I want to upgrade my TiVo 80hr TCD540080 Standalone

[Alvysyngr]

I have a few questions and wanted to know if anyone knows the answer

1 - Do I REALLY need a bracket when I install a second drive?

2 - I haven't opened the device yet, is there a place on the IDE ribbon cable for the second drive or do I need a new one?

3 - The Tivo seems to lag a lot and I think the 80gb drive is on it's way out - is it better to just replace it with say a 300gb drive? Is it much more difficult to add a second drive in comparison?

4 - Is this a good source for upgrade information?
tivo.upgrade-instructions-com

Thanks everyone - I love this place and this will be my second tivo upgrade (I did the ebay thing last time!)

[supasta]

1 - Yes, unless you just want your second drive sitting there. There is no room in the TiVo for a second drive. The drive bracket makes that room. This keeps the drive from sitting on top of other components and also increases air flow to keep things cool.

2 - There is a connection on the IDE ribon for a second drive.

3 - It is a bit more difficult, but not much. However, it is highly recommended that you replace your current drive with a single drive rather than adding a second drive. Using a dual-drive setup increases heat, adds the need for a bracket, and increases drive failure rate. Also, when one drive fails, you are going to have a big problem on your hands. It is much better and much easier to just replace the drive. If you are worried about your current drive failing then the thought of adding a second drive to it should not even be an option.

4 - It is an excellent source for information, and the best source IMO.

Welcome to TCF!

[Alvysyngr]

1 - Yes, unless you just want your second drive sitting there. There is no room in the TiVo for a second drive. The drive bracket makes that room. This keeps the drive from sitting on top of other components and also increases air flow to keep things cool.

2 - There is a connection on the IDE ribon for a second drive.

3 - It is a bit more difficult, but not much. However, it is highly recommended that you replace your current drive with a single drive rather than adding a second drive. Using a dual-drive setup increases heat, adds the need for a bracket, and increases drive failure rate. Also, when one drive fails, you are going to have a big problem on your hands. It is much better and much easier to just replace the drive. If you are worried about your current drive failing then the thought of adding a second drive to it should not even be an option.

4 - It is an excellent source for information, and the best source IMO.

Welcome to TCF!

Thanks for your info - I am going to order a 300gb drive right now - thanks so much for answering all the questions in one shot....you rock!

[HomeUser]

2 - There is a connection on the IDE ribbon for a second drive.Unless it has changed in the last year the factory 80G 540 IDE cable has only one drive connector. You also need a 'Y' power splitter as there is only a single drive power connector also. You can purchase a kit with a pre-formatted drive or one with just the parts needed from WeaKnees (http://www.weaknees.com/tbpta5.php)

Because you drive may be failing you should start by replacing the 80G drive with a new (larger) drive. Then if you want add the second drive when you get low on recording space. You should keep the original TiVo drive on a shelf as a backup just in case.

[Alvysyngr]

Unless it has changed in the last year the factory 80G 540 IDE cable has only one drive connector. You also need a 'Y' power splitter as there is only a single drive power connector also. You can purchase a kit with a pre-formatted drive or one with just the parts needed fromweaknees

Because you drive may be failing you should start by replacing the 80G drive with a new (larger) drive. Then if you want add the second drive when you get low on recording space. You should keep the original TiVo drive on a shelf as a backup just in case.


Good idea to keep the old one just in case....thanks

I just ordered a 250gb and will be replacing the single drive with this - as prices drop even more I will probably just add a 500gb drive in the future :)

[Alvysyngr]

By the way - I am reading the interactive Tivo upgrade and it states

If one or more of your drives is not being reported properly, then you will have to power down (CTRL-ALT-DELETE).

Download DISKUTIL.EXE. Save the file onto a bootable DOS floppy disk. With your TiVo drive(s) connected, boot the floppy. At the DOS prompt, type:

diskutil /PermUnlock 2

If the drive is locked and I don't have a floppy drive - can I boot this from a cd?

[HomeUser]

You do not need DISKUTIL for the Series 2 TiVo. There was an old Series1 TiVo the had the locked drive.

The 250G drive should work fine If you plan on adding a second drive later be sure to increase the swap space with the -s 127 command do not go larger MFSTools cannot create a proper swap partition larger then 127M. There is a newer modified version of MFSTools over at MFSLive.org (http://mfslive.org) that you might want to check out.

[Alvysyngr]

You do not need DISKUTIL for the Series 2 TiVo. There was an old Series1 TiVo the had the locked drive.

The 250G drive should work fine If you plan on adding a second drive later be sure to increase the swap space with the -s 127 command do not go larger MFSTools cannot create a proper swap partition larger then 127M. There is a newer modified version of MFSTools over at MFSLive.org (http://mfslive.org) that you might want to check out.

Do you mean the 250gb drive I am installing will only be identified as a 127gb drive? :eek:

I do not see the specific directions on increasing swap space - not sure what that is....

[HomeUser]

No, If you download the LBA bootable MFStools CD image from the link found with the interactive Tivo upgrade instructions (http://tivo.upgrade-instructions.com/index.php) the entire 250G drive will be seen.

The -s 127 parameter in the command tells mfsrestore to create a swap partition that is 127MB. your command should look something like mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hda | mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi - /dev/hdc The larger swap is needed in case the larger drive needs to be re-indexed. I think -s 127 is the default created by the interactive command generator.

[Alvysyngr]

No, If you download the LBA bootable MFStools CD image from the link found with the interactive Tivo upgrade instructions (http://tivo.upgrade-instructions.com/index.php) the entire 250G drive will be seen.

The -s 127 parameter in the command tells mfsrestore to create a swap partition that is 127MB. your command should look something like mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hda | mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi - /dev/hdc The larger swap is needed in case the larger drive needs to be re-indexed. I think -s 127 is the default created by the interactive command generator.

OK - so If I follow the directions on that site I will be ok and be able to use the entire drive - cool