Swap Hard Drive from 1 HDVR2 to another

[sahurd]

I have two HDVR2s, purchased at the same time (presumably with the same internal hardware). I managed to accomplish the "boot without the white cable attached" problem & now that unit's remote won't work. Of course, this is the unit I primarily use.

I've read this problem can be solved by shorting a damaged inductor. But as my soldering skills are fare from great (and I'd really like to have a working remote soon & can live without a remote on the secondary unit indefinitely), I wondered if I could do a hardware swap as a short-term fix.

I've read that the Tivo programs are tied to the hardware. But is that the hardware on the motherboard or the access card? If it's the access card, I wonder if I can swap the access card & hard disk in each of the HDVR2s (and probably call DirecTV, as I suspect there's a serial # to Access Card correspondence), and having a working setup.

I would appreciate any knowledge or experience that anyone would care to share...

Thanks, Steve Hurd

[mr.unnatural]

You can swap hard drives between Tivos of the same series but you will get a hardware error #51 due to data embedded in the hardware that will not match what's on the drive. You can perform a Clear & Delete Everything and it will return the drive and settings to factory fresh status and "remarry" the drive to the DTivo it's been installed in.

If you're only using one DTivo then why not simply swap the front panels? There are just a few screws and plastic clips attaching it to the chassis and it's pretty simple to remove. Just remove the four Torx screws at the back panel to remove the cover (unplugged from AC power, of course), remove the two Torx screws securing the front panel, detach the white ribbon cable from the mainboard, release the plastic clips, and remove the cover. Make sure the ribbon cable is secured to the front panel connector and install the working panel on the DTivo.

You could then take the damaged front panel to a local electronics repair shop and see what they'll charge to replace the damaged inductor for you. Better yet, ask a friend that knows how to solder or practice on some old circuit cards until you feel comfortable trying it yourself.

[sahurd]

Thanks for the information. It's good to know that the programming is tied to the actual motherboard hardware rather than the access card (so simply swapping motherboards wouldn't help).

Thanks also for the advice. However, I think the damaged inductor is on the main system motherboard. Thus, I would think that swapping the front panels would not solve the problem. Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm wrong (it happens all the time :) ).

As for the soldering, I have several resources that can help with this, but I was hoping to delay having to do this for a few days (for logistical reasons), yet have my remote functionality back. I'm not that big of a couch potato, but even if I get up & work the unit front panel, it's not obvious how one fast-forwards past commercials...and after 3 years of having this unit, I'm amazingly impatient about needing a whole hour to watch an hour-long show!

Thus, if there are any ways, short of soldering, to use my spare unit to give my main unit remote functionality, yet not lose my programming, I am all ears.

Thanks, Steve Hurd

[classicsat]

Allgator clip across the inductor. Do at your own risk though.

[mr.unnatural]

The damaged inductor is on the front panel, not the mainboard. The problem you described has been well documented, as well as the corrective action.

[sahurd]

Pardon my ignorance in this matter...from looking at past threads, it appeared to me that the burned-out inductor (that had to be shorted) was on the main motherboard (please see linked photo from a past thread).

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=3133


Perhaps I'm looking at the wrong thread...I would thoroughly appreciate any pointers to past threads that refer to the front panel swap as being the solution to this problem.

Thanks, Steve Hurd