My Swann security camera DVR8-2600 quit operating some time ago. I just checked this week, so I don't know how long it had not been working. The hard drive light was not blinking. When I switched to view it on my kitchen monitor, I saw the video channels working, but every few minutes it would reboot, show a Swann copyright screen, show the video pictures and an outdated time stamp, and then reboot again.
This is apparently what happens when the hard drive fails. Though I had used the unit for not quite 2 years, it was actually almost 3 years since purchase (it took me a year to get around to getting it installed with the first camera, which was done by electrician). So, no warranty, but it should not have failed so fast IMO. I have working hard drives 20 years old (!), though I'd say mtbf is less than half that.
The unit was always noisy and was noticeably hot when I removed it. I was thinking it had a stuck fan. But open the unit up, and it has no fan. The only thing making all that noise all along had been the hard drive. Noisy hard drives are usually on the way out. So this one was pretty bad from the moment I got it.
Here is a great table showing the noise levels of different recent hard drives. Ignore the fact that it's part of a review of a Seagate drive, the Environmental Characteristics table (which probably appears in all their reviews) is the important thing. It shows on top for quiet and low energy consumption (low heat, which obviously this DVR needs) are the new Western Digital Green drives. It turns out that Western Digital makes different lines for different purposes, and the Green drives are for quietest and coolest, useful in media storage devices, for example. The quietest model shown in the (unfortunately old but not yet updated) table is the WD20EARS 2T. That is an old model you pay a hefty price for now if you can find it new at all. It's not necessarily a good thing to buy old model drive, in my experience, as it may already have started wearing out from shelf jockeying. The newer model, said by others to be even quieter, is the WD20EZRX. So that's what I ordered today, from newegg.
This is apparently what happens when the hard drive fails. Though I had used the unit for not quite 2 years, it was actually almost 3 years since purchase (it took me a year to get around to getting it installed with the first camera, which was done by electrician). So, no warranty, but it should not have failed so fast IMO. I have working hard drives 20 years old (!), though I'd say mtbf is less than half that.
The unit was always noisy and was noticeably hot when I removed it. I was thinking it had a stuck fan. But open the unit up, and it has no fan. The only thing making all that noise all along had been the hard drive. Noisy hard drives are usually on the way out. So this one was pretty bad from the moment I got it.
Here is a great table showing the noise levels of different recent hard drives. Ignore the fact that it's part of a review of a Seagate drive, the Environmental Characteristics table (which probably appears in all their reviews) is the important thing. It shows on top for quiet and low energy consumption (low heat, which obviously this DVR needs) are the new Western Digital Green drives. It turns out that Western Digital makes different lines for different purposes, and the Green drives are for quietest and coolest, useful in media storage devices, for example. The quietest model shown in the (unfortunately old but not yet updated) table is the WD20EARS 2T. That is an old model you pay a hefty price for now if you can find it new at all. It's not necessarily a good thing to buy old model drive, in my experience, as it may already have started wearing out from shelf jockeying. The newer model, said by others to be even quieter, is the WD20EZRX. So that's what I ordered today, from newegg.
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