[nyjack]

My primary TiVo is a 6 tuner Roamio Plus (all-in service plan) along with a TiVo Mini. I’ve recently noticed some issues with my Roamio such as self-rebooting & screen lock-up (have to power cycle to “fix”). Because of these issues & anticipating what I expect, an inevitable crash, I’m thinking about an upgrade. My cable/internet provider (only one available) is Comcast/Xfinity (OTA won’t work here). If I go to a Bolt it will cost me $300 for a 6 tuner Bolt & $550 for the All-in service plan, total $850 (or I could go with the monthly plan for $15). I’m pretty sure that my TiVo Mini will work with a Bolt. My other option is to trade in the existing X1 box I have for an X1 DVR to replace TiVo. Xfinity’s Stream app will give me access to live & recordings. I’ve been using TiVo since @2003 and would prefer to stay, but the dollars don’t seem to make sense. I’d like to hear opinions & experiences others have had in any similar situation. Sorry for the long post but wanted to give all info.

 

[rcandsc]

You might want to look at a hard drive upgrade from Weaknees.com. If the Roamio is indeed failing because of a hard drive failure, this would be a much more cost effective way to upgrade to a larger hard drive and still keep the all in plan you have on the current Roamio.

 

[V7Goose]

Yeah, a hundred bucks and you can drop a new 3TB drive into that box without doing anything else at all.

 

[nyjack]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I upgraded the HD to a 3tb (fortunately I was able to do it myself). How can I be sure that it is the HD that is causing the problem? Also, if I do get a new HD how can I get all the recordings I currently have?

 

[nyjack]

Sorry, but in my very long post I forgot to mention that Comcast has told me that as I am currently paying $9.95/month for the non-dvr X1 box it would cause me just over $3.00 more per month ($12.95 + tax) to swap the box I have with the X1 dvr. Now, I only got that answer from one Comcast rep over the phone I’ll need to call again or go to the local Xfinity store to verify that the Comcast rep has it right.

 

[V7Goose]

Well, cloning a drive is quite easy, as long as the data on the existing drive is not corrupt. You were talking about replacing the box either way, so I assumed you had already written the recordings off as lost.

As far as knowing what is really wrong - you are pretty much stuck with playing the odds and testing the replacement parts. In my opinion, about 93% of problems like you describe are drive related. Maybe 6% are related to the power brick (less than $20), and maybe 1% for miscellaneous other odd hardware issues that you really can't fix.

I personally quit wasting money on the blood sucking cable companies years ago, so I cannot give you un-biased advice on that option.

 

[nyjack]

Regarding the recordings I was going to keep the Roamio connected to my TV (without the cable card) until I’ve watched the remaining recordings.

You say that cloning the drive is quite easy. In the past I was able to find software online to do this with earlier TiVo models. But when I replaced the HD on this Roamio I couldn’t find the right software so I gave up on the shows. It will be much appreciated if you can direct me to the cloning software for a TiVo drive

 

[fcfc2]

Amazon has a pretty simple return process and they currently seem to be selling the WD 3TB Red's for about $100. If money is an issue, I would surely try going the clone current drive route, and not sure why with a 6 tuner Roamio why you wouldn't have replaced that $10 a month Comcast box with a Tivo mini from the get go as it would have been paid off long ago. If you are not too techie, you could consider a stand alone hard drive cloning dock, they are not too expensive. Amazon.com: hard drive dock clone You could also try a post in the Upgrade Forum for help/suggestions, TiVo Upgrade Center
The only problem with the cloning option might be that the original hard drive is already degraded too far. There are also a couple free software options to try and save as many programs as possible as well as your Tivo settings which can be found here, TiVo Home Media Features & TiVoToGo
Going with the new Bolt and lifetime seems foolish to me at this stage especially when there is a likely fix for a hundred bucks. If the hard drive gets you back in business then consider picking up another mini and dumping the Comcast box and taking advantage of those Roamio tuners.

 

[nyjack]

The reason I keep the Comcast box is that is the only way they pay for my Netflix account ($12.99). Thanks for all the info, though. I am pretty techie. I’ve personally upgraded the drive in every one of my TiVo’s. I’ve replaced laptop drives on both Mac & Dell, etc. So, changing the drive is doable. You’re correct about the Amazon return process, especially for Prime members, which I am. I’m going to take your advice and look at the links you gave me. I just wish there was a way to find out definitively that it is the drive. There may be a different issue, though. My Roamio is in a closed cabinet along with a Bose receiver and a Blue Ray player. The heat in the cabinet key be part of the problem. I’m looking into putting a fan, preferably temperature controlled rather than always on, into the cabinet.

 

[NashGuy]

Is it possible for you to move the Roamio out of the closed cabinet to a cooler open-air space for a few days and see if that makes it perform better? Heat is definitely the enemy of electronics.

If you can fix the Roamio for not too much, that sounds like the best solution. To pay $850 for a new Bolt with lifetime service vs. just paying an extra $3 per month for an X1 DVR (assuming that figure is accurate), you have to REALLY prefer TiVo to justify the cost. You'd have to use that Bolt about 23.5 years before you broke even versus just paying $3/mo more for an X1 DVR. Not sure if the X1 DVR would give you the same 1TB of storage as the Bolt but it should have the same 6 tuners.

 

[PSU_Sudzi]

The reason I keep the Comcast box is that is the only way they pay for my Netflix account ($12.99). Thanks for all the info, though. I am pretty techie. I've personally upgraded the drive in every one of my TiVo's. I've replaced laptop drives on both Mac & Dell, etc. So, changing the drive is doable. You're correct about the Amazon return process, especially for Prime members, which I am. I'm going to take your advice and look at the links you gave me. I just wish there was a way to find out definitively that it is the drive. There may be a different issue, though. My Roamio is in a closed cabinet along with a Bose receiver and a Blue Ray player. The heat in the cabinet key be part of the problem. I'm looking into putting a fan, preferably temperature controlled rather than always on, into the cabinet.

I think I've read that if you return that X1 box, Comcast will still pay for your Netflix, you just need their box for the initial setup.

 

[jrtroo]

I cannot imagine it is not the hard drive or power supply. After that, it would be just about as likely that you have an environment issue (heat, voltage, waveform, etc).

 

[ej42137]

But when I replaced the HD on this Roamio I couldn't find the right software so I gave up on the shows. It will be much appreciated if you can direct me to the cloning software for a TiVo drive

Unless you want to use a drive larger than 3TB, no special preparation is needed for Roamio or Bolt TiVos; just insert a blank (or at least non-TiVo formatted) hard drive and your TiVo will do the rest.

As far as the shows go, they are encrypted so that they will only play on their original TiVo; it is not possible to copy the hard drives and play the recordings on the other TiVo. You can only stream or copy the shows over your local LAN, or copy them to a PC using kmttg or similar software.

 

[V7Goose]

All the information you need to copy recordings to a new drive is in the Upgrade Forum. MFSTools 3.3 should work perfectly for either a 3TB or 4TB drive. Just download the iso file and create a boot CD or USB stick - it is extremely easy to use.

 

[mattyro7878]

Also. That Xfinity stream app will work with a Smart Samsung TV or your smart phone or laptop or tablet. I have no Comcast equipment and use the stream app

 

[Bigg]

1. Put a new hard drive in your Roamio Plus. It's cheap, and should fix your issues. Also, put it on a UPS if you haven't already.
2. Get rid of the X1 box and replace it with a Mini. You only need it to set up Netflix once, then it stays as long as your Comcast account is active.