# WD External Hard Drive issue



## harric (Apr 5, 2010)

After the software update, my premiere can no longer communicate with my WD external hard drive. I get the message stating Tivo cannot find it. I must attach it or remove it. After 10+ reboots of the Tivo premiere and the WD hard drive, no luck. Any suggestions?


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## L David Matheny (Jan 29, 2011)

harric said:


> After the software update, my premiere can no longer communicate with my WD external hard drive. I get the message stating Tivo cannot find it. I must attach it or remove it. After 10+ reboots of the Tivo premiere and the WD hard drive, no luck. Any suggestions?


I've never used an external drive with my TiVo, but eSATA isn't a particularly robust technology, so try disconnecting and reconnecting (with power off), and try a different eSATA cable. It's hard to imagine how the software update could have anything to do with your problem.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

There are allot of failure points with an external drive. Any of the following could be the problem:
eSata port on your TiVo
eSata Cable
eSate Port on external hard drive
varous other parts of the enclosure like the power supply etc.
The actual hard drive in the enclosure
I have used 2 enclosures both had problems with the cables. I would unplug everything (power to TiVo, power to the enclosure, & both ends of the eSata cable) then plug back in the eSata cables, then the power to the enclosure, then the power to your TiVo.

Good Luck,


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

the brand new, out of the box, 2012 manufactured WD extender i just installed came with the "wrong" cable for tivo.

Luckily i remembered that there are (at least) 2 different esata plugs and that tivo only likes one. So i dug around and found the "right" cable and was on my way.

But if your's did work previously it would seem it could work in the tivo. If you happen to have another cable then it's worth trying for sure (particularly if the plugs are slightly longer then the cable you have- as TiVo requires the longer plugs).


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

harric: I would be suspect of the eSata cable both of mine caused problems on reboot until finally they had to be replaced. Good post/thread about it here:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8265051#post8265051

This is the one I purchased. The new cable worked with the first reboot and I have had no issues since:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BRQU0Q/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00


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## ComputerLover (Apr 5, 2012)

my wd external 500gbhd throw away to trash.. cause my tivo premiere's freeze problem often... after wd external without .... premiere's go back normal and record normal no problem now..


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## arizon (Apr 16, 2010)

I have had a similar problem for quite a while. I have found that performing the following during a reboot *consistently* works for me (in other words, I don't get a complaint about not finding the external drive):

1) Turn the Tivo off by unplugging it
2) Disconnect the eSATA cable to the external drive from the Tivo
3) Power up the Tivo
4) Wait for the orange light on the front panel to start flashing (not sure what part of the boot cycle that signifies)
5) Connect the eSATA cable

Notes:
a) You know it worked because the detection failure occurs about 8 seconds after the orange light starts to flash
b) I do not know why this works. I discovered it by trial and error after many failed reboot attempts
c) This is using the cable that came with the drive, I have not tried to purchase the better cable as discussed above.


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