DVD Recorder LG RH3974 Problem

[Litaiff]

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I recently bought this device ''LG RH397H DVD HDD RECORDER'', I would test some VHS captures with it, precisely because it has an internal HD. Well, with the previous owner this had been stopped for about 15 years, testing it, it is not working, the screen does not leave the message ''Hello''. The HD seems to be not working making a latch noise.

Questions. If anyone has or has used this device... 1. Is it possible to replace the HD with any other? Or would it only work with its own.

2. If I manage to fix it, would it be possible to transfer data from the HD to the computer via a USB or Firewire cable?

[Subtitles]

I am not familiar with this recorder, but my DVD recorder Pioneer DVR-540H-S has a hard disk size 160GB. The HDD works fine.
All the recordings are encrypted and changing the HDD is not possible easily so I never bothered to take the risk.
The only way for me to extract the recordings on the HDD was to record to the DVD drive and then rip the videos to my computer.
If you can record directly to the DVD, then it is better not to bother with the internal hard disk.
I am almost certain that your HDD has an IDE interface and NOT SATA so if you decide take it out then you should buy an IDE to USB adapter before hand.

[R2D5]

Hi,
with this tool you can read the hdd, on pc (maybe).....

https://from-hdd-lg-to-pc.narod.ru/

or

https://www.isobuster.com/

[Litaiff]

Hi,
with this tool you can read the hdd, on pc (maybe).....

https://from-hdd-lg-to-pc.narod.ru/

or

https://www.isobuster.com/

I don't want to recover files from the HD, but replace the current (defective) 160GB HD. I was thinking about putting in a 360GB one. Would that work? I think that just changing the HD will make the device turn on normally.

[october262]

Hi,
with this tool you can read the hdd, on pc (maybe).....

https://from-hdd-lg-to-pc.narod.ru/

or

https://www.isobuster.com/

I don't want to recover files from the HD, but replace the current (defective) 160GB HD. I was thinking about putting in a 360GB one. Would that work? I think that just changing the HD will make the device turn on normally.

it is possible to replace the internal HDD with a new one.

LG RH3974 HDD Replacement
LG RH3974 HDD Replacement: It is possible to replace the hard drive in an LG RH3974 DVD recorder. Users have reported successfully replacing the original hard drive with a larger one, such as upgrading from an 80GB to a 160GB or 250GB hard drive. The new hard drive can be formatted using the device’s built-in format function or by formatting it with a Linux ext2 file system before installing it in the device. However, it is recommended to use a compatible hard drive and to follow proper installation and formatting procedures to ensure successful replacement and data transfer. Additionally, some users have reported being able to transfer data from the old hard drive to a computer using a USB or IDE to USB adapter, but this may require special software and technical expertise.

[Litaiff]

Just fixing the post, the model I have is the LG RH397H

[Litaiff]

Hello Dears.... I haven't had time to mess with the device yet, change the IDE HD, etc.

Well, I'm thinking about buying an IDE connector for a SATA HD, or SATA SSD, because, as you know, this model uses an IDE HD.


[Attachment 86371 - Click to enlarge]

So, I'm thinking about buying this adapter, like the one in the picture or maybe one that fits better on the device and connecting to a SATA HD or SATA SSD to it.

Would it work?

[themaster1]

I had one similar LG RHT498H i did a region unlock and it worked, don't know about the hdd swap but probably.

[Subtitles]

I never had success with using such converters. If you are going to try that anyway, I recommend using SATA SSD
Good luck.

[Litaiff]

I never had success with using such converters. If you are going to try that anyway, I recommend using SATA SSD
Good luck.

I'm going to give it a try, I'm going to buy this IDE to SATA connector, but first I'm going to test it with a SATA HD from a notebook, which is smaller and will make access easier.

I'm basing myself on this video from a Russian channel to disassemble and remove the 160GB HD. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_2iOFgYWFk

[Litaiff]

Updating! So, I disassembled it here, very carefully, and managed to remove the HD. To my surprise, it is a SATA HD, I thought it was an IDE HD. Well, Even better then!

I disassembled the HD board, it was a bit oily, I cleaned the connections, put the board back in and tested it on my computer. Again, no sign of life on the HD, just a "crack" sound, it doesn't even appear on the computer.

Back to the recording device, I tested two different notebook SATA HDs on it, both had files and one had a Windows operating system, and the recorder didn't work properly again, it just kept showing the "Hello" sign on the screen and that's all.

I'm going to look into whether if it needs to have some software previously installed on the HD to get it working normally again.

If anyone here has any advice, I thank you.


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[Subtitles]

I suggest that you try to connect the original HDD to your computer using a SATA-USB adapter if you have one and check it. You might not get anything because the OS of the recorder might be a Linux or the recordings encrypted because of copyrights.

[Litaiff]

I suggest that you try to connect the original HDD to your computer using a SATA-USB adapter if you have one and check it. You might not get anything because the OS of the recorder might be a Linux or the recordings encrypted because of copyrights.

Yes, I do, but wouldn't it be a slower way to try to connect the HD to the computer? Even on the recorder, this HD was already making ''popping'' noises like ''beep'' as if it wasn't working properly.

[Subtitles]

This is just to test the HDD for a short time like 15 minutes

[Litaiff]

I saw here on another forum, a Brazilian with a similar problem with another LG recorder model. After some discussions on the forum, tips from people, he bought parts, changed chips, and nothing solved the problem. The ''Hello'' message continued. Well, he finally found the problem. It was just the flat cable that transports data from the DVD recorder. He wrote the following:


''PROBLEM SOLVED!!!!!!!!

It had nothing to do with the flash memory on the DR100 MULTI MAIN 6870R9121AA board. The problem was simply in the "flat cable", which sends data from the DVD-ROM to the aforementioned board. I found out because I found a store that was selling parts for this same DVD player, and the only problem it had was that the DVD-ROM wasn't reading some media, in other words, it was practically working.

I took my DVD player to the store in downtown São Paulo and tested my parts with the store's device until I discovered that the cause of the "HELLO" message was the lack of communication between the DVD-ROM and the DR100 MULTI MAIN 6870R9121AA board due to the damaged "flat cable".

Here's a tip for anyone having the same problem, to check the "flat cable" before doing anything else.''


Well, my problem is not solved yet. But I will check this cable.

[Litaiff]

So, moving on here. I have now checked both ends of the flat cable coming out of the DVD part.

Then I found this part of the flat cable that comes out of the DVD unusual, there are two lines that appear to be joined together, (see the picture). Could this be a defect or is this normal?

In the other photo of the other end of the flat cable that connects to the motherboard, everything is fine.



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