TishTash
10-20-2009, 03:24 PM
Something odd happened: I have a TiVo HD with an external hard drive. The case the drive uses has an extremely bright blue light indicating power is on. One day, I noticed the power light off; no big deal, since I've had indicator lights blow out or disconnect over time, with no implications for the drive's data itself.
But when I tried to play a program (a recent one, implying at least some of it might be on the external drive), the screen went blank (and my heart sank). (I'm not sure why the TiVo didn't explicitly protest the absence of an external storage device; it might be that this particular TiVo isn't hooked up to a cable signal.)
So I turned everything off and on, and low and behold, everything worked: The TiVo recognized the drive, and programs old and new played. Two things though:
1) The bright blue light is extremely dim. It's almost like there is a power attenuation, which I'm guessing allows the drive to function, but tenuously and unstably at best.
2) A light tap (even by accident) to the drive's case blinks out the power light, and I'm assuming the drive. (This might be what led the initial absence of the light.)
Needless to say, despite the drive being revived, I hesitate to let this remain the status quo. I'm getting a new case (and new power supply) for the external drive, and hoping for not much (if any) hard drive damage.
Anyone experience this, or maybe know what might be the culprit? Thanks!
But when I tried to play a program (a recent one, implying at least some of it might be on the external drive), the screen went blank (and my heart sank). (I'm not sure why the TiVo didn't explicitly protest the absence of an external storage device; it might be that this particular TiVo isn't hooked up to a cable signal.)
So I turned everything off and on, and low and behold, everything worked: The TiVo recognized the drive, and programs old and new played. Two things though:
1) The bright blue light is extremely dim. It's almost like there is a power attenuation, which I'm guessing allows the drive to function, but tenuously and unstably at best.
2) A light tap (even by accident) to the drive's case blinks out the power light, and I'm assuming the drive. (This might be what led the initial absence of the light.)
Needless to say, despite the drive being revived, I hesitate to let this remain the status quo. I'm getting a new case (and new power supply) for the external drive, and hoping for not much (if any) hard drive damage.
Anyone experience this, or maybe know what might be the culprit? Thanks!