# Bolt to Bolt+ HD Swap



## Mathelo (Aug 22, 2008)

I have a Tivo Bolt with a 4TB HD that I swapped in about a year ago. It is working fine with plenty of capacity. However, I've just ordered a Bolt+ for the 6 tuners but it only has 3TB and of course doesn't have my existing recordings. 

Can I just swap my existing 4TB HD into the Bolt+? Will the new box have any issues recognizing the HD or will I need to do something special?

Thanks!

Louis


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Mathelo said:


> I have a Tivo Bolt with a 4TB HD that I swapped in about a year ago. It is working fine with plenty of capacity. However, I've just ordered a Bolt+ for the 6 tuners but it only has 3TB and of course doesn't have my existing recordings.
> 
> Can I just swap my existing 4TB HD into the Bolt+? Will the new box have any issues recognizing the HD or will I need to do something special?
> 
> ...


Whatever else works, you won't be able to play your recordings. They are encrypted with a key that is unique to each TiVo motherboard.


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

You would need to use "Clear & Delete Everything" or you can run into issues like Error 51 and won't record.


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## Mathelo (Aug 22, 2008)

ej42137 said:


> Whatever else works, you won't be able to play your recordings. They are encrypted with a key that is unique to each TiVo motherboard.


That sucks! 

Guess I'll just sell the Tivo with the 4TB and live with the 3TB on the Bolt+ for now. I've yet to use 50% of the 4TB so it probably doesn't matter much but I'll still need to do the transfer.

And thanks for the reply.

Louis


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

If you have both TiVo in the same network you can stream all recordings from one to the other, and you can copy anything that's not copy-protected. If you didn't sell your old Bolt right away that would be one option.


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## Mathelo (Aug 22, 2008)

ej42137 said:


> If you have both TiVo in the same network you can stream all recordings from one to the other, and you can copy anything that's not copy-protected. If you didn't sell your old Bolt right away that would be one option.


I'll hang on to the old one long enough to transfer the recordings. Not a huge deal. I've done it before but I was hoping to keep the 4TB drive. That, however, would require two transfers, which probably isn't worth it. Either that or buy another 4TB drive. But not the same value proposition as with the original Bolt that only had 500GB. So I'll just settle for the 3TB and someone will end up with a Bolt with 4TBs for XMas.


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

Mathelo said:


> I'll hang on to the old one long enough to transfer the recordings. Not a huge deal. I've done it before but I was hoping to keep the 4TB drive. That, however, would require two transfers, which probably isn't worth it. Either that or buy another 4TB drive. But not the same value proposition as with the original Bolt that only had 500GB. So I'll just settle for the 3TB and someone will end up with a Bolt with 4TBs for XMas.


Transferring between Tivo and PCs or another Tivo is the only way you can get shows off. Swapping drives only would wipe them because the drive must be married to the Tivo using "Clear & Delete Everything." Shows are encoded to the original Tivo (TSN) it was recorded from and that is not transferable. So the shows get transcoded to be locked with the Media Access Key, removing the TSN from the data.

Getting too technical here, but its a close explanation.


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## drrich0216 (Aug 29, 2016)

ej42137 said:


> If you have both TiVo in the same network you can stream all recordings from one to the other, and you can copy anything that's not copy-protected. If you didn't sell your old Bolt right away that would be one option.


Unfortunately in my case almost everything worth watching is copy protected. It's insane. Everything from old "Seinfeld" (and I use that as an example because it hasn't been on live tv for YEARS), to video concerts. 
It's a shame the recording lives and dies with the particular unit in question. I could see not being able to transfer it to other owners.

Almost all content is not transferable. Unfortunately the content that is- I have no desire to transfer!


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## jmbach (Jan 1, 2009)

You can stream copy protected recordings from one TiVo to another


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## Mathelo (Aug 22, 2008)

I've had my Bolt+ for a few days now and I'm trying to transfer the recordings on my Bolt to the Bolt+ using the bulk transfer feature available in Tivo Online.

However, it doesn't seem to work. I understand I may have some copy protected content that won't transfer but as best as I can tell, it isn't transferring anything. And some of these recordings were previously transferred from an older Tivo so I'd expect those to transfer without question.

Is it possible I'm missing some obvious step?

Thanks!

Louis


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## jmbach (Jan 1, 2009)

Can you transfer from Bolt to Bolt+ without going through TiVo online?


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

Mathelo said:


> I've had my Bolt+ for a few days now and I'm trying to transfer the recordings on my Bolt to the Bolt+ using the bulk transfer feature available in Tivo Online.
> 
> However, it doesn't seem to work. I understand I may have some copy protected content that won't transfer but as best as I can tell, it isn't transferring anything. And some of these recordings were previously transferred from an older Tivo so I'd expect those to transfer without question.
> 
> ...


Normally, when you add a new Tivo:


You add it to your tivo.com account.
Subscribe to Tivo Service.
Go to DVR Preferences and make sure the boxes are checked for sharing, transfers. 
Force Tivo Service connection on ALL your subscribed Tivos. (Settings/Network/Connect to Tivo Service.) This sets the permissions for the new box on the older and vice versa
.

You may need to do #4. A reboot may also be needed.


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## Mathelo (Aug 22, 2008)

jmbach said:


> Can you transfer from Bolt to Bolt+ without going through TiVo online?


Yes


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## Mathelo (Aug 22, 2008)

ThAbtO said:


> Normally, when you add a new Tivo:
> 
> 
> You add it to your tivo.com account.
> ...


I can't find DVR preferences that shows anything like sharing or transfers. Is this online or on the Tivo itself?

Louis


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

Mathelo said:


> I can't find DVR preferences that shows anything like sharing or transfers. Is this online or on the Tivo itself?
> 
> Louis


It is on your Tivo.com account, after you are logged in. (www.tivo.com/mma)


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## Mathelo (Aug 22, 2008)

Mathelo said:


> I can't find DVR preferences that shows anything like sharing or transfers. Is this online or on the Tivo itself?
> 
> Louis


Nevermind. I found it.


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