Failed add of second disk

[chuck_theobald]

I recently upgraded my Phillips Series 1 to a 160 GB Seagate disk. Things were working fine and I decided to add a second 160 GB disk of the same make and model. I ran the mfsadd command given by Hinsdale:

mfsadd -r 4 -x /dev/hdd /dev/hdb

Now the unit will not get beyond the initial firmware screen. If I disconnect the second drive, the unit goes into a boot cycle, restarting after the grey "wait a few minutes" screen. All mfs procedures indicated I should be seeing a nice fat 320 hour TiVo, but I seem to be stuck on the second hard drive problem. Any advice would be appreciated.

BTW, this unit did have two drives previously, 13 GB and 80 GB. Then the 80 died and it was working on 13 GB for a while, at which point I decided to go to 2x160 GB. This initially did not work, so I backed off to 1 160 GB, opting to do an mfsadd later, which brings me to this day. And yes, my jumpers are in place with the A drive being master and the B drive being slave.

Thanks,
Chuck

[spike2k5]

1. Did you use copykern to replace the stock kernel with LBA48 aware kernel?
Series 1 can only use 137GB w/ the stock kernel.

2. What is the model of your two identical hard drives?
Series 1 has problem using two identical older model Seagate drives.

[chuck_theobald]

I did not know the kernel could be replaced, I should look into that. Hinsdale does not mention this, but does say that only 137 GB of any disk will be seen. Does the Series 1 kernel see only 137 GB of any combination of disks? If so, that is likely my problem.

I got two Seagate ST3160023A-RK disks. I had found on a forum that someone was using this model successfully. Interestingly, these are detected by my PC BIOS as ST3160815A, which I had considered as well.

[spike2k5]

Originally Posted by chuck_theobald

I did not know the kernel could be replaced, I should look into that. Hinsdale does not mention this, but does say that only 137 GB of any disk will be seen. Does the Series 1 kernel see only 137 GB of any combination of disks? If so, that is likely my problem.

I got two Seagate ST3160023A-RK disks. I had found on a forum that someone was using this model successfully. Interestingly, these are detected by my PC BIOS as ST3160815A, which I had considered as well.

If you used Hinsdale guide, I think the boot cd they want you to use is not LBA48 aware so you don't have to use copykern to replace the kernel.

137GB limit is per drive.

ST3160023A-RK is from the externl packaging right. Actual model number should be on the white label on the drive. I had trouble using dual 7200.9 on Series 1.

If your bios says ST3160815A, that looks like is 7200.10 drive. Maybe that problem is still not fixed on the Seagate firmware. Or maybe it's Tivo's firmware problem.

[wscannell]

I think the problem with two Seagate drives is related to the power consumption. The power supply is just not able to supply adequate power.

[spike2k5]

Originally Posted by wscannell

I think the problem with two Seagate drives is related to the power consumption. The power supply is just not able to supply adequate power.

I used same model but different size and it worked so I'm not sure it's due to the power supply.

[captain_video]

Dual Seagates can definitely tax the power supply, depending on which models you have. The latest models (the .9 and .10 versions, IIRC) are the worst offenders and require more current at startup. Two of these drives bog down the power supply to the point where neither drive will have sufficient current to spin up completely. Removing the 2nd drive allows the single drive to spin up but if the Tivo was configured as a dual drive setup it will either go into a reboot loop or simply hang at the powering up screen.

[rbtravis]

try
http://www.weaknees.com/tivo-parts-bin-2.php
it will use less power on startup

[chuck_theobald]

Thanks for the clarification. I checked on the power consumption of the drive, which is 2.80 amps at 12 volts during spinup. This indicates 33.6 watts. The two hard drives I had in the unit, a Quantum Fireball CX (original 13.6 GB) and a Samsung SV8004H, draw, according to the spec sheets, 21.96 watts and 24.72 watts at spinup. I'd concur that power is the most likely problem here.

What is the power rating for a Philips PTV-100 (HDR112) power supply? The PowerTrip sounds like it could help out, since the weaknees site says that most TiVos have 61-78 watts available, but $19 seems a bit pricey. Does anyone know of alternatives?

[rbtravis]

Have you looked at the Weaknees product. It starts one drive waits for power up then starts the second drive. Reading the manufactures specs you see the greatest power draw is on spinup. After that the power supply should be able to handle it. Good Luck
http://www.weaknees.com/powertrip.php