TIVO Hard Drive upgrade time

HomeAppraiser

Platinum Member
Aug 17, 2005
2,562
1
0
Trying to figure out which way to go. If I buy a blank drive I need simple instructions and Norton Ghost so I hear.

weaknees sells a drive preloaded with TIVO software for $69 more.

What to do?

PS we have a Lifetime TiVo Subscription.
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
116
500GB PATA Hard Drive $152

Weaknees 500GB "TiVo Upgrade" Hard Drive $349

Hmmm...decisions, decisions...
 

Dirigible

Diamond Member
Apr 26, 2006
5,961
32
91
I followed online instructions a year or two ago and it was quite easy to upgrade to a larger drive myself. If you have any computer aptitude (I don't have much) I recommend saving your $$ and going that way.
 

HomeAppraiser

Platinum Member
Aug 17, 2005
2,562
1
0
Originally posted by: Dirigible
I followed online instructions a year or two ago and it was quite easy to upgrade to a larger drive myself. If you have any computer aptitude (I don't have much) I recommend saving your $$ and going that way.


What special tools did you need for getting at the old TiVO hard drive and copying everything over?
 

BornStar

Diamond Member
Oct 30, 2001
4,052
1
0
Originally posted by: HomeAppraiser
Originally posted by: Dirigible
I followed online instructions a year or two ago and it was quite easy to upgrade to a larger drive myself. If you have any computer aptitude (I don't have much) I recommend saving your $$ and going that way.


What special tools did you need for getting at the old TiVO hard drive and copying everything over?
A computer with IDE ports and a CD-ROM drive. It's dead easy. Use the instructions that jpeyton posted and you'll be great.
 

SoulAssassin

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2001
6,135
2
0
I read the title of the thread to mean you could upgrade your series 2 to support High-Def. Damn that tease.
 

brxndxn

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2001
8,475
0
76
Dude.. do NOT buy a kit.

I upgraded a Tivo and a Replay TV.. both times 0 errors, 0 problems. Just buy a big hard drive and follow the online instructions.
 

herkulease

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2001
3,923
0
0
do it yourself. the only thing you should consider buying from weaknees is the mounting brackets for two hard drives. that's if you have two spare drives lying around.

which is my case. upgraded two directivos with 160 gig seagates, one of them got upgraded to the hr10. Been thinking for the last year as to whether or not the mounting bracket is worth it.
 

HomeAppraiser

Platinum Member
Aug 17, 2005
2,562
1
0
Did you need special tools to open up your TiVO? Weaknees really pushes the special Maxtor QuickViews DRV hard drives for low heat and noise. I have read that sticking with a 5400 rpm drive is better than a 7200 rpm drive for that reason. We have a three year old 140 hour unit and are mostly wanting to replace the HD due to occasional restarts and a few ten second blank spots during replay. Any special programs needed like Norton Ghost or do you just use DOS commands to copy from one drive to another?

I also like allisolm's link to the Tivo software disk.
 

BornStar

Diamond Member
Oct 30, 2001
4,052
1
0
All of the TiVos I've upgraded have used 7200RPM drives. I don't find that they're any louder than the 5400RPM drives that come with the TiVo. I would also recommend picking up the mounting bracket from weaknees if you are going to add a drive (which it sounds like you might not be) as using that is much easier than trying to rig up a different way to mount the second drive.

As for software, just use the boot disc that you can download from weaknees (I think there's a link in jpeyton's link) They'll give you all the instructions you need to use it. The instructions look tough but it hardly takes any time at all.
 

PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
13,650
201
101
Having done MANY of the upgrades, repairs, changes etc with tivos and directivos, I can tell you it's not hard to do. There's plenty of sites that have step by step instructions.

Your best bet? Copy your tivo image (you should do that for backup anyway), then just put in one big hard drive in there, and expand your image onto that drive. You'll have to boot into linux to do it, but like I said, there are plenty of step by step guides. Very simple, and you'll love the result.

Nothing wrong with the weaknees product by the way, for those not comfortable messing with linux commands, hooking up drives, creating partitions and that kind of stuff, the weaknees stuff is fine.
 

funkymatt

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2005
3,919
1
81
actually just finished upgrading from a crashed drive. so easy to do. the only problem with the crashed drive was finding an image for the series 2. dont buy the kit. follow online instructions, you get more satisfaction from that anyways :p
 

HomeAppraiser

Platinum Member
Aug 17, 2005
2,562
1
0
I have never touched Linux before. Is a version of Linux and the commands needed downloadable from the links above?
 

de8212

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2000
4,021
0
76
I upgraded mine a few months back. Used the InstantCake method and went from a 40GB to a 320GB drive. Easy as can be. I could have muttled through the weakness method but just didn't have the time.


Do you have a Series 2?
 

jersiq

Senior member
May 18, 2005
887
1
0
Originally posted by: HomeAppraiser
I have never touched Linux before. Is a version of Linux and the commands needed downloadable from the links above?


I used the Hinsdale guide for my Directtivo. Went from 40 GB to 250GB, easy as pie. All the commands and the Linux MFS tools CD image is available on the guide.

I had to use a T10 or T11 to remove the old drive, but different manufacturers vary. I don't know about the Stand-Alone Units.

Honestly, it's very easy.