# Is it possible to recover shows from a Tivo Series2 with a dead hard drive???



## lorianno (Jun 8, 2007)

Tivo is sending me a new machine in exchange for the old one but I am hoping to somehow recover the shows from my old unit. Is this possible? Please help!

Thank you!


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## IminMs (Sep 10, 2006)

Most likely not.


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## HomeUser (Jan 12, 2003)

If you can get the TiVo to boot one more time, use TiVo Desktop and transfer the recording from the TiVo to a PC. Or there is Multi Room Viewing that can transfer the recordings to another TiVo. both require a network connection.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

I've heard about people having success using SpinRite on their TiVo drives. That (or some other OS-agnostic diagnostic software) might help you get it booted again so you can transfer the shows off as suggested above.


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## jhatfield (Dec 3, 2003)

I'll vouch for SpinRite. I've recovered non-bootable tivo drives AT LEAST 6 times using spinrite. Sometimes repeatedly on the same drive (after an additional 6-18 months of use). It's the first tool I turn to, and usually the only one I need. 

As I'm sure you know, Tivo continually reads and writes to the drive 24/7. That's a lot of wear and tear. Before drive completely wears out and is no longer usable for anything other that a paperweight, the file system will "fail" several times. That usually means a couple sectors on the drive have unreadable data in them. I've recovered all these using spinrite. I'm running one tivo right now with a drive that's "failed" probably three times. In fact, the SMART info says the drive is aged and failing! If I had never checked the smart data using tivoweb, I'd never have known it. It operates fine.


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## lorianno (Jun 8, 2007)

would it be possible for you to give me a quick walkthru on how i would use spinrite please?? i would greatly appreciate it.

thank you!


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## HomeUser (Jan 12, 2003)

lorianno said:


> would it be possible for you to give me a quick walkthru on how i would use spinrite please?? i would greatly appreciate it.
> 
> thank you!


 -Purchase and Download SpinRite from link above.
-Make a bootable CD or floppy by running the file you downloaded in windows.
-Put the TiVo drive in a PC and boot from the SpinRite media.
(disconnect any other hard drive to prevent confusion)
-Select level 2 when asked (recovery mode)
-From the main menu select the drive and press enter
Time to completion will depend on the number of errors found.

Note: There are a couple of videos on how SpinRite works on the SpinRite web page you should watch them before purchasing.


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## jhatfield (Dec 3, 2003)

HomeUser said:


> -Purchase and Download SpinRite from link above.
> -Make a bootable CD or floppy by running the file you downloaded in windows.
> -Put the TiVo drive in a PC and boot from the SpinRite media.
> (disconnect any other hard drive to prevent confusion)
> ...


That pretty well sums it up. It's really easy to use. The only thing I do differently is that I always run it on level 4 so that it does a maintenance scan on the whole drive. It takes longer, but it probably means it'll be longer until it needs it the next time. You really can't go wrong buying spinrite. I run it on all my computers probably 3 or 4 times a year for maintenance. It will PREVENT failures before they occur by letting the drive taking weak sectors out of service before they fail.

Time to completion for me is usually overnight. Somewhere in the 4 to 10 hour range. Like I said earlier, I've put tivos back in service with the same "failed" drive at least 6 times with spinrite.

cheers,


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## HomeUser (Jan 12, 2003)

jhatfield said:


> That pretty well sums it up. It's really easy to use. The only thing I do differently is that I always run it on level 4 so that it does a maintenance scan on the whole drive.


 Defiantly if you are going to re-use the drive run at level-4. I also stress any new drive with SpinRite at level 4 before I trust them in the PC or TiVo. Lorianno wants to recover the data (programs) you do not want to re-write every sector on a questionable drive until after the data has been recovered and backed-up the excessive use may cause the drive to fail completely.


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## jhatfield (Dec 3, 2003)

HomeUser said:


> Defiantly if you are going to re-use the drive run at level-4. I also stress any new drive with SpinRite at level 4 before I trust them in the PC or TiVo. Lorianno wants to recover the data (programs) you do not want to re-write every sector on a questionable drive until after the data has been recovered and backed-up the excessive use may cause the drive to fail completely.


I'll buy that. Level 2 to recover, then backup. I'm always looking to put it back in service, so that's a good point. And he did say he was getting a new one under warranty I believe.

I had a new drive fail in a tivo once. And I mean really fail, it was doing the click of death. For those that unfamiliar with it, that means it was repeatedly trying to seek the sector to read. The whole drive was unreadable. Maybe the head fell off. I have no idea. I got it replaced under warranty of course, but they don't send NEW drives out as warranty replacements. They send refurbished drives that have already failed once for somebody else. I can't say I was happy about it. Come to think of it, I think that's the drive I have that's "aged and failing" now!


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