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Four flashing lights but drive is recognized by MFSR

Discussion in 'TiVo Help Center' started by Crashdot, Jan 31, 2021.

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  1. Jan 31, 2021 #1 of 13
    Crashdot

    Crashdot New Member

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    Oct 22, 2010

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    Hi,

    My Tivo Bolt+ doesn't work and I get the Four flashing lights error, which I thought meant the drive was dead, but when I attach the drive to a Windows system, it is at least recognized by MFSR.

    Is there any possibility that the drive can be repaired/recovered, or does this still mean that the drive is dead?

    Tivo.JPG
    Thanks
     
  2. Jan 31, 2021 #2 of 13
    ThAbtO

    ThAbtO TiVoholic by the bay TCF Club

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    Have you tried a new power supply if its a wall wart.
     
  3. Jan 31, 2021 #3 of 13
    Crashdot

    Crashdot New Member

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    Oct 22, 2010
    I have not purchased a new hard drive or power supply yet, since it failed this morning. I had read that sometimes the error occurs when the Tivo tries to start the drive but the power supply doesn't have the current to start it.

    I did remove and try to attach the drive with an external power supply for the drive, both connected to the internal sata port as well as and still got the same flashing lights. The hard drive isn't making any bad noises typical of a failed drive, but I guess it could be corrupt.

    I'm trying to decide if I should format it using the MFSR tool or if there is any chance the problem is not the hard drive.

    Thanks
     
  4. Jan 31, 2021 #4 of 13
    kpeters59

    kpeters59 Well-Known Member

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    You could probably use a Hardware Cloner to clone that Drive to a replacement with no loss of Data.

    I think you'd be able to expand it out to a larger drive, too.

    Make sure you select the replacement drive carefully.

    -KP
     
  5. Jan 31, 2021 #5 of 13
    Crashdot

    Crashdot New Member

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    I'm having a lot of trouble determining a replacement drive. There are a lot of discussions about CMR SMR PRM, etc, but I haven't found where it says which of these are needed. The WD Blue drive that is in the unit is only available new for $400, and I will never want to buy another Western Digital drive if I can avoid it, since this is the fourth WD drive failure I've had in a Tivo. A WD Blue should never have been used in a DVR as far as I understand.
     
    kpeters59 likes this.
  6. Jan 31, 2021 #6 of 13
    ThAbtO

    ThAbtO TiVoholic by the bay TCF Club

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    Bolts use laptop drives and they tend to fail more often.
     
  7. Jan 31, 2021 #7 of 13
    brobin

    brobin Active Member

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    I'd try the power supply first. You might even have one lying around somewhere.
     
  8. Jan 31, 2021 #8 of 13
    Crashdot

    Crashdot New Member

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    I just plugged in an SSD and used the original PSU, and the Tivo starts up now. I think maybe this means the hard drive is actually bad? I haven't been able to find a 12V 3A PSU laying around that has a matching connector.
     
  9. Feb 1, 2021 #9 of 13
    V7Goose

    V7Goose OTA ONLY and Loving It!

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    By doing that you just made it impossible to recover any data off the original drive, even if it can still be read by your computer. So do not waste any time trying to clone it - just buy a new drive and go from there. Many of us now believe that the only good option is to convert the Bolt to an external 3.5" drive. Tons of information in other threads, including clear statements on exactly which drives to use.
     
  10. Feb 1, 2021 #10 of 13
    Crashdot

    Crashdot New Member

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    I didn't need anything from the drive. I'm currently unable to watch television, Netflix, or YouTube, so my priority is just did get the Tivo working.

    Out of curiosity, How can turning on the Tivo with a different hard drive disable the original hard drive? I did not go through setup nor go online. I just wanted to see if they motherboard was bad. Just wondering.

    Thanks
     
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2021
  11. Feb 1, 2021 #11 of 13
    ThAbtO

    ThAbtO TiVoholic by the bay TCF Club

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    Bolts have an internal flash drive that also contains a database of the shows (a catalog of sorts) and putting in another drive erases that database which it relies on to access the shows.
     
  12. Feb 1, 2021 #12 of 13
    V7Goose

    V7Goose OTA ONLY and Loving It!

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    In other words, just booting a Bolt with ANY OTHER DRIVE will cause it to wipe the original drive if you ever try to put it back in.

    Any time a Bolt sees a new drive that is not the same one it had when last shut down, it will immediately wipe the drive.
     
  13. Feb 3, 2021 #13 of 13
    jlb

    jlb Go Pats!

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    THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!!!!!



    Sorry, too much of a TNG fan to ignore that. :D
     

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