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  • TiVo HD reboots when connected to HDTV

    My Tivo HD (TCD652160 with a WD10EVDS 1T drive) has random reboots when it's hooked up to an HDTV.
    I performed the HDD checks through the TiVo and it "checks out" ok.

    The wife was getting a bit irritated with the partial recordings, so i swapped the HD with a series-2 from the kitchen while I trouble shoot the TiVo HD.... it's been a week with no reboots on the HD hooked up to a standard def TV.

    The HDTV is an LG 32LH30 and displays stunning 1080i from the TiVo HD when the TiVo works. (the SD TV is a 32" sony trinitron (massive tube - hehe)

    Is there some sort of improper video termination issue between this particular TV and the TiVo HD? (the reboots happen when using either component video or HDMI.)

    Could the TiVo power supply or motherboard possibly be the problem?

    Could it be the super cheap (& 5 or 6 year old) power strip?

    Any help is very appreciated.

    My signal source is comcast cable.... using one M-card in the #1 slot.
    (and the comcast cable dude totally knew what he was doing when he set it up - nice move from the 1st TiVo HD I had set up - that took 5 hours to get up and running.)
    Last edited by netholio; 03-24-2010, 11:15 PM. Reason: more info

  • #2
    It could be a bad power supply or motherboard - or even the drive. The drive is really the most likely culprit, even though you said it checks out OK.

    How did you test it?
    Been here a long time . . .

    Comment


    • #3
      Hello & thanks for the reply.

      I ran SMART & the short & long automated tests from "kickstart 54".

      Also... this system is working fine at the SD TV I mentioned in the original post. (still recording the HD channel season passes the wife set up.)

      A little more info on this particular TiVo HD - it's an ebay purchase that had no HDD. I had a TCD652160 image from helping a friend upgrade a TiVo he got from bestbuy for his parents - as well as the image from my 1st TiVo HD ... the 1st TiVo HD is a recerted TiVo from TiVo... (still working well on a non-HD 56" projection TV).

      I've been working through this "problem" for a while now... and as such, have tried both "images" to make sure there was nothing wrong wth one image vs the other - reboots still happened.

      I am considering moving the "recerted" TiVo HD to the LG 32LH30 to see if it exibits the same reboot problem as the ebay'd TiVo has still not rebooted on the SD tv. (it was up to 3 or more reboots per day on the LG 32LH30).

      What other "tests" can I run to verify the HDD on the TiVo? and thanks again for the assist
      Last edited by netholio; 03-26-2010, 06:27 AM. Reason: more info

      Comment


      • #4
        If it's not drive or power supply, it's probably not repairable. If the tests (long and short) say that the drive is fine, then you might want to talk to TiVo. I'm guessing it's not an issue with the TV, but you can always connect to a basic TV just to see.

        Comment


        • #5
          The tests all passed (one of them just reported "done", but I don't remember which one now.)

          Are there other tests that I should run to further verify the system?

          If the troubled TiVo is still functioning trouble free with the SD TV when I get home tonight, then I'm probably just going to swap it with my re certified TiVo HD (currently serving a 56" non-HD projection TV) and see how the re-certified TiVo acts with the LG 32LH30 in HD.

          Comment


          • #6
            To recap:
            TiVo HD (with WD10EVDS 1TB drive) hooked to LG 32LH30 started with ~1 reboot every other day for about 1 week, then escalated to 2 or 3 reboots per day.

            Kickstart 54 shows hdd as ok (SMART tests passed / short / long automated tests passed.)

            Tivo HD moved to SD TV >1 week ago - no more rebooting. (and no more TiVo HD goodness - hehe)

            Could there be power supply issues or motherboard issues (thermal in either case) being caused by driving 1080i vs 480i? (system temp is being reported at 37c - and I have yet to see an over temp message.)

            Comment


            • #7
              ok... 9 days with no reboots with this unit connected to an SD tube tv - now the reboots have started.
              Possibly a thermal issue that takes time to crop up? (my wife tells me that it's rebooted twice today - heh.)

              Comment


              • #8
                Partially resolved this issue by replacing the unit with a TiVo Premiere - what a nice box.
                As for the TiVo HD having reboot problems, could a botched image cause intermittent problems like I described earlier in this thread? The image I put on the drive was from a new HD purchased this year. I decided to put an image from my TiVo refurb'd unit from a year ago to see if it will be more stable.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by netholio View Post
                  Partially resolved this issue by replacing the unit with a TiVo Premiere - what a nice box.
                  As for the TiVo HD having reboot problems, could a botched image cause intermittent problems like I described earlier in this thread? The image I put on the drive was from a new HD purchased this year. I decided to put an image from my TiVo refurb'd unit from a year ago to see if it will be more stable.
                  Not likely, unless the old drive was bad.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I'll update as soon as the system is up and running for a while - it's completed the update to 11.0g software.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Then you've now got a fresh image, so that's a good start.
                      Been here a long time . . .

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Agreed, it's looking good so far.
                        I noticed that the image I tried 1st is 4k smaller than the older image I am using now.
                        The system seems more responsive and does not reboot randomly. (I told it to reboot when it got the "pending restart" for the 11.0g upgrade.)
                        So in effect, if it's fixed, you guys were right on with the "hard drive" diagnosis, as it was a botched image causing the probs.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          TivoHD reboots

                          I posted a possible solution in another thread, so you might want to try it. First, I'll explain my problem, then I'll tell you what a Tivo support tech suggested.
                          Problem: My TivoHD kept shutting off and not recording my scheduled programs. Since Tivo boxes run all the time (I've had 2 other Series 2's and I upgraded one of them for a Tivo HD), I didn't notice it was off until I came home and couldn't get it to respond to my remote commands and it hadn't recorded scheduled pgms. It didn't reboot--it just turned off and gave me the Gray Screen of Death. I could always restart by unplugging the unit, but obviously it became frustrating. At firs it only happened once a week, sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday night, then twice a week. Finally, it started shutting off while i was watching and would only stay on for a couple of hours. I went through the suggested troubleshooting including testing the HDD's (have a Western Digital DVR Extender connected) and putting it on standby when not in use.

                          Recommended Solution: On my last call to Tivo, the tech told me the signals sent by the cable, satellite, and telephone servire providers are much stronger now, so that customers can get higher-speed internet, etc. However, this higher speed created too much "noise" for the TivoHD (don't remember exactly what that means--I'm not THAT tech-savvy). He asked me to look at the DVR Diagnostics in the Account and System Information. My "SNR" was fluctuating between 36 and 37 dB, but the tech said it should be a max. of 29. He also asked for my "Modulation" number which was "QAM 256."
                          He recommended that I purchase a -6 dB antenuator (That's a MINUS SIX DECIBEL antenuator) and connect it BETWEEN THE WALL LINE (in my case, the line directly from the cable service) and the TivoHD. Apparently this item is available at an electronics store (one that sells a wide variety of electronics components, not just the usual consumer electronics!). he said it would decrease the amount of "noise" coming through the RF cable.
                          The first 2 Tivo techs talked me through some good suggestions and troubleshooting but did not know how to solve the problem once we'd tried all the other solutions. I got this information the 3rd time I'd called Tivo and it was the first time I'd spoken to this particular tech. He seemed to know exactly what problem I described, as if he'd heard about it several times already; and he said it would definitely solve the problem. I won't know whether it works until it's worked effectively for at least a couple of weeks. I'll try it and report back in the other thread (I cannot remember the etitle of that thread, but look for one regarding a "gray screen"). Good luck if you try it an it works for you! A Tivo HD is a terrible thing to waste.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            TivoHD reboots

                            I posted a possible solution in another thread, so you might want to try it. First, I'll explain my problem, then I'll tell you what a Tivo support tech suggested.
                            Problem: My TivoHD kept shutting off and not recording my scheduled programs. Since Tivo boxes run all the time (I've had 2 other Series 2's and I upgraded one of them for a Tivo HD), I didn't notice it was off until I came home and couldn't get it to respond to my remote commands and it hadn't recorded scheduled pgms. It didn't reboot--it just turned off and gave me the Gray Screen of Death. I could always restart by unplugging the unit, but obviously it became frustrating. At firs it only happened once a week, sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday night, then twice a week. Finally, it started shutting off while i was watching and would only stay on for a couple of hours. I went through the suggested troubleshooting including testing the HDD's (have a Western Digital DVR Extender connected) and putting it on standby when not in use.

                            Recommended Solution: On my last call to Tivo, the tech told me the signals sent by the cable, satellite, and telephone servire providers are much stronger now, so that customers can get higher-speed internet, etc. However, this higher speed created too much "noise" for the TivoHD (don't remember exactly what that means--I'm not THAT tech-savvy). He asked me to look at the DVR Diagnostics in the Account and System Information. My "SNR" was fluctuating between 36 and 37 dB, but the tech said it should be a max. of 29. He also asked for my "Modulation" number which was "QAM 256."
                            He recommended that I purchase a -6 dB antenuator (That's a MINUS SIX DECIBEL antenuator) and connect it BETWEEN THE WALL LINE (in my case, the line directly from the cable service) and the TivoHD. Apparently this item is available at an electronics store (one that sells a wide variety of electronics components, not just the usual consumer electronics!). he said it would decrease the amount of "noise" coming through the RF cable.
                            The first 2 Tivo techs talked me through some good suggestions and troubleshooting but did not know how to solve the problem once we'd tried all the other solutions. I got this information the 3rd time I'd called Tivo and it was the first time I'd spoken to this particular tech. He seemed to know exactly what problem I described, as if he'd heard about it several times already; and he said it would definitely solve the problem. I won't know whether it works until it's worked effectively for at least a couple of weeks. I'll try it and report back in the other thread (I cannot remember the etitle of that thread, but look for one regarding a "gray screen"). Good luck if you try it an it works for you! A Tivo HD is a terrible thing to waste.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              excellent info - sounds a lot like what I was experiencing.
                              I checked for the SNR, but this info evidently isn't displayed until I have the cable card installed? (had the cable card moved to the series-4 when it showed up and the cable company won't be able to get me set up with a new one for another week . )
                              On the plus side, it's been more responsive since I "rolled in" the older image. Bu time will tell, as it took more than a week for the problems to resurface.
                              Thanks much for the extra places to check.

                              Comment

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