Drive Expansion and Drive Upgrade FAQ - Page 113

Robin · 08-11-2009, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greg_burns

That depends on a couple things. Do you have an original S3 or a TivoHD? Have you already upgraded the internal drive? BTW, the remote code was obsoleted awhile ago.

If you have an original S3 running the original internal drive, you can just add pretty much any external drive. Just plug it in. You enable it through the menus now (no longer with a KickStart remote code).

If you have a TivoHD (regardless if original drive or modified internal drive) or an original S3 (only required if it is has a modified internal drive), then you must remove the internal drive and connect it and your new external to a PC to "marry" them using WinMFS.

Does that answer your question?

I have a stock TivoHD.

Bummer that I can't just hook up an external! Is there a different thread I should be in for upgrade instructions?

Thanks for your help,
Robin

ETA: I don't have a computer w/ SATA, so where does that leave me w/r/t upgrade options? Just the WD My DVR expander?

MPSAN · 08-11-2009, 06:36 PM

Well, ALL:

I got my ZZF WD10EADS today. WOW, they sure package it well. Rich, others sure can learn from the foam "box" they slip the drive into!

P.S. Rich, I did connect it via my SATA to USB adapter to be sure it powered on and WinMFS did see it, but I can not see well yet! I sure picked a bad day to get my eyes checked as Wu was having a townhall meting there and I had to sign my life away to get thru security and the TV crews !!

fidget13a · 08-11-2009, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThAbtO

Yes, all Tivos must be on the same network, same Tivo account, have the same Media Access Key to be able to transfer.

This is definitely your issue. Tivo uses a Media Access Key(MAK) to link tivos together. If the MAK's are not the same then they wont be able to share shows. You could call Tivo and see if you can transfer one of the boxes to the other account. Someone on here might have a different work around.

Without this security if you were to hook your tivo up to a colleges network anyone else with a Tivo on the colleges network would be able to view your shows(assuming your college isnt very good about setting up thier routing correctly).

THANKS Airhead315 and ThAbtO for the help. Guess I may put hers on my account and see what happens. I appreciate the help.

keenanSR · 08-11-2009, 07:42 PM

Has anyone purchased the below drive from Amazon? I'm assuming it's a raw drive(unboxed) and I'm curious about the shipping method they use, whether it's secure or not.

WD10EVVS @ Amazon

Sparty99 · 08-11-2009, 07:55 PM

Well, it appears I may be in need of assistance. In the process of adding the Hitachi 1GB drive listed in the OP, I fried my original TiVo drive (note to self: make sure the computer is powered down before connecting the hard drive's power source). Luckily, I had a backup on hand from last week when I made my initial attempt. Unfortunately, now that the new drive is in the S3, the drive is stuck on the "Welcome! Powering Up" screen. Anyone else encountered this?

ETA: Uh, yeah, note to self #2: when putting the TiVo back together, MAKE SURE YOU RECONNECT THE HARD DRIVE! Duh.

ETA #2: Interesting development. I was under the impression that if you did a restore from backup, you lost all of your recordings but kept the To Do List and Season Passes. Well, lo and behold, my previous recordings have returned. These really aren't huge deals as I'd watched most of them, but some had been deleted without my being able to watch or archive. Cool!

jeffster · 08-11-2009, 10:21 PM

I had a Series 3 with an unsupported 1TB external eSATA drive on it.

Recently, the drive on the TiVo (the internal one) went bad, and I had to buy a replacement unit for the Series 3. Just finished installing it, and it's working fine, but the new Series 3 is not recognizing the external eSATA and showing it in the Remote, CableCard, & Devices menu.

I unplugged the Tivo, plugged in the drive, turned it on, and then plugged back in the power to the TiVo, but still no love.

This worked fine on the old Series 3 -- any ideas what I can try to get the new Series 3 to recognize the old external drive and marry it in?

bkdtv · 08-11-2009, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffster

This worked fine on the old Series 3 -- any ideas what I can try to get the new Series 3 to recognize the old external drive and marry it in?

If you upgrade or replace the stock TiVo drive with a make/model/firmware that is not exactly the same as the original, then external drive expansion no longer works.

When replacing/upgrading the internal drive, I would recommend that you opt for at least 1TB (1.35TB is max supported by original Series3 model). More information in the first post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparty99

ETA #2: Interesting development. I was under the impression that if you did a restore from backup, you lost all of your recordings but kept the To Do List and Season Passes. Well, lo and behold, my previous recordings have returned. These really aren't huge deals as I'd watched most of them, but some had been deleted without my being able to watch or archive. Cool!

If you did the truncated backup and restore, you won't be able to actually play those recordings. They'll just be links to recordings that no longer exist. You can delete them.

richsadams · 08-12-2009, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MPSAN

Well, ALL:

I got my ZZF WD10EADS today. WOW, they sure package it well. Rich, others sure can learn from the foam "box" they slip the drive into!

P.S. Rich, I did connect it via my SATA to USB adapter to be sure it powered on and WinMFS did see it, but I can not see well yet! I sure picked a bad day to get my eyes checked as Wu was having a townhall meting there and I had to sign my life away to get thru security and the TV crews !!

Well...now you have something to "look" forward to. Get it? "Look"...see what I did there? With your eye check...and... Ah, never mind. It'll be interesting to "see" how things turn out. Ha, I did it again...I kill me.

BTW, you weren't the wacko in the back of the room were you?

richsadams · 08-12-2009, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keenanSR

Has anyone purchased the below drive from Amazon? I'm assuming it's a raw drive(unboxed) and I'm curious about the shipping method they use, whether it's secure or not.

WD10EVVS @ Amazon

It's an OEM drive (bare w/no mounting hardware, etc.). I haven't purchased that particular drive, but have purchased OEM drives from Amazon and they do a good job of packing w/bubble wrap, etc. Better than Newegg...but then that's not saying much. Amazon has a free 30 day return incl. shipping if it arrives DOA.

Good price, good drive, good company. Good deal. Nice find.

keenanSR · 08-12-2009, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richsadams

It's an OEM drive (bare w/no mounting hardware, etc.). I haven't purchased that particular drive, but have purchased OEM drives from Amazon and they do a good job of packing w/bubble wrap, etc. Better than Newegg...but then that's not saying much. Amazon has a free 30 day return incl. shipping if it arrives DOA.

Good price, good drive, good company. Good deal. Nice find.

Thanks, I was concerned about the drive bouncing around in the box. I've ordered loads of stuff from Amazon, but never a drive, and having an S3, that's the model drive I need. They seem to be becoming a bit rare.

DCIFRTHS · 08-12-2009, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keenanSR

Has anyone purchased the below drive from Amazon? I'm assuming it's a raw drive(unboxed) and I'm curious about the shipping method they use, whether it's secure or not.

WD10EVVS @ Amazon

I bought this specific drive at Amazon. The drive itself was packaged in an OEM brown box. No problem there. Unfortunately, this OEM box was placed in a much larger shipping container along with an air pillow, when it really needed about ten more air pillows to keep the inner box from bouncing around in the shipping box.

I seem to recall another poster that received the drive in the OEM box with a shipping label slapped on it. I'm not sure which method is worse...

Amazon has great customer service, so you should be able to easily sort out any problems you may run into (shipping damage, etc.).

Let us know how it goes.

Sparty99 · 08-12-2009, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkdtv

If you did the truncated backup and restore, you won't be able to actually play those recordings. They'll just be links to recordings that no longer exist. You can delete them.

Yeah, I noticed that when I tried to transfer one. I just wasn't motivated enough to come back and update.

husky55 · 08-12-2009, 07:08 AM

It seems like eon ago when I first bought my TivoHD. I knew then that the Tivo will record nothing but HD shows and that the OEM drive capacity was totally inadequate. so naturally this was the thread I found myself in to look for help, support and whatever else.

There are several very generous and helpful members here. But I noticed that RichAdams is the person who is always here, helping, encouraging and sharing his vast knowledge. Oregon must be a special place to have Rich there.

So my sincere thanks and appreciation to Rich and others who made this forum a particular helpful and welcoming place.

Airhead315 · 08-12-2009, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richsadams

It's an OEM drive (bare w/no mounting hardware, etc.). I haven't purchased that particular drive, but have purchased OEM drives from Amazon and they do a good job of packing w/bubble wrap, etc. Better than Newegg...but then that's not saying much. Amazon has a free 30 day return incl. shipping if it arrives DOA.

Good price, good drive, good company. Good deal. Nice find.

BTW, I purchased the OEM WD10EADS drive from newegg and the drive itself was in the static sleeve, then wrapped in bubblewrap and put in a box full of packing peanuts...maybe they are getting better with thier packaging?

dlfl · 08-12-2009, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richsadams

........ Amazon has a free 30 day return incl. shipping if it arrives DOA..........

Indeed! I returned my first TiVo HD to Amazon. They make it as painless as possible. Their web site provides a UPS shipping label you print out and they schedule UPS to pick it up at your house. All at their expense.

Airhead315 · 08-12-2009, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlfl

Indeed! I returned my first TiVo HD to Amazon. They make it as painless as possible. Their web site provides a UPS shipping label you print out and they schedule UPS to pick it up at your house. All at their expense.

Unless when you go through the return process you select something that means the product wasnt defective. For instance, if you choose "It didnt fit" they will print you out a shipping label but when they refund your amount they dock you for a shipping charge(they dont tell you this shipping charge up front)

dlfl · 08-12-2009, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airhead315

Unless when you go through the return process you select something that means the product wasnt defective. For instance, if you choose "It didnt fit" they will print you out a shipping label but when they refund your amount they dock you for a shipping charge(they dont tell you this shipping charge up front)

Yeah, I found the process for getting to the right Amazon return page (where they pay for all the costs, etc.) was confusing. I think, as you say, the key is to say the product was defective.

richsadams · 08-12-2009, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by husky55

But I noticed that RichAdams is the person who is always here, ...

Thanks for the kind words. It just means that I'd rather do this than what I'm actually getting paid to do.

This is a lot of fun IMHO...and being able to give back a little has its own rewards. The bulk of the kudos should really go to Spike at msfLive.org for coming up with the program that makes it almost simple to upgrade a TiVo and to bkdtv who was able to capture all of the details and nuances that make doing so clear...so clear that a cave man could do it. Hmmm....look what Grog do!

fidget13a · 08-12-2009, 11:18 AM

How can I check if I have a bad WD10EADS? This is the one I tried to put in a HD TIVO and could not get past the powering up screen. I put it in two external hook-ups and the computer says it sees the new hardware but when I go to my computer..it does not show there. When I hook up a little 80gig sata to the same usb connections, the computer does show the 80 gig drive.
Thanks in advance

Airhead315 · 08-12-2009, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fidget13a

How can I check if I have a bad WD10EADS? This is the one I tried to put in a HD TIVO and could not get past the powering up screen. I put it in two external hook-ups and the computer says it sees the new hardware but when I go to my computer..it does not show there. When I hook up a little 80gig sata to the same usb connections, the computer does show the 80 gig drive.
Thanks in advance

The drive wont show up in My Computer once you put any of the Tivo software on it. I think the best way to test a drive is to download Western Digitals diagnostic boot-cd. You should be able to find it on thier website. Download it, burn it to a CD and boot your machine to it.

This might be a good place to obtain these diagnostic programs:
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287#wdc

jeffster · 08-12-2009, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffster

I had a Series 3 with an unsupported 1TB external eSATA drive on it.

Recently, the drive on the TiVo (the internal one) went bad, and I had to buy a replacement unit for the Series 3. Just finished installing it, and it's working fine, but the new Series 3 is not recognizing the external eSATA and showing it in the Remote, CableCard, & Devices menu.

I unplugged the Tivo, plugged in the drive, turned it on, and then plugged back in the power to the TiVo, but still no love.

This worked fine on the old Series 3 -- any ideas what I can try to get the new Series 3 to recognize the old external drive and marry it in?

Never mind... TiVo shipped me a Series 3 with 8.01c on it. Never occurred to me.

Forced the update, got 11, and connected the external drive no problem.

Duh...

richsadams · 08-12-2009, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffster

Never mind... TiVo shipped me a Series 3 with 8.01c on it. Never occurred to me.

Forced the update, got 11, and connected the external drive no problem.

Duh...

D'oh! Glad to hear that it's working now!

richsadams · 08-12-2009, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airhead315

The drive wont show up in My Computer once you put any of the Tivo software on it. I think the best way to test a drive is to download Western Digitals diagnostic boot-cd. You should be able to find it on thier website. Download it, burn it to a CD and boot your machine to it.

This might be a good place to obtain these diagnostic programs:
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287#wdc

Exactly right.

Nice find on the link...had never seen that before.

Here's the link to the WD site where you can select your drive and download the free diagnostic program as well (JIC):

WD's Lifeguard.

Here's the link for the WD10EADS:

http://support.wdc.com/product/downl...id=608&lang=en

mumpower · 08-12-2009, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richsadams

AFAIK no one has tried
But if you give the Iomega drive a try, let us know how it goes!

That's a bit bolder than I'm going to be here. I'll just spend more for the safer solution.

Thanks for all of your feedback and advice. People like you who strive to assist others are the internet's greatest treasure.

MPSAN · 08-12-2009, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airhead315

The drive wont show up in My Computer once you put any of the Tivo software on it. I think the best way to test a drive is to download Western Digitals diagnostic boot-cd. You should be able to find it on thier website. Download it, burn it to a CD and boot your machine to it.

This might be a good place to obtain these diagnostic programs:
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287#wdc

I just tested mine and can say that the drive will not show up in My Computer even with no TiVo software on it. You must use Disk Management to create the partition first! But, do not do it...you do not want it to show up in My Computer.

The way I tested mine was to just bring up WinMFS...it should show up there. Sometimes you need to reboot Windows for it to show, but WinMFS saw it using my SATA to USB converter.

richsadams · 08-12-2009, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mumpower

That's a bit bolder than I'm going to be here. I'll just spend more for the safer solution.

Thanks for all of your feedback and advice. People like you who strive to assist others are the internet's greatest treasure.

No problem. Actually if you're referring to the Fantom drive I mentioned as the "safer solution", it's almost half the price of the Iomega you were looking at...so no need to "spend more".

Let us know how things go.

keenanSR · 08-12-2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCIFRTHS

I bought this specific drive at Amazon. The drive itself was packaged in an OEM brown box. No problem there. Unfortunately, this OEM box was placed in a much larger shipping container along with an air pillow, when it really needed about ten more air pillows to keep the inner box from bouncing around in the shipping box.

I seem to recall another poster that received the drive in the OEM box with a shipping label slapped on it. I'm not sure which method is worse...

Amazon has great customer service, so you should be able to easily sort out any problems you may run into (shipping damage, etc.).

Let us know how it goes.

Will do. I have Amazon Prime but went ahead with 1-day shipping for $3.99 as I figure less time being handled the better.

innocentfreak · 08-12-2009, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCIFRTHS

I bought this specific drive at Amazon. The drive itself was packaged in an OEM brown box. No problem there. Unfortunately, this OEM box was placed in a much larger shipping container along with an air pillow, when it really needed about ten more air pillows to keep the inner box from bouncing around in the shipping box.

I seem to recall another poster that received the drive in the OEM box with a shipping label slapped on it. I'm not sure which method is worse...

Amazon has great customer service, so you should be able to easily sort out any problems you may run into (shipping damage, etc.).

Let us know how it goes.

If you haven't already I would go on Amazon.com under your account and you can review their packing and even supply pictures if you want.

MPSAN · 08-12-2009, 07:37 PM

OK, since my 3 TiVo HD's are 6 weeks old now it was time to try to break one of them. Rich said I could! Well, no such luck...now I have 157Hours of HD space with my WD10EADS!

A few notes.

1. I think that a big help to me was to have a tool set that I bought from Harbor Freight a while ago for other things. It was called a 100 piece security bit set and even came with a magnetic adapter to fit the bits onto a ratchet or ratchet straight handle! It is only $7.99 and has it all! It is ITEM 91310-9VGA. If you do not have a B&M they do mail order. Not sure if this is worth adding to the FAQ.

2. I used the new PC I built for my wife and it has 8 SATA ports! Great for the 2 drive copy method. I do believe that with these newer MoBo's (ICH10R) that the Hitachi Tools is not something to even try for AAM. It does not see my drives and does not even find a Wireless Mouse. HDDSCAN worked well, and as mentioned before, no need to reboot Windows.

3. Anyway, I could not find the option in WinMFS to expand MY time so I could actually watch the shows I record!

Thank everyone again for this site!

innocentfreak · 08-12-2009, 07:41 PM

I can't make up my mind. I have a couple 500gb WD Sata drives with IDE adaptors in my Directivos which I am no longer using and I keep debating on whether to reuse them in the Tivo HDs. If I don't I will probably end up just throwing them in my server until I buy the 1tb drives though I have been holding out to see if the 1.5tb drive becomes available.