# Tivo restarted after 498 days :(



## Nimbus (May 29, 2004)

Well, the topic says it all really....

My tivo has been happily running for 498 days, with a cachecard, tivoweb and dailymail, but it restarted on Saturday night, 

It also seems to have hung and not recorded anything since then, although it sent out its dailymails.

I powercycled the unit when I got home last night and now all seems well, but..

Are there any logs I can check to find out why or what happened ?

Although I guess if it lasts another 490+ days I can live with it


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## Nimbus (May 29, 2004)

Well... 
I did get well over the 490 trouble free days with my Tivo, until it restarted again 

Actually, it's been working perfectly on 2 upgraded 160Gig disks, since 2005. There had been a handful of restarts along the way, but other than that its been the most reliable piece of consumer electronics I've ever owned 

However, dailymail stopped working ages ago, and now in the past few weeks, its started to 'lock up' every now and then, sometimes on its own, sometimes when I'm changing channel, sometimes when I'm fast forwarding.. 
A restart seems to fix this, but obviously, its not ideal.. 
Especially if I've been away all week when it locked up...!!

The picture also goes jerky every now and then fora few seconds, when I'm watching live tv..

Soo.. this sounds to me like my HDs are dieing ? Or is it possibly the psu or something else ?

What do people think ?

If it is the HDs, then that's not bad, nearly 4 years continuous use..

But if I'm going to change them, what is the general consensus on replacement drives ?


Do I got for a big, ~400gb single PATA IDE drive, or are there better SATA drives now ? Or is it even worth getting a couple of drives in, and pushing myself out to the 1Tb limit ? Although there doesn't seem that much point, now Tivo doesn't record suggestions anymore...

If I go SATA, can I use any, as long as I get a convertor ? 
I'm thinking I've now got a 'spare' 300Gb SATA drive, as I've just upgraded my NAS to 2*5OOGb..

If I go for a 'bigger' drive, will I still be able to retain my old recordings, and hacks, cachecard drivers etc.. Or am I looking at a total re-install ?

Still, amazed my Tivo has lasted this long, and still going strong !

Long live Tivo  :up:


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

Most likely hard drives dieing


Nimbus said:


> Do I got for a big, ~400gb single PATA IDE drive, or are there better SATA drives now ? Or is it even worth getting a couple of drives in, and pushing myself out to the 1Tb limit ? Although there doesn't seem that much point, now *Tivo doesn't record suggestions anymore*...


Check my sig for how to bring suggestions back 

As for a couple of drives, a single drive config is best nowadays IMO. Double drive = half reliability.

1TB SATA drives are available now with various people using them.


> If I go SATA, can I use any, as long as I get a convertor ?


Yes, they work without issue generally.


> If I go for a 'bigger' drive, will I still be able to retain my old recordings, and hacks, cachecard drivers etc.. Or am I looking at a total re-install ?


Possibly keep everything..depends on how many times you have upgraded before.
Things become easier if you are prepared to lose recordings though...


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## Nimbus (May 29, 2004)

Ohh, so suggestions can be got running again then.. cool 

So looks like reusing my 300Gb sata drive is a good option then.

I could live with losing my recordings, if it makes life easier.

Is there a recommended sata->IDE convertor to buy, before I go hunting on 'the bay' ?

ps, thanks for the advice, good to see this forum still going strong after all these years


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## verses (Nov 6, 2002)

There was some discussion recently about SATA adapters in this thread, several incorrect ones were bought before the right one was found (in this post I think).

Cheers,

Ian


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## Nimbus (May 29, 2004)

Thanks Guys 

ordered the converter from hong kong ! cheap tho...

So while I await its arrival, I guess I better dust off my old 'hinsdale' guides


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