Drive upgrades in a Premiere unit?

[richsadams]

Hey All - my Premiere is on the way and should be here on Monday. I'm looking for advice as to whether I wait a little while before upgrading the hard drive, or if I just do it right away?
Obviously downside to upgrading straight away will be the loss of the warranty.

Thanks in advance.See my response to more-or-less the same question a few days ago…

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8147281#post8147281

Enjoy your new TiVo!

[akaussie]

See my response to more-or-less the same question a few days ago…

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8147281#post8147281

Enjoy your new TiVo!

Thanks Rich! I'm actually just up the road from you in Multnomah Village/SW PDX.
Your advice sounds good to me and was along the lines I was thinking.
-Bill

[rdangel]

Can anyone recommend a free way to share or transfer my 2gb image? MobileMe isn't cutting it and some have a problem with me using a file transfer service.thx

[richsadams]

Can anyone recommend a free way to share or transfer my 2gb image? MobileMe isn't cutting it and some have a problem with me using a file transfer service.thxMediaFire

http://www.mediafire.com/

[richsadams]

Thanks Rich! I'm actually just up the road from you in Multnomah Village/SW PDX.
Your advice sounds good to me and was along the lines I was thinking.
-BillSmall world…there are actually quite a few of us from the NW here. So you're in good to questionable company. ;)

[tgrim1]

I think that if you replaced it right away, and later put the original back in it and sent it back, wouldn't they notice that it hasn't received any updates?

[comer]

I think that if you replaced it right away, and later put the original back in it and sent it back, wouldn't they notice that it hasn't received any updates?

Tivo knows that you put a new disk to begin with :) It's connected to the net. So point is moot when you do it the second time. But point is also that Tivo has not prosecuted anybody for just replacing the disk, yet. Call it "gray area". ;)

[Shagger]

My Tivo Premiere is coming today, but I was going to go hold off on the 2TB upgrade until after I am sure that the family is happy with it. I have Comcast coming out on Monday for the Cablecard install. Is it better to do the drive upgrade AFTER the cable card install or before?

[comer]

My Tivo Premiere is coming today, but I was going to go hold off on the 2TB upgrade until after I am sure that the family is happy with it. I have Comcast coming out on Monday for the Cablecard install. Is it better to do the drive upgrade AFTER the cable card install or before?

Pretty much the same question: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8146297#post8146297
In short - after :)

[Mike Wolf]

From the sticky at the top of the forum:

Why not just crack open the dvr expander, and pop in a larger TB AV hard drive?

[Shagger]

Pretty much the same question: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8146297#post8146297
In short - after :)
In the words of Montgomery Burns, "Excellent!" :cool:

[richsadams]

Why not just crack open the dvr expander, and pop in a larger TB AV hard drive?:confused: If you mean open a WD My DVR Expander and swap in a different hard drive it won't work as TiVo recognizes "authorized" hard drives by the exact hard drive model number (the enclosure really doesn't make any difference). The current WD My DVR Expanders are 1TB so maybe you meant 2TB? To add to that, based on numerous posts elsewhere, opening the DVR Expander's case generally ruins it. Anyway a nice thought, but a non-starter.

[rdangel]

MediaFire

http://www.mediafire.com/

Unfortunately the free mediafire maxes out at 200MB. Anyone have an account where I can put a 2GB image file?

[richsadams]

Unfortunately the free mediafire maxes out at 200MB. Anyone have an account where I can put a 2GB image file?Forgot about that w/the freebie account. :(

[comer]

Unfortunately the free mediafire maxes out at 200MB. Anyone have an account where I can put a 2GB image file?

You can break your file in pieces, with RAR for example.
There's filehosting.org with no size limit, but also requires email to send a download link.
Also check here The 5 Best Free File Hosting Services To Store Your Files (http://www.smashingapps.com/2008/08/28/5-best-free-file-hosting-services-to-store-your-files.html)

[richsadams]

That doesn't really make any sense, you say that TiVo recigizes the exact hard drive model number, in what way? Hard drive model number for the internal drive, or of the exapander drive, because the expander drive model number is identical to the retail internal drive on store shelves. I'm pretty sure TiVo doesn't have a master list of every single DVR expander hard drive sold by western digital to authentication.
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=615 This is the exact same hard drive found in both the My DVR expander drive and the My Book AV DVR expander. I think we're talking about two different things. If you're suggesting simply opening a WD My DVR Expander, removing the hard drive and inserting it inside a TiVo Premiere (or any other TiVo for that matter) that would work providing you went through the upgrade process prior to that as of course there's no OS on the expansion drive and it would be treated as a blank/new drive.

With respect to TiVo's hard drives, no TiVo does not "recognize" internal drives as such. However, yes, TiVo does in fact recognize external hard drives by their model number and will only accept the "approved" My DVR Expander and the My DVR AV Expander series. The eSATA drives are identified by TiVo's software. That's why you cannot connect any other eSATA drive to a TiVo HD, HDXL, Premiere or Premiere XL via plug and play except the approved WD My DVR Expander line. They are purposefully limited to avoid support issues. In other words, if you were to put an off the shelf drive in any enclosure (including the WD My DVR Expander enclosure) and connected it to anything other than the original TiVo Series3 it would not function. The only way that can be accomplished is to pull the TiVo OEM drive and connect it to a computer along with the additional drive and marry them using the MFSLive program.

Additional information about expansion drives, upgrades, etc. can be found in this FAQ:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5616160#post5616160.

When I said crack it open and put in a larger capacity TB drive, I was referring to the 2TB drive I just linked you to.

Don't know how one could ruin it if its known how to take the case off and not touch anything inside. :pI was referring to the damage caused when you crack open a WD MY DVR Expander enclosure, not a TiVo of course.

Does anyone actually know the exact hard drive used in the TiVo Premiere and Premiere XL? By which I mean model number and brand?Yes, the TiVo Premiere uses the WD320AVVS and the Premiere XL uses the WD10EVVS.

Although it's not conveniently in one place, all of the info you're looking for can usually be found on the TCF using the search function.

[jaredmwright]

You could utilize something like HFS if you are comfortable setting up port forwarding. I use it and it is quite simple and very powerful. You simply run the executable and set up the folder you want to share with permissions and users . It might take 5 minutes at most to setup.

http://www.rejetto.com/hfs/?f=intro

[Mike Wolf]

rich your model numbers don't match up to WD's site. Please check the numbers.

[richsadams]

rich your model numbers don't match up to WD's site. Please check the numbers.I have no idea what you're talking about…again. The model numbers of what, the hard drives in TiVo's? Those hard drive numbers listed in my earlier post (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8151731#post8151731) are the hard drive model numbers with which those particular TiVo's were built. There's nothing for me to check, I have the TiVo's in front of me. :confused: You're going to have to do a better job of clarifying your posts.

[Mike Wolf]

I have no idea what you're talking about…again. The model numbers of what, the hard drives in TiVo's? Those hard drive numbers listed in my earlier post (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8151731#post8151731) are the hard drive model numbers with which those particular TiVo's were built. There's nothing for me to check, I have the TiVo's in front of me. :confused: You're going to have to do a better job of clarifying your posts.

You posted the model numbers of the hard drives, and listed them by series. I put them into a search on western digital's site, and they came up as invalid. I then did a search for them online, and they also came up as invalid. I don't know why you mention having a TiVo in front of you unless you opened it and are reading off the model number of the drive.

[comer]

Let's not split hairs, shall we? :)
For the sake of clarity:
XL: WD10EVVS (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=592)
vulgaris: WD3200AVVS (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=595)

[richsadams]

You posted the model numbers of the hard drives, and listed them by series. I put them into a search on western digital's site, and they came up as invalid. I then did a search for them online, and they also came up as invalid. I don't know why you mention having a TiVo in front of you unless you opened it and are reading off the model number of the drive.Some of these drives are not on WD's site because they were never available to the public. As a matter of fact, yes I do in fact have them in front of me…and so do thousands of others here and yes we are in fact reading the model number off of the drive.

FWIW, and I don't know why I waste my time on these things, but I just did a Google search for every drive TiVo uses (as listed on this post (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8152126#post8152126)) and found every single one of them. I also did your homework for you by linking every drive to a website where it can be purchased. You can thank me later.

Or it's all a big conspiracy to lie to newbies so they can't get into the club. :rolleyes:

[EdH]

You could utilize something like HFS...
http://www.rejetto.com/hfs/?f=intro

That looked interesting so I installed it and, so far, I like it.

But I can't get to the forum at http://www.rejetto.com/forum/index.php?action=register

There's a register button there but it doesn't do anything. Are you able to get in?

Thanks,

Ed

[keenanSR]

Can anyone recommend a free way to share or transfer my 2gb image? MobileMe isn't cutting it and some have a problem with me using a file transfer service.thx

If you're familiar with bit-torrent usage that's an extremely easy way to transfer large files.

[dvr_dude]

...
FWIW, and I don't know why I waste my time on these things, but I just did a Google search for every drive TiVo uses (as listed on this post (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8152126#post8152126)) and found every single one of them. I also did your homework for you by linking every drive to a website where it can be purchased. You can thank me later.

Or it's all a big conspiracy to lie to newbies so they can't get into the club. :rolleyes:Perhaps it would eliminate some confusion if you fixed the model number in your original post:
...
TiVo Premiere = WD320AVVS (http://www.buytech.com/p-810934-western-digital-av-gp-wd320avvs-hard-drive.aspx)
...
The actual model number is WD3200AVVS.

[richsadams]

Perhaps it would eliminate some confusion if you fixed the model number in your original post:

The actual model number is WD3200AVVS.Good catch…although the link was to the correct drive. Thanks.

[dvr_dude]

Good catch…although the link was to the correct drive. Thanks.True, but the links weren't there originally, and when someone politely asked you to check them (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8152508#post8152508), you responded with this fairly harsh reply: I have no idea what you're talking about…again. The model numbers of what, the hard drives in TiVo's? Those hard drive numbers listed in my earlier post (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8151731#post8151731) are the hard drive model numbers with which those particular TiVo's were built. There's nothing for me to check, I have the TiVo's in front of me. :confused: You're going to have to do a better job of clarifying your posts.Perhaps we could all use a review of forum decorum (http://www.suite101.com/blog/lima101/web_writing_101_observing_forum_decorum)?

[richsadams]

True, but the links weren't there originally, and when someone politely asked you to check them (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8152508#post8152508), you responded with this fairly harsh reply: Perhaps we could all use a review of forum decorum (http://www.suite101.com/blog/lima101/web_writing_101_observing_forum_decorum)?My reply may sound harsh in a vacuum, but if you take the time to read the rest of the OP's posts…including identical questions cross posted on three different threads, plus the many additional incomplete and incorrect posts he made you'd have the actual context of the situation leading to the answer that I gave. You should also read my earlier responses to the OP wherein I feel that I took an inordinate amount of time to guide someone that had only been on this forum a few days toward becoming a valued part of the community…advice that was ignored for the most part.

[zordude]

Any specific drives to look for/avoid as far as WD Green/Black/AV for upgrading a Premiere? Do you still need to do the Intellipark fix for drives going into a Premiere?

Z

[richsadams]

Any specific drives to look for/avoid as far as WD Green/Black/AV for upgrading a Premiere? Do you still need to do the Intellipark fix for drives going into a Premiere?

ZSee my answer to a similar question from a few pages back...

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8146832#post8146832

Adjusting the Intellipark feature on WD drives depends on the manufacture date. Based on numerous posts it appears that drives manufactured after the first week of August or so no longer require it. So it really depends on the drive.

Here's more information on an "automated" process for the Premiers...

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=455968

Happy upgrading!

[zordude]

Thanks Richsadams, I actually did look but didn't see your earlier post, it wasn't even that far back :)

I will probably do as you suggest, the price is not all that much more.

Z

[richsadams]

I will probably do as you suggest, the price is not all that much more.

ZThat was kind of my take on it. Thanks to TCF member Comer the whole process is almost turn-key. :up:

If you find time, can you post the manufacture date of the hard drive you receive and if you had to adjust the Intellipark feature? TIA.

[akaussie]

That was kind of my take on it. Thanks to TCF member Comer the whole process is almost turn-key. :up:

If you find time, can you post the manufacture date of the hard drive you receive and if you had to adjust the Intellipark feature? TIA.

As an FYI, the 2TB Western Digital WD20EARS Caviar Green Desktop Hard Drive is on sale from Amazon for $92.99
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Intellipower-Desktop-WD20EARS/dp/B002ZCXK0I/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1285601069&sr=1-1

I ordered one from Dell over the weekend, should be here this week and I'll give Comer's process a try.
I am hoping nothing needs to be done regarding the Intellipark. Reading past posts it sounds like it cannot changed/disabled using sata to usb connections, so I'm out of luck there. Fingers are crossed it won't be an issue. Once I've upgraded the drive, if I'm able to reboot at least once without issue, I should be in the clear, correct?
From reading other posts it doesn't sound like it hasn't been a problem, hoping it continues for me.
I'll report back with drive manufacture date, etc once everything is done.

[orangeboy]

A bit off-topic question for you Mr. Adams:
Do you know the System partition sizes for the various TiVo models, or at least the models you've dealt with? Having those sizes would go a long way for kmttg users that want to accurately determine the size to input into the pie chart feature. I'm thinking that (total harddrive size) - (system partition size) = (size to input into kmttg).

You seem to have a pretty good grasp of harddrive replacement, so I figured I'd ask!

[hotoru]

I am having trouble with the download link
http://www.mediafire.com/?znr8p1h4uyn1v
Tried in three different browsers. Chrome and Firefox just seems to ignore, Safari says unable to decompress file. Anyone used the link lately? A trick I am missing?
Thanks,

Trying the cd now. Great job on this comer. I like how you worded it to explicity explain very clearly what you are doing.

I can't wait to fire the new upgraded TiVo up.

[RichB]

As an FYI, the 2TB Western Digital WD20EARS Caviar Green Desktop Hard Drive is on sale from Amazon for $92.99
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Intellipower-Desktop-WD20EARS/dp/B002ZCXK0I/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1285601069&sr=1-1

I ordered one from Dell over the weekend, should be here this week and I'll give Comer's process a try.
I am hoping nothing needs to be done regarding the Intellipark. Reading past posts it sounds like it cannot changed/disabled using sata to usb connections, so I'm out of luck there. Fingers are crossed it won't be an issue. Once I've upgraded the drive, if I'm able to reboot at least once without issue, I should be in the clear, correct?
From reading other posts it doesn't sound like it hasn't been a problem, hoping it continues for me.
I'll report back with drive manufacture date, etc once everything is done.

I have upgraded with this drive and soft rebooted a few times with no issues.
It is buttoned up so I do not know the build date.

- Rich

[comer]

I am having trouble with the download link
http://www.mediafire.com/?znr8p1h4uyn1v
Tried in three different browsers. Chrome and Firefox just seems to ignore, Safari says unable to decompress file. Anyone used the link lately? A trick I am missing?
Thanks,

Just tried it in FF. Works fine :confused:
Do you get an error message? How exactly does it not work?

[jbell73]

As an FYI, the 2TB Western Digital WD20EARS Caviar Green Desktop Hard Drive is on sale from Amazon for $92.99
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Intellipower-Desktop-WD20EARS/dp/B002ZCXK0I/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1285601069&sr=1-1


Thanks for pointing that out! I had just received my Amazon order @ 109.99 with free 2-day prime shipping. A quick inquiry to customer service, and they have refunded me the $17 price difference!

These things are getting cheap! Makes me regret going with 1TB in my first Premiere.

My 2TB Upgrade worked flawlessly from the stock 320GB drive, but when I first tried to expand my 1TB "DVR_Dude" drive (in an effort to maintain the MFSSuperSize option on that drive for 317 Hrs of HD) the drive booted up complaining that I had removed external storage, and it needed to be reconfigured, and then after a couple of reboots still complained about system errors, and only saw 157 Hrs (original 1TB drive size).

All in all, lesson learned, follow processes that have been proven to work, if you venture off the path you may just end up wasting your time.

-Jeff

[aaronwt]

I thought Amazon stopped pricematching except for preordrers?

[comer]

My 2TB Upgrade worked flawlessly from the stock 320GB drive, but when I first tried to expand my 1TB "DVR_Dude" drive (in an effort to maintain the MFSSuperSize option on that drive for 317 Hrs of HD) the drive booted up complaining that I had removed external storage, and it needed to be reconfigured, and then after a couple of reboots still complained about system errors, and only saw 157 Hrs (original 1TB drive size).

Ha! Bullseye! :up: This just proves that those drives use the same technique jmfs does - an extra partition and not the real resize (as it would come from the factory) ;) So when you tried adding another one - it did not sit well with Tivo :) Which also means those drives are limited to 2T in principle.

[jbell73]

I just called and asked. I could have just as easily ordered a new one, and returned the new drive on the old order, but this saves everyone a lot of hassle.

Maybe because of the Prime membership?

[aaronwt]

Ha! Bullseye! :up: This just proves that those drives use the same technique jmfs does - an extra partition and not the real resize (as it would come from the factory) ;) So when you tried adding another one - it did not sit well with Tivo :) Which also means those drives are limited to 2T in principle.

Has anyone tried a 3TB drive yet?

[hotoru]

Just tried it in FF. Works fine :confused:
Do you get an error message? How exactly does it not work?

I finally downloaded file. I was getting yellow box that said "Click here to download file". When I clicked I would initially get a d/l statusbar at bottom for 1-2 sec then would go away. Steps I tried included, disabled adblock, disabled flash block, signed up for account at mediafire. None of those seem to work. Lastly I saved the file to my own mediafire page then clicked that link. That seemed to work... strange.
thanks for help.

[comer]

Has anyone tried a 3TB drive yet?

I haven't. Theoretically, it should work, but up to 2.3T only.

[comer]

Has anyone tried a 3TB drive yet?

Bill McNeal brought a very good point. What about extending TP-XL drives?

Tha answer is - depending on XL drive layout.

Tivo partition is limited in size by 0xFFFFFFFF * 512 = 2T. The only available process right now is to create an additional partition. So maximum additional space that can be gained is 2T.

I haven't been able to get my hand on an image or "mfslayout" printout (that'd be enough to understand). If the factory partitions are large (0.5T each) - than yes, +2T gives total of 3T.
If it's an additional partition on top of non-XL 320G disk (what jmfs and probably DVR_Dude do) - then no.

[Shagger]

UGH - Well I ordered my 2TB drive from Dell and received it today. I specifically stayed away from Newegg since everyone says their 'free shipping' is AWFUL. But the Dell shipping was just the drive box in a larger box. NO F***ING PADDING WHATSOEVER! It was probly rattling around in there all the way from Tennessee. Crap, that blows. Well, I guess I will wait and install it this weekend to see if it even boots. On the upside my cable card install was long but successful. :)

[txporter]

I thought Amazon stopped pricematching except for preordrers?

I ordered a WD20EARS from Amazon last Thursday for $109.99. I tried getting the difference refunded over chat just a few minutes ago with no success. I then called customer service and they said that they are allowed to price match once for an account. I went ahead and did it although I guess I might have been able to save more on a different purchase later. /shrug

[comer]

NO F***ING PADDING WHATSOEVER! It was probly rattling around in there all the way from Tennessee. Crap, that blows. Well, I guess I will wait and install it this weekend to see if it even boots.

Meanwhile you could run WD diagnostic tool on it to make sure it's ok before you begin :)

[Shagger]

Meanwhile you could run WD diagnostic tool on it to make sure it's ok before you begin :)
Yep - doing that now. One more small hiccup - the manufacturer date is Jun 2010. Do I need to disable the Intellipark, and if so, how do I do that? :confused:

[comer]

Yep - doing that now. One more small hiccup - the manufacturer date is Jun 2010. Do I need to disable the Intellipark, and if so, how do I do that? :confused:

Using a utility from WD: wdidle3 (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en)
About parameters see here (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1367904).

[jbell73]

... On the upside my cable card install was long but successful. :)

Really? My Cable Card experiences with Cox Communications have been phenomenal recently. Last visit was maybe 3-5 minutes pop in the M-Card, quick call to their service depot, and then the Cable guy was on his way.

No problems. Original Series 3 and HD took a little longer, but these Premiere's have really just been 5 minute visits.

Maybe I'm lucky, or they are finally figuring the process out.

-JBell73

[jbell73]

Using a utility from WD: wdidle3 (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en)
About parameters see here (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1367904).

My recommendation: Use /S:0 it will then list the feature as disabled. If you use /D it sets it to something like 16 minutes, but it's not truly disabled.

-JBell73

[tcfcameron]

Post retracted due to NDA and other contractual obligations.

[comer]

I have saved copies of all the MFSinfo data for every TiVo HD hard drive I have ever imaged, including stock and the Broflovski image. I'm assuming that is the "mfslayout" data you speak of, since it is all about the layout. I know it's not from a Premiere, but would it help?

Well, I won't be 100% sure until I examine TP-XL layout :) May be richsadams could get a snapshot of mfslayout on his XL drive soon? ;)
Though I think HD-XL should be the same. Do you have that image?

[tcfcameron]

Post retracted due to NDA and other contractual obligations.

[richsadams]

A bit off-topic question for you Mr. Adams:
Do you know the System partition sizes for the various TiVo models, or at least the models you've dealt with? Having those sizes would go a long way for kmttg users that want to accurately determine the size to input into the pie chart feature. I'm thinking that (total harddrive size) - (system partition size) = (size to input into kmttg).

You seem to have a pretty good grasp of harddrive replacement, so I figured I'd ask!Wish I could help you out, but I haven't used MFSlive for a very long time, so I've paid zero attention. A PM to bkdtv might get you the info you need. If not I'm sure Spike at MFSlive.org has the knowledge if you can squeeze it out of him. ;) Or one if the gurus here may come to the rescue.

Best of luck!

[richsadams]

I have upgraded with this drive and soft rebooted a few times with no issues.
It is buttoned up so I do not know the build date.

- RichOh, c'mon Rich...it's only four screws...oh wait, the drive is mounted upside down too...well, can't blame you. ;). Glad you're enjoying your "new" TiVo!

[hotoru]

Using a utility from WD: wdidle3 (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en)
About parameters see here (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1367904).

Was thinking of the WD20EARS from Amazon but doesnt look like would be too easy to do this on a mac. I have an older windows XP and a Ubuntu laptops. I should be able to put drive in a external enclosure and flash firmware via USB on the windows laptop? Or should I stick with WD20EVDS? Is it worth the extra $35?
TIA

[RichB]

Oh, c'mon Rich...it's only four screws...oh wait, the drive is mounted upside down too...well, can't blame you. ;). Glad you're enjoying your "new" TiVo!

I am trying out some new fans in the next few days and then I will get off my duff and get the information :p

- Rich

[alex50]

I am looking to replace my premiere's fan as well. Please let us know what replacement you wind up using. If you know the type of fan we should be using (is it 70mm? what depth? tail?), please do post. Thanks.

I am trying out some new fans in the next few days and then I will get off my duff and get the information :p

- Rich

[orangeboy]

Wish I could help you out, but I haven't used MFSlive for a very long time, so I've paid zero attention. A PM to bkdtv might get you the info you need. If not I'm sure Spike at MFSlive.org has the knowledge if you can squeeze it out of him. ;) Or one if the gurus here may come to the rescue.

Best of luck!

Thank you sir!
I was thinking that one of the harddrive upgrade providers would have the info readily available, but PMs to them have so far gone unanswered. I'll head over to MFSLive.org and try there, as well as giving bkdtv a PM.

[RichB]

I am looking to replace my premiere's fan as well. Please let us know what replacement you wind up using. If you know the type of fan we should be using (is it 70mm? what depth? tail?), please do post. Thanks.

The stock fan is a cofan 50mmx25mm. I cannot find that fan.
It seems to have increased the noise level. It now has a clicking sound.
My other Premieres are much quieter.

The fan uses a two pin connector but you can use a 3 pin fan.

- Rich

[Shagger]

Really? My Cable Card experiences with Cox Communications have been phenomenal recently. Last visit was maybe 3-5 minutes pop in the M-Card, quick call to their service depot, and then the Cable guy was on his way.

No problems. Original Series 3 and HD took a little longer, but these Premiere's have really just been 5 minute visits.

Maybe I'm lucky, or they are finally figuring the process out.

-JBell73
Hmmm - well, I think you already nailed it when you uttered "Cox Communications". :) Comcast is not nearly as skilled at the 'headend' IMO. My installer was up to speed, but either they borked the set up of the 1st cable card or it was bad, since we went through 2. They finally figured it out upstream and all was well.

[Bai Shen]

Hmmm - well, I think you already nailed it when you uttered "Cox Communications". :) Comcast is not nearly as skilled at the 'headend' IMO. My installer was up to speed, but either they borked the set up of the 1st cable card or it was bad, since we went through 2. They finally figured it out upstream and all was well.

Yeah. I never thought I would utter the words "I miss Cox Communications", but Comcast has me doing that almost weekly.

[zordude]

If you find time, can you post the manufacture date of the hard drive you receive and if you had to adjust the Intellipark feature? TIA.

Drive is here, 2TB AV-GP. Manufacture date Aug 5 2010.

How do I test if I need intellipark? Just do the Comer CD, then after it boots up try to initiate a software "Restart the TiVo DVR" ?

Z

[comer]

Drive is here, 2TB AV-GP. Manufacture date Aug 5 2010.

How do I test if I need intellipark? Just do the Comer CD, then after it boots up try to initiate a software "Restart the TiVo DVR" ?

Z

Yes. I would suggest disabling IntelliPark even if it does not hang. On some drives IntelliPark causes Load Cycle Count to increase rapidly beyond warranty threshold. It should have been fixed in firmware by WD, but I think it's safer to just disable it. For details see here: WD and Seagate take steps to fix terabyte drives (http://www.silentpcreview.com/Terabyte_Drive_Fix) and the thread it points to.

[hotoru]

Yes. I would suggest disabling IntelliPark even if it does not hang. On some drives IntelliPark causes Load Cycle Count to increase rapidly beyond warranty threshold. It should have been fixed in firmware by WD.....
Does the WD20EVDS have the intellipark "feature"? I do not see it listed in product description.

[comer]

Does the WD20EVDS have the intellipark "feature"? I do not see it listed in product description.

From WD (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=615): Reduced Power Consumption - WD has reduced power consumption by up to 40 percent compared to competitors' drives with the combination of WD's IntelliSeek, IntelliPark, and IntelliPower technologies.

[cr33p]

Comer
I just upgraded a friends premiere used the new iso disc you set up, awesome work btw. Anyhow, so I copied the drive, expanded, ran guided set up, ran a c&d everything, re ran guided set up, all seems well, tunes, sets up season passes, but wont record? Heard of any issues like this yet?

[comer]

Comer
I just upgraded a friends premiere used the new iso disc you set up, awesome work btw. Anyhow, so I copied the drive, expanded, ran guided set up, ran a c&d everything, re ran guided set up, all seems well, tunes, sets up season passes, but wont record? Heard of any issues like this yet?

So how many times did you expand? I counted 3 :)
I've had some issues like that myself with earlier versions (i.e. during testing) when I created 2 partitions instead of 1. My Tivo actually tried to record, but "hang" in recording state - it showed that two shows are been recorded, but did it forever, never ended and those shows could not be played.

[hotoru]

Reduced Power Consumption - WD has reduced power consumption by up to 40 percent compared to competitors' drives with the combination of WD's IntelliSeek, IntelliPark, and IntelliPower technologies.
[/URL]:

Ahh, sorry, missed that..... Thanks

[hotoru]

Was thinking of the WD20EARS from Amazon but doesnt look like would be too easy to do this on a mac. I have an older windows XP and a Ubuntu laptops. I should be able to put drive in a external enclosure and flash firmware via USB on the windows laptop? Or should I stick with WD20EVDS? Is it worth the extra $35?
TIA

Pulled the trigger and just ordered WD20EARS from Amazon. Should be here tomorrow (Amazon prime :D :up:) hopefully will be able to disable the intellipark using my scrap windows laptop and copy using Comer's voodoo magic CD ;)

[Bill McNeal]

Having some problems connecting the drives using SATA/USB adapter. Do you have to have both drives connected simultaneously for jmfs to see them?

Tested this out using the WD EARS drive expansion drive only connected via SATA/USB adapter to my laptop, booting to comer's CD. I didn't connect the Tivo drive yet, so it was not detected. However, the fdisk -l command did not show the connected expansion 2 TB disk. (There may not be a point for me to get a second SATA/USB adapter to connect the Tivo drive if my jmfs boot CD doesn't recognize even one of them.)

[NYHeel]

Pulled the trigger and just ordered WD20EARS from Amazon. Should be here tomorrow (Amazon prime :D :up:) hopefully will be able to disable the intellipark using my scrap windows laptop and copy using Comer's voodoo magic CD ;)
How would you disable intellipark using a laptop? I thought you needed to use an actual sata connector and not a usb/sata connector.

[comer]

Having some problems connecting the drives using SATA/USB adapter. Do you have to have both drives connected simultaneously for jmfs to see them?

Tested this out using the WD EARS drive expansion drive only connected via SATA/USB adapter to my laptop, booting to comer's CD. I didn't connect the Tivo drive yet, so it was not detected. However, the fdisk -l command did not show the connected expansion 2 TB disk. (There may not be a point for me to get a second SATA/USB adapter to connect the Tivo drive if my jmfs boot CD doesn't recognize even one of them.)

Since you need to copy one disk to another - both must be connected simultaneously.
Did you try a few times to look for 2T drive in a few seconds interval? It takes sometime for system to recognize a new USB connection. Does the native system on that machine see the drive connected? One of reasons could be a bad adapter or connection...

[zordude]

Using wdidle3 1.05 on a WD20EVDS dated August 5 2010:

wdidle3 /S0 gives me a syntax error (just brings up the sytnax help)

wdidle3 /D gave a return of "Idle 3 timer is disabled". Confirmed with wdidle3 /r

Z

[hotoru]

How would you disable intellipark using a laptop? I thought you needed to use an actual sata connector and not a usb/sata connector.
Umm, well now I am not sure. Was hoping I could disable using USB to SATA. I posted question before but no one replied. Any suggestions?

[comer]

Umm, well now I am not sure. Was hoping I could disable using USB to SATA. I posted question before but no one replied. Any suggestions?

I am not sure if you can do it on your laptop, but on mine I simply take out HDD. It's connectors are accessible from outside and they are regular SATA conectors - power and data. To boot from WD tools CD you don't need an internal HDD.

Oh, and I use extention cable like this (http://www.amazon.com/12IN-Micro-Sata-Extension-Cable/dp/B0021SXRDG)

[zordude]

Public Service Announcement:

If you do your upgrade, and after you plug everything in you get no video and all the lights on the front of the TiVo just flash - take a deep breath, open the case again, and plug the hard drive in and try again.

Z

[richsadams]

Umm, well now I am not sure. Was hoping I could disable using USB to SATA. I posted question before but no one replied. Any suggestions?Using wdidle3.exe requires a direct SATA connection, either via the motherboard or some folks have used a PCI/SATA card.

I never thought about pulling the hard drive on a laptop as comer suggests. It's remotely possible that it could work, but I suspect it won't.

That said, it's quite possible that if the drive was manufactured recently you may not need to do anything. The only way to find out would be to upgrade and then try a menu restart. If TiVo hangs at the "Welcome! Powering up..." screen you'd need to find someone with a PC that has a SATA port or you could just live with it I suppose (power cycling TiVo after the occasional update).

[richsadams]

Public Service Announcement:

If you do your upgrade, and after you plug everything in you get no video and all the lights on the front of the TiVo just flash - take a deep breath, open the case again, and plug the hard drive in and try again.

ZBeen there...done that. :o :)

[hotoru]

I am not sure if you can do it on your laptop, but on mine I simply take out HDD. It's connectors are accessible from outside and they are regular SATA conectors - power and data. To boot from WD tools CD you don't need an internal HDD.[/URL]

ahh, thanks for tip. Just so I am clear, you:
remove the laptops 2.5 SATA drive then using the extention cable (http://www.amazon.com/12IN-Micro-Sata-Extension-Cable/dp/B0021SXRDG)
connect the new TiVo 3.5 SATA (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZCXK0I/ref=oss_product)drive to be the laptops new primary.
Then boot from the WD tools (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en) CD in laptop CD Drive.
Using said tool, disable the intellipark feature.
Then attach old TiVo drive via USB/SATA. Reboot laptop using your jmfs live CD (http://www.mediafire.com/?znr8p1h4uyn1v).
It should clone old TiVo HD to New Tivo HD over 2-4 hours per your guide (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=455968). (Does it auto recognize source and destination drives?).
Then I remove the new (2TB) tivo drive, reinstall in Tivo, reboot, and wait for the magic :) (Hopefully my old laptop is SATA).
Thanks for your patience.

[Bai Shen]

Public Service Announcement:

If you do your upgrade, and after you plug everything in you get no video and all the lights on the front of the TiVo just flash - take a deep breath, open the case again, and plug the hard drive in and try again.

Z

:D :up::up:

[Bai Shen]

Am I the only one who keeps reading wdidle as wdiddle?

[comer]

Am I the only one who keeps reading wdidle as wdiddle?

I don't read it, I perceive it as an image :D

[comer]

Just so I am clear, you...

Yep, you got that right :) Good luck! :up:

[jbell73]

Using wdidle3 1.05 on a WD20EVDS dated August 5 2010:

wdidle3 /S0 gives me a syntax error (just brings up the sytnax help)

wdidle3 /D gave a return of "Idle 3 timer is disabled". Confirmed with wdidle3 /r

Z

Good point. The version was I using "WDIDLE3 Version 1.03" and required "/S 0" to get the function to be completely disabled.

It's good to have both options ready to try. I got my version from WD's site about 3 weeks back but it's dated 8/28/2009.

[richsadams]

ahh, thanks for tip. Just so I am clear, you:
remove the laptops 2.5 SATA drive then using the extention cable (http://www.amazon.com/12IN-Micro-Sata-Extension-Cable/dp/B0021SXRDG)
connect the new TiVo 3.5 SATA (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZCXK0I/ref=oss_product)drive to be the laptops new primary.
Then boot from the WD tools (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en) CD in laptop CD Drive.
Using said tool, disable the intellipark feature.
Then attach old TiVo drive via USB/SATA. Reboot laptop using your jmfs live CD (http://www.mediafire.com/?znr8p1h4uyn1v).
It should clone old TiVo HD to New Tivo HD over 2-4 hours per your guide (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=455968). (Does it auto recognize source and destination drives?).
Then I remove the new (2TB) tivo drive, reinstall in Tivo, reboot, and wait for the magic :) (Hopefully my old laptop is SATA).
Thanks for your patience.If you can get that to work you'll join the TiVo Pioneer's Club (most recent inductee was Comer ;) ). Best of luck and let us know how it goes!

[hotoru]

Using wdidle3 1.05 on a WD20EVDS dated August 5 2010:.......
wdidle3 /D gave a return of "Idle 3 timer is disabled". Confirmed with wdidle3 /r
Z

Just noting from WD pageWD page for WDidle3 software (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en)

"This utility is designed to upgrade the firmware of the following hard drives: WD1000FYPS-01ZKB0, WD7500AYPS-01ZKB0, WD7501AYPS-01ZKB0.

CAUTION: Do not attempt to run this software on any hard drives other than what is listed above. Please make sure that the computer system is not turned off during the firmware upgrade. Doing so may damage the hard drive beyond repair and your data may be lost."

Noticed that WD20EARS is not on the list. Is your WD20EARS working after using the WDidle3?
Thanks,

[hotoru]

... To boot from WD tools CD you don't need an internal HDD....

Ok, I have the WDEARS 2TB Drive. I dug up an old case with MOBO and CD drive. I am having trouble booting to a CD to run the WDidle3 (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en) program. I think I have a BIOS problem with the old box as I am getting a CMS checksum error and the bios is having trouble recognizing the SATA drive.

The WDidle3 (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en) page indicates you need to boot to a CD or floppy. Does the WD Lifeguard CD (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=608&sid=30&lang=en) allow you to access a command prompt? Or do I need a Win 95/DOS bootable CD? If I can boot to WD CD and get command prompt then I could probably plug in the WD20EARS drive using an external eSATA plug and it should work to flash.... maybe :confused: :)
Thanks,

[comer]

Does the WD Lifeguard CD allow you to access a command prompt? Or do I need a Win 95/DOS bootable CD?

I think floppy is your best bet in this regards. They always start their utility automatically, but changing autoexec.bat on a floppy is very easy. Also, there are a number of DOS disks on http://www.bootdisk.com/, check them out, may help.

If I can boot to WD CD and get command prompt then I could probably plug in the WD20EARS drive using an external eSATA plug and it should work to flash.... maybe :confused: :)
Thanks,

It should. You will also need to power your drive.

[retiredqwest]

Anyone try this software with a S3 or THD?? Or will it not work.... or blow up later.

[richsadams]

Anyone try this software with a S3 or THD?? Or will it not work.... or blow up later.I tried running it with a Series3 OEM drive and the programg didn't recognize the hard drive. It did recognize my Premiere XL's hard drive however so it doesn't look like it will work with an S3 at least.

[retiredqwest]

I tried running it with a Series3 OEM drive and the programg didn't recognize the hard drive. It did recognize my Premiere XL's hard drive however so it doesn't look like it will work with an S3 at least.

It worked for me on my THD 160 gigger to a Seagate 1.5 TB. Booted up and showed 215 hrs HD.

Its running right now to a 2TB.....

will report back later....

[retiredqwest]

And I really meant to leave this in this thread.... http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=455968

Thought I did....

If an Admin wants to move this as this conversation has nothing to do with S4.

Either way I'll continue over there.

Scotty

[zordude]

Just noting from WD pageWD page for WDidle3 software (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en)



Noticed that WD20EARS is not on the list. Is your WD20EARS working after using the WDidle3?
Thanks,

I don't have a WD20EARS, I have a WD20EVDS, and yes it is working fine. When I booted the cd the idle timeout was the default (8) and now it is "DISABLED".

Z

[comer]

I don't have a WD20EARS, I have a WD20EVDS, and yes it is working fine. When I booted the cd the idle timeout was the default (8) and now it is "DISABLED".

Z

15EARS worked here as well.

[jbell73]

I don't have a WD20EARS, I have a WD20EVDS, and yes it is working fine. When I booted the cd the idle timeout was the default (8) and now it is "DISABLED".

Z

WD20EARS and WD10EARS both worked fine with this application, but version 1.03. I'm sure either version would work fine when used as described earlier in this thread.

I think this is just a CYA maneuver from WD.

-JBell73

[kturcotte]

WD20EARS and WD10EARS both worked fine with this application, but version 1.03. I'm sure either version would work fine when used as described earlier in this thread.

I think this is just a CYA maneuver from WD.

-JBell73

The 2TB EVDS drives work just fine too right?

[jbell73]

... I have a WD20EVDS, and yes it is working fine. When I booted the cd the idle timeout was the default (8) and now it is "DISABLED".

Z


So I would say "Yes", but no first hand experience.

[richsadams]

It worked for me on my THD 160 gigger to a Seagate 1.5 TB. Booted up and showed 215 hrs HD.

Its running right now to a 2TB.....

will report back later....My experiment was on an iMac. Since it did recognize the Premiere drive but not the S3's, it probably has to do with the S3's structure, but it could also have something to do with jmfs being run on an iMac…doesn't seem likely, but it's possible.

[jmill]

My experiment was on an iMac. Since it did recognize the Premiere drive but not the S3's, it probably has to do with the S3's structure, but it could also have something to do with jmfs being run on an iMac…doesn't seem likely, but it's possible.

Both Series 2 and Series 3 see hard drive as PATA, so tools like MFS and WinMFS work.

TiVo Premiere sees hard drive as SATA, so tools had to be modified. As such, they're not compatible with older TiVo units.

[richsadams]

Both Series 2 and Series 3 see hard drive as PATA, so tools like MFS and WinMFS work.

TiVo Premiere sees hard drive as SATA, so tools had to be modified. As such, they're not compatible with older TiVo units.Makes sense. :up: Then that means that jmfs sees the HD/HDXL drives as SATA as well.

[Shagger]

Some weirdness here, I want to use widle3 so I am trying to boot with the DL Diags disk and my computer hangs as its recognizing the WD20EARS drive. Do I need to set some sort of jumper or what?

[joesebastian]

I was able to disable the idle timer by running wdidle3 on WD15EARS. I created a dos boot usb thumbdrive using Hiren bootcd. If you search for it on google he has step by step instructions to create the usb drive. I learned the hard way that if you have RAID enabled in the bios wdidle3 does not recognized the hard drive. Disable RAID for it to work.
No jumper needed.

[Shagger]

I was able to disable the idle timer by running wdidle3 on WD15EARS. I created a dos boot usb thumbdrive using Hiren bootcd. If you search for it on google he has step by step instructions to create the usb drive. I learned the hard way that if you have RAID enabled in the bios wdidle3 does not recognized the hard drive. Disable RAID for it to work.
No jumper needed.
Hmmm - well I guess lots of people with my board have had similar issues with the newer large SATA drives.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?board_id=1&model=A7N8X+Deluxe&id=20081121051515015&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

Looks like a BIOS flash is in order... Nothing like a quick 5 minute project! :O Sigh, I am sure Comer's utility will be easier than this! :)

[hotoru]

Thanks to comer and the others on this forum I have finished upgrade. Things went pretty smooth after some initial difficulty getting wdidle3 (finally borrowed friends PC). Here were the steps I used for anyone else as thick as am I.

-Buy a WD20EARS (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZCXK0I/ref=oss_product) 2TB Drive
-Get a PC box where you can open and access SATA connection
-Check BIOS (on booting) and make sure CD or Floppy is before hard drive in boot order
-Get boot disk (http://www.allbootdisks.com/download/iso.html) (floppy or CD) and burn to disk using Mac (http://www.ihackintosh.com/2009/09/how-to-burn-iso-in-mac-os-x/) or Windows (http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/G/Burning+ISO+Images+with+ImgBurn)
-Download WD tool (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en) and copy/burn to CD/Floppy/or USB Key
-Download Comer's copy tool (http://www.mediafire.com/?znr8p1h4uyn1v) from here. (the *iso.zip version). Unzip then burn ISO as CD (same as above).
-Make sure your WD20EARS hard drive connected to SATA port on motherboard.
-Put bootdisk CD in drive and boot PC to CD
-Insert media with WDidle3 tool and run with argument "wdidle3 /d" (sans quotes) to disable intellipark feature that might cause early drive failure in TiVo.
-You can re-run WDidle3 without argument ("wdidle3") and should get message saying something like timer is disabled.
-Note percent of free space on TiVo under "My Shows"
-Shutdown and unplug TiVo.
-Open TiVo using torx wrench with #10 bit (http://www.amazon.com/Bondhus-12632-GorillaGrip-Fold-up-T6-T25/dp/B000E7ZLHQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1286032481&sr=1-1) to remove four screws from back of TiVo(Found online, home improvement, auto parts and sears stores).
-Remove Hard Drive from TiVo by unscrewing four Torx screws (the same size) that holds brackets to main board. Also remove SATA power and Data cable from Drive.
-Install old TiVo drive into PC on SATA port next to your new WD20EARS drive. (Alternatively you could put each drive in a USB drive enclosure to copy via USB)
-Remove bootdisk from drive and replace with Comers Copy CD (http://www.mediafire.com/?znr8p1h4uyn1v) burned earlier
-Re-Boot the PC (or can use Mac or PC if using USB cables/dock to Copy drives). You should see some Tux Penguins in the top left of monitor.
-You want to select "C" for the copy feature. Follow instructions on screen to select the old 360GB Tivo drive as source and the new 2TB WD drive as destination.
-Copying should take about 2-4 hours.
-When finished select "y" (for yes) to expand new 2TB drive (if not the new 2TB drive will think it is only a 360GB drive).
-Expansion should only take a few seconds.
-Shut down PC, unplug, and remove both drives from SATA ports.
-Reverse steps and replace TiVo drive with new 2TB WD20EARS drive.
-Plug back in SATA Cable/Power to TiVo drive (I forgot this one first time, doh!). Replace Screws in drive mount bracket and TiVo Cover and screws
-Plug Tivo Cable, internet and power
-Wait for 10 painful minutes while TiVo boots.
-Check "My Shows" and you should see used space percent has dropped (mine went from 55% to 9% :-) )
-If all goes well Donate (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=4P3NFC9NK4ZD8&lc=CA&currency_code=CAD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donate_SM%2egif%3aNonHosted) some $$ as thanks to Comer's efforts for a great CD tool without which I would not have been able to upgrade my drive.

(Thanks to richsadams & tgrim1 for input with above guide and all the help from this forum with upgrade)
Let me know if I left out any steps.
Cheers

[richsadams]

Nice follow up and props for the links to the various items. :up:

There are a couple of confusing lines:

Connect the new TiVo 3.5 SATA drive to be the laptops new primary.

Laptop? You were using a regular PC correct?

Open TiVo using torx wrench (sorry I cannot remember which one) to remove five screws from back of TiVo.

Not to be too picky but there are only four case screws (http://i56.tinypic.com/27zepg3.jpg) (two more for the fan, but they don't need to be removed). ;)

BTW, they are Torx 10 screws on the TiVo case and the hard drive sled. Using a Torx screwdriver is a little easier, particularly for the sled IMHO. A Torx 10 screwdriver can be found at most auto parts stores or Sears.

FWIW the jfms disk works fine on a Mac (no need to create a USB copy).

You might want to post a short link to your post here over on Comer's "main" upgrade thread:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=455968

Enjoy!

[kturcotte]

Thanks to comer and the others on this forum I have finished upgrade. Things went pretty smooth after some initial difficulty getting wdidle3 (finally borrowed friends PC). Here were the steps I used for anyone else as thick as I.


-Download WD tool (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en) and copy/burn to CD/Floppy/or USB Key
-Download Comer's copy tool (http://www.mediafire.com/?znr8p1h4uyn1v) from here. (the *iso.zip version). Unzip then burn ISO as CD (same as above).


Will this work with the EVDS drives too? Also, is there a 64 bit version, or does it not matter, just burn what's there? I tried opening it and it said it's the wrong version for my system (Windows 7 64 bit).

[comer]

Thanks to comer and the others on this forum I have finished upgrade. Things went pretty smooth after some initial difficulty getting wdidle3 (finally borrowed friends PC). Here were the steps I used for anyone else as thick as I.

Nice instructions! :up: Congrats on your upgrade! :)

[comer]

Will this work with the EVDS drives too? Also, is there a 64 bit version, or does it not matter, just burn what's there? I tried opening it and it said it's the wrong version for my system (Windows 7 64 bit).

It should work for EVDS. Get DOS version - your Windows won't matter :)

[hotoru]

Nice follow up and props for the links to the various items. There are a couple of confusing lines:........


Thanks for input. I updated post. The USB copy to which I was referring was using USB cables and enclosures to clone the drives as most Macs do not have accessible SATA ports (maybe mac pro?) I tried to make that clearer in the body of the text.

[richsadams]

Thanks for input. I updated post. The USB copy to which I was referring was using USB cables and enclosures to clone the drives as most Macs do not have accessible SATA ports (maybe mac pro?) I tried to make that clearer in the body of the text.Got it. I think I'd rephrase that one line to say something like "…if using USB adapters or dock to copy drive)…and it wouldn't be isolated to a Mac as you can do the same with a PC. Otherwise, perfect! Nicely done.

[kturcotte]

It should work for EVDS. Get DOS version - your Windows won't matter :)

Only thing I see for DOS is Data Lifeguard.

[comer]

TOnly thing I see for DOS is Data Lifeguard.

Sorry, I was thinking about diagnostic tool as someone else asked about checking the drive before using it :)
The wdidle is for DOS only, so you need to get a bootable DOS disk.

[gamo62]

If anyone here could post the image for the Premiere, that would be great. I suck at Linux, and would have a hard time trying to figure out what to do. On my THD, I just used WinMFS and it worked great. Thanks.

[comer]

If anyone here could post the image for the Premiere, that would be great. I suck at Linux, and would have a hard time trying to figure out what to do. On my THD, I just used WinMFS and it worked great. Thanks.

You don't have to "unsuck" at Linux to use jmfs :) It's guided, so you only need to answer questions and make a choice in plain English :)

[Shagger]

Hmmm - well I guess lots of people with my board have had similar issues with the newer large SATA drives.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?board_id=1&model=A7N8X+Deluxe&id=20081121051515015&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

Looks like a BIOS flash is in order... Nothing like a quick 5 minute project! :O Sigh, I am sure Comer's utility will be easier than this! :)
Wow, that sucked... So in order to use the wdidle3 tool to turn off the intellipark on my 20EARS I had to boot my main computer with a DOS disc with the tool on it. The problem was, my A7N8X-Deluxe 2.0 board needed a hacked bios to recognize > 1TB drives. Otherwise the boot sequence would just hang. Supposedly the SiI3112 drivers in the ASUS bios were bad, so, I had to flash the BIOS to this new hacked 1.008-E BIOS, some guy cobbled together. http://www.moonfest.com/bios/asus.htm
I finally got it to run, but the Award BIOS flash told me to press F1 to reset and the computer didn't reboot quite right and I was afraid I had bricked my computer. :eek: So I got it to finally boot, I ran the wdidle3 tool, and am I am FINALLY using Comer's JMFS tool. Holy s4!t, finding the issue with the drive > 1TB was maddening. Now my BIOS settings are all wonky too! The copy is cranking away, so I am happy, but finding the root cause of the computer hanging ALMOST put me over the edge. :mad: So the upshot is I have my Tivo upgraded but my computer now won't recover from going into 'sleep' mode... (sigh) more junk to 'tinker' with... :(

[kturcotte]

T

Sorry, I was thinking about diagnostic tool as someone else asked about checking the drive before using it :)
The wdidle is for DOS only, so you need to get a bootable DOS disk.

How would I go about doing that? What EXACTLY do I need to do? lol

[comer]

How would I go about doing that? What EXACTLY do I need to do? lol

hotoru did exactly what you ask just recently and described it. Check out this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8165515#post8165515) post.

[kturcotte]

hotoru did exactly what you ask just recently and described it. Check out this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8165515#post8165515) post.

All right, I *THINK* I've got it lol Does it matter WHICH version of DOS I download?

[akaussie]

My Premiere was setup yesterday with a Cablecard thanks to Comcast, which thankfully went off without a hitch.
I also received my WD20EARS from Amazon with a manufacture date of Sept 14, 2010. I don't have access to a PC, so I can't disable the Intellipark, but hopefully with the newly manufactured drive it won't be an issue.
I am planning on doing the upgrade in the next few days from my iMac and will post the results.

[hotoru]

All right, I *THINK* I've got it lol Does it matter WHICH version of DOS I download?

I believe you would be ok with most later versions. I used a Win ME boot disk

[hotoru]

Wow, that sucked... So in order to use the wdidle3 tool to turn off the intellipark on my 20EARS I had to boot my main computer with a DOS disc with the tool on it. The problem was, my A7N8X-Deluxe 2.0 board needed a hacked bios .....
Uggh, what a mess. Sounds similar (but worse) than my woes trying to run the WDidle3. I think the battery on the MOBO was dead. I kept getting a CMOS checksum error. I would have to re configure the bios and boot order every time I shut off to reboot as would forget all the changes and send the date back to Jan 2000 :-o. Was able to get to boot to an old emergency Win 98 boot floppy but would hang when initializing the SATA bus when WD20EARS was attached. What I get for trying to do update with a 6 year old box ;-) In the end, I talked a friend to letting me use his newer build. Once I was able to disable the IDLE timer rest was a piece of cake (Thanks to Comer's ISO file (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=455968)).

[richsadams]

I used a Win ME boot disk :eek: ]]] Shudder! [[[

[donnoh]

:eek: ]]] Shudder! [[[

I'd much rather deal with windows ME than their current abortion. I can't turn a Windows PC on without it dominating my computer for the first few minutes looking for updates.
I just bought a new laptop and I would have bought an Apple had it not been for the 100% price premium to buy an Apple laptop over a Windows PC.

[turbobozz]

I'd much rather deal with windows ME than their current abortion. I can't turn a Windows PC on without it dominating my computer for the first few minutes looking for updates.
I just bought a new laptop and I would have bought an Apple had it not been for the 100% price premium to buy an Apple laptop over a Windows PC.

Borrowing an internet meme...
UR DOIN IT WRONG (in a helpful/sarcastic way)
I've setup two very, very low end laptops with Win7 in the past year, and neither is dominated by "updates" after boot up.
Maybe get use something like CCleaner and get rid of all the BS crapware and the 3rd party startup programs that check for updates.

edit: meant to be helpful, not a jackss

[richsadams]

I'd much rather deal with windows ME than their current abortion. I can't turn a Windows PC on without it dominating my computer for the first few minutes looking for updates.
I just bought a new laptop and I would have bought an Apple had it not been for the 100% price premium to buy an Apple laptop over a Windows PC.Really…ME is better than W7? I'd heard Vista was a ME reincarnation, but I thought W7 was doing pretty good, no? I've used it and thought it was quite a step forward…certainly not perfect but as good as XP at least.

I do know what you mean about updates and the like though…I still maintain our church's computers and my wife's HP laptop that she has to use for work. I used to build PC's in fact but just came to hate all of the problems. Turn the computer on and walk away for a while so it can do its thing. What a nightmare.

I was also of the same opinion about Apple until I had had enough of the Windows OS and all of the associated problems and costs to get things working and keep them going. I used Linux for a while but finally switched to Apple and have never ever once looked back. The "price premium" is such a myth it's not funny. I used to love Windows (remember how great Windows 3.1 was?) Our household has been Windows free for a several years now and we couldn't be happier. The whole Apple Vs Windows thing is OT here, but any time you want to PM me I can show you how much money and time you can actually save by switching to a Mac…real dollars, real time. Really. ;)

Anyway, I'm very happy that you were able to get your Premiere upgrade sorted out…I'll be following along with your and Comer's valuable step-by-step walk through to upgrade our PXL soon! :up:

[comer]

Anyway, I'm very happy that you were able to get your Premiere upgrade sorted out…I'll be following along with your and Comer's valuable step-by-step walk through to upgrade our PXL soon! :up:

On that subject - when doing your upgrade, could you run "mfslayout" and post the result, please? :) I am very curious how PXL disk is structured :)

[richsadams]

On that subject - when doing your upgrade, could you run "mfslayout" and post the result, please? :) I am very curious how PXL disk is structured :)Will do!

[willv28]

Any problems I've had with Windows 7 have nothing to do with reliability or stability, which were the problems with ME and Vista. We're beginning to roll Windows 7 out at work. No issues with it at all. I think Microsoft is finally starting to learn their lesson.

[musictoo]

Used JMFS to add a 2TB WD to my Premier Sunday. Ridiculously easy thanks to all the hard work done here. Simply amazing. Thanks to all.

[donnoh]

I have to commend Comer on his herculean efforts to give Premiere owners an upgrade path!
This forum and people like him are what I like so much about Tivos.

[dshlyam]

What are the chances to get the solution for additional external 2tb upgrade for a total of 4tb?

Interestingly enough both Weaknees and DvrDude are not selling their 4tb upgrades anymore... DvrDude says they have ran out of enclosures (!), while Weaknees straightforwardly says that they are experiencing "technical difficulties" and are pulling 4tb kits until further notice.

Quite interesting indeed. Also means that there is no path for regular Joe to get Tivo with 4tb for now...

[comer]

What are the chances to get the solution for additional external 2tb upgrade for a total of 4tb?

Interestingly enough both Weaknees and DvrDude are not selling their 4tb upgrades anymore... DvrDude says they have ran out of enclosures (!), while Weaknees straightforwardly says that they are experiencing "technical difficulties" and are pulling 4tb kits until further notice.

Quite interesting indeed. Also means that there is no path for regular Joe to get Tivo with 4tb for now...

Interesting indeed :confused: I was a few days from releasing a tool to add an external storage. But now I think I need to test more or wait for 14.6 upgrade... may be that's the reason? :confused: Dvr_dude is lurking here in the forums, may be he can shed some light?

[dshlyam]

I was a few days from releasing a tool to add an external storage.

Wow, this is good news. Can you give us some details on this? I.e. will the new method allow to add storage to previously expanded system with minimal effort and while preserving settings and recordings or will it require going back to the virgin drive or copying full 2tb worth of data?

I was about to upgrade my 7 Tivos (S3 and HD, all 2tb) to Premier, but would rather wait if it's a major pain to easily expand to 4tb later.

Also, have you (or anyone else willing to share) figured out how to SuperSize Premier yet to add that extra space? I will try to supersize the virgin drive with Spike's tools when my shipment of Premiers arrives, but I'm not holding too much hope it'll work...

[akaussie]

My Premiere was setup yesterday with a Cablecard thanks to Comcast, which thankfully went off without a hitch.
I also received my WD20EARS from Amazon with a manufacture date of Sept 14, 2010. I don't have access to a PC, so I can't disable the Intellipark, but hopefully with the newly manufactured drive it won't be an issue.
I am planning on doing the upgrade in the next few days from my iMac and will post the results.

I am now the owner of a 2 TB Tivo thanks to Comer and everyone else here who helped out with advice and suggestions.
I rebooted without issues, so it appears all is well.
Thanks again Comer!

[richsadams]

I am now the owner of a 2 TB Tivo thanks to Comer and everyone else here who helped out with advice and suggestions.
I rebooted without issues, so it appears all is well.
Thanks again Comer!Excellent news and enjoy!

[dmk1974]

Just curious...what hard drive make/model does the TiVo Premiere ship with? Thanks!

[richsadams]

Just curious...what hard drive make/model does the TiVo Premiere ship with? Thanks! TiVo Premiere: WD3200AVVS

TiVo Premiere XL: WD10EVVS

[jterwelp]

Just curious...what hard drive make/model does the TiVo Premiere ship with? Thanks!

TiVo Premiere: WD320AVVS

TiVo Premiere XL: WD10EVVS

Actually, the model number of the Premiere drive is WD3200AVVS. You keep missing that extra zero, Rich! dmk1974: both drives are made by Western Digital.

[dmk1974]

Thank you! So, they are both "green" drives. I was curious of they were "blue" or "black". I have a 1 GB "black" in my TiVo HD which works great. But realistically then, for TiVo purposes, performance should be ok using any of those.

[aaronwt]

Even a slow 4200rpm drive can handle the multiple low speed 19Mbs HD streams from TV broadcasts.

Even my slow ide drives back in 2001 had no issues with multiple HD recordings and HD playback concurrently when I used to use PCs for my HD recordings and HD watching.

Of course once the HDTiVos came out in 2004, using my HTPCs for HD recording was mostly a thing of the past.

[comer]

Wow, this is good news.

Judging by the number of responses - we are the only two who need this :rolleyes:

Can you give us some details on this? I.e. will the new method allow to add storage to previously expanded system with minimal effort and while preserving settings and recordings or will it require going back to the virgin drive or copying full 2tb worth of data?

Just like "bless" - everything is preserved.

Also, have you (or anyone else willing to share) figured out how to SuperSize Premier yet to add that extra space? I will try to supersize the virgin drive with Spike's tools when my shipment of Premiers arrives, but I'm not holding too much hope it'll work...

No, I haven't. It's on my list though ;) Honestly, I wouldn't do it just for myself, having practically unlimited 4T open wide for HD goodness :D I am looking into that bacause of the challenge and because for some reasons it's requested by many users :)
So far everything I have actually found (on the disk) points to 10G reserve for TivoClips - that's what WinMFS releases. And it's in bytes, not percentage. I don't get it - 10G is meager 2 hours of HD :confused: Either it used to be bigger or I still don't get something :)

[kturcotte]

Do we really need more recording time? lol We're getting what now (With the 2TB) 290 HD hours? How many SD?
And would this still allow you to add one of Tivo's external drives? lol

[jmill]

Judging by the number of responses - we are the only two who need this :rolleyes:



Just like "bless" - everything is preserved.



No, I haven't. It's on my list though ;) Honestly, I wouldn't do it just for myself, having practically unlimited 4T open wide for HD goodness :D I am looking into that bacause of the challenge and because for some reasons it's requested by many users :)
So far everything I have actually found (on the disk) points to 10G reserve for TivoClips - that's what WinMFS releases. And it's in bytes, not percentage. I don't get it - 10G is meager 2 hours of HD :confused: Either it used to be bigger or I still don't get something :)

If you'll be able to figure out how to do "SuperSize", and on top of that add external storage, that's heaven. I mean we know it's possible, just need to figure out how...

[kturcotte]

If you'll be able to figure out how to do "SuperSize", and on top of that add external storage, that's heaven. I mean we know it's possible, just need to figure out how...

Can the actual hard drive from the external kit be swapped out for a 2TB drive? 580 HD hours? lol

[jmill]

Can the actual hard drive from the external kit be swapped out for a 2TB drive? 580 HD hours? lol

This is some nonsense. Please try to stay on topic.

[richsadams]

Actually, the model number of the Premiere drive is WD3200AVVS. You keep missing that extra zero, Rich! dmk1974: both drives are made by Western Digital.D'oh! Curse you copy and paste! :o

All better now.

[jterwelp]

Also, have you (or anyone else willing to share) figured out how to SuperSize Premier yet to add that extra space?

No, I haven't. It's on my list though ;) Honestly, I wouldn't do it just for myself, having practically unlimited 4T open wide for HD goodness :D I am looking into that bacause of the challenge and because for some reasons it's requested by many users :)
So far everything I have actually found (on the disk) points to 10G reserve for TivoClips - that's what WinMFS releases. And it's in bytes, not percentage. I don't get it - 10G is meager 2 hours of HD :confused: Either it used to be bigger or I still don't get something :)

I think you might be missing something. People who have bought 2TB upgrades from DVR_Dude or Weaknees are reporting ~318 HD hours. In fact, Weaknees' web site lists their 2TB Premiere upgrade at 317 HD hours here (http://www.weaknees.com/details2/rs2t0prm3.php). That's 27-28 more HD hours than the JMFS tool provides!

Perhaps you could talk one of the DVR_Dude or Weaknees upgraders into capturing some information from their hard drive for you to review? I know a lot of people are interested in the SuperSize option because they are wary of the extra noise, heat, space, failure point, etc. involved in adding an external drive.

[comer]

Perhaps you could talk one of the DVR_Dude or Weaknees upgraders into capturing some information from their hard drive for you to review? I know a lot of people are interested in the SuperSize option because they are wary of the extra noise, heat, space, failure point, etc. involved in adding an external drive.

There are a few here and they ain't talkin' :rolleyes:

[jterwelp]

There are a few here and they ain't talkin' :rolleyes:

If you asked aaronwt to dump the partition table from one of his DVR_Dude drives, I'd be surprised if he declined.

[aaronwt]

If you asked aaronwt to dump the partition table from one of his DVR_Dude drives, I'd be surprised if he declined.


The DVR Dude drives are in the TiVos now. I will not be opening them up anytime soon unless there is some kind of failure. Ideally I don't like to mess with the hardware in any of my TiVos once the new TV season starts. SInce the TiVos are typically recording on a daily basis.(although with the S3 boxes I was very comfortable with WinMFS and never had any major issues using it, but with the S4 that is a different story and I also don't want to risk screwing anything up)

If I were to open them up, it wouldn't be until the Christmas holidays.

[jterwelp]

The DVR Dude drives are in the TiVos now. I will not be opening them up anytime soon unless there is some kind of failure.

Oh well, it was worth a try!

Comer - is the binary for whatever partition utility you'd want run located on your JMFS Live CD? If so, I'll still hold out hope that someone will be willing to burn that ISO and get this information for us.

Would you be willing to post in the following thread (and/or start a new thread) to try to find a volunteer?
Any DVR Dude 2TB upgrade experimenters? (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=449415)

I think this is worth pursuing because I'd wager that ~30 more hours of HD is an extra week's worth of recording for most people. That's pretty significant.

[gamo62]

If anyone here has an image of the PXL and would be willing to share, please PM me. I would like to get a head start before my TiVo arrives, so that I can just put in the new hard drive once it arrives. Thanks.

[tgrim1]

I just upgraded mine with a WD20EVDS and Comer's cd worked great!

I did have a problem getting wdidle3 onto a boot disk though. Hirens boot cd customizer didnt work. I dont know if its because I'm running W7-64bit or what but I ended up finding a FreeDos boot cd with wdidle3 already on it here (http://www.mediafire.com/?4diu2hotddk12s1) that worked for me. Also found one that has both WDidle3 and TLER utilities here (http://www.mikerosoft.org/Utilities/FreeDOS%20WDIDLE3%20and%20TLER.iso).

timer default was 8sec.
/d option set it for 80min
/s:0 disabled timer

I pretty much followed hotoru's guide on post #860 (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8165515#post8165515) of this thread except if I would have hit "e" at the expand option it would have exited I believe. I just had to hit "y" to confirm the expansion.

[zordude]

Also found one that has both WDidle3 and TLER utilities here (http://www.mikerosoft.org/Utilities/FreeDOS%20WDIDLE3%20and%20TLER.iso).

timer default was 8sec.
/d option set it for 80min
/s:0 disabled timer


Here is a link to an iso for a boot cd that has wdidle3 1.05 and the /d flag works just fine.

http://www.jamesballenger.com/download/fdoem.iso

[t1voproof]

I used the wdidle3 from this post: http://www.maxishine.com.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=12895&view=previous

It set to 62 minutes.

[chinacat]

Upgraded to WD Green 2TB drive thanks to Comer's JFMS live CD. Great work!

Can I take the drive out now and run wdidle3, or does that have to be done before copying the contents of my original Tivo drive to the new drive?

[comer]

Upgraded to WD Green 2TB drive thanks to Comer's JFMS live CD. Great work!

Can I take the drive out now and run wdidle3, or does that have to be done before copying the contents of my original Tivo drive to the new drive?

Congrats! :up: Those are two independent operations - can do in any order.

[tcfcameron]

Post retracted due to NDA and other contractual obligations.

[dshlyam]

Perhaps you could talk one of the DVR_Dude or Weaknees upgraders into capturing some information from their hard drive for you to review? I know a lot of people are interested in the SuperSize option because they are wary of the extra noise, heat, space, failure point, etc. involved in adding an external drive.

There are a few here and they ain't talkin' :rolleyes:

Just a curiosity. Why not ask Spike about this? He knows for a fact and he was always releasing his tools to community so it seems that he would be willing to share the info.

[comer]

Just a curiosity. Why not ask Spike about this? He knows for a fact and he was always releasing his tools to community so it seems that he would be willing to share the info.

First, supersize is part of WinMFS, source of which is closed. Second, while working on my tool and researching MFS I posted many questions on MFSLive forum (the spike's site) with no answers whatsoever. So I guess he is not in the mood for cooperation.

[dshlyam]

First, supersize is part of WinMFS, source of which is closed. Second, while working on my tool and researching MFS I posted many questions on MFSLive forum (the spike's site) with no answers whatsoever. So I guess he is not in the mood for cooperation.

Fare enough. Maybe I'll have better luck? :) Check you PM on mfslive...

So, I've got my Tivos. Latest WINMFS v 9.3f says that virgin Tivo Premier drive "is not a Tivo drive" and hangs when I try to turn Superzise on. So much for this theory...

Below is my mfsinfo from supersized Tivo S3 with 2 x 1TB drives. It shows 2777 SD hours and 318 HD hours in Tivo GUI. Hope this helps in some way...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mfsinfo (Drive A: 5, Drive B: 6)

Boot Page
Boot Page: root=/dev/hda7
Active Boot Partition: 6 Active Root Partition: 7
Backup Boot Partition: 3 Backup Root Partition: 4

MFS Super Header
state=0 magic=abbafeed
devlist=/dev/hda10 /dev/hda11 /dev/hda12 /dev/hda13 /dev/hda14 /dev/hda15 /dev/hdc2 /dev/hdc3
zonemap_ptr=1121 total_secs=3905172480

Zone Maps
Z0: type=0
map_start=1121 map_size=1 backup_map_start=589822
next_map_start=263266 next_map_size=9 next_backup_map_start=589813
zone_first=1122 zone_last=263265 zone_size=262144 min(chunk)=262144
free=262144 checksum=4fd015d1 logstamp=15478591 num_bitmap=1
Z1: type=2
map_start=263266 map_size=9 backup_map_start=589813
next_map_start=263275 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=589779
zone_first=589824 zone_last=217329663 zone_size=216739840 min(chunk)=20480
free=778240 checksum=a1496c00 logstamp=15478597 num_bitmap=15
Z2: type=1
map_start=263275 map_size=34 backup_map_start=589779
next_map_start=217336832 next_map_size=1 next_backup_map_start=217926655
zone_first=263309 zone_last=589772 zone_size=326464 min(chunk)=8
free=82528 checksum=7d02acc4 logstamp=15478632 num_bitmap=17
Z3: type=0
map_start=217336832 map_size=1 backup_map_start=217926655
next_map_start=217598977 next_map_size=130 next_backup_map_start=217926525
zone_first=217336833 zone_last=217598976 zone_size=262144 min(chunk)=262144
free=262144 checksum=140328ff logstamp=15478591 num_bitmap=1
Z4: type=2
map_start=217598977 map_size=130 backup_map_start=217926525
next_map_start=217599107 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=217926491
zone_first=217926656 zone_last=486544383 zone_size=268617728 min(chunk)=2048
free=6428672 checksum=60f18a87 logstamp=15478627 num_bitmap=19
Z5: type=1
map_start=217599107 map_size=34 backup_map_start=217926491
next_map_start=486544384 next_map_size=66 next_backup_map_start=486546366
zone_first=217599141 zone_last=217926484 zone_size=327344 min(chunk)=8
free=292176 checksum=427633bc logstamp=15478627 num_bitmap=17
Z6: type=2
map_start=486544384 map_size=66 backup_map_start=486546366
next_map_start=1951665152 next_map_size=66 next_backup_map_start=1951667134
zone_first=486546432 zone_last=1951665151 zone_size=1465118720 min(chunk)=20480
free=737280 checksum=6e942032 logstamp=15478627 num_bitmap=18
Z7: type=2
map_start=1951665152 map_size=66 backup_map_start=1951667134
next_map_start=0 next_map_size=0 next_backup_map_start=2863311530
zone_first=1951667200 zone_last=3905172479 zone_size=1953505280 min(chunk)=20480
free=5283840 checksum=ec7f3a1f logstamp=15478627 num_bitmap=18

Partition Maps
#: type name length base ( size )
1 Apple_partition_map Apple 63@1 ( 31.5K)
2 Image Bootstrap 1 1@485366126 ( 512.0 )
3 Image Kernel 1 8192@485366127 ( 4.0M)
4 Ext2 Root 1 524288@485374319 ( 256.0M)
5 Image Bootstrap 2 1@485898607 ( 512.0 )
6 Image Kernel 2 8192@485898608 ( 4.0M)
7 Ext2 Root 2 524288@485906800 ( 256.0M)
8 Swap Linux swap 262144@486431088 ( 128.0M)
9 Ext2 /var 524288@486693232 ( 256.0M)
10 MFS MFS application region 589824@487217520 ( 288.0M)
11 MFS MFS media region 216747657@268618469 ( 103.4G)
12 MFS MFS application region 2 589824@487807344 ( 288.0M)
13 MFS MFS media region 2 268618405@64 ( 128.1G)
14 MFS MFS App by Winmfs 2048@488397168 ( 1.0M)
15 MFS MFS Media by Winmfs 1465118720@488399216 ( 698.6G)

Tivo B drive
1 Apple_partition_map Apple 63@1 ( 31.5K)
2 MFS MFS App by Winmfs 2048@64 ( 1.0M)
3 MFS MFS Media by Winmfs 1953505280@2112 ( 931.5G)

Total SA SD Hours: 2083 Total DTV SD Hours: 1818 0 % Free
Software: 11.0h-01-2-648 Tivo Model: TCD648250B
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[dshlyam]

If you asked aaronwt to dump the partition table from one of his DVR_Dude drives, I'd be surprised if he declined.

The DVR Dude drives are in the TiVos now. I will not be opening them up anytime soon unless there is some kind of failure. Ideally I don't like to mess with the hardware in any of my TiVos once the new TV season starts. SInce the TiVos are typically recording on a daily basis.(although with the S3 boxes I was very comfortable with WinMFS and never had any major issues using it, but with the S4 that is a different story and I also don't want to risk screwing anything up)

If I were to open them up, it wouldn't be until the Christmas holidays.

Aside from the fact the aaronwt is afraid of taking the Tivo down for a few minutes to help the community, even if he did, what would be the proper way to dump the relevant partitions info for Tivo Premier? WINMFS mfsview is pretty handy, but won't work at all with Tivo Premier. Aside from this the drive would have to connected to a Linux install or CD boot of some sort, some partition table command (fdisk?) should be run, etc.

Perhaps someone (comer? :) ) could post what info is required how to obtain it, and then someone else (very) brave with the existing supersized Tivo Premier could run the command and post the results. I would do in a heartbeat, I just don't have the right type of Tivo...

[comer]

Perhaps someone (comer? :) ) could post what info is required how to obtain it, and then someone else (very) brave with the existing supersized Tivo Premier could run the command and post the results. I would do in a heartbeat, I just don't have the right type of Tivo...

Actually, having original TPXL and/or Dvr_dude's disk layout is not that important. I have a pretty good idea what Supersize does, now I need to implement and test the theory (more than one really ;)). Although having that information would give some ideas on how things may be done. I think I mentioned that the basic info I am interested in (just a partition layout) can be obtained booting jmfs live cd and running mfslayout.sh.

[myblubu]

Thanks to comer and the others on this forum I have finished upgrade. Things went pretty smooth after some initial difficulty getting wdidle3 (finally borrowed friends PC). Here were the steps I used for anyone else as thick as I.

-Buy a WD20EARS (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZCXK0I/ref=oss_product) 2TB Drive
-Get a PC box where you can open and access SATA connection
-Check BIOS (on booting) and make sure CD or Floppy is before hard drive in boot order
-Get boot disk (http://www.allbootdisks.com/download/iso.html) (floppy or CD) and burn to disk using Mac (http://www.ihackintosh.com/2009/09/how-to-burn-iso-in-mac-os-x/) or Windows (http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/G/Burning+ISO+Images+with+ImgBurn)
-Download WD tool (http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=609&sid=113&lang=en) and copy/burn to CD/Floppy/or USB Key
-Download Comer's copy tool (http://www.mediafire.com/?znr8p1h4uyn1v) from here. (the *iso.zip version). Unzip then burn ISO as CD (same as above).
-Make sure your WD20EARS hard drive connected to SATA port on motherboard.
-Put bootdisk CD in drive and boot PC to CD
-Insert media with WDidle3 tool and run with argument "wdidle3 /d" (sans quotes) to disable intellipark feature that might cause early drive failure in TiVo.
-You can re-run WDidle3 without argument ("wdidle3") and should get message saying something like timer is disabled.
-Note percent of free space on TiVo under "My Shows"
-Shutdown and unplug TiVo.
-Open TiVo using torx wrench with #10 bit (http://www.amazon.com/Bondhus-12632-GorillaGrip-Fold-up-T6-T25/dp/B000E7ZLHQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1286032481&sr=1-1) to remove four screws from back of TiVo(Found online, home improvement, auto parts and sears stores).
-Remove Hard Drive from TiVo by unscrewing four Torx screws (the same size) that holds brackets to main board. Also remove SATA power and Data cable from Drive.
-Install old TiVo drive into PC on SATA port next to your new WD20EARS drive. (Alternatively you could put each drive in a USB drive enclosure to copy via USB)
-Remove bootdisk from drive and replace with Comers Copy CD (http://www.mediafire.com/?znr8p1h4uyn1v) burned earlier
-Re-Boot the PC (or can use Mac or PC if using USB cables/dock to Copy drives). You should see some Tux Penguins in the top left of monitor.
-You want to select "C" for the copy feature. Follow instructions on screen to select the old 360GB Tivo drive as source and the new 2TB WD drive as destination.
-Copying should take about 2-4 hours.
-When finished select "e" to expand new 2TB drive (if not the new 2TB drive will think it is only a 360GB drive).
-Expansion should only take a few seconds.
-Shut down PC, unplug, and remove both drives from SATA ports.
-Reverse steps and replace TiVo drive with new 2TB WD20EARS drive.
-Plug back in SATA Cable/Power to TiVo drive (I forgot this one first time, doh!). Replace Screws in drive mount bracket and TiVo Cover and screws
-Plug Tivo Cable, internet and power
-Wait for 10 painful minutes while TiVo boots.
-Check "My Shows" and you should see used space percent has dropped (mine went from 55% to 9% :-) )
-If all goes well Donate (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=4P3NFC9NK4ZD8&lc=CA&currency_code=CAD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donate_SM%2egif%3aNonHosted) some $$ as thanks to Comer's efforts for a great CD tool without which I would not have been able to upgrade my drive.

(Thanks to richsadams for input with above guide and all the help from this forum with upgrade)
Let me know if I left out any steps.
Cheers

Awesome compilation of info! Thanks for your hard work!

Just ordered my Premire and also ordered a WD20EARS. I've been reading through the thread and not finished yet, but I do have a couple questions:

When I upgraded my HD to a 1TB drive, I remember having to use a utility to adjust the Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM) setting for the drive down to 128 (I think this was to reduce seek noise), is that something we need to do on this 2TB drive also???

I didn't order an extended warranty with my Premire so it will have the standard 90 day warranty, just wondering if I should wait until after the 90 day warranty to do the upgrade? Any thoughts on that?

Any imput would be appreciated.

[richsadams]

Awesome compilation of info! Thanks for your hard work!

Just ordered my Premire and also ordered a WD20EARS. I've been reading through the thread and not finished yet, but I do have a couple questions:

When I upgraded my HD to a 1TB drive, I remember having to use a utility to adjust the Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM) setting for the drive down to 128 (I think this was to reduce seek noise), is that something we need to do on this 2TB drive also???

I didn't order an extended warranty with my Premire so it will have the standard 90 day warranty, just wondering if I should wait until after the 90 day warranty to do the upgrade? Any thoughts on that?

Any imput would be appreciated.The WD20EARS is quiet out of the box, however you can still adjust the AAM down to 128 using hddscan (http://hddscan.com/). Depending on the manufacture date you may also have to run wdidle3.exe to extend or disable the timeout of the Intellipark feature to avoid the soft reboot issue. See earlier posts or see Section IV, #29 of the Drive Expansion FAQ:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5616160#post5616160

FWIW it's recommended that you run TiVo for at least 30 days to be sure everything is in working order before upgrading, your call of course.

Happy upgrading!

[vurbano]

The WD20EARS is quiet out of the box, however you can still adjust the AAM down to 128 using hddscan (http://hddscan.com/). Depending on the manufacture date you may also have to run wdidle3.exe to extend or disable the timeout of the Intellipark feature to avoid the soft reboot issue. See earlier posts or see Section IV, #29 of the Drive Expansion FAQ:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5616160#post5616160

FWIW it's recommended that you run TiVo for at least 30 days to be sure everything is in working order before upgrading, your call of course.

Happy upgrading!

So we now can upgrade the Premiere internal drive eh? IMO 1TB is enufff for me. This makes buying the base model much worth it to me.

[richsadams]

So we now can upgrade the Premiere internal drive eh? IMO 1TB is enufff for me. That's what I thought, but now my 1TB drive is bumping up against 89%+ used disk space. :eek:

[myblubu]

The WD20EARS is quiet out of the box, however you can still adjust the AAM down to 128 using hddscan (http://hddscan.com/). Depending on the manufacture date you may also have to run wdidle3.exe to extend or disable the timeout of the Intellipark feature to avoid the soft reboot issue. See earlier posts or see Section IV, #29 of the Drive Expansion FAQ:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5616160#post5616160

FWIW it's recommended that you run TiVo for at least 30 days to be sure everything is in working order before upgrading, your call of course.

Happy upgrading!

Thanks Rich! You're always a big help!

I took a look at Section IV, #29 and it mentions using the "wdidle3 /S300" command to get: "Idle3 Timer is enabled and set to 300 seconds (5 minutes)."

Comers CD instructions earlier in this tread mention using the WDidle3 tool and run with argument "wdidle3 /d" (sans quotes) to disable intellipark feature that might cause early drive failure in TiVo.


Just wondering which I should use or does it matter?

[richsadams]

Thanks Rich! You're always a big help!

I took a look at Section IV, #29 and it mentions using the "wdidle3 /S300" command to get: "Idle3 Timer is enabled and set to 300 seconds (5 minutes)."

Comers CD instructions earlier in this tread mention using the WDidle3 tool and run with argument "wdidle3 /d" (sans quotes) to disable intellipark feature that might cause early drive failure in TiVo.


Just wondering which I should use or does it matter?The default Intellipark setting on WD GP drives is 8 seconds. The "/s300" command sets the timeout to 300 seconds/5 minutes which is enough to keep TiVo from hanging at the "Welcome! Powering up…" screen after a menu restart or OS/firmware update. The "/d" command is intended to disable the Intellipark feature completely and is probably the ideal, but apparently doesn't work on some WD GP drives anymore. So trying the "/d" command would be recommended first and if that doesn't work, "/300" would be fine as well. AFAIK neither will have any effect on the actual life of the hard drive.

It appears that the newest WD GP drives no longer require the Intellipark feature to be tweaked at all. ("Newer" being somewhere around the second week of September or so.) Drives with a manufacture date prior to that often need the tweak. Trial and error is about the only way to find out…or you can just run wdidle3.exe and not worry about it.

As noted although a USB adapter or dock will be sufficient for the rest of the upgrade process, wdidle3.exe requires the new drive to be connected directly to the computer via a SATA port to work.

[myblubu]

The default Intellipark setting on WD GP drives is 8 seconds. The "/s300" command sets the timeout to 300 seconds/5 minutes which is enough to keep TiVo from hanging at the "Welcome! Powering up…" screen after a menu restart or OS/firmware update. The "/d" command is intended to disable the Intellipark feature completely and is probably the ideal, but apparently doesn't work on some WD GP drives anymore. So trying the "/d" command would be recommended first and if that doesn't work, "/300" would be fine as well. AFAIK neither will have any effect on the actual life of the hard drive.

It appears that the newest WD GP drives no longer require the Intellipark feature to be tweaked at all. ("Newer" being somewhere around the second week of September or so.) Drives with a manufacture date prior to that often need the tweak. Trial and error is about the only way to find out…or you can just run wdidle3.exe and not worry about it.

As noted although a USB adapter or dock will be sufficient for the rest of the upgrade process, wdidle3.exe requires the new drive to be connected directly to the computer via a SATA port to work.

Thanks again!

Now, let's hope Newegg sends me a REALLY NEW fresh drive :)

[tcfcameron]

Yes, I have the HD-XL Image. I'll post Before & After "supersize" mfsinfo, using a 2TB WD20EADS drive (as soon as I find the drive. I put it someplace "safe").

Turning supersize on made no difference in MFSinfo, neither did turning it off. Supersize did report success when tuning it on, as well as turning it off. Whatever difference it makes, must not be in the form of anything reported by MFSinfo, but is recognized once the drive is installed into the TiVo.

I tried it with a Series 3 image, HD Image, and HD-XL image. I also tried leaving the swap partition at the WinMFS default of 128MB, as opposed to 1024MB.

The hard drive used is a WD20EADS.

Here's the HD-XL non-supersized:
13291

Mfsinfo (Drive 2)

Boot Page
Boot Page: root=/dev/hda7
Active Boot Partition: 6 Active Root Partition: 7
Backup Boot Partition: 3 Backup Root Partition: 4

MFS Super Header
state=0 magic=ebbafeed
devlist=/dev/hda10 /dev/hda11 /dev/hda12 /dev/hda13 /dev/hda14 /dev/hda15
zonemap_ptr=1121 total_secs=3903336448

Zone Maps
Z0: type=0
map_start=1121 map_size=1 backup_map_start=589822
next_map_start=263266 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=589788
zone_first=1122 zone_last=263265 zone_size=262144 min(chunk)=262144
free=262144 checksum=4c831b2c logstamp=17698 num_bitmap=1
Z1: type=2
map_start=263266 map_size=34 backup_map_start=589788
next_map_start=263300 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=589754
zone_first=589824 zone_last=876642303 zone_size=876052480 min(chunk)=20480
free=873533440 checksum=f3db8732 logstamp=17706 num_bitmap=17
Z2: type=1
map_start=263300 map_size=34 backup_map_start=589754
next_map_start=876644352 next_map_size=1 next_backup_map_start=877234175
zone_first=263334 zone_last=589749 zone_size=326416 min(chunk)=8
free=253296 checksum=633d1dc8 logstamp=17698 num_bitmap=17
Z3: type=0
map_start=876644352 map_size=1 backup_map_start=877234175
next_map_start=876906497 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=877234141
zone_first=876644353 zone_last=876906496 zone_size=262144 min(chunk)=262144
free=262144 checksum=dcb8993 logstamp=17698 num_bitmap=1
Z4: type=2
map_start=876906497 map_size=34 backup_map_start=877234141
next_map_start=876906531 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=877234107
zone_first=877234176 zone_last=1951655935 zone_size=1074421760 min(chunk)=20480
free=1067868160 checksum=833e13f9 logstamp=17706 num_bitmap=17
Z5: type=1
map_start=876906531 map_size=34 backup_map_start=877234107
next_map_start=1951672320 next_map_size=67 next_backup_map_start=1951674301
zone_first=876906565 zone_last=877234100 zone_size=327536 min(chunk)=8
free=321584 checksum=c824a565 logstamp=17698 num_bitmap=17
Z6: type=2
map_start=1951672320 map_size=67 backup_map_start=1951674301
next_map_start=0 next_map_size=0 next_backup_map_start=0
zone_first=1951674368 zone_last=3903336447 zone_size=1951662080 min(chunk)=20480
free=1951662080 checksum=f6fa4f logstamp=0 num_bitmap=18

Partition Maps
#: type name length base ( size )
1 Apple_partition_map Apple 63@1 ( 31.5K)
2 Image Bootstrap 1 1@1950494126( 512.0 )
3 Image Kernel 1 8192@1950494127( 4.0M)
4 Ext2 Root 1 524288@1950502319( 256.0M)
5 Image Bootstrap 2 1@1951026607( 512.0 )
6 Image Kernel 2 8192@1951026608( 4.0M)
7 Ext2 Root 2 524288@1951034800( 256.0M)
8 Swap Linux swap 2097152@1951559088( 1.0G)
9 Ext2 /var 524288@1953656240( 256.0M)
10 MFS MFS application region 589824@1954180528( 288.0M)
11 MFS MFS media region 876055257@1074438869( 417.7G)
12 MFS MFS application region 2 589824@1954770352( 288.0M)
13 MFS MFS media region 2 1074438805@64 ( 512.3G)
14 MFS MFS App by Winmfs 2048@1955360176( 1.0M)
15 MFS MFS Media by Winmfs 1951662080@1955362224( 930.6G)

Total SA SD Hours: 2082 Total DTV SD Hours: 1817 100 % Free
Software: 9.4.1-01-2-658 Tivo Model: TCD658000

Here'e the HD-XL supersized:
13292

Mfsinfo (Drive 2)

Boot Page
Boot Page: root=/dev/hda7
Active Boot Partition: 6 Active Root Partition: 7
Backup Boot Partition: 3 Backup Root Partition: 4

MFS Super Header
state=0 magic=ebbafeed
devlist=/dev/hda10 /dev/hda11 /dev/hda12 /dev/hda13 /dev/hda14 /dev/hda15
zonemap_ptr=1121 total_secs=3903336448

Zone Maps
Z0: type=0
map_start=1121 map_size=1 backup_map_start=589822
next_map_start=263266 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=589788
zone_first=1122 zone_last=263265 zone_size=262144 min(chunk)=262144
free=262144 checksum=4c831b2c logstamp=17698 num_bitmap=1
Z1: type=2
map_start=263266 map_size=34 backup_map_start=589788
next_map_start=263300 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=589754
zone_first=589824 zone_last=876642303 zone_size=876052480 min(chunk)=20480
free=873533440 checksum=f3db8732 logstamp=17706 num_bitmap=17
Z2: type=1
map_start=263300 map_size=34 backup_map_start=589754
next_map_start=876644352 next_map_size=1 next_backup_map_start=877234175
zone_first=263334 zone_last=589749 zone_size=326416 min(chunk)=8
free=253296 checksum=633d1dc8 logstamp=17698 num_bitmap=17
Z3: type=0
map_start=876644352 map_size=1 backup_map_start=877234175
next_map_start=876906497 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=877234141
zone_first=876644353 zone_last=876906496 zone_size=262144 min(chunk)=262144
free=262144 checksum=dcb8993 logstamp=17698 num_bitmap=1
Z4: type=2
map_start=876906497 map_size=34 backup_map_start=877234141
next_map_start=876906531 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=877234107
zone_first=877234176 zone_last=1951655935 zone_size=1074421760 min(chunk)=20480
free=1067868160 checksum=833e13f9 logstamp=17706 num_bitmap=17
Z5: type=1
map_start=876906531 map_size=34 backup_map_start=877234107
next_map_start=1951672320 next_map_size=67 next_backup_map_start=1951674301
zone_first=876906565 zone_last=877234100 zone_size=327536 min(chunk)=8
free=321584 checksum=c824a565 logstamp=17698 num_bitmap=17
Z6: type=2
map_start=1951672320 map_size=67 backup_map_start=1951674301
next_map_start=0 next_map_size=0 next_backup_map_start=0
zone_first=1951674368 zone_last=3903336447 zone_size=1951662080 min(chunk)=20480
free=1951662080 checksum=f6fa4f logstamp=0 num_bitmap=18

Partition Maps
#: type name length base ( size )
1 Apple_partition_map Apple 63@1 ( 31.5K)
2 Image Bootstrap 1 1@1950494126( 512.0 )
3 Image Kernel 1 8192@1950494127( 4.0M)
4 Ext2 Root 1 524288@1950502319( 256.0M)
5 Image Bootstrap 2 1@1951026607( 512.0 )
6 Image Kernel 2 8192@1951026608( 4.0M)
7 Ext2 Root 2 524288@1951034800( 256.0M)
8 Swap Linux swap 2097152@1951559088( 1.0G)
9 Ext2 /var 524288@1953656240( 256.0M)
10 MFS MFS application region 589824@1954180528( 288.0M)
11 MFS MFS media region 876055257@1074438869( 417.7G)
12 MFS MFS application region 2 589824@1954770352( 288.0M)
13 MFS MFS media region 2 1074438805@64 ( 512.3G)
14 MFS MFS App by Winmfs 2048@1955360176( 1.0M)
15 MFS MFS Media by Winmfs 1951662080@1955362224( 930.6G)

Total SA SD Hours: 2082 Total DTV SD Hours: 1817 100 % Free
Software: 9.4.1-01-2-658 Tivo Model: TCD658000

[comer]

Turning supersize on made no difference in MFSinfo, neither did turning it off. Supersize did report success when tuning it on, as well as turning it off. Whatever difference it makes, must not be in the form of anything reported by MFSinfo, but is recognized once the drive is installed into the TiVo.

I tried it with a Series 3 image, HD Image, and HD-XL image.

Thank you for doing this! Yes, "supersize" is not a change in a disk structure - it's a "configuartion" object in Tivo.

[tcfcameron]

Thank you for doing this! Yes, "supersize" is not a change in a disk structure - it's a "configuartion" object in Tivo.

That's what I was thinking, as well. If I remember correctly, from the many hours/days I spent digging around in the WinMFS, MFSLive, and other forums, the original configuration (non-supersized) uses a percentage of the total drive capacity for TiVo "Showcases". When MFS supersize in turned on, it sets the allocation to a set XXGB size, instead of a percentage. I think that the set amount was 10GB, and caused no ill effects, but I'm not 100% sure of the set allocation amount that was deemed "safe".

[tcfcameron]

Thank you for doing this! Yes, "supersize" is not a change in a disk structure - it's a "configuartion" object in Tivo.

Just in case you have any interest, this is what the "Broflovski" image looks like when imaged to the same drive:

13293


Mfsinfo (Drive 2)

Boot Page
Boot Page: root=/dev/hda7
Active Boot Partition: 6 Active Root Partition: 7
Backup Boot Partition: 3 Backup Root Partition: 4

MFS Super Header
state=0 magic=ebbafeed
devlist=/dev/hda10 /dev/hda11 /dev/hda12 /dev/hda13 /dev/hda14 /dev/hda15
zonemap_ptr=1121 total_secs=3903336448

Zone Maps
Z0: type=0
map_start=1121 map_size=1 backup_map_start=589822
next_map_start=263266 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=589788
zone_first=1122 zone_last=263265 zone_size=262144 min(chunk)=262144
free=262144 checksum=8ac81e70 logstamp=45323 num_bitmap=1
Z1: type=2
map_start=263266 map_size=34 backup_map_start=589788
next_map_start=263300 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=589754
zone_first=589824 zone_last=876642303 zone_size=876052480 min(chunk)=20480
free=872714240 checksum=3877c27f logstamp=45397 num_bitmap=17
Z2: type=1
map_start=263300 map_size=34 backup_map_start=589754
next_map_start=876644352 next_map_size=1 next_backup_map_start=877234175
zone_first=263334 zone_last=589749 zone_size=326416 min(chunk)=8
free=254560 checksum=301b77a9 logstamp=45479 num_bitmap=17
Z3: type=0
map_start=876644352 map_size=1 backup_map_start=877234175
next_map_start=876906497 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=877234141
zone_first=876644353 zone_last=876906496 zone_size=262144 min(chunk)=262144
free=262144 checksum=cb808ccf logstamp=45323 num_bitmap=1
Z4: type=2
map_start=876906497 map_size=34 backup_map_start=877234141
next_map_start=876906531 next_map_size=34 next_backup_map_start=877234107
zone_first=877234176 zone_last=1951655935 zone_size=1074421760 min(chunk)=20480
free=1072496640 checksum=721ed43f logstamp=45397 num_bitmap=17
Z5: type=1
map_start=876906531 map_size=34 backup_map_start=877234107
next_map_start=1951672320 next_map_size=67 next_backup_map_start=1951674301
zone_first=876906565 zone_last=877234100 zone_size=327536 min(chunk)=8
free=268112 checksum=8cf181f0 logstamp=45479 num_bitmap=17
Z6: type=2
map_start=1951672320 map_size=67 backup_map_start=1951674301
next_map_start=0 next_map_size=0 next_backup_map_start=0
zone_first=1951674368 zone_last=3903336447 zone_size=1951662080 min(chunk)=20480
free=1951662080 checksum=f6fa4f logstamp=0 num_bitmap=18

Partition Maps
#: type name length base ( size )
1 Apple_partition_map Apple 63@1 ( 31.5K)
2 Image Bootstrap 1 1@1950492736( 512.0 )
3 Image Kernel 1 8192@1950492737( 4.0M)
4 Ext2 Root 1 524288@1950500929( 256.0M)
5 Image Bootstrap 2 1@1951025217( 512.0 )
6 Image Kernel 2 8192@1951025218( 4.0M)
7 Ext2 Root 2 524288@1951033410( 256.0M)
8 Swap Linux swap 2097152@1951557698( 1.0G)
9 Ext2 /var 524288@1953654850( 256.0M)
10 MFS MFS application region 589824@1954179138( 288.0M)
11 MFS MFS media region 876054528@1074438208( 417.7G)
12 MFS MFS application region 2 589824@1954768962( 288.0M)
13 MFS MFS media region 2 1074438144@64 ( 512.3G)
14 MFS MFS App by Winmfs 2048@1955358786( 1.0M)
15 MFS MFS Media by Winmfs 1951662080@1955360834( 930.6G)

Total SA SD Hours: 2082 Total DTV SD Hours: 1817 100 % Free
Software: 11.0d-01-2-652 Tivo Model: not set in MFS

This image will back-up with WinMFS, once booted and updated, but upon trying to the restore the backup, it will fail.

As stated in the past, this image won't accept turning MFS supersize on. However, it doesn't allow turning MFS supersize off, either.

I get a total of (up to) 318 HD hours when using this image.

Something that makes this image unique, is the "TiVo Model: not set in MFS" notation, and that upon booting, it does some sort of updating, which doesn't involve downloading the newest software (that's the very last update that happens).

[comer]

That's what I was thinking, as well. If I remember correctly, from the many hours/days I spent digging around in the WinMFS, MFSLive, and other forums, the original configuration (non-supersized) uses a percentage of the total drive capacity for TiVo "Showcases". When MFS supersize in turned on, it sets the allocation to a set XXGB size, instead of a percentage. I think that the set amount was 10GB, and caused no ill effects, but I'm not 100% sure of the set allocation amount that was deemed "safe".

Almost correct :) The reserved space is never in percentage, but in KB. But that configuration object also has min and max disk size to which it is applicable. In case of Premiere it is 315/323G and reserved size is 10G. The theory is that once disk is outside of that range, the reserved space size is scaled. For example, if we put 646G disk in place of 320G, the resrved space will actually be 10G * (646G/323G) = 20G. So one can either set the maximum disk size to what really is (or maximum possible), or set the reserved size to something less, or both.
That's what I understand so far :)

[comer]

As stated in the past, this image won't accept turning MFS supersize on. However, it doesn't allow turning MFS supersize off, either.

I get a total of (up to) 318 HD hours when using this image.

Something that makes this image unique, is the "TiVo Model: not set in MFS" notation, and that upon booting, it does some sort of updating, which doesn't involve downloading the newest software (that's the very last update that happens).

Hm... My guess would be that the whole configuration is trashed - the reserved space, model, serial number etc - so Tivo needs to restore it upon the first boot. That's (probably) why model and disk configuration (reserved space info) are not found. Since disk configuration is not found, it can not be updated either way - up or down.

[tcfcameron]

Almost correct :) The reserved space is never in percentage, but in KB. But that configuration object also has min and max disk size to which it is applicable. In case of Premiere it is 315/323G and reserved size is 10G. The theory is that once disk is outside of that range, the reserved space size is scaled. For example, if we put 646G disk in place of 320G, the resrved space will actually be 10G * (646G/323G) = 20G. So one can either set the maximum disk size to what really is (or maximum possible), or set the reserved size to something less, or both.
That's what I understand so far :)

At least somebody is figuring it all out :)

I would bet, that once you do, and your freeware allows people to get the same result as a DVR_Dude drive or the other sellers' drives, in a DIY fashion, there will be some heated debating started over the forum sponsors losing money, claims of intellectual property infringement, etc.

I already know where I stand. I know that you have built your software from the ground up. Nobody has offered image snapshots of drives commercially produced/sold. This is really for the best. If you figure it out, all on your own (maybe with a little legitimate help from others), nobody can stop your hard work from being used by the masses.

I thank you, as I'm sure many other do, for all your tenacity and hard work, and letting us use it for free. I'm confident that your solution will be complete with a supersize-like feature in the near future.

As soon as I actually own a Premiere again, I'll be sure to send a token of gratitude your way.

[richsadams]

I would bet, that once you do, and your freeware allows people to get the same result as a DVR_Dude drive or the other sellers' drives, in a DIY fashion, there will be some heated debating started over the forum sponsors losing money, claims of intellectual property infringement, etc.If that were ever going to be an issue, it would have come up with winMFS years ago (or even the Hinsdale upgrade methods before that). The forum sponsors are just that, this isn't a for-profit forum and the only censorship I've ever seen (besides spam, flames, etc.) is when someone strays into discussing TiVo stock or violation of the actual image posting regulations.

The folks making money off of TiVo upgrades shouldn't be too concerned anyway. Although there seems to be a lot of activity here, the actual numbers are miniscule as compared to boxes in the wild. They'll still have plenty of "plug and play" customers that haven't a clue how to go about doing what we've been doing here IMHO. ;)

[tcfcameron]

If that were ever going to be an issue, it would have come up with winMFS years ago (or even the Hinsdale upgrade methods before that). The forum sponsors are just that, this isn't a for-profit forum and the only censorship I've ever seen (besides spam, flames, etc.) is when someone strays into discussing TiVo stock or violation of the actual image posting regulations.

The folks making money off of TiVo upgrades shouldn't be too concerned anyway. Although there seems to be a lot of activity here, the actual numbers are miniscule as compared to boxes in the wild. They'll still have plenty of "plug and play" customers that haven't a clue how to go about doing what we've been doing here IMHO. ;)

I didn't mean that the forum sponsors would actually come into this thread and start anything (or put a stop to anything).

I mean forum users, who think that projects like this could hurt the forum sponsors, thus resulting in the collapse of the forum, the sky falling, global warming, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria, etc.

Somebody posted such an objection early on, with Comer's project. If I could easily find it, I'd quote it.

There are people here that are TiVo fanboys and TCF fanboys, so much so, that what we are doing here is heresy to them. I'm not one of them, for the record.

As far as the "it would have happened before" part of your opinion, I only disagree, in that, the economy is different now, than it was in almost every time period associated with the prior methods / sources of methods to upgrade TiVo hard drives. So, this may just be the time that -somebody- actually tries to stop the things that we pretty much take for granted, such as DIY TiVo storage upgrades. On the other hand, nothing of the sort may happen. Only time will tell.

[richsadams]

I didn't mean that the forum sponsors would actually come into this thread and start anything (or put a stop to anything).

I mean forum users, who think that projects like this could hurt the forum sponsors, thus resulting in the collapse of the forum, the sky falling, global warming, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria, etc.

Somebody posted such an objection early on, with Comer's project. If I could easily find it, I'd quote it.

There are people here that are TiVo fanboys and TCF fanboys, so much so, that what we are doing here is heresy to them. I'm not one of them, for the record.

As far as the "it would have happened before" part of your opinion, I only disagree, in that, the economy is different now, than it was in almost every time period associated with the prior methods / sources of methods to upgrade TiVo hard drives. So, this may just be the time that -somebody- actually tries to stop the things that we pretty much take for granted, such as DIY TiVo storage upgrades. On the other hand, nothing of the sort may happen. Only time will tell.Got it. :) Again, though, if someone were going to step in it would have already happened IMHO. There's just no case for it based on forum rules…not that rule makers can't change them of course. I've had personal conversations with the owner of DVRUpgrade and he's a very stand-up guy. DVRUpgrade/Weaknees have a business model that understands that competition (free or otherwise) is part of the landscape. Plus again, although we think our ranks are large, we're a tiny blip on the radar made up of enthusiasts that just aren't part of the "norm" when it comes to folks looking to get a little more recording space. Most will take the easy route and buy an Expander. The slightly more adventurous will continue to buy from Weaknees, DVRUpgrade and even the odd e-bayer and risk opening their TiVo's. People willing to spend time opening, fussing with their computers, running programs and the like are pretty rare. Although some have probably come and gone from this thread without ever saying a word, you can count on a couple of hands or so how many have actually posted their questions and results here.

Anyway, I think we're more than safe and kudos to you, Comer and all of the TiVo Pioneers here! :up:

[EdH]

At least somebody is figuring it all out :)

I would bet, that once you do, and your freeware allows people to get the same result as a DVR_Dude drive or the other sellers' drives, in a DIY fashion, there will be some heated debating started over the forum sponsors losing money, claims of intellectual property infringement, etc.


As it stands, Comer's work provides almost (or very close to) the result offered by the commercial vendors. On a 2gb drive the difference in recording time is pretty small.

I suspect most users, at least the more adventurous ones can live with that. I certainly can.

It would be nice to get that extra space; but it's just not a necessity.

[lickwid]

Thanks Comer for the great work and the JavaMFS Live CD. I was able to upgrade my stock Premiere to 2TB, using a Hitachi 2TB hard drive I picked up from Fry's last week. It seems that the new Hitachi drives no longer allows you to edit the AAM settings. There is a review on amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/review/RJ69LRFN7YFNN/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#RJ69LRFN7YFNN) that says there's a way to enable the functionality in the BIOS, but I have yet to get that to work. It's a little louder than optimal, but it's ok for now.

[richsadams]

It seems that the new Hitachi drives no longer allows you to edit the AAM settings. That shouldn't be the case, although the current version of Hitachi's Feature Tool doesn't work, v2.11 should and if not that hddscan (http://www.hddscan.com) should work as well. I'd give one or the other of those a try if the noise continues to be an issue. More information about both (plus the HFT iso) can be found in the Drive Expansion and Upgrade FAQ (specifically Section IV, #32):

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5616160#post5616160

Enjoy your "new" TiVo!

[lickwid]

That shouldn't be the case, although the current version of Hitachi's Feature Tool doesn't work, v2.11 should and if not that hddscan (http://www.hddscan.com) should work as well. I'd give one or the other of those a try if the noise continues to be an issue. More information about both (plus the HFT iso) can be found in the Drive Expansion and Upgrade FAQ (specifically Section IV, #32):

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5616160#post5616160

Enjoy your "new" TiVo!

Thank you. I'll give it a shot this weekend.

[myblubu]

It appears that the newest WD GP drives no longer require the Intellipark feature to be tweaked at all. ("Newer" being somewhere around the second week of September or so.) Drives with a manufacture date prior to that often need the tweak. Trial and error is about the only way to find out…or you can just run wdidle3.exe and not worry about it.



My drive arrived today! - Manufacture date is 9/22/10 - Do you think I'm safe regarding the Intellipark feature??? How should I verify?

[lickwid]

That shouldn't be the case, although the current version of Hitachi's Feature Tool doesn't work, v2.11 should and if not that hddscan (http://www.hddscan.com) should work as well. I'd give one or the other of those a try if the noise continues to be an issue. More information about both (plus the HFT iso) can be found in the Drive Expansion and Upgrade FAQ (specifically Section IV, #32):

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5616160#post5616160

Enjoy your "new" TiVo!

Hmm, I've downloaded HDDscan and the older Hitachi Feature Tool, and both show the new Hitachi 2TB HDD as "Not Supported" for the Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM) feature. I'll have to see if I can somehow switch to IDE mode from AHCI mode within my BIOS.

[richsadams]

My drive arrived today! - Manufacture date is 9/22/10 - Do you think I'm safe regarding the Intellipark feature??? How should I verify?The only way to fnd out would be to perform the upgrade, install the drive and see if it will reboot from a menu restart. If not (or if it doesn't boot up at all) then you'll probably need to run wdidle3 to extend or disable the Intellipark timeout. Not very scientific, but that's about it.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes!

[richsadams]

Hmm, I've downloaded HDDscan and the older Hitachi Feature Tool, and both show the new Hitachi 2TB HDD as "Not Supported" for the Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM) feature. I'll have to see if I can somehow switch to IDE mode from AHCI mode within my BIOS.Understood. It's quite possible that hddscan hasn't caught up with the 2TB drives...or may never, it's hard to say and the old HTF program may only work on 1TB or smaller drives as well. I could had sworn that I remember some folks being able to adjust the AAM on the 2TB Hitachi drives though...but it's becoming a blur anymore. :confused:

It'll be good to know if you're successful...making you a bit of a TiVo Pioneer yourself!

[hotoru]

I just upgraded mine......
I pretty much followed hotoru's guide on post #869 (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8165515#post8165515) of this thread except if I would have hit "e" at the expand option it would have exited I believe. I just had to hit "y" to confirm the expansion.
Sorry, glad you were paying attention. I wrote that part from memory. I will change on the post (#860 (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8165515#post8165515))

[hotoru]

My drive arrived today! - Manufacture date is 9/22/10 - Do you think I'm safe regarding the Intellipark feature??? How should I verify?
Mine was mnfg in 9/2010 but I still disabled the intellipark. I understood the problem as early drive failure. I thought it was 'probably' fixed by 9/2010. But, I decided the benefits of intellipark did not outweight the risk of early drive failure with loss of up to 2TB worth of shows and a $100 drive. You can run the WDidle program without arguments to check the intellipark status. (As per my post #860 (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8165515#post8165515))

[myblubu]

The only way to fnd out would be to perform the upgrade, install the drive and see if it will reboot from a menu restart. If not (or if it doesn't boot up at all) then you'll probably need to run wdidle3 to extend or disable the Intellipark timeout. Not very scientific, but that's about it.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes!

Mine was mnfg in 9/2010 but I still disabled the intellipark. I understood the problem as early drive failure. I thought it was 'probably' fixed by 9/2010. But, I decided the benefits of intellipark did not outweight the risk of early drive failure with loss of up to 2TB worth of shows and a $100 drive. You can run the WDidle program without arguments to check the intellipark status. (As per my post #860 (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8165515#post8165515))

Thanks for both responses! I was just wondering if I should disable intellipark anyway, so both comments came in handy. Thanks!

[mkkelly75]

Not sure if anyone would want to use a Seagate drive, but this is about the best price I have seen on a 2T yet:

$89.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148413&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL101410&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL101410-_-EMC-101410-Index-_-InternalHardDrives-_-22148413-L012B

$10 off with promo code EMCZYZR58

I used a 1T in my 1st HD TiVo and never had an issue, but I know some people have been turned off to this by the issues Seagate had recently.

[richsadams]

Mine was mnfg in 9/2010 but I still disabled the intellipark. I understood the problem as early drive failure. I thought it was 'probably' fixed by 9/2010. But, I decided the benefits of intellipark did not outweight the risk of early drive failure with loss of up to 2TB worth of shows and a $100 drive. You can run the WDidle program without arguments to check the intellipark status. (As per my post #860 (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8165515#post8165515))I'm not sure where the Intellipark/"early drive failure" idea ever came from. AFAIK there's no evidence that Intellipark would have any effect on the longevity of a hard drive, particularly in a TiVo. I did a little research and couldn't find anything to support that theory. If someone can point us to a source it would be very helpful. Otherwise there's no need to worry about it IMO.

[richsadams]

Not sure if anyone would want to use a Seagate drive, but this is about the best price I have seen on a 2T yet:

$89.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148413&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL101410&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL101410-_-EMC-101410-Index-_-InternalHardDrives-_-22148413-L012B

$10 off with promo code EMCZYZR58

I used a 1T in my 1st HD TiVo and never had an issue, but I know some people have been turned off to this by the issues Seagate had recently.That's certainly a very good price! The specs list the acoustics at 2.6 bels which isn't as quiet as some drives, but not that bad either. The AAM can't be changed on Seagate drives, so if you can live with that, it's worth a try. I think we'd all like to hear how things go!

[comer]

That's certainly a very good price! The specs list the acoustics at 2.6 bels which isn't as quiet as some drives, but not that bad either. The AAM can't be changed on Seagate drives, so if you can live with that, it's worth a try. I think we'd all like to hear how things go!

I posted a link before here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8158386#post8158386). From the article:
It is worth noting that there are no actual failures attributed to this problem as yet — just a number of drives that are reporting rapid (and unusual) increases in load/unload cycles via the drive's SMART reporting feature. Some drives are approaching the rated specification of 300,000 load/unload cycles after less than a year of ownership. While the drives are extremely unlikely to give up the ghost right as the counter crosses 300,000, exceeding the specification indicates the point where the risk of failure begins to increase. (underlined is my point of view)

I personally observed that effect on one of my drives and that drive did fail - for this reason or not - I don't know. YMMV of course.

[mkkelly75]

That's certainly a very good price! The specs list the acoustics at 2.6 bels which isn't as quiet as some drives, but not that bad either. The AAM can't be changed on Seagate drives, so if you can live with that, it's worth a try. I think we'd all like to hear how things go!

I've got my 2 TiVo's upgraded now, but I thought their might be an adventurous soul out there. :)

[tcfcameron]

I'm not sure where the Intellipark/"early drive failure" idea ever came from. AFAIK there's no evidence that Intellipark would have any effect on the longevity of a hard drive, particularly in a TiVo. I did a little research and couldn't find anything to support that theory. If someone can point us to a source it would be very helpful. Otherwise there's no need to worry about it IMO.

Well, that would vary, depending on how loosely you use the term "failure". HDD head retract/reload cycles are part of the SMART logging set. They start at a number like 255, 200, or 100, depending on the manufacturer, and tick downward incrementally over time as the number of cycles increases, eventually reaching zero. Just like Power-On Hours Count, when zero is reached, the SMART status of the drive may change to "BAD", which some may mistake as failure. This may also depend on the software you use to read the SMART data, as to how it interprets that register. Just like power-on hours, it doesn't mean the drive is now bad and must be replaced, but is supposed to be an indicator of drive age/workload.

Short version: if you have an environment or configuration where the drive retracts the heads, but then then reloads them almost immediately (and this repeats itself too often), you run the counter down very fast (some flavors of *nix are known for this).

This rumor about failure, wouldn't even affect TiVos. They are always reading/writing, excluding reboots, which would prohibit the counter from ticking-down at an accelerated rate (quite the opposite). This is why simply extending the Idle3 timer on WD drives works just as well as disabling it completely.

[richsadams]

Well, that would vary, depending on how loosely you use the term "failure". HDD head retract/reload cycles are part of the SMART logging set. They start at a number like 255, 200, or 100, depending on the manufacturer, and tick downward incrementally over time as the number of cycles increases, eventually reaching zero. Just like Power-On Hours Count, when zero is reached, the SMART status of the drive may change to "BAD", which some may mistake as failure. This may also depend on the software you use to read the SMART data, as to how it interprets that register. Just like power-on hours, it doesn't mean the drive is now bad and must be replaced, but is supposed to be an indicator of drive age/workload.

Short version: if you have an environment or configuration where the drive retracts the heads, but then then reloads them almost immediately (and this repeats itself too often), you run the counter down very fast (some flavors of *nix are known for this).

This rumor about failure, wouldn't even affect TiVos. They are always reading/writing, excluding reboots, which would prohibit the counter from ticking-down at an accelerated rate (quite the opposite). This is why simply extending the Idle3 timer on WD drives works just as well as disabling it completely.Excellent info...and makes perfect sense. So it would seem folks here (at least) shouldn't have any worries and we can put that idea to bed as they say. Thanks! :up:

[richsadams]

I've got my 2 TiVo's upgraded now, but I thought their might be an adventurous soul out there. :)Volunteers? Anyone? Anyone? ;)

[myblubu]

Not sure if anyone would want to use a Seagate drive, but this is about the best price I have seen on a 2T yet:

$89.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148413&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL101410&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL101410-_-EMC-101410-Index-_-InternalHardDrives-_-22148413-L012B

$10 off with promo code EMCZYZR58

I used a 1T in my 1st HD TiVo and never had an issue, but I know some people have been turned off to this by the issues Seagate had recently.

Newegg also put the WD20EARS on sale for $99 with free shipping. That's the one I bought but paid $110 for it. My drive was due to be delivered on the day I saw the price drop, so I called and they gave me credit for the difference.

[gespears]

I've got a new one for you. I while back I mentioned I wanted to make a backup of my 2TB drive. Well I finally got a chance to play with making a backup. I recently got a free copy (giveawayoftheday) of Paragon Drive copy and it has a raw mode. I tried it. It took 6 and a half hours via direct SATA connection to the motherboard but after it was finished I stuck it in the TiVo and it worked flawlessly. It showed 317 HD hours and even did an update with no issues.

So if anyone wants to do a Windows copy of the TiVo drive, it works well, albeit slowly. Plus, it said the TiVo drive partition was "undefined" but copied it anyway. Interesting.

[comer]

I've got a new one for you. I while back I mentioned I wanted to make a backup of my 2TB drive. Well I finally got a chance to play with making a backup. I recently got a free copy (giveawayoftheday) of Paragon Drive copy and it has a raw mode. I tried it. It took 6 and a half hours via direct SATA connection to the motherboard but after it was finished I stuck it in the TiVo and it worked flawlessly. It showed 317 HD hours and even did an update with no issues.

So if anyone wants to do a Windows copy of the TiVo drive, it works well, albeit slowly. Plus, it said the TiVo drive partition was "undefined" but copied it anyway. Interesting.

80MB/s? Seems a bit too fast for 1-to-1 copy. It may have skipped some areas that it deemed inconsequential ;) Did you have any recordings, do they all play fine?

[cherb]

FWIW if I were going to upgrade my Premiere XL today I'd go with Western Digital's WD20EVDS:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136494

Price-wise it's a little higher than some of the other WD 2TB drives, but it's a dedicated A/V hard drive so the AAM is already set to 128 and based on recent reports if this drive has been manufactured after August 1 or so the issue with the Intellipark feature and soft reboots doesn't apply. So that would be my choice of the moment.

I used to be a die-hard Seagate man, but over the past few years their QC has plummeted for some reason. Seems like that happened about the same time they acquired Maxtor, but it could be a coincidence. So WD has moved from lower in the food chain to near the top if not top on my list now. I've also had great success with Hitachi's Deskstar 7K1000.C HD31000 IDK/7K (http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/33586ADC145D59A086257603007B022E/$file/DS7K1000.C_DS_final.pdf). (http://amzn.to/cinYZz or http://amzn.to/bmY99L) They run very cool and quiet and the three I have have been flawless for over a year now. They are 1TB however so I'm not sure about the 2TB version.

BTW, at today's current prices I wouldn't waste my time with a 1TB or 1.5TB drive. My rule of thumb has always been buy as much space as you can afford even if you don't think you'll use it.

The 4K Sector format hasn't affected TiVo upgrades to date.

I'm sure others will chime in but hope that helps and happy upgrading!

Is the WD20EVDS still the drive of choice? Isn't the WD20EURS still tunable to AAM of 128 with the DOS tools? Based on the WDC website, the EURS is 1dB quieter for both idle and seek. It also seems to be cheaper. Wondering what others thoughts and experiences are.

[richsadams]

Is the WD20EVDS still the drive of choice? Isn't the WD20EURS still tunable to AAM of 128 with the DOS tools? Based on the WDC website, the EURS is 1dB quieter for both idle and seek. It also seems to be cheaper. Wondering what others thoughts and experiences are.Welcome to the forum! The WD20EVDS is a good choice, a number of folks are using them here. AFAIK no one has ever used the EURS series. I don't see any reason it wouldn't work and you s/b able to adjust the AAM, but it's an unknown. The second most popular drive to use is the WD20EARS.

[gespears]

80MB/s? Seems a bit too fast for 1-to-1 copy. It may have skipped some areas that it deemed inconsequential ;) Did you have any recordings, do they all play fine?

Yes and yes they did. Everything worked well!

[tcfcameron]

How many hours did the original drive show?

If I am reading your posts correctly, you either copied a DVR_Dude type drive and got an equal copy, or you managed to gain hours, exceeding the current maximum with Comer's method, after you made the clone. In either case, this is great news, as long as there were no problems introduced.

So how was your original 2TB drive prepared? Was it a pre-imaged drop-in, or was it made with Comer's tools?

I'll bet that, in either case, if you could get the MFS file system partition data, from both drives, and post it, it may shed some light on a way to get everybody that extra storage that has been elusive to the DIY community.

I know that it may not be something you really want to do, but "doing that little extra and sharing the pertinent data" is how we thrive here.

I've got a new one for you. I while back I mentioned I wanted to make a backup of my 2TB drive. Well I finally got a chance to play with making a backup. I recently got a free copy (giveawayoftheday) of Paragon Drive copy and it has a raw mode. I tried it. It took 6 and a half hours via direct SATA connection to the motherboard but after it was finished I stuck it in the TiVo and it worked flawlessly. It showed 317 HD hours and even did an update with no issues.

So if anyone wants to do a Windows copy of the TiVo drive, it works well, albeit slowly. Plus, it said the TiVo drive partition was "undefined" but copied it anyway. Interesting.

[comer]

Perhaps you would be interested to know that all of your donations - thank you very much - (and my birthday money) went into acquiring a 3TB seagate drive mentioned here earlier (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148580&cm_re=goflex-_-22-148-580-_-Product). I guess that was a good news. The bad news is that it can not be used in Tivo. Neither as an internal nor as an external drive (the upcoming version of jmfs has an ability to add any drive as external - ala "bless"). I tried straight image of a stock 320G on it as an internal, without any expasion tricks - Tivo goes into boot-waitaminute-boot-waitaminute loop. If used externally Tivo does not recognize it - "your external storage has been disconnected, press CLEAR to remove". It feels very much like BIOS or hardware limitation or incompatibility. Linux on a PC sees the whole 3T capacity without a problem connected through SATA directly. W7 sees the drive as ~700G only connected through generic SATA-USB. However, through Seagate's stock USB dock the drive is seen correctly as 2794G on the same Winodws.
So, again, looks like Tivo Premiere is hard-limited to 2TB total storage :(

[kturcotte]

Perhaps you would be interested to know that all of your donations - thank you very much - (and my birthday money) went into acquiring a 3TB seagate drive mentioned here earlier (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148580&cm_re=goflex-_-22-148-580-_-Product). I guess that was a good news. The bad news is that it can not be used in Tivo. Neither as an internal nor as an external drive (the upcoming version of jmfs has an ability to add any drive as external - ala "bless"). I tried straight image of a stock 320G on it as an internal, without any expasion tricks - Tivo goes into boot-waitaminute-boot-waitaminute loop. If used externally Tivo does not recognize it - "your external storage has been disconnected, press CLEAR to remove". It feels very much like BIOS or hardware limitation or incompatibility. Linux on a PC sees the whole 3T capacity without a problem connected through SATA directly. W7 sees the drive as ~700G only connected through generic SATA-USB. However, through Seagate's stock USB dock the drive is seen correctly as 2794G on the same Winodws.
So, again, looks like Tivo Premiere is hard-limited to 4T total storage :(

That's too bad, but thanks for letting us know.
Hopefully they fix this with the Series 5, ESPECIALLY UHD is out by then! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_High_Definition_Television

[gespears]

How many hours did the original drive show?

If I am reading your posts correctly, you either copied a DVR_Dude type drive and got an equal copy, or you managed to gain hours, exceeding the current maximum with Comer's method, after you made the clone. In either case, this is great news, as long as there were no problems introduced.

So how was your original 2TB drive prepared? Was it a pre-imaged drop-in, or was it made with Comer's tools?

I'll bet that, in either case, if you could get the MFS file system partition data, from both drives, and post it, it may shed some light on a way to get everybody that extra storage that has been elusive to the DIY community.

I know that it may not be something you really want to do, but "doing that little extra and sharing the pertinent data" is how we thrive here.

It was s DVR Dude drive. If DVR Dude has no objections I can post the MFS file. But it's up to him.

[tcfcameron]

It was s DVR Dude drive. If DVR Dude has no objections I can post the MFS file. But it's up to him.

Well, I can't see him giving his blessing. But, that may not be necessary.

You've posted a way to successfully clone one of his drives (which he can't be happy about, nor can he do anything about), so it's only a matter of time before somebody else uses the same method and willingly posts the MFS data.

Thanks for the original heads-up on a cloning program that works with his drives.

For those that missed that post: Paragon Drive Copy, using raw mode.

[gamo62]

Well, I can't see him giving his blessing. But, that may not be necessary.

You've posted a way to successfully clone one of his drives (which he can't be happy about, nor can he do anything about), so it's only a matter of time before somebody else uses the same method and willingly posts the MFS data.

Thanks for the original heads-up on a cloning program that works with his drives.

For those that missed that post: Paragon Drive Copy, using raw mode.

This info won't take too much business away from him. Most of his sales are probably from people who wouldn't spend this much time trying to do it themselves.

[gespears]

Well, I can't see him giving his blessing. But, that may not be necessary.

You've posted a way to successfully clone one of his drives (which he can't be happy about, nor can he do anything about), so it's only a matter of time before somebody else uses the same method and willingly posts the MFS data.



I'm sure that Comer's initial copy procedure would copy it as well. I'm too lazy to try and get Linux up and running and was just suggesting a windows based solution to backing up your TiVo drive.

There are already plenty of unscrupulous people trying to sell copies of his drives, so that is nothing new to him as discussed before on this forum. But as stated earlier, he has a devoted following of people who want a quality drive backed by quality service and a warranty. I'm sure there are many, many TiVo owners that would like to expand their TiVo systems storage capacities who would never think or bother to look on a forum such as this to find a way to do it themselves, as well as people like me who would rather not screw with it.

[tcfcameron]

Please, let's not clog this thread up with debating/opinions regarding the moral aspects of cloning a DVR_Dude drive, which is where things seem to be headed. There are plenty of other threads already chocked-full of such discussion.

I see now, that what I posted originally, could be misunderstood. I'm not advocating "ripping off" DVR_Dude. I am trying to "put the genie back in the bottle" with this post.

I was just happy, as I always am, when any DIY tools/methods are brought to light. Even if said tools already exist, alternatives are always a good thing.

I'm sure that Comer's initial copy procedure would copy it as well. I'm too lazy to try and get Linux up and running and was just suggesting a windows based solution to backing up your TiVo drive.

There are already plenty of unscrupulous people trying to sell copies of his drives, so that is nothing new to him as discussed before on this forum. But as stated earlier, he has a devoted following of people who want a quality drive backed by quality service and a warranty. I'm sure there are many, many TiVo owners that would like to expand their TiVo systems storage capacities who would never think or bother to look on a forum such as this to find a way to do it themselves, as well as people like me who would rather not screw with it.

[AbMagFab]

I'm confused trying to get through this thread...

Is there now a tool available to replace a stock Premiere drive with a 1-2TB drive (e.g. WD Green)?

Or is the only solution to buy from DVRDude?

Thanks in advance!

[Jonathan_S]

I'm confused trying to get through this thread...

Is there now a tool available to replace a stock Premiere drive with a 1-2TB drive (e.g. WD Green)?

Or is the only solution to buy from DVRDude?

Thanks in advance!Yes there is. You need the boot cd (http://www.mediafire.com/?znr8p1h4uyn1v) of Comer's JavaMFS tool

Or see the step by step instructions from this post

[lessd]

I'm confused trying to get through this thread...

Is there now a tool available to replace a stock Premiere drive with a 1-2TB drive (e.g. WD Green)?

Or is the only solution to buy from DVRDude?

Thanks in advance!
Both options are in this thread, but I would go with DVRDude.

[AbMagFab]

Both options are in this thread, but I would go with DVRDude.

Except unless I can repair it myself, it's not really an option.

Why would you go with DVR dude?

And would you be willing to share a link to where the DIY option is? I couldn't find it by trolling around, but I gave up quickly...

Thanks!

[comer]

And would you be willing to share a link to where the DIY option is? I couldn't find it by trolling around, but I gave up quickly...

It's in my signature :)

[Shagger]

Except unless I can repair it myself, it's not really an option.

Why would you go with DVR dude?

And would you be willing to share a link to where the DIY option is? I couldn't find it by trolling around, but I gave up quickly...

Thanks!
It's EASY - using Comers utility its so easy, if I can do it, a trained monkey can do it.

[AbMagFab]

It's EASY - using Comers utility its so easy, if I can do it, a trained monkey can do it.

Any idea why that other guy said buying the drive is better?

[AbMagFab]

It's in my signature :)

Thanks! Will try it out this weekend.

[Shagger]

Any idea why that other guy said buying the drive is better?
Not sure, but it does require a bit of work - getting the drive, turning off the intellipark if needed, opening the Tivo, cloning the drive... For me it was worth it saving the $100 over the price of the XL and getting twice the HD recording time.

[AbMagFab]

Not sure, but it does require a bit of work - getting the drive, turning off the intellipark if needed, opening the Tivo, cloning the drive... For me it was worth it saving the $100 over the price of the XL and getting twice the HD recording time.

Even more so, it means you can do it again if a drive fails.

Can any Premiere drive be used, or does it have to be the specific one from the Premiere you're upgrading? Understand a C&DE would be necessary due to the S/N mismatch.

[comer]

Not sure, but it does require a bit of work - getting the drive, turning off the intellipark if needed, opening the Tivo, cloning the drive... For me it was worth it saving the $100 over the price of the XL and getting twice the HD recording time.

Opening the Tivo and installing the drive would still be required for upgrade, wouldn't it?
I think the main point - is that it saves one from connecting the drive to other computer, burning CD, pressing buttons... It scares some people. I don't judge, I am just stating the fact.

[comer]

Can any Premiere drive be used, or does it have to be the specific one from the Premiere you're upgrading? Understand a C&DE would be necessary due to the S/N mismatch.

With that understanding - yes.

[steve614]

I think I'm one of those people on the fence with the issue.
I'm capable of following instructions and I'm not scared of computers, so I could easily do an upgrade myself.
However, I'm lazy so I could also see going the plug and play route. :p

[teewow]

I just bought a Samsung F3 Spinpoint 1TB (7200rpm) drive for $55. I plan to replace the internal drive.

Any gotchas regarding this drive. Any intellipark stuff I need to do ? Thanks !

[aaronwt]

I just bought a Samsung F3 Spinpoint 1TB (7200rpm) drive for $55. I plan to replace the internal drive.

Any gotchas regarding this drive. Any intellipark stuff I need to do ? Thanks !
:eek::eek:
WOW!! $55 for a 1TB drive now. I paid 5X that for my first 1TB drives which I put in my S3 boxes.(still going strong in them. My girlfriend has two of my original S3 boxes)

[richsadams]

I just bought a Samsung F3 Spinpoint 1TB (7200rpm) drive for $55. I plan to replace the internal drive.

Any gotchas regarding this drive. Any intellipark stuff I need to do ? Thanks !I hope it works is all. I tried using that particular drive to upgrade a TiVo HD and it would never boot up. Others have had some success, yet others have had theirs quit eventually. I don't know what it is about them that causes problems. Based on the ongoing issues with S3 and THD upgrades they have never been included on the recommended HDD upgrade list.

FWIW I'm using the Samsung drive I bought as a computer backup drive and it works fine.

In any case, AFAIK there's nothing else to be done except give it a go. Best of luck!

[donnoh]

Please, let's not clog this thread up with debating/opinions regarding the moral aspects of cloning a DVR_Dude drive, which is where things seem to be headed. There are plenty of other threads already chocked-full of such discussion.

I see now, that what I posted originally, could be misunderstood. I'm not advocating "ripping off" DVR_Dude. I am trying to "put the genie back in the bottle" with this post.

I was just happy, as I always am, when any DIY tools/methods are brought to light. Even if said tools already exist, alternatives are always a good thing.

Comer I sincerely hope you don't try and steal DVRDudes work. I have paid him for his work and until you can do what he did without his help you should STFU.

[comer]

Comer I sincerely hope you don't try and steal DVRDudes work. I have paid him for his work and until you can do what he did without his help you should STFU.

Meeee??? :eek:

[SullyND]

Comer I sincerely hope you don't try and steal DVRDudes work. I have paid him for his work and until you can do what he did without his help you should STFU.

What? STFU? Seriously? I think you should understand the facts before telling someone who has been doing a lot of hard work, and giving it away for free, to STFU.

[gamo62]

Comer I sincerely hope you don't try and steal DVRDudes work. I have paid him for his work and until you can do what he did without his help you should STFU.

Well, that's your fault for paying. You did have other options as does everyone on here. Please take your own advice. Off we go now...

[tcfcameron]

Since my first attempt the stop the next two weeks worth of posts in this thread from becoming the same as what has already happened in other threads, I am posting a link to a current thread that has already been taken hostage.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=457568

I know I can't stop this. I know better than to try beyond what I have, at this point. But, I can suggest that there is a better place, and hope that all the moral arguments, venom, and napalm, maybe, just maybe, will migrate there.

Here's keeping my fingers crossed...

Any arguments, venom, or napalm lobbed in my direction, on this thread, will be ignored. I'll be too busy using Paragon Drive Copy (raw mode), to make full backups of my four 2TB TiVos, that were imaged/expanded to 317 HD hours, using FREE tools.

[orangeboy]

Comer I sincerely hope you don't try and steal DVRDudes work. I have paid him for his work and until you can do what he did without his help you should STFU.

You should probably check out this entire thread at MFSLive.org (http://mfslive.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1500) to get an understanding of comer's knowledge on the subject, and the efforts made by comer.

Here's a small chunk:

Now, I did not use mfsadd - as I learned Tivo I wrote my own bits and pieces in Java to quickly examine structures. Bits and pieces came together in time and now I have my own entirely-Java tool.

It won't be hard to adjust mfsadd:
make it SATA compatible (support /dev/sd*)
size = size & ~(minalloc - 1); does not work! because in Premiere data chunk is 20480 which is not a power of 2! The correct way is size = size - (size % minalloc); It is in more than one place!
change FS pointers offset - in Premiere it is 160 instead of 8 as it used to be (zonemap.c: fsmem_base = htonl (*(unsigned int *) (last + 1)) - (sizeof (*last) + htonl (last->num) * 4) + htonl (last->length) * 512 + 512 + 160;)
check the zone size (it may work, but it's based on pointer size, which may not give the correct result):

now (may or may not work): sizeof (zone_header_64) + 4 + (sizeof (bitmap_header) + sizeof (bitmap_header *)) * (order) + <sizeof ints in bitmaps>; where <sizeof ints in bitmaps> is based on "(bits + 62) / 32" (for the love of God - WHY?)

proposed (proven to give the correct result): sizeof (zone_header_64) + sizeof (bitmap_header) * order + sizeof(int) * order + sizeof(int) * order + <sizeof ints in bitmaps>; where <sizeof ints in bitmaps> is based on "(bits/32) + 1 - (15 / (8 + bits))"

I will backup and examine the structure later. I wonder if Tivo "coalesced" partitions itself or actually combined and created two zones, two partitions as it was but bigger?

EDIT: forgot important point about chunk size


So either:

comer can walk the walk, or
comer got EXTREMELY lucky talking the talk with the developers of WinMFS/MFSLive/MFSTools and did indeed steal DVRDude's work.


I'm leaning towards the former, and away from the latter...

[RichB]

You should probably check out this entire thread at MFSLive.org (http://mfslive.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1500) to get an understanding of comer's knowledge on the subject, and the efforts made by comer.

Here's a small chunk:


So either:

comer can walk the walk, or
comer got EXTREMELY lucky talking the talk with the developers of WinMFS/MFSLive/MFSTools and did indeed steal DVRDude's work.


I'm leaning towards the former, and away from the latter...

Do you know where DVRDudes got his information?
What if it was leaked or stolen from TiVo employee's?
What if he is a TiVo employee?

Oh my :rolleyes::D:p

- Rich

[wp746911]

gotta love the 'thanks' some people give to comer for his countless selfless hours he has spent helping us out...

[t1voproof]

I don't think DVR Dude is a Tivo employee. His Ebay listing ships from Virginia and I imagine most Tivo employees are in California.

[jmill]

gotta love the 'thanks' some people give to comer for his countless selfless hours he has spent helping us out...

Hate to say it, but some people are idiots. Comer is a great guy and I truly mean it.

In any case, let's keep discussion on topic. As was mentioned above, all whining and random thoughs need to go into different thread.

[orangeboy]

Do you know where DVRDudes got his information?
What if it was leaked or stolen from TiVo employee's?
What if he is a TiVo employee?

Oh my :rolleyes::D:p

- Rich

I don't think DVR Dude is a Tivo employee. His Ebay listing ships from Virginia and I imagine most Tivo employees are in California.

From what I gather, there are 2 or 3 people that have overcome the Premiere drive expansion problem, with an employee of Weaknees (http://www.wkblog.com/tivo/2010/04/weaknees-upgrades-the-tivo-premiere-to-4tb/) being perhaps the first to do so. I say 2 or 3 people (or maybe even only 1, but I don't think so), with the possibility of DVRDude being the same Weaknees employee, and comer. I honestly believe all solutions now available were created independently through hard work and effort.

[aaronwt]

Well, that's your fault for paying. You did have other options as does everyone on here. Please take your own advice. Off we go now...

What options were there in the Spring?

(Not that I'm condoning anyone to tell someone to "STFU" which I think is rather rude. Especially with all the work that Comer has done and shared with everyone)

[comer]

... with the possibility of DVRDude being the same Weaknees employee, and comer.

Ahh! Plot thikens! :D I don't know how to prove it, even if I should, but here's my word - I am not DVR_dude, nor am I have any connection to Weaknees, DVR Upgrade, Tivo or any other commercial enterprise related to all or any of the above. Except that I own a Tivo device and have a valid lifetime subscription, of course :)

[richsadams]

Ahh! Plot thikens! :D I don't know how to prove it, even if I should, but here's my word - I am not DVR_dude, nor am I have any connection to Weaknees, DVR Upgrade, Tivo or any other commercial enterprise related to all or any of the above. Except that I own a Tivo device and have a valid lifetime subscription, of course :)D'oh! That's all they needed! Expect the TIMBs (TiVo Men In Black) to be at your doorstep any moment now! :eek: :D

[dshlyam]

Comer I sincerely hope you don't try and steal DVRDudes work. I have paid him for his work and until you can do what he did without his help you should STFU.

Unbelievable...

I know I'm adding fuel to this and patronizing the troll, but I just have to say something...

To answer donnoh in kind, WTFRU to tell someone to STFU? What have YOU done to help the community? Are you sad that you're not even smart to follow a few simple steps to upgrade your Tivo yourself and keep all your recordings and settings and had to actually pay DvrDude through the nose to get an expanded drive? Better yet, pay for 2 drives? (IMO, if I HAD to have an expanded drive before it could be done for free thanks to Comer, I would've gotten ONE drive and cloned as many times as I need it, but it just me.) Buying TWO drives proves to me that you're a not technically competent person, which is OK in itself but you have no business dissing others who doing a great service to the community.

You suggest that something is being stolen perhaps. Do you have a qualification as an IP attorney? Do you know who's "stealing" from whom? Have you considered that DvrDude and others maybe engaging in the same "stealing" by reverse engineering of Tivo's IP?

(BTW, I do not think either DvrDude, Weaknees, Comer or anyone else here is really doing anything improper, just saying that if you want to go down the rabbit hole, it's possible to construe that anyone who examines or modified Tivo devices is "stealing", i.e. based on DCMA. It is OK then to "steal" from Tivo but not from the DvrDude, aka "the thief" under this theory? AGAIN, note the quotations marks, as I don't think anyone is really stealing anything at all, just trying to point a fallacy in donnoh's argument)

I thank that DvrDude is doing a great service and that he should not be afraid that free tools will ever take away his business... While world is full of people like donnoh, his business model is safe. What is sad is that people like Comer will eventually get upset and go do something more rewarding that trying help unappreciative folks like donnoh.

P.S. Is "donnoh" a iNet slang for "don't know"? If so, it's very fitting, IMO.

[orangeboy]

...with the possibility of DVRDude being the same Weaknees employee, and comer.

Ahh! Plot thikens! :D I don't know how to prove it, even if I should, but here's my word - I am not DVR_dude, nor am I have any connection to Weaknees, DVR Upgrade, Tivo or any other commercial enterprise related to all or any of the above. Except that I own a Tivo device and have a valid lifetime subscription, of course :)

My fault for poor syntactical grouping. I was inferring DVRDude and Weaknees tech of possibly being one in the same, and the second person being you. ;)

[lickwid]

Understood. It's quite possible that hddscan hasn't caught up with the 2TB drives...or may never, it's hard to say and the old HTF program may only work on 1TB or smaller drives as well. I could had sworn that I remember some folks being able to adjust the AAM on the 2TB Hitachi drives though...but it's becoming a blur anymore. :confused:

It'll be good to know if you're successful...making you a bit of a TiVo Pioneer yourself!

I just wanted to update that I haven't found a way to get the new Hitachi 2TB drive to enable AAM. It seems that it is disabled within the firmware. I even e-mailed Hitachi support and they confirmed as much. It's louder than the stock drive, but I'll live with it for now.

[steve614]

D'oh! That's all they needed! Expect the TIMBs (TiVo Men In Black) to be at your doorstep any moment now! :eek: :D

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9jErQs3fy78/SnhY9nx9F4I/AAAAAAAAABM/8fslP8S9QpI/s320/t10neuralizer.jpg