S3 Green Screen: Question...

[Gerhard]

Ok,

So awhile ago (months ago) I added an Antec external enclosure and a Hitachi 500GB drive [non-DVR type] to my S3.

(It might have been in Feb 07 or so...)

Anyway, today we were watching a show and the S3 stopped in the middle of it after jitters and then rebooted.

Upon the reboot I got a green screen, which lasted for about 15min and then the unit booted as normal.

This happened twiece in a row on the same show.

I removed the external drive, downloaded Hitchi DFT 4.11 and ran an check on the external drive. That drive appears to be fine.

My next step will be to run a check on the internal drive.

If the drive fails, then I'm curious as to what my options are?

Are there any images of the S3 OS out there, or am I really just hosed since my S3 is out of warranty?

I suspect that I'll find problems with the internal drive, as that seems to be more typical with green screens... However: Is there anything else that would cause this??

Gerhard

[tivochiguy]

This sounds very similar to the issue I had. I also have a post in this forum about it that no one responded to.

[pl1]

If the drive fails, then I'm curious as to what my options are?Are there any images of the S3 OS out there, or am I really just hosed since my S3 is out of warranty?There should be no problem taking and image from your existing (failing) internal hdd. Even if your TiVo IS acting up due to a failing drive, it is usually good enough to get an image off of (from a PC). If not, instacake. http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/instantcake.cfm

EDIT: Bonus if you can take an image of your old drive. You won't need to have your cableCARDs re-paired.

[Gerhard]

Cool. I'm running the drive check on the Tivo drive right now. We'll see how it works!

The Tivo IS working just fine at this point... It's not like when the S2 failed and I was lucky enough (at the time) to find an image.

Gerhard

[lafos]

Back up the image while you have the drive out of the TiVo. Never hurts to be prepared.

[Gerhard]

Yeah, I couldn't get the system to boot and detect the drives under Linux with my uber workstation. (2 Opterons, 16GB RAM, nVidia Pro, system...) I think the version of Linux that MFSTools is based on can't handle the chipset.

So I took a shot an created a backup using WinMFS... and it seems to work fairly well.

I made a backup of the original, and I did a direct copy to another drive.

The scan of the Tivo drive didn't show any actual problems. So it was clearly something else causing the green screen.

I wonder if it's possible that the eSATA cable that came with the Antec external case was the issue?

I guess it doesn't matter, as I ordered a WD 750GB AV drive... and that's going to give me the storage I had before for $150.00.

Honestly, I'm really not understanding why people would pay $400-$550 for an upgrade drive.

[bkdtv]

I wonder if it's possible that the eSATA cable that came with the Antec external case was the issue?Many have had problems with the Antec cable, yes. That's why the FAQ stickied at the top of the forum recommends that you buy another cable.

[Gerhard]

Many have had problems with the Antec cable, yes. That's why the FAQ stickied at the top of the forum recommends that you buy another cable.

I did read that thread, and considering that there were no errors with the full drive test... that would have to be the weak link.

I didn't modify the S3 earlier because it was still new, but now I think I'll just slap a 750 in there and be done with it.