Possibly the power supply, blown capacitors, etc.
Help! I think my TiVo Died
I think my TiVo HD just died. I plug it in, the lights flash for a brief second and then they go out. I also hear a low buzzing sound. Any ideas?
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So, is my best bet to buy a new power supply?
Are the capacitors bulging? Be very careful if you open the Tivo.
Nothing bulging. I ordered a new tivo on ebay for $75 and will try to take the PS from it. Hope that fixes it.
That buzzing sound could be a good power supply dealing with an overload.I think my TiVo HD just died. I plug it in, the lights flash for a brief second and then they go out. I also hear a low buzzing sound. Any ideas?
You should remove the hard drive and see if the TiVo will put the Welcome screen up and keep it there without rebooting.
If so, then the problem may be the hard drive.
Removing the hard drive did nothing
Then it's either the power supply or the motherboardRemoving the hard drive did nothing
(or a swarm of bees
)Probably the power supply.
This isn't the lifetimed unit you're selling is it?
As long as the hard drive is out, you might want to make a backup image and/or upgrade the HD.....
I may be in the same boat, but I have another question. IF the internal hard drive is failing and I have an external drive also connected are the recordings speed across both of them? Is there anyway to view/remove the recordings from the bad drive?
If you have an internal and external drive, every recording made after you added the external has been split between the two drives, as in part of the recording on one drive and another part of it on the other drive.I may be in the same boat, but I have another question. IF the internal hard drive is failing and I have an external drive also connected are the recordings speed across both of them? Is there anyway to view/remove the recordings from the bad drive?
So recovering any recordings will require both drives.
Besides, odds are that it's your external drive failing, based on everything I've read here of the experiences of others, although based on that same reading, you might first suspect the data cable between the TiVo and the external drive.
Search the drive upgrade and expansion thread for terms like external and eSATA and Antec enclosure.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=370784
Now that richsadams has bowed out of active participation, we all have to get used to doing a lot more of the researching ourselves.
Okay, I have performed the kickstart 54 and both drives passed all tests. (internal & external) I checked the power supply and did replace one cap that was buldging but had not popped.
I am still getting freezes, pixelations and slow response to remote commands. Is it time to hang it up? Should I try getting a replacement drive? I just don't want to try money away.
Thanks
I am still getting freezes, pixelations and slow response to remote commands. Is it time to hang it up? Should I try getting a replacement drive? I just don't want to try money away.
Thanks
Take another look at the power supply. edit: this next sentence needs, and receives, ammendment below If any of the big caps are CapXon brand, replace them no matter what they look like. If they aren't that brand, check near the one you replaced for another one with even a hint of a not perfectly flat top or even the least bit of the plug on the bottom giving way.Okay, I have performed the kickstart 54 and both drives passed all tests. (internal & external) I checked the power supply and did replace one cap that was buldging but had not popped.
I am still getting freezes, pixelations and slow response to remote commands. Is it time to hang it up? Should I try getting a replacement drive? I just don't want to try money away.
Thanks
EDIT:
For the benefit of future searchers, when I talk about the big caps I mean the ones on the output side of the supply. The big one on the input side doesn't seem to have problems and is probably best left alone.
As I mention elsewhere CapXon brand has a pretty poor reputation overall, and I've pulled bad ones out of non-TiVo equipment, but the 3 S2 DT power supplies I have are all still good and they have CapXon caps in the places where caps go bad, and the bad caps I've found in TiVo supplies so far have been Teapo brand, so perhaps I was a bit hasty in my advice to replace the CapXon caps just for the sin of being that brand.
If, as in Sarge3515's case, you find one that's bad, if you know enough about electronics to tell if another one was in electrical parallel to it, you should probably replace it as well.
The S3 HD supply has 3 16V 2200uF caps right together and 2 of them are paralleled from the +5V output to ground. I'd consider them both suspect if either showed any signs of bulge at all.
The 3rd one is physically next to those 2 but in a different circuit.
I'll do it, I see this problem all the time with TV power supplies just never knew Tivo has similar problems. Thanks
TVs, TiVos, computer motherboards since at least the days of the Pentium II-running BX chipset, computer monitors, and pretty much anything else that's mass produced and has electrolytic capacitors in it.I'll do it, I see this problem all the time with TV power supplies just never knew Tivo has similar problems. Thanks
Okay, changed out all the CapXon caps. Last night looked okay watching live and some previously recorded shows. Tonight I go to watch a show recorded last night and noticed that it had only recorded about 41mins of an hour show which meant it may have restarted itself. I started watching it and sure enough I had the pixelation and freezes again.
So do I try a hard drive next or thank it for its years of service and upgrade?
So do I try a hard drive next or thank it for its years of service and upgrade?
Suggest you start a separate thread on "Can I combine internal and external to bigger internal drive, saving shows?"Okay, changed out all the CapXon caps. Last night looked okay watching live and some previously recorded shows. Tonight I go to watch a show recorded last night and noticed that it had only recorded about 41mins of an hour show which meant it may have restarted itself. I started watching it and sure enough I had the pixelation and freezes again.
So do I try a hard drive next or thank it for its years of service and upgrade?
I'd like to know the answer to that one myself.
At this point I'd be tempted to run the original manufacturer's diagnostic software on your internal drive (could take several hours) and see if the same can be done with the external or if the external can be disassembled without being destroyed and then testing the drive itself with the manufacturer's diagnostic software.
Keep in mind that you just saved yourself the cost of a new power supply, or the cost of a used one with no warranty that could have gone bad as soon as you fired it up.
Just wanted to post a follow up. Appears the hard drive was the problem. Ordered a new hard drive from DVR Dude and everything seems to be working okay now. Got rid of the external drive and went with the 2tb drive, over 300 hours of HD recordings.
Thanks for all the help.
Thanks for all the help.
My problem was the power supply. I bought a TivoHD on ebay for $70
Now that you changed out the caps the power supply should last as long as that new drive.Just wanted to post a follow up. Appears the hard drive was the problem. Ordered a new hard drive from DVR Dude and everything seems to be working okay now. Got rid of the external drive and went with the 2tb drive, over 300 hours of HD recordings.
Thanks for all the help.
Where did you get replacement caps?
Got a link?
(I'm fixing an HD power supply)
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