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    Cannot read drive. Please help

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by Andre56, Sep 4, 2010.

  1. Andre56

    Andre56 Notebook Evangelist

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    Hi all, I was just looking for some help with a problem. I Am trying to get some data off my panasonic tv recorder. I've connected the hard drive to the computer but windows won't read it. It appears in disk management but as unallocated space however there is definitely data on it. I don't want to alter the drive because then it may not work in the recorder, I just want to extract the data. Does anybody have any ideas? I tried cloning with acronis but it won't let me. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
     
    Andre56, Sep 4, 2010
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  2. WackyT

    WackyT Notebook Deity

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    Can you provide any more detail on the Panasonic recorder? And which version of Windows are you trying to read it from?
     
    WackyT, Sep 4, 2010
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  3. Andre56

    Andre56 Notebook Evangelist

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    It's a DMR-E85H DVD video recorder and I'm trying to load it on windows XP. Would it be better to load it on Windows 7?
     
    Andre56, Sep 4, 2010
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  4. olyteddy

    olyteddy Notebook Deity

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    Actually, you might have success reading it in one of the 'Live Linux' flavors. Most PVRs use an obscure format, and Linux can read a lot of formats that Windows doesn't include.
     
    olyteddy, Sep 4, 2010
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  5. Andre56

    Andre56 Notebook Evangelist

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    I thought of doing that. I noticed Linux is very good with hard drive formats. Would Ubuntu be fine?
     
    Andre56, Sep 4, 2010
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  6. olyteddy

    olyteddy Notebook Deity

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    IDK, hadn't tried it. My suggestion is based on the PVR section over at AVS Forum
     
    olyteddy, Sep 4, 2010
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  7. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    most DVRs use a custom format and encryption to satisfy the content providers that HD content can't be 'diverted' to other uses. This includes the various incarnations of TiVO, the DirectTV & Dish TV, and the set top boxes from Moto, SciAtl, and others.
     
    newsposter, Sep 4, 2010
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  8. Andre56

    Andre56 Notebook Evangelist

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    I tried Linux, no luck. Same as windows, it picks up the drive but it says unallocated space and you cant browse anything.
     
    Andre56, Sep 5, 2010
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