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TivoHD + WD 1 TB HDD: Inside or Outside?

Discussion in 'TiVo Upgrade Center' started by The Weissman, Oct 23, 2007.

  1. Oct 23, 2007 #1 of 7
    The Weissman

    The Weissman New Member

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    Dec 26, 2002

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    My new TivoHD was delivered today and I bought a WD 1 TB drive over the weekend. Everything is still boxed up and I have questions!

    (1) Is it better to replace the drive in the THD or to deploy it as an eSATA drive (at some additional cost for an external enclosure)?

    (2) If I decide to install it internally, am I better off doing it before or after turning the THD on for the first time? (Or, am I just being anal?)

    (3) If I decide to install it externally using WinMFS or mfslive, is there any warranty exposure on the THD?

    (4) Should I use my THD as-is out of the box, until we learn what makes the TiVo-supported eSATA drive special, and might be able to clone this "specialness" to other, larger drives?

    Steve
     
  2. Oct 24, 2007 #2 of 7
    cr33p

    cr33p New Member

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    Jan 2, 2005
    Ann Arbor MI
    1) you could use the existing 160 internal plus your 1tb if you went with an enclosure for the new drive. I prefer a one drive solution, so I would add the 1tb internally myself.

    2) I would install the 1tb now and set it up off that, this way you could use winmfs and make a truncated back up and then restore it to the new drive rather then setting up the original drive then needing to use a mfscopy to set up the new drive, although one added bonus to setting up the original 160 is you would also get the added benifit of the spare drive having the correct cable card settings stored for any future use or as a backup in the event the 1tb goes down.

    3) Technically yes opening and altering the unit would not be covered under warranty but many users have been upgrading discs for years with no problem with warranty coverage, be sure to keep the original disc in the even that a unit needs to be replaced and or exchanged.

    4) I think it sounds like you are fairly competent and not scared to open the case and use tools to make this happen. Its unclear if we will be able to fool an unsupported drive into thinking it is a supported drive via the plug and play method.

    I say go for it man, pop the top and toss in the 1TB and welcome to the large disc club :)
     
  3. Oct 24, 2007 #3 of 7
    Islanti

    Islanti Member

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    Dec 13, 2001
    Georgetown, TX
    Another perspective. I went external so my Tivo HD would be pristine inside in the event I had a warranty claim.
     
  4. Oct 24, 2007 #4 of 7
    PooperScooper

    PooperScooper Member

    51
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    Aug 22, 2007
    Leominster, MA
    I just installed a WD 1TB drive in my three week old TivoHD. I used MFSlive boot CD since it was the most convenient. It was a piece of cake. I'm keeping the original drive as a backup. Later, if I need more space I'll add a 1TB eSATA drive.

    larry
     
  5. Oct 24, 2007 #5 of 7
    classicsat

    classicsat Astute User

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    Feb 18, 2004
    Ontario Canada.

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    Would you notice the 160GB? IMO, just replace the drive, since you will have to void the warranty anyway. If you are that paranoid of the warranty, just get the official DVR Expander.
     
  6. Oct 29, 2007 #6 of 7
    The Weissman

    The Weissman New Member

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    Dec 26, 2002
    Thanks, guys. I'm not hung up on the warranty -- I have a Series 1 and a Series 2 that I upgraded practically the day I got it, and I have Unix experience, so it wasn't that daunting. It's just that having a "legal" upgrade option this time made me want to think about it a bit . . . perhaps overthinking!

    Tonight I swapped out the stock 160 GB TivoHD HDD with the WD10000CSRTL 1 GB drive using WinMFS. I've never had such a pleasant and easy upgrade experience with any TiVo. The stock A drive will go on the shelf with all my old stock A drives, and someday, maybe, when someone figures out how to add a "non-verified" eSATA drive to this setup, I'll do that too. Nice!
     
  7. Oct 30, 2007 #7 of 7
    flatcurve

    flatcurve New Member

    1,153
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    Sep 27, 2007
    Chicago
    You can already do that with mfslive. It's not plug and play though... and again, this brings back the issue of two drives being two failure points instead of one. IMO a one drive setup is always going to be the most reliable and logical solution.

    I say that after your warranty expires, you just put the drive in an enclosure and use it on your PC. 160GB might not be a lot for a tivo, but it's still a considerable size for a computer.
     

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