# Tivo Bolt with Esata cable added



## mark1958

My sister has been on me ever since she saw bpunc's post with his external hard drive enclosure. ( e r e b o s . n e t » Blog Archive » TiVo Bolt Hard Disk Upgrade and Take Apart )
Well I finally got around to doing it and she was very pleased to say the least, I did order the cable that bpunc suggested and took it one step further and went and mounted the esata end of the cable into the rear of the Tivo.




























It took me about three hours of fiddling around with the dremal tool and a xacto knife and it was done, I also ordered up the DVRdaddy enclosure and the WD 3TB Green AV-rated (EURX) on the advice of ggieseke and some others.
The end result is a Bolt with 478 hr's of HD recording space, needless to say my sister is now a happy camper 

Just thought I would share my experience, and to anyone thinking of trying this mod take some advice, just take your time.

Parts:
http://www.amazon.com/DVRdaddy-Exte...coliid=II21WEK7DF23G&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl

Amazon.com: Western Digital 3 TB WD AV-GP SATA III Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM AV Hard Drive WD30EURX: Computers & Accessories

Addonics Product: eSATA Port for Panel Mount to Left Angle SATA Cable

Update: the quality of the DVRdaddy external enclosure is poor mine arrived DOA as well as many others, so I returned it and went with a Rosewill Armer RX304-APU3-35B that has worked flawlessly since instillation. So do yourself a favor and stay away from the headache of the DVRdaddy.

Link to the Rosewill Armer RX304-APU3-35B : Rosewill Armer RX304-APU3-35B - External 3.5" SATA III 6 Gb/s Hard Drive Enclosure - USB 3.0 & eSATA Connection, Aluminum Body, 80 mm Variable Speed Fan with On / Off Switch, LED Display Panel-Newegg.com

I thought I would update my post to show how to remove the cable card mechanism
as the question has come up.

First thing that must be done is to remove the two screws marked yellow, next is to loosen the two screws marked red as they don't come completely out of the mechanism.

















This shows the yellow screws removed and the red screws loosened.










Next you want to use the two red screws to assist you in removing the mechanism by pulling straight up on them away from the main board. ( be gentle with a slight rocking motion from left to right but make sure the screws are completely lose before trying to pull them away from the main board )

This picture shows the cable card mechanism coming away from the mainboard mating surface.










After removal it should look like this.










Hope this helps.


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## bpunc

mark1958 said:


> My sister has been on me ever since see saw bpunc's post with his external hard drive enclosure. ( http://www.erebos.net/2015/10/tivo-bolt-hard-disk-upgrade-and-take-apart/ )
> Well I finally got around to doing it and she was very pleased to say the least, I did order the cable that bpunc suggested and took it one step further and went and mounted the esata end of the cable into the rear of the Tivo.
> 
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> It took me about three hours of fiddling around with the dremal tool and a xacto knife and it was done, I also ordered up the DVRdaddy enclosure and the WD 3TB Green AV-rated (EURX) on the advice of ggieseke and some others.
> The end result is a Bolt with 478 hr's of HD recording space, needless to say my sister is now a happy camper
> 
> Just thought I would share my experience, and to anyone thinking of trying this mod take some advice, just take your time.
> 
> Parts:
> http://www.amazon.com/DVRdaddy-Exte...coliid=II21WEK7DF23G&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
> 
> http://www.addonics.com/products/aasa90l6i-e.php


That looks awesome....very clean...good job!!!!


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## Jerky

I am very tempted to do something like this, but modifying the case almost certainly voids the warranty. I was going to poke a hole through the back of the unit. But still thinking of the best way.


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## mark1958

bpunc said:


> That looks awesome....very clean...good job!!!!


Thank you bpunc for your post, and I should say my sister thanks you as well !


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## mark1958

Jerky said:


> I am very tempted to do something like this, but modifying the case almost certainly voids the warranty. I was going to poke a hole through the back of the unit. But still thinking of the best way.


It most certainly will void your warranty, the way my sister looked at it was see only has $ 200 in it and 1 year of service is $ 150 so she's really only out $ 50 dollars as long as it lasts a year, now if she had it with the All-in that would be a different story. but she does like the added space.

Edit:
when I had hers apart I looked hard for another way to route a cable with no luck without a hole or something witch would void the warranty. (less just leaving the cover off)


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## Jerky

mark1958 said:


> It most certainly will void your warranty, the way my sister looked at it was see only has $ 200 in it and 1 year of service is $ 150 so she's really only out $ 50 dollars as long as it lasts a year, now if she had it with the All-in that would be a different story. but she does like the added space.
> 
> Edit:
> when I had hers apart I looked hard for another way to route a cable with no luck without a hole or something witch would void the warranty. (less just leaving the cover off)


I was thinking about leaving the cover off but based on the design, leaving the cover off would do more thermal damage then good. I got a 3TB drive just sitting ready to be implemented. Just waiting to muster up the courage to do it.


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## mark1958

Jerky said:


> I was thinking about leaving the cover off but based on the design, leaving the cover off would do more thermal damage then good. I got a 3TB drive just sitting ready to be implemented. Just waiting to muster up the courage to do it.


It's not very hard at all I did completely remove the main board so the case was completely empty, and the steel plate is adhered to the back part of the plastic case with some double sided sticky tape, I took a box cutter and gingerly separated the too so I could use my dermal tool on the steel by it's self.


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## Jerky

mark1958 said:


> It's not very hard at all I did completely remove the main board so the case was completely empty, and the steel plate is adhered to the back part of the plastic case with some double sided sticky tape, I took a box cutter and gingerly separated the too so I could use my dermal tool on the steel by it's self.


Ehh I already purchased the rounded SATA cable, so I think I will just make the hole somewhere on the back and just be done with it. Very nice job by the way.


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## mark1958

Jerky said:


> I was thinking about leaving the cover off but based on the design, leaving the cover off would do more thermal damage then good.


When I was testing the unit I checked the ODT, and it was around 40C so I'm not sure there would be a thermal issue with the cover off, but I can think of many others.


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## mark1958

Jerky said:


> Ehh I already purchased the rounded SATA cable, so I think I will just make the hole somewhere on the back and just be done with it. Very nice job by the way.


I thought about going that route if your cable is anything like the one i seen on Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GUL2B6...olid=1RSUWGZVW1MPC&coliid=IM5GIOG5HDUMH&psc=1 ) you might want to pickup a Rt angle connector so you can route your cable without binding it, the sata end of that cable might be a tad high to clear the top of the case without stressing the main board sata connection just a thought. ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00480N5P0...TF8&colid=1RSUWGZVW1MPC&coliid=I16XAT5BQQVRU7 )

Edit: By the way thanks for the kudos!


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## aaronwt

Why is there plastic on the shell of the Bolt?

It doesn't quite look as good as the one on erebos.net.........................
Just kidding. The OPs looks miles better that what is shown at erebos


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## mark1958

aaronwt said:


> Why is there plastic on the shell of the Bolt?
> 
> It doesn't quite look as good as the one on erebos.net.........................
> Just kidding. The OPs looks miles better that what is shown at erebos


Why is there plastic on the shell and better yet why does it not lay flat, my guess is the world may never know! lol

But Thanks aaronwt


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## mark1958

Please do Not purchases one of the DVRdaddy 3.5 Inch SATA to USB and eSATA External Enclosures they are JUNK!!! , mine arrived and was doa, it is poorly made, the rail inside does not allow the drive to dock with the unit.
I have a 5 year old Rosewill (Rosewill RX-358 U3C BLK) the fan died about a year ago but still works. Believe the reviews on Amazon in regards to the DVRdaddy many doa units, just giving everyone a heads up.


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## primaryforce

mark1958, your advice is too late for me! My DVRDaddy from Amazon is being delivered today. I guess if I have any problems with this enclosure I will return it and order a Rosewill RX-358 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KGNXTE. My WD 6TB Red and the eSATA cable you suggested will be here by the end of the week so hopefully by this weekend I will be able to attempt your mod. Going to Home Depot to get some Dremel bits to cut the opening. Hopefully I have the screws laying around to mount the eSATA header.


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## mark1958

primaryforce said:


> mark1958, your advice is too late for me! My DVRDaddy from Amazon is being delivered today. I guess if I have any problems with this enclosure I will return it and order a Rosewill RX-358 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KGNXTE. My WD 6TB Red and the eSATA cable you suggested will be here by the end of the week so hopefully by this weekend I will be able to attempt your mod. Going to Home Depot to get some Dremel bits to cut the opening. Hopefully I have the screws laying around to mount the eSATA header.


The screws and nuts came with my cable, and just for the record the DVRDaddy
was suggested by some one else in bpunc's thread, ended up ordering a Rosewill Armer RX304-APU3-35B that looked perty good and had decent reviews it should be here Friday and I'll report back on the quality and performance. 
link: ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182316 )


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## tranman329

once installed, is the procedure to install 3.5 hd the same as 2.5hd. is the 3.5hd being powered externally as well? any recommendation on hd?


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## mark1958

tranman329 said:


> once installed, is the procedure to install 3.5 hd the same as 2.5hd. is the 3.5hd being powered externally as well? any recommendation on hd?


 Yes the external enclosure has its own power supply, and yes it's the same procedure for a 3 1/2 inch drive or 2 1/2 some enclosures will do both size drive you just have to check.

Edit: From my experience with HD's it's hard to beat a 3 1/2 inch drive for longevity, I have had to many 2 1/2 inch drives die to soon as compared to the 3 1/2 inch drives, and As far as enclosures go whatever you get make sure it has some sort of cooling. 😃


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## primaryforce

mark1958 - I now have all the pieces and parts for making this mod to my Bolt. I appreciate it taking you 3 hours to make the case modifications. Looking at the pictures it appears you made a "notch" in the metal chassis and cut a rectangular opening in the back plastic panel. I am thinking that a dremel 426 cutting wheel would work in making the notch in the metal and an X-acto knife in the plastic after drilling holes for the eSATA header screws. Any additional suggestions other than patience in making these mods?


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## mark1958

primaryforce said:


> mark1958 - I now have all the pieces and parts for making this mod to my Bolt. I appreciate it taking you 3 hours to make the case modifications. Looking at the pictures it appears you made a "notch" in the metal chassis and cut a rectangular opening in the back plastic panel. I am thinking that a dremel 426 cutting wheel would work in making the notch in the metal and an X-acto knife in the plastic after drilling holes for the eSATA header screws. Any additional suggestions other than patience in making these mods?


You are exactly right I notched the steel piece and then drilled a couple of holes in the plastic portion and used a x-acto knife to cut the rectangle.
Were you able to remove the board?

Because I forgot to add you must remove the cable card receptacle, there are four screws holding it in and it takes a little finesse to remove it from the under side of the case.


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## primaryforce

I have only done the internal 2.5 hard drive mod with a 2.5 4TB internal drive which resulted in frequent reboots. My Bolt is now back to the original 500 GB so I have not started on your eSATA mod. Thanks for the tip on removing the cable card holder. Any other suggestions to remove the main board or other parts? I obviously don't want anything to get damaged when I am grinding or cutting away at the metal and plastic case.


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## mark1958

primaryforce said:


> I have only done the internal 2.5 hard drive mod with a 2.5 4TB internal drive which resulted in frequent reboots. My Bolt is now back to the original 500 GB so I have not started on your eSATA mod. Thanks for the tip on removing the cable card holder. Any other suggestions to remove the main board or other parts? I obviously don't want anything to get damaged when I am grinding or cutting away at the metal and plastic case.


I don't think you have to completely remove the cable card screws all the way, if I remember right they just stuck up from the board and stayed there and the the card receptacle can be removed.

I did receive my sisters external enclosure yesterday and I must say I like the lcd display on the front with temp fan speed and more, I will try to post some pic's later today or tomorrow just take your time. I will pm you later with my phone number in case you have any questions you can give me a call being your a Michigander too.


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## Wexlerbob

I feel like I came in in the middle of the conversation on the seats mod.
Why can't you just use the stock easta port instead of adding a new one?
I was expecting to add significant HD space to my 2 new Bolts but I still have to clean up the initial Install and cabling.
I almost fell like I am back in kindergarten.


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## primaryforce

The stock eSATA port on the Bolt is only compatible with Tivo authorized DVR expander external drives. They are currently only available in 500GB and 1TB versions. What "mark1958" demonstrated in his original post was a great method to relocate the primary internal SATA drive connector to an external eSATA connector. This enables the substitution of the stock Tivo Bolt 500GB or 1TB internal drive with a much larger capacity external hard drive. Using his "mod" yesterday, I replaced my stock 500GB with 80 HD hours of recording space with a 6TB WD Red drive that has resulted in 961 HD hours of recording space. My total investment was about $250 for the drive, adapter cable, and external eSATA drive housing, but I have gained over 10 times the original recording time of the stock 500 GB Tivo Bolt. I am a verly satisfied supporter of this "mod".:up:


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## tarheelblue32

Alternatively, you can ship your Bolt to Weeknees and they can use their magic to hack the esata port so it will accept a bigger drive. The advantage of letting them do it is that since they are an authorized TiVo dealer I don't think it will void the warranty.

http://www.weeknees.com/tivo-bolt-tcd849000.php


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## primaryforce

While I got this "mod" working great over the weekend, this morning when I forced the Tivo software update to 20.6.1.RC4 the party ended. The new firmware is apparently not compatible with this hard drive upgrade. I wonder if others have had similar experiences?


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## pkerr

"The end result is a Bolt with 478 hr's of HD recording space, needless to say my sister is now a happy camper ..."

478 hours? Almost 20 days of non-stop watching? WOW.


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## mark1958

primaryforce said:


> While I got this "mod" working great over the weekend, this morning when I forced the Tivo software update to 20.6.1.RC4 the party ended. The new firmware is apparently not compatible with this hard drive upgrade. I wonder if others have had similar experiences?


Called my sister and hers is running great @ 20.6.1.RC4-USC-11 with 478hr HD.
You might want to check your setup, let me know what you find out


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## mark1958

tarheelblue32 said:


> Alternatively, you can ship your Bolt to Weeknees and they can use their magic to hack the esata port so it will accept a bigger drive. The advantage of letting them do it is that since they are an authorized TiVo dealer I don't think it will void the warranty.
> 
> http://www.weeknees.com/tivo-bolt-tcd849000.php


That is correct but to even get close to 478hr it would cost 399.99 plus shipping, which in my opinion is way over priced and this mod cost around 180.00 and as I stated in post #5

("It most certainly will void your warranty, the way my sister looked at it was she only has $ 200 in it and 1 year of service is $ 150 so she's really only out $ 50 dollars as long as it lasts a year, now if she had it with the All-in that would be a different story. but she does like the added space.")

She is very happy with the mod so I guess that all that matters.


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## mark1958

pkerr said:


> "The end result is a Bolt with 478 hr's of HD recording space, needless to say my sister is now a happy camper ..."
> 
> 478 hours? Almost 20 days of non-stop watching? WOW.


That wasn't her exact words (WOW) but, I can't go there in this forum.


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## tarheelblue32

mark1958 said:


> That is correct but to even get close to 478hr it would cost 399.99 plus shipping, which in my opinion is way over priced and this mod cost around 180.00 and as I stated in post #5


Yeah the 4TB external drive mod for $400 on Weeknees is pricy for what you get, but the 6TB for $450 is more reasonable.


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## mark1958

tarheelblue32 said:


> Yeah the 4TB external drive mod for $400 on Weeknees is pricy for what you get, but the 6TB for $450 is more reasonable.


I have to agree that's a little better, what gets my goat is that they can mod a Tivo but if you or I do it our warranty is void, That's just like Apple telling you that they have to perform repairs to your phone or its useless and we know were that ended in a class action law suit, to bad there aren't as many Tivo users as there are Iphone users, if there were we might have a voice!


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## lew

mark1958 said:


> I have to agree that's a little better, what gets my goat is that they can mod a Tivo but if you or I do it our warranty is void, That's just like Apple telling you that they have to perform repairs to your phone or its useless and we know were that ended in a class action law suit, to bad there aren't as many Tivo users as there are Iphone users, if there were we might have a voice!


Weakness isn't owned by tivo. Your tivo warranty is voided when weakness upgrades your tivo. Weakness provides the warranty to their customers.


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## primaryforce

My problem implementing the modification originated in this thread was the result of a defective DVRDaddy eSATA case. After replacing that unit with the one recommended by mark1958 I was back up and running with 961 hours of HD recording space. My total investment to upgrade from the 500GB stock drive to a WD 6TB Red was $251 ($205 hard drive, $35 eSATA case, and $11 for SATA to eSATA jumper) plus a couple of hours fun time making the modifications.


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## mark1958

primaryforce said:


> My problem implementing the modification originated in this thread was the result of a defective DVRDaddy eSATA case. After replacing that unit with the one recommended by mark1958 I was back up and running with 961 hours of HD recording space. My total investment to upgrade from the 500GB stock drive to a WD 6TB Red was $251 ($205 hard drive, $35 eSATA case, and $11 for SATA to eSATA jumper) plus a couple of hours fun time making the modifications.


Glad to hear you got it figured out, as I told you on the tx in my opinion the Dvrdaddy cases are poorly made at least yours worked for a while mine arrived DOA, there were many bad reviews on Amazon.
Hopefully any one thinking of trying this mod will stay away from that case. 
This external case worked well for my sister.
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182316


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## Mendezbp1212

mark1958 said:


> My sister has been on me ever since see saw bpunc's post with his external hard drive enclosure. ( http://www.erebos.net/2015/10/tivo-bolt-hard-disk-upgrade-and-take-apart/ )
> Well I finally got around to doing it and she was very pleased to say the least, I did order the cable that bpunc suggested and took it one step further and went and mounted the esata end of the cable into the rear of the Tivo.
> 
> 
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> 
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> 
> 
> 
> It took me about three hours of fiddling around with the dremal tool and a xacto knife and it was done, I also ordered up the DVRdaddy enclosure and the WD 3TB Green AV-rated (EURX) on the advice of ggieseke and some others.
> The end result is a Bolt with 478 hr's of HD recording space, needless to say my sister is now a happy camper
> 
> Just thought I would share my experience, and to anyone thinking of trying this mod take some advice, just take your time.
> 
> Parts:
> http://www.amazon.com/DVRdaddy-Exte...coliid=II21WEK7DF23G&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
> 
> http://www.addonics.com/products/aasa90l6i-e.php


Would the WD40EURX work?


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## mark1958

Mendezbp1212 said:


> Would the WD40EURX work?


Yes but you will have to use mfs tools because it is over 3tb, if you want to use all 4tb take a look in the upgrade section for more info.

Link: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=25


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## sheshechic

Is it not possible to remove the external storage port and place the new one there ?


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## mark1958

sheshechic said:


> Is it not possible to remove the external storage port and place the new one there ?


 A very skilled technician maybe and that's a big maybe, you'd be better off trying the method that I used 😃


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## tivonew2016

Does the Bolt see the new drive as the main drive or as an external or extended drive?


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## primaryforce

Since this "mod" connects the drive to the internal SATA port, this will become the "main" drive.


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## aaronwt

primaryforce said:


> Since this "mod" connects the drive to the internal SATA port, this will become the "main" drive.


I'm considering doing this for the Bolt+. What is the largest size drive that can currently be used?


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## ggieseke

aaronwt said:


> I'm considering doing this for the Bolt+. What is the largest size drive that can currently be used?


8TB for Roamios or Bolts with MFSR 1.0.0.4, or 4TB using MFSTools 3.2.

The Bolt+ should be the same, but your guess is as good as mine.


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## fyodor

This is ingenious, but what's the usage case for this vs. replacing the drive? Is it just that people have extra 3.5 inch drives laying around that they want to be able to use?


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## OmeneX

fyodor said:


> This is ingenious, but what's the usage case for this vs. replacing the drive? Is it just that people have extra 3.5 inch drives laying around that they want to be able to use?


3.5 are considered more reliable. Less expensive. Come in larger Terabyte sizes. Great selection of HDD types (A/V, NAS, Green). Easier accessibility for later HDD swapping or replacement/repair. Better heat management..etc. And yeah I'm sure people have more of those laying around.

I myself use a 2.5 internal. 

Though, I must say again, Mark did a bang up job here in the OP with a 3.5 mod! Kudos.


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## cyclone23

Just out of curiosity, has anyone tried disconnecting the internal drive and then attaching a new drive to the external ESATA port? Would the Bolt still see it as an external device and not install it?


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## wnysteel

quick question....if i do this mod, i would lose all my existing recordings on the hard drive that is replaced. could i image the internal (factory) Tivo-provided hard drive onto the replacement, using a tool like Clonezilla?

or are there other (better) options to save your recordings and one-pass info?


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## Dan203

How does the TiVo react if the power to the drive is lost but not the power to the TiVo? Not sure if that's a scenario the software is designed to handle or not.


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## ggieseke

wnysteel said:


> quick question....if i do this mod, i would lose all my existing recordings on the hard drive that is replaced. could i image the internal (factory) Tivo-provided hard drive onto the replacement, using a tool like Clonezilla?
> 
> or are there other (better) options to save your recordings and one-pass info?


At this time, MFSTools 3.2 is the only way to copy your drive to a larger drive (up to 4TB) and preserve your recordings and settings. Using a byte-for-byte copy program or even a duplicating dock will work, but the TiVo won't see the additional space.


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## OmeneX

Dan203 said:


> How does the TiVo react if the power to the drive is lost but not the power to the TiVo? Not sure if that's a scenario the software is designed to handle or not.


Wonder if anyone will take one for the team, and try it? NOT saying to do it or otherwise encourage it, you tough guy you out there whoever you are. 

_"This message/idea/suggestion is not endorsed or even recommended by anyone, or anything, anytime, anywhere. No responsible parties. Dueces!"_


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## atmuscarella

Dan203 said:


> How does the TiVo react if the power to the drive is lost but not the power to the TiVo? Not sure if that's a scenario the software is designed to handle or not.


I would assume it would react the same why they do if your drive dies.


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## Dan203

atmuscarella said:


> I would assume it would react the same why they do if your drive dies.


I'm not sure how they react to that either. In the old days everything ran off the drive, so if it died the OS would likely crash. Current TiVos only use the drive for video storage, with the OS running from internal flash RAM so I'm not sure if the OS would crash or not if the drive suddenly died.


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## tivonew2016

Hi Mark,
Is there any reason you did not take out the original HDD? Is that because of WIFI antenna or some other reasons?


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## mark1958

tivonew2016 said:


> Hi Mark,
> Is there any reason you did not take out the original HDD? Is that because of WIFI antenna or some other reasons?


When I took the pictures I was still doing some testing of the external drive, I did remove the drive before reassembling the Bolt


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## JCN

mark1958 said:


> When I took the pictures I was still doing some testing of the external drive, I did remove the drive before reassembling the Bolt


That's a nice install,great job. For others its real easy to leave everything in place and run the sata cable out the hard drive cover leaving the main cover in place. Which leaves the main board protected and simpler to turn in with no sign of tamper. I disconnected the power to the internal hard drive.


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## HarperVision

ggieseke said:


> At this time, MFSTools 3.2 is the only way to copy your drive to a larger drive (up to 4TB) and preserve your recordings and settings. Using a byte-for-byte copy program or even a duplicating dock will work, but the TiVo won't see the additional space.


So I could potentially take my 3TB 2.5" HDD out of my Bolt+ and copy it over to a 3.5" 3TB HDD and preserve all the recordings and settings?


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## mark1958

JCN said:


> That's a nice install,great job. For others its real easy to leave everything in place and run the sata cable out the hard drive cover leaving the main cover in place. Which leaves the main board protected and simpler to turn in with no sign of tamper. I disconnected the power to the internal hard drive.


You are correct, but my sister did not want to leave the cover off.
She also only paid $200.00 for the unit with one free year subscription which equals $150.00 so if it were to die she's only out $50.00.
And from my experience with Tivo's 99% of the time the only issues you will have is a HD failure or with the older unit's the capacitor failure.

I did see your mod and looks good.


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## mark1958

HarperVision said:


> So I could potentially take my 3TB 2.5" HDD out of my Bolt+ and copy it over to a 3.5" 3TB HDD and preserve all the recordings and settings?


Its actually easier than that there are programs that will send all your recorded programs to your computer without the removal of you drive, as far as your season pass's they are all saved in your account.


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## HarperVision

mark1958 said:


> Its actually easier than that there are programs that will send all your recorded programs to your computer without the removal of you drive, as far as your season pass's they are all saved in your account.


I have KMTTG and have used it for years. That's not what I'm talking about. I have Time Warner which copy protects the snot out of every channel they offer except the local network channels, so I am VERY limited on what I can transfer using KMTTG or TiVo Desktop. I did use KMTTG to copy and transfer OnePasses to the new Bolt+.

This is why I asked if I can clone the drive, so as far as the TiVo knows it's the same drive and preserves the copy protected programs.


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## JCN

mark1958 said:


> You are correct, but my sister did not want to leave the cover off.
> She also only paid $200.00 for the unit with one free year subscription which equals $150.00 so if it were to die she's only out $50.00.
> And from my experience with Tivo's 99% of the time the only issues you will have is a HD failure or with the older unit's the capacitor failure.
> 
> I did see your mod and looks good.


Absolutely understand, different mods for different environments. Actually that picture is from another member. Same exact setup. Just was easier to use that picture in my original post.


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## mark1958

JCN said:


> Absolutely understand, different mods for different environments. Actually that picture is from another member. Same exact setup. Just was easier to use that picture in my original post.


My bad, thought it was your mod, I stand corrected just thought I would post the pic so other members could more easily follow and understand the differences.


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## mark1958

HarperVision said:


> I have KMTTG and have used it for years. That's not what I'm talking about. I have Time Warner which copy protects the snot out of every channel they offer except the local network channels, so I am VERY limited on what I can transfer using KMTTG or TiVo Desktop. I did use KMTTG to copy and transfer OnePasses to the new Bolt+.
> 
> This is why I asked if I can clone the drive, so as far as the TiVo knows it's the same drive and preserves the copy protected programs.


I have never tried to clone a drive like that so I'm not sure, but maybe someone will chime in that does.


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## JCN

mark1958 said:


> My bad, thought it was your mod, I stand corrected just thought I would post the pic so other members could more easily follow and understand the differences.


Yea, the pictures worth a thousand words.


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## ggieseke

Cloning a 3TB to a 3TB would be easy. You could use MFSTools 3.2, a cloning dock, any Linux with dd, etc. As long as it's a byte-for-byte copy your TiVo shouldn't even notice.


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## jeneric

Thanks! Mark1958, this thread was my bible.

I used this Male cable instead of the Addonics one to get $3 shipping.










For other newbies like me, it did run me through setup again. I had offloaded shows and backed up season passes with KMTTG. Now I'm transferring shows back with pyTivo. I don't think cloning the old drive works for the Bolt. It also seems I need to pull the shows back to the Bolt and can't push them from pyTivo.

For TiVo, how about adding "proprietary" or something everywhere you advertise an eSATA port. Otherwise people like me wonder what idiots are getting units over 500G. Maybe the same idiots who get large soft drinks when there are free refills? Turns out I'm the idiot.


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## mark1958

jeneric said:


> Thanks! Mark1958, this thread was my bible.
> 
> I used this Male cable instead of the Addonics one to get $3 shipping.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> For other newbies like me, it did run me through setup again. I had offloaded shows and backed up season passes with KMTTG. Now I'm transferring shows back with pyTivo. I don't think cloning the old drive works for the Bolt. It also seems I need to pull the shows back to the Bolt and can't push them from pyTivo.
> 
> For TiVo, how about adding "proprietary" or something everywhere you advertise an eSATA port. Otherwise people like me wonder what idiots are getting units over 500G. Maybe the same idiots who get large soft drinks when there are free refills? Turns out I'm the idiot.


Glad it helped jeneric, that was the reason for my post to help folks that wanted to mod their Bolt.
Looks like you did a nice job.


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## jlcoss

mark1958 said:


> Because I forgot to add you must remove the cable card receptacle, there are four screws holding it in and it takes a little finesse to remove it from the under side of the case.


I am working on removing the motherboard. Can you provide more info on removing the cable card receptacle? I have the four screws removed, but I'm not sure how to disconnect it from the board. I seem to be lacking the finesse at the moment.


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## mark1958

jlcoss said:


> I am working on removing the motherboard. Can you provide more info on removing the cable card receptacle? I have the four screws removed, but I'm not sure how to disconnect it from the board. I seem to be lacking the finesse at the moment.


If I'm not mistaken once you remove the screws it just pulls out from the board, it did take a little finesse as you don't want to break the connector just take your time. I think i use a really small flat head screwdriver and just worked it back and forth until it came unplugged, hope this helps.


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## jlcoss

mark1958 said:


> If I'm not mistaken once you remove the screws it just pulls out from the board, it did take a little finesse as you don't want to break the connector just take your time. I think i use a really small flat head screwdriver and just worked it back and forth until it came unplugged, hope this helps.


Thanks, your reply gave me confidence to pull straight back on the corners using needle-nose pliers, and that did the trick!


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## sprout703

I just received my 500GB Bolt with Lifetime sub, I want to attach a WD 3TB hard drive to the internal SATA connection. My issue is which Western Digital drive is best for this application? (Red,Blue,Black, Green or Purple)


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## atmuscarella

sprout703 said:


> I just received my 500GB Bolt with Lifetime sub, I want to attach a WD 3TB hard drive to the internal SATA connection. My issue is which Western Digital drive is best for this application? (Red,Blue,Black, Green or Purple)


Are you taking about an external 3.5 inch drive connected to the internal SATA connection? If so people like the Red 3.5 inch drives, the Green have been discontinued but if you find existing ones they seemed to be fine (I put a 3TB green in my Roamio 1.5 years ago), the old purple where not recommend but the new purple (the Surveillance drives with a 3 year warranty) are new enough so I don't remember anyone commenting on them yet, but they should be ok, and there is no reason to go with any 7200 RPM drive like the Black series.


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## mark1958

I updated my #1 post with pic's of how to remove the cable card mechanism.
Hope this helps.


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## jlin

All of the pictures on the initial posts are gone. Can you re-up?


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## CaseyJ

jlin said:


> All of the pictures on the initial posts are gone. Can you re-up?


There have been at least 2 reports that 20.7.2 software and this mod have resulted in a non functional Bolt. It appears that replacing the esata cables with a single sata from the motherboard to the drive fixes it. 
Latest Software Update Broke my Hard eSATA Drive Hack on Bolt


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## ClearToLand

jlin said:


> All of the pictures on the initial posts are gone. Can you re-up?


PhotoBucket no longer hosts images to 3rd party sites from *FREE* accounts. $$$

That image in Post #1 is probably being re-displayed thousands upon thousands of times today on web sites all over the internet...


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## shwru980r

CaseyJ said:


> There have been at least 2 reports that 20.7.2 software and this mod have resulted in a non functional Bolt. It appears that replacing the esata cables with a single sata from the motherboard to the drive fixes it.
> Latest Software Update Broke my Hard eSATA Drive Hack on Bolt


How did that cause the failure?


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## CaseyJ

shwru980r said:


> How did that cause the failure?


The best guess is the latest software isn't compatible with the esata ccard in the external enclosure. So far it seems to affect drives larger than 3TB.

Latest Software Update Broke my Hard eSATA Drive Hack on Bolt


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