# Upgrading internal hard drive



## kturcotte (Dec 9, 2002)

I'm thinking about uograding the internal hard drive in my Roamio Basic. Is it really just as simple as popping the case, removing the old drive, and inserting the new one? I upgraded the drive in my Premiere, and done various computer uogrades, so stuff like this isn't a problem, but I don't currently have a computer, just my smartphone (Obviously I couldn't upgrade a Premiere lol), so if it does require a computer, I'm out of luck.
If that's all that's required (I realize I'm going to start from scratch regarding settings, season passes, recordings, everything), what model hard drives are recommended? I see Red NAS drives from Western Digital that aren't much more than regular drives. Are those worth it? And how many hours of recording time (About) would I get for 1TB? 2 TBs? Keep in mind I'm recording OTA?


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

Yes, there isn't much to it with the Roamio's. However, you should check out the Upgrade Center forum ( http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=25 ) for more info on what model you should get.


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

Roamio is the first series without the need of a PC to upgrade and it can handle up to a 3 TB. Most recommend a GP-AV since its made for 24/7 use. However, you could void the warranty just by opening the case.


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## kturcotte (Dec 9, 2002)

I'm not really worried about the warranty lol The most likely things to go are the hard drive and PSU. PSU is actually pretty much outside on the base model, right? Green drive over the Red drives?


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## DougJohnson (Dec 12, 2006)

kturcotte said:


> I'm not really worried about the warranty lol The most likely things to go are the hard drive and PSU. PSU is actually pretty much outside on the base model, right? Green drive over the Red drives?


I was all set to tell you "green". But checking the datasheets for 3TB drives:

(green) http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-771438.pdf

(red) http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-800002.pdf

shows a 1,000,000 hour MTBF for red and don't give a figure for the green. The red has a 3 year warranty and the green 2.

Amazon shows the red for $122 and the green for $109.

So, now I say "red".

-- Doug


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

DougJohnson said:


> I was all set to tell you "green". But checking the datasheets for 3TB drives:
> 
> (green) http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-771438.pdf
> 
> ...


I have been using the 3Tb Red WD drive for about 6 months, no problems so far.


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## Chuckmeister (May 13, 2008)

When I upgraded my Roamio basic I went with a WD Red 3tb drive, it was on sale at Fry's for $109, no problems whatsoever.
I now have 470 hrs of recording space in HD on the Roamio, since your OTA only it gives you the ability to season record series to watch later and not worry about running low on space or managing space.


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## jmbach (Jan 1, 2009)

If you had a computer you could upgrade to a 4TB drive. The computer needs to do some pre-formatting of the drive for the Roamio to use it. Otherwise it goes into a format loop.


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## Heretic (Jun 18, 2014)

I did a 4TB upgrade with the method jmbach mentioned to a Roamio Basic. Pretty easy actually.


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