[HumblePie]

Any help\advice is much appreciated.

So I have 3 tivos and went ahead and upgraded al of them this weekend with 160gb Maxtor QuickView drives. The first two went without a hitch but the 3rd one came back online (TCD540040) and then the screen went black. More specifically, the Tivo powered up, I saw the powering up message then it hit the almost there message. Around this point the image began to break up (kind of like a degauss on a monitor). After that it stayed black. I have read numerous posts about a black screen but couldn't find any that had a similar result. Right now I can put the new (or old HD) in the case and power it up and go through the Tivo menu (even watch previously recorded shows) all without any video. There is audio and I can here the Tivo menu, etc.

I am at a total loss for what is going on.

As a side note, the white cable was not disturbed and even playing with the Aux inputs on the remote yields no changes.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[captain_video]

Check your video cable to make sure it's seated properly. Some S-video cables are pretty touchy and can result in a black screen if moved even slightly.

 

[HumblePie]

Thanks. Unfortunately, I tried this with different s-video cables and also my coposite video. No luck. Any other ideas? Thanks.

 

[HomeUser]

Do you have Video on the TV/Monitor with any other input(s)?

The TV may be jealous of the TiVos getting all the attention

 

[HumblePie]

Ha! Nice... If I just swap out the TCD540040 with another Tivo, the picture shows up perfectly.

I've read the "kickstart" instructions and thought I would try the "52" Emergency image option. unfortunatley, I have no way of telling if I am on the green screen or not.

Does anyone know if I can get a "default image" for the TCD540040? If so, please PM me. After 3 days of fiddling with this I am just about out of options...

Please let me know if anyone has any ideas that I can try. Thanks much.

 

[HomeUser]

Do I under stand that after replacing the HD the first Power-Up, Almost There message you do not have any video even after a power off restart not even the Power-Up?

If this is true and you get the normal TiVo beeps and can play shows (Audio Only) with either HD. I do not think the problem is with the HD or even GSOD. The TiVo seems to be working there must be a problem with the Video circuit probably the video output amp if you've tried both Video outs and the RF out it may be time for professional service.

 

[HumblePie]

You hit the enail on the head. That is exactly what happens. Now, I confess to not understand the inner workings of the Tivo software as most of you do. But I think I could have slightly corrupted both HDs in my hasty attempt to fix my issue, hence the request for a default TCD540040 image. My last attempt to backup from the original image appeared to work OK but I could not get the restore to work. It kept failing at 98.51%. After 4 attempts it succeeded. I thought it very odd but proceeded. When copying the HD I mistakenly ran the two drive "backup | restore" command (yess I know n00b move). This failed after a short while. At that point I figured my HDs were hosed. I was hoping to check a default image to see if it was, in fact the case or if the MB was to blame.

 

[HumblePie]

OK, I now know that it is my Tivo software on the HDs that is corrupt. A friend gave me his TCD240040 and I went through the upgrade process. Not a single issue. I then took his original 40gb drive and dumped it in my TCD540040 and guess what...? It displayed the Powering up message. It made it about 20 seconds befor rebooting. Understandable since it is a different model, etc.

Now the 100 grand question... Where can I get a default TCD540040 image to re-image my HD? Please PM me if you know where I can get this. Thanks.

Erik

 

[captain_video]

Check this thread.

 

[HumblePie]

Thanks!

Just a quick update for those following the thread. A re-image worked like a champ and I am now running with approx 152 hours...

One thing I did notice was right after the upgrade and the new image my screen would flicker terribly every once in a while. It was like the verticle scan was off. This only happened when the output was straight from the Tivo. I tried a ton of different things (RCA, RF, and S-Video. All had the same issue. Well after reading a ton of threads, I gave up for the night. I could hear the HD going crazy for about 3 hours then it went silent. When I got up this morning all was back to normal. I'm not sure what the Tivo was doing for 3 hours but it somehow repaired itself.

For those that offered tips and advise, THANKS!