It is known that any recordings on the HDDs, internal or USB, are “locked” to that particular machine. If you connect a HDD to a different machine it will insist on a format of the HDD thus removing the ability to play the recorded recordings. It is understood this restriction is in place for program copyright protection.
Unfortunately in the event of a machine failure this means that all your recordings are lost.
I, and others, have had some success with extracting SD recordings from the internal HDD, but its is time-consuming and generally leads to the loss of title data.
I decided to look at it the other way-round – rather than rescue recordings from the HDD, to try instead and allow a different machine to accept a different HDD without demanding a format. This would solve the problem of a machine failure robbing you of all your recordings.
Recently I was looking into a 720 which was refusing to finalise DVD-Rs; it was not the BD drive, so the next thought was the power supply maybe could not supply the extra load during finalization. The power board was exchanged and the machine insisted on the internal HDD being formatted. This seemed strange to me, I recall reading that the HDD and the main PCB are configured as a pair, change either and a format will be required, but the power board?
So it appeared that the pairing is not to the main board but to the power board. The service manual includes:
“When exchange HDD or Main P.C.B., the " HDD Error " screen is displayed, but, according to a following procedure, please format HDD.”
A study of the schematics revealed that in Panasonic parlance the “main board” is not the main board (the PCB with all the processing) but rather it is the Power PCB! The PCB with all the brains is referred to as the “Digital” board.
So how on earth is the HDD “tied” to the Power PCB? A study revealed an “orphan” on the Power Board, stuck away in one corner and mounted on the foil side is an I2C EEPROM. This device is not connected to any components on the Power Board, but is, by way of the multi connector connected to the main processor on the Digital PCB.
This analysis is based upon the BWT720 but inspection of the service manual for the other ranges reveals the same arrangement. Even earlier series machines such as the EX range have the same EEPROM, although in some it is mounted on the Digital PCB.
BUT before you get too excited I have, so far, been unable to defeat the format requirement. More work is needed, I hope others might be able to help.
What I have done is to read the EEPROM contents, then make a change, such as a different HDD, read the contents again and identify the changes. The reads I went through:
Patterns emerge:
What did I find out:
I have had to release one of my spare 720s to service so at present I am unable to continue as planned. It would be interesting to blank all the EEPROM data and see what happens.
Unfortunately in the event of a machine failure this means that all your recordings are lost.
I, and others, have had some success with extracting SD recordings from the internal HDD, but its is time-consuming and generally leads to the loss of title data.
I decided to look at it the other way-round – rather than rescue recordings from the HDD, to try instead and allow a different machine to accept a different HDD without demanding a format. This would solve the problem of a machine failure robbing you of all your recordings.
Recently I was looking into a 720 which was refusing to finalise DVD-Rs; it was not the BD drive, so the next thought was the power supply maybe could not supply the extra load during finalization. The power board was exchanged and the machine insisted on the internal HDD being formatted. This seemed strange to me, I recall reading that the HDD and the main PCB are configured as a pair, change either and a format will be required, but the power board?
So it appeared that the pairing is not to the main board but to the power board. The service manual includes:
“When exchange HDD or Main P.C.B., the " HDD Error " screen is displayed, but, according to a following procedure, please format HDD.”
A study of the schematics revealed that in Panasonic parlance the “main board” is not the main board (the PCB with all the processing) but rather it is the Power PCB! The PCB with all the brains is referred to as the “Digital” board.
So how on earth is the HDD “tied” to the Power PCB? A study revealed an “orphan” on the Power Board, stuck away in one corner and mounted on the foil side is an I2C EEPROM. This device is not connected to any components on the Power Board, but is, by way of the multi connector connected to the main processor on the Digital PCB.
This analysis is based upon the BWT720 but inspection of the service manual for the other ranges reveals the same arrangement. Even earlier series machines such as the EX range have the same EEPROM, although in some it is mounted on the Digital PCB.
BUT before you get too excited I have, so far, been unable to defeat the format requirement. More work is needed, I hope others might be able to help.
What I have done is to read the EEPROM contents, then make a change, such as a different HDD, read the contents again and identify the changes. The reads I went through:
- Initial read, new HDD fitted but not formatted
- Post format
- Post factory reset
- Post tuning of digital channels
- Post 1 minute recording
- Post different HDD and format
- Post a 3rd HDD and format
- Post registering an external USB HDD.
Patterns emerge:
- There are 2 blocks of data which always mirror each other – these change after each action I took (apart from tuning)
- There is one byte which appears to be a counter, increasing after each change
- There are 2 more pairs of blocks which mirror each other which only changed on USB HDD registration
- There is another block of data which is repeated 4 times, this too only changed at USB HDD registration.
What did I find out:
- The tuning data is not stored in this EEPROM, so it must be on the Digital PCB
- I took a copy of the EEPROM from one 720 and then burnt this into a different 720 and at the same time put the HDD from the first machine into the 2nd 720. It still asked for a format.
- I registered a USB HDD on the 1st 720 and after step 2 above I found that the 2nd 720 was now reporting that one USB HDD was registered (one had not been registered) but when I connected the USB HDD it reported that “USB HDD had previously been used with another unit” and went on to demand anew registration which would delete all contents.
I have had to release one of my spare 720s to service so at present I am unable to continue as planned. It would be interesting to blank all the EEPROM data and see what happens.