How to Replace the Hard Drive in a DirecTV DVR

Remove the Original Drive From the DVR

1). Turn off your DVR and unplug it. Using the Torx screwdriver, remove the 5 screws from the back of the DVR. Slide the cover back until it unlatches, then remove it. Be patient and don't force anything, because you're going to need to put it back together again.
2). Remove the SATA data connector, power connector, and fan power connector from the internal hard drive of the DVR. The hard drive enclosure is the large metal box near the front of the unit. The data and power cables run from the enclosure to connectors on the circuit board. After unplugging the hard drive, open the enclosure by using the Torx screwdriver to press down on the plastic latches holding the drive in place until they release. Use the phillips screwdriver to remove the ground wire.
3). Remove the two screws holding the drive mount to the front of the DVR. The exact configuration of these screws may vary, so be patient. You may need to remove the front panel, or there may be nuts holding the screws in place.
4). Cut the tie holding the fan power connector in place using the scissors. The fan is a black plastic box mounted on one end of the hard drive enclosure and will be clearly visible. The power line is a small cable running from the fan to a nearby circuit board. Unplug it from the circuit board.
5). Remove the hard drive from the DVR and set it in a safe, clean place.
6). Download software to your computer that will create a boot disk you can use to clone the drives. Most computers have two internal SATA connectors, so you will need to remove your computer's current hard drive to clone the DVR drive. Miray HDClone, Ranish Partition Manager, and Gparted will all create a boot disk enabling you clone the disk without entering Windows, which is not compatible. The next sections will detail steps for using each of these options.

Using Miray HDClone

1). Download Miray HDClone free from the link in the Resources section. Extract "HDClone20fe" to a new folder.
2). Insert a blank floppy disk into the drive. Open the folder you extracted "HDClone20fe" and run "install.exe." This will create a bootable floppy disk. If you want to create a bootable CD instead, insert a blank CD-R into the drive. Use your CD burning software to burn "hdclone.img" to the CD-R.
3). Shut down your computer. Open the case and carefully remove your internal hard drive. Insert both the original DVR hard disk and the new hard disk into the SATA connectors in your computer, making sure that all connectors are securely and correctly fitted. Remember to plug in the hard drive power connectors as well.
4). Turn on your computer with the boot CD or floppy in the drive and it will boot into HDClone. Set the original hard drive as the "Source" and the new drive as the "Target," and begin cloning.
5). Shut down your computer, and remove the original DVR drive. Reconnect your computer's hard drive, and boot the computer. If it does not boot into Windows, restart, enter the BIOS, and set your normal computer hard drive to the highest boot priority. The cloned DVR drive will have a single partition that's the same size as your old drive. Use Windows Disk Manager to repartition the drive so that all the space is available.

Using Ranish Partition Manager

1). Download Ranish Partition Manager for free from the link in the Resources section. Extract the file "part242" to a new folder.
2). Enter the Windows command prompt, and navigate to the directory where you extracted "part242." Enter "part242" into the command prompt to run the software. Insert a floppy disk into the drive when prompted.
3). Power off your computer and unplug it. Open the case, remove your hard drive and connect the original DVR drive and the new drive. Turn on the computer, and it will boot into Ranish Partition Manager. Follow the instructions in the software, and remember to set the original drive as "Source" and the new drive as the "Target."
4). Turn off your computer, remove the original DVR drive, and re-connect your computer's hard drive.
5). Turn on the computer and boot into Windows, and use Windows Disk Management to repartition the new DVR drive to make use of all available space.

Using Gparted

1). Download GParted Live for free from the link in the Resources section. Burn the ".iso" file to a blank CD-R. This will create a boot disk with a lightweight version of Linux you can use to copy your data.
2). Connect the new drive to the DVR and power it on. This will do some initial formatting on the drive. When the DVR has completely booted up, turn it off gently by doing a menu reset and disconnecting the power at the moment when all the LED lights turn off. Remove the new drive from the DVR.
3). Turn off your PC, open the case, and remove the hard drive. Connect the new drive to your computer's SATA0 port and the original DVR drive to SATA1, close the case, and power it on. Your computer will boot into Linux. To be confirm the drive letter names Linux has assigned, run "qtparted" from the "System" menu. Normally the new drive will be named "sda" and the original "sdb," but they may be reversed.
4). Open the command line and enter the following commands, without quotation marks:

"mkdir /mnt/fap"

"mkdir /mnt/hr20"

"mount -t xfs -o rtdev=/dev/sda3 /dev/sda2 /mnt/fap"

"mount -t xfs -o rtdev=/dev/sdb3/ /dev/sdb2/ /mnt/hr20"

"xfsdump -J - /mnt/hr20 | xfsrestore -J - /mnt/fap"

After the copying process is finished, press enter. Then, enter the following into the command line:

"unmount /mnt/hr20"

"unmount /mnt/fap"
5). Shut down the computer, open the case and remove the DVR drives. Reconnect your computer's original hard drive.

Connect the New Hard Drive to the DVR

1). Insert the new drive and reconnect all the data and power connectors. Make sure the fan power is connected, and reattach all the screws.
2). Close the DVR case and reattach the screws.
3). Plug in the DVR and power it on.