I have used a similar JVC HDD camcorder and no drivers were required, at least on Windows XP. To the PC, the camcorder is seen as an external hard disk and a flash memory card reader for its SD slot, which appear as two separate drive letters.

The CD that came with the JVC camcorder I've used only contains PowerProducer for making a DVD from the footage. However, the disc does not contain any drivers from what I recall.


If you're using Windows 2000 (with service pack 4) or Windows XP:

If Windows insists on a mass storage driver, there is a good chance that the INF file Windows uses when installing new mass storage devices has gone corrupt or the folder containing INF folder has been removed.

To check the INF file, go into OS drive (usually drive 'C'), then into 'Windows' and into 'INF'. Check to make there is a file called "usbstor". In Windows XP, this file size should be 14,578 bytes. If this file is missing or worse still, there is no 'INF' folder in your Wndows folder, you should carry out a chkdsk on your OS drive as this is usually the sign of file system corruption. If just the 'usbstor' file is missing, you can try copying it from another PC running Windows XP or the same OS you're using.

On the rear of your DirecTV DVR, which connections are using to connect to your TV?

If you have the SVHS connected to the TV, then connect the composite video to the Toshiba DVD recorder. If you have the Red/White audio leads connected to the TV, you will either need an RCA lead splitter (RCA to 2xRCA) or watch the Direct TV DVR through the Toshiba. In this case, you can try hooking the DirecTV box to the Toshiba DVD recorder using the SVHS and L/R audio cables and then connect the Toshiba to the TV using its SVHS and L/R audio outputs. To watch the DirecTV this way, the DVD recorder needs to be set to the video input the DirecTV is connected to.

If your DirecTV box is connected to the TV using HDMI or component and your TV is a HDTV set, this may make it a little more awkward to use your Toshiba DVD recorder with it. I'm not sure if the DirecTV will enable its SVHS and Composite outputs when watching HD (since we don't have DirecTV here in Ireland), so if you hook up the SVHS to the Toshiba and get no picture, you will need to set the DirecTV to output a standard definition mode (or disconnect its HDMI and power off/on the box) to be able to record from it on the DVD recorder.

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If the power input has only 2 metal pins, then it doesn't really matter which way a figure-8 power cord is inserted as CC mentioned, assuming it fits. AC is alternating current, unlike DC where polarity does matter.

If it has 3 metal pins, you will need a matching 3-pin power cord.

If memtest still shows "No errors" after a few hours of running, then your memory is most likely fine. However, if hex digits, etc. have been shown in the area at the bottom, then this usually means that one or more RAM modules are bad. The memtest never ends, so if it hasn't given a problem with the length you've run it for, then it's safe to assume the RAM is fine.

Probably the best and quickest test for the RAM is to remove all but one RAM module and run the setup CD. If it gives a BSOD, remove this RAM module and try another. If you get another BSOD, then the RAM is likely fine as the chances of having two faulty RAM modules is very slim. However, if the Windows setup works fine with just the one RAM module installed, then a RAM module removed is the culprit.

It's also worth checking the BIOS and try changing the AHCI / SATA settings. For example, try setting them to legacy / IDE mode (or disabled for AHCI) to see if the Windows setup CD works this time. If it does, then the OS CD (or nLite customised) does not support your SATA controller in native mode. Just be warned that if you install Windows with AHCI disabled or SATA running in legacy mode, you'll not be able to install the SATA drivers in Windows or change the modes back in the BIOS, as the SATA drivers need to be installed during Windows installation. There are a few hacks going around on how to use SATA drivers after Windows installation, but these only work with some SATA controllers.

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In Nero, are you burning the disc as a data or Audio disc?

If you burn them as an Audio CD, you'll not see MP3 or wave files in My Computer, as the songs are not actually stored as files on the CD, but as audio tracks. Most audio playback software, including Windows Media player, Winamp and iTunes will play the tracks directly on the CD.

However, if you burn the disc as a data CD, you will see the wave or MP3 files when you browse the disc in My Computer. If you only plan playing your CD in your PC / laptop, it's best to write MP3s as a data disc, as you can fit a lot more MP3s on a CD than audio tracks. However, if you burn a CD as a data CD with MP3s or wave files, this CD will not play on standalone CD players (e.g. Hi-Fi system), apart from those that play MP3 files.

Apart from LED backlit LCD displays, the vast majority are backlit by fluorescent lights, so if you or the person concerned does not have any issue with fluorescent lighting (including CFL energy saving bulbs), an LCD TV is unlikely going to be a problem, as the LCD panel itself gvies negligable radiation of any sort.

Plasma displays use phosphors in much the same way as CRT TVs, but use UV light instead of an electron beam to cause the individual phosphors to fluorescence. To produce the electron beam in a CRT, a very high voltage is required (~25,000 volts) and the CRT also uses magnets to move the beam left/right and up/down to "scan" each frame, which causes much stronger electric and magnetic fields than most other types of displays.

If you're really concerned about EMF, probably the safest option would be an LED backlit LCD display in my opinion.

Great to hear they were willing to repair it and have most of the cost covered, despite the warranty being up.

This is also one advantage with a retail shop over an online based shop for home electronics, as I know most online shops will not allow the customer to return a product from the day the warranty expires.

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Unfortunately, the optical drive quite commonly fails on the 500x series. Usually when this happens, the recorder also has problems recording, but as you mention it only seeems to affect preparing, it's quite possible that cleaning the drive's spindle will fix the issue. Going by a detailed discussion in the Pannasonic DVD recorder forum, a dirty spindle is the most common cause of the drive failing to prepare discs, as it either causes the disc to wobble or slip.

The optical drive is basically a modified PC IDE drive, which is held in by a few screws. So if the warranty is up and you feel confident in trying to try repairing it yourself, it's worth taking it out and opening it up. Note that the front of the drive tray may need to be removed before the drive can be lifted out of the main unit (at least this the case for my Lite-On 5045). This post goes into detail about cleaning the spindle, which is worth reading.

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I'm not fully sure if the Lite-On DVD recorder did anything special when a disc was finalised or if it just simply closed the disc. However, you can try the folllowing in ImgBurn (freeware), which hopefully finalise the DVDs:

• When ImgBurn starts, click any option, e.g. "Write image file to disc" to get out of the wizard.
  
• Insert your DVD and give it a moment for it to spin up.
  
• Select your drive from the "Destination" drop-down.
  
• Go into the "Tools" menu, select Drive -> Close -> Track. If you get an error, just click 'Cancel'
  
• Repeat step 4 for 'Session' and then 'Disc'.
  

If the above doesn't work, you will need to use disc recovery software to try extracting the content, unless you find someone else with a Lite-On DVD recorder.

For your new Echostar DVR, you'll need to get another smartcard from Dish Network, as every set-top box should ideally have its own smartcard. In the meantime, you can try taking a smartcard from an existing receiver and using it in your DVR until you get a smartcard. However, I would not recommend swapping the card between receivers over a long period as this can wear out its contacts.

Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with repairing TVs. If the warranty is up by just a month or two, it's worth arguing with the shop you got it from to see if they would be willing to cover it under warranty one last time, especially with how long it took for the previous parts to come in. Some shops would rather do this than risk the customer not shopping from them again, especially if you've bought other major home electronics or appliances from them. However, if the TV was bought online or the warranty is 3 or more months over, it's very unlikely you will be able to get the shop to still cover it by warranty.

Oops, I didn't realise about this, as I based my experience on a few Lite-On set-top recorders, which actually required the tray to be ejected in order to get at the optical drive inside.

Going by what you're describing, it looks like the optical drive itself has developed a problem. If the recorder is still under warranty, I would suggest bringing it back for repair.

As the problem seemed to happen all the sudden, it's quite possible that something got stuck in the drive mechanism. For example, a hair caught in the tracking could cause it to stick, which would make unusual sounds when trying to read a disc.

I'm not sure whether it contains a separate optical drive unit (like the Lite-On set-top DVD recorders) or if is fully exposed inside the set-box, but if the player is out of warranty and you feel confident to look inside, it would be worth taking off the cover with the disc tray ejected. Ensure it's unplugged first! If the optical drive interals are visible (e.g. where you can see the lens and the tray), have a close look at the cogs to make sure there is no lint or hairs trapped. The laser lens should also also be clear. I have fixed someone's PlayStation 2 console that had lint trapped in the optical pick-up tracking mechanism.

Edit: Have a look at DigaDo's suggested thread which also goes into detail about cleaning the spindle. I forgot about that thread.

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On the remote, press and hold down the enter key followed by the number you selected for the command mode. Keep both buttons held down for at least 3 seconds. Check if the remote operates the unit now.

If you can't remember which command mode you selected, try pressing both Enter & '1' down for over three seconds and try operating the unit. If this doesn't work, repeat for Enter & '2' and finally Enter & '3'.

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You can access the user manual by going to the Philips product page on this link, then click "Support" and under the product support menu, click "User Manuals"

The default password for your player is "136900".

According to the Philips website, if you cannot unlock a disc with the password, it can be removed by updating the firmware of your player. Updated firmware can be obtained on the "Software & drivers" section under the same "Product support" menu.

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Is this a new hard disk (never used before) or one that was working before and now suddenly no longer allows new files to be written to it?

Before you can use a new internal hard disk for the first time, it needs to be partitioned and formatted. In Windows XP, you can set up a partition by going into start, right-click on "My Computer", select "Manage", go into Disk Management on the window that appears. THe new hard disk will appear in the above right. Right-click on this and select "Create partition" and follow the steps to how you want it set up.

If it's an existing hard disk, try running chkdsk on the drive.

This is quite a common issue when deleting or cutting video files, as Windows explorer automatically opens the video files to try producing thumbnails for the individual files. On a USB drive, this can take a while, especially for large video files or a large folder of photos.

One option would be to open the folder, go into the View menu and select List. In the list mode, thumbnails are not created apart from for the selected file.

If you mainly have video files on the portable hard disk, try turning off video thumbnails by clicking start, Run and typing in the following:

regsvr32 /u shmedia.dll

Now, perform a safe hardware removal, disconnect the hard disk amd connect it back up again (which will close anything Windows explorer still has open) and then try deleting the files again.

You can turn on video thumbnails by running the above command without the '/u' bit. Disabling video thumbnails also has the advantage of speeding up the browsing of folders with video files in them.

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A black & white picture from a colour source generally means that the display does not support the TV system the device is supplying. For example, if your camcorder uses PAL (e.g. bought in the UK) and the TV is SECAM based (e.g. in France) or NTSC based (e.g. in the US), the picture can only be displayed in black in white, unless the TV supports other TV systems.

As far as I can tell, the TV system cannot be changed on your Sony camcorder model for its video output. It's worth checking your TV manual to see if there's an option to change its video source, as some TVs I've used that support other TV video systems need to have the input manually set to the TV system being supplied to its video input.

The vast majority of LCD TVs have multi-system video inputs that switch automatically, i.e. they will show the picture fine in colour whether the input is PAL, NTSC or SECAM, which is likely the picture shows up in colour on this display.

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The coaxial connection from your arial needs to be looped through the DVD recorder, i.e. the main aerial cable connects to its aerial input and a second cable connects from its aerial output to the TV's aerial input. In this setup, it should pick up the same set of digital TV channels as what your TV tunes in directly. Like watching a Comcast digital channel on the TV, the comcast digital receiver needs to be tuned on the channel you intend recording.

However, if the DVD recorder still will not pick up anything (or just that channel 3) with the aerial connected directly to it, then your recorder likely has a faulty tuner.

This was likely caused by a writing error on the disc. Unfortunately, like a portable CD player, it is quite easy it knock the laser off track, especially if the camcorder is bumped or moved suddenly while capturing footage. With a DV tape, this usually results in a few broken frames, but with a DVD, the playback software or copy process will usually give up with a read error when it encounters a bad spot.

Another tool worth trying is the DVD Fab free edition (Download link). As some copy protected DVDs deliberately add bad sectors to try to prevent DVD copy software from successfully reading the disc, DVD Fab will continue copying even if it encounters bad spots on the disc. The damaged spots will appear as broken or garbled frames (like a poor digital TV picture).

The firewire (i.LINK) port on Lite-On set-top DVD+HDD recorders only works for streaming video from a firewire video source (e.g. DV camcorder) to the DVD recorder. Unfortunately, it will not stream out video or provide access to the DVD recorder's HDD or DVD drive from a PC.

If the warranty is already up and you need to transfer a large number of recordings from its HDD to a PC, at your own risk, one option would be to open up the DVD recorder, take out its hard disk and install it in a desktop PC to access its content. If you do this, do not write, delete, defrag, run chkdsk, etc. on the HDD while it is connected to the PC, as the Lite-On uses a modified FAT32 file system. Unfortunately, from what I've read around, its HDD is not recognised by most USB->IDE adapters.