810h freezes at night

My 2 year old pioneer 810h is starting to freeze. When we go to see what is recorded, the tv screen is blank and we have to unplug and restart the tivo. Of course, anything scheduled to record during that time is lost.

Any thoughts on what I can try?

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I'll bet you don't get a different answer reposting the same problem in a different way other than replace the hard drive. I know you don't like that answer, but that is probably what others will tell you if they pipe in. It is about the only thing you can replace when you start having these kinds of problems. I've got four of the 810's and one freezes occasionally on power up. Should it ever get worse, that is what I'd replace.

Thanks. Is there a forum that shows what type of hd to replace, and how to do it to? Save software etc. I have changed HDs on comptuers, but never opened up the tivo.

Yep, it sounds like your hard drive is having a problem. Can you determine if it is locking up when it is attempting to do its daily call? Does it lock up at the same exact time every night?

Are you sure the TiVo is not in standby mode? It will display a blank screen if it is in standby. Does it not respond to the remote?

Check out the Upgrade Forum on this web site for more upgrade info. Also check out mfslive.org. This web site contains the most up to date upgrade tools.

Good luck,
robomeister

brn2rnjk1 said:

Thanks. Is there a forum that shows what type of hd to replace, and how to do it to? Save software etc. I have changed HDs on comptuers, but never opened up the tivo.

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Like robomeister said, there is a wealth of info on this forum. It's been a while since I upgraded one of my 810's. Check here (http://tivo.upgrade-instructions.com/index.php). It's pretty easy. It just takes a little while. Also be cautioned about the white ribbon cable going to the front panel coming unplugged. It burns out an inductor and you lose the remote control capability if you power the unit up with the cable not seated properly. I upgraded to a 320G drive and got more room that I ever needed. StanSimmons was nice enough to give me an upgradable image. Not all 810 images were upgradable. There may be simpler methods now, but it wasn't that hard back then.

Regarding getting an upgradeable 810H image. If you use the new mfstools from mfslive.org, you shouldn't have any problems with any image. When you select the TiVo type using the online command generator, it gives you instructions on how to unlock any image. I had to do this recently, and it worked like a charm.

Hope that helps,
robomeister