Can you replace the hard drive in HDHomeRun Scribe?

HDHomeRun

Source: CordCutters (Image credit: CordCutters)

Best answer: Yes, you can replace the hard drive. There a few points to keep in mind when choosing the replacement hard drive, but it can be done.

DIY Storage

The HDHomeRun Scribe from SiliconDust is a great product to consider if you're interested in using an OTA antenna. With both the availability of a dual and quad tuner option, as well as built-in storage, the Scribe can fit in your home DVR set up nicely.

Both the Duo and Quad come with a 1TB hard drive, and while that is a good amount of space, maybe you want more. Perhaps you need to replace the drive because you're out of warranty, and the drive has failed. Regardless of the reason, you need to be aware of some specifics before doing so.

One of the first things you need to know is that only 2.5-inch and 7mm tall SATA hard drives are supported, and the Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB would be a great choice. Something worth noting, while it would be nice to run two hard drives at once, the Scribe will only work with one. The other important point to know before you open up your Scribe is to be wary if your device is still under warranty. According to the company's website:

Any damage done to the HDHomeRun or the original hard drive as a result of the modification is not covered under warranty. If a hard drive has been replaced and a customer needs to make a warranty exchange, the original hard drive needs to be reinstalled before sending it in.

Before you attempt to do it yourself, double-check to see if it's still covered under warranty. If you're all good, it's time to give it a go.

Time to dig in

If you're comfortable with doing your own hard drive swap out, then let's cover the rest of the changeover. Once you install a new hard drive into the HDHomeRun Scribe, it'll automatically be initialized, but only if it's blank. Blank doesn't necessarily mean empty, only that the Scribe thinks it's empty. See the documentation for more details . Setting things up takes about 15 seconds for each terabyte of the new drive's size, so things will probably be done fairly quick. Be sure to give everything a good read before you start, so you understand how to partition or format the drive, and you won't have any trouble.

There is still a process to initialize the drive, and HDHomeRun details the process thoroughly in a walkthrough to ensure the process goes smoothly for you.

So whether you want to replace the hard drive to increase storage capacity for your HDHomeRun Scribe OTA DVR or due to an out of warranty hard drive failure, there is a path to get your DVR back up and running.

I'm a fan of all things tech. Living in the midwest out in the country with my wife and two young boys can make finding ways to stay connected with all the gadgets and streaming difficult, but it’s a welcomed challenge. Bring it on!