My Receiver Sticks!! Any Suggestions?

[preuhs66]

Just wonder if anyone else has had this problem. I have a regular Tivo. It was a refurbished model so that may be the problem. But I am told when they are refurbished they are checked over pretty good and they are suppossed to be in good shape. Anyway, my Tivo sticks more than it doesn't. I can barely get through a program without having to deal with it sticking constantly. It is very annoying. Just wondering if anyone has a solution or has had this problem. Or do you think it just has to do with it being a refurbished model. Thanks in advance.

[RonDawg]

You will need to give us more info. What do you mean by "sticks constantly?" Is it unresponsive to the remote? Is the picture freezing or pausing unexpectedly? Is the interface too slow?

[preuhs66]

Yes it freezes and pauses all the time. Sorry I was afraid i didn't explain it too good.

[ZeoTiVo]

it sounds like a hard drive going bad on you. How long ago did you buy the refurb?

The good news is, if you are not doing some warranty repair then it is fairly easy to swap out the drive and put in a bigger one. Search around this forum or ask here if you need to go down a fix it yourself path. Personally it is what I would do since you can get a decent big hard drive for under 100$.

Oh - the first thing you would need to tell us in asking is what model of TiVo DVR you have

[preuhs66]

The only thing I saw on the box was TIVO 80 GB DVR. I got it a while ago. It has been this way since I got it so should I assume the hard drive was bad from the beginning? Where would I find the model? And if I replaced the hard drive would it affect my lifetime subscription?

[dwit]

The only thing I saw on the box was TIVO 80 GB DVR. I got it a while ago. It has been this way since I got it so should I assume the hard drive was bad from the beginning? Where would I find the model? And if I replaced the hard drive would it affect my lifetime subscription?

Check the system info in the menus. The entire Tivo Service number will indicate the model number for anyone familiar with Tivos, or at least enough so as to be able to offer more help(possibly).

[preuhs66]

The service number is 002-0000-1208-4687. Hope that helps.

[scandia101]

The service number is 002-0000-1208-4687. Hope that helps.
The stuttering problem described is indicative of a failing hard drive, no matter what model tivo is in question. I believe that a service number that starts with 002 is a Philips series 1 TiVo.

[GoHokies!]

The stuttering problem described is indicative of a failing hard drive, no matter what model tivo is in question. I believe that a service number that starts with 002 is a Philips series 1 TiVo.
Google backs that up - if it's a Series 1, it never came from the factory with more than 60 hours (that I could find online).

If that's truly what it is, and the OP bought it from Tivo, the unit is old enough that refurb/no refurb doesn't have anything to do with it at this point.

Definitely swap in a new hard drive (or upgrade to a newer model!).

[preuhs66]

I would switch to a new one but I am trying to avoid that because I paid the lifetime subscription on this one. It does have 80 hours capability on it. I know that for sure. anyway, if I were to switch out the hard drive would that affect the lifetime subscription and how would I go about doing it? Is it something that one could do themselves.

[ZeoTiVo]

I would switch to a new one but I am trying to avoid that because I paid the lifetime subscription on this one. It does have 80 hours capability on it. I know that for sure. anyway, if I were to switch out the hard drive would that affect the lifetime subscription and how would I go about doing it? Is it something that one could do themselves.

lifetime subscriptin is tiedto the TiVo Serial Number which is a chip in the motherboard.

Replacing the hard drive will have no effect on your lifetime sub. Visit the uupgrade and undergorund forums here for more info on hard drive swapping. Do a search for "Hinsdale" He wrote a set of instructions on doing a hard drive swap. Also do a search on "WinMFS"

you can also check out the ads on this page. They are forum sponsors that have been selling preformatted drives for TiVos for quite some time. I have no affiliation with them nor have I bought from them myself but they can supply a drive that you simply replace in the TiVo and turn on.

[GoHokies!]

I've bought a Weakness drive and used it (yes, I'm lazy and could have done it myself).

If the above methods look too intimidating, then I would recommend Weakness - if you can use a screwdriver, you can swap the drives in about 5 minutes.

Like Zeo said, the lifetime is tied to the motherboard, so you're good there.

By chance, when did you purchase your lifetime? There's a (slim) chance that based on the date, you can transfer it to a new unit for free. Do a search around here for free lifetime transfer, I think that it's November of 1999 or 2000.

Edit: OK, I'm lazy, but not that lazy - here's a thread that talks about it - 21 January 2000 seems to be the date.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=382500&highlight=free+lifetime+transfer

The $199 transfer up to October 2003 was a limited time promotion that has expired (to the best of my (limited) knowledge).