Roamio, new unit, unusable due to reboots

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I received my new Roamio unit yesterday and set it up last night. Upon powering it up, it got about half way through setup and I had to stop because I didn't have internet access.

This evening, I was able to get internet working after much frustration. I turned on the TV, set the HDMI switch to the TiVo and it was still on the screen asking me to select the internet connection type. So, no reboots up until this point.

I selected ethernet and continued with the setup. The Roamio wanted to do an update, so I let it do the update. After the update completed (I think?) it rebooted. I suppose this was OK, maybe it was planned, maybe not.

After rebooting, the unit made it to the mishmash startup video of the TiVo guy doin his thing stompin around and zapping stuff with lightning. And it rebooted. It got back to the mishmash video, and rebooted again. It got back to the mishmash, and I hit the TiVo button which brought it to some setup screen. Then it rebooted. Same thing, mishmash, TiVo button, setup screen. It has rebooted probably 10-20 times in the last 15 to 20 minutes.

Any chance of fixing it? Or should I just return it to Amazon? I can go down the street tomorrow and pick one up from Frys, at least I think they're in stock. Not 100% certain.

Is there a way to force the update? Can I pull the hard drive and format it without voiding warranty?

Separate question. I bought a 2 TB drive for a S3 a few years ago and then immediately switched to U-Verse. That drive was a WD drive and needed some special setup utility to be run on it so that it wouldn't spin down during startup. I never ran that utility. Can I put that drive in my TiVo and use it without running that utility?

 

Thanks everyone, for the troubleshooting tips.

I disconnected the power to the TiVo overnight in case it was a heat issue. I plugged it in this morning and it did the same reboot thing. I then disconnected all cables except for power and HDMI and Ethernet and it still does the same thing.

Disconnected Ethernet, and it actually didn't reboot. Great. I really wasn't looking forward to using WiFi, but at least I installed a new access point near the TV so I should get a strong signal.

But now, I'm in tech support hell. This guy isn't able to activate the cable card.

Edit: 1 way authorization has been received, but I don't see any channels. I DID see a channel yesterday during the guided setup, I believe it was when it asked me to confirm the program guide. Now, no channels. Signal strength is Diagnostics is "-" Signal lock and program lock are "No." SNR bounces around between 9 dB and 26dB. Modulation changes between QAM 256 and QAM 64.

This has been a service week from hell. Luckily for us though, we have lobbyists for cable companies to keep competition out cause that'd just make things worse! /sarcasm

Edit2: Reconnected all cables on the tuning adapter and have signal now. Jesus... I'm watching QVC and actually excited. I want to say vulgar things about AT&T and TWC for this headache. (super short story... AT&T disconnected me and said they would hook me back up, but couldn't figure out how. TWC sent a tech out to my house to hook up my cable, but all he did was open the box and put a coupler on two of my lines that went to my house. He connected my house to my f'ing house and left.)

Qustion: Now that I can get the system up and running, is there a way to force a full update in case something was botched during the original update when I first started setting this up?

 

Grrr... I'm on an old software version then, but I can't connect to the TiVo service. It keeps telling me that I need to plug in a WiFi network adapter. Why? Doesn't this thing have built in WiFi? It found my network when I searched for it previously. It's the one that showed me the SSID.

Re-entered the wireless passkey and it worked. Phew. It connected and.... REBOOT. Went back to the network stuff and tried to do it again. Reboot. Seems that trying to connect to the TiVo service may be what is causing it to reboot.

Any chance this is because I haven't set up a TiVo account? I don't want to do that until I know this is going to work. Don't want to associate a month of service to a unit I'm going to return in a day or two.

Probably going to return this one to Amazon and pick one up from Fry's so I don't have to wait until Tuesday to watch TV. I HATE taking advantage of Amazon like that though.

Edit: Well hell. I set it to use Ethernet again instead of WiFi, then unplugged ethernet. Its rebooting.

 

Ethernet is no better. It appears that it reboots when it tries to connect to the Tivo servers. If I ever get it to the menus, immediately upon telling it to make the connection it reboots. Happens on Ethernet or WiFi.

I appreciate the suggestion though.

 

We purchased from Amazon, and they're taking care of it for us. I mentioned earlier that I was going to return to Amazon and buy from Fry's, but we decided to limp along with what we have and let Amazon send us a new one. I didn't like the idea of taking advantage of them by returning to them and buying from Frys.

One thing I will say though, HOLY **** Roamio's menu system is FAST compared to the S3!

 

Final update: Looks like the second box I received from Amazon is working. Had it not worked, I would have tried going through Margaret as suggested by mpnret.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!