Power Supply Problems - FAQ

[WK-Michael]

As TiVos get older, power supplies begin to have problems. We have replacement TiVo power supplies (href=http://www.weaknees.com/tivo-power-supply.php) for many units, and if you don't see your model listed there, email us. We may have one or two hanging around.

How do you know if your power supply is failing? The easiest test is generally just looking for video out. If you get no video out at all - not even the gray "Welcome, Powering Up" screen, then you probably have a failed power supply. Sometimes, drives will still spin up, and fans will spin up, but you get no video out.

Certain model TiVos exhibit specific problems that can mean power supply failure, other than the loss of video:

Philips HDR series and Sony SVR 2000: These units have a problem where they stop outputting audio. Then, when you reboot, the audio works again for a time, and then it turns off again. This is characteristic of a failed power supply, and we've always seen a replacement fix it.

TiVo TCD140060 and AT&T TCD130040 Series2: These two models have a pretty big propensity for power supply failure, and we're constantly having a hard time keeping these in stock.

DirecTV HR10-250: We've seen a bunch of strange problems with these units get fixed with a new power supply, including HDMI issues (although usually those are the HDMI card), overheating problems (again, actually, usually HDMI problems, but sometimes a bad power supply) and the regular no-video issues.

[jlobster]

I have an HR10-250 and am having the following restart issues:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=325978

Do those sound like any of the "strange problems" you have heard about?

Thanks.

[WK-Michael]

So what drive is in the unit now?

[jlobster]

A Quantum one I bought from you guys a short while back (QuickView?).

[WK-Michael]

So Maxtor, probably.

Have you tested that drive in a PC? Has that drive ever worked well?

Our first area of suspicion would be with the drive. Especially if you've made other modifications to the software, somewhere in the mix there may be a hardware or software problem with the drive.

[jlobster]

Oops. Maxtor, yes. Definitely.

How would I test the drive? Plug it in and look for SMART errors? That's what happened with my old drive. Beyond that, I don't know what other tests to run since it is a special filesystem format.

[WK-Michael]

See this info about testing:

http://www.wkforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9

If you want to PM me your order number I can get a little more info too.

[dbustos]

I was reading in your FAQs before i saw this thread.. It said if the Tivo fan spins you get a black screen but all the front lights are on it is a power supply issue.. My tivo fan is spinning, there is a black/blank screen but the front lights aren't on.. Would that still be a power supply issue?

[WK-Jeff]

What model TiVo?

[dbustos]

Model: TCD540040

[dbustos]

New info on this issue..:

As I was checking the model number i noticed that the USB Network adaptar plugged in was also not on. I don't know if this supports the power supply theory.. but i would think so.

[WK-Jeff]

Tough to say for sure, but no lights is a pretty good indicator of a power supply problem. The spinning fan doesn't really tell much one way or another. The blank screen is consistent with a power supply issue.

It is not surprising that you don't have USB power...you won't have that until after the TiVo has started powering up and is close to getting to TiVo Central.

[dbustos]

Well i plugged your power supply in and nothing happened.. I don't know if the thing is broken or what.. but then i plugged back in my old unit and the tivo started working again.. I don't really know how it started working again and i don't really care.. Thanks guys for your help with my Tivo.

[WK-Michael]

Strange - but glad to hear it. Just be careful - this may mean more problems are coming.

[Groundhog]

I suspect a power supply problem on a HR10-250 but would like to know for sure before ordering a replacement. The system froze and wouldn't accept remote or front button input. I pulled power and restarted. The system comes up with the "Welcome. Powering up..." message but goes no farther. The hard drive will boot in someone else's machine. The fan runs and I have front panel lights. Occasionally the record light will come on for a few seconds and then the welcome screen will blink off and back on. I also tried running a molex from a PC to power the hard drive but still nothing after the welcome. Are there any voltages I can check or anything else that I can look at? Thanks for the help.

GH

[WK-Jeff]

You can check the output from the PS to the drive. The red/black is 5V and the yellow/black is 12V. The tougher issue is the test from the PS to the motherboard, which is not really plausible.

If your friend is willing, you might try his/her PS in your HR10-250 (or vice versa) to see if you can learn anything that way.

[Groundhog]

You can check the output from the PS to the drive. The red/black is 5V and the yellow/black is 12V. The tougher issue is the test from the PS to the motherboard, which is not really plausible.

If your friend is willing, you might try his/her PS in your HR10-250 (or vice versa) to see if you can learn anything that way.

I checked the voltages and have the 5 and 12 present. Not sure about the 18 that is supposed to be on the motherboard. My hard drive boots another HR10 but gets an error message about a hardware error. I assume that is because no sat cables were connected. We tried a working power supply out of a RCA DVR40 with no success. No fan or front panel lights. The signals through the ribbon cable must be different. He wasn't comfortable with pulling the PS out of his working HR10 so I don't know if my problem is the PS or the motherboard. It appears that the power supply must be the one specified for the HR10.

[WK-Jeff]

I checked the voltages and have the 5 and 12 present. Not sure about the 18 that is supposed to be on the motherboard. My hard drive boots another HR10 but gets an error message about a hardware error. I assume that is because no sat cables were connected. We tried a working power supply out of a RCA DVR40 with no success. No fan or front panel lights. The signals through the ribbon cable must be different. He wasn't comfortable with pulling the PS out of his working HR10 so I don't know if my problem is the PS or the motherboard. It appears that the power supply must be the one specified for the HR10.

The error message you got is correct--it is because you are using a drive from another unit.

You cannot use a DVR40 power supply (or drive) in an HR10.

[Groundhog]

Thanks for the info. Is there any way, short of getting another HR10 and swapping parts, to determine if the problem is the power supply or the motherboard? :D

GH

[johnny]

What is the tolerance for error on the 12V lead going to the drive, mine test at 11.7 is this acceptable. My tivo reboots randomly, I've tried replacing the drive and the error is the same. Is a valid assumption this is a ps problem?

[WK-Michael]

Thanks for the info. Is there any way, short of getting another HR10 and swapping parts, to determine if the problem is the power supply or the motherboard? :D

GH

Based on the replacement cost of the power supply, we haven't developed a comprehensive alternate test.

[WK-Michael]

What is the tolerance for error on the 12V lead going to the drive, mine test at 11.7 is this acceptable. My tivo reboots randomly, I've tried replacing the drive and the error is the same. Is a valid assumption this is a ps problem?

I'm pretty sure that's within range. Was that with a load (drive) connected, though? What symptoms are you having?

[johnny]

The unit will reboot on random intervals, comes up and runs fine for a while then reboot. That 11.7V was just measured by removing the power cable from the drive and measuring the voltage. I'm not sure how to measure it under load. I replaced the drive with another working drive and the issue is the same so I assume it's not the drive. just looking for some way to confirm before I order a ps.

[WK-Michael]

The unit will reboot on random intervals, comes up and runs fine for a while then reboot. That 11.7V was just measured by removing the power cable from the drive and measuring the voltage. I'm not sure how to measure it under load. I replaced the drive with another working drive and the issue is the same so I assume it's not the drive. just looking for some way to confirm before I order a ps.

In general, rebooting like that usually means a bad drive, not a bad power supply.

[MichaelVox]

Hey Michael. I'm having trouble that seems a bit different from other users.

My Phillips DSR7000 stuck on the powering up... screen. The original drive (40GB) was squeaking, the added drive (160GB) was fine, but I ordered a preconfigured 320GB drive to replace both of them. After hooking up the new drive, here are my symptoms:

--green light on front is working
--fan is spinning
--power supply is clicking
--new drive isn't spinning.
--screen says "powering up..."

All white ribbon cables are connected, and just for laughs, I plugged in my 160GB back into the Tivo and it began spinning. I even took the new drive and plugged it into my PC and it spins there.

So the bottom line is, power supply appears to be working, but new drive won't spin. Old drive will spin. Again, there's a click which makes me think that I need a new power supply. But the fan, light, video output, and old drive spinning make it seem like it's okay.

Ideas?

Michael.

[WK-Michael]

A clicking power supply definitely isn't a good sign. It may be that the load of the drive is too much for it (since it's likely failing). We have definitely seen situations where the video works even with a bad power supply - although it's not the more common situation. We'd recommend trying a new power supply.

[pdc]

The problem I'm having is that my Series 240 Tivo crashed and restarted last night, and then in the middle of the night, I started hearing what sounded like it trying to reboot over and over. I pulled the plug and then this morning, I get nothing. The fan turns on, but nothing else powers up. The hard drive doesn't spin up, and no lights at all on the front panel. I tried swapping out the drive with my old one, but no difference. Does this sound like a Power Supply failure? I'd love for this to be the problem since it's an easy fix.

[WK-Michael]

The problem I'm having is that my Series 240 Tivo crashed and restarted last night, and then in the middle of the night, I started hearing what sounded like it trying to reboot over and over. I pulled the plug and then this morning, I get nothing. The fan turns on, but nothing else powers up. The hard drive doesn't spin up, and no lights at all on the front panel. I tried swapping out the drive with my old one, but no difference. Does this sound like a Power Supply failure? I'd love for this to be the problem since it's an easy fix.

Yes - that sounds exactly like a power supply failure.

[plasm]

Hi, I have a TCD540040, and I just replaced my hard drive with a WD1600BB. The old hard drive spins up when plugged in, but the new hard drive does not spin up. Is there something wrong with my power supply? Or is the new hard drive just too much for the current power supply to handle (this doesn't seem likely since the power supply is supposedly rated at 38W)?

According to their labels:
Old hard drive: 12V / 790 mA
New hard drive: 12V / 900 mA

Thanks!

[WK-Michael]

That shouldn't pose a problem at all for the power supply. What do you get when you power it up? Are you sure your formatted the drive correctly?

[plasm]

That shouldn't pose a problem at all for the power supply. What do you get when you power it up? Are you sure your formatted the drive correctly?

It is stuck at the "Welcome! Powering up..." screen on both the old and the new hard drives. The difference is that the old drive spins up and the new one does not.

I'm 99% sure I formatted the drive correctly using InstantCake on my desktop. InstantCake did the whole "finished baking your cake" thing and it said all I had to do is plug it back into the Tivo. The present problem is that the hard drive doesn't even spin up when I turn the Tivo on.

Thanks!

[WK-Michael]

I'd try moving the drive back to a PC and see if it spins up there. This could be an early sign of a power supply problem, but to be honest, it doesn't sound like one at all.

[plasm]

I'd try moving the drive back to a PC and see if it spins up there. This could be an early sign of a power supply problem, but to be honest, it doesn't sound like one at all.

Dang, you were right, the drive is dead... it doesn't spin up in the desktop either anymore. What gives? Did the Tivo kill my new drive or was the drive a lemon?

[WK-Michael]

Never really seen a TiVo kill a drive . . .

[bayers63]

Hi, my hard drive crashed a couple of weeks ago, and I purchased and received a new one from WeaKnees Thursday of last week. I installed the hard drive and things have been great. Until today. I flipped over to watch today, and I had a "no signal". Fan is on, green light is on. I unplugged and then re-plugged, and got the powering up page, then back to black. The hard drive I purchased was a 160gb Seagate DB35 hard drive. Is it possible that my power may have blown because it could not handle this new larger hard drive? Could the new hard drive have went bad so quickly?

[WK-Michael]

The power requirements for the new drive are about the same, so that's not likely related.

If you have no drive installed at all, do you get stuck on the "welcome, powering up" screen or do you get black?

[bayers63]

at the moment, when unplugging and plugging back in a couple of times, I get no signal. No more welcome screen at this time. The drive is in the unit, are you saying I should take it out and turn the machine on?

[WK-Michael]

No - if you get no video at all, it's pretty clear that you have a dead power supply. You can try the same thing without the drive, but it'll likely be identical.

[bayers63]

thanks for the help. Is it common for the power supply to go out less than 2 weeks after a hard drive crash, or am I just filled with bad luck?

[WK-Michael]

Probably, whatever took out the hard drive, also took out the power supply. Maybe lightning?

[bayers63]

I'm not sure. I'm not aware of any lightening at that time. I just ordered a power supply, so hopefully it will work. I just hope it's not a board problem. Is there anything that usually indicates a for sure board failure?

[WK-Michael]

If it doesn't boot at all, it's generally isolated to the power supply and/or the drive.

[bayers63]

well, having a week old drive and a new power supply coming tomorrow, I hope it takes care of the problem. Looked at the unit again, and now it's just a no signal screen, and the left front light is kind of "waving" between the green and beige color. I let you know how I fare tomorrow evening with the power supply.

[WK-Michael]

OK - report back!

[bayers63]

OK, bad news. I put in the new power supply and nothing changed. I pulled the hard drive loose and reconnected, put it back together and plugged it in. I now am formally back to the welcome, powering up screen, fading to black, and back to the same screen. It seems I have the same problem as I had before I bought the new hard drive 2 weeks ago. I secured an RMA from WeaKnees for the hard drive I just bought before I ordered the power supply, but in the email I saw you need the original packaging to return it and my wife threw it away. I guess I'm Tivo-less, down 200 bucks. With a lifetime sub, that really sucks. I emailed WeaKnees a moment ago and asked for an exchange on the hard drive. I hope I can work something out.

[WK-Michael]

If you package the drive very, very carefully (like too much bubble wrap) we'll still take it back - in this case it's not a problem.

The fade to black is really something I haven't seen before. Just a thought: could the unit be in standby? Have you tried pressing the "TiVo" button on the remote when this happens? Have you tried booting with no drive connected at all?

[bayers63]

Hi Mike, they have agree to take it back for repair/exchange.

What is happening right now, is the welcome power up screen. After a minute or so, it disappears, goes to a dark screen, and then powers right back to the welcome screen, almost like it's rebooting (or is). This is what was happening before I got the new hard drive, so I'm hoping I just got a rare bum one. I did try to turn it on without the hard drive plugged in, and the same thing occurred.

[jayhok]

I have a Toshiba Series 2 RS-TX60. It will start clicking and then the audio will drop the right channel. After a few minutes it will come back on. This happens more and more frequently.

[WK-Jeff]

I have a Toshiba Series 2 RS-TX60. It will start clicking and then the audio will drop the right channel. After a few minutes it will come back on. This happens more and more frequently.

That sounds like a bad motherboard more than a bad power supply, but we do have power supplies for that unit if you want to try it.

[bayers63]

If you package the drive very, very carefully (like too much bubble wrap) we'll still take it back - in this case it's not a problem.

The fade to black is really something I haven't seen before. Just a thought: could the unit be in standby? Have you tried pressing the "TiVo" button on the remote when this happens? Have you tried booting with no drive connected at all?

I talked with someone at WeaKnees yesterday and they said my hard drive tested OK. I asked them to send it back, and I will put it back in and say a prayer that something happens and it works again though I'm not counting on it. It's a shame after 3 1/2 years the unit has taken a crap. If it doesn't work, does anyone think I have a chance in Tivo letting me transfer my lifetime to another unit? Especially after I have opened up and changed the drive myself??

[madarilla]

My trusty HR10-250 has given up the ghost. After a prolonged power outage Tuesday I got the overheating message during bootup. Heat is not the issue and I don't use the HDMI output at all. The fan is running and the unit lights up, but shows the black/orange overheating screen. From what I read, it would most likely be the HDMI board if I actually used HDMI, or power supply. Where should I start?

[WK-Jason]

Yep...a faulty power supply is your most likely culprit. Here's a link for a replacement:

https://www.weaknees.com/tivo-power-supply.php

[jfkrane]

I'd appreciate some help figuring out whether it is a HD, power supply, or motherboard that is dying on this machine. It has the original WD 80 GB drive and an added on 160 GB Seagate drive. Symptoms were a reboot and freeze at the "just a few more minutes" screen. Pulled the power and restarted it then froze at the "starting up" screen. Interestingly, the power light was not on up front, but the fan was running. I disconnected the HD cable from the motherboard and the power light then lit up front on the unit. If only one HD was attached it would give the starting up screen momentarily and then the power and recording light flashed intermittently different colors. I tried reseating all cables to the drives and to the power supply. I have pulled the drives and backed them up with MFSTools seemingly without problems. I have run diagnostics programs on the drives and not detected any errors.

I'm guessing this is power supply (better) or motherboard (worse). Would like your opinion before investing in the PS.

Thanks in advance...

[WK-Michael]

I'd appreciate some help figuring out whether it is a HD, power supply, or motherboard that is dying on this machine. It has the original WD 80 GB drive and an added on 160 GB Seagate drive. Symptoms were a reboot and freeze at the "just a few more minutes" screen. Pulled the power and restarted it then froze at the "starting up" screen. Interestingly, the power light was not on up front, but the fan was running. I disconnected the HD cable from the motherboard and the power light then lit up front on the unit. If only one HD was attached it would give the starting up screen momentarily and then the power and recording light flashed intermittently different colors. I tried reseating all cables to the drives and to the power supply. I have pulled the drives and backed them up with MFSTools seemingly without problems. I have run diagnostics programs on the drives and not detected any errors.

I'm guessing this is power supply (better) or motherboard (worse). Would like your opinion before investing in the PS.

Thanks in advance...

In all of the tests, do you ALWAYS get at least the gray video out screen with something like "Powering Up" on it? If so, this is most likely a drive problem.

[jfkrane]

No. The first time the problem appeared there was some video. Now, there is none at all, but as I said the fan is working and drives checked out OK in my computer.

[jfkrane]

Just swapped power supplies from my other Phillips unit and things work fine, so I guess that seals it -- will be ordering a new power supply...Thanks.

[bayers63]

Hi Mike, they have agree to take it back for repair/exchange.

What is happening right now, is the welcome power up screen. After a minute or so, it disappears, goes to a dark screen, and then powers right back to the welcome screen, almost like it's rebooting (or is). This is what was happening before I got the new hard drive, so I'm hoping I just got a rare bum one. I did try to turn it on without the hard drive plugged in, and the same thing occurred.

Good news! I got my hard drive back, and the unit is working again. I'm not going to get too excited, it worked for 4-5 days the first time. Anyway, I feel whole again!

[mezzo]

My DVR29 (RCA) has no power light. No Fan, No disk spin. I do hear a faint clicking when power is connected.

I have tried cleaning the ribbon cable contacts and flipped the cable with no luck.

Interestingly, when power is on, with ribbon cable disconnected the hard drive starts up.

Any thoughts on what the problem might be?????

[boarding_gator]

My DVR29 (RCA) has no power light. No Fan, No disk spin. I do hear a faint clicking when power is connected.

I have tried cleaning the ribbon cable contacts and flipped the cable with no luck.

Interestingly, when power is on, with ribbon cable disconnected the hard drive starts up.

Any thoughts on what the problem might be?????

I am having the exact same problem (minus the disconnected ribbon cable symptom, which I haven't tried) with my Phillips DSR708 DirecTivo. I'm anxiously awaiting the diagnosis from someone knowledgable!

[WK-Jason]

Mezzo and boarding_gator, have you tried power supply replacements? That's my guess on your most likely solution.

https://www.weaknees.com/tivo-power-supply.php

[boarding_gator]

Mezzo and boarding_gator, have you tried power supply replacements? That's my guess on your most likely solution.

https://www.weaknees.com/tivo-power-supply.php


Thanks for the reply. I've been suspecting a power supply problem, but was hoping for some confirmation before ordering one. I guess I'll give it a try.

[mezzo]

Mezzo and boarding_gator, have you tried power supply replacements? That's my guess on your most likely solution.

https://www.weaknees.com/tivo-power-supply.php

=============

Yes, I received a new power supply from weaknees on Friday. Results with new power supply not good. Same symptoms. Any thoughts?

I also ordered the ribbon cable, but it was not the right one for this unit. Thenew one was much narrower than what was required.

[WK-Jason]

Results with new power supply not good. Same symptoms. Any thoughts?

That's disappointing. I think the unit could be beyond economic repair. You should contact us via email or phone and arrange to return your power supply. :(

[Squeak]

I have an HR10-250 that will only get the "Welcome. Powering up..." screen.

I assumed it was the hard drive, pulled it and run diagnostics on it. Turned out to be fine. Put it back into the TiVo, and plugged it in, and realized the hard drive is not spinning up.

So, sounds to me like a power supply issue. I would be happy to purchase a new one from weakness, assuming it is going to fix the issue. So, to make sure it really is the power supply, can I try either of these two things:

1) Can I plug the power supply of the hard drive into a computer, while keeping the data cable plugged into the Tivo? thought being that this would spin the harddrive up. Or, with the different grounds cause an issue?

2) Could I pull a PS from an old T-60 I have lying around to test? I am assuming not, but thought I would at least ask.

Thanks!

[WK-Jeff]

The problem is that a TiVo power supply provides power to the motherboard and the drive separately. You can try getting power to the drive from an external source and seeing if that solves the problem. Just be careful--the power supply in a TiVo CANNOT be touched while the TiVo is plugged in.

[bayers63]

Good news! I got my hard drive back, and the unit is working again. I'm not going to get too excited, it worked for 4-5 days the first time. Anyway, I feel whole again!


well, I made it just over a month, and my Tivo just took a crap again. Same symptoms, welcome powering up screen, and/or no signal. The last time I sent the hard drive I had just bought in and they re-imaged it, I got it back and it worked fine for over a month. Where do I turn from here? Is it too late to return the drive yet again? Last time I was told that the drive tested OK, but then I got it back and it ran fine for over a month after it was re-imaged. I do also have a brand new power supply I bought last month and installed that to no avail.

[barrysk]

Series 2 . TCD240040. At first a powering up screen was displayed for a long time with a single green light on the front. Now, no lights on the front, fan appears to be spinning and only audio coming to TV.

Unit is about 3 years old.

Does this sound like a power supply or hard drive issue?

Thanks

Barry

[Shemp]

I suspect a power supply problem on a HR10-250 but would like to know for sure before ordering a replacement. The system froze and wouldn't accept remote or front button input. I pulled power and restarted. The system comes up with the "Welcome. Powering up..." message but goes no farther. The hard drive will boot in someone else's machine. The fan runs and I have front panel lights. Occasionally the record light will come on for a few seconds and then the welcome screen will blink off and back on. I also tried running a molex from a PC to power the hard drive but still nothing after the welcome. Are there any voltages I can check or anything else that I can look at? Thanks for the help.

GH

I didn't see any closure on this issue and I'm experiencing the same thing. Initially I suspected I had a drive problem. I purchased a new drive and an Instant cake image. This didn't resolve the problem. Things generally freeze on the "Welcome. Powering up . . ." screen. I spent a bunch of time trying all sorts of things to get it to power up. I'm not an electronics wiz, but it almost seems like some type of a ground loop/fault issue as I could repeatedly (at least for a period of time) get it to startup up by touching the case (cover removed) along the side near the power supply. I was very careful to to move the unit (in an attempt to rule out a loose/bad connection issue) during my trials. It's one of the flakiest things I've seen.

[Shemp]

I messed around with things some more and it appears that the problem may not be anything so sophisticated sounding as a grounding problem. I found that when the unit isn't working properly, I simply need to apply a little pressure to the back of the case where the HDMI port is. If I apply pressure to the inside of the case, the unit stops functioning. I apply the pressure to the back of the case, things start working again. I suspect 2 1/2 years of the HDMI cable getting pulled in various directions may have broken the connection. Unfortunately the connection is loaded up with the white insulating stuff so I can't see what the nature of the problem is (is the HDMI card socketed???).

Does this seem like it could be the actual cause of my problems? Also, any insight on how the HDMI card actually connects to the motherboard would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[WK-Michael]

We haven't seen "Welcome, Powering Up" be related to HDMI issues, but we've certainly seen a lot of HDMI issues with these units, so anything is possible.

[Shemp]

We haven't seen "Welcome, Powering Up" be related to HDMI issues, but we've certainly seen a lot of HDMI issues with these units, so anything is possible.

I'm 99% certain my problem was (is) a bad connection between the HDMI card and the motherboard. Any insight as to what type of connection exists between the HDMI card the the motherboard? In my unit, it's pretty much covered up with the insulating goop. Also, can the HDMI card be removed altogether and the unit still function?

Thanks!

[WK-Jeff]

In my unit, it's pretty much covered up with the insulating goop. Also, can the HDMI card be removed altogether and the unit still function?

Thanks!

The factory does not install "insulating goop" around the HDMI connector, so far as we have seen. Did you buy the unit used or have someone else work on it? The HDMI card unscrews from the back and then pulls right out, just like you'd pull out a PCI card from a PC. In fact, we sell replacement TiVo HDMI cards for the HR10-250 (http://www.weaknees.com/tivo-directv-parts.php#hdmi) that can be self-installed.

The unit does typically work without the card.

[Shemp]

The factory does not install "insulating goop" around the HDMI connector, so far as we have seen. Did you buy the unit used or have someone else work on it? The HDMI card unscrews from the back and then pulls right out, just like you'd pull out a PCI card from a PC. In fact, we sell replacement TiVo HDMI cards for the HR10-250 (http://www.weaknees.com/tivo-directv-parts.php#hdmi) that can be self-installed.

The unit does typically work without the card.

The unit came from DirecTV a little over 2 years ago. It was a warranty replacement for an HR10-250 that died after 6 months. The "insulating goop" is present in many places on the motherboard, but is especially heavy surrounding the connection between the HDMI card and the motherboard. I guess this could have been done when the unit was refurbished before I got it (the mfg date is something like September/October '04).

Thanks for the information. If the thing gives me any trouble in the future, I'll probably try pulling the card and try running without it (I've switched over to component video).

[WK-Michael]

We haven't seen a lot of it on the motherboard, as Jeff said, but we do frequently see it on power supplies.

[sharper]

I have a Humax DRT-800 that is intermittently going to blue screen (I think that is a function of the TV when it is not getting a signal) and both the HDD and DVD lights on the front of the box begin to flash red rapidly. There is no response to the remote at that point and the only thing I can do is unplug the box and, if I wait long enough to plug it back in, it will reboot and everything will be fine for a while. Does this sound like a power supply issue or a hard drive problem? Thanks!

[WK-Michael]

My guess would be power supply or motherboard, but I haven't really seen that before. I'd recommend trying a new power supply if you have lifetime service. Otherwise, it may make sense to consider a new unit:

http://www.weaknees.com/dvd-tivo.php

[Viggs94]

ok, my situation is different. i get the over heating warning right away even when the box is cold. the hdmi signal (if it comes on) is red or orange. so i guess i should try hooking it up through component with the hdmi unplugged. but what makes my situation different is what i have on my tivo. my wife used to be a news anchor before she retired to take care of our two babies. on my tivo i have like her last 4 months of anchoring. i always said i would back them up but never did. if it is my power supply or my hdmi card and i replace them, will i still have my info on my hard drive? i have heard that disconnecting the hard drive and putting it into another box deletes the files, is this correct? thanks for any and all help.

[WK-Michael]

That does sound like a bad power supply. See the info here:

http://www.weaknees.com/hr10-repair-troubleshooting.php

Assuming it's just the power supply, your files should still be on the drive.

[tigrs99]

I have a series 2 Tivo with model no. TCD649080. On a recent trip to India my daughter plugged in 220V outlet instead of convert and it was blown up. I didn't see my model no. in the power kit on your web site, kindly let me know if motherboard could have blown up too. Let meknow what power supply kit to get. I would appreciate reply to this.

tigrs99

[WK-Michael]

That's most likely limited to the power supply. You can probably pay TiVo to fix it. We don't have those power supplies.

[Rascal]

Big storm came through last week, and I ended up with two dead Series 2 DT TiVos: one TCD649180 and one TCD649080. (It also killed my brand new Linksys router and my sprinkler system controller--but that is a different forum.) The "180" had absolutely no pulse. The "80" had a constant red light on the right front, and appeared otherwise dead. I suspect, but am not certain it was lightning since there was a pretty good storm, but the power never went out or flickered--but it could have been induced current in the cable or ethernet....
(Before you ask--I did have incoming power through a Panamax surge suppressor. Panamax MIGHT help me with their connected equipment warranty, but only out of goodwill--I had not completely isolated the cat5 network line and the INCOMING and OUTGOING coax cable per their warranty requirements.)

Anyway, I ordered one new power supply from WK, and it arrived today. I tried it in both TiVos, and they are still dead. The power supply quietly clicks about 1/sec--just like the old ones. http://www.wkforums.com/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif
:(

After reading this forum, I checked various voltages. (Just got a new multi-meter, and I have been looking for a reason to open it up!)

When the ribbon cable is connected, all three Power supplies show only 3.0-4.6 volts on both the red and yellow cables. If the ribbon cable is disconnected, all 3 power supplies show about 10.7-11.5 volts on the yellow, and 4.5-5.0 volts on the red.

With the power supply ribbon cable connected, none of the 3 power supplies will make the hard drives budge in either TiVo. The result is the same with the power supply ribbon cable disconnected.

With the ribbon cable from the motherboard to the hard drive disconnected, the power supply will not spinup the harddrive either--but I don't know if this is normal or not.

Questions:

1. Will a good hard drive spin up when it is connected to a good power supply alone, or does it need a proper signal from the motherboard to do this?
2. Any chance I received a defective new power supply ?
3. Given that Panamax is adamant that the power surge did not come through the 110 outlet but through the unprotected Ethernet or coax in or out, would your diagnosis be different? Is the dead router a clue?
4. Can a surge through the coax cable or Ethernet connection damage the power supply?
5. Can a surge through the coax cable or Ethernet connection damage the hard drive? Or is it pretty much isolated to the motherboard?

4. What are my best options now?

I can still hope that the motherboard and power supplies protected my hard drives, right? http://www.wkforums.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif

Yes, I will get an UPS and Ethernet/cable protection!
;)

[WK-Michael]

1 - That's different in different situations, but generally, assuming the hard drive is good, yes, it should.

2 - Definitely possible, but it would be a huge coincidence. But you can send it in for us to re-check. We do check them all before we ship them.

3 - It could have been too little voltage, and fluctuating voltage. Those also hurt units.

4 - Haven't seen that ever, but I guess it's possible somehow.

5 - Again, haven't seen it.

Do you get video out with no hard drive connected, but with the new power supply? You might get a gray "welcome" screen.

[Rascal]

Just ordered two new Series 2 DTs. Tivo offered to transfer my 3 year service agreement to a new box for 69.99. Although I cannot get the $150 rebate with this one, it saves me the $111 penalty for early cancellation. I get the rebate with the other one.

I'd like to try to resurrect the old hdds in the new tivos as secondary drives--assuming they are OK (sacrificial motherboards). If I just drop them in the new tivos (with brackets and new fans from WK) will I be prompted to erase them or something? Or do I have to use my PC to prep them? The swaps are:

TCD649180 to TCD649080
TCD649080 to TCD649080

I think I have seen conflicting direction here on how that works. I dread trying to get the Tivo hdd into my PC without hurting myself or the PC.:)

I'd like to temporarily rig it up and see if the hdds are OK before I buy the brackets and fans though.

[Rascal]

OK. I need a protection system to prevent this nonsense again. Is there a single solution that has UPS, at least 3 coax, (1 into a splitter and 1 out of each Tivo) at least 1 RJ-45/ethernet and a bunch of outlets for power bricks?

The RJ-45 ethernet is the tough part--I know Panamax has add on modules though...

If I use a surge suppressor combined with a UPS, which plugs into which? I'm assuming I want the UPS plugged into the Surge suppressor, so the data protections on the surge suppressor are closest to ground...? then all the power comes through the UPS and I ignore the unused outlets on the surge suppressor--or save them for "dumb cheap things"--not the TiVo

[WK-Jeff]

We could caution you against using a surge protector together with a UPS--as separate items--unless they are both from the same manufacturer and the installation in that manner is permissible. See:


UPS Insurance Issues (http://www.wkblog.com/tivo/2006/02/buy-a-battery-backupand-please-dont-void-the-50000-insurance-policy/#more-42)

[Rascal]

I understand, but the Warranty (at least for Panamax) is not valid if ALL potential circuits into AND OUT OF the tivo are not protected. I network my series 2 (of course!), so Panamax says I have to either have EVERY item on the network plugged into the SAME suppressor/UPS, or I have to isolate the tivo from items (TV, PC) that are not on the same power supply (the issue is differential grounds). That means a surge suppressor or UPS with an RJ-45 isolator between anything outside the protected loop, and coax cable protections for cable into the the splitter, and for every cable OUT of the tivo. With two networked tivos, I'd need 3 coax cable protectors, and one RJ-45/ethernet for the ethernet connected to my PC.

I have been unable to locate a UPS with cable and RJ-45 protection included, so the only option would be daisy-chaining a UPS and a surge suppressor. Panamax allows this in their warranty, but their only UPS is $1200 for a huge home theater version (yet still without networking protection at that price--only power).

I have not checked with APS to see how they might recommend protecting the networked connections.

FYI--I talked to Panamax today, and they said that daisy chaining is allowed (with both Panamax stuff), AND THE UPS PLUGS INTO THE SURGE SUPPRESSOR. This provides a direct ground for the surge suppressor, and also allows continued operation if the surge suppressor intentionally disconnects power due to an undervoltage.

[kdishman]

I have 1.5 year old Series 2 TCD649180 that frequently reboots. No video problems and everything works fine between reboots. Pulled HD and ran Spinrite - no problems found on drive. Could this be a failing power supply or some other problem on the motherboard? Are there test points I can check to verify correct PS operation?

Thanks

[WK-Jeff]

It could be either, but it is more likely a bad motherboard.

[bimmerman]

So I have a older lifetime series 2. I am getting the Welcome! Powering up... screen for about 30 secs then it reboots. I will do this till I unplug it.

I have a brand new 250G Seagate I just used IC to set up and I am still getting this. What can I check?

I d/l the IC software of the net somewhere and it had my model listed, is there a way to confirm that I have the correct one. Or would it get past this point anyway?

[bplein]

Hello!

I have a Hughes SD-DVR40 Series 2 DirecTV Tivo that I upgraded a few years back with a Weaknees Twinbreeze drive mounting kit and an additional drive.

Today I disconnected the system in order to re-run my power and signal connections (cleaning up the rats nest behind my gear!) and when I plugged it back in, it wouldn't boot. No signal from the S-video that I normally use, and no light on the power on the front of the case.

I opened it up, and it was apparent that the drives were not spinning.

I disconnected the IDE cable and the drives would spin up.

Finally, I created a clean image on a new drive (500GB WD Green Power drive), used a SATA/IDE adapter, and connected it. It too would not boot. BUT the drive would power up even with the IDE connected.

Does it sound like a bad power supply, or a bad motherboard? What are my options at this point?

Thanks in advance!

[WK-Jeff]

Hello!

I have a Hughes SD-DVR40 Series 2 DirecTV Tivo that I upgraded a few years back with a Weaknees Twinbreeze drive mounting kit and an additional drive.

Today I disconnected the system in order to re-run my power and signal connections (cleaning up the rats nest behind my gear!) and when I plugged it back in, it wouldn't boot. No signal from the S-video that I normally use, and no light on the power on the front of the case.

I opened it up, and it was apparent that the drives were not spinning.

I disconnected the IDE cable and the drives would spin up.

Finally, I created a clean image on a new drive (500GB WD Green Power drive), used a SATA/IDE adapter, and connected it. It too would not boot. BUT the drive would power up even with the IDE connected.

Does it sound like a bad power supply, or a bad motherboard? What are my options at this point?

Thanks in advance!

Very hard to tell, especially because many SATA/IDE adapters do not work in TiVos. The problem with a drive not spinning with the IDE connected is a known motherboard problem that we can fix. But I'm not sure if you have that, given your SATA drive spinning (complicated by the adapter issue).

When you use the WD, do you get lights on the front?

[bplein]

Very hard to tell, especially because many SATA/IDE adapters do not work in TiVos. The problem with a drive not spinning with the IDE connected is a known motherboard problem that we can fix. But I'm not sure if you have that, given your SATA drive spinning (complicated by the adapter issue).

When you use the WD, do you get lights on the front?

I will check... I had it upside down on the open PC case. But I am sure they are on, as I could hear drive seeking for a few seconds after the startup. I didn't test the video output with the WD, however. Maybe I should do that. But after testing with the WD, I tried my old hard drives again and they failed to spin up.

It could be that the SATA-IDE adapter is masking the cable problem (could allow the drive to spin up despite other problems). I can create another PATA drive and try that tonight, but I have no reason to believe that it will work any better than the other 2 existing PATA drives.

Any other testing ideas? Thanks in advance. Trying to figure out if I should just buy another DVR40 on ebay and try out the power supply, or use it for the motherboard, or....

[bplein]

The problem with a drive not spinning with the IDE connected is a known motherboard problem that we can fix.

By the way, what's the process and charge for doing this if indeed I determine this to be my problem?

[WK-Michael]

$99. You'd pay here:

http://www.weaknees.com/repair_charge.php

and we'd email you shipping info.

[bplein]

Is there any way I can definitively rule out (or in!) the power supply? I've got a digital multimeter, is there a way to test it to determine if it's putting out the correct power/load?

Before I spend a hundred on a service, or a power supply, it's probably better to figure it out.

[WK-Michael]

Best bet would be to scavenge a known-working IDE drive to test in there, or trying the IDE drive you have in a computer to see if it spins up.

[bplein]

OK, well I blew it.

I'm a technical guy. I work on cars, computers, anything. I tested with another IDE drive and it would not spin with the IDE cable connected, but it would spin up without it. So it looks like the motherboard.

So, I take a look, see that there is an NVRAM battery just like any other motherboard. Figure it wouldn't hurt to remove it for a while, replace it and see if it's a "soft" error.

I broke the clip that holds it in place and completes the circuit! DOH! :( I know these things too! Very frustrating

Soooo, is that something you can replace, or did I just work my way into buying another DirecTV Tivo?

[WK-Jeff]

The problem wasn't the battery--it was a series of chips on the motheboard, which can be repaired. I haven't actually repaired the battery clip; I'd have to take a look. If you are interested in having us try to repair your unit, send us an email. See:

Contact weaKnees (http://www.weaknees.com/contact.php)

[bplein]

I've got a line on a used SD-DVR40, I'll transfer my account over to that one.

Thanks for the help.

[Firch]

so it sounds like I've got a power supply issue but maybe someone here can confirm it. Last night my series 2 Tivo started rebooting on its own. eventually I unplugged it and it restarted ok. today it died completely. When plugged in, the fan works but the lights on the front don't come on and it's a completely black screen. no welcome message or anything.

so does this sound like a power supply issue? I haven't pulled out the hard drives or anything else yet.