New HDTiVo stuck at "Powering up" on first boot

2njl · 12-18-2009, 12:07 PM

I just got my HD TiVo direct from TiVo as an upgrade from our old Series2 (hoping the cable cards will solve our issues with missed recordings due to issues with the cable box ignoring IR as programs start).

On the first bootup, it stuck at the Welcome, Powering up screen for a good 10-15 minutes before I unplugged it and tried again. On the second boot, it started up normally and I've gone through guided setup.

Is this unusual? Does a new HD TiVo take a really long time to do something while starting up the very first time?

My plan was to swap out the internal drive for a 1TB shortly after BHN does our cable cards installation, and maybe upgrade to lifetime service, but I'm a little hesitant to do either with a unit that may already have issues.

Other than the channel changing issue for scheduled recordings, our 4yo S2 (which was a TiVo refurb) with immediately upgraded 300GB drive is still working fine.

2njl · 12-18-2009, 12:41 PM

Actually, having just noticed that I can get the 1TB My DVR Expander drive for as little as $129, I'm having second thoughts on voiding the warranty vs just buying the ESATA expander drive.

I should add that when I powered up the Tivo HD for the first time, I'd already connected cable and ethernet to my home network. When I power cycled it, I left everything connected and just pulled the other end of the Tivo's power cable out of the UPS and pushed it back in.

chicagobrownblue · 12-19-2009, 11:18 PM

I'd report this issue to Tivo and seriously consider returning the Tivo for a new one. Getting stuck at the startup screen is usually a sign of a hard drive problem. A hard drive will usually fail within the first month or last for several years.

If you add an external drive and either drive fails, you will lose all of your recodings from after the time the external drive was added. My preference would be to have a new 1TB drive installed internally.

jdr999 · 12-28-2009, 03:11 PM

3/5

"To be able to post links or images your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 2 posts."

jdr999 · 12-28-2009, 03:12 PM

4/5

"To be able to post links or images your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 2 posts."

jdr999 · 12-28-2009, 03:12 PM

5/5

"To be able to post links or images your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 2 posts."

Still trying to get my link.. :-D

jdr999 · 12-28-2009, 03:14 PM

Actually there are a few threads on this already.

http://forums.tivo.com/pe/action/for...ostID=10452990

http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/sho...d.php?t=438765

It might be a bigger problem than some think..

rocko · 12-28-2009, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdr999

TRYING TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION....

Jeez....

5/5

"To be able to post links or images your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 2 posts."

Multiple posts to a thread don't count toward your total. But you figured that out already ...

jdr999 · 12-28-2009, 03:34 PM

Sorry to offend, all I'm trying to do is help.

*shrug*

And oddly enough, it did work. The links got posted :-D

Hopefully it is just a software bug that they can (or have) iron out.. But I also have trouble with soft resets..

dlfl · 12-28-2009, 03:45 PM

Before calling TiVo, I would suggest letting the software upgrade to 11.0d (the latest) and then try the pull-the-plug reboot at least one more time (I would do several). It's possible the first failure was a one time fluke. Leave it unplugged 30 secs for each trial reboot.

See item 65 in the Prepurchase section of the TiVo HD Overview, FAQ.... sticky thread at the top of this forum for how to speed up the software update process.

eaayoung · 12-28-2009, 04:44 PM

Call TIVO and discuss. Your TIVO may have one of the WD green drive that will gets stuck at the welcome screen at start up. This is know problem with the WD green drives and they are being used in new TIVOs. The problem is due to the intelligent parking feature of this green drive. If you pull cord (ie: hard reboot), it should restart normally. You can confirm you have the problematic drive by a soft reboot. If the TIVO gets stuck on the welcome screen, its likely due to the above.

Review the thread on Drive Expansion for more info on this problem.

Good luck!

2njl · 12-28-2009, 06:09 PM

I don't think the drive problems people have been having with 1TB drives is related. Mine still has the stock (small) drive TiVo HD's come with.

I just had it do a soft reboot several times and it booted up properly each time. It takes about 6.5 minutes to go from entering the request to being finished booting.

I did mention the issue to TiVo support since I called them about other issues, and they basically brushed it off, saying not to worry about it if it doesn't keep happening.

I still haven't decided what to do about expanding it...mydvr expander drive or break the warranty and put in a single 1TB drive. The CCI byte issue (nothing but PBS seems to be shareable) is such an annoyance, getting the TiVo fully hacked to disable the CCI byte thing may decide the warranty issue.

RoyK · 12-28-2009, 06:24 PM

You bought a brand new product. It gave you a problem the first time you powered it up. Send it back. It's defective.

solutionsetc · 12-28-2009, 07:04 PM

Agree with Roy. I bought two HD units early this year. One of them liked to reboot itself several times a week. It went back to where I bought it as the best TiVo would do for a two week old unit that exhibited problems "out of the box" was to send me a "refurb".

I struggle with the decision to buy a product from a manufacturer that does not have enough confidence in what they sell to offer at "least" a 1 year warranty. Years ago when Sony went to 90 days I simply bought other gear; I am guessing others did to 'cause they got the message.

Unfortunately TiVo is the only game in town for MRV and TTGO since RePlayTV bit the dust. But it is kinda sad that I am looking forward to the day when "someone else" can build a DVR with a competitive feature set so I can walk away from TiVo.

megory · 12-29-2009, 07:41 PM

Can you get a refund when you get it back? Weaknees can sell you an already upgraded HD.

JPA2825 · 01-01-2010, 10:38 AM

In a similar situation. Bought a TiVo HD for Gramps for Xmas. Got it for $99 at BB when buying a HD TV at the same time. Upon 1st installation, got home to find a reboot w/ the error message that internal temp was rising, so TiVo HD shut itself down. After unplug & reboot, output was blank. Eventually was able to get the output back up by softly banging on & "squeezing" the top of the box. Couple of days later, unit froze while watching Netflix. Unplug & reboot.

Given the limited options, I'm thinking I need to return to BB prior to 1.31.10 and simply swap it for another unit. While it might work fine for the foreseeable future, it might also crap out 2 days after the warranty / ability to return to BestBuy. Not worth taking the risk.