# Can an upgraded S3 drive be copied to new drive?



## rczig (Mar 25, 2006)

Hello,

My S3 Tivo has been acting flaky for the past week or so and today it refused to boot. It would either get to the Main Menu and freeze or show static. I decided to try replacing the HD. Using the knoppix linux boot cd, the copy kept aborting with a read error. After much searching, I found the "dd_rescue" command and forced a copy to a Seagate 500Gb (from the stock 250Gb). After 800 errors, the process finished. I then expanded the drive and put it into my TIVO. Fortunately, the drive seems to work perfectly, even after being copied from the original, corrupted drive.

I would, however, like to upgrade to a 1Tb drive. Do I need to use the "dd_rescue" command and re-copy from the original drive or can I copy from the 500Gb replacement and then expand the 1Tb drive? I'm not sure how much life is left in the stock drive and I don't want to tempt fate (since the first copy works well).

Any advice would be MUCH appreciated!

Thanks!


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## ciper (Nov 4, 2004)

My question to you is - Even if you are able to get it working do you want to forever base the function of your TiVo on a possibly corrupt operating system with unforseen issues into the future?

If it was me I'd start fresh.


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## rbtravis (Aug 9, 2005)

rczig said:


> I would, however, like to upgrade to a 1Tb drive. Do I need to use the "dd_rescue" command and re-copy from the original drive or can I copy from the 500Gb replacement and then expand the 1Tb drive? I'm not sure how much life is left in the stock drive and I don't want to tempt fate (since the first copy works well).
> 
> Any advice would be MUCH appreciated!
> 
> Thanks!


Use winMFS from Spike at www.MFSlive.org. Its available as a free download and should accomplish what you desire. If you think dd_rescue took a long time before try at least twice as long if not longer. As long as you have not added significantly to the drive it should work. It is better to use the 500 Gb drive as the source because you don't know for sure what caused the corruption of the data. Most likely the old drive going bad, but just to be safe save the 500 Gb as a possible restart point if possible. Good Luck. Study the manual carefully before you try.


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## rczig (Mar 25, 2006)

ciper said:


> My question to you is - Even if you are able to get it working do you want to forever base the function of your TiVo on a possibly corrupt operating system with unforseen issues into the future?
> 
> If it was me I'd start fresh.


You raise a good point (and one I'd thought about). The problem is. . . I would have to purchase Instant Cake in order to 'start fresh'. Is there another way? Further, not only would I have lost my programs, settings, season passes, etc. . . but I would also need to make another appointment for the cable company to come out and "hit" the cards again.

The Tivo had been working perfectly for 2 years. And the 500Gb drive seems to work perfectly even after being 'dd_rescued' from the original drive.

Is there another easier way to start fresh than buying Instantcake and losing everything?

Thanks.


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## ciper (Nov 4, 2004)

rczig said:


> Is there another easier way to start fresh than buying Instantcake and losing everything?


You will lose everything but there is an easier and cheaper way. There are multiple clean S3 images available for download and you can get the tools to apply those images for free.

I'd rather lose my season passes and previously recorded shows than always have the thought in the back of my head that the OS or database is corrupt.


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## rczig (Mar 25, 2006)

ciper said:


> You will lose everything but there is an easier and cheaper way. There are multiple clean S3 images available for download and you can get the tools to apply those images for free.
> 
> I'd rather lose my season passes and previously recorded shows than always have the thought in the back of my head that the OS or database is corrupt.


What about the cable cards? Will they need to be hit again if I start from scratch?


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## ciper (Nov 4, 2004)

rczig said:


> What about the cable cards? Will they need to be hit again if I start from scratch?


There is a strong possibility. It depends on how the cable company handles security. I've heard that FIOS doesn't need to be rehit and I know my cable company doesn't either.


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## rczig (Mar 25, 2006)

ciper said:


> There is a strong possibility. It depends on how the cable company handles security. I've heard that FIOS doesn't need to be rehit and I know my cable company doesn't either.


Thanks for all the information! I am downloading a virgin image just in case I opt to go that route. . . though I may just save the image in case drive corruption rears its ugly head.

One final question. . . If I restore from a virgin image, will the eSATA connector work as if my drive was stock? Or would I still need to manually pair by pulling the drive and using MFS?

Thanks for all your info- I really appreciate it and am learning a lot!


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## ciper (Nov 4, 2004)

rczig said:


> If I restore from a virgin image, will the eSATA connector work as if my drive was stock? Or would I still need to manually pair by pulling the drive and using MFS?


Now that is a good question. My assumption is that yes it would but I have to verify.


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