# Reliability of Western Digital My Book AV DVR Expander



## PoobBubes (Jun 30, 2010)

Has anyone had any problems out of these? I know the older My DVR Expanders could corrupt the hard drive of the Tivo. Does this new version pose the same risks? I thought about getting one when the Fall season starts back up and putting it and the Tivo on a UPS to minimize the chance of something like that happening. Anyone have any input?


----------



## DPF (Mar 20, 2003)

I'm a weak data point, but slightly better than no points at all.

I've only had it for a few weeks, but no problems at all. 1Tb, setup was without incident, and it's happily chuck full of suggestions by now. Something is recording on at least 1 tuner seemingly at all timers. I have brazzilions of suggestions to wade thru.

Hence, as of this time, the drive is working just fine. On a UPS as well.

-DPF


----------



## stujac (Jan 26, 2002)

I've had mine for almost 2 years and it's been trouble free. Knock on wood.


----------



## wtkflhn (May 12, 2006)

stujac said:


> I've had mine for almost 2 years and it's been trouble free. Knock on wood.


 I have had 2 since the came out, and I have had no problems (knock on wood). My advice would be to make sure it has plenty of ventilation so it doen't get to hot.

Don H


----------



## Chris Gerhard (Apr 27, 2002)

The new version is too new to know if it will have serious issues like the original DVR Expander or worse. We didn't know that the original Western Digital DVR Expander would be so fragile until over a year after many already had one. I have two of the originals, one 500GB and one 1TB, and so far mine are working great but based on everything I have read, I should consider myself lucky.


----------



## 230 (Nov 3, 1999)

I setup a my book for my in-laws almost 2 years ago. I live 500 miles away, and they would be scared if they would have to move a cable, so it's been completely trouble free.


----------



## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

DPF said:


> ...Something is recording on at least 1 tuner seemingly at all timers.....


Technically, something is recording on both tuners all of the time. If not recording a requested program or suggestion, each tuner is recording the live buffer......

To the OP's question, though.....If you are concerned about it, you could always just sell the expander and upgrade the internal drive to a 1tb drive and remove a possible point of failure. My old 500GB expander was working just fine. Then I hit the apporximately 1 year point it it died a very quick death. Fortunately, I was able to successfully divorce the drive and get a good backup image from my stock drive and I am now running a Hitachi 1TB drive. It was far easier to do the upgrade than I ever thought it would be.


----------



## JTYoung1 (Aug 13, 2006)

I had 2 of the 500GB ones go bad on me just after a year. I just gave up and installed a 1TB drive in my S3 and my Tivo HD


----------



## TWinbrook46636 (Feb 9, 2008)

Isn't this thread asking specifically about the "new and improved" My Book AV DVD Expander that just came out recently?


----------



## Scaevola (Dec 8, 2008)

Which (new) one is this?

I've had a hd tivo (s4) since i dunno december 2008? Bought a 500gb xpander worked flawlessly. Recently (spring 2010) I upgraded the internal hd & binded a new 1tb expander had no issues ...going on 6+ months.

Several tips:
-Enclosed spaces = BAD. Everything needs to vent and breath....enclosed cabinets look great ...but the heat doesn't dispate and in most cases heat is what kills electronics (see all xbox 360s).
-Keep it off the floor! Dust is worse than enclosed spaces...it makes fans work harder(& less efficiently).

I think you should be fine with either version though. Stay away from long sata cables ..use the included ones...I hear sata connections are very temperiment when it comes to DVR extensions and if they lose connection *zip* goes your records ..which in tivo's case is pratically all.

I keep my tivo/expander on a decent near $50 surge protector ..not an avr and not a ups.

It's a waste. My TV/Surround sound is on a AVR followed by a UPS. Those do matter! Though a ups couldn't hurt. AVR are way better than surge protectors as they actively modierate the current going through them for sustained periods. Surger protectors only protect against (huge/signficant surges).


----------



## PoobBubes (Jun 30, 2010)

Well I bought the DVR Expander and an APC SUA1500 Smart UPS. Now my question is, should I put both the Expander and the Tivo on the UPS, or just the Expander?

Supposedly the Tivo should be powered off before the Expander is powered off. If I am at home and the power goes out, I can just unplug the Tivo from the UPS before the battery runs out. But if I am away and the power goes out, the Tivo and Expander would both power down when the battery runs out.

So what do you guys think, should I put the Tivo on the UPS or leave it off?


----------



## daveak (Mar 23, 2009)

Put them both on the UPS.


----------



## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

Any drive made by WD presents a risk. I've been building my own computer systems for 15 years, and every WD product I've owned has died just out of warranty. I learned my lesson with the 4th drive, so never again.

Hope your luck is better.


----------



## net114 (Dec 29, 2000)

Dodge DeBoulet said:


> Any drive made by WD presents a risk. I've been building my own computer systems for 15 years, and every WD product I've owned has died just out of warranty. I learned my lesson with the 4th drive, so never again.
> 
> Hope your luck is better.


LOL. I hate to say it, but I've had better luck with WD than Seagate over the years, but recently have been trying the Samsung and Hitachi drives and liking them. BUT, to the OPs point, my original 500GB WD expander died within 6 months. I wasn't going to chance hooking up another one, so I upgraded the internal drive.

I've found one big thing, that is extremely anecdotal I know, but that is whenever I order a hard drive or a device with a hard drive in it, I always use FEDEX. UPS is just too hard on their shipments. (I know some people have good luck with one shipper or the other), but if you doubt, read this review from Newegg about hard drives:

"Other Thoughts: Heres a suggestion for anyone buying a hard drive, go with FedEx, the express saver is the cheapest. I know it cost more than UPS and Neweggs free shipping isnt FedEx, but heres the deal: I have bought over 30 hard drives (Western Digital and Seagate) through Newegg in the past 2 years, 100% of the ones shipped FedEx are still running, 80% of the ones shipped UPS were either DOA or failed within 6 months. UPS beats the He11 out of their shipments, even their website states that every package is subject to a 6 foot drop. Do the math, free shipping or cheaper UPS shipping isnt free in the long run. I ship my non-fragile items with the free shipping, but I do a separate order and use FedEx for hard drives and motherboards."

When I went back and checked my shipments over the course of a few years from Amazon and Newegg, EVERY one of the hard drives I bought and shipped via UPS, including the WD MyDVR 500 GB expander, failed. The ones I shipped via FEDEX, still going.

I know, not scientific, but something to consider.


----------



## PoobBubes (Jun 30, 2010)

The reason I do not want to upgrade the internal drive is because I paid for the 3 year extended warranty on the unit. So if I upgrade the internal drive my warranty is voided.


----------



## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

Drives are mechanical and ware out and controller electronics can burn out - just a fact of life. The new WD 1 TB drive has a longer warranties (2 years versus 1) and has both eSATA and USB connections so it can be used with both TiVo and other DVRs like Dishnetwork's that use USB instead of eSATA. 

If an external drive dies you loose all recordings made since it was added, but the TiVo will continue work if the internal drive is still ok. 

I have 2 of the older drives, a 500 GB that is over 2 years old and 1 TB that is 6 months old. They only came with 1 year warranties and only connect via eSATA. 

What ever you do, I recommend you connect your TiVos and external drives to a good UPS and make sure everything is well ventilated.

Good Luck,


----------



## Pvgibbs (Jul 5, 2005)

I had the "old" Expander circa 2008...it started to have issues a couple weeks ago. After unplugging it, Tivo returned to hang-free service -- so I knew it was the expander. I ran the uninstall process on tivo for the old expander and bought the "new" WD Expander (WDBABT0010HBK-NESN) this week from Amazon. The new one has a small white light vs a big yellow circle. 

After turning everything off, plugging in the eSATA cables, power-up the expander, plugging in the Tivo power cord -- I got the "Powering Up..." screen. And it stayed there for over 20 mins. I tried re-doing the process (unplugging, plugging, etc) -- but after three times still getting the "powering up..."screen only. (never goes past that point). Maybe its the eSATA cables or cable connection on my Tivo (seems pretty loose).


----------



## kirby1972 (Sep 12, 2010)

I purchased the "My Book AV" DVR Expander from Amazon also last week (WDBABT0010HBK-NESN). I tried to install this last night and had the exact same problem as Pvgibbs. 

Went to Best Buy, purchased the exact same device today, and it worked PERFECTLY. Tivo recognized the drive on restart and it is working fine. No hang-ups on the Powering Up screen. The only downside is BB price is $149.99 vs. Amazon $119, but I'll pay an extra $30 for something that works!

I can only guess the drive was bad from the factory or damaged in shipping (yes, it qualified for Amazon's "free shipping" via UPS).


----------



## PoobBubes (Jun 30, 2010)

kirby1972 said:


> The only downside is BB price is $149.99 vs. Amazon $119, but I'll pay an extra $30 for something that works!


Just return the Amazon expander to Best Buy and get your money back.


----------



## Gregor (Feb 18, 2002)

YMMY I ordered the expander from Amazon and it has worked flawlessly.


----------



## Chris Gerhard (Apr 27, 2002)

PoobBubes said:


> Just return the Amazon expander to Best Buy and get your money back.


Of course that is fraud and a crime in all 50 states but it is a crime that one can usually get away with, assuming no serial number check when returned. I sure wouldn't do it.


----------



## chris401 (Dec 15, 2008)

kirby1972 said:


> I purchased the "My Book AV" DVR Expander from Amazon also last week (WDBABT0010HBK-NESN). I tried to install this last night and had the exact same problem as Pvgibbs.
> 
> Went to Best Buy, purchased the exact same device today, and it worked PERFECTLY. Tivo recognized the drive on restart and it is working fine. No hang-ups on the Powering Up screen. The only downside is BB price is $149.99 vs. Amazon $119, but I'll pay an extra $30 for something that works!
> 
> I can only guess the drive was bad from the factory or damaged in shipping (yes, it qualified for Amazon's "free shipping" via UPS).


Weird; I have the EXACT same problem as both of you. Just spent 1 hour on the phone with Tivo tech support, and all they can figure out is that it must be the My DVR's eSATA cable. Returning to Amazon, but very disappointing. Perhaps I should try the Best Buy route instead.

Did Amazon just get a huge batch of faulty units?


----------



## PoobBubes (Jun 30, 2010)

chris401 said:


> Did Amazon just get a huge batch of faulty units?


I got mine from Amazon on 9/3 and it works fine.


----------



## Mike Wolf (Sep 19, 2010)

EJ said:


> I setup a my book for my in-laws almost 2 years ago. I live 500 miles away, and they would be scared if they would have to move a cable, so it's been completely trouble free.


How is this possible when the My Book AV DVR Expander just was released a few months ago, I think you got the My DVR Expander which has been out a few years.


PoobBubes said:


> Has anyone had any problems out of these? I know the older My DVR Expanders could corrupt the hard drive of the Tivo. Does this new version pose the same risks? I thought about getting one when the Fall season starts back up and putting it and the Tivo on a UPS to minimize the chance of something like that happening. Anyone have any input?


Both devices have the exact same hard drive model. I cracked both open (not literally cracked, but opened them up) and they are identical. I've used both, without ever having a problem. Both are TiVo certified, and I think I read somewhere on TiVo's site that they guarantee not to have any problems. Don't forget that as with anything there's bound to be a few lemons.


DPF said:


> I'm a weak data point, but slightly better than no points at all.
> 
> I've only had it for a few weeks, but no problems at all. 1Tb, setup was without incident, and it's happily chuck full of suggestions by now. Something is recording on at least 1 tuner seemingly at all timers. I have brazzilions of suggestions to wade thru.
> 
> ...


Both of mine are also on a UPS.


----------



## chris401 (Dec 15, 2008)

chris401 said:


> Weird; I have the EXACT same problem as both of you. Just spent 1 hour on the phone with Tivo tech support, and all they can figure out is that it must be the My DVR's eSATA cable. Returning to Amazon, but very disappointing. Perhaps I should try the Best Buy route instead.
> 
> Did Amazon just get a huge batch of faulty units?


Here's another data point; bought a second unit from Best Buy today, also not working, hangs at the powering up screen.

Looks like there's an appreciable failure rate on these drives right out of the gate. Better to fail now when I can return than fail later I suppose.

Here's to hoping the third time is a charm . . .


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I've had 2 of the original 500GB ones running for over a year and haven't had a single issue. In my case I have an open air A/V rack, so they get plenty of ventilation, and I have them connected to a UPS so they don't take power hits of any kind either.

Dan


----------



## chris401 (Dec 15, 2008)

I have been through 3 units of the My Book AV - DVR Expander. Two caused the Tivo to hang in "Powering Up" screen. Third unit paired with the Tivo but cause spontaneous reboots on a regular basis. Now I'm forced to remove the DVR expander, causing me to lose a bunch of shows I'm sure. Frustrating. I can only conclude that this is a defective product with a high failure rate. Two units from Amazon (first and third), one unit from Best Buy.

Also, I should add that this is an open air system, plenty of venting, on a UPS power source, and I've called both Tivo and WD for support (but the conclusion was always "just replace it").


----------

