Call me greedy but... I wanted to put a 160GB hard drive in my Dish 501.

I opened up the case. Disconnected the IDE cable and the power cable from the internal hard drive, and connected these cables to an unformatted 160GB hard drive.

Its been 16 hours and the thing is still sitting there 'Acquiring satellite signal'.

I thought this hardware was smart enough to recognize an unformatted hard drive. What gives?

If I wanted to read/edit the contents of the hard drive on a PC, what operating system or application should I use?

Try linux....

tivo's and utv use linux i think.....

have you tried a hot swap
check out dbs fourms
look for a post by fort
explains the hot swap, i did a 7200 no problem

I found a Modificaton a few days ago. I'll be back to paste it in this post in a few moments.


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5100/501 to 5180/508 - 80 gig HD
Copy and Paste/Copied from another board.

This Modification is for the Hobbyist/Tester

Definition: Modificatoin that is NOT PERFORMED BY ANY DEALER
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This was orginally posted by dmc5439 and this is his step by step to get this working on bev. I am putting it in a new thread to make sure it's clean and easy for people to find. This thread will be left unlocked so that people can comment on the method or ask questions, but if the comments stray, it will be locked and serve as a "read only" type of guide.


Again, big thanks to dmc5439 for posting this for us.

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To upgrade a 501 to a 508 or to upgrade a 5100 to a 5180 the procedure is the same:

First, what you need:
-501 or 5100
-buffered jtag (forget anything else)
-jkeys 2.0.1
-80 gig drive - Maxtor 4K080H4 or Maxtor 4K080K4
-virgin software version 063

Once you have everything required follow these steps:

#1 backup both tsops(flash chips) and the eeprom with jkeys 2.0.1
#2 edit version 063 firmware with your own IRD# and boxkeys. You should also correct the 2 byte checksum right after the IRD#/boxkeys - if you're copying the IRD#/boxkey from your original flash or another unit just copy the 2 bytes right after the boxkey along with the IRD# and boxkey(for those interested the checksum is a CRC-16/CCITT of the boxkey and IRD#)
#3 edit the build config in the 063 firmware to match whatever build config your 501/5100 originally was. Virgin 063 is typically DCKA but that entry in the flash file can just be edited to DCEA or DCFA, whatever you have, its just that simple and will avoid any -F problems
#4 edit the saved eeprom file, change the byte at offset 0xA1 to FF - This is what will tell the virgin firmware to format/marry the drive to your IRD#/boxkeys
#5 make sure the 80 gig drive is blank - if its new then you're all set, if its been used before I recommend going to the Maxtor website and grabbing the diag utility(PowerMax) and using it to wipe the drive.
#6 Using jkeys 2.0.1 erase flash #2 (this will erase both flash chips even though you only select #2)
#7 program your modified version 063 firmware into flash #2
#8 program your modified eeprom file (with the byte at 0xA1 changed to FF) back into your 501/5100
#9 plug 80 gig drive in and power the unit up. At this point it will format/marry the new drive.
#10 download latest firmware - if the receiver doesn't ask to do it automatically then reset the unit to factory default (menu 6, 1, 6), when you goto the point dish setup and tell the unit to continue it will download the current firmware (P166 for dish, E352 for bev) In both cases you should have just over 60 hours of recording time.
#11 If you had to reset the unit to defaults to get it to download the current firmware you may want to program your original eeprom file back into the unit - this will restore any timers you had programmed in.

This procedure can also be used to change the IRD#/boxkeys of an existing 501/508/5100/5180

There may be other 80 gig drives that work, however the Maxtors listed above will ALWAYS work as they are the drive the 508 is shipped with.

Sidereus, if you have somewhere for me to upload/email the 063 flash image let me know so it can be attached it to this thread.

dmc5439

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FAQ


Originally posted by dmc5439
absolutely NO 7200 RPM drives will work, the 501/508/5100/5180 checks the model # of the drive, if its not exact it will not accept it.
If you want it to work then you MUST use a Maxtor 4K080H4 or Maxtor 4K080K4 (these appear to actually be the same drive)
There is one other drive that *should* work , a Seagate ST380020ACE, again its a 5400 RPM drive. I haven't personally tested the Seagate so I suggest the Maxtor.


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Originally posted by charlies_mamma
hello all,
I followed dmc's guide (THANK YOU!!!) except for the 2nd step "copy the last 2 bytes..." because I used flashedit, does this matter?
also, is byte at offset 0xA1 located at 000000a0 first two digits on the string?
what my 501 is doing is that it goes into this loop of "aquiring satellite" then "searching for information".
when is searching for info, it shows thos green bar at the bottom and before the bar reaches the end, then it goes back to aquiring satellite.
thank you all for your help.
tony
PS this is day 4 of reading and trying different stuff..



Originally posted by dmc5439
charlies_mamma,

When you goto the sysinfo screen of your 501 does it show -N or -F after the build config? It sounds like you probably have a -F which is why the software won't download. Or it could be that the virgin firmware hasn't properly married your harddrive yet. Everything has to "happy" with the software before it will update.
I recommend taking a dump of your original eeprom, loading it into a hex editor(such as hexworkshop) going to offset A1 and changing that byte to FF, then program it back in. If you're in doubt as to how to find offset A1 then a hex editor would help, they typically show the offset at the bottom of the screen so you know which byte you're editing. Once you're sure your eeprom is correct you should have no problems receiving a firmware update.



Originally posted by charlies_mamma
thank you for your message dmc.
I checked the "important information screen" and right by software version has the following: P063DCKD-N.
IUnfortunately I don't have my original eeprom dump, I erased from my computer so I used bronzemaxell's eeprom from his zip file and FF'd A1. What the 501 did this time was that it went right to the aquiring satellite signial screen and then to chanel101, no hard drive function. before I was FFing A0 on error and that is how I got the 501 to go into the loop previously described. what else can I do?
also, is it important to zero the first 3 sectors and 131071 after every failed attempt?
thank you for your time.




Originally posted by dmc5439
Using bronzemaxells eeprom is just fine, now that you've added that and FF'd out A1 you should be good to go. Do a "set defaults" on the unit and then goto the point dish screen. Once you've confirmed the dish is pointed it should automagically goto the software download screen and get the newest firmware.
If it doesn't then you'll need to blank the sectors you mentioned above, program the eeprom again with the A1 changed to FF.
When it first powers on if it doesn't download new firmware do the set defaults and then goto the pointdish screen again, once you've confirmed it should download.



Originally posted by charlies_mamma
I tried zeroing the sectors 3 times with reflash of the flash2 and eeprom with A1 FF'd. every time I went to "set defaults" and then signial strength and sure enough it started to download, just like before but it goes back and forth between "aquiring satellite" and "searching for information" screens, just like before. anything else I can try?
thank you!




Originally posted by dmc5439
Hey XXXXXXXX,

I think I'm running out of ideas for ya, it really sounds like you've done things correctly. I have had the same problem before and it turned out to be a problem with the stream(bev had obviously messed something up) The last thing I can think of is to verify you're using a bev cam with the bev stream or a dish cam with the dish stream. Also if you power cycle do you ever see any harddrive errors?



Originally posted by charlies_mamma
last night after trying different things I found that, maybe, part of the reason was the build config my original tsop dumps shows DCKD and bronzemaxells shows DCKA. I tried and at least now I got it to download the sw and "programing memory" (when the green light flashes) but it stills says that there is a serious HD problem...
so close....




Originally posted by charlies_mamma
Today I came across another piece of info. I requested a Maxtor 4k080h4 (from the list) and the computer place sent a Maxtor 4d080k4...
I'm requesting an exchange...




Originally posted by dmc5439
ahh, well that explains it then, there is no way a 4d drive is going to work...


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12-01-2002


Originally posted by rollerball
I went on a mission today to buy an 80gig hard drive. But with maxtor dropping it's warrenty to 1 year and boosting it's interface to udma133, I can't find the exact model number that is required. This must be a problem for bell as well. Maxtor still makes a 5400 rpm 80gig hard drive, but it's a new model number. So does anyone know if it will work, maybe with the latest software update?



Originally posted by rollerball
The old maxtor drives are no longer availabe new. SO has Bell (or the manufacturer)discontinued the 501(5100) or have they updated it to use the drives that are currently being manufacteured. I am looking for new, not old, information. I have a 5100 on Bell and am looking to but one for dish. I'd like to update the new model to 80 first.


12-04-2002


Originally posted by dmc5439
Bell software only supports two 80 gig harddrives, a Maxtor 4K080H4 or a Seagate ST380020ACE.
Both the 40 and 80 gig drives are discontinued however
I'm sure Bell(or Echostar) knows when harddrives are going to be discontinued and buys required stock in advance.
You also don't know if they signed a contract with Seagate or Maxtor so while the drives may not be sold retail Echostar can still get'em.
All of that said the newest Dish 508 software supports a third 80 gig drive - one of the new 1 year warranty Maxtors, a future bell release may also support it.
For now I'd still look for a 4K080H4, I bought a new one this week...



Originally posted by rollerball
I wish to point my new PVR5100 at dish. I believe this will downloawd the dish software. Do you know what the model number of the newer 80 gig that is supported?


12-05-2002


Originally posted by dmc5439
The newest version of Dish software (P167) also adds support for the Maxtor 4R080L0 - so far no bev software supports the drive.


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12-08-2002


Originally posted by Cidco
Ok here is the scoop.
Today I found a 4K080H4, so I tested it out on my pc formated it and then wiped it using maxtor wipe program. It worked so i figured I would put it in my 5100.
I downloaded a virgin image of the 5100 firmware P053.

I used Flashedit 1.31
- updated the receiver information / boxkeys
- checked on the box for fix CRC
- changed the Build Config to what was on the old firmware.
- edited the file and checked and made sure a1 had ff

Plugged the drive in...
It comes up with 10880! error..

Anyone ????



Originally posted by dmc5439
Cidco - you have to use software version 063 not 053
053 only supports 40 gig drives
063 support 40 and 80 gig drives.
Perform the upgrade the same way you did but with 063 and you should have no problems.


This particular post reply was edited 23 minutes after-Below


Originally posted by Cidco
Thanks for that information.
Banging my head against dosent help much..
I am glad to be a memeber.

BTW
Can you point me to the url for this tsop.
PLEASE AND THANKS


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