HTPC problems is it my HDD?

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Mon, 10/04/2010 - 8:25am

#1

robinhoody

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Joined: 2 Dec 2008

HTPC problems is it my HDD?

Alright so heres my symptoms. So I reloaded w7 ultimate about a month and half ago. Everything is running great. TV shows are being recorded, music plays, pictures, streaming etc... Within the past couple of weeks I could play regular tv skip back if I had to, pause live tv and everything was fine. But on recorded shows it would play for about 5-10 mins then it would say signal lost or just freeze up and the HDD light wouldnt flash or anything. So I'm guessing my HDD crapped out on me? Then last night it crapped out on me, I couldnt boot into windows, it would sometimes try loading into windows but would just keep loading at the little green bar screen. Everything else appears to run fine. I'm going to take it out tomorrow and mount it tomorrow to see if I can pull any data off. I think I may have an Extra HDD to toss in there just to make sure thats the issue.

What everyone is using for HDD company wise? I dont want to buy a WD HD, I was thinking a seagate? or Samsung?

Also curious to everyones insight on a dual OTA tuner card. I'd prefer just to have one card in the machine instead of two since its already crowded. I'm looking at getting the hauppage 2250, it should cover all my needs. Has anyone had any issues with it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116036

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 8:38am

#2

Meester.Rip

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Joined: 3 Oct 2006

My haup 2250 has worked fine for OTA and QAM. I also use have a Kingston Value SSD in my HTPC for the OS and 2x250Gb drives in Raid 0 for TV.

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 8:48am

#3

robinhoody

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Joined: 2 Dec 2008

awesome, I'm looking at the 1tb seagate drives.

Oh and while I'm at it this weekend I'm going to do about a 100 foot coax cable run for the antenna to the attic. Anything I should look out for cable wise?

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 8:50am

#4

Meester.Rip

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Joined: 3 Oct 2006

Make sure to check the reviews on those Seagate drives so you don't end up with a rock tumbler in your htpc.

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 9:48am

#5

captain_video

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Joined: 6 Jul 2007

Western Digital has a line of AV drives that are specifically designed for DVR use. They're only slightly more expensive than their standard drives so it might be worth a look.

I had a pair of 2250's in my HTPC for a short while and they didn't perform as well as the external V-Box USB tuners I was using just prior to that. I have since switched to four HP USB tuners (rebadged HVR-950Q's) and they are the best I've tried so far.

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 12:37pm

#6

Andrew Van Til

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Joined: 4 Apr 2007

robinhoody wrote:

What everyone is using for HDD company wise? I dont want to buy a WD HD, I was thinking a seagate? or Samsung?

Is the current drive a WD? I'm a big fan of their Black drives.

robinhoody wrote:

Also curious to everyones insight on a dual OTA tuner card. I'd prefer just to have one card in the machine instead of two since its already crowded. I'm looking at getting the hauppage 2250, it should cover all my needs. Has anyone had any issues with it?

Unless you need the analog capture, I'd go with an Avermedia Duet because it's much cheaper. I have both, and haven't had any real problems with either.

Senior Editor | @babgvant

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 12:49pm

#7

robinhoody

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Joined: 2 Dec 2008

Only reason I chose the hauppage was because it had an FM tuner on it.

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 12:51pm

#8

Andrew Van Til

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Joined: 4 Apr 2007

Do you use FM tuning? I hooked it up once (back in the pre-MCE2005 days) then found out that you couldn't record anything, figured using the AVRs FM tuner was better cause I didn't need to have the TV on

Senior Editor | @babgvant

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 1:27pm

#9

robinhoody

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Joined: 2 Dec 2008

thats a good point, if only I had a AVR

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 1:36pm

#10

Andrew Van Til

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Joined: 4 Apr 2007

Why not put the $60 you'll save towards one

Senior Editor | @babgvant

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 1:39pm

#11

robinhoody

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Joined: 2 Dec 2008

As much as I would like one the WAF is a problem lol. The room its set up in is real easy to fill with sound. Right now I just have a Logitech 2.1 THX z-2300 I think if I can remember my model numbers correctly. The room isnt huge so it doesnt require much to fill. Next house next house I keep telling myself, dedicated HT room !

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 1:41pm

#12

George Schmauch

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Joined: 21 Dec 2006

I have a Pioneer VSX-1015 I'm no longer using. PM me if interested.

Server: WHS, SuperMicro dual Xeon X7DWE, 1 x Xeon L5410, Thermalright HR-01, 4GB Crucial ECC, 8 port PCI-X SATA, 4 port RocketRAID 2300, 5x1 PortMultiplier, Corsair HX1000W PSU, Lian-Li PC343B case [blog]
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Tuners: 2 x HD-PVR (serial control), 2 x HDHR, USB-UIRT

Mon, 10/04/2010 - 9:18pm

#13

phoneguyinpgh

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Joined: 29 Nov 2006

robinhoody wrote:

Oh and while I'm at it this weekend I'm going to do about a 100 foot coax cable run for the antenna to the attic. Anything I should look out for cable wise?

The fewer breaks in it the better (IE; don't splice it). Also with a run that long you might want to consider using one of these in-line amps http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103913&filterName=Category to overcome the losses in a 100ft coax run. Put the amp module right on the antenna (and weather proof with shrink wrap and/or electrical tape) and the power injector at the end of the coax run.

Nothing is more dangerous than a person who's title exceeds their intelect.

Tue, 10/05/2010 - 8:20am

#14

robinhoody

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Joined: 2 Dec 2008

Oh nice TY for the info.

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