Safest way to shut down?

[KizzaMe]

I have a model 1400. Last Summer, my power supply burnt out after some brownouts during a storm.

I replaced the power supply and it was working well until I attempted to shut my TIVO down this year during a storm. Basically, I put it in "Standby" mode and unplugged the unit. When I powered it back on, it was clear that the power supply was getting flaky once more, ultimately dying a few months later. I've since changed the power supply again and just want to know if there is a safer way to shut my TIVO down when there's a bad storm.

Thanks.

[dswallow]

Just pull the plug; no standby needed and it won't make much difference.

If you want to help improve the chances your power supply will survive, get a small UPS that regulates voltage and has surge protection and keep it plugged in to that all the time.

[pdhenry]

I agree. What kills a computer is not when the power is yanked - it's when the power is yanked and then comes back within a half second or so. The UPS guards against these very well.

[dfreybur]

Software-wise you can reboot through the settings menu. It ends up saying do 3 thmbs-down and hit enter. Do that and when the screen changes that will be the time to pull the plug. It's better on the software end than pulling the plug out of Standby though both will work.

Hardware-wise the other folks have covered it. The problem is power bouncing not just going off.

There's a design philosophy difference betwen always-on machines like computers in a data center and usually-off machines like a home PC. PCs are made with small power-up transients so they don't stress their power supplies. But think of an incandescent light bulb. When have you evre seen one fail except at power-up or when mechanically whacked?

Thing is, I know that Tivos are intended to be always-on but I don't know how many hardware changes have been made from a PC. You'll want to leave it powered on as much as possible, but at a guess I'm thinking whenever you want to power it off you will want to give it some cool-down time before powering up again.

That said I've had occasional problems writing DVDs (Humax DVR400 with DVD) and one approach is to power cycle after a failure. I seem to power cycle mine a couple of times per month these days and I only give it 3-5 minute sof cool-down time.

[petew]

That said I've had occasional problems writing DVDs (Humax DVR400 with DVD) and one approach is to power cycle after a failure.

Strange that you need to power cycle and not reboot to fix the problem.

[dfreybur]

Strange that you need to power cycle and not reboot to fix the problem.

Reboot vs power cycle after a failed DVD record -

I've tried both and both seem to work. After I read your advice to delete a few programs before starting a recording, I haven't experienced another failure yet so I don't have enough data to tell if just a reboot is enough.

Thanks for that, BTW. The fact that I haven't had a failure since your advice to delete a few programs, that's great. No idea if it's random or if that actually drove the failure rate towards zero. Since I record a couple DVDs per week it will take quite some time to tell.

[DocNo]

UPS's are the best investment. You can easily find them on sale for under $50 pretty regularly. I have them on every computer, Tivo, piece of AV equipment, etc...

[Stanley Rohner]

My 2 cents.....

I've never had a UPS on anything in my house ever and I've never had any problems with anything.

[tewcewl]

My 2 cents.....

I've never had a UPS on anything in my house ever and I've never had any problems with anything.

Knock on wood...

[dswallow]

My 2 cents.....

I've never had a UPS on anything in my house ever and I've never had any problems with anything.
Never say never. You know what happens next, right? ;)

[TydalForce]

UPS or not UPS really comes down to the quality of the electricity in your home.

Keep an eye on your lights. Do they flicker? Do they dim when the heater or air conditioner comes on? Does your power go out every time it rains? Get a UPS!

If your power is pretty stable, you can probably get away without one.

Having said that, its never a *bad* idea to get a UPS ;-}

[Stanley Rohner]

Never say never. You know what happens next, right? ;)

Nothing will happen.

I'm saving money on not buying a UPS.
:)

[ChuckyBox]

I'm saving money on not buying a UPS.
:)
You could save money by not buying car insurance, too. :cool:

I'm not sure that a UPS is necessary in most cases, anyway. I would recommend at least surge protection, and maybe a line conditioner and voltage regulator depending on circumstances (like value of the equipment, stability of the power, etc.).

[dswallow]

Frankly I really don't have a UPS on everything to protect my equipment. I have a UPS on everything so that I never miss my recordings.

[ChuckyBox]

Frankly I really don't have a UPS on everything to protect my equipment. I have a UPS on everything so that I never miss my recordings.
Interesting. The only times I've ever missed recordings is when the cable box gets turned off somehow. I used to think the cleaning lady did it accidentally when she was dusting, but the stuff is in a closed cabinet now and it has still happened once or twice in the past six months or so. I'm still not sure of the cause, but I guess a momentary power loss could do it. I suppose I could put just the cable box and the TiVo on an UPS. I mean, you can never have too much gear, right?

[zrulli]

I say unplug it.

for the ups...

In my house, i have the following going into the same ups, same outlet:
Tivo, Tv, VCR, DVD, Cable Box, PS2, Speakers, Moniter, Computer, Printer, Modem, Router, Lamp, Phone, as well as a laptop at times. Usually all devices are on and running. We have had 3 lighting strikes through the same plug. the only problems are 5 burned VCRs back in the day before we purcahsed a UPS.

THEY ARE A MUST!

I'm not totally sure if we have had any more backyard lighting strikes since but at least we have not lost any divices.

[morac]

A UPS is definitely necessary. Last summer my power company had major problems after a heat wave and major thunderstorms hit around the same time causing an overload. I was getting frequently power outages of a anywhere from a minute or so to a number of hours.

A cheap UPS kept my TiVo and cable box powered for about 45 minutes allowing it to record when my neighborhood had no power.

As stated, hardware problems pretty much always occur on power up, so it is ideal to keep the number of times you power your TiVo off and on to a minimum.

That said since PC's (and TiVo) runs off of DC power, minor fluctuations in line power levels shouldn't cause problems for them (unless you have a really poorly made power supply). The most likely cause for a power supply failure (besides just getting old and having a capacitor blow or something) is a power surge or lightning strike. A surge protector will protect against surges, but nothing will protect against a direct lightning strike (nothing afordable any way).

[ChuckyBox]

A surge protector will protect against surges, but nothing will protect against a direct lightning strike (nothing afordable any way).
You know, if lightning hits my TiVo, the least of my problems is going to be replacing it. :D

[jmace57]

FYI - those of you with a Fry's in town - they have a Belkin 375 va for sale starting today at $19.95.

Perfect for your TiVo

Jim

[tai-pan]

FYI - those of you with a Fry's in town - they have a Belkin 375 va for sale starting today at $19.95.

Perfect for your TiVo

Jim
Any clue how long the sale lasts?

[tai-pan]

I just called them and it's $30 with mail-in rebate.

[alansh]

From looking at the way a TiVo shuts down, I'm fairly certain it simply triggers a harward reset when you do the "restart" option. So it's not a "clean" shutdown even if you do go through the menu.

The filesystems on the TiVo are fairly robust, so it's not a big deal to just pull the plug. The sofware is stored on a read-only partition, and the log partition can be rebuilt.