TIVO freezes when connected to cable

[ss668]

have had my series 3 for about 2 years and recently It started freezing whenever I switch to any HD channels on either cablecard. As soon as I remove the cable, the TIVO unit works fine. I can view recorded shows, check status, etc. I have had the line tested and swapped the cablecards several times. The signal is coming in from the street very well. The SNR was coming in at 35 so I added a splitter to drop it down to 32, but this hasn't helped. Comcast put their box on the line and it had no issues with the HD channels or any others. Does anyone know what's going on with this situation?

[NSX]

I had the same symptoms earlier this year. It was a hard drive that was failing.

See my post (and others) here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6148638#post6148638).

It's still running like a champ 5 months later.

[cahoon]

Since August, I've been having lots of stuttering and picture freezing issues on only the HD channels (Tivo HD with WD Expander and Time Warner). Also, noticed Tivo was slow to respond to remote when on HD channels.

Tivo customer service said that either the signal is too strong or too weak, and suggested trying a signal booster, diplexor, low-pass filter, and attenuators. I tried it all, but nothing seemed to work.

I suspected maybe a hard drive problem, but was reluctant to risk losing existing recordings. After I read this thread, I decided to replace my hard drive, and see what happens. I used WinMFS to set-up a new 1 TB internal drive. I lost my existing recordings since I couldn't figure out how to copy from internal+eSata to a larger internal, but now my Tivo is back to working again!

Just wanted to say thanks since it was the advice in this thread that motivated my to try a new drive.

-- Brendon

[SteveHCMM]

What do you experts recommend?

I just got off the phone with TiVo. They want me to swap my series 3 for another unit. Since I am out of warranty (purchased 01/07) they want to charge me $150 for the unit at $199 to transfer my lifetime service...
While that is much less than a new setup, it is still over $350 with shipping.

If it is truly the hard drive I can fix it and get a higher capacity for under $200. Only problem with that is if it doesn't fix it then I can no longer do the swap with TiVo.

My TiVo freezes constantly and reboots when the coax cable is plugged in. I ran a KS 54 and drive came back fine. I unplugged cable cards and freezing did not stop.

I can watch existing recordings, navigate all menus and watch broadband content fine, as long as the cable is not plugged in.

Please help me decide. I would hate to install a new HD and have that not fix the problem.

Thanks,
Steve

[lessd]

What do you experts recommend?

I just got off the phone with TiVo. They want me to swap my series 3 for another unit. Since I am out of warranty (purchased 01/07) they want to charge me $150 for the unit at $199 to transfer my lifetime service...
While that is much less than a new setup, it is still over $350 with shipping.

If it is truly the hard drive I can fix it and get a higher capacity for under $200. Only problem with that is if it doesn't fix it then I can no longer do the swap with TiVo.

My TiVo freezes constantly and reboots when the coax cable is plugged in. I ran a KS 54 and drive came back fine. I unplugged cable cards and freezing did not stop.

I can watch existing recordings, navigate all menus and watch broadband content fine, as long as the cable is not plugged in.

Please help me decide. I would hate to install a new HD and have that not fix the problem.

Thanks,
Steve

WOW if you purchased the TiVo new on Jan 07 that less than the three years, TiVo has told people that the Lifetime will be xfer free within the first three years on any TiVo repair, if you purchased the TiVo used that would be a different story. If TiVo has changed its policy again about Lifetime Service I think we would all like to know.

[SteveHCMM]

WOW if you purchased the TiVo new on Jan 07 that less than the three years, TiVo has told people that the Lifetime will be xfer free within the first three years on any TiVo repair, if you purchased the TiVo used that would be a different story. If TiVo has changed its policy again about Lifetime Service I think we would all like to know.

I purchased a Series 2 in 2003 with a lifetime and transferred it to the Series 3 during a promotion when the S3's first came out.

[Yenster]

What do you experts recommend?

I just got off the phone with TiVo. They want me to swap my series 3 for another unit. Since I am out of warranty (purchased 01/07) they want to charge me $150 for the unit at $199 to transfer my lifetime service...
While that is much less than a new setup, it is still over $350 with shipping.

If it is truly the hard drive I can fix it and get a higher capacity for under $200. Only problem with that is if it doesn't fix it then I can no longer do the swap with TiVo.

My TiVo freezes constantly and reboots when the coax cable is plugged in. I ran a KS 54 and drive came back fine. I unplugged cable cards and freezing did not stop.

I can watch existing recordings, navigate all menus and watch broadband content fine, as long as the cable is not plugged in.

Please help me decide. I would hate to install a new HD and have that not fix the problem.

Thanks,
Steve

I just went through this exact same problem...constant video stuttering and freezing...menus not responsive. And I noticed that if I unplugged the antenna cable then everything worked (except of course no live cable feed), I could navigate the menus and watch previously recorded video. My S3 was bought in 10/06 so no warranty either, and Tivo support offered the same deal to send it in for repair.

The problem is that the disk drive isn't completely failed, but failed enough that it can't handle the constant recording that happens when the cable is connected (meaning when cable is not connected, the disk isn't busy recording anymore).

My solution was to buy (and expand capacity) a 750 GB disk kit from Weaknees. I ordered the kit on Tuesday with 2-day delivery...got it and installed it Thursday night....and the problem was gone (and I got more than 3 times the original capacity).

My only issue now is that the external WD disk expander doesn't work anymore. This is a known effect and I'm on this forum to see how to 'marry' it again.

[SteveHCMM]

I haven't taken my S3 apart. Is there a seal or something that will be damaged if I do?

I'd love to try a new drive out, but don't want to be stuck with an expensive brick if that does not work.

[SteveHCMM]

New hard drive fixed it. Replaced it about 10 days ago and it has been running great!