[Berkshire]

I have the original 250 GB HD from an upgraded S3.

Can I replace the stock 160GB TiVo HD drive with it? Can the 160 be used as a backup drive for the S3?

Also, before I buy the TiVo HD, are there any problems of significance - I see there is an update related to the SA cable cards (I have SA) to fix some initial problems.

Also, considering buying a 400GB TiVo HD unit from DVR Upgrade (price looks decent), any cautions?

Thank you.

 

[funtoupgrade]

Hard drives are interchangeable between the two units, but they will need to be reprogrammed with the correct image.

 

[Berkshire]

Can I move a drive from one TiVo to another (compatible, ie. 240 to 240 Series 2s) with the same MAK (my account) and continue to access the old recordings?

 

[classicsat]

No. The drive are still encrypted to the system key. The MAK is only used to encrypt transfers.

 

[Berkshire]

Thank you. I may end up doing a poor man's HD upgrade on an S2 by getting my SPs saved at TiVo by signing up for Guru and MRV'ing recordings to another S2, then changing the drive and return MRV'ing the recordings.

For the TiVo HD, I think I will buy direct from TiVo and get the larger drive later.

 

[Berkshire]

As for replacing existing S2 drives with larger ones: I have external IDE/PATA-USB boxes; could I use two of those boxes for the copy of OS & recordings from/to old/new S2 drives? Are the tools required the same?

bkdtv offered this process for the TiVo HD...

TivoHD Upgrade Instructions
Remove the outer case and existing drive using a torx screwdriver in the T10 size. If you don't have one of appropriate length, you can purchase the Star Driver T10 Ampro (9014713) from Advance Auto Parts for about $4.

Download WinMFS here.

Shut down Windows and attach original TiVo drive. You can open your computer and attach it with a SATA cable, or attach it externally using a SATA->USB adapter like this.

Boot to Windows XP (SP2) or Vista, run WinMFS, and click 'Select Drive' to select the drive you attached.

In WinMFS, click the 'Backup' option. Save the file to your hard drive.

Shut down the computer and attach the new, larger drive. You can disconnect the original Tivo drive.

Turn your computer back on, run WinMFS, and click the 'Restore' option. Select the file you saved to your hard drive in step #5.

You're done. Install the new drive in the TivoHD.

Note that won't backup your existing recordings. The "Backup" option in WinMFS just backs up the Tivo software and your configuration, not the recordings.

If you want to backup your recordings too,then you need to choose the MFSCopy option in WinMFS which requires that the original Tivo drive and new drive be connected at the same time -- in which case you may want 2x SATA -> USB adapters.