I’ve been thinking about buying a bare Series 2 DSR708 from WeaKnees, to replace my old Series 1 Philips GXCEBOT unit.

I have one 708 already, and my daughter likes the recently deleted folder, not to mention the higher capacity available (I upgraded to a Seagate DB35.3 320 GB drive).
She has been using the Hughes for a couple of years now, but is running out of space on it’s currently installed 80 GB drive. What I would like to do is transfer the recordings and season passes, etc. from the Hughes to the DSR708 (which will also be running a Seagate DB35.3 320 GB drive), but obviously be running the Series 2 kernel (6.4a). Is this possible? Is there a way to transfer the data from old to the new, but either keep the newer kernel/OS, or to copy the whole drive from Series 1 to new drive, then overlay/replace the kernel/OS with the new Series 2 version? Can this be done? Is there any way to do this, but retain the recordings?

The recordings MUST remain intact, should I do this!!

Also, is there any problem taking a unit from WeaKnees and getting it activated by DirecTV? I would most likely buy a bare unit, as I already the drive. Are the bare units complete units, minus accessories (remote, cables) and hard drive?

I am also concerned about cooling as this unit is inside an entertainment center. Can I improve cooling by buying the TwinBreeze Complete, installing it with the extra fan, but keep one drive instead of adding a second drive? Will this indeed improve cooling? Is the replacement fan inside the TwinBreeze kit, a slower/quieter than stock fan? I seem to recall reading somewhere that if you are not concerned with noise, then retain the original fan and not replace it when installing the TwinBreeze bracket and fan.

Any thoughts or comments?