Inexpensive Hard Drive Replacement Options...

[spicolte]

I was curious how inexpensively I could replace the Hard Drive in my Sony SAT T60.

The drive appears to have failed (I have another post where I state it won't go past the screen, "almost there, just a few more seconds" before it restarts all over again).

I'd like to know:

1. Will I be able to transfer my shows off this failing drive?

2. Can I do surgery on this drive and put in a hard drive taken from a zip drive or portable hard drive used for my PC. (I have a bunch of these hard drives around the house, so it would be nice to be able to use one of those instead of purchasing a new drive.)

Also...I have a good friend who works in IT, and is very talented. He has worked on Tivo's in the past, and I am confident he can do just about anything...provided it is possible.

3. I've searched the forums, and wasn't able to get an exact answer, but it appears that software can be loaded onto the new hard drives so that they will be able to talk with the Tivo. If this is the case, then I assume any hard drive can be formatted to work with the Tivo. Is this an incorrect assumption?

[litzdog911]

1. It depends on how bad the drive has failed. Odds are not good, though. Some folks have reported good luck with the SpinRite hard drive repair software, but it's not cheap (~$90).

2. Not sure what you mean by "surgery". Your T60 uses a standard IDE/PATA hard drive.

3. Yes. Check out these links for the tools you'll need. If your old drive is too far gone, you'll need a new Tivo image file (InstantCake link).

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=25

http://www.weaknees.com/index.html

http://tivo.upgrade-instructions.com/

http://www.mfslive.org/

http://www.newreleasesvideo.com/hinsdale-how-to/

http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/instantcake.cfm

http://www.9thtee.com/

[mr.unnatural]

Before you do anything, check the small ribbon cable between the power supply and the mainboard. You'll need to remove the drive rack to access it. The cable is press-fitted into the connectors at each and and can be removed with a gentle tug. Clean the contacts on both ends using a clean pencil eraser. Flip the cable end for end and reinsert it. You may need a pair of needle-nosed pliers to assist you with the insertion as the cable has a tendency to bend if you apply too much pressure.

Put everything back together and test it to see if it boots. If it still hangs up then try it again. You may have to repeat the process several times before it works. This ribbon cable is notorious for all sorts of problems with the S1 DTivos. If you're still having problems then run a diagnostic on the drive to see if the drive is actually at fault. If it fails then you may still be able to recover the data from the drive using SpinRite. Otherwise, you'll need to replace the drive using a known good backup image.

[spicolte]

Given that I picked up a replacement Satellite Tivo (Hughes GXCEBOT) on ebay cheaply & is working well...should I cut my losses on this box and get rid of it?

I hear other folks on this forum talk about their older satellite tivo boxes becoming no good after 2009. Is this SAT T60 incompatible with whatever digital change over is to happen that year? If it is, then I assume my newly acquired GXCEBOT will also be obsolete at that point...correct?

Lastly, is there any hope of selling this Sony SAT T60 with the bad hard drive? Would folks on this list be interested? If so...where do you post such a thing?

[stevel]

I don't know what you're reading regarding 2009, but there is no known change coming that would affect your standard-definition DirecTV TiVo box. The 2009 digital changeover affects off-the-air broadcasts only. Satellite and cable users are NOT affected.

If the box is otherwise working you can just replace the hard drive. If the drive is readable, you might even be able to preserve the recordings, though a bad hard drive may cause other corruption that will follow you on the new disk.

This forum does not have a "for sale" section. eBay is the usual choice, but I think the market for series 1 DTiVos is extremely limited.

[classicsat]

If those USB HDDs are at least 40GB, chances are they will have a suitable drive inside. You just would need to copy the original drive over, with mfstools or other Tivo compatible software.