TiVo Community Forums Archives

TiVoCommunity.com
(c)opyright 1995-2005 All rights reserved
indexcheckTC
This area is a static history of posts in the TiVo Community Forum Archive.
This archive history was made for the simple indexing of search sites like Google.

Pages:1

Maxtor 4G120J6
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: Tiros2

OK Ive got a Phillips DirectTivo, 2.51 no mods.
I plan on removing my A drive and replacing it with this unit, saving the A drive on a shelf in case my Tivo needs warranty or out of warranty service. ( I am looking to protect my lifetime sub as long as possible)

NewEgg sells a Maxtor 5400RPM 120GB for $211.
It seems perfect since it is so close to the maximum IDE space issue and is reasonably priced.
Has anyone used this drive?
Are they quiet?
Are They Reliable?
What drive is most popular?
According to Maxtor this is a D540X, ATA133 Drive, any problem?
Should I apply the acoustic quiting software?

I have read that 7200 RPM drives run hotter in the Tivo. Somewhere I heard that Maxtor makes special drives that are specifically for A/V use. Any thoughts on this or model numbers?
I repair PC's and IMHO Western Digital drives suck. Bearing failures, and the loud chunk, chunck seek failure. IBMs seem to be the most reliable for PCs but they are 7200 and i don't think they have a 120

Posted by: Noldar

I've got two of them in my DSR6000 and they work great. You can hear some drive noise, but it's not very loud. I have the Acoustic Management turned off, so I expected some noise. I haven't tried it with the Acoustic Management turned on.

Posted by: dwight

I just upgraded my SA Tivo with the Maxtor 120 Gb drive this past Sunday (23 Dec 01). So far, no problems. The new drive is quieter than the original 2 Quantum drives that my Tivo came with - and I did NOT apply the acoustic quiting software. I don't see the need to apply it in my case, as I can't hear the drive anyway.

I bought the drive from Newegg.com myself, and I must say that I had no problems with the purchase or delivery of the drive.

Posted by: kerkules

Is this a ATA 133 drive? If so, does that pose any problems or changes in installation?

Posted by: PoopBeast

Yes it's ATA133 but its fine. The TiVO and most PCs will auto negotiate the ATA level correctly. If you put it in the drive will work in ATA/33 mode and be fine. I put the drive in my PC which can use ATA/100 and then put it in the TiVo with no problems. (I have 2 120GB Maxtor 5400RPMs).

Some old BIOSes screwed up when they saw an ATA/66 drive and only had an ATA/33 controller- they set things to ATA/66. I think this issue is the only one I remember seeing that caused people some problems and you are unlikely to hit that problem. Especialy since Linux probably works around the issue or avoids it entirely by probing the drive directly. Lately the drive manufacturers have removed utilities to force the ATA level in the drive which suggests things are working better.

--Poopie

Posted by: Tiros2

So..
Will I need to apply any DMA setting\locking utility to use this drive? Im thinking it might be best to lock the transfer rate at the correct level. That way no possibly incorrect negotion can occur . I think that utilities that set DMA, cylinder translation, audio aoustics etc. patch a small section of the drives firmware in flash memory.

If you have used any such patches please post type and result.

I really don't even know whats available.

Thx

Posted by: Want1394

No, no, no. you don't need, shouldn't, just don't do any patches, settings, anything. The drive is just fine the way it is. Make sure you get the jumper right for primary (or slave) and enjoy.

I suggest turning ON acoustic management ( /quiet option). I've used it on over a dozen of thest drives. Yeah, the difference is small, but noticable at 10 feet or less. Especially noticable is the tic-tic-tic of seeks just goes away.

It's a good idea to put the Maxtor diagnostic program (Powermax) on a bootable floppy and run it against the drive to make sure it sees no problems also. Put the amset program on the same floppy.

Happy upgrade.

Posted by: HTH

quote:
Originally posted by Want1394
[B]No, no, no. you don't need, shouldn't, just don't do any patches, settings, anything. The drive is just fine the way it is. Make sure you get the jumper right for primary (or slave) and enjoy./B]

As opposed to Western Digital drives which may exhibit early failure if not locked to 33 MB/s transfer rate for TiVo.

There is as yet no indication Maxtor drives should be similarly limited, but it couldn't hurt.

Posted by: cable35

My Maxtor 4G120J6 installation went very smooth, but i only got "Varible, up to 230 Hours" of recording time.

How many hours of recording should two 120gig drives get me on a SAT-T60??

I was thinking 340hours....

Posted by: UncaAndoo

In your case, I would advise shopping at www.directron.com

I will be shortly.