Does or can replacing the hard drive in a DirecTV HR24-500 fix problems?

It is against the TOS to open any DTV receivers and most likely will not fix the problem.

The problems you describe don’t sound like the hard drive but if the hard drive is the issue, there is a way to replace the hard drive without actually replacing it, use an external hard drive. The HR-24 will support the use of an external esata hard drive. 

weaknees.com can replace the internal hard drive with a larger hard drive and even move the programming and settings to the new drive.

The internal or the external Esata hard drive can't exceed 2TB.

@erniegg

get one of these(see link) 

Amazon.com: MiniPro External 2.5-inch eSATA, USB-C External Hard Drive Enclosure : Electronics

Hook it p to your receiver and then Rebuild your series links --should you ever need to go back to the internal Drive --unplug it and all your old recordings are still there and watchable.

Power down the HDDVR -unplug it from the A'C out let -Then Attch the Esata Cord and unit complete with the installed 1TB SSD ( Note) your current HD is 500 GB --(2TB) is MAX for all 2 Tuners D*TV HDDVRS. 

Power Up the New DOCK and Drive (wait 1 Minute) then plug your DVR into AC outlet and turn it on --it will boot to the new drive and your up and running.

goldw1800:

What is involved in "rebuilding the series links"?

Am I correct that all my "old recordings being right there and watchable" means that when the second hard drive is connected, that old programming is not available?

I take it the "new DOCK" is the external hard drive, its power supply, and connecting cables. If not, then what is it?

Do you all happen to know if using a larger hard drive proportionally expands the recording capability of the DVR? Will 1 TB give me twice the capability? I ask because it could very well be that some tweaky limitation, such as maybe number of lines of data under LIST, might limit the amount of added program time.

Thanks A LOT, by the way! And YAY Weaknees for being within driving distance!

Yes you will get more recording space with a larger drive how much more depends on what you record,  480 SD uses less space then 1080 HD and 4K uses a lot more space then HD.

You have to reenter all your series recordings and settings so taking pictures may help with that.

The esata connector is not made to be connected/disconnected and is know to break with repeated use so while your old recordings are still on the internal drive you should watch what you can before adding the external.   I believe you need to contact weaknees before hand to tell  them you are coming.

@erniegg 

Your old recordings STAY on the internal Drive --ONCE you install a ESATA HDD Drive --You can only Record & View Content on that drive.

In order to return to use the Internal HDD --requires removing the external HDD and rebooting the receiver so --it would then load all the stored DATA on that drive.  

You can only use one drive at a time 

Wow! Were you sitting there waiting for me to answer?

As for recording space, the idea of the question was to focus on the difference that a larger drive would provide, so I didn't mention resolutions. Holding all resolutions the same, would a 1 TB drive record twice as much time? I kind of think you're saying yes, but I'd like to be sure.

Ok... when you said "move the programming and settings," did you mean TV programs (programming, that is) or what I've got set up to record (the programming of the DVR, that is)?

Thanks again.  

Thanks, goldw1800!

Yeah, I get that only one drive can be used at a time. Thanks for making that clear, because it seems like a boneheaded decision onf DirecTV's part.

But could I clone a larger drive and use it externally?

There is no way to clone the drive as the internal is shut down when another drive is connected.

It would mean voiding the warranty or perhaps making DirecTV refuse to fix the machine, even for money, but cloning involves having both drives disconnected from the computer and connected to one another in a special way, so that bit by bit copies can be made.

As I understand it, if you clone A to a larger drive B, then the added space of B will be formatted to match that of A. I might try it, but first I'll have to be successful with just connecting a different drive. When I get around to it, I'll come back with a report.

DTV can cancel you service for violating the TOS.

Attention all, I am currently using my HR24-500 with a Seagate 5TB Desktop HDD inside the HD-DVR. It records and works fine and the only downside is that the HD-DVR can be extremely slow when surfing the guide or scheduling a recording. I estimate that I currently have 200 30minute cartoons, 3/4 in HD and 1/4 in SD, about 10 2-hour HD movies, and tons of downloaded on-demand movies and shows. My current status is 94% free and I have already used about 350 GB. 

Here's the video showing my 5TB HR24-500 List (excuse the child cartoons lol)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/re55totdzu5xmzt/5TB%20for%20HR24.mov?dl=0

The 2TB limit was for using an external, what DirecTV supports. There was no official cap on internal as was not allowed for consumers to replace themselves, which is why a hard limit was unknown.

I do know that HR21 was the last of the built-in 320GB so with the HR22 increasing to 500GB.

Starting with the 1st Genie (HR34), early on they suggested no more than 4TB external. But they never listed an official hard cap, so others have used up to 12TB or more without issue. But at that point I would think you are recording more than you could ever watch.

And it will all go poof when HR24 goes bad.