The SONY RDR-HXD710 DVD recorder failed suddenly after 2 years, [no, I had not taken any back up copies], could not be repaired [no spares and uneconomic, according to repairer] and has been replaced free of charge by a new Panasonic DMR-EX78EB.
Thank goodness when I bought SONY from John Lewis I took out extended warranty - which I normally avoid.

I now have the old hard disk drive from the scrapped SONY DVD recorder and would like to access the stored TV programmes on it.
Drive is marked:
WesternDigital WD1600 WD Caviar SE
Enhanced IDE Hard Drive
Drive Parameters: LBA 312581808 160.0 GB
WD P/N: WD1600JB - 98GVC0
DCM: HSBHCTJAA

I have installed the HDD in a caddy [holder] and connected it with Firewire 400 to Apple Mac computer in the hope I could access the 80 GB of TV programmes stored there.
BUT I got the warning message:
"You have inserted a disk containing no
volumes that Mac OS X can read. To use
the unreadable volumes, click Initialize.
To continue with the disk inserted, click
Ignore."

What should be my next move?
I did not dare click 'Initialize' in case it wiped the HDD clean.
Looks like SONY use a non-standard file format.

Has anyone ever managed to recover old TV recordings from a SONY HDD?
If so, what hardware and software was used?

The problem could be that you are trying to access your "external HHD" from your mac. There are often problems associated with the formatting of HDDs when linking macs to HDDs formatted for PCs. Try to hook it up to a pc system and you may need to use some disc recovery software if the HDD is corrupt.

good luck

howardg6
Thanks for the PC suggestion.
The local computer shop tried with their Windows PC and they could not access any files either.
Does anyone know what file format is used on SONY 710 HDD?

The file format is proprietry and unable to be read with a PC, to date i do not believe anyone has writen and kind of program that would allow you to back up the files.
You could look on Ebay to see if you can find the same model then swap the drives out.

Well he never mentioned what was actually wrong with the unit in the first place (and I'm EXTREMELY dubious that spares are no longer available), it's quite possible that it's the drive that's died anyway - they are usually crappy Maxtor ones like Sky+ uses.

The DVD Recorder laser failed, according to the repairer.
I now have the old hard disk drive from the scrapped SONY DVD recorder and would like to access the stored TV programmes on it.
Drive is marked:
WesternDigital WD1600 WD Caviar SE
Enhanced IDE Hard Drive
Drive Parameters: LBA 312581808 160.0 GB
WD P/N: WD1600JB - 98GVC0
DCM: HSBHCTJAA

After several weeks trying to get replacement parts the repairer gave up [ and also the price of the parts was too high to be economic, he said ] so the insurance company paid for a new replacement recorder.

So far there is no evidence that the HDD is faulty.
Disk recovery software was suggested by the local computer shop, but the quote for producing DVDs was too high.

If you can see the hard disc from your PC, could you right click on a file, see its properties and then Google to see if any file conversion software is available.

If I remember I'll check the availability tomorrow - but it's certainly VERY likely that the cost of a replacement DVD mech (can't buy just the laser) is un-economic.

Usually Sony spares take one or two days to arrive, that's all, and you're told if they are in stock as you order them.

However, if it was the DVD mech which was faulty, why couldn't you play the programmes off the HDD? - laser failure won't stop the HDD working, whereas HDD will stop the DVD working.