# Roamio boots to Welcome... starting up! and then four flashing lights - repairable?



## redbeard25 (Jan 15, 2002)

I have been googling and searching Tivo Community for a while this morning and have seen conflicting reports. I have a 4 year-old lifetime (or "all in..." whatever!) 4-tuner cable Roamio with a dropped-in 3TB drive. While watching a time-shifted show this morning, the following happened:

*Symptoms:*

Boots up to the "Welcome... starting up!" screen.
After about five minutes, all four lights on the front of the Tivo start flashing rapidly.
Here's what I've done so far:

Left unplugged for 15 minutes. Plugged in. Same results.
Swapped out the wall wart from a Tivo mini. Same results.
Pulled the hard drive and dropped in a blank 640GB drive I had laying around. Same results.
At this point, I'm looking for advice. I have seen people with the "flashing lights of death," but I've not seen anyone who got to the "Welcome... starting up" screen. Everyone else seems to have no picture at all.

Has anyone gotten to the boot-up screen *and* had the four flashing front lights? Is this something that _can_ be repaired?


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

Hydra/Mira (TE4) or Encore (TE3)?


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## redbeard25 (Jan 15, 2002)

Hydra.


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## redbeard25 (Jan 15, 2002)

Further details - I found a 2.5" 500GB drive laying around and got it to boot. However, it got stuck in the middle of guided setup with an S308 error. I then tried:

Connected to Ethernet
Connected to WiFi
Connected to phone hotspot
All with no help. It makes me think four flashing lights is "I can't find a hard drive that I know what to do with."


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

I would hook the 3TB drive up to a PC and run the manufacturer's diagnostics on it. Four flashing lights usually indicates a drive failure, but that's the only way you can know for sure.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

redbeard25 said:


> I have been googling and searching Tivo Community for a while this morning and have seen conflicting reports. I have a 4 year-old lifetime (or "all in..." whatever!) 4-tuner cable Roamio with a dropped-in 3TB drive. While watching a time-shifted show this morning, the following happened:
> 
> *Symptoms:*
> 
> ...


I've seen that before. My experience may be different but it ended up being the power supply/AC adapter. You mention you used a Mini AC to test, DO NOT DO THAT. A mini AC adapter does not have enough amperage to boot the drive, the Roamio will start up but will freeze as not enough power to boot the drive, ends up with the flashing lights, never even gets to "a few minutes more". AND it can damage the drive, drive is trying to boot, not enough power, so you get sector errors etc. I would try another AC adapter with the same voltage and AT LEAST as much amperage as the Roamio AC (2000ma?). Since you have other drives testing should not be TOO difficult. Since there was a problem and maybe more if tried to boot with Mini adapter maybe scan the drives for errors on your computer, might be some pending sector problems or bad sector problems.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

Do be careful when swapping adapters. The voltage needs to be the same as the original. The amperage should be at least as much as the original (more should be ok as it will only draw what it needs). AND polarity needs to be the same, as far as I know..............


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## Tom Edwards (Dec 11, 2016)

tommage1 said:


> I've seen that before. My experience may be different but it ended up being the power supply/AC adapter. You mention you used a Mini AC to test, DO NOT DO THAT. A mini AC adapter does not have enough amperage to boot the drive, the Roamio will start up but will freeze as not enough power to boot the drive, ends up with the flashing lights, never even gets to "a few minutes more". AND it can damage the drive, drive is trying to boot, not enough power, so you get sector errors etc. I would try another AC adapter with the same voltage and AT LEAST as much amperage as the Roamio AC (2000ma?). Since you have other drives testing should not be TOO difficult. Since there was a problem and maybe more if tried to boot with Mini adapter maybe scan the drives for errors on your computer, might be some pending sector problems or bad sector problems.


My Roamio Plus was working great until a few days ago. My unit has a direct plug (no wall wort). When I plug it in, it starts to "crank." In a little while the yellow light blinks for about 15 seconds, then nothing. The cranking continues for about a minute and then goes silent.
Any help is greatly appreciated!


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

What do you mean by "crank"? Is the hard drive making a noise (normally they are pretty quiet) so the suspicion would be a hard drive failure?

Scott


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## Tom Edwards (Dec 11, 2016)

HerronScott said:


> What do you mean by "crank"? Is the hard drive making a noise (normally they are pretty quiet) so the suspicion would be a hard drive failure?
> 
> Scott


Thanks for your question, Scott.
The sound is more like an old desktop computer starting.
BTW, there is NO action on the TV screen.


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## peakay (Apr 7, 2002)

Any resolution to this problem? An update would be appreciated. Dealing wiht something sinilar here:

Help: boot looping tivo, continues after HD replacement


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## Tom Edwards (Dec 11, 2016)

One of the Tivo Kickstart codes worked for me (see TiVo Kickstart Codes and Information)
I used #54 (hard drive test), and it is probably what you should use first.
NOTE: If you have not upgraded to the latest software, do not use any of the "software" codes. I hate the latest software, and I have seen posts asking if users can revert to earlier versions.
Like Classic Coke, older is sometimes better.
Good luck


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## timhbtr53 (Apr 25, 2014)

I just had the same problem it's the power supply. I opened it up my hard drive would power up for about 5 secs then shut down i opened the tivo up and pulled the HDD teed it on my laptop it works great so i got my tivo on my bench the power supply runs on the limit of 2.25 amps and it is dropping the voltage from 12 VDC to as low as 4.3 VDC "trash" so i found a 3 amp supply and it's happy so i'm happy....


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## cherb (Oct 15, 2010)

I had this exact set of symptoms on a TiVo Roamio and after much troubleshooting it ended up being a faulty DC power adapter.
Symptoms:

Found the TiVo Roamio in a state with all lights flashing and a strange beeping noise
Roamio was at "Starting Up" screen
Unplugging and replugging Roamio, I could hear the hard drive start to spin up, then the "beeping" would start
After around 30 seconds all the lights would start to flash (assuming a timeout threshold was reached)
Troublshooting info:

Upon investigation found that the "beeping" noise was coming from the hard drive (8TB Seagate) and sounded like the heads were stuck (assumed the drive was dead)
Put this drive in my PC and it was recognized without issue (no noises); MFSR reported it as a TiVo drive and correctly showed the capacity

Putting another Seagate drive in the Roamio yielded the same result with a slightly different sound
Putting in my previous 3TB WD drive yielded a different result: the drive would start to spin up for a second, then spin down for a second and would repeat this pattern every second
Solution:

The Roamio uses a 2.0 Amp power adapter, you need to get a replacement 2.0 Amp adapter.
My TiVo Mini uses a 1.0 Amp adapter which yielded the same issue (Roamio would power on, but the drive wasn't getting enough power).
I also tried a 1.5 Amp adapter I had for a NetGear switch and it also yielded the same result.
Please note, my power adapter wasn't completely failed. I tested and confirmed the output voltage was still 12V. It was just no longer able to supply the required amperage.


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

I have a 4 tuner Roamio stuck in restart. The screen is flashing green with "TIVO Welcome Starting Up". I have a MOV video, but seem to be challenged this morning on how to convert to a format acceptable to upload. The lights on the front of the Tivo are flashing. The left Green light is flashing slowly every couple of seconds and the Red and Blue lights on the right are flashing every few seconds with a quick flash.

I recently changed the hard drive and have had no issues. Anyone ever seen this green screen. I've had Tivos for many years and many models and have never seen. Suggestions?


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

Please tell me what format is needed to upload a video file


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

Just upload your video to YouTube and post a link in this thread...if you're really sure that video is necessary. 

Usually the four flashing lights indicates that your Hard Drive has failed.

-KP


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

Thank you, there are only 3 blinking lights. One on the left and 2 on the right.

The drive is only 2 months old, but I guess it could be bad. 3TB WD

I have a new 3TB WD drive sitting waiting for my Bolt drive to fail. I'll install it over the weekend and see if that solves the problem. 

Thanks again.


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

*X*
ADCHOICES IDENTIFIED​


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

Just installed the new drive, plugged in the Tivo and getting the same flashing lights on the front as well as the Welcome Restarting green screen. Hmmmmm...as I remember, and I have a terrible memory, you just need to install the drive plug it in and it installs itself? What am I missing?


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## Tom Edwards (Dec 11, 2016)

It sounds like you have two issues: start-up and file format.
For start-up, try the Kickstart Codes I posted in Item 16 of this thread.
For file format, see How to Import MP4 to TiVo?
Good luck


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

The solution directly above your first post was to replace the Power Adapter...maybe try that? They're available fairly inexpensively...

-KP


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

kpeters59 said:


> The solution directly above your first post was to replace the Power Adapter...maybe try that? They're available fairly inexpensively...
> 
> -KP


Think so. I'm not home but does the Bolt power adapter work with the Roamio? I seem to remember a different connector?


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

I think it does use the same connector, but you should confirm that.

-KP


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

Wiil do, thanks


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

Tom Edwards said:


> It sounds like you have two issues: start-up and file format.
> For start-up, try the Kickstart Codes I posted in Item 16 of this thread.
> For file format, see How to Import MP4 to TiVo?
> Good luck


I was talking about uploading a file to this forum, not onto Tivo. Thank you tho

I replaced the drive and have the same issue. What code would you recommend?


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

Tivo support says power coming to device is bad to get this condition.


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

Yup, bad power adapter. Back in business. Thanks for the help.


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## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

My Roamio was chronically restarting and I plugged it directly into the wall and problem solved.


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

Tivo support suggested that. It didn’t help.


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## timhbtr53 (Apr 25, 2014)

Redhaze737 said:


> I have a 4 tuner Roamio stuck in restart. The screen is flashing green with "TIVO Welcome Starting Up". I have a MOV video, but seem to be challenged this morning on how to convert to a format acceptable to upload. The lights on the front of the Tivo are flashing. The left Green light is flashing slowly every couple of seconds and the Red and Blue lights on the right are flashing every few seconds with a quick flash.
> 
> I recently changed the hard drive and have had no issues. Anyone ever seen this green screen. I've had Tivos for many years and many models and have never seen. Suggestions?


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## timhbtr53 (Apr 25, 2014)

Check your power supply. The wall warts TiVo used the junkiest "Cheap Junk" wall warts. The OEM is rated at 2.25 amps but i have seen some that are 2.00 amps. I had a 3 amp 12vdc supply from a old hub works great a lot better than bootup process then front panel flashing hard drive spin up then spin down. Test the supply are just replace it.


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## Redhaze737 (Oct 1, 2006)

Thank you. Yes, I replaced it with another unit I had in a drawer. Works good. The reason the flashing screen was green was due to bad cable.


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## MyTH (Sep 7, 2020)

My unmodified Roamio worked fine from 2014 through 2020, until one day, it wouldn't start up. Flashing lights, hard drive spun up, sudden reset, spun down, rinse and repeat, every 15 seconds or so.

I thought, it must be that the hard drive failed, after years of use. Maybe I could fix it, but who wants to bother with that? So, I called TiVO support to ask about repairs or upgrades, only to find out they wouldn't help me because of a new policy that they no longer provide swaps or upgrades to any unit over 5 years old (and mine was at 5 years and 8 months). They said I should just buy a new one. Well, that's disappointing.

Good thing I have the right Torx screwdrivers to open the case and the skills to transfer the hard drive to a PC for diagnostics and repair! So, I used a repair utility and the MFSTools to work on the disk. A few hours later, after no progress, I took another look at the forum and re-read this thread.

Huh. Power supply? Could it be that simple?? I tried using the cable from my BOLT, and guess what? Yup, that was it! I didn't have to do all that stuff with opening the case and repairing the hard drive. I only needed to look around the house for another working 12V 2A power supply!

Thanks for the hint. In case anyone else faces a similar problem, don't fixate on the disk until you try a different power cable. Sometimes the simple things are best.

- M


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## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

Tivo was gonna do nothing for you? No $49 swap?? They probably only have Edge in their inventory and don't wanna part with them.


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## howy1007 (Jun 6, 2014)

timhbtr53 said:


> I just had the same problem it's the power supply. I opened it up my hard drive would power up for about 5 secs then shut down i opened the tivo up and pulled the HDD teed it on my laptop it works great so i got my tivo on my bench the power supply runs on the limit of 2.25 amps and it is dropping the voltage from 12 VDC to as low as 4.3 VDC "trash" so i found a 3 amp supply and it's happy so i'm happy....


This error occurred with my Tivo Roamio this evening and after reading your post I swapped the power supply with a 12v 3a power supply and it's back in operation. Thank you!


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## tthechan (Feb 27, 2016)

Worked for me today. Many thanks!


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## klyde (Feb 3, 2002)

Mine to The Power supply


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