# Life expectancy of Bolt?



## Bart Anderson (Dec 26, 2019)

What should I consider to be the life expectancy of my Bolt system? Does recording and deleting unwatched shows contribute to premature disc wear? I'm beginning to see interrupted recordings with ghosting - some so severe I just delete the recording.


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## VaBelle35 (Sep 29, 2019)

I bought my Bolt new in late 2016 and it died in May 2017 (I want to say I had it about 6 months and then it just overheated and rebooted constantly before it died with no response) and Tivo sent me a refurbished replacement and it's been going ever since. I haven't had any issues since, but then I don't have 4k or a massive tv screen, and I watch a lot of retro tv and old movies, so I wouldn't notice "ghosting" or anything like that.


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## MrDell (Jul 8, 2012)

Bart Anderson said:


> What should I consider to be the life expectancy of my Bolt system? Does recording and deleting unwatched shows contribute to premature disc wear? I'm beginning to see interrupted recordings with ghosting - some so severe I just delete the recording.


My Bolt is going on five years now with no issues yet. It has a one terabyte drive and I added external cooling shortly after purchase which I think helps add longevity. I purchased a Toshiba replacement drive about eight months ago just in case! Love my TiVo… hopefully it will continue to be trouble free.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

I've not seen "ghosting" but well before the stock 3 TB drive that came with my Bolt+ died, I did see some unexpected MPEG artifacting (major macroblocking) in some recordings but it's impossible to know if it's the incoming signal vs. drive problem. I also did sometimes would see many tuners tuned to the same channel which to me is a sign a reboot happened. If it was not due to a software update, it's possible there was a kernel panic or a severe enough drive error to cause a reboot.

My TiVo is on a UPS, so it wasn't due to a power interruption. If any long outages occurred, I'd have either been woken by them (have UPSes in my room that would beep) or I'd receive automated voicemails and emails from PG&E about them. And, I could monitor those outages remotely (e.g. hearing UPSes beeping via my Nest cams.)

Anyway, my stock 3 TB drive died around Oct 2021 (What fan-cooled external enclosure to get for 3.5&quot...). I got and set up my Bolt+ around mid to end to April 2017 via their "once in a lifetime" transfer offer. I did end up using laptop cooling pads (w/fans in them) to help keep the drive cooler then migrated to AC Infinity fans.

I have a Toshiba 2 TB 2.5" in as a replacement now and it's been working fine since.


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## Bart Anderson (Dec 26, 2019)

cwerdna said:


> I've not seen "ghosting" but well before the stock 3 TB drive that came with my Bolt+ died, I did see some unexpected MPEG artifacting (major macroblocking) in some recordings but it's impossible to know if it's the incoming signal vs. drive problem. I also did sometimes would see many tuners tuned to the same channel which to me is a sign a reboot happened. If it was not due to a software update, it's possible there was a kernel panic or a severe enough drive error to cause a reboot.
> 
> My TiVo is on a UPS, so it wasn't due to a power interruption. If any long outages occurred, I'd have either been woken by them (have UPSes in my room that would beep) or I'd receive automated voicemails and emails from PG&E about them. And, I could monitor those outages remotely (e.g. hearing UPSes beeping via my Nest cams.)
> 
> ...


So, am I reading here the drive can be replaced? Or is your Toshiba an external drive? Thank you.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

Bart Anderson said:


> So, am I reading here the drive can be replaced? Or is your Toshiba an external drive? Thank you.


Yes, the drive can be easily replaced, the Toshiba is the current favorite replacement to the OEM WD drive.


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## Bart Anderson (Dec 26, 2019)

dianebrat said:


> Yes, the drive can be easily replaced, the Toshiba is the current favorite replacement to the OEM WD drive.


Thank you Diane... Is this a simple process (plug and play) or do you need to set it up so it works correctly with TIVO?
Also, can you replace it with a larger capacity drive?


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

Bart Anderson said:


> Thank you Diane... Is this a simple process (plug and play) or do you need to set it up so it works correctly with TIVO?
> *Also, can you replace it with a larger capacity drive?*


Therein lies the rub, there are not higher capacity 2.5" drives that will work in a bolt, for increased capacity you need to to do the external drive dance, I'd recommend reviewing the existing threads on that to decide if it's worth it for you.
A compatible 2.5" drive in a bolt requires no preparation, it just needs to be blank, then when inserted in the unit it will be automatically formatted, once again, many many threads will step you through this and acceptable drives.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

Bart Anderson said:


> So, am I reading here the drive can be replaced? Or is your Toshiba an external drive? Thank you.


The Toshiba is my internal drive. I ran into too many questions/things I wasn't comfortable with when it came to external enclosures. It's a long story. Maybe I can retell it later.


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

cwerdna said:


> I've not seen "ghosting" but well before the stock 3 TB drive that came with my Bolt+ died, I did see some unexpected MPEG artifacting (major macroblocking) in some recordings but it's impossible to know if it's the incoming signal vs. drive problem. I also did sometimes would see many tuners tuned to the same channel which to me is a sign a reboot happened. If it was not due to a software update, it's possible there was a kernel panic or a severe enough drive error to cause a reboot.
> 
> My TiVo is on a UPS, so it wasn't due to a power interruption. If any long outages occurred, I'd have either been woken by them (have UPSes in my room that would beep) or I'd receive automated voicemails and emails from PG&E about them. And, I could monitor those outages remotely (e.g. hearing UPSes beeping via my Nest cams.)
> 
> ...


The simplest, if not the least expensive, is the external drive kit for the Bolt from Weeknees. Everything you will need including a replacement part of the case with a hole for the cable already cut in it. I usually DYI these kinds of things, but this time I went the lazy route. Very satisfied with the results.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

bobfrank said:


> The simplest, if not the least expensive, is the external drive kit for the Bolt from Weeknees. Everything you will need including a replacement part of the case with a hole for the cable already cut in it. I usually DYI these kinds of things, but this time I went the lazy route. Very satisfied with the results.


Least expensive and simplest? I paid $60 + tax for a Toshiba 2.5" 2 TB drive.

I replaced the stock internal drive with the above.


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## Darkev (May 8, 2010)

MrDell said:


> My Bolt is going on five years now with no issues yet. It has a one terabyte drive and I added external cooling shortly after purchase which I think helps add longevity. I purchased a Toshiba replacement drive about eight months ago just in case! Love my TiVo… hopefully it will continue to be trouble free.


Keep in mind if you buy a new TiVo and install your old hard drive from a broken TiVo, your shows will not be accessible. TiVo marks every show with the serial number of the unit so if you swap the drive the shows you recorded will be seen but won’t play.


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

cwerdna said:


> Least expensive and simplest? I paid $60 + tax for a Toshiba 2.5" 2 TB drive.
> 
> I replaced the stock internal drive with the above.


Reread my post carefully. I said "simplest if *NOT *the least expensive..." The Weakees kit isn't cheaper than buying all the parts separately and putting them together. But I didn't have to worry about finding the right enclosure and power source. And I was talking about using and external hard drive not the internal laptop drive. I replaced 2 internal drives in my Bolt and wasn't happy with the life span.


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## seanandrsn (Dec 12, 2010)

I have 2 Bolt units that are 4 & 5 years old. The 5 year old one had a HDD fail about 15 months ago but I was able to out in a new drive and it's been running just fine. The 4 year old one has been running just fine with no issues. If I have another HDD fail I'll most likely just throw in another drive in it as it's very easy to change out and was less than $100.


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## bkc56 (Apr 29, 2001)

We got our two bolts in 10/2016 as part of the upgrade when they discontinued Series 1. They're both still working with original disks.


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## toddk63 (Jul 29, 2014)

Darkev said:


> Keep in mind if you buy a new TiVo and install your old hard drive from a broken TiVo, your shows will not be accessible. TiVo marks every show with the serial number of the unit so if you swap the drive the shows you recorded will be seen but won’t play.


This is exactly my situation. Lost my Bolt to a bolt...of lightning. HDD still spins. What is the best method to move shows and One Pass settings to new Bolt?


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## Hamstring (Feb 13, 2007)

Mine is going on five years. No issues. I swapped out the stock drive for a 3 tb right away for more capacity.


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## wspencerjr60 (Jan 13, 2022)

bobfrank said:


> The simplest, if not the least expensive, is the external drive kit for the Bolt from Weeknees. Everything you will need including a replacement part of the case with a hole for the cable already cut in it. I usually DYI these kinds of things, but this time I went the lazy route. Very satisfied with the results.


As did I. My Bolt lasted from Sept 2017 to mid 2020. Took it to Weaknees(they are down the street from me) and got an external unit with a 2tb drive. Even that faile(the case failed, a year and a half after that), but is working good now.


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