# I promise I have searched for this answer extensively before asking this question:)



## jettrocker (Mar 4, 2002)

This is the first post I've made (I think) in about 8 years, so please show me some patience and love 

I have a TiVo HD with the standard WD 160 GB drive inside. I so badly wanted to expand,that I bought several things that turned out to be unsupported (SATA drive with enclosure that only had USB output! Gawd, that was frustrating. Then, I bought a Toshiba 1TB sleek glossy black eSATA 1 TB drive, but it didn't have a eSATA cable, so I went BACK to Best Buy only to find that they do not even _SELL_ a eSATA cable. Only INTERNAL... You know, that Dynex model! I finally found a proper eSATA cable and got *both* of the drives connected to my laptop (I slipped the original TiVo drive into the self powered external case with the USB output I explained earlier) and connected it to the laptop and connected the future life saving HD show boosting Toshiba 1TB eSATA with the proper cable to the laptop as well via the eSATA port. I booted and the laptop recognized BOTH drives. I was so excited. I right-clicked and opened winmfs as Administrator and followed the instructions to "marry " the drives. Everything looked great. Both drives now were being seen as TiVo drives (I didn't do the lengthy Back-up of my original drive) I installed the 160GB back into the TiVo and connected the Toshiba 1TB eSATA and it gave me the message that that an external device wasn't recognized with the blue screen. OK, I was ready to just the configuration once more and this time, there was a GREEN screen that said I had to wait 3 hours to see what would happen. I waited over 3 hours, nothing happened, I unplugged the TiVo, reattached it to the laptop and went into winmfs.  At this point, I am almost comatose from the stress and the fact that this TiVo is my life blood. I accidentally clicked "Delete Format" on my ONLY TiVo HD Drive. Now, I have NO idea what to do. Is there a repository that hosts original factory TiVo files? Can I load the original TiVo HD factory files back onto my "formatted' drive? I don't understand a lot of the terminology used in the forum, but I'm catching on and can follow instructions (although photos help) I just thought to myself, there's GOT to be a place I can grab the original files I need and just load them onto the drive. I have a 1 TB Seagate SATA Barracuda drive that i bought thinking it would work. If this place with the magical TiVo factory model-specific files exists, could I possibly just load them onto the Seagate 1TB drive since I'm starting from square one anyway? What do I do? I still have the Toshiba eSATA external self-powered drive that says "TiVo formatted" when I check with WinMFS, but it doesn't do me any good, y'know?

I would appreciate any help I could get and certainly appreciate your time in reading this post  I can't boot at ALL now. It says "Powering up" only for a sec and then gray screen all around. NOTHING....The "Powering Up" is obviously in the RAM and not on the drive. PLEASE! I'm begging y'all and I know that someone is smart enough to know what to do or where I can get these factory-shipped TiVo Drive Images (Tivo HD - TCD652160, TiVo Ethernet connecting Series 2 TiVo (although I never use it because I can't view HD programs)

All My Best
DJ Mikey
404-939-5388


----------



## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

Hi Mikey. Do not panic. There is a solution. It's called Instant Cake. For $19.99 forum sponsor DVRUpgrade will sell you the TiVo image you're looking for along with instructions. Copy and paste this link into your web browser for more info:

http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/instantcake.cfm

You have a couple of choices. You can use IC to image your original TiVo hard drive and then use winMFS to marry it to the 1TB Toshiba eSATA drive. However I would recommend instead that you just upgrade the internal hard drive and be done with it. (You can either return the Toshiba drive or use it for something else). You could try using your 1TB Seagate hard drive. The only downside may be the noise level...some Seagate's can be very loud. Or you could buy a bare 1TB hard drive, ideally a Western Digital WD10EVVS. The Western Digital WD10EVVS is an AV/DVR drive tuned to be very quiet...slightly quieter than the TiVo OEM drive.

Once imaged with IC you can install your 1TB hard drive inside your TiVo and life will be good...with one less fail point. The Drive Expansion and Drive Upgrade FAQ has a list of online retailers where you can buy the WD10EVVS (Section V, #11):

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5616160#post5616160

As of this writing the WD10EVVS is only in stock at two places, Amazon and ProVantage. ProVantage has it for about $91.00, a very good deal.

http://www.provantage.com/western-digital-wd10evvs~7WNDG2NA.htm

You can use IC to image the new 1TB drive and be back in business in no time. The only downside is that you'll basically have a new TiVo. You'll have to run Guided Setup, re-enter your Season Passes, etc. You'll also need to contact your cable provider to have them re-pair your cable cards (unless you have FIOS). That usually means a truck roll, but hey, you'll basically have a new TiVo!

Enjoy!

BTW, there's no need to mess with font formatting when you post. 

P.S. I remember Joan Jett and the Runaways. "Cherry Bomb" kicked a**!

EDIT: I'm not sure if you can use Instant Cake with a laptop. You may have to find a friend with a PC.


----------



## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

I promise to read that if you take out the font tags.


----------



## chamelea (Feb 19, 2004)

richsadams said:


> . . . You can use IC to image the new 1TB drive and be back in business in no time. The only downside is that you'll basically have a new TiVo. You'll have to run Guided Setup, re-enter your Season Passes, etc. You'll also need to *contact your cable provider to have them re-pair your cable cards (unless you have FIOS). That usually means a truck roll*, but hey, you'll basically have a new TiVo! . . .
> 
> EDIT: I'm not sure if you can use Instant Cake with a laptop. You may have to find a friend with a PC.


@richsadams
Also planning my first-ever upgrade, with some similar issues. I'm just limping along on my Sony Sat-T60, hoping it doesn't die during football season. I don't have a PC, only laptop.


My DSR7000 is showing ONLY the GSOD, for WAY-longer than 3 hours 
_(purchased long-ago from eBay, already upgraded)_ 
I purchased the WD10EVVS from Amazon 
_(saw your suggestion elsewhere, last week)_.
Also purchased both the IDE-SATA adapter card and SATA-USB connector kit, from eBay.
I know I need IC 6.2a or IC 6.4a 
_(but which one, and why?)_
I know IC for the Series 2 understands only IDE, not USB. 
_(How strange~! ... prolly just because the S2 Cake is much older than for the S3?)_
I was _hoping_ that winMFS on my laptop would 'see' the new drive out on USB, then permit me to image the WD with the IC folder, plus some networking and hack goodies?
Kinda wondering how Zipper or PTVnet might integrate into this effort??
I would _very much appreciate_ any & all observations, precautions, warnings, etc ... TIA.
And finally, I've emboldened some comments you posted for the OP, prolly HD-related(?), which left me totally mystified?~!


----------



## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

chamelea said:


> @richsadams
> Also planning my first-ever upgrade, with some similar issues. I'm just limping along on my Sony Sat-T60, hoping it doesn't die during football season. I don't have a PC, only laptop.
> 
> 
> ...


Hmmm...can't speak to your particular model TiVo as I've never had anything but TiVo branded boxes. I've never upgraded using a laptop either but the instructions on the first post of the Drive Expansion and Drive Upgrade FAQ seem pretty straight forward and I know plenty of people have had success that way. Although the instructions are for HD TiVo's, AFAIK the same should apply for Series2's but I could be wrong.

With respect to the bold bits, Verizon FIOS simply doesn't pair their cable cards with TiVo as do all other cable companies. A few forward-thinking cable companies allow users to call in the three sets of numbers listed on the cable card screen to re-pair (re-initialize) the cable cards used in TiVo Series3's, HD's and HDXL's. A majority want a tech on site so the customer often ends up paying for one of their employees to come out and do the same thing. 

I'll leave it to others to address your technical questions as I wouldn't want to lead you astray...it's been quite a while since i worked on S1's and S2's. 

Happy upgrading!


----------



## chamelea (Feb 19, 2004)

My bad .... totally missed the fact that this isn't the D-TiVo forum.
No wonder I was confused. I'll check out the FAQ - Thanks.


----------

