TiVo upgrade died -- advice on next step?

[tripmaster]

So, I had some probs with my S2 5400xx 200+160GB Upgrade crashing.

Crashed today again, restarted, and crashed again. Now I cant get past my 'Almost there' screen. The drive makes a funny clicking noise.

Ha, ha very funny.

So I have a few options, and I want to get some advice on what is likely to be successful.

Should I attempt to recover the programs? I'd like to, but I'm concerned about the likelihood of success given the potential mechanical failure. I'd hate to start this option and spend 8 hrs to find out I'm out of luck since I gotta do all the work at my parents house (my SFF PC doesnt have IDE connectors I can use, and Im guessing the tweaked BIOS wont boot MFS CD anyway - an old P4 I had didnt boot the CD, and my folks have my old P3 system).

If I do attempt it, it could be a 4 HD restore (which would be good from a price standpoint - I have a new 300 and 200 GB HD sitting around). But I'd have to use the TiVo Floppy. Any issues with that?

Or I can attempt the restore into a 400gb HD. This is a pricier option, as I'd have to shell out $200 for a new HD.

So -- in the collective experience here, should I try a restore?

Better to run off 1 big HD or 2 HDs? (I know, 2 HDs = 2x chance of failure).

Same question (1 400gb vs a 200+300gb HDs) applies if I want to use the orig 40GB drive to upgrade from scratch.

I am TiVo less and I feel naked!

[HomeUser]

I do not know of any MFSTools boot floppy with LBA48 support. Mfstools will run from almost any "Run from CD" Linux find one that works with your P4 then add mfstools to the CD.

Noise from a HD can be caused by insufficient power. Test the HD in the PC if It still 'clicks' you may be able to retrieve the data by cooling the drive then "image" copy just the failing drive to the replacement drive with the Linux command dd.

A single HD should create less heat and draw less power then two drives. I do not know of any way to go from two drives to a single drive and keep your recordings so yes you would be starting from your original 40G configuration. If your original drive does not have the TiVo software version with LBA48 support then upgrading to a 400G drive would be a three step process mfscopy, Install in TiVo connect to get the update then Expand back in the PC.

[tripmaster]

I thought hinsdale has a 2drive->1drive step? The system is a series 2, so I am assuming there was LBA48 support in the TiVo software. would that be incorrect?

I do not know of any MFSTools boot floppy with LBA48 support. Mfstools will run from almost any "Run from CD" Linux find one that works with your P4 then add mfstools to the CD.

Noise from a HD can be caused by insufficient power. Test the HD in the PC if It still 'clicks' you may be able to retrieve the data by cooling the drive then "image" copy just the failing drive to the replacement drive with the Linux command dd.

A single HD should create less heat and draw less power then two drives. I do not know of any way to go from two drives to a single drive and keep your recordings so yes you would be starting from your original 40G configuration. If your original drive does not have the TiVo software version with LBA48 support then upgrading to a 400G drive would be a three step process mfscopy, Install in TiVo connect to get the update then Expand back in the PC.

[HomeUser]

Yes there is a 2 drive to 1 drive process, it does not keep your recordings.

Some of the SA Series twos did not have LBA48 support until about a year ago. I assume that you had it if you went form the 40G directly to the 200 +160 my 240 is only using 137G of the 160G because I upgraded before TiVo released the LBA48 kernel for it. the 540's may of had it from the beginning.

Anyone have a reference for the different TiVo models numbers?

[tripmaster]

So there is no way to go 2drive->2drive, all drives >127GB, LBA48 using the floppy?



Yes there is a 2 drive to 1 drive process, it does not keep your recordings.

Some of the SA Series twos did not have LBA48 support until about a year ago. I assume that you had it if you went form the 40G directly to the 200 +160 my 240 is only using 137G of the 160G because I upgraded before TiVo released the LBA48 kernel for it. the 540's may of had it from the beginning.

Anyone have a reference for the different TiVo models numbers?

[HomeUser]

NO, Unless you can find an LBA48 boot floppy

You can still boot Linux from your CD drive then use the "dd" utility and copy each drive separately.

[tripmaster]

NO, Unless you can find an LBA48 boot floppy

You can still boot Linux from your CD drive then use the "dd" utility and copy each drive separately.


I take it that the dd has a parameter to expand the partition to take advantage of a larger drive?

[HomeUser]

"dd" only copies, you can only expand the drive once keeping recordings.

[tripmaster]

"dd" only copies, you can only expand the drive once keeping recordings.

But according to Hinsdale:

http://www.newreleasesvideo.com/hinsdale-how-to/index9.html


UPGRADE CONFIGURATION #5:

From: Any Dual Drive TiVo

To: New A and New B Drive (replacing both drives)



(Slow option – preserves setup, season passes, etc. and recordings)



Those wishing to replace their dual drive TiVo with a new larger A and B drive while preserving their recordings will need to copy their complete existing TiVo A and B drives to the new larger upgrade A and B drives. This can be time consuming and can be accomplished in several ways depending upon the number of available IDE ports in your PC (for quick method without preserving recordings see Upgrade Configuration #2).



Option #1) Mfs Tools single step method (requires 4 available IDE ports):



To use Mfs Tools to accomplish this copy/upgrade in a single step you will need all four available IDE ports. You will therefore need to use the Boot Floppy (see Step 4 for download/creation) instead of the Boot CD and will also need to remove your dos/windows C: drive and disconnect your cd-rom (if applicable).

[HomeUser]

That works also... you will need all 4 IDE ports.

I have not tried doing it that way I have only replaced a single failing drive of a two drive set by image copying the device.

[classicsat]

If you know how, you can put mfstools on a USB thumb drive.

[tripmaster]

If you know how, you can put mfstools on a USB thumb drive.

How do you do that?