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May 3, 2014
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I have a mini elite system about 5 years old.
The DVR is EL-M HD H.264
I recently upgraded my old 400 line analog cameras to 720 line cameras.
About a week later my DVR stopped recording and gave the error "Storage Device Write Error: Storage device No. 1
I called Tech support and the advice was to replace the HDD as it was probably not working anymore.
I bought the exact same hard drive (Western Digital WD2500AAKS) so I would not have any compatibility issues.
Today when I swapped out the hard drives, I got the on screen message "No HDD available for recording".
I took the DVR cover off again and checked to make sure the HDD was plugged in securely and reseated the connectors.
100% sure it is snapped in properly, but on power up it gave the same message and it is obviously not recording.
What can I do ?
Thanks
January 3, 2014
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Replace the Hard Disk Drive. Many Hard Drives come dead from the Factory and this one can be one of them.
This hard Drive is on the Compatibility list.
Jose Malave - IT Director| Toll Free: 866-573-8878 | E-mail: support@securitycameraking.com
Also very possible firmware on drive is different than when it was first tested, so it is possible that drive may not be compatible anymore either.
May 3, 2014
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If the firmware is indeed not compatible how do I fix that?
I think it less likely it is a defective hard drive as today I took the new HDD that was giving the error out of the DVR and tried a working HDD from one of my PC's and got the same "No HDD available for recording"error.
Although I bought the same model Western Digital hard drive WD2500AAKS, the original unit ends in -22L6A0 with a 25 JUNE 2009 date and the replacement WD hard drive ends in 00F0A0 with a 08 APRIL 2010 date.
March 9, 2013
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It could be something as simple as a defective SATA cable too.
What I mean by firmware is that western digital changed it there by making it incompatible with our dvrs. There would not be a fix if WD did that as they don't tell us what they changed. SATA cable could be bad too. You should try unplugging and plugging cable back in.
May 3, 2014
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So I bought a new SATA cable and tried that with the new HDD and is still gave the "No available HDD for recording" message.
At this point should I just return the new HDD I bought from a 3rd party as incompatible or defective ?
Given my model DVR (see original post) will either the 2 HDD's posted on the SCK website work for me?
#HDD-250 or #HDD-500
Thanks
I cannot give you a firm yes or no answer on that. Unfortunately that DVR is not made anymore. The entire platform has been upgraded with new main board. I would not suggest buying a drive online simply because you may get stuck with a drive that does not work and have cover return shipping if you want a refund.
At that age of the unit it is very possible the board itself has gone bad... To test the drive you just purchased you can always connect it to a computer to see if it comes up.
May 3, 2014
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Well I'm not sure what better options I have than trying the SCK HDD for $100.
I was able to return the 3rd party HDD for a refund yesterday.
My DVR may be old but it has 4 audio input (which I use) and the user manual says D1 record at 30f/s, so replacing it with the current
model that would be $250 plus a HDD for another $100 minimum.
Obviously I don't want to replace the DVR if just a compatible HDD will work first.
I am not sure the best solution for you dollars wise. If the DVR turns out to be bad you would need a new DVR anyway. Being out of warranty I can suggest creating an RMA to bring unit back here and I can test it with drives here, but you will be responsible for shipping... If you ended up buying a DVR I could probably cover shipping back to you. That is as long as you live in the continental US.
May 3, 2014
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That sounds like a good plan. If you issue a RMA I will ship the DVR back to you.
If you find a drive that works that will solve my problem.
If not then I will have to make a decision about the DVR itself.
Thanks
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