S3 Infant Mortality?

[taldric]

I got my new S3 yesterday, but it wouldn't power up at first. Plugged it in and no lights at all on the front panel and nothing on the TV (connected via HDMI).

Pulled the power cord and plugged in again. Got lights and startup screen. Started going through setup process, but when it tried to connect for the first time (via wired ethernet) the screen suddenly turned completely grey. Left it for a few minutes, but nothing was happening.

Powered down and back up, got nothing (no lights or screen). Powered down and back up again. Got the startup screen and lights, but during hte startup process the screen went black. And again...and again... Sometimes the screen would go green and purple flashing, sometimes a very regular grey, sometimes no lights or screens at all.

The 15th or 20th time I finally got further into the setup sequence, until the Tivo was connecting for the second time and the spinning ball froze. I left it for a few minutes but started getting weird intermittent buzzing from the TV speakers and small flashes of colors areas of the screen.

Does this sould like a dead unit to you? Has anyone else experienced a DOA unit?

-Tim A.

[vman41]

Something sounds wrong, a common failure on new equipment is a loose connector inside the box.

[classicX]

Does this sould like a dead unit to you?

Yes.


I know you are trying to avoid going back to the store / Tivo but even if you did find the problem inside the box, I wouldn't trust it. You paid $800 for a working unit; don't hesitate to get what you paid for.

[tunnelengineer]

this can't be good.

[nyjklein]

I've noted that the power cord on the back of the S3 needs to be pushed in REALLY securely. Unlike most push on two pin power cords, this one seems to have grooves so it snaps into place when it's all the way on. If not, it's not making good contact.

I didn't realize this at first and was wondering my unit was a but flakey for the first couple of minutes until I realized this.

[heatzeker]

Your problem sounds more serious than my unit that randomly reboots, but you may want to try taking the ethernet cord out to see if that changes anything.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=318135

[snathanb]

I've noted that the power cord on the back of the S3 needs to be pushed in REALLY securely. Unlike most push on two pin power cords, this one seems to have grooves so it snaps into place when it's all the way on. If not, it's not making good contact.

I didn't realize this at first and was wondering my unit was a but flakey for the first couple of minutes until I realized this.

This should be in the FAQ, I did the exact same thing....