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HD swap on identical Directv tivos

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  • #1

    HD swap on identical Directv tivos

    I searched and could not find an answer to my problem.

    I have two identical Directv Tivo units. One hasn't been used for a year. The other is the one I used up until last night. Last night I was watching a recorded show and all of a sudden the Tivo shut off and started "ticking" loudly. The troubleshooting guide on here says that it is either the power supply or a bad chip on the motherboard. Both Tivos have had a weaknees HD upgrade done to them. The question I have is can I take the HD's out of the "bad" Tivo and put them into the "good" Tivo to save my recordings? I know I will have to call Directv to get them to switch the card and activate the "good" Tivo. I just want to know if I can do this and if it will work.

    Thanks in advance,

    J. R.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Sorry, but you can't move drives and preserve recordings. You'd have to get the ticking unit fixed, and if the problem is not drive-related, then you'd preserve your recordings.

    See:

    TiVo flat-fee repairs

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    • #3
      Thanks for the reply. Maybe I'll just swap the power supply first to see what happens.

      Comment

      • #4
        Worth a try - but ticking is more likely to be the hard drive.
        Been here a long time . . .

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        • #5
          Thanks for the info on that. Maybe I'll just use the one I haven't been using and lose all the shows on my old HD's. Just didn't want to dump money into this if I can by a new Directv HD Tivo this year.

          Thanks.

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          • #6
            Yeah - we're all hoping you'll be able to buy a new HD TiVo for DirecTV this year.
            Been here a long time . . .

            Comment

            • #7
              Originally posted by WK-Jeff View Post
              Sorry, but you can't move drives and preserve recordings. You'd have to get the ticking unit fixed, and if the problem is not drive-related, then you'd preserve your recordings.

              See:

              TiVo flat-fee repairs
              Can you explain why that is that way? I'm just curious.

              A similar thing happened to me this weekend with one of my Series 3 HD Tivos (TCD652160). The drive is fine, but the motherboard is damaged. Tivo is sending me a replacement Tivo before I send mine in. I was going to swap my Weaknees drive for the new one before sending the old one back. So not only would I save my programs, but my high-capacity drive that Tivo's apparently going to get instead of a stock one.

              Do you think they'll give me grief for having upgraded it? It's out of warranty anyway.
              Last edited by AudioCollector; 03-29-2010, 07:10 AM. Reason: Corrected model of Tivo

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              • #8
                The programming is encrypted on the hard drive. The decryption key is the serial number of the unit that recorded the programming.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by WK-Jeff View Post
                  The programming is encrypted on the hard drive. The decryption key is the serial number of the unit that recorded the programming.
                  Thanks for the explanation of that. I understand I can't save the programs from my old Weaknees drive when moving it into the replacement Tivo because of encryption.

                  One more question about my situation: I want to keep using my Weaknees large capacity drive. Can I just stick the old drive into the replacement Tivo and have it take it over and boot from it as though fresh? Or do I need a new upgraded drive, or have to reformat it or something?

                  I'm using Macs so I don't have access to some of the tools the Windows people have. And I know nothing about Linux.
                  Last edited by AudioCollector; 03-31-2010, 04:17 PM. Reason: clarification

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                  • #10
                    If you move a drive from one TiVo to another--same models--you have to choose 'clear and delete everything' from the system reset menu after the drive is installed.

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