Seeking Advice - House Fire - TiVo Survived?

[NSX]

Hello everyone.

My uncle and aunt's house caught on fire this Saturday (March 30th). While everything inside is basically damaged or in ashes, their TiVo LOOKS to be fairly unharmed.

Although I have not had the chance to plug it in yet, I am seeking advice on what to do.

Should I even plug this bad boy in? Everything looks OK, except the exhaust fan and grill has ash around them... it definitely ingested smoke until the power was cut.

While I feel 100% comfortable in opening the TiVo up (I've upgraded one of my TiVo's after the HD failed), I feel like I should stay out of this one since the insurance will be taking care of any expenses.

What should be done to this TiVo? It is a lifetimed unit.

[classicsat]

If it is relatively intact and has not suffered fire or water damage, it can be cleaned. Or check with TiVo and their insurance compny.

If it is recoverable, I'd replace the HDD, and the PSU if you think you need it.

[JimSpence]

By all means get the dust/ash out of the unit before plugging it in.

[eDbolson]

Certainly do not plug it in until it has been throughly cleaned.

I would suggest removing the hard drive and checking it on a PC or perhaps in another similar TiVo if available. Of all the parts, the drive is possibly the best protected unless there was enough heat to actually melt or damage it directly. Other than the fan, it is also the only device with moving parts. If the smoke and ash was somewhat conducted, the TiVo electronics could of course be damaged by shorting. I know that the most valuable part of my TiVo to me is the saved recordings, preferences, wish lists, schedules, and other information!

It is usually safe to carefully wash and just as carefully dry the circuit boards and so on. Often a hair dryer is useful to make sure it is dry - don't get it too close, hot air is not as necessary as moving air to get all fhe nooks and crannies clean.

It would be wise to ask the insurance company if they recommend a service to do this work.

[NSX]

Thank you to everyone who chimed in.

I will not plug the unit in at this point. The insurance co suggested that we send the unit in to get cleaned and inspected. I plan on calling Weaknees and TiVo to see if they can/will perform this type of service. Who else performs TiVo service?

[classicsat]

I would take it to someone that specialises in restoring electronics that have suffered smoke damage, explaining to them its Lifetime value.

You might want to buy an identical unsubbed model for the case/PSU, if the damage to the case is up there.

[RoyK]

If it can't be salvaged I wouldn't be surprised if TiVo would be willing to transfer the lifetime under the circumstances.

[LastPlace]

It's my recollection that when our Lifetime S2 TiVo failed a few years ago, we were able to get a refurbished one for $150 and sending in the old one. If TiVo is still offering this service then certainly I would expect the insurance company would be the one to cover that cost.

If TiVo won't take the unit as part of the swap because of the fire damage, again, I would expect that the insurance company would be on the hook for the replacement compensation - but of course, they'll want to say that that lifetime only covers the unit and then trend out the cost over the life expectancy of the unit; you'll want to be ready to make the case about how you can upgrade the hard drive yourself for short money and no labor cost.

G:):)D LUCK!

[Stanley Rohner]

Thank you to everyone who chimed in.

I will not plug the unit in at this point. The insurance co suggested that we send the unit in to get cleaned and inspected. I plan on calling Weaknees and TiVo to see if they can/will perform this type of service. Who else performs TiVo service?

Open it up, clean it yourself.

It's not that hard to do.

No use sending it some place to have this done.

Sorry to hear about your Aunt and Uncle's fire.
What caused it ?
Are they both alright ?

[wolflord11]

House Fires are a terrible thing.

And most damage to electrical components is not by the Fire itself but by Smoke and Water damage.

Get it professional cleaned if your insurance company is paying for it. Hard Drives are very prone to Smoke Damage.

Just imagine if you sat in the middle of the fire and breathed in all the smoke, ash etc. You would not look all that good inside :D

[Dan203]

Get it professional cleaned if your insurance company is paying for it. Hard Drives are very prone to Smoke Damage.

Just imagine if you sat in the middle of the fire and breathed in all the smoke, ash etc. You would not look all that good inside :D

Hard drives are completely sealed. How can they be prone to smoke damage? I'd think that if anything caused damage it would be the heat melting the insulation off of small wires and/or capacitors inside of the power supply.

Dan

[rbreding]

If it can't be salvaged I wouldn't be surprised if TiVo would be willing to transfer the lifetime under the circumstances.


Speaking from experience:

When I had a recent insurance claim that covered replacment of my tivo that was damaged I called up tivo to find out what could be done with my lifetime service. CS (after moving my way up the chain) moved service from my old S1 (that was damaged) to the new (via ebay) S2. No Charge.

[Kurt S]

Hard drives are not completely sealed, they have a small hole in them with filter material over it to keep particulate matter out but they still can ingest smoke particles.

[Stanley Rohner]

House Fires are a terrible thing.

Just imagine if you sat in the middle of the fire and breathed in all the smoke, ash etc. You would not look all that good inside :D

The hard drive doesn't suck in smoke, ash, etc. It's in the air around it but it doesn't have lungs or a suction pump built into it. :D

[wolflord11]

The hard drive doesn't suck in smoke, ash, etc. It's in the air around it but it doesn't have lungs or a suction pump built into it. :D

:)) Well when you have Twin Cooling Fans on your PC Hard Drives then yes, the Hard Drives will suck in whatevers in the air.

I am talking more about the layers of ash etc left behind sitting on your HD. Take it from experience, mainly 5 Years of fighting House Fires, the Hard Drives do pick up all sorts of stuff, and as Kurt S has stated, Hard Drives are not completely sealed.

[HiDefGator]

Am I the only one that would have just plugged the thing in to see if it worked? It's not like it could possibly hurt it. Either it melted or it didn't. If the heat destroyed any part of it then I would junk the whole thing. So plug it in and see if it blows the circuit breaker or comes on.

[classicsat]

I would at least open it up and check for obvious dmage or debris, and possible safety of the PSU.