# External Hard Drive Failing in my Tivo Series 3 - can I save data



## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Thanks to the wonderful folks here (esp. thanks to Rich), in June 2009, I upgraded my series 3 Tivo - to a 1TB internal hard drive (WD 10EVVS, I believe) and an external 1tb Hard drive (same WE 10EVVS hard drive - in an Antec enclosure). AFter a 2 days power outage, when we returned home last night, the Tivo was stuck on powering up. Called Tivo - and it seems it's the external hard drive that is failing. (Unfortunately, I have loads of recordings I don't want to lose - and wonder if there's a way to save them.)

Here's more background. My daughter turned the tv on - and it was stuck on powering up for over 1/2 hour. When my husband saw this, he went to repower it. He unplugged the Tivo - waited 60 seconds - plugged it back in. (he did not turn off the external hard drive, so it remained on during this.) When he plugged the Tivo back in, the same thing happened. Stuck on powering up. Then I stepped in (and might have made things worse - or perhaps I had no effect). I recalled that the external hard drive should be off too. So I unplugged the power adapter from the external drive - and the power from the Tivo. I can't recall which I plugged on first - maybe the Tivo. 

This is the first time I had looked at the external hard drive - and noticed the blue light was blinking. I don't know if the blue light was blinking before I entered the situation - or if I caused it. 

Tivo walked me through steps of disconnecting power - reconnecting power. If the external hard drive is off, the Tivo gets past the powering up screen. It goes to "almost there" - and then reports that it is looking for the missing external hard drive. Tivo concluded that this suggested the external drive was the one failing. We tried doing the kickstart 54 but we never got a blinking green light. We tried holding the pause button anyway - but never got the green light to blink nor did we get an amber or red light. Tivo concluded that we couldn't even test the hard drives given that the external drive didn't seem to be working. Tivo did suggest I power off and repower the external hard drive a few times (only turning on the Tivo after) to see if I could get the external hard drive to stop flashing blue - in other words, to spin and work properly so that I could start the Tivo and transfer recordings to my PC (I do have a 2TB external hard drive connected to my pc - that I just recently bought just to back up this Tivo).

I tried a few times to power off - then power on the external hard drive - no luck. I can try again - but at this point, I'm not hopeful and am looking for whether there is a way to save my video's. I know I don't want to unmarry the Tivo and external hard drive bc. my video's will be permanently lost.

Is there anything I can do to try to save these video's? Whether that's a DIY project - or a place I can send the Tivo and external drive which can save the data for me?

FWIW - I had Western Digital green caviar 1.5TB second internal hard drive that I installed in my pc for this purpose (but hadn't gotten that far with it) - and that drive died in December. I still have the drive - just got a replacement from WD - and was going to see if I could save the data from that 1.5TB drive. I am not wary of Western Digital - having 2 hard drives fail after 1 1/2 years (the one in the PC was rarely used - the one attached to the Tivo was heavily used).

Anyway to save my data? 

Thank you.
Lynn.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

So after my last post, I decided to try again. I unplugged and plugged in my external drive - hoping that one of the times blue light would stop flashing - but after a few tries, no luck.

Then I decided to try the kickstart 54 again. A couple of times, nothing happened. Then one time, I started by pressing the pause immediately and holding it. Soon I got the green, amber and red lights on. I let go of the pause button - and hit kickstart 57 (despite Tivo recommending kickstart 54, I saw Rich's post to start with 57 - so I did). It did reboot, said warming up, almost there.... then the following screen:

EXTERNAL STorage Missing

The external storage device was not detected. Your tivo digital media recorder will not operate without it.

Please make sure that the external storage device is turned on and securely connected to the dVR. Then restart the DVR by unplugging it an dplugging it back in.

If you no longer wish to use the external storage device with this dvr, press clear.
-----------------------------------
At this point, the blue light on the hard drive had become solid - no blinking. And I think I hear it spinning (it was silent while it was flashing). But the Tivo doesn't see it's there. I don't want to press CLEAR. Doesn't presssing clear unmarry them - thereby losing all my recordings?
-------------------------------------------------
Then I decided to try kickstart 54 - in case that was the more appropriate one for my Tivo 3. Same result - and again the external drive's light is staying on.

So I'm perplexed - it seems that in order for the Tivo to diagnose or repair itself, it has to be working. There's the rub. I can get past the powering up screen - but only to get the message that the external storage is missing. With the blue light on, I had hoped to be up and running at least a little while so I could pull the recordings I most care about up to my pc.

(and in the meantime, I can't seem to be able to get the tv to work at all - even if the Tivo is off. I tried running the coax cable straight into the tv - but nothing. ).

Thank you.
Lynn.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Oops. Sorry for a third post. In looking over other threads, I realize that I miswrote - I have a TivoHD (TCD652160) - not a series 3. In case that makes a difference.

If my external hard drive is failing (or completely bit the dust), I notice mention in several threads that having an external hard drive is just another vulnerability to failure - it seems these drives are dying quicker than the internal ones - or at least adding a second potential source of failure (not sure that was the wisdom when I upgraded 1 1/2 years ago). If my drive has failed, and I'm starting from scratch, can I put a single 2TB hard drive inside my tivo hd? thus reducing the possibility of future failure?

Thanks.
Lynn.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lynnalexandra said:


> Oops. Sorry for a third post. In looking over other threads, I realize that I miswrote - I have a TivoHD (TCD652160) - not a series 3. In case that makes a difference.
> 
> If my external hard drive is failing (or completely bit the dust), I notice mention in several threads that having an external hard drive is just another vulnerability to failure - it seems these drives are dying quicker than the internal ones - or at least adding a second potential source of failure (not sure that was the wisdom when I upgraded 1 1/2 years ago). If my drive has failed, and I'm starting from scratch, can I put a single 2TB hard drive inside my tivo hd? thus reducing the possibility of future failure?
> 
> ...


Hi Lynn. About your only hope is to run TiVo's built-in diagnostic and repair programs called "Kickstarts":

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showpost.php?p=5643823&postcount=2

I'd run them in this order: KS 57, KS58 and finally (if neither of those work) you could run KS54 which is a basic SMART diagnostic which can sometimes tell you if there is a serious problem.

If the Kickstarts don't work, and from the sound of it they didn't, there's about a 50/50 chance that the actual hard drive in your external drive is okay and that the problem is with the enclosure. If you really want to save your recordings you could pull the hard drive out of the enclosure and install it in a new one like the Antec MX-1 or something similar. Some folks have had success that way, others not.

Otherwise there's really not much you can do but divorce it. Any recordings made before you attached the external drive will still be there, but anything recorded afterward will be lost.

Yes, you can upgrade your TiVo HD to a 2TB internal hard drive:

http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=462179

Hope that helps and best of luck!


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Thank you Rich. I was not able to run any kickstarts - just kept getting "external device missing." Weaknees says they may be able to recover the data ($250) - plus buying a new 1TB ext. hard drive from them for $299 (which is a healthy profit for them). DVupgrade doesn't repair these Tivo's. I also asked dvr_dude - bc. if he can recover the data at least he has 2TB upgrades for Tivo's - so I could put the data on a better solution single internal 2TB hard drive. I haven't heard back from him yet.

My reluctance with the weaknees solution is that I'm buying an ext. hard drive for $299 - and I don't want another external hard drive as my solution. And I certainly don't want to spend money on that drive - just to then upgrade to a 2TB internal drive.

I am hoping it's the enclosure and not the drive. Could I test this by putting the drive in an esata dock (and connecting that to the Tivo) - just to test it. And if it works, I can either 1) buy another antec enclosure or 2) transfer everything to my pc - then do the 2TB upgrade.

Thank you.
Lynn.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lynnalexandra said:


> Thank you Rich. I was not able to run any kickstarts - just kept getting "external device missing." Weaknees says they may be able to recover the data ($250) - plus buying a new 1TB ext. hard drive from them for $299 (which is a healthy profit for them). DVupgrade doesn't repair these Tivo's. I also asked dvr_dude - bc. if he can recover the data at least he has 2TB upgrades for Tivo's - so I could put the data on a better solution single internal 2TB hard drive. I haven't heard back from him yet.
> 
> My reluctance with the weaknees solution is that I'm buying an ext. hard drive for $299 - and I don't want another external hard drive as my solution. And I certainly don't want to spend money on that drive - just to then upgrade to a 2TB internal drive.
> 
> ...


Understood. So when you are trying to run the Kickstarts, are you actually power-cycling TiVo (unplugging it, waiting about 10 seconds and then plugging it back in)? If so the very first thing you should see would be the "Welcome! Powering up" screen. The KS codes are entered between the time that screen goes away and just before the "Almost there..." screen appears. I can't recall exactly but you should at least see the welcome screen before the missing external drive screen and you should be able to run the Kickstarts. Let me know if that's not the case though.

There's one other solution that might work and that's using a program called "SpinRite". It's spendy at $90 but it claims to be able to recover data (even TiVo specific). You'd have to remove your external drive, connect it to a PC and run SpinRite to see if it works. There's no guarantee of course but it's worked for some folks here.

Your question about an eSATA dock is a good one. I don't know how TiVo would handle a dock versus an actual enclosure. eSATA enclosures have a bridge and certain chips that TiVo would use to communicate with the external hard drive and vice-versa. I don't know that a dock would have the same thing. My guess is no and I have a vague recollection that someone may have tried it without success. It's worth a try if it's an option for you.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Hi, Rich. I have power-cycled the Tivo - numerous times. Tivo tech told me to hit the pause button as soon as I plug in the power cord. Then on the Tivo HD, all three lights light up - and then I release the pause button and enter the kickstart code. The Tivo has seemed unresponsive to my hitting the code (whether it's 54 or 57). It doesn't seem to shift course - as those no command was received. It just continues powering up. Then I do get the almost there sign. Then the "external device is missing" message.

I have another enclosure but I'm not sure it is meant for 24/7 running - but maybe that would be a better test just to see if the Tivo runs and recognizes the external drive. Would this be a safe enclosure to use? and if so, could I use this to transfer all the video - or would it overheat pretty soon? I suppose if this enclosure worked when testing, and it isn't suitable for longer term use, I could then buy another antec enclosure. It's this enclosure:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015LURY2/ref=oss_product
---------------------------------
In case this information is useful, the docking station is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001A4HAFS/ref=oss_product
-------------------------
On the idea of using spinrite, I have 2 concerns. One is that if I connect the drive to my pc - will spinrite copy it to somewhere? and if so, isn't my Tivo internal drive married to the current specific external drive? If I could clone the external drive, I'm not sure Tivo would recognize it (at least the Tivo tech told me that each hard drive has it's own number/signature - and that Tivo would be looking for it and probably wouldn't accept a clone on another drive).

Other thing is that I'm not very good with software. Using Winmfs to create this set up originally took me most of a weekend (although I think my snafu's were not with the software per se). I'll take a quick search here and see if I can find any posts from someone who used spinrite.

Thank you.
Lynn.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lynnalexandra said:


> Hi, Rich. I have power-cycled the Tivo - numerous times. Tivo tech told me to hit the pause button as soon as I plug in the power cord. Then on the Tivo HD, all three lights light up - and then I release the pause button and enter the kickstart code. The Tivo has seemed unresponsive to my hitting the code (whether it's 54 or 57). It doesn't seem to shift course - as those no command was received. It just continues powering up. Then I do get the almost there sign. Then the "external device is missing" message.


Okay, I see where the problem lies. Carefully follow the instructions here:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showpost.php?p=5643823&postcount=2

By your description you're releasing the pause button and trying to enter the Kickstart code too early. You need to hold the TiVo remote's pause button down until _only_ the amber light appears...that is _after_ the three lights come on together. The amber light will only come on by itself for a few seconds. (It happens after the "Welcome! Powering up" screen goes out and before the "Almost there..." screen appears - but ignore the screens and watch the lights.) It's when the amber/yellow light comes on all by itself that TiVo will accept a KS command. That's when you release the pause button and enter the KS code 5 and 7 or 5 and 4, etc. It's a very short window of time, but it will appear and you can only enter it then, not before (as it sounds like your doing) and not after. Otherwise TiVo will boot up normally. Give it another try and it should work.



lynnalexandra said:


> I have another enclosure but I'm not sure it is meant for 24/7 running - but maybe that would be a better test just to see if the Tivo runs and recognizes the external drive. Would this be a safe enclosure to use? and if so, could I use this to transfer all the video - or would it overheat pretty soon? I suppose if this enclosure worked when testing, and it isn't suitable for longer term use, I could then buy another antec enclosure. It's this enclosure:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015LURY2/ref=oss_product


 That enclosure should work fine to determine if it's the hard drive itself or the MX-1 that's giving you problems. Assuming your external hard drive did work in that enclosure and you were just going to use it to transfer recordings, etc. it s/b fine. WD GP drives run pretty cool, but one could get hot in an non-fan cooled enclosure. However heat becomes a hard drive's enemy over time. It shouldn't heat up enough over a few days or however long it would take to transfer your recordings to cause any problems...and it might work fine long-term if it's in a well ventilated area. You'd just need to touch it once in a while to see how hot it's getting. If it ever feels like it's almost too hot to touch, then you should go back to a fan cooled enclosure like the MX-1. 
---------------------------------


lynnalexandra said:


> In case this information is useful, the docking station is this one:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001A4HAFS/ref=oss_product


 I have that exact same dock. My guess is that it won't work to test your external drive but you could try it, no harm could be done.
-------------------------


lynnalexandra said:


> On the idea of using spinrite, I have 2 concerns. One is that if I connect the drive to my pc - will spinrite copy it to somewhere?


 No, it just attempts to correct data corruption...but I'd run the Kickstarts first.



lynnalexandra said:


> and if so, isn't my Tivo internal drive married to the current specific external drive? If I could clone the external drive, I'm not sure Tivo would recognize it (at least the Tivo tech told me that each hard drive has it's own number/signature - and that Tivo would be looking for it and probably wouldn't accept a clone on another drive).


 Again, cloning probably won't get you anywhere. If there's data corruption you would just clone the corruption. If there is something physically wrong with the drive you could get another one like it (http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-AV-GP-Intellipower-WD10EVVS/dp/B001PYDMC8) and run dd to copy it over. TiVo does recognize the drive by the model number...only.



lynnalexandra said:


> Other thing is that I'm not very good with software. Using Winmfs to create this set up originally took me most of a weekend (although I think my snafu's were not with the software per se). I'll take a quick search here and see if I can find any posts from someone who used spinrite.
> 
> Thank you.
> Lynn.


You probably won't find many folks that have used SpinRite unless you ask outright. Because it costs more than a new hard drive, about the only folks that use it are in the business of repairing hard drives for a hobby or living.

My advice is to run the Kickstarts and see what happens and what the SMART diagnostic (KS54) says. Post it here and we can go from there.


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## Pete327 (Aug 14, 2007)

Lynn,

I had a similar problem as you. The Tivo (I have a Series 3) kept rebooting and would usually report that the external drive was missing or another similar error message. I have terrible luck getting the kickstart codes to work as well (but i have successfully done it in the past). So I bought a new enclosure since I figured this was the safest bet in not losing my recordings. After I put the drive in the new enclosure, the Tivo rebooted and has worked fine since then. Its been about two weeks with no problems. Hopefully that will fix your issue as well.

Pete


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Rich - How long do I have to hold the pause button before the light goes amber? I did it several times that way - and held the button up to 10 minutes (2 or 3 attempts) - and the amber light never came on by itself. I will certainly try again if there's a chance I just didn't do it right. After 10 minutes, it seemed not to be working. Maybe I have to wait longer.

Glad to hear I can test the drive also in the other enclosure - which I'll do if kickstart doesn't work.

Also good to know that Tivo just recognizes the model number - not serial number so that cloning is a possibility. (Then we're back into software - but with the wonderful help here I might be able to pull that off - if the data is saveable.)

Dave - good to hear a fellow sufferer finally got kickstart to work - and had luck with a new enclosure (although from what Rich says, the antec mx-1 is very good and less likely to be the source of failure than folks with the dvr expanders).

Hopefully I can get to some more tests later.
Lynn.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lynnalexandra said:


> Rich - How long do I have to hold the pause button before the light goes amber? I did it several times that way - and held the button up to 10 minutes (2 or 3 attempts) - and the amber light never came on by itself. I will certainly try again if there's a chance I just didn't do it right. After 10 minutes, it seemed not to be working. Maybe I have to wait longer.


I sold my TiVo HD, so don't have one here to test anymore, but it does work. You shouldn't have to hold the pause button for more than a couple of minutes before you can enter the code. Here's sfdukester's instructions specifically for the THD (after unplugging it and plugging it back in)...



> Continue to hold the PAUSE button for approximately 2 minutes. There should be a green LED light lit on the front bezel of the DVR as it restarts.
> 
> Wait until the green light flashes and an amber LED light and red LED light appear on the front bezel of the DVR.
> 
> ...


I know they changed the procedure slightly at some point, so it depends on the "year model" of the THD...yours may work using those instructions.

Whatever the case, I'd certainly see if you can't get the Kickstarts to run before doing anything else. There's a good chance it might fix things.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Thanks, Rich. I just reconnected the Tivo HD and external drive to a television in my computer room (that way the family can still watch tv in the living room while I"m working on this - and if it does work, I've got days worth of transferring to do). 

So far, it's been on Powering Up for about 20 minutes. I know that's too long - but I've been going over these threads and the Tivo instructions which say this:

TiVo HD
TiVo HD XL 

1. As the DVR restarts, the green LED light on the front bezel DVR will be lit.

2. As soon as it blinks, immediately (within 2 seconds) press and hold down the PAUSE button on the remote.

3. Within a few moments, the yellow and red LED lights will turn on.(If you are unable to catch the timing, you may also hold the PAUSE button down continuously during the restart until the yellow and red LEDs come on.)

4. When the yellow and red LEDs come on, release the PAUSE button and then press 54 on the remote control. (You will have approximately 10 seconds to do this.)

As you can see, this seems to all occur very quickly. In my experience, all 3 lights get lit when the Tivo is powered back on. And I'm holding the Pause button the whole time - but nothing happens. Once - I think - I got a change in lights (maybe the amber and red came on). I released the pause button and hit 54. Nothing happened.

I'm going to power cycle the Tivo and try kickstart again.
-------------------------------------------------

Okay - just tried it three times. I'm holding the pause button - for way more than two minutes - the amber and red lights just do not come on. After two times, I did notice that the red light on my Tivo Glo remote is on while I'm holding the pause button. And it goes out after about two minutes as I am continuing to hold the pause button. So I decided that I'd try that as my cue to release the pause button and press 54. Still nothing. The Welcome Powering Up screen stays on - no change at all.

This is even less response than I got last weekend - when it seemed to respond/change course after hitting 54 a couple of times - but still no kickstarting is happening.

Now the three times I tried this tonight, the blue led light on the external drive has continued to flash and isn't going solid. last weekend, it flashed most of the time - but for a couple of tries of running kickstart, it did remain solid. 

My main concern is that my initial Tivo lighting just doesn't conform to any instructions I've seen. At least not the way it's playing out today. When I first plugged it in last weekend, all three lights would light up. Now - as best as I can see, there's also a blue light. I am really confused and not sure what to try next.

I read some threads where some people thought nothing was happening with the kickstarts. Turned the tv off for the night - only to discover it ran over night. So I'm leaving it for now - stuck on the WPU screen. At least until I may hear other advice here about what to try next.

Thanks.
Lynn.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

So I changed my mind. didn't just leave the Tivo at the third test. Decided to try a fourth test - bc. I think I'm getting all the lights lit up within moments (seconds) of powering up the Tivo (as the Tivo instructions suggest). So I power cycled again - holding the pause button as I powered up. Within seconds I got the other lights. Released the pause button. Hit 54. After a minute, it went to almost there screen. Then it went blank (grey screen - might have had a letter or two flash for an instant I couldn't catch) for a few seconds. Then said "external device missing."

FWIW - some posters mention needing to display kickstart menu with composite cables - or 480resolution. last weekend the Tivo was connected to an HD TV - via hdmi. But now it's connected via composite cables to a standard definition television. Same results. 

PS - this time, after hitting 54 very early, and getting the almost there screen, the blue light on the external drive was solid. This happened last weekend as well.

Help.
Lynn.

So this is what was happening last weekend.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lynnalexandra said:


> So I changed my mind. didn't just leave the Tivo at the third test. Decided to try a fourth test - bc. I think I'm getting all the lights lit up within moments (seconds) of powering up the Tivo (as the Tivo instructions suggest). So I power cycled again - holding the pause button as I powered up. Within seconds I got the other lights. Released the pause button. Hit 54. After a minute, it went to almost there screen. Then it went blank (grey screen - might have had a letter or two flash for an instant I couldn't catch) for a few seconds. Then said "external device missing."
> 
> FWIW - some posters mention needing to display kickstart menu with composite cables - or 480resolution. last weekend the Tivo was connected to an HD TV - via hdmi. But now it's connected via composite cables to a standard definition television. Same results.
> 
> ...


Boy, without actually being there it's really hard to tell why it's not working.

I guess for now I'd pull the external drive out of the MX-1 and slip it into your other enclosure, connect it to TiVo, turn the external drive on and then plug TiVo back in and see what happens.


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## MeStinkBAD (Jul 16, 2003)

lynnalexandra said:


> Thanks to the wonderful folks here (esp. thanks to Rich), in June 2009, I upgraded my series 3 Tivo - to a 1TB internal hard drive (WD 10EVVS, I believe) and an external 1tb Hard drive (same WE 10EVVS hard drive - in an Antec enclosure). AFter a 2 days power outage, when we returned home last night, the Tivo was stuck on powering up. Called Tivo - and it seems it's the external hard drive that is failing. (Unfortunately, I have loads of recordings I don't want to lose - and wonder if there's a way to save them.)


Lynn, you've spent all this time trying to get the kickstart to work... and came close to success but I really think that external drive is dead and unless you are willing to pay thousands of dollars to *attempt* to get some of data back you likely won't get all of it. Even if you did, it would take weeks to transfer a full 2GB of recordings to say an computer.

It's sad when this happens. But it happens. And I really think you'd be happier with a working TiVo that can you can use. Don't worry about loosing the recordings. Everything you lost can be obtained again, it just may take some time. But you gotta drop the remote, replace the external HDD and start over so you can record new shows. Trust me I believe you'll be a lot happier.

If you don't want to give up you don't have too... I just think that you need to stop a second, sit down on your couch, and watch some TV.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Mestinkbad - you are so right. I need to be able to actually sit down and watch tv. I have an old Tivo hooked up to the living room tv now - but with Comcast having gone digital, I only get a few channnels - and most of the last few days, there wasn't much on the regular channels we were interested in.

I am not sure about obtaining those recordings again. Sure - the movies I can get again - either wait for them to be played again and record them - buy or rent them. Even some tv shows could be gotten from amazon on demand. But there are shows I don't think I can get. We love American Idol and So You Think You can Dance. I have the last 2 1/2 years recorded. The first year is up on my computer -safe - and backed up. But everything since June 2009 is not. Watching the dance performances and singing performances is something my family loves to go back to (the audition portions don't matter). One of the reasons for upgrading my Tivo was when I tried to find So You Think You can Dance online - and had no luck (beyond an occasional clip - no full episodes). I do want to ask what you mean by "you gotta drop the remote" - if you just mean stop holding the remote and pause, entering 54 - and not having a life, I completely agree. (Just in case you meant something else, let me know - I don't think you're saying my remote has anything to do with the problem.)

Kickstart isn't working - and I do think it's time to give on that. I'll change enclosures in case that's the problem. 

Thanks.
Lynn.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Okay - I opened up my Enclosure to switch enclosures in case it's just the enclosure that's failed. And turns out I was wrong about the drives I had chosen. I got the WD 10EVCS (manufacturing date 1-24-2009). If I did attempt to clone onto another WD 10EVCS drive, are they available any more? Are these drives that are not problematic (bc. of Intellipark)? Rich - you had provided a link for the drive replacement when I thought it was the WD 10EVVS - could you provide a link for the appropriate replacement for the WD 10EVCS - if there is one? please?

I know I can find the model number but I think there are more than one choice (rpm, cache, etc). 

I know dd rescue is a long shot, but just want to be prepared in case that's my next step.

Thank you.
Lynn.


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## L David Matheny (Jan 29, 2011)

lynnalexandra said:


> Okay - I opened up my Enclosure to switch enclosures in case it's just the enclosure that's failed. And turns out I was wrong about the drives I had chosen. I got the WD 10EVCS (manufacturing date 1-24-2009). If I did attempt to clone onto another WD 10EVCS drive, are they available any more? Are these drives that are not problematic (bc. of Intellipark)? Rich - you had provided a link for the drive replacement when I thought it was the WD 10EVVS - could you provide a link for the appropriate replacement for the WD 10EVCS - if there is one? please?
> 
> I know I can find the model number but I think there are more than one choice (rpm, cache, etc).
> 
> ...


I used a WD10EVCS to upgrade the internal drive in my TiVo HD quite a while ago. It's probably discontinued, but I think the WD10EVDS is the same except for cache size (C=16MB, D=32MB). I didn't do anything to change IntelliPark back then because I didn't know about it. I suppose if I replaced the drive today I would run WDidle3 and see what it reports at least.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

No luck on the putting the drive in a new enclosure. Turns out the new enclosure is does not offer esata connection. It is USB to a different kind of esata - and doesn't fit in the Tivo esata port.

Not sure it's worth buying an enclosure just to test this out. I did clean the dustbunnies from the Antec enclosure. Not sure it's worth it to retest with that enclosure. 

Thanks.
Lynn.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

L David - I hadn't seen your post when I posted. The only reason I'd buy another drive is if it might work to clone the failing external drive. I believe Tivo will only continue the marriage if it's the same model of hard drive. So my only purpose is to still try and save my data. A different model wouldn't work.

I am awaiting on word from DVR-dude - who can attempt to recover my videos - and get them on to an upgraded 2TB internal drive. I'd much prefer than to the solution offered by weaknees - which is that if they recover the data, it would have to go on another 1TB external drive (married to the Tivo already upgraded to 1TB). I am done with external hard drives. This is something I don't want to go through again.

First choice - 2TB single internal upgraded hard drive (with vidoes and cable card pairings transferred if possible).

Second choice - keep the Tivo with 1TB internal hard drive. Mourn the loss of my videos which would be destroyed in the unmarrying process. But the Tivo drive is fine - and would have my cable card pairings. From now on, work harder to transfer extra recordings up to my pc's external 2TB drive. Don't rely on an external drive married to the Tivo

3rd choice - maintain 1TB external drive married to Tivo. REally only worth it to me if it saves my recordings.

Lynn.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

Hi Lynn. I'm going to ask a couple of dumb questions that I should have asked in the beginning. Did you try doing anything with the MX-1's eSATA cable? I'm sure you checked, but were/are both ends seated snugly? Did you try pulling the cable and reversing it? It's possible that it's simply matter of the cable having gone bad, it happens. (It's even remotely possible that the eSATA port on TiVo has failed.) If you've fiddled with the cable without success it could be worth replacing it. The recommended SIIG Serial ATA external cable is only about $10.

Before you replace the cable however, try plugging the MX-1 enclosure in and turning it on, ideally with the top of the enclosure off so the hard drive is exposed. When you turn it on can you hear the hard drive spin up and if it spins up do you hear head seek noise (light clicking sounds) for a bit? If you do the drive is at least active. If not, it's dead and you have no choice but to move on.

If the drive does spin up and there's some activity I would find another enclosure and install it in that one, connect it to TiVo fire TiVo up and see what happens. If it still doesn't work that tells me there is data corruption. As mentioned, if there is data corruption cloning the drive (even an identical drive) wouldn't do anything for you. I also failed to mention that the data corruption isn't necessarily on the external drive. It could be on the internal drive...the two have continual communication. That doesn't mean anything is wrong with your internal drive (although that's a remote possibility too). Either way, if there's data corruption there's nothing you can do about it except try to fix it...and that's why I am such an advocate of running the Kickstarts as they are your only hope of resolving data corruption (whether it's on the internal or external drive).

Regarding the external enclosure you have, I went back and looked at it online (watched the video review someone posted...wish he'd buy a tripod!) and it turns out that it's NOT an eSATA enclosure at all, it's a basic SATA/USB enclosure. I didn't think it was originally (the product name doesn't say anything about eSATA) but I read the description where it says:



> The NexStar CX features an eSATA (external Serial ATA) and USB 2.0 interfaces...


After watching the video it's clear that it does NOT have an eSATA interface...the description is wrong. (When the reviewer holds the rear of the enclosure up to the camera you can clearly see a USB port and what looks like it might be a cutout for an eSATA port, but no eSATA port.) They should change the description because it's very misleading.  Sorry I didn't catch that earlier.

I can't disagree with anyone saying "move on" but I also understand the value of treasured recordings.

I hate to beat a dead horse, and of course there are no guarantees that it will work, but if your external hard drive is still functional and installing it in a new enclosure doesn't change anything, running the Kickstarts are your only prayer of saving your data. Trust me when I say I know they work and I know they will work on your TiVo. A very remote reason that they wouldn't work is if your internal TiVo drive's boot partition is so corrupted that it won't respond to anything. (Generally it would hang on the "Welcome" screen, but if it's getting to the "Missing drive" screen it sounds like the boot sequence is okay.) That tells me that the Kickstarts should work and that it's just a matter of timing.

With respect to the recovery of the data, the folks from Weaknees are correct, the data would have to go onto another external drive. They would use SpinRite or some other data recovery tool. It's possible that they might be able to recover some or all of the data, however you have to understand that recordings are striped across both the internal and external drives. In other words, there are no singular recordings on either the internal or external drive so if anything were recovered it wold be partial recording data. To date no one has found a method to combine data from an internal and external drive onto a single new drive. Many, many would like to, many experts have tried, none with success over the years.

So I believe that narrows it down as much as possible and those are your options.

FWIW going with a 2TB internal upgrade will be a cakewalk compared to what you've gone through.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Thank you Rich. I am ready to move on. I do want the 2TB internal drive (I don't know if you recall when I upgraded 1 1/2 years ago, you were questioning whether I could really use more than 1TB of data. As time moves on, we get used to greater and greater storage needs.)

I am going to send it to DVR-dude for the upgraded 2TB internal drive. By sending it to him, there is a chance he can recover the data (certainly there's a better chance he can do it than I can). Since I don't currently have an appropriate drive enclosure to see if it's just a bad enclosure, it's not worth more money or time just to try something which isn't likely to work.

I did check the esata cables and theyr'e snug. In fact, I ordered another set - but I don't think I'm going to wait any longer. Either way, I'm upgrading to 2TB. And it's better to send the Tivo to DVR-dude and get that process started. If I were able to save the data, then he'll certainly be able to. If he can't, I wouldn't have been able to either so it's better not to spend more than the week I've spent on this.

DVR-dude's cost is also remarkably low for the data transfer/recovery - $49 - and the ultimate solution whether it works or not is that I have a 2TB internal drive. So for me, a better price and better solution than going with Weaknees - where the cost would be double - and I'd still have an external hard drive in the end.

I understand that the recordings are spread over the two drives - and may only be by chance that some were recorded in entirety on the internal drive. I am hoping that my cable card pairings are on the internal drive - which I'm fairly certain they are since the pairing took place 10 months before I added the external drive. 

So I may lose my recordings - quite likely I guess. So does anyone know if there are places to obtain previous seasons of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. I think everything else (I shudder to think of well over 1TB of recordings lost) - would be replaceable with time and money - not sure I can remember all of them. All the Beatles movies, Harry Potter (yes I know I can rent or buy those), old classics, several seasons of some favorite shows. (Now I don't think I'm ready for Raids - but the idea of several 2TB drives in a single enclosure - if there weren't a steep learning curve for figuring out how to store it and how to push it back to my Tivo - that would be great.)

So my new motto is you can never have enough storage and you can never have enough back-ups. 
Lynn.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

Sounds like a plan Lynn. FWIW all of the OS is on the internal hard drive. Hopefully you'll have your "new" TiVo back soon. Best of luck tracking down any missing recordings. There are a lot of bit torrent sites that have things like that (yet another adventure!). Let us know how things go.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Rich - I think the last time I tried to find those shows, it looked like bit torrent was the only way - which sounded like quite an adventure, indeed. I don't remember the details. 

I'll be back when I know more - or when I realize there's more I need to know.

Thank you.
Lynn.


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## L David Matheny (Jan 29, 2011)

richsadams said:


> With respect to the recovery of the data, the folks from Weaknees are correct, the data would have to go onto another external drive. They would use SpinRite or some other data recovery tool. It's possible that they might be able to recover some or all of the data, however you have to understand that recordings are striped across both the internal and external drives. In other words, there are no singular recordings on either the internal or external drive so if anything were recovered it wold be partial recording data. To date no one has found a method to combine data from an internal and external drive onto a single new drive. Many, many would like to, many experts have tried, none with success over the years.


Theoretical questions: What do we know about the partition structure on TiVo drives? I think I read something to the effect that a TiVo is limited to two data partitions with a capacity limit of 1TB each, thus the old limit of 1TB internal plus 1TB external. Yet Comer's tools let us use a 2TB internal drive. There was initial talk of 2TB internal plus 2TB external, but that seems to have been withdrawn, right?

Could all of that imply that there is still a limit of 1TB per partition and that Comer's tools work by 1) expanding the existing partition to 1TB and 2) creating a new partition for the additional 1TB? (If this is the case, I would hope that two partitions on the same drive would not be interleaved. Striping within one drive makes no sense.)

If the 2TB upgrade does work like this, could a variation on Comer's method copy data from an external drive to the newly created second 1TB partition? I'm guessing not, because of the interleaving/striping issue, but of course I don't know. Comments? Rich? Comer? DVR_dude? Weaknees? Anyone?


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

L David Matheny said:


> Theoretical questions: What do we know about the partition structure on TiVo drives? I think I read something to the effect that a TiVo is limited to two data partitions with a capacity limit of 1TB each, thus the old limit of 1TB internal plus 1TB external. Yet Comer's tools let us use a 2TB internal drive. There was initial talk of 2TB internal plus 2TB external, but that seems to have been withdrawn, right?
> 
> Could all of that imply that there is still a limit of 1TB per partition and that Comer's tools work by 1) expanding the existing partition to 1TB and 2) creating a new partition for the additional 1TB? (If this is the case, I would hope that two partitions on the same drive would not be interleaved. Striping within one drive makes no sense.)
> 
> If the 2TB upgrade does work like this, could a variation on Comer's method copy data from an external drive to the newly created second 1TB partition? I'm guessing not, because of the interleaving/striping issue, but of course I don't know. Comments? Rich? Comer? DVR_dude? Weaknees? Anyone?


 For some reason my brain suddenly hurts. Those are good questions...for Comer since he created the jmfs program...and I never took the time to look at the actual code (I quit working on cars years ago too  ), so anything I'd say would be speculation. That's never stopped me before, but in this case I will certainly defer to the author.

I would speculate that it wouldn't work for combining internal/external data for the reasons you mention and a few others I can think of.

The fabled 4TB TiVo (2TB internal, 2TB external) did exist for a while. DVRUpgrade was selling the combo as was DVRDude on ebay. They have all since disappeared. IIRC a couple of folks on the TCF had them and said that they developed a number of issues and finally quit working.


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## Pete327 (Aug 14, 2007)

lynnalexandra said:


> No luck on the putting the drive in a new enclosure. Turns out the new enclosure is does not offer esata connection. It is USB to a different kind of esata - and doesn't fit in the Tivo esata port.
> 
> Not sure it's worth buying an enclosure just to test this out. I did clean the dustbunnies from the Antec enclosure. Not sure it's worth it to retest with that enclosure.
> 
> ...


Lynn, it sounds like from your posts after this that you have decided to give up on the drive. However, from my experience, it is definitely worth trying a new enclosure. Vantec does make a NexStar CX with an eSata port, it is a different model than the one Rich looked at. This other one, the NST-300SU-BK is what I put my "failed" drive in and is now working fine and I didn't lose a single recording! If I were you, I'd still try that option.

http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NST-300SU-BK-3-5-Inch-External-Enclosure/dp/B001TQ2PSO/ref=pd_cp_e_1

Pete


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Pete - thanks for that link. I did send my Tivo and ext. drive to DVR-dude. I'm pretty sure he's going to try it in another enclosure and try to save the data (I did pay for recovery services). But I am going to get that drive enclosure - since my original reason to have it was to place one of my hard drives in an enclosure with esata port.

If I hadn't mailed the Tivo, I would try what you said. But I'm confident that DVR-dude will be trying the same thing.

Thank you.
Lynn.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Oops - one more thing. This Vantec enclosure gets slightly higher ratings (and seems to be a newer model - 
http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NST-360SU-BK-3-5-Inch-External-Enclosure/dp/B000EDKO04/ref=pd_cp_e_2

What do you think of this drive compared to the one you linked? I'll probably pick one of them and purchase today.

Thanks again.
Lynn.


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## Pete327 (Aug 14, 2007)

lynnalexandra said:


> Oops - one more thing. This Vantec enclosure gets slightly higher ratings (and seems to be a newer model -
> http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NST-360SU-BK-3-5-Inch-External-Enclosure/dp/B000EDKO04/ref=pd_cp_e_2
> 
> What do you think of this drive compared to the one you linked? I'll probably pick one of them and purchase today.
> ...


Lynn,

The NexStar 3 is the enclosure I bought 3 years ago (which worked great until it died last month). I went to Microcenter (my local computer store) to get a replacement but they don't sell the NexStar 3 anymore. The CX was the only Vantec enclosure they sold now. I don't know for sure which one is actually newer and both are listed on the vantecusa.com website. They are very similar. Both have very bright blue LEDs to indicate drive activity and metal enclosures to help with heat. The power interface on the 3 uses a weird 4 pin plug but the CX has a more standard round connector with an inner and outer conductor (like the power input to a router or cable modem). The enclosure holds the drive with screws on the side in the 3 and on the bottom with the CX. Otherwise they really are almost identical except for the shiny blue color. I can't speak for the heat dissipation efficiency, but they seem about the same.

Pete


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Thanks Pete. For some reason your last reply didn't get sent to me so I'm just seeing it now. I'll go pick an enclosure as soon I finish posting here.

So I came back here to say - my hard drives and recordings are safe. Turns out it was the Antec MX-1 enclosure that was bad. I sent it to DVR-dude and he tried the drive in a different enclosure and said everything was there and the drives were working fine. He gave me the option to just send my Tivo and external hard drive back - without upgrading to the 2TB internal drive (which is part of what I purchased from him). Incredibly decent of him to offer to just send it back. But I do want to go ahead with the 2TB internal upgrade. Even though I was lucky this time - and only the enclosure had failed, I read enough on these forums to discover that keeping an external hard drive is still leaving me too vulnerable to loss and failure. So I'm going to get the 2TB hard drive and consider myself extremely fortunate to learned this lesson the easy way (if you count huge chunks of time over 8 days easy).

I didn't lose my recordings. And from now on I'm going to try my best to stay on top of transferring the important videos to my pc's external hard drive so I have two copies of anything important and irreplaceable.

I don't know if my Antec's failure is worth noting on the drive expansion thread - but I guess these things do fail.

Thanks again, Rich, for all your time and support.
Lynn.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lynnalexandra said:


> So I came back here to say - my hard drives and recordings are safe. <snip>


That's excellent news! Really glad to hear that. AFAIK that's the first report of an MX-1 failure.

Enjoy your "new" TiVo!


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

I can't believe I'm back here - without a full solution yet. _But I'm hopeful this will be simple._

DVR-Dude tried to copy the 2 married drives to a single 2TB internal drive - only to discover that the copy failed after 16 hours bc. the 2TB drive was not quite as large as the 2 married 1TB drives. There's a thread about upgrading to a 2TB drive on these forums - with plenty of discussion about how the size must be equal to or larger. And even a supposed 2TB drive can be slightly different in size than another 2TB drive (or combined 1TB drives). That seems to be the case - so no upgraded 2TB drive for me for now.

DVR-Dude will sent the tivo and external drive back. Which means I do have to replace the case. I already got the case we discussed above:

http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NST-360SU-BK-3-5-Inch-External-Enclosure/dp/B000EDKO04/ref=pd_cp_e_2

Can I use this for now - to get everything copied to my pc's external drive? Would this drive work for the long haul - or just briefly bc. there's no fan? Or should I wait and order another antec mx1? (I don't know if the enclosure is underwarranty after 20 months, but I'll check - and I doubt it).

I know Antec's are favorites here - but mine failed. Is there a better enclosure to get?

Thank you.
Lynn.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lynnalexandra said:


> I can't believe I'm back here - without a full solution yet. _But I'm hopeful this will be simple._
> 
> DVR-Dude tried to copy the 2 married drives to a single 2TB internal drive - only to discover that the copy failed after 16 hours bc. the 2TB drive was not quite as large as the 2 married 1TB drives. There's a thread about upgrading to a 2TB drive on these forums - with plenty of discussion about how the size must be equal to or larger. And even a supposed 2TB drive can be slightly different in size than another 2TB drive (or combined 1TB drives). That seems to be the case - so no upgraded 2TB drive for me for now.
> 
> ...


I don't see any reason that enclosure wouldn't work. The only issue with fanless drives of course is heat...the enemy of all hard drives. Since the drive is running 24/7 it's a concern, but "green" drives don't generate nearly as much heat as "normal" ones, so it all depends on where the drive is placed; if it has good ventilation and how well the enclosure itself dissipates heat.

I know you had a bad experience with the MX-1, but AFAIK yours is the first failure I've heard of over the years. IIRC a couple had the fans stop but Antec replaced the units under warranty. Mine has been flawless for about three years now but I get where you're coming from. According to Antec's website the MX-1 has a three-year warranty.

Sorry to hear that DVRDude wasn't able to save your recordings. I thought he was going to get both drives up and running, copy content off to a computer and then back to one drive? It sounds like he was trying to combine the data instead? IIRC no one has ever been able to combine internal and external drive content, no matter the size of the drives in question.

In any case, hope it all works out and that you're able to save your recordings!


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Thanks, Rich. I can be rational enough to go with Antec MX-1 again (thanks for the website link) - and know that my failure was rare.

I thought he was going to get both drives up and running, copy content off to a computer and then back to one drive? It sounds like he was trying to combine the data instead?

Thanks for making that distinction. I suppose if he copied it to a computer - he could then set up a new2TB drive and copy the data back to it. He may have taken his approach bc. I didn't want to lose my settings/cable card pairings - so he tried a direct copy - as opposed to starting with a fresh 2TB drive and transferring recordings back.

Hmmm? Now I"m thinking. If I sent him the original 160GB drive - he could use that to set up the 2TB drive. Then he'd have to transfer recordings to a pc - and back to the new 2TB drive. I think that would work - but it sure is a lot of time and work for him. Not sure he'd want to do that - but I can ask?

Or I can say we're all too busy for this - just get another Antec enclosure - put the external drive in it. Rehook up the Tivo - have a martini - and try to get over it. Then - in future months, I can consider upgrading the 2TB drive.

Thanks.
Lynn.

PS - now I"m curious what IIRC and AFAIK mean.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lynnalexandra said:


> Or I can say we're all too busy for this - just get another Antec enclosure - put the external drive in it. Rehook up the Tivo - have a martini - and try to get over it. Then - in future months, I can consider upgrading the 2TB drive.
> 
> Thanks.
> Lynn.
> ...


I think that's probably your best bet for now, absolutely (if you like vodka martinis that is  ). Nothing prevents you from moving (non-copy protected) recordings from your TiVo to a computer and then eventually back to an upgraded TiVo. KMTTG is a very easy to use program for such things and as I said before, upgrading to 2TB's would be a cake walk after what you've been through!

IIRC = If I recall correctly. AFAIK = As far as I know. More here.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Rich - always vodka for a martini.

I have Tivo Desktop - which allows me to transfer Tivo recordings (via wireless network) up to my computer. From there I run VideoReDo to cut commercials. Then from my Tivo, I can pull back a show whenever I want. The one problem with this method is that information about the recording is gone (chapters, that little paragraph about the show/movie). I don't know if there's a way to preserve those with the edited Tivo recordings?

What would kmmtg do for me that's different than the above? I looked at the link, but it's a bit much to absorb - if you have a 1 or 2 sentence summary of why I might want to use kmmtg?

Thank you.
Lynn.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

lynnalexandra said:


> What would kmmtg do for me that's different than the above? I looked at the link, but it's a bit much to absorb - if you have a 1 or 2 sentence summary of why I might want to use kmmtg?
> 
> Thank you.
> Lynn.


If TiVo Desktop is working for you that's fine. However if I had to put it into one sentence...KMTTG works better is more robust (lots of ways to save files) and more reliable than TiVo Desktop IMHO (in my humble opinion). Plus it has VideoRedo integration built in. (Okay, two sentences.) The authors have a comparison of the two programs here:

http://code.google.com/p/kmttg/wiki/kmttg_vs_Tivo_Desktop

There's also a whole TCF support thread here:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=387725

I also use VideoReDo to edit programs (although I do that less and less these days since our #%$&#! cableco, Frontier began slapping copy protection on everything except broadcast channels )...and it does drop some of the info and I'm not sure if you can preserve it or not...I kind of doubt it.

Anyway, have a read when you have nothing else to do ...might be worth a look.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

lynnalexandra said:


> The one problem with this method is that information about the recording is gone (chapters, that little paragraph about the show/movie). I don't know if there's a way to preserve those with the edited Tivo recordings?


Using VideoReDo, if you load a .tivo file, change the output to save as .tivo file, that should preserve the metadata.


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## lynnalexandra (Apr 27, 2009)

Thanks, Steve. I didn't know it was that simple. 

Rich - The copyrighting on the cable channels is enraging. For a while - earlier this year- a lot of my comcast channels were copyrighted. No multi-room viewing, no transferring to pc. Now for some reason, very few are coming with copy protection. Being cynical about Comcast, I can't imagine they responded to customer pressure to undo the copyright protection. Ridiculous things were being copyrighted - not just new movies, etc - but old movies and tv shows. 

Some day - when I have nothing else to do (or at least when I don't have quite as much to do), I will take a look at those threads. A simpler way to do this stuff is always useful. I just have to weigh the time-savings against the time up front to learn something new.

Thanks,
Lynn.


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