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Maintenance on my 7 year old Roamio Pro

Discussion in 'TiVo Roamio DVRs' started by Finalrinse, Dec 24, 2020.

  1. Dec 24, 2020 #1 of 14
    Finalrinse

    Finalrinse Member

    193
    14
    Jan 12, 2005
    S.E. Michigan

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    I bought a new Roamio Pro in March 2014. It's been running 24/7, that's almost 7 years or 60,000 hours! I noticed recorded shows started to randomly show slight pixelation once in awhile (not bad but catching my attention). After reading these forums I came to my own conclusion it might be the hard drive beginning to act up? I decided to swap it out just in case, and, while apart I cleaned, changed the fan and button CR2032 battery. I checked the internal power supply capacitors and they all look good, so not changing that. It came with a WD Green WD30EURS. I purchased a WD Red Plus WD30EFRX (CMR). I first ran WD Diagnostics Extended mode on both drives, each took 7 hours and they both checked good. Because I'm going from 3TB to 3TB I chose to use a WAVLINK SATA Dual-Bay External Hard Drive Docking Station for a direct 1:1 clone. I used it as a stand-alone device, no computer hookup. The clone took about 7 hours. I'm happy to say it turned out perfect, no loss of anything including pairing. I've watched quite a few recorded shows and no sign of pixelation so far. Maybe none of this maintenance is necessary, but I now have piece of mind my Roamio Pro is good for a few more years. Plus, working on TiVo's is fun! If you know what I mean!
     
    JandS and Dan Cour like this.
  2. Dec 24, 2020 #2 of 14
    JoeKustra

    JoeKustra in the other Alabama TCF Club

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    Ashland, PA...
    There are two kinds of "random" noise, audio or video. When I get one, I rewind and play the segment again. If it's there (including live TV) then it's part of the content I was fed and there's nothing I can do on my end to fix it. If it does not repeat, the problem is local. I have found that simply reseating the HDMI connector monthly stops this problem. If that fails I'll have to decide what to replace.
     
    Dan Cour likes this.
  3. Dec 24, 2020 #3 of 14
    Finalrinse

    Finalrinse Member

    193
    14
    Jan 12, 2005
    S.E. Michigan
    Yes, I did go through some diagnostic steps. The problem was never Live, just on recordings, and not in the same place. I even replaced the HDMI cable. After that I decided to replace the HD. It may not have been an HD issue, but so far the problem is gone.
     
    WVZR1, JoeKustra and kpeters59 like this.
  4. Dec 25, 2020 #4 of 14
    phone man

    phone man Member

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    Nov 4, 2011
    Had the same symptoms. Replaced the hard drive, works great now.
     
  5. Dec 25, 2020 #5 of 14
    Finalrinse

    Finalrinse Member

    193
    14
    Jan 12, 2005
    S.E. Michigan

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    Good to hear! Long live our Roamio's!
     
    KENL likes this.
  6. Dec 26, 2020 #6 of 14
    myklbear

    myklbear Member

    55
    5
    Jan 11, 2015
    Original Roamio+
    Has anyone solved the hourly or daily freezing of live rewound or recorded programs necessitating help menu Restart or full power reboot.
    Support is useless and though cloakedly acknowledging problem by offering replacement with "half price" Edge doesn't seem to have a clue.
    It's too bad because I had committed myself to keeping the TiVo until it totally died despite the cable companies no longer wanting to support it, and besides their system s√cks, but there is nothing that has the functionality of the TiVo!
    It would seem that if the TiVo can work for hours or days without problem and that a soft reboot can clear it, there must be some simple solution that escapes tech support who seems to be totally engrossed with the stream for peanuts, even having a "TiVo tech" actively communicating on the Tapatalk Stream forum.


    Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
     
  7. Dec 27, 2020 #7 of 14
    justen_m

    justen_m Cheesehead TCF Club

    10,443
    855
    Jan 14, 2004
    Boise, ID
    I don't have the problem on my old Roamio. Is your hard drive dying? Transfer you recordings and replace?
     
  8. Dec 27, 2020 #8 of 14
    kpeters59

    kpeters59 Well-Known Member

    3,176
    653
    Jun 19, 2007
    Houston, Texas
    Are you running TE4? Have you contacted TiVo to have 'Pre-Roll Ads' turned off?

    -KP
     
  9. Dec 27, 2020 #9 of 14
    myklbear

    myklbear Member

    55
    5
    Jan 11, 2015
    Running TE4 and had ads removed.
    Now it's a matter of where to spend money, $100 for a new hard drive that may not solve the problem, or $250 for the Edge or is this the handwriting that it's time to move on.

    Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
     
  10. Dec 27, 2020 #10 of 14
    WVZR1

    WVZR1 Active Member

    987
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    The WV...
    It actually might matter who your 'provider' is ..................
     
  11. Dec 27, 2020 #11 of 14
    myklbear

    myklbear Member

    55
    5
    Jan 11, 2015
    Absolutely! Only Cablevision available and they're already non-supportive.

    Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
     
  12. Dec 28, 2020 #12 of 14
    Finalrinse

    Finalrinse Member

    193
    14
    Jan 12, 2005
    S.E. Michigan
    In that case, I might try a new hard drive (3TB for $73), and maybe back to TE3. If that doesn't work, and if it has lifetime, sell. $250 for an Edge sounds pretty good, but with Lifetime?
    First though, take the cover off and inspect the capacitors on the power supply to make sure they are not bulging or leaking. Just saying, a good visual inspection never hurts.
    Good luck, I'm with you, nothing like a TiVo when working properly.
     
  13. Dec 28, 2020 #13 of 14
    myklbear

    myklbear Member

    55
    5
    Jan 11, 2015
    Thanks for the thoughts.
    Haven't been ready to backtrack to TE3 and lose 750 meg of stored shows.
    They offered the edge with my lifetime moved over. Again losing my shows.
    Maybe I just have to binge watch what's important and move on.
    I am also concerned about investing hundreds more dollars with Cablevision offering so little support, and for how long?
    I've already been moving towards cutting the cable with an OTA TiVo and my own modem but streaming services are going up in price so fast they are nearing comparable without the convenience (read spouse capable).
    Boy, has TiVo missed the boat by not upgrading their OS a few years back while maintaining their superiority in functionality.


    Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
     
    tlmckesson likes this.
  14. Dec 28, 2020 #14 of 14
    just4tivo

    just4tivo Active Member

    557
    198
    Dec 9, 2015
    It shouldn't surprise anyone that with so many interested in cutting the cord to save money that the streaming companies would raise their prices.

    The broadband providers are next to gouge us as we crave faster speeds to make the streaming services bearable and they'll be laughing all the way to the stockholder dividends.
     

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