What type of external drive can I use for extra drive space on my TiVo Series 3 ?

DSCollica · 02-15-2007, 07:50 AM

I need additional drive space for my TiVo Series 3 because I record a lot of HD content and the 35 hours (roughly) of recording capacity is not enough.

I want to connect an external hard drive. What do I need to do this? What type of drive (EIDE, ATA, SATA, etc.) and what type of connection? I am assuming that just about any external drive with a USB connection would work. Is that correct? Is there anything else I need to do this?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

dig_duggler · 02-15-2007, 07:51 AM

None. Not supported at this time (and possibly never).

TexasAg · 02-15-2007, 07:51 AM

You can't connect an ESATA drive to the S3 yet. Maybe soon, maybe not. If you want it now, you'll have to open the S3 and install a bigger one.

DSCollica · 02-15-2007, 07:56 AM

Thanks for the info. That is a real downer. I thought the ability to add an external drive for additional storage space was a feature of the S3. I seem to recall reading that either in some promotional material or in advance articles about the Series 3 features. ...Guess I was wrong.

dig_duggler · 02-15-2007, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexasAg

You can't connect an ESATA drive to the S3 yet. Maybe soon, maybe not. If you want it now, you'll have to open the S3 and install a bigger one.

Which voids your warranty. So wait outside of the 90 days.

dig_duggler · 02-15-2007, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSCollica

Thanks for the info. That is a real downer. I thought the ability to add an external drive for additional storage space was a feature of the S3. I seem to recall reading that either in some promotional material or in advance articles about the Series 3 features. ...Guess I was wrong.

Probably not. Tivo has many promotional materials that misrepresent what the product can do.

DSCollica · 02-15-2007, 08:04 AM

How easy is it to open the TiVo Series 3 and install a new (larger) hard drive? I had thought about doing this with my old TiVo Series 1 but never attempted it. I am not an electrical engineer or anything, but I have replaced computer hard drives and motherboards in my various desktop computers dozens of times over the years.

TexasAg · 02-15-2007, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSCollica

How easy is it to open the TiVo Series 3 and install a new (larger) hard drive? I had thought about doing this with my old TiVo Series 1 but never attempted it. I am not an electrical engineer or anything, but I have replaced computer hard drives and motherboards in my various desktop computers dozens of times over the years.

Piece of cake. You just need to unscrew some screws, remove the hard drive connector, etc. There's lots of info out there on how to do it.

You'll also need a computer that has SATA connectors (or an IDE-to-SATA converter) so you can copy content from the original drive to the new drive. Again, lots of info out there on that.

DSCollica · 02-15-2007, 08:17 AM

Thanks! I will look for instructions on how to replace the hard drive.

pl1 · 02-15-2007, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSCollica

How easy is it to open the TiVo Series 3 and install a new (larger) hard drive? I had thought about doing this with my old TiVo Series 1 but never attempted it. I am not an electrical engineer or anything, but I have replaced computer hard drives and motherboards in my various desktop computers dozens of times over the years.

If you are not comfortable doing the hard part youself, you can purchase an upgraded drive from weaknees that is ready to replace. All you do is follow the instructions they supply with the new drive. Open up your unit, and simply replace the current drive with the one they ship you.

If you DO want to get involved with doing the whole thing yourself, you can save a $100 or more. I purchased two 500gb drives for $150 each and upgraded both of my series 3 units. The directions are here. And as noted above, your computer must support SATA drives or you must purchase a PCI card that supports SATA drives.

snathanb · 02-15-2007, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSCollica

How easy is it to open the TiVo Series 3 and install a new (larger) hard drive? I had thought about doing this with my old TiVo Series 1 but never attempted it. I am not an electrical engineer or anything, but I have replaced computer hard drives and motherboards in my various desktop computers dozens of times over the years.

Make sure you buy a SATA drive.

TydalForce · 02-15-2007, 09:03 AM

As noted above, the physical process of swapping the drive is about the same as doing so on a regular computer. Screws, wires, case, etc.

The catch is the software. There are some utilities (See the "Upgrade" forum) that'll let you copy your software (and, if you want, recordings) from your old drive to the new one. This'll let you save all your settings, season passes, etc. You'll need a computer with SATA ports or a SATA <-> IDE adapter to hook up the S3's SATA drive. In addition to keeping all your preferences, this'll also let you keep a backup of your TiVo software (in case the drive dies) and probably save you some money on the drive.

Weaknees does have their ready-to-swap drives that already have the TiVo software. If the upgrade software/process seems scary, you can get the Weaknees drive and not have to do anything but the physical install. Of course, you'll have to redo your Season Passes and such.

rdrrepair · 02-15-2007, 09:12 AM

I installed a 500g hard drive and am very happy with it - If I was recommending something now it would be...

Wait the 90 days for the warranty to expire - install the newer 1tb drives - these drives will be out soon and from all info thus far they should be the same price or cheaper then the 750g drive being sold now.

With the 1tb drive you'll get 300% more storage capacity of what you have now!!!

Tubaman66614 · 02-15-2007, 11:48 AM

Is it possible to use an external drive on a series 2?

TydalForce · 02-15-2007, 11:54 AM

Series 2 models don't have any kind of external drive port, so no.
(Unless you get crazy with adapters, cables, and maybe a drill.... but you're on your own for that one!)
The Series 3 is the first with any kind of hope for an external drive.

Tubaman66614 · 02-15-2007, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TydalForce

Series 2 models don't have any kind of external drive port, so no.
(Unless you get crazy with adapters, cables, and maybe a drill.... but you're on your own for that one!)
The Series 3 is the first with any kind of hope for an external drive.

Well, let's see.

Drill-check
Cables-check
Adaptors-check
Crazy-check

You'd think with the usb ports on the back, they'd be nice enough to include this. Making almost instant transfers possible. Just move the drive from one box to another, to a pc maybe.

Maybe in a future software update, if the tivo gods wish it upon us.

MikeMar · 02-15-2007, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tubaman66614

Well, let's see.

Drill-check
Cables-check
Adaptors-check
Crazy-check

You'd think with the usb ports on the back, they'd be nice enough to include this. Making almost instant transfers possible. Just move the drive from one box to another, to a pc maybe.

Maybe in a future software update, if the tivo gods wish it upon us.

you DO know that you CAN transfer from a series 2 to a series 2 and to a computer and back now right?

TydalForce · 02-15-2007, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tubaman66614

You'd think with the usb ports on the back, they'd be nice enough to include this. Making almost instant transfers possible. Just move the drive from one box to another, to a pc maybe.

Maybe in a future software update, if the tivo gods wish it upon us.

USB is pretty demanding on the CPU, and TiVo boxes tend to not have a very hefty CPU. It's certainly technically possible to do this, but I think there would be a bit of a performance impact across the board.

Just look at how wireless transmissions (TiVo To Go) get impacted by little things like putting the box in Standby!

And that's without getting into the formatting of a drive, and handling hot-swap scenarios.

Tubaman66614 · 02-15-2007, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeMar

you DO know that you CAN transfer from a series 2 to a series 2 and to a computer and back now right?

Yes, I'm aware of this. Just don't have the funds yet to do it. Just didn't know if there was a way i could use the extra drives i have laying around without opening up the box yet. I do plan on getting a couple of adaptors when my finances allow.

Leo Valiant · 02-15-2007, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSCollica

I seem to recall reading that either in some promotional material or in advance articles about the Series 3 features. ...Guess I was wrong.

It was in the promotional material.
"ability to connect a TiVo-branded external storage solution*"

and at the bottom...
"*may not be available for retail sale at time of TiVo Series3 HD release."

kjmcdonald · 02-15-2007, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo Valiant

"ability to connect a TiVo-branded external storage solution*"

That's the first I've heard that the external storage *HAS* to be purchased from TiVo.

Has anyone seen this anywhere else?

Does that mean that dreams of buying standalone 2-4TB eSATA RAID Arrays aren't an option?

-Kyle

acvthree · 02-15-2007, 02:41 PM

I went the weeknees route with thei 750G drive. It is a premium over a bare drive, but not that much. Almost 100 hours of HD and 1000 hours of SD is pretty amazing. You also don't have to contend with the noise of an external drive. The weeknees drive uses custom firmware to keep the drive virtually silent. They also provide very good support is you have questions. I think the process took me about 20 minutes to do the swap, but I was being very careful. It could probably be done in half that time.

Al

TostitoBandito · 02-15-2007, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjmcdonald

That's the first I've heard that the external storage *HAS* to be purchased from TiVo.

Has anyone seen this anywhere else?

Does that mean that dreams of buying standalone 2-4TB eSATA RAID Arrays aren't an option?

-Kyle

No, it just means that they want to sell you the Tivo branded ones. Kind of like the wireless adapter. I'm sure generic hard drives will work just fine much like they do as internal drive replacements.

TydalForce · 02-15-2007, 03:27 PM

It wouldn't surprise me if Cable Labs has some stupid rule that says "you can have e-SATA but it has to be on a controlled device" like a TiVo-branded drive that has some special Security chip in it

hiker · 02-15-2007, 04:42 PM

Someone came up with an innovative way for an external drive here.