You wouldn't want to unless you like blowing thru SSDs, time and $. TiVos write WAY too much and would quickly wear one out.
Bolt backup
I've search through the threads and can't seem to find answers to these specific questions and would like to get definitive yes/no if possible, please.
1: Is there a way to backup the settings (config, one-pass, etc)?
a: are settings saved to ROM or HDD?
2: Does the eSATA port do anything?
b: there's a menu option to copy to an external drive. does that do anything?
3: If i decide to replace the HDD, does my bolt support a SSD?
Thank you!
1: Is there a way to backup the settings (config, one-pass, etc)?
a: are settings saved to ROM or HDD?
2: Does the eSATA port do anything?
b: there's a menu option to copy to an external drive. does that do anything?
3: If i decide to replace the HDD, does my bolt support a SSD?
Thank you!
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
Look for Pytivo desktop, it hits several of your questions
1: Is there a way to backup the settings (config, one-pass, etc)? Pytivo
a: are settings saved to ROM or HDD?, your online account, but pytivo will get you a copy
2: Does the eSATA port do anything? not at this time is the simple answer
b: there's a menu option to copy to an external drive. does that do anything? no, there's no option like that, where do you see it?
3: If i decide to replace the HDD, does my bolt support a SSD? as mentioned above, don't even go there.
1: Is there a way to backup the settings (config, one-pass, etc)? Pytivo
a: are settings saved to ROM or HDD?, your online account, but pytivo will get you a copy
2: Does the eSATA port do anything? not at this time is the simple answer
b: there's a menu option to copy to an external drive. does that do anything? no, there's no option like that, where do you see it?
3: If i decide to replace the HDD, does my bolt support a SSD? as mentioned above, don't even go there.
pyTivo can't back up settings. You need to use kmttg for that.
Look up SSD write endurance. Quick examples I found.I want to do some research on SSD's. I didn't realize they weren't as robust as HDD's.
Understanding SSD Endurance
SSD Lifespan: How Long Will Your SSD Work?
https://www.howtogeek.com/444787/multi-layer-ssds-what-are-slc-mlc-tlc-qlc-and-mlc/
TLC and QLC drives are much worse from an endurance POV than say SLC which is real pricey.
My Bolt+ has 6 tuners and is buffering up to 6 different channels at once. Since I disable all the power savings modes and have suggestions on it, it is usually recording what's playing on 6 channels at once and that has to be written somewhere...
If you bought a 1 TB The Samsung 870 QVO (1TB & 4TB) SSD Review: QLC Refreshed, it'd probably worn out and done after 360 TB are written to it.
Also, read up on write amplification on SSDs like at The SSD Relapse: Understanding and Choosing the Best SSD.
Thank you for the links! Interesting. Some of that data seems a bit dated (as a few people commented), however overall there is a case to be made. I would tend to believe that very very soon SSD's will be a viable option in our application. Especially if 'suggested' recordings is turned off and its only recording occasionally.Also, read up on write amplification on SSDs like at The SSD Relapse: Understanding and Choosing the Best SSD.
That's not what you think it is, that's for the legacy 500GB and 1TB WD DVR expander model drives, there were a very limited set of models that were identified by firmware, and in general they were not recommended because of high failures and since the OS stripes the recordings on both internal and external an external drive failure would wipe everything you recorded after you installed the external.I'll look into kmttg, thank you!
I want to do some research on SSD's. I didn't realize they weren't as robust as HDD's. Seems like the lower V and heat would make them ideal.
Here is what I see under external devices (I don't have a drive connected):
For all intents, external storage as additional storage doesn't exist.
Your comment of
also has a mistake in the logic, the drive records 4-6 streams 24/7 no matter if suggestions are on or off.I would tend to believe that very very soon SSD's will be a viable option in our application. Especially if 'suggested' recordings is turned off and its only recording occasionally.
It's also worth noting that the r/w cycles on the SSD would lead to an early failure, but more so there's zero advantage since the OS is based around the performance of a spinning platter drive, it doesn't really get faster with an SSD.
What's dated? AFAIK, there's still the issue of the drive having to translate LBAs to actual pages on flash (The SSD Relapse: Understanding and Choosing the Best SSD). And, the need to erase and re-write more to the drive than the amount of data intended to be written.Thank you for the links! Interesting. Some of that data seems a bit dated (as a few people commented), however overall there is a case to be made. I would tend to believe that very very soon SSD's will be a viable option in our application. Especially if 'suggested' recordings is turned off and its only recording occasionally.
And, if all things are equal, durability has gotten worse with cheaper SSDs which employ TLC and QLC instead of just SLC and MLC.
It's not a big deal for a desktop PC for have TLC or QLC if it's not subject to massive writing to disk 24/7 by continual video streams.
To be clear, I'm not anti-SSD. Every single one of my computers I use has either an SSD as a boot and programs drive or as its only drive. I upgraded two of my older laptops long ago from slow spinning drives to SSDs ages ago. Helped give them a new lease on life. I got my 1st SSD in 2010 and it was the boot and programs drive on a PC I put together back then. Was an Intel X25-M G2, which was fairly fast for consumer drives back then and very pricey.
It's just a waste of $ and not the right thing to put in a TiVo, even if it works initially.
And, I can't vouch for the accuracy of List of drives that don't boot under TE4 21.x on Bolt, there are apparently some drives (a few of them SSDs) that don't work w/TE4, for whatever reason.
Whoops! my bad, I was typing on the fly and trying to remember which incredibly useful tool did whatpyTivo can't back up settings. You need to use kmttg for that.
Ah, also good to know.That's not what you think it is, that's for the legacy 500GB and 1TB WD DVR expander model drives, there were a very limited set of models that were identified by firmware, and in general they were not recommended because of high failures and since the OS stripes the recordings on both internal and external an external drive failure would wipe everything you recorded after you installed the external.
For all intents, external storage as additional storage doesn't exist.
Good to know, thank you!
Your comment of
also has a mistake in the logic, the drive records 4-6 streams 24/7 no matter if suggestions are on or off.
It's also worth noting that the r/w cycles on the SSD would lead to an early failure, but more so there's zero advantage since the OS is based around the performance of a spinning platter drive, it doesn't really get faster with an SSD.
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
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