philips opening screen. That and the clicking noises the hd made at startup. I tried to get the firmware to take but it just wouldn't work.

    I have a fair amount of PC history to know that when a drive is dead it is dead. I'm not saying I will throw my old drive away quite yet but I really do think it is dead (hoping 1 day I can get the vids off of it but really doubt I will be able to).

    Nonetheless if it is a bad hd it really isn't that hard to fix if you know what you are doing or at least have a rough idea of what to do.
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  5. MaccaM72, glad to help! I know I came so close to throwing the unit away when it died. I am so glad I saved it and saved somebody else from throwing theirs out too. Mine had the same hangs and clicking sounds which automatically made my think "harddrive failure".

    Maybe someday I will try out a 500GB drive. For now I am content with the 160BG drive. I am also now using an external tuner with it so I can get all my digital cable recordings and OTA HD stuff (downsampled of course).

    I'd like to see a guide or tips on replacing the DVD drive. Mine occasionally says "blocked" and refuses to open. I have to hit the button several times to get it to open when it does this.


    Darryl
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    Hello All. I have a serious problem with my DVDR 3455h

    I was recording a camera signal (composite type), because an unknown reason, my recorder refused to close record down to HDD on 'STOP' order. I say, the recorder was recording but I couldn't stop it!, it showed me a message 'Copy protected'.

    It wasn't a DVD player signal, It was just a camera signal i was recording.

    I had to cancel the recording, go back to cache, for testing did write down to HDD a little section of 5 minutes from cache, but then!! it deleted the later important stuff from cache!! like two hours of filming!!

    don't know why, the cache flushed away and did lost a very important filming!

    I think the video is still there in the recorder's hard disk, so I want to manually transfer the data to a PC. I opened the recorder, I removed it's hard disk from it and connected the hard disk in a PC. But the hard disk seems to not have a known file system or partitions. Tried many partition manager programs, but no one did recognize the DVDR 3455h strange file system.

    Seems like the DVDR 3455H uses a real time operating system called VXWORKS, like being a mini-computer.

    Does any one know how can I transfer the video files from the 3455H HD to a single PC?
    Many thanks in advance to all.
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  7. @werejaguar That goes beyond my understanding. I simply formatted my hdd to FAT32 and it was recognized by the Philips recorder. It did some writing to it when I installed it, but I do not think it reformatted it.

    There are linux tools for duping that hdd bit-for-bit to an image file. Then maybe you can play with the image file while you put the hdd back into the recorder. The Linux tool I am referring to is called "dd".

    FWIW, I have experienced a similar problem. If you split a video into more than two parts, it gets deleted.

    Darryl
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    Thanks for your reply Darryl. Every bit helps
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    I finally could rescue the data from the recorder. For anyone who gets on this problem, the procedure is:

    1) Rip the entire recorder's hard disk, into another hard disk as a big image with Hex Workshop

    2) Open the dump image with Isobuster. Extract all files.

    3) The output files are a large quantity of small MPG files, of mixed content, so it is necessary to search and recompose the wanted content with video software (I used Pinnacle TREX for converting into AVI, then Adobe Premiere for cut & merging). This step is very tedious but seems to be the only choice.

    Hope this helps.
    Thanks to everyone.
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  10. Hi there, werejag;

    I had cause to do something similar about a year ago. The only way I had of recovering the videos was to download a "live" version of Ubuntu. I then booted up into that OS, and was able to mount the old hard disk, and copy the files from it. I had to remove the new hard disk from the recorder and mount that as well, and copy the files over but, once done, my old videos were on the new replacement hard disk.

    HTH


    Tim
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    OK . . new problem now (I posted about the TSST 623 dvd-r drive I used as a substitute for the failed ASATECH drive over a year ago).
    My HDD stopped playing mid-show. I put a working HDD from another matching 3455H unit in it and it played fine. Thus the GUTS are ok.
    I made my upgrade CD and installed the upgrade in the matching 3455H and tried in the failed HDD 3455H unit.
    I formatted the HDD from the Polaroid (that had the TSST burver) and tried to use the upgrade CD to get the replacement drive working. The "failed HHD" 3455H sticks . . blinks . . tries loading . . sticks . . blinks . . Twice I got it to "read" LOADING (before I ever pulled the failed HDD) but not since. I put the working HDD from the matching 3455H in the failed HDD unit and installed the new system . . . I tried the HDD with both "primary" partition and "logical" partition format. I checked the failed and working HDDs and was refused access by the working HDD in both WIN2000 drive management and SwisKnife software, while the failed HDD showed as "primary" .

    What do I need to do to my HDD?? Use Ubuntu to access a working drive to get files to place on the replacement or failed HDD??

    I get no difference between "failed" and replacement HDD . . but KNOW that the working HDD I have will have the 3455H purring.
    These units are VERY well built . . just a few problems like no replacement DVD-r burners . . REPLY PLEASE
    rhedges9@yahoo.com suggestions welcome . . .
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    Mine occasionally says "blocked" and refuses to open. I have to hit the button several times to get it to open when it does this.


    Darryl[/quote]

    Use the white plastic slider in the factory slot under the drive to get the spindle (rises and lowers into disc) moving as you need for loading/opening etc. "Blocked" mode will burn the burner out if left ON and unfixed. Unplug. Unjam. Open disc drawer. I help one DVD-R ASATECH drive open/close every time now. It still burns discs. RH9
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    The upgrade to the firmware/software from Philips for the 3455H changes the machines "behavior". I discovered that on "standby" mode or unplugged you can change discs through the "white plastic slider" drawer-open-method, and then resume usual use with a new disc.
    Thus an old machine keeps in use, even after the "tuner" lost upper numeral channel clarity.
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  14. FWIW, I searched for and found the thread Robert started about replacing the DVD drive.

    https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/296365-Philips-DVDR-3455H-37-has-burner-drive-probl...ighlight=3455H


    Darryl
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  15. Originally Posted by Roberht View Post
    OK . . new problem now...

    What do I need to do to my HDD?? Use Ubuntu to access a working drive to get files to place on the replacement or failed HDD??

    I get no difference between "failed" and replacement HDD . . but KNOW that the working HDD I have will have the 3455H purring.
    These units are VERY well built . . just a few problems like no replacement DVD-r burners . . REPLY PLEASE
    rhedges9@yahoo.com suggestions welcome . . .
    Robert. My knowledge here is limited, but I hope I can help. I was a little confused reading your post, but it looked like you tried various methods to get the replacement (new?) hdd to work in the failed Philips recorder. I don't know how to make Windows recognize the drive if it is refusing to. But you might have luck with Ubuntu or a Gparted boot disc. If you can get the drive to be recognized, then delete all partitions, set up new a primary partition, and format it FAT32.

    Just out of curiosity, have you considered the possibility of a bad data or molex power cable in the Philips recorder?


    Darryl
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  16. On the subject of the "blocked CD drive", I've found that if I keep a disc in the recorder at all times, it always opens. So whenever I remove a recorded disc, I replace it immediately with a blank disc. Now the drawer always opens. Weird.


    Darryl
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  17. Hi Folks,

    Following how to solved the BLOCKED problem at DVDR 3455H philips. I've posted some pictures about it.
    Have fun.

    lmonfa
    Image Attached Thumbnails DVDR3455H-english.pdf  

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  18. Originally Posted by lmonfa View Post
    Hi Folks,

    Following how to solved the BLOCKED problem at DVDR 3455H philips. I've posted some pictures about it.
    Have fun.

    lmonfa
    Awesome! Thanks. So was the black belt missing teeth or something? Where do you obtain the replacement belt? Does it have to be ordered from Philips?


    Darryl
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  19. Hi,

    I bought the new one by taking the old one to an electronic shop. It was less than US$1.

    tks

    lmonfa
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  20. I have a Phillips which has a blocked DVD drive, otherwise its working fine. However I am less interested in fixing the DVD drive as being able to get all the recordings off the hard drive onto a PC hard drive(on a regular basis). My recorder is the digital version 5570. I wonder if this uses the same file system.. I am afraid to try, but otherwise its just sitting there doing nothing..hmmmm..
    Corned beef is now made to a higher standard than at any time in history.
    The electronic components of the power part adopted a lot of Rubycons.
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  21. I found the service manual online here:

    http://www.givemefile.net/smanuals/dvd_players/philips/file/38226.html

    Just browsing through it, I found reference to a Firewire 1394 interface. I wonder if there is a mod/hack we could do to get a working firewire output. That's sure make it easy to get videos off the hdd.


    Darryl
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  22. 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'.
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  23. I don't know anything about the DVDR3590H/97. Make sure it's supposed to be FAT32 and doudle-check that you formatted it correctly. Also, double-check the jumper.


    Darryl
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  24. hi. not sure if I should start a new thread, or if it is ok to continue on this one. seems this thread matches my dvdr recorder, so will start here. let me know if i should do otherwise..thx. my philips 3455 dvdr won't come up to where i can watch dvd's or recordings or even tv thru the player. i tried reformatting the hd, and even another smaller hd, then load the cd. it says load, copy, boot, then Philips, and just stays there. after several seconds, the blue light flashes, then it seems to cycle through again, but never gets to any screen where you can watch tv. any suggestions on what i might try?
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  25. i created another thread, and ended up finding a solution. i used linux dd command to copy a working hd to the one that wasn't working, and now it works too. not sure how i would of resolved the problem if i didn't have two dvdr's that were the same model.
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  26. Originally Posted by vbdanl View Post
    i created another thread, and ended up finding a solution. i used linux dd command to copy a working hd to the one that wasn't working, and now it works too. not sure how i would of resolved the problem if i didn't have two dvdr's that were the same model.
    BTW, the thread mentioned above is here:
    https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/325733-Philips-3455dvdr-stays-on-philips-logo?p=201...154&viewfull=1

    Strange that reformatting didn't work but cloning the hdd of another 3455 did work. If I had to guess what went wrong, I would have to say that the hdd was not partitioned/formatted correctly. Either that or the firmware CD was not burned correctly.


    Darryl
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    WHEN REPLACING HDD IF YOU USE A DIFF BRAND SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO PUT THE JUMPER IN { FOR MASTER CABLE SELECT ETC }
    I HAVE PUT 500 GIG AND LARGER SEAGATE HDDs IN AND YOU USE MASTER ! OR IT WILL FAIL TO INSTALL FROM CD. DIFF BRANDs MAY REQUIRE
    DIFF JUMPER SETTINGs
    HOPE THIS HELPs !!!
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  28. Hey Banjo45, did you format the hdd FAT32? Were you able to get all 500GB in one partition?


    Darryl
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  29. Originally Posted by Pikey View Post
    Hi there, werejag;

    I had cause to do something similar about a year ago. The only way I had of recovering the videos was to download a "live" version of Ubuntu. I then booted up into that OS, and was able to mount the old hard disk, and copy the files from it. I had to remove the new hard disk from the recorder and mount that as well, and copy the files over but, once done, my old videos were on the new replacement hard disk.

    HTH


    Tim
    Hi Pikey,

    Would you please elaborate a bit further? I have a DVDR3455H hard disk. Like others in this thread, I want to extract the videos from the disk as well. I tried to use Ubuntu to mount the disk but still no file system is recognized.

    Grateful if you could share more details:
    1. What Ubuntu version you were using;
    2. How to you "mount" the DVDR3455H hard disk (command line or Disk Utility);
    3. What kind of file system did you recognized;
    4. How is the video files you "copied" looks like? Readily playable in your Windows PC?

    Many many thanks!

    Penny
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  30. Hi Penny;

    It's a long time ago now; but I removed the hard disk from the DVD. It's an IDE disk, so I shut down my Windows XP PC, opened it up, and attached the hard disk to the DVD cable and a spare power lead. I had already downloaded a LIVE version of UBUNTU 7.1 onto a CD, so I stuck it in my DVD reader and powered up. I had to change the boot order in the BIOS (press F2 when the PC boots) so it went to the CD. Once I had UBUNTU up and running, after about 15 minutes or so, I simply mounted the drive just like any other, and the files were there. I can't remember what the looked like, sorry! But they were big!

    One I knew I could do it that way, I put the new Disk in the DVD recorder, ran the firmware etc; took it out, attached it to my PC inplace of the original hard drive, then I had the DVD and two hard disks and I just booted into Ubuntu again, mounted both disks, and copied everything I could find on the old one to the new one; and when I put it all back together again, there they were!

    I know for sure that XP didn't work - don't know why not, but I was told that the format method of the hard drive was not compatible with XP or DOS at all. It was NOT a unix or Linux format either, but Ubuntu seemed to be able to read it.

    Hope that helps!

    Tim
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