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Replacing hard drive in Contour 2 DVR with solid state drive (SSD)
I am going to attempt to change out the standard spinning hard drive in my Contour 2 DVR with a solid state drive (SSD) in hopes of improving the speed a bit.
The goal is to improve the guide load and pause, fast forward and reverse functionality.
Anyone ever tried it? Tips?
I'll let you know the success or failure of my grad experiment as soon as I'm finished.
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bryaninphx
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914 Messages
First, you do not own the Cox DVR, so changing the HDD is a violation of your TOS
Second, I doubt you can just replace the HDD and have it work,
Third, an SDD is not designed for 24/7 DVR usage and generally has a read-write life cycle that would cause it to fail prematurely when the DVR is buffering 24/7.
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AngelFan
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TOS aside, the SSD cycle issue wouldn't be a problem - early on those drives had that issue.
Even if the DVR burned the SSD every year, I'd gladly keep another cloned drive on hand, ready to swap it out.
I'm trying it. Worst case I throw the spinning piece of ** that's in there now, back in there.
Now if the sluggish response of the guide and rewind / fast forward is a processor issue, that's another thing entirely and it's my biggest worry about doing this.
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bryaninphx
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914 Messages
What is the Make & Model of the DVR?
What tools do you plan to use to clone or copy the existing HDD?
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Becky
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4.3K Messages
You might want to rethink your plan. In addition to violating your Terms of Service, opening the Contour 2 receiver and removing or damaging the hard drive in any way will result in a $350 fee.
We currently have two models of the Contour 2 Host DVR. Perhaps you'd like to swap your receiver before taking any extreme measures?
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Tecknowhelp
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2.8K Messages
Have you checked if the DVR is compatible with eSATA?
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AngelFan
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Good to know Becky. I'm not interested in being a rebel here or incurring fines.
But I'm also not happy at all with the performance so far of the Contour 2 I have and am starting to regret even making the upgrade.
I have the Arris model AX013ANM. Can you let me know the other model you have so I can ask for it in the Cox store?
And by the way, as a software programmer, I'm fairly certain an SSD would improve nearly every issue of sluggishness I'm experiencing - when will Cox start experimenting with SSD hard drives?
Thanks,
Tim
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AngelFan
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Now that Becky has mentioned there is another choice, I'll re-think this.
But bryaninphx I was going to start out just trying an Apricorn SATA cable and their free cloning software. It's worked like a charm in the past.
I just wish Cox would take the step of adding a better processor and an SSD drive to their Contour 2 system - I'd gladly pay double for it.
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wees41
Contributor II
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699 Messages
cox does not design anything Arris and Cisco do the hardware. why not go with Tivo if you want to be able upgrade the drive?
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Becky
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4.3K Messages
There are two models of the Arris XG1 Contour 2 HD- DVR (Arris XG1v1 and Arris XG1v3), as well as the Cisco Explorer 9865. I apologize, but I'm not able to confirm if both both Arris models are available in your area.
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AngelFan
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wwes41: I may end up going that route.
Understood that cox doesn't do the actual hardware. You're right there.
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Tecknowhelp
Valued Contributor II
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2.8K Messages
Looks like eSATA is not active. And manufactures will not be putting SSD into devices until they are cheaper then HDD. As of now, less space and cost more, which is the reverse of Cox's priorities.
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