What Sony Models can have the HDD Upgraded

[sila1999]

Here is an update to my original thread on how to upgrade the HDD on your Sony DVD Recorder. The following list is a complete listing of all models made to date and whether they can be upgraded. I do not own all of them and its just my own observations of reading the relevant service manuals.

Non Upgradeable Models, HDD Can be replaced.
Any HDD installed that has capacity larger than what it came from the factory will only be ever seen as what that model was supposed to have. Take the RDR-HX900 that has a 160Gb drive its larger model the HX1000 came with a 250Gb drive. Other than HDD size all thats different is the main board, the firmware is the same. It could be just a simple resistor on the board similar to what they did with the original DVD players, however without a schematic for the board its any one guess.

RDRHX1000

RDRHX1010

RDRHX1020

RDRHX1025

RDRHX510

RDRHX520

RDRHX525

RDRHX650

RDRHX680

RDRHX710

RDRHX715

RDRHX717

RDRHX720

RDRHX722

RDRHX725

RDRHX727

RDRHX730

RDRHX820

RDRHX825

RDRHX900

RDRHX910

RDRHX919

RDRHX920

RDRHX925

RDRHXD1065

RDRHXD560

RDRHXD562

RDRHXD710

RDRHXD760

RDRHXD860

RDRHXD875

RDRHXD900

RDRHXD910

Upgradeable Models

Model name	Tentative model name
	AEP1	AEP2	AEP3	UK	AUS	CND	RUS	SP	TH	E32	HDD Size
RDR-GX350	MRX-1600/EC1	MRX-1600/EC2	—	MRX-1600/CEK	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
RDR-HX650	MRX-1620/EC1	MRX-1620/EC2	MRX-1620/EC1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	160
RDR-HX680	MRX-1730/CEK	MRX-1720/EC2	MRX-1730/CEK	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	160
RDR-HX750	MRX-1635/EC1	MRX-1630/EC2	—	MRX-1635/CEK	—	—	—	—	—	—	160
RDR-HX780	MRX-1735/EC1	MRX-1730/EC2	—	MRX-1730/CEK	MRX-1730/AU2	MRX-1790/CA2	MRX-1730/RU3	MRX-1730/SP7	MRX-1730/SP7	MRX-1790/E32	160
RDR-HX785	MRX-1735/EC1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	160
RDR-HX950	MRX-1655/EC1	MRX-1650/EC2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	250
RDR-HX980	MRX-1755/EC1	MRX-1750/EC2	—	—	MRX-1750/AU2	—	MRX-1750/RU3	MRX-1750/SP7	MRX-1750/SP7	—	250
RDR-HX1080	MRX-1799/EC1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	500
RDR-HXD770											120
RDR-HXD790	MRX-1740/EC1	—	MRX-1740/EC1	MRX-1740/CEK	—	—	—	—	—	—	120
RDR-HXD795	—	MRX-1745/EC2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	120
RDR-HXD870	MRX-1660/EC1	MRX-1665/EC2	MRX-1660/EC3	MRX-1660/CEK	MRX-1660/AU2	—	—	—	—	—	160
RDR-HXD890	MRX-1760/EC1	—	MRX-1760/EC1	MRX-1760/CEK	MRX-1760/AU2	—	—	—	—	—	160
RDR-HXD895	—	MRX-1765/EC2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	160
RDR-HXD970	MRX-1670/EC1	MRX-1675/EC2	MRX-1670/EC3	MRX-1670/CEK	MRX-1670/AU2	—	—	—	—	—	250
RDR-HXD990	MRX-1770/EC1	—	MRX-1770/EC1	—	MRX-1770/AU2	—	—	—	—	—	250
RDR-HXD995	—	MRX-1775/EC2	—	MRX-1775/CEK	—	—	—	—	—	—	250
RDR-HXD1070	MRX-1680/EC1	MRX-1685/EC2	—	MRX-1680/CEK	—	—	—	—	—	—	500
RDR-HXD1090	MRX-1780/EC1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	500
RDR-HXD1095	—	MRX-1785/EC2	—	MRX-1785/CEK	—	—	—	—	—	—	500

You can see that I have listed the actual Model number that appears in the firmware. This determines what region and functions the model has. With my HXD870 i changed the model to one from the UK, this allowed me to watch region 2 discs only as my unit was region free by Sony from the box. When i changed it back to the correct model for Australia the unit would only play Region 4 disc.

I had to use the remote trick to set it back, this was not done with the service remote J-6090-203-A. Whether it is possible to change region with this remote i do not know as i have not tried, it may be possible with the other Service Remote J-6090-113-A however i do not have access to one.
The region free hack can be found in the above mention thread or can be found here on this site.

IF you need to update the firmware on your X70 series read this thread

Everything that is needed to be known on what and how to upgrade to a larger HDD is contained with in this thead including the links given.

There is no known method of removing macro vision using a service remote, the only way would be re engineer the firmware. Please Dont ask!!!

Below is a list of user and service manuals available for the upgradeable models that i acquired in English. If you need any other language then try the 4 main Sony support sites.
Europe
Asia & Middle East
USA, Canada & South America
Japan

	User Manuals		Service
Model name	UK	AU
RDR-GX350			988395113
RDR-HX650	2899893131		988395113
RDR-HX680	3293880111		988398011
RDR-HX750	2899893131		988395113
RDR-HX780	3293880111	3874363411	988398011
RDR-HX785	3293880111		988398011
RDR-HX950	2899893131		988395113
RDR-HX980	3293880111	3874363411	988398011
RDR-HX1080	3293880111		988398011
RDR-HXD770	3113760121
RDR-HXD790	3295080111		988398111
RDR-HXD795	3295080111		988398111
RDR-HXD870	3113760121	3275466111	988395215
RDR-HXD890	3295080111		988398111
RDR-HXD895	3295080111		988398111
RDR-HXD970	3113760121	3275466111	988395215
RDR-HXD990	3295080111		988398111
RDR-HXD995	3295080111		988398111
RDR-HXD1070	3113760121		988395215
RDR-HXD1090	3295080111		988398111
RDR-HXD1095	3295080111		988398111

If you have any additional details or comments please let me know.

WARNING !
When subsequently pressing the following buttons at the jig remote commander, the set will become irretrievably defective.
[ESC] �� [STEREO]
[ESC] �� [Any button not described
in the Service Manual]
APPLICABLE MODELS
Model Destination
RDR-GX350, RDR-HX650,
RDR-HX750, RDR-HX950,
RDR-HXD870, RDR-HXD970,
RDR-HXD1070
ALL
RDR-HXD770 UK

[sila1999]

I thought i would update this with details of the x70 series sold in Australia.

Firmware version:2.08
Syscon Release: .223
TUFLCon: 1.204*
Drive: 1.10+
Device: E2R-FEx1.1

Region 4 now was Region all when i got it.

Tech Info only found out by changing model to the UK via the setup mode

Hardware Version: 436
Software Version: 212

Manufactured in Malaysia

Not sure what the difference in firmware is between this and the European one. Have installed the Euro one without adverse effects. Copy of 2.08 firmware is located here and can be used on the corresponding Pioneer models.

[jcapitone]

I have a RDR-HX650 i am confused, what i need to upgrade it ? thank you

[BFG]

Excellent info!

Originally Posted by sila1999

Any HDD installed that has capacity larger than what it came from the factory will only be ever seen as what that model was supposed to have.............................................. ...It could be just a simple resistor on the board similar to what they did with the original DVD players, however without a schematic for the board its any one guess.

Why do Sony do this? They have filthy morals. Time and again they abuse their customers in an effort to make us consume more.

Forgive the outburst, but I am gutted. I have a spare 750Gb hard drive and I thought it would be a doddle to swap these over in my HXD1065.
Damn you Sony!

[jsimeo]

Sorry to tell that hx680 is NOT upgradeable!

Just tried one 1TB WD and after complete instalation, disk recognized as 1000GB but 120 again in use and again 52 hours in SP mode! So i'm affraid that ALL x80 series is NOT upgradeable!

Are you sure that the firmware is same between 680, 780, 880, 980, 1080 models? I think that the difference is in firmware and particulary in the formating and preparing the disk program code.

[jsimeo]

Reading the service manual i managed to upgrade my 680 to 780 and now it uses 160 of original 160GB HDD instead of 120 as it was as hx680.
procedure is described on page 6 (1-2):
"3. MODEL NAME SETTING METHOD WHEN ENGINE IS REPLACED"
(after this step, dvd lost channel list, so i was afraid that something went wrong, but was not. Second step is to initialize the HDD with "esc" and then "p.run" so the partition gets all the disk)

The bad thing about my dvd is that the model is "AEP2" and i can change it only to 680-780-980 (according to table 1), so i guesss it can use at most 250GB not 500 as 1080model.

Anyway the extra 40GB ("hidden" by sony), are ok for the moment.

[JayZee]

What you need to do next is get a fine lead IC leg grabber and connect IC101 pin 15 to ground(located under HDD). Make sure you unplug the unit first.
Next do the model setting again and you will have another set of models. Select one with [04xx] and this will give you a 500G model(HX1070).
Do the HDD initialization again. After the HDD is formatted remove the test lead, power down and unplug the unit. Power up and set model back to the original HX680.
You will have a HX680 with 500G.
Changing models clears the channel list and timer list so they will have to be re-entered. Small price to pay for 500G.

[tariqf]

Does anyone know if I can use the method in this thread to upgrade my rdr-gx350 by putting a hard disk inside it and changing some codes?

[soneman]

Originally Posted by JayZee

What you need to do next is get a fine lead IC leg grabber and connect IC101 pin 15 to ground(located under HDD). Make sure you unplug the unit first.
Next do the model setting again and you will have another set of models. Select one with [04xx] and this will give you a 500G model(HX1070).
Do the HDD initialization again. After the HDD is formatted remove the test lead, power down and unplug the unit. Power up and set model back to the original HX680.
You will have a HX680 with 500G.
Changing models clears the channel list and timer list so they will have to be re-entered. Small price to pay for 500G.

Since when has there been a need for an additional cable in order to access the Service menu?

I thought that all that was required for a Hard Drive upgrade was the new Hard Drive itself and the Service Remote? That's what I've seen posted here in the thread regarding the upgrade of the x70 range.

[JayZee]

Some models, like my RDRHX780, is model MRX-1790/CA2.
If you check the model chart above this model cannot have a hdd larger than 160 due to the resistors connected to IC101 pin 15(See service manual pg.4-15 from sila1999).

But a model in the AEP1 column e.g. MRX-1735/EC1 can have 4 different hdds since the resistor connects IC101 pin 15 to ground(pg.4-5). The exact model is then setup using the service remote and entering the model from the list on the screen.

If you have a model in the AEP1 column all you need is the service remote to upgrade to 500G. But with the other models you need to 'fool' the unit into thinking it is an AEP1 type.

You can confirm your model hdd sizes allowed by doing the model number setting procedure(pg.1-2) and see what model numbers are displayed on the setup screen.
If the setup screen shows a model with a [04xx] code then you can upgrade to the 500G, [03xx]=250G, [02xx]=160G, [01xx]=120G.

My unit only displayed [02xx] types so I 'fooled' it into thinking it was a MRX-1799/EC1 which allowed me to change use the [04xx] type. i.e. 500Gigs

[woodham]

Hi Sila, you the man!

just upgraded my UK 870 to 1TB, Western Digital Caviar Black SATA, used a service remote bought from the States, worked a treat. 478 Hours now - excellent!

Now let's see if my daughter can fill *that* up with Charlie & Lola....

Many many thanks for your original thread and subsequent wisdom that allowed me to do this.

regards
martin

[Gavtech]

I presume that these machines with very large disc upgrades will still be restricted by the maximum number of titles.

[charon4you]

Hi All here!

I need your help with my model number. I have a RDR HXD 890 and I have successfully upgraded HDD from 160GB to 500GB HITACHI drive. Everything works well, but I'm not so sure with the model number. 1st I have forgotten to write down the original model number (is it MRX-1760/CEK ?) and I'm not quite sure with a destination model number. I have used the MRX-1780/EC1 (according this link http://www.avforums.com/forums/dvd-r...ies-dvdrs.html) but which one is really right for Czech Republic (region 2) - MRX-1785/CEK???

Thanks a lot for your help,
Charon

[peterb]

Hi Guys!

I not find tentavive model name /aep1, etc/ my sony 680.
Pls help me where find this modell name.

thanks

[jsimeo]

Originally Posted by JayZee

What you need to do next is get a fine lead IC leg grabber and connect IC101 pin 15 to ground(located under HDD). Make sure you unplug the unit first.
Next do the model setting again and you will have another set of models. Select one with [04xx] and this will give you a 500G model(HX1070).
Do the HDD initialization again. After the HDD is formatted remove the test lead, power down and unplug the unit. Power up and set model back to the original HX680.
You will have a HX680 with 500G.
Changing models clears the channel list and timer list so they will have to be re-entered. Small price to pay for 500G.

Have not need for HDD upgrade to 500GB yet, but this info is really very helpfull and solved the limitation of 250GB! Very good job JayZee!

( I dont know what this models difference is about. Maybe the default tuner audio local frequency? (5.5MHZ or 6.5 etc? and other tuner band differences?)