Another BR1600 "HDD Damaged!" error message. Possible to convert to SD card???

[Super 8]

Fortunately I got my album out of it before it gave up the ghost but, once again, another BR1600 hard drive has seemingly died on me ("HDD Damaged!" error message - I can't get passed it! I can't even do a conventional shutdown). This has happened way too many times now! I love this machine but the achillies heel almost always seems to be failing hard drives in these things! I'm aware this recorder would be considered 'a dinosaur' by many nowadays considering how rapidly technology ploughs onward but I was wondering ... does anyone know of a mod which would allow for the HD in the BR1600 to be replaced with a large capacity SD card or similar? I feel REALLY unlucky with failing mechanical hard drives in this unit!

[bruno]

Touchwood, I've never had a HD failure. I have seen that message, but only when there is a CD in the tray - I think it tries to boot from the CD, you have to press eject on the startup sequence, then it opens and boots from the HD. Just a suggestion to try???
B

[Super 8]

Thanks Bruno! Unfortunately no joy though. There was no disc in the tray - it's definitely a(nother!) buckled HD this end! I guess every replacement I buy is near the end of its life. If I could source a couple of New Old Stock drives that would be a solution of sorts but I can never seem to find them here in the UK.

[Super 8]

AARRGGHH!!!

[bruno]

Bought one recently - just in case ....

https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?topic=27114.msg326662#msg326662

From amazon in the US - came to the UK pretty quick.

Not tried it, still in the box - but for £20 worth it!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006HNZ1/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[64Guitars]

The first thing I'd want to find out is if it's a hardware failure or just a formatting issue. I'd do that by taking the drive out of the BR and connecting it to my computer with a USB-to-IDE adapter. Since this seems to be a recurring problem for you, I'd suggest that you get a USB hard drive dock something like this:

https://www.vantecusa.com/products.php?pc_id=3



They're quite handy for testing hard drives. The dock looks a bit like a toaster and your hard drive is a slice of bread. Just slide the hard drive into the slot and connect the USB cable to your computer, and you've instantly got an external hard drive that you can access from your computer.

If it's not a hardware failure (or, with a bit of luck, even if it is), then you should be able to access all of your data and transfer it to your computer. Then you can put the drive back in the BR and try reformatting it (Page 270 - Disk Initialize). If it won't let you because it can't access the disk, then you could try formatting it in the dock first. You'll still have to format it in the BR after, but formatting it in the dock might allow the BR to at least access the disk so you can then perform the Disk Initialize function.

[Super 8]

That's great info 64G - thanks so much! I've now tried this latest corrupted HD in a (admittedly fairly knackered!) backup BR1600 machine I keep under the bed and have experienced the exact same problem (ie: I can't get passed the 'Loading' stage at Start Up before getting the "HDD Damged!" message). So the next stage I guess would be to: source one of these adaptors you mention, try to extract the info off the drive (3 and a half new songs!) then reformat the drive and hope that's 'the fix'.

I dunno ... I just feel I've been REALLY unlucky when it comes to the mechanical drives in these BR1600s down through the years! The first machine I got (from new - back in 2008 I think it was) lasted for about four years before it began to play up. Looking back it was a drive problem (it always is it seems!) but I wasn't so aware or clued up at the time and just sold the unit on for 'spares or repairs' (got peanuts for it!)  I then started on a quest to find 'the perfect recorder' for my needs (a number of KORGs; a BOSS BR800; a strange dalliance with a Mac running Logic 9 for a spell) but, in between, I kept coming back to a BR1600. Other than failing HD issues, I liked everything else about it (still do!) and it suited my workflow. (In fact, I'm just about to have an album I made on this current BR1600 commercially released. I guess I should be grateful it decided not to pack it mid-production and I managed to get to the end of the album before the hard drive buckled!)

Think back, I'd say I've probably had about FIVE of these BR1600 units down through the years but none of them have been as good as that first one I had from new and all of subsequent ones I've sourced since have suffered with the same failing HD issue (along with sticky keys!) It's getting VERY hard to find 'a good one' nowadays! I really wish Boss would bring out a new, updated model! One that would rival say, the KORG D3200 on the track count and that would record to a card rather than a mechanical drive (like the standalone Tascams 24 & 32). If they did it would be right at the top of my Xmas wishlist - one can dream (although, in reality, I can't see this happenning 'cause it's all computers nowadays innit?!!) OK, off to source one of these IDE-USB adpator thingies I guess! Wish me luck .....   

[Super 8]

Bought one recently - just in case ....https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?topic=27114.msg326662#msg326662

BRILL! Thanks for the info Bruno ;-)

[SteveB]

Awake for half-an-hour in between night shifts, (Lord I hate retail in December!), but have read this brief thread with interest. I bought the BR1200 in around 2006, I think, from new. And it's only this year that I've begun to notice a couple of keys/buttons becoming unresponsive, 'sticky' I guess you'd call them. Ah ha, I thought, trouble brewing. Anyhoo, beyond that, I transferred whatever I had on my 40gb HD to my PC and then reformatted the 1200 HD and put back on only what I needed - not much. I then looked around Amazon uk etc for a replacement drive just in case, Jeeze, can you FIND one in the UK? Er, no, came the answer  - I'm after new rather than refurb. So realistically I guess I'd better get looking toward something new as a back up. And in itself that poses probs, I mean, these days I only really need something to record audio etc, as most of the other stuff is in DAW - well, until Sonar croaks. Good luck with yer endeavours with yer 1600. I'm off back for some further kip.