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How to tell if a CCTV security system comes with or without a pre-installed hard drive

December 18, 2020
in Learning & Tips

Many sellers claim that their security camera systems (DVR or NVR) come with pre-installed hard drives. But how to tell if your DVR or NVR comes with or without a pre-installed hard drive?

If you want to record footage on your security camera system, you need to have a hard drive installed inside your recorder. This hard drive can come pre-installed (by the manufacturer) or you can even install by yourself. Make sure to purchase a surveillance rated hard drive.

Let’s say you purchased a security system online that says it comes with a pre-installed hard drive. In this guide, we have summoned up a few methods on how to tell if the system comes with or without a pre-installed hard drive.

How to tell if your NVR or DVR comes with a pre-installed HDD?

Method 1. Inspect the label

Generally, if you bought a system with a pre-installed hard drive, the hard drive will be included as part of the model. You have to inspect the label and you should see “1T” or “1TB” on the model number which stands for 1 TB hard drive.

Additionally, you can see 2T, 4T, 6T, 10T etc, depending on the size of the hard drive. In some cases, the hard drive can be listed as “HDD: 1TB”.
How to tell if a CCTV security system comes with or without a pre-installed hard driveHow to tell if a CCTV security system comes with or without a pre-installed hard driveFor example the label below, indicates that this NVR or DVR comes without any hard drive installed.
How to tell if a CCTV security system comes with or without a pre-installed hard drive

Method 2. Check the system’s settings

Another way to check if your security system comes with a pre-installed hard drive is to check the recorder’s settings. Basically, login to your recorder setting panel and inspect the hard drive section.

If nothing is listed there, then the NVR/DVR comes without a hard drive. If there’s a hard drive, you should see it listed over there.

For example, the HDD’s status can be “normal”. If it is unformatted, it needs to format it before using it. If the status is abnormal or empty, that indicates the HDD can’t be recognized by the DVR/NVR (or there’s no hard drive at all).

An example is shown below (Hikvision equipment). Go to the Main Menu > HDD > General to check its status. It should be “Normal”. Click the “Init” button to format the HDD for the first use.
How to tell if a CCTV security system comes with or without a pre-installed hard drive

Method 3. Open up your recorder

You can simply open up the top cover of your NVR or DVR and check if there’s any hard drive over there. This is the easiest way to check.

There should be two cables connecting the hard drive to the DVR’s motherboard (HDD power cable and HDD data cable).
How to tell if a CCTV security system comes with or without a pre-installed hard driveIf you need to purchase a hard drive for your security camera system, make sure to get a surveillance rated hard drive. These hard drives are specifically designed to work with CCTV systems and last longer.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase any item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!

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