Brighthouse scientific atlanta 8300HD cable box frozen

[Johnny Appleseed]

We are having a few issues with our S/A 8300HD DVR. One issue is that it freezes up during playback. Then, when I go to the "recorded list" it shows a list of all of the stored programming but shows "0%" recorded. If I attempt to access anything on the list I get "(recorded show) is not available at this time." If I then unplug the unit and re-intialize the system, everything comes back and it shows 81% of the recording space is used. I then play back a program and at some point, the show freezes again. When I repeat the previous re-intializing procedure, the unit fires up but makes noises that resemble beebees falling into an empty sardine can before it freezes up again.
Questions are:
Is the hard drive going kaput?
Can I retrieve the saved programming either to an external drive or to my DVD recorder before I exchange it?
Can my local Brighthouse outlet pull the shows off and transfer them to the replacement DVR?

 

[erom43]

I have had the exact same problem with one of my dvr's. I now have two 8300HD's from Brighthouse, and have had all sorts of problems. Freezing, loud noises, inability to stop fast forward during replay and numerous machine induced reboots while watching regular programming or replay. I have two machines and have already replaced them once, but still having problems. Any suggestions?