best way to revive a series 1

[briang5]

Hello,


I have a friend who has a series 1 with lifetime support. The hard drive just died and he wants to get the unit up and running.

He knows he can buy a preconfigured hard drive from 9th tee or weakknees, but the prices seem high relative to what the price would be of a unformated hard drive.

What are the other options ?

From a cursory look at a few threads it appeared he could-


1- Try to find an image and then use that image with free software to get up and running.

2- Instakake software which is 20 bucks, but appears to remove the element of having to find an image on line, and if you believe the web site, makes the whole processes easier than a total do it yourself job.


Also, is there any sort of size limit for the hard drives on series 1 ? I recall on my series 2 there was an LBA48 issue that was resolved by a software upgrade, but I dont know what the deal is for the series 1.

One last question.... Didnt this forum used to have the Hindsdale instructions as a sticky ?


Thanks

[rbtravis]

The best solution is Instantcake from www.DVRupgrade.com. It has the LBA48 boot and can use any size drive. I recommend: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136185
You don't have to search for images and you will be up and running in less than 1 hour. That is the best solution. If you want to go to a lot more work go to Mfslive.org, get the updated CD with the tool set. Go to the upgrade forum and see if you can get an upgraded Image with LBA48 and load it yourself. I personally believe you will spend a lot more than $19.99 worth of time trying to save money versus a tried and true solution. Whatever your choice Good Luck. :)