Tivo HD Upgrade Instructions - using JMFS - Page 21

unitron · 02-24-2013, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harry99

Bad run of luck - after replacing an old S2 with a Premiere 4 last month (taking advantage of the deal for a Premiere 4 with MoCA adapter, and then lifetime on one of my 1TB HDs for $99, the other one of my 1TB HDs died two days later with what appears to be a bad power supply. After some discusssions on the forums, decided to buy a new Premiere instead of fixing the power supply. Also got another MoCA adapter, and all seemed to be working fine.

Now the 1TB HD with the lifetime is making a lot of disk noise - so I thought I'd simply transfer the content I want to save (pretty quick with MoCA) to one of the Premieres, and replace the noisy 1TB disk drive with the now unused one from the HD with the bad power supply.

After thinking about it, guess I'm not sure if that will work or not. Any idea if it will just run, or do I have to go through a transfer from one TB disk to the other, or what? I obviously don't want to lose the lifetime, and thought I would keep the old HD around for parts, just didn't think I would need it so quickly - strange to have both HDs with problems in two weeks.

Would appreciate any help before I go down a path that I can't recover from.

Thanks.

If you're certain that the non-PLS'ed S3 HD has a bad power supply but a good hard drive (and that there's nothing on that drive that you want to save), and you're certain that the hard drive on the PLS'ed S3 HD is going bad and that it's not noise from the fan going bad, then the best thing would probably be to "Xerox" the 1TB from the lifetimed S3 HD to the other 1TB.

Got any Linux based boot cd's handy? Like maybe the MFS Live cd v1.4?

harry99 · 02-24-2013, 10:00 PM

Any idea what would happen if I just plugged in the "good" drive in place of the "bad" drive? Would it hurt anything or just not work?

I don't have a boot CD, can you point me to a source?

Since 1TB copy takes so long, maybe I should just go to a 2TB drive, since the good and bad drive are the same age. I have the original 160GB drives, although not sure which goes with which S3 HD. With MoCA, the streaming to the Premiere works so well from the 1TB HD that I will probably just use the HD as the repository instead of expanding the new Premieres for now.

WIll have to read back through the forum to find the correct way to go from either the original 160GB or the expanded 1TB drive to a 2TB drive. It gets confusing with so many posts on the subject.

unitron · 02-24-2013, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harry99

Any idea what would happen if I just plugged in the "good" drive in place of the "bad" drive? Would it hurt anything or just not work?

I don't have a boot CD, can you point me to a source?

Since 1TB copy takes so long, maybe I should just go to a 2TB drive, since the good and bad drive are the same age. I have the original 160GB drives, although not sure which goes with which S3 HD. With MoCA, the streaming to the Premiere works so well from the 1TB HD that I will probably just use the HD as the repository instead of expanding the new Premieres for now.

WIll have to read back through the forum to find the correct way to go from either the original 160GB or the expanded 1TB drive to a 2TB drive. It gets confusing with so many posts on the subject.

If you're going to go with 2TB drive, recommend the WD20EURS when they're on sale for $100, and you should do that copy with WinMFS probably.

But first you should run the manufacturer's diagnostic long test on whatever winds up being your target drive, even if it's fresh from the factory.

dav1129 · 02-26-2013, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unitron

Whether a Series 3 platform can handle a partition larger than 1.2TB depends on whether it has the most recent version of the TiVo operating system software on it.

Here in the states that's 11.0k (plus some more numbers that vary depending on exactly which S3 it is).

If you're upgrading an old one, do the copy but don't expand, let it connect to the mothership until it updates itself and then expand.

Thanks for the reply and information.

Too late to try anything different as I have shipped their TiVo back to friends who live in a city across Australia.

Given however the OS version shown below would explain then why a 2TB drive worked for me during testing and before resetting and should now work for my friends right?

unitron · 02-26-2013, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dav1129

Thanks for the reply and information.

Too late to try anything different as I have shipped their TiVo back to friends who live in a city across Australia.

Given however the OS version shown below would explain then why a 2TB drive worked for me during testing and before resetting and should now work for my friends right?

It showed 30 HD hours with the original 160GB drive, right?

Divide 30 by 160 to get hours per GB and then multiply that by 2,000.

If that's in the ballpark of what it shows for HD now, I'd say that the "embiggening" was a success.

jmbach · 03-01-2013, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dav1129

I don't own a TiVo but after familiarising myself with one I think I just might!

Can anyone tell me what I:

Have actually accomplished in either instance; and
Should check in terms of settings for the Seagate drive before returning the TiVo to my friends?

PS I tried and could use the LINUX Boot CD method but the I only have notebooks and one SATA to USB adapter.

Look forward to and appreciate any replies.

A couple of observations.
Australian version of TiVo's are apparently different. In what way I am not sure but apparently enough that there is a WinMFS version specifically made for Australian units. Since it boots up completely, you have apparently accomplished your task.
The difference in sizes could be how the unit calculates storage or more than likely there are MFS system bitmaps that Australian units do not have which allows more inherit storage space for videos. Similar to when we supersize our drives. When we supersize our drives the video storage space goes from 287 to 318. We take away space reserved for "advertisement" and give it to video recording space.
Normally there are no settings on Seagate drives to change. The only thing you have to watch out for is buying some Seagate drives off of some auction site that are specifically made for DVR's. Some of these Seagate Pipeline HD drives are from or made for OEM units and they might have a modified firmware in them that will not allow it to boot in a TiVo.

Jim

RedWingsRULE! · 03-02-2013, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmbach

The only thing you have to watch out for is buying some Seagate drives off of some auction site that are specifically made for DVR's. Some of these Seagate Pipeline HD drives are from or made for OEM units and they might have a modified firmware in them that will not allow it to boot in a TiVo.

Thanks for that additional info.

I am one of the first that I have seen to use the WD EARX and so far have had no issues with it.

Not sure which format the Aussie version uses, but the storage space difference might be due to NTSC vs PAL.

lessd · 03-02-2013, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedWingsRULE!

Thanks for that additional info.

I am one of the first that I have seen to use the WD EARX and so far have had no issues with it.

Not sure which format the Aussie version uses, but the storage space difference might be due to NTSC vs PAL.

I have been using the WD EARX for years without problems.

RedWingsRULE! · 03-03-2013, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lessd

I have been using the WD EARX for years without problems.

Thanks! Good to know I'm not on the bleeding edge alone.

InFromTheCold · 03-05-2013, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lessd

I have been using the WD EARX for years without problems.

Is Intellipark an issue with this drive?

jmbach · 03-05-2013, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedWingsRULE!

Not sure which format the Aussie version uses, but the storage space difference might be due to NTSC vs PAL.

Very true. Then UK TiVos should be similar. Wonder if anybody has info on UK tivo video storage space for us to compare.

unitron · 03-05-2013, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmbach

Very true. Then UK TiVos should be similar. Wonder if anybody has info on UK tivo video storage space for us to compare.

There are two UK threads where you could ask.

jmbach · 03-05-2013, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unitron

There are two UK threads where you could ask.

Very good. . Might do that at some point. Thanks.

lessd · 03-06-2013, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InFromTheCold

Is Intellipark an issue with this drive?

At one time there was, the newer ones are set to disable or 8 seconds, neither are a problem for the TiVo.

InFromTheCold · 03-06-2013, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lessd

At one time there was, the newer ones are set to disable or 8 seconds, neither are a problem for the TiVo.

Good to know, thanks.

RedWingsRULE! · 03-07-2013, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InFromTheCold

Is Intellipark an issue with this drive?

WDIdle3 /D
This sets it to disabled. (Actually sets it to 5 minutes.)

lpwcomp · 03-07-2013, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedWingsRULE!

WDIdle3 /D
This sets it to disabled. (Actually sets it to 5 minutes.)

Using the latest version, wdidle3 /D actually disabled it.

InFromTheCold · 03-07-2013, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedWingsRULE!

WDIdle3 /D
This sets it to disabled. (Actually sets it to 5 minutes.)

Judging from lessd's comment, this step does not seem to be necessary for the newer EARX drives.

lessd · 03-08-2013, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InFromTheCold

Judging from lessd's comment, this step does not seem to be necessary for the newer EARX drives.

The 5 drives I have used from Jan 2013 on have not needed the wdidle3 set, but who knows what WD will do in the future, the drives were all dated from Sept to Dec 2012.
If anybody gets a WD drive dated after Sept 2012 that does not have wdidle3 disabled or set to 8000Ms (8 Sec) let us know.

nyjack · 03-09-2013, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lessd

The 5 drives I have used from Jan 2013 on have not needed the wdidle3 set, but who knows what WD will do in the future, the drives were all dated from Sept to Dec 2012.
If anybody gets a WD drive dated after Sept 2012 that does not have wdidle3 disabled or set to 8000Ms (8 Sec) let us know.

Sorry for newbie question but what is wdidle3? I used MFSTools on the drive in upsized to on my TiVo HD.

lpwcomp · 03-09-2013, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nyjack

Sorry for newbie question but what is wdidle3? I used MFSTools on the drive in upsized to on my TiVo HD.

It's the Western Digital utility used to adjust or disable the "Intellipark" setting on some WD drives. Some WD drives are set by default to park the heads after a short period of inactivity. This causes soft boots of TiVos to fail, requiring a power cycle to get it back up.

nyjack · 03-09-2013, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lpwcomp

It's the Western Digital utility used to adjust or disable the "Intellipark" setting on some WD drives. Some WD drives are set by default to park the heads after a short period of inactivity. This causes soft boots of TiVos to fail, requiring a power cycle to get it back up.

Thank you!

unitron · 03-09-2013, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nyjack

Sorry for newbie question but what is wdidle3? I used MFSTools on the drive in upsized to on my TiVo HD.

It is a utility written by WD which adjust the timing period used by the Intellipark feature found on some of it's Caviar Green line of hard drives.

After a certain period of inactivity Intellipark spins down the drive and parks the heads. This is supposed to reduce electricity consumption and heat generation.

But the TiVo drive is never inactive when the TiVo is plugged in.

Except when it's re-booting itself, a so-called "soft boot".

It goes into a soft boot, quits calling on the drive for anything for a few seconds, drive spins down.

TiVo then gets far enough into boot to call on drive, drive not ready, which causes TiVo to re-reboot to try again.

In the meantime, the drive, having gotten the nudge from the TiVo, wakes up and answers, but by that time the TiVo has started re-booting again and isn't answering the answer, so the drive goes to sleep again, which is how the TiVo finds it when it gets far enough into the boot process to call on the drive.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

wdidle3 let's you make timing period of inactivity before the drive goes to sleep longer, so that it's still awake when the TiVo gets far enough into the re-boot to call on it again, or on some models it'll let you disable Intellipark altogether.

Although setting the period for 300 seconds (5 minutes) is pretty much the same thing as disabling it where use in a TiVo is concerned, so either will work.

lpwcomp · 03-09-2013, 11:51 AM

Unitron,

Not to be pedantic, but I don't believe that the Intellipark feature spins down the drive, just parks the heads and turns off the read/write electronics. In fact, the main purpose of this feature is to reduce aerodynamic drag so it requires less power to keep the drive spinning.

Since spinning up is one of the more stressful activities for a drive, nobody would think doing it that often was a good idea.

This has the best explanation I have seen.

unitron · 03-09-2013, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lpwcomp

Unitron,

Not to be pedantic, but I don't believe that the Intellipark feature spins down the drive, just parks the heads and turns off the read/write electronics. In fact, the main purpose of this feature is to reduce aerodynamic drag so it requires less power to keep the drive spinning.

Since spinning up is one of the more stressful activities for a drive, nobody would think doing it that often was a good idea.

This has the best explanation I have seen.

As greatly as it pains me to admit it, there exists the possibility that you are right and I am...

...

...

slightly not quite as right.

Good catch.

lpwcomp · 03-09-2013, 12:56 PM

"I may not always be right but by god I ain't never wrong!"
Brother Dave.

unitron · 03-09-2013, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lpwcomp

"I may not always be right but by god I ain't never wrong!"
Brother Dave.

Brother Dave Gardner?

lpwcomp · 03-09-2013, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unitron

Brother Dave Gardner?

Got it in one.

unitron · 03-09-2013, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lpwcomp

Got it in one.

"The only reason people live up North, dear hearts, is they have jobs up there."

and that exhausts my memory of Brother Dave material which is anywhere near to PC.

I wish there had been a way to get him and the UK's Dave Allen on the same stage in conversation for a week or so.

lpwcomp · 03-09-2013, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unitron

"The only reason people live up North, dear hearts, is they have jobs up there."

and that exhausts my memory of Brother Dave material which is anywhere near to PC.

Yeah, non-PC is a kind description of a lot (most?) of his material, but how could you forget this one:

"Man cannot live by bread alone. He must have peanut butter."

He was a fond memory of my childhood of <redacted> years ago (we had several of his albums) and around 2004 or so I bought some of the CDs.

For more urbane comedic entertainment, we also had several "Shelley Berman" albums.