Tivo HD - Upgrade drive now or wait?

[davenull]

The fall season is coming and I'm sure I will be very short of drive space on my new Tivo HD very soon. I did a little research on drive sizes and I feel like with a net of 500GB I'll be happy with my capacity for the lifetime of my Tivo. So I feel like I am at a decision point right now of deciding from:

1. Upgrade internal drive
2. Add-on an external eSATA
3. Wait for a firmware update making the eSATA upgrade easier then do #2
4. Wait for the official TiVo eSATA drive / support

Technically, I am competent to do the upgrade but I don't look forward to all the tinkering and the last thing I want is to end up with an unstable TiVo and deal with the hassle of having something that doesn't work well.

Does anyone have any theories on if TiVo does release the drive, how much might it cost?

If I am going to do an upgrade now, am I better off upgrading the internal drive or adding on a eSata?

What should I do?

[mphtrilogy]

I'm in a similar boat. I am going to wait for a TIvo approved esata drive myself, and put it on my christmas list.

In the meantime, I am keepingf my cable dvr box as well as my Tivo to bridge the gap while I work the kinks out of the new tivo and wait for the esata external hard drive to be "officially" launched

[cr33p]

The fall season is coming and I'm sure I will be very short of drive space on my new Tivo HD very soon. I did a little research on drive sizes and I feel like with a net of 500GB I'll be happy with my capacity for the lifetime of my Tivo. So I feel like I am at a decision point right now of deciding from:

1. Upgrade internal drive
2. Add-on an external eSATA
3. Wait for a firmware update making the eSATA upgrade easier then do #2
4. Wait for the official TiVo eSATA drive / support

Technically, I am competent to do the upgrade but I don't look forward to all the tinkering and the last thing I want is to end up with an unstable TiVo and deal with the hassle of having something that doesn't work well.

Does anyone have any theories on if TiVo does release the drive, how much might it cost?

If I am going to do an upgrade now, am I better off upgrading the internal drive or adding on a eSata?

What should I do?

I would just go with upgrading the internal drive, IMHO a new internal drive will be more stable and dependable than a external drive any day, esp since with an add on drive you are spanning recordings across 2 drives this ups the odds of failure just by having two drives instead of one. And with a external drive its one more thing to have sitting with all of your components and eating up more power. The only reason I see for anyone to add an external drive is if they are completely afraid of opening the case. And at this point to add an external drive to a Tivo HD unit the original drive has to be pulled anyways. I have already performed 2 internal drive upgrades on my Tivo HD units and they went flawlessly. Spik25's WinMFS program is amazing. Need any help PM me

[bdlucas]

I've been asking myself the same question and decided to just go with upgrading the internal drive. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, an external drive is just that much more fan noise that I could do without. The TiVo HD is quiet, but not silent.

[cr33p]

I've been asking myself the same question and decided to just go with upgrading the internal drive. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, an external drive is just that much more fan noise that I could do without. The TiVo HD is quiet, but not silent.

You got it, and an external drive enclosure no matter how neat it looks will stand out like a sore thumb next to all of your components and fits very awkwardly.

[Warhawks]

I hope to upgrade my internal drive with a 500gb. I am waiting for weaknees to have the 500 on "special of the day", rather than the 300 which has been for almost a week now!

[bdlucas]

I hope to upgrade my internal drive with a 500gb. I am waiting for weaknees to have the 500 on "special of the day", rather than the 300 which has been for almost a week now!
Ordered mine (500GB DB35) from thenerds.net (who sponsor mfslive.org). Will let you know if I get good service.

[jfh3]

No reason to wait if you are comfortable with doing it yourself.
Very easy with WinMFS and better overall to have one drive rather than two.

[joneSi]

Do it. WinMFS if you are linux-phobic (though you needn't be!) is a great way to go. I have a 750gb drive.

joneSi

[jlib]

The only reason to wait is because all the manufacturers will have released 1TB drives by this month. That will put downward pressure on the price of the "sweet spot" 500-750GB drives. But really, it is not worth missing the season premieres just for a few bucks...

[CCourtney]

The only reason I see for anyone to add an external drive is if they are completely afraid of opening the case.

I'll have to disagree with that statement. I don't see a reason to through let 160GB of more disk space collect dust.

I personally have been flip-flopping with going the eSata route w/ a 500GB and using the 'SuperSize' option -> 20Hrs + 70Hrs (90Hrs) of HD record time. That's close to what may are doing with an 750GB internal w/o 'SuperSize' -> 96Hrs HD recording.

I still have to open the box up and image the factory drive to do this as eSata plug in play is not available yet and the TiVo HD eSata update currently still requires the internal drive to be removed and imaged (then replaced) using MFS.

CCourtney

[dpfels]

To Bruce:

Can I ask which DB35 you ordered? From what I can tell, all of the DB35 drives on thenerds are PATA, not SATA. I think the SATA versions end in "SCE" not "ACE" like this: ST3500830SCE (the 500 GB version).

I got this from weaknees raw drive page.

Thanks,
Dan

[control-z]

I'm living with the stock drive in my Tivo HD. So far in a week or so I haven't filled it up. The eSATA option is intriguing, but when the time comes I'll probably go for a 750GB internal drive. Even though it's some trouble to do the upgrade, it's the cheapest and cleanest upgrade.

[jlib]

...From what I can tell, all of the DB35 drives on thenerds are PATA, not SATA. They have always had SATA DB35 (http://www.thenerds.net/SEAGATE_Seagate_DB353_Series_Hard_Drive.ST3750840SCE.html) drives.

[jkovach]

They have always had SATA DB35 (http://www.thenerds.net/SEAGATE_Seagate_DB353_Series_Hard_Drive.ST3750840SCE.html) drives.

Always? That's impressive.

[cr33p]

I'll have to disagree with that statement. I don't see a reason to through let 160GB of more disk space collect dust.

I personally have been flip-flopping with going the eSata route w/ a 500GB and using the 'SuperSize' option -> 20Hrs + 70Hrs (90Hrs) of HD record time. That's close to what may are doing with an 750GB internal w/o 'SuperSize' -> 96Hrs HD recording.

I still have to open the box up and image the factory drive to do this as eSata plug in play is not available yet and the TiVo HD eSata update currently still requires the internal drive to be removed and imaged (then replaced) using MFS.

CCourtney

I think I would agree with you there, 160 gigs is a lot to have laying around collecting dust, In the near future I will be working on seeing if I can design a internal bracket to house an addl hdd within the case. So technically using the ESATA but from within the case.

[dpfels]

When I search DB35, I only get the drives ending in ACE which are PATA. I get the same thing when I click on the link from mfslive.

Maybe I am doing something wrong.
Dan

[bdlucas]

Here are their DB35 drives:

http://www.thenerds.net/index.php?page=esearch&action=Query&keyword=db35&x=0&y=0

They show three SCE drives. But maybe that changes as their inventory changes? Here's the drive I ordered:

http://www.thenerds.net/SEAGATE_Seagate_DB353_Series_Hard_Drive.ST3500830SCE.html

FedEx tracking says it's been delivered. Time to head home!

[Kablemodem]

Does replacing the internal drive in an S3 require repairing and/or reauthorizing the cable cards?

[cr33p]

Does replacing the internal drive in an S3 require repairing and/or reauthorizing the cable cards?
Yes and no, if you do a install via a truncated image then you will have a stock drive just as if it where new again, if you use mfscopy it will retain all settings, shows, and season passes. I would recommend using WinMFS and do a mfscopy. That way its as if nothing ever changed.

[jlib]

Always? That's impressive.More precisely, they have stocked them since they were originally released last fall.

[Kablemodem]

Yes and no, if you do a install via a truncated image then you will have a stock drive just as if it where new again, if you use mfscopy it will retain all settings, shows, and season passes. I would recommend using WinMFS and do a mfscopy. That way its as if nothing ever changed.

I have a $100 gift certificate from Weaknees, so I was going to go that route.

[cr33p]

I have a $100 gift certificate from Weaknees, so I was going to go that route.

You could still just reload that drive once it arrives, especially if it saves you the hassle of calling Comcast or whomever back out to re pair your cable cards.

[Kablemodem]

I think it would still be cheaper to buy my own drive and I could give the gift certificate to a friend.

[davenull]

Wow thanks for all the input folks. I decided to go with the internal drive upgrade option, and I ordered the 500gb SATA Seagate DB35 drive from TheNerds as recommended. From everyone's comments, it came down for me to the fact that even if I waited until Tivo released an official eSATA, it still is going to be an additional potential failure point and is likely to be a far more expensive option.

Now, I'm trying to make sure I get everything else I need to make this work. I want to do the drive copy (I didn't realize before that the winmfs thing could copy everything, but saving all my recordings will make the upgrade much easier), and I have a SATA desktop PC and it has 2 free SATA connectors on motherboard, so I need to head to Fry's and buy SATA cables. It looks like I am short 1 power connector in my PC to hook both up at once so some sort of SATA power splitter as well.

Does anyone who got the DB35 know if it comes with its own SATA cable or if I'll need to buy 2 (presumably I need to buy at least 1 to hook up the original drive to do the copy.

I also see I need a Torx screwdriver to open up the Tivo. Should I be able to find one of these at Fry's or Home Depot?

So here is my list of what I need:
1 DB35 hard drive (on order)
Burned CD of winmfs
My desktop vista pc with 2 free sata ports
2 SATA cables
2 free SATA power connectors (or 1 and a splitter for it)
Torx screwdriver to open tivo

Is there anything I'm missing to make this operation a success?

-Dave

[jlib]

Unless you buy a drive from a store in a retail box they are usually in what is called "OEM packaging" (intended for vendors who build computers from parts) and is just the bare drive with no extras. So, if you mail order a drive, unless it says "retail package" you can assume it will arrive in a mylar bag and you will need to provide cables and power connectors separately. Plus, the DB35 is not intended for retail sale so it will always be in OEM packaging. It looks like your list includes everything you need.

[bdlucas]

Burned CD of winmfs
For WinMFS you don't burn a CD - it just runs under Windows. If you use MFSLive, which is Linux-based, then you have to burn a CD and boot from it.

Update on my upgrade: the 500GB DB35 drive was shipped the next day (I ordered late in the evening) and arrived overnight. I was planning to use WinMFS but discovered that I didn't have enough SATA power connectors, so I had to disconnect my primary hard drive and boot from MFSLive. One the whole that was more painful, e.g. disconnecting my hard drive changed the boot order in BIOS so I had to reset that to get back to normal. But everything seems to be working - 64 HD hours vs 20!

[davenull]

Is there any difference between WinMFS and MFSLive in terms of final product? WinMFS looked at first glance a little easier to use.

Also I read about this supersize option. Is there any reason NOT to supersize the new drive? Has it created any kind of problems for anyone?

[spike2k5]

Is there any difference between WinMFS and MFSLive in terms of final product? WinMFS looked at first glance a little easier to use.

Also I read about this supersize option. Is there any reason NOT to supersize the new drive? Has it created any kind of problems for anyone?

WinMFS is easier to use but needs Windows XP sp2 or later. I call this next generation software because it's designed to take advantage of new stuff we (community) has discovered about Tivo capacity upgrading.

MFSLive Linux Boot CD - Use linux command line so little harder if not used to command line.

Personally, I use supersize option to squeeze out more space.

[frankthetank]

Tivo upgrade with a Laptop ??

I have been trying to read posts and WinMFS guides, but I am still a little unsure. I only have a laptop (80GB internal) and an external SATA hard drive (SATA to USB connection to my computer). Would I able to upgrade Tivo by:

(1) putting the original Tivo drive in my external SATA drive case
(2) copy/make a backup of the Tivo info/programs/settings using WinMFS to my laptop and
(3) put the Tivo backup thats on my laptop back onto the new drive

It sounds possible to me, but I have never used WinMFS, so I could be way off. Thanks for any help and sorry if this is a noob question.

[bkdtv]

Tivo upgrade with a Laptop ??

I have been trying to read posts and WinMFS guides, but I am still a little unsure. I only have a laptop (80GB internal) and an external SATA hard drive (SATA to USB connection to my computer). Would I able to upgrade Tivo by:

(1) putting the original Tivo drive in my external SATA drive case
(2) copy/make a backup of the Tivo info/programs/settings using WinMFS to my laptop and
(3) put the Tivo backup thats on my laptop back onto the new drive

It sounds possible to me, but I have never used WinMFS, so I could be way off. Thanks for any help and sorry if this is a noob question.Yes, you can do that to upgrade the drive. That method will not work to backup your recordings, however. In order to backup recordings, both drives must be connected to your computer simultaneously.

Make sure you only use WinMFS under Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista.

TivoHD / Series3 Upgrade Instructions Remove the outer case and existing drive using a torx screwdriver in the T10 size. If you don't have one of appropriate length, you can purchase the Star Driver T10 Ampro (9014713) from Advance Auto Parts for about $4.


Download WinMFS here (http://www.mfslive.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=207).


Shut down Windows and attach original TiVo drive. You can open your computer and attach it with a SATA cable, or attach it externally using a SATA->USB adapter like this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812186020).


Boot to Windows XP (SP2) or Vista, run WinMFS, and click 'Select Drive' to select the drive you attached.


In WinMFS, click the 'Backup' option. Save the file to your hard drive.


Shut down the computer and attach the new, larger drive. You can disconnect the original Tivo drive.


Turn your computer back on, run WinMFS, and click the 'Restore' option. Select the file you saved to your hard drive in step #5.


You're done. Install the new drive in the TivoHD.

Note that won't backup your existing recordings. The "Backup" option in WinMFS just backs up the Tivo software and your configuration, not the recordings.

If you want to backup your recordings too, then you need to choose the MFSCopy option in WinMFS which requires that the original Tivo drive and new drive be connected at the same time -- in which case you may want 2x SATA -> USB adapters (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812186020).

[jfh3]

Also I read about this supersize option. Is there any reason NOT to supersize the new drive? Has it created any kind of problems for anyone?

Not really a lot of info about exactly how the option works, but also no reports that I've seen of problems with it.

[davenull]

Got my new 500gb Seagate drive yesterday, the whole upgrade process was extremely painless and winmfs was completely fool-proof.

The only tip I have for folks is that you need a Torx #10 screwdriver that has a fairly long shaft to remove 1 screw from the hard drive mount, so if you are going to home depot or wherever to buy one don't get one too short and stubby.

My system information now is "Variable, up to 70 HD hours, or 663 SD hours". :)

[tweekerz]

It sounds like there still isnt an option to copy an upgraded 500GB to another Quickview.

[QUOTE=bkdtv]If you want to backup your recordings too, then you need to choose the MFSCopy option in WinMFS which requires that the original Tivo drive and new drive be connected at the same time QUOTE]

[aaronwt]

It sounds like there still isnt an option to copy an upgraded 500GB to another Quickview.

[QUOTE=bkdtv]If you want to backup your recordings too, then you need to choose the MFSCopy option in WinMFS which requires that the original Tivo drive and new drive be connected at the same time QUOTE]

Original as in the drive the TiVo is using. You can use MFS to go from the 500GB to something larger.
I went from a 250GB to a 500GB to a 750GB to a 1000GB just fine.