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TiVo Series3 Rebooting and Restarting

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  • tedt_00
    replied
    My late 2006 S3 has worked mostly flawlessly until today, it froze and on power cycle went into the endless reboot loop. I followed the instructions exactly as stated in post #1 on this thread and all is restored. Thanks WeakKnees.

    Leave a comment:


  • WK-Jeff
    replied
    If the problem is a drive, then copying data is not typically possible. If your drives are truly fine (not likely given the green screen), then copying from 2 drives to a single larger drive is possible.

    You should choose 1TB vs 2TB based on price and space need...reliability differences should not enter the equation.

    Leave a comment:


  • Jazeyboy
    replied
    I'll give it a try. This isn't a powerstrip, but some semi-fancy solid looking thing. But the electricity in this building is still so wonky that that might be the problem.

    If I end up switching out the internal drive, I assume you have no way of recovering files that are split between the TiVo HD and the WD Expander, right? Also, is there any apparent difference in reliability between a 1TB internal drive and a 2 TB internal drive? I'm worried about demanding too much HD space, and being punished by the Gods for it.

    Leave a comment:


  • WK-Michael
    replied
    Definitely try going directly into the wall. Even with flaky power, we often see failures with power strips and similar devices.

    Leave a comment:


  • Jazeyboy
    replied
    Thanks, Michael. My building is an old loft, a former carriage garage and stables; the electrical supply here is always a bit iffy. I run my TiVo through a... uh, line conditioner? It shares that conditioner with several other devices; I'm wondering if I should just try plugging it directly into the wall socket. I can't think of any electrical events that kick in at that time. Trying to remember if I was cooking my dinner at that point.

    And this is, btw, my second WD DVR Expander.

    Leave a comment:


  • WK-Michael
    replied
    When I hear about a regular daily reboot like that, my first thought is that there is something else on the power circuit that is drawing enough power off the circuit to force a brownout. So if your lights outside go on automatically at 6:30, or if someone uses a toaster or hair dryer right then, that could be the trigger.

    Assuming that's not it, a reboot is most likely to be a bad drive, and the green screen adds more evidence.

    Frankly, we really don't like the WD DVR Expander drives because they have no fan, and we see them fail all the time.

    In any event, if/after you rule out the first option of the power problems, try a Kickstart 54 and see that the TiVo reports on the condition of the drives:

    http://www.weaknees.com/54

    Leave a comment:


  • Jazeyboy
    replied
    Hey there. I have a Tivo Series 3 with a Western Digital DVR Expander. I'm using Time Warner NYC with two cable cards. Over the last few months, my TiVo has started the random reboot thing. Once or twice the reboot has gone to a green screen of death, saying it would take 3 hours to repair if even possible, but it's always just rebooted a couple of minutes later. Generally, though, it just reboots cheerfully, completing the cycle in about 7 or 8 minutes. It seems to happen randomly, as many as a couple of times a day, but there is one odd thing: fairly frequently, it reboots between about 6:20PM and 6:40PM. I have a Season Pass for the news at 6:30PM, don't know if that has anything to do with it. Aside from the reboots, it's working perfectly, with no freezes, pixelation or other image issues in the recordings.

    Any thoughts?

    Leave a comment:


  • WK-Michael
    replied
    Originally posted by efields40 View Post
    No cable cards in this setup. Over the air TV works fine for us here in a metropolitan area. Reboot occurs when recording or not and when playing DVR content and also with the real time TV signal.
    Use to have a TIVO wireless internet adapter connected, now we have have a direct cable connection to our home network. rebooting occurs with either internet setup.
    After reboot cycle has completed, I check the internal temp. vial the system mode, indicates normal 36 deg C.
    I have the a/c input sourced via an APC line regulator device (Line-R). Don't think its line fluctuations, etc.
    My gut feeling is that one of the power supply output level is at the edge and the DVR circuitry is tripping and calling for the reboot, but I don't know this for sure.

    BTW: The no audio/video has been resolved. After perhaps hundreds of reboots, yesterday for the first time, the reboot cycle did not complete. It hung.
    So, after removing and reconnecting the TIVO power plug the startup cycle restarted and finished successfully, voilla, I see and hear both OTA and DVR content on my TV monitor.
    Now if only that reboot issue would go away and STAY AWAY.

    So the problem is not the input power, not the hard drive, not cable cards, not the antenna input, not related to something during recording, not related seemingly to anything exterior to the box.
    Leaving, the box. This is a Weaknees forum, can I ask here if there is a money back guarantee if I purchase the appropriate replacement power supply board and the reboot problem persists?
    Awaiting words of wisdom from the gurus on this forum.
    thanks
    ed
    We do have a return program for parts that aren't needed. Info is here:

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

    You should try plugging your unit directly into the wall, and not through a UPS (which we generally recommend) or through a surge suppressor.

    Next, this really sounds like a bad drive to me, despite the fact that another drive rebooted in the unit. Have you tried running a kickstart 54 overnight test on either drive?

    Leave a comment:


  • WK-Michael
    replied
    Originally posted by Beno61 View Post
    I've read many of the posts and am in the same boat with my S3. I just replaced my power supply which immediately fixed a vastly distorted video problem but now find I am stuck in a rolling boot. I ran kickstart 54 SMART test and everything passed. I don't have any cable cards as I use OTA on this unit. I have tried removing the antenna cable and that did nothing.

    I have the original 250GB drive and the WD expander installed. Does anyone have any ideas? I too have lifetime on this and need to get it working to preserve my multi unit status and discounts.

    Help!
    You really need to try the overnight tests. The SMART tests are very, very basic. The overnight is much more comprehensive.

    And this really does sound like a drive problem.

    Leave a comment:


  • efields40
    replied
    well, its been about a month since I posted my problem. No suggestions forthcoming. Posting here seems to be like shouting down a pipe. thanks for your time.

    Leave a comment:


  • Beno61
    replied
    I've read many of the posts and am in the same boat with my S3. I just replaced my power supply which immediately fixed a vastly distorted video problem but now find I am stuck in a rolling boot. I ran kickstart 54 SMART test and everything passed. I don't have any cable cards as I use OTA on this unit. I have tried removing the antenna cable and that did nothing.

    I have the original 250GB drive and the WD expander installed. Does anyone have any ideas? I too have lifetime on this and need to get it working to preserve my multi unit status and discounts.

    Help!

    Leave a comment:


  • efields40
    replied
    No cable cards in this setup. Over the air TV works fine for us here in a metropolitan area. Reboot occurs when recording or not and when playing DVR content and also with the real time TV signal.
    Use to have a TIVO wireless internet adapter connected, now we have have a direct cable connection to our home network. rebooting occurs with either internet setup.
    After reboot cycle has completed, I check the internal temp. vial the system mode, indicates normal 36 deg C.
    I have the a/c input sourced via an APC line regulator device (Line-R). Don't think its line fluctuations, etc.
    My gut feeling is that one of the power supply output level is at the edge and the DVR circuitry is tripping and calling for the reboot, but I don't know this for sure.

    BTW: The no audio/video has been resolved. After perhaps hundreds of reboots, yesterday for the first time, the reboot cycle did not complete. It hung.
    So, after removing and reconnecting the TIVO power plug the startup cycle restarted and finished successfully, voilla, I see and hear both OTA and DVR content on my TV monitor.
    Now if only that reboot issue would go away and STAY AWAY.

    So the problem is not the input power, not the hard drive, not cable cards, not the antenna input, not related to something during recording, not related seemingly to anything exterior to the box.
    Leaving, the box. This is a Weaknees forum, can I ask here if there is a money back guarantee if I purchase the appropriate replacement power supply board and the reboot problem persists?
    Awaiting words of wisdom from the gurus on this forum.
    thanks
    ed
    Last edited by efields40; 01-05-2013, 07:33 PM.

    Leave a comment:


  • efields40
    replied
    Is my HD unit repairable? for several months it has been the unsolicited reboots, yesterday in the middle of watching a stored program, everything went dark, no video no audio. Problem persists, I have it connected to an antenna, and the HDMI output is connected to a TV monitor (Samsung LED). To test the monitor, I moved the antenna lead to the TV antenna jack, all is well on the TV.
    I would just chuck this, but I opted for the lifetime subscription at the time of purchase. We need a TIVO. Once you use a DVR you can NEVER go back.

    I think the box now has two problems, the 2/3 daily reboots (what a pain!) and now the AV output issue.

    On the reboot issue, I inspected the power supply capacitors, they look clean with no ruptures or swelling. I tried a temporary hard drive, sporadic reboots still occurred. I switched the original drive back into the unit.


    Any ideas of what my next step should be? I really don't wish to deal with TIVO support ever again, so what do you folks think is wrong and what options do I have?

    thanks

    Leave a comment:


  • Swisher
    replied
    Looks like hurricane Sandy has taken a non-human, my TiVo S3 TCD648250. Lost power for five days in NYC and when power returned, TiVo was fine for about a week. Eventually started to get stuttering playback so did the S.M.A.R.T. test and showed three fails on the primary drive. Eventually, TiVo went into a reboot loop and I could no longer access the central screen. Ordered a replacement 2.5 TB drive from WK, but after installation, never gets past the "Powering Up" screen. Have now ordered a new power supply - but then saw this forum talking about cable cards (I have two) and wanted to make sure I'm on the right track. When the power supply is replaced should I try the original drive, or do the test fails confirm it is really dead (I'd love to rescue some shows)? Are cable cards problematic or just an indication of existing TiVo issues? Thanks!

    Leave a comment:


  • WK-Michael
    replied
    OK - you're off to a good start, at least.

    Leave a comment:

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