Need to recover data from DirecTV R15 DVR receiver hard drive

First, sorry for the delay in respoding to your post. I did notice that you had a prior question about the Power Supply on an R15 DVR. Does the unit have a manufacture code of 500(found on the right hand front Flip Door of the DVR)? If so, I might be able to help you in repairing the Power Supply. As far as I know, getting your DVR up and running again is the only way to watch your previously recorded programs. As far as retreiving programs from your old Hard Drive via other methods, I probably won't be able to help you there. When I had both of my identical DVR 15 500's apart for a parts swap to diagnos a failed Phototransistor(infra-red sensor for the remote control), I also tried to swap out the Hard Drives. This is what I found: When you swap a Hard Drive into another DVR, it won't play any of the programs previously recorded. However, if you record new programs on the swapped Hard Drive then they will be playable on this current setup. Now, if you swap the Hard Drive back to the original DVR it came out of, the programs will once again be accessible except for any that you might have recorded while the Hard Drive was in the other DVR. So, in conclusion, when programs are recorded on a particular DVR, it is encoded electronically to play back only in that DVR via communication from the Motherboard and the Hard Drive. I know, it sucks, but that is why I was asking if you are pretty sure the Power Supply is at fault. If so, I received info from this forum on how to fix the issue. Also, if the attempt fails, Ebay has some previously owned DVR's for sale and maybe you can get one for spare parts. Remember, the Power Board and Front Display Control Panel are the only interchangeable parts IF you want to view the programs on your DVR's Hard Drive. Let me know what your DVR does when you plug it in. That will go far in further diagnostics of your DVR.