# Western Digital My DVR 1 TB Expander not supported?



## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

I've got a Series 3 HD with the latest firmware installed (just forced an update, no new firmware available). I just got a brand new WD My DVR Expander 1 TB model which apparently was released just a few days ago. On the front of the box it says it's TiVo certified but when I plug in the unit and power up my TiVo it says the device is unsupported. I've tried doing the install a couple more times through the menu and no dice. Anyone know what the deal is?


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## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

Can you post some pictures of the box for all to see?

If what you are saying is true, my guess is that some units hit retail before TiVo expected. In that case, we'll probably see a software update in the near future to enable support for this drive.


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

Do you have TivoHD or Series 3? Check out photos here.

The Series3 (TCD648250B) should work regardless if certified I would think. Definately curious why that a TivoHD doesn't work if the box advertises that it will.

/subscribed

Edit: is your hard drive in your Tivo stock? You can't plug n play if you have already upgraded...


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## Dssturbo1 (Feb 23, 2005)

where did you buy it and how much was it?

it's overdue but good news Tivo finally let them bring a 1Tb out, seems a software push just to note one new model should be an easy thing to get done.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

Interesting. Amazon lists it as not released but available for pre-order. No mention on the WD site.

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-WDG1S10000N-Expander-eSATA/dp/B001UHOR88


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## FixItPete (Oct 27, 2008)

Grrrr. And I just bought the 500GB for $93

Oh well.


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## bluemcduff (Sep 8, 2007)

I just went with a WD 1 TB HDD (EVCS model) with Antec MX-1 enclosure and a 2m SIIG cable for about $185 including shipping so it seems like they are a bit high on the initial price point.

By the way, just because the drive shows as unsupported (not surprised since I know the 500 GB version was considered the only supported drive until now) is not by itself an indication that it doesn't work.

Plug it up again and check your system information screen for the additional space--if it's there don't worry about it and enjoy your expanded Tivo.


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## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

nrc said:


> Interesting. Amazon lists it as not released but available for pre-order. No mention on the WD site.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-WDG1S10000N-Expander-eSATA/dp/B001UHOR88


Following the above link the product desciptions is as follows;
Product Description

*Instantly add up to 60 hours of high-definition TV or up to 300 hours of standard-definition TV *to your Scientific Atlanta 8300 or 8300HD DVR. My DVR Expander is ideal for the living room or bedrooms.

The space expansion seems that of the 500gb My DVR expander rather then a 1TB HDD, take a look for your selfs.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

Buggers......I was hoping for this drive....months ago. Anyways, my 500gb expander has been plenty for us. Of course, if it dies out of warranty, I'll replace with a 1TB.


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## FixItPete (Oct 27, 2008)

bluemcduff said:


> I just went with a WD 1 TB HDD (EVCS model) with Antec MX-1 enclosure and a 2m SIIG cable for about $185 including shipping so it seems like they are a bit high on the initial price point.
> 
> By the way, just because the drive shows as unsupported (not surprised since I know the 500 GB version was considered the only supported drive until now) is not by itself an indication that it doesn't work.
> 
> Plug it up again and check your system information screen for the additional space--if it's there don't worry about it and enjoy your expanded Tivo.


No kiddin'? And that works with no problems???


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## DrewTivo (Mar 30, 2005)

FixItPete said:


> Grrrr. And I just bought the 500GB for $93
> 
> Oh well.


Why do you think the price dropped to $93?


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## FixItPete (Oct 27, 2008)

DrewTivo said:


> Why do you think the price dropped to $93?


Yeah. I figured it out...

I've lived this long with only the stock the Tivo-HD, so having 500GB should be good enough. It is the way of the world... think of all the people that bought 720p TVs...

(at least that is what I'm saying to myself for not being PO'ed)


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## Johnwashere (Sep 17, 2005)

Maybe this is an april fools joke? Since the 1tb isnt out yet.. or maybe tivo is working on pushing the software update for support on these. Darn, I just bought a 750GB HD for $68 too


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

brd6644 said:


> I've got a Series 3 HD with the latest firmware installed (just forced an update, no new firmware available). I just got a brand new WD My DVR Expander 1 TB model which apparently was released just a few days ago. On the front of the box it says it's TiVo certified but when I plug in the unit and power up my TiVo it says the device is unsupported. I've tried doing the install a couple more times through the menu and no dice. Anyone know what the deal is?


If the Tivo is BRAND new- it wont update itself immediately- it takes a few calls. Is it more then a couple days old?

Also- where did you buy the drive- I've been waiting for that myself.


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## cholly (Mar 27, 2009)

Best Buy is currently listing the 500 gig MyDVR expander for $103.49.
I bought both of mine 'way back when they were close to $200. The price of being an early adopter.

Edit: Looking at the description of the 1 TB drive on Amazon, it says specifically that it is intended for use with the Scientific Atlanta 8300 Series DVR. (I have a 8300HD from Time warner on my den TV).


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

cholly said:


> Edit: Looking at the description of the 1 TB drive on Amazon, it says specifically that it is intended for use with the Scientific Atlanta 8300 Series DVR. (I have a 8300HD from Time warner on my den TV).


The text there is exactly the same as the text they use for the 500 GB drive, which we know is officially supported by TiVo. By "exactly the same," I mean they didn't even bother to change the number of hours of programming it holds.


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## bluemcduff (Sep 8, 2007)

FixItPete said:


> No kiddin'? And that works with no problems???


On an original Series3 that is precisely the case as it will accept most any drive connected via eSATA despite the fact that it will show up as an unsupported drive.

However, this is not true of the Tivo HD without modifications.

As for my choice of parts, these are the recommended choices on the expansion thread and I'm thrilled it's all under $200 now.

I bought everything at Provantage but there are other places you can go--try it and I doubt you'll be disappointed (but only if you have a Series3).


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

I have the TiVo HD (not the XL) with the stock hard drive. I've had it for about two weeks and forced the major firmware update to 11b shortly after I got it. It's been operating normally ever since.

Apparently since I am new I can't post links yet but the Amazon.com page is /gp/product followed by /B001UHOR88.

It's truly bizarre that this is showing up on the Amazon.com site as not 
available for order. I placed the order on Friday night and received it on Tuesday. Perhaps Amazon inadvertently made it available for order early and TiVo asked them to pull it. I'll inquire with Amazon as to the change in status.

As for the unit itself, as far as I can tell it looks *exactly* like the 500 GB model. There is a sticker on the front of the box that says it's TiVo certified, says it will work with Series 3 or HD models, and the manual has instructions for installing it with both a TiVo and a Scientific Atlanta DVR.

I'll also be calling WD tech support tonight to see if I can get more info.


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## spike2k5 (Feb 21, 2006)

What is the model number of the hard drive?

Under Tivo System Information, it should report the model number of the eSATA drive.

WD10EVVS, WD10EVCS, WD10EVDS?


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

WD10EVVS is what's being reported. Pictures on their way shortly...


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

These limitations before you can post are kinda annoying...


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

But I just need one more post...


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

... there we go. I apologize for the poor picture quality... my iPhone SUCKS up close.














































Model: WD10000F032
Serial number: WCAU46340076


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## nipster00 (Feb 9, 2009)

My guess would be that you are going to have to wait for a software update for it to work, and that is why they pulled them from amazon.


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## andyf (Feb 23, 2000)

I'm pretty sure that the ED supported list is stored on TiVo servers. If that is the case then you just need to wait until TiVo makes an official announcement and updates the server to report this as a supported drive.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

Now that there are at least some in the wild- you would think that tivo would quitely just flib the bit if it's just a list on a server someplace.

The press release can wait till later.

brd6644- I'd try PM'ing one of the tivo folks here and politely ask if there is anything they can do for you. They MIGHT be able to do something for you specifically.


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## NYHeel (Oct 7, 2003)

brd6644 said:


> I've got a Series 3 HD with the latest firmware installed (just forced an update, no new firmware available). I just got a brand new WD My DVR Expander 1 TB model which apparently was released just a few days ago. On the front of the box it says it's TiVo certified but when I plug in the unit and power up my TiVo it says the device is unsupported. I've tried doing the install a couple more times through the menu and no dice. Anyone know what the deal is?


How much did the 1TB expander cost?


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## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

NYHeel said:


> How much did the 1TB expander cost?


Amazon is taking orders at $199....or twice the price of an 1TB internal drive upgrade.


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## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

Unless TiVo decides to support it it's a $200 brick with a TiVo sticker on it


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

FixItPete said:


> ... think of all the people that bought 720p TVs...
> 
> (at least that is what I'm saying to myself for not being PO'ed)


I am one that made the conscious decision to go 720p instead of 1080p. It was a cost decision and an ergonomics decision. Based on where the TV is relative to our seating position, the 1080p would not have made a significant improvement. Would I have liked to have had it just to say I had 1080p....sure. But not for the extra money (at the time).

And, I am not so sure I will be buying a BR player when my SD DVD player finally dies (its really hurting right now). The scaler in my Vizio 37" 720p TV is quite good. SD DVDs are very acceptable.

Probably what I would do when it dies is jus buy a cheap upscaling player, and wait until the BR players are even cheaper. Or maybe I don't go BR at all if the places like Amazon and Netflix offer more HD ondemand/downloads/etc.


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## janry (Jan 2, 2003)

I hope the OP will call WD support. I imagine their answer will be "oh...oh...oh, let me transfer you to a supervisor" who will say "where did you get that" and then will say "we'll refund your money". Though if it is to be released in the next few days they may fess up.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

bkdtv said:


> Amazon is taking orders at $199....or twice the price of an 1TB internal drive upgrade.


still the cheapest officially supported 1TB upgrade.

(assuming officially any day now- need to go find us a beta tester with a big mouth....)


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## Dssturbo1 (Feb 23, 2005)

Tivo may be pushing out the service update for them now. don't know what the new update will bring but guessing the compatability for that new 1GB My DVR expander should be included.

One of my S3s just got 11.0c.


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## Ben_Jamin75 (Dec 18, 2003)

FWIW on the tivo website for Australia they say the 1TB DVR Expander is coming soon.

http://tivo.com.au/whatistivo/tivois/newfeatures/tivoexpanderdrive/


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

MichaelK said:


> Now that there are at least some in the wild- you would think that tivo would quitely just flib the bit if it's just a list on a server someplace.
> 
> The press release can wait till later.
> 
> brd6644- I'd try PM'ing one of the tivo folks here and politely ask if there is anything they can do for you. They MIGHT be able to do something for you specifically.


Got the names of any folks who work for TiVo here? I'm new so I don't know anyone in the "community" yet. Thanks


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

Dssturbo1 said:


> Tivo may be pushing out the service update for them now. don't know what the new update will bring but guessing the compatability for that new 1GB My DVR expander should be included.
> 
> One of my S3s just got 11.0c.


Cool, I'll force an update now and see if it finds anything new.


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

Joe01880 said:


> Unless TiVo decides to support it it's a $200 brick with a TiVo sticker on it


Fortunately it's a $200 brick that can be returned to Amazon for a full refund.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

nrc said:


> Interesting. Amazon lists it as not released but available for pre-order. No mention on the WD site.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-WDG1S10000N-Expander-eSATA/dp/B001UHOR88


I notice that Amazon is now selling it for $180 and it's listed as "In Stock".
Also the page specifically states "Compatible with TiVo" under the product description.


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

Well then... I'll be contacting Amazon to see if they'll refund me the $20...


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## hiker (Nov 29, 2001)

morac said:


> I notice that Amazon is now selling it for $180 and it's listed as "In Stock".
> Also the page specifically states "Compatible with TiVo" under the product description.


It's not directly from Amazon but from J&R Music, which might have different return policies.


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## janry (Jan 2, 2003)

hiker said:


> It's not directly from Amazon but from J&R Music, which might have different return policies.


And, over to the right on that page is a link to pre-order directly from Amazon for $199.99.


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

hiker said:


> It's not directly from Amazon but from J&R Music, which might have different return policies.


J&R's own page doesn't seem to have it.

Text still says 60 hours of HD, which is obviously wrong.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

brd6644 said:


> Got the names of any folks who work for TiVo here? I'm new so I don't know anyone in the "community" yet. Thanks


tivopony
tivojerri
tivostephen

off the top of my head


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

thanks for the headsup on JandR 

I just place an order for one myself at 179 with free shipping.


I've got an original S3 that needs this so it will work officially or not- but i think it will tell me when i try if it's approved or not- I'll report back when it shows up and i plug it in.


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## FairTax (Apr 3, 2009)

Nothing wrong with a 720p tv. 1080i and 720p are basically the same thing and still the standard. If you don't have a Blu-ray is doesn't matter.


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## lafos (Nov 8, 2004)

brd6644 said:


> Well then... I'll be contacting Amazon to see if they'll refund me the $20...


Amazon dropped their price protection policy about a year ago. The only way to get a refund is to return the one you have and order at the new price. This can also be a craps shoot as prices are volatile on a lot of their products.


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## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

Just off the J&R website,

http://www.jr.com/western-digital/pe/WD_WDG1S10000N/


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

my order from J&R shipped friday and ups should deliver it monday.


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## S3HD4KFL (Oct 30, 2007)

OP, thanks for the info, just ordered one for my lowly HD (the only one with only 250 GB). Also only $179 shipped!! <<Ken>>


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## carios23 (Jan 19, 2009)

FixItPete said:


> Grrrr. And I just bought the 500GB for $93
> 
> Oh well.


Join the club...lol


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## bmgoodman (Dec 20, 2000)

MichaelK said:


> tivopony
> tivojerri
> tivostephen
> 
> off the top of my head


Am I crazy, or is this the kind of thread that would have gotten an answer from one of these fine folks about a year or so ago? Does it seem like they are scarcer than they used to be?

How can this 1 TB drive to "Tivo Verified" and NOT WORK? Surely a tiny bit of code would be all that's needed for a Tivo to "know" it can use this new size My DVR Expander? How can WD get a product all the way through the pipeline without ANYONE from Tivo knowing and fixing it prior to now??


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## Dssturbo1 (Feb 23, 2005)

just another case of corporate miscommunication.......


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

bmgoodman said:


> How can this 1 TB drive to "Tivo Verified" and NOT WORK? Surely a tiny bit of code would be all that's needed for a Tivo to "know" it can use this new size My DVR Expander? How can WD get a product all the way through the pipeline without ANYONE from Tivo knowing and fixing it prior to now??


I'm pretty sure the drive hasn't been officially released yet since most retailers are not shipping it yet, TiVo has made no mention of it and there is nothing about it on Western Digital's web site. Normally there would be a press release about a new product before it is released.

My guess is that J&R is shipping before the release date.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

bmgoodman said:


> Am I crazy, or is this the kind of thread that would have gotten an answer from one of these fine folks about a year or so ago? Does it seem like they are scarcer than they used to be?
> 
> How can this 1 TB drive to "Tivo Verified" and NOT WORK? Surely a tiny bit of code would be all that's needed for a Tivo to "know" it can use this new size My DVR Expander? How can WD get a product all the way through the pipeline without ANYONE from Tivo knowing and fixing it prior to now??


maybe 3-5 years ago. But they just aren't all that active now a days. the forums are busier too. So I think they miss alot.

I'm sure it's just what Morac said- it's a couple days too soon to be official. Once it's official they flip a bit and all is well.

I would guess/hope that it the OP pm's the tivo folks they either gave him an ETA if it's soon or if it is a way off they will get him whatever he/she needs to use it now.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

I have an original S3 - still on 11.0b. I got my new 1tb from J&R and plugged it in and rebooted the tivo. Nothing happened. The drive model number showed in system info. I rebooted again. Still nothing. Then i went into the external drive menu and used the set up this drive option. Gave it the ok to reboot and it did it's thing. all hooked up and ready to go.

I assume the reason that plain reboot didn't work and i had to go in the menu is because it's still not official. Anyone know if that's the drill for unapproved drives on the S3?

ther box and manual have tivo verified and instructions specific to tivo all over. 

There's a little blue paper insert in the manual that to work with a Tivo the box may need a software update. (it's dated sometime in 2007- so probably included in the 500gb model too). 

I wish i had the c version to play with but i forced a connection and I guess my S3 just isn't on the list.


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## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

MichaelK said:


> I have an original S3 - still on 11.0b. I got my new 1tb from J&R and plugged it in and rebooted the tivo. Nothing happened. The drive model number showed in system info. I rebooted again. Still nothing. Then i went into the external drive menu and used the set up this drive option. Gave it the ok to reboot and it did it's thing. all hooked up and ready to go.


Did you get a warning that the drive was unsupported (which the Series3 allows you to ignore)? Or were you able to setup the new drive without a warning?


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

aindik said:


> J&R's own page doesn't seem to have it.
> 
> Text still says 60 hours of HD, which is obviously wrong.


if you dig hard enough you can find it on their page directly. I forget how i found it.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

bkdtv said:


> Did you get a warning that the drive was unsupported (which the Series3 allows you to ignore)? Or were you able to setup the new drive without a warning?


no warning at all.

but shouldn't it have tried to activate it on one of the reboots without me having to go into the external storage menu?


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## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

MichaelK said:


> no warning at all.
> 
> but shouldn't it have tried to activate it on one of the reboots without me having to go into the external storage menu?


No. Just connecting the drive and rebooting the TiVo does not enable the drive.

You have to enable it through a menu. The menu should be displayed on the screen automatically after you press the TiVo button from LiveTV. Otherwise, you can navigate to the Settings menu.

It sounds like the drive is now officially supported (at least by the Series3), because if it were not, you'd have seen a notice about the drive being unsupported (with the option to proceed and ignore the warning).


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

cool then - i guess then flipped the bit.

when i initially installed the external drives it wasn't even supported so I wasn't sure of what the "normal" experience was.


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

Update on this one...

Called TiVo. They insisted the product doesn't exist and is not supported. I tried to milk them for info - "you sure this isn't just a pending firmware update" - but didn't get an answer. They gave me a case number and sent it to their engineering team and told me to call back after a few days. I'll try again tomorrow.

Contacted WD via e-mail. I was told the product doesn't exist. I'm in the middle of sending them an angry reply with links to the pictures of my product.

If I were to offer you guys some advice, don't buy this thing yet. It's been an unbelievable hassle and I would wait until someone (probably me) posts on this forum that the thing is finally supported. TiVo isn't reporting that a firmware update is available for my HD model; maybe it's supported on the regular Series 3 but I still can't get it to work with my TiVo HD.

*sigh*


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## CUfuzzy (Apr 3, 2009)

I had just bought the 500gb expander at BB, but saw this thread before I opened it. Returned it, and am waiting for someone on this thread to have success with the 1tb expander before I buy it off of Amazon.

Let us know as soon as you get it working! Good luck!

(I find it quite amusing that WD can ship a product and then deny it exists.)


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## janry (Jan 2, 2003)

brd6644 said:


> Contacted WD via e-mail. I was told the product doesn't exist. I'm in the middle of sending them an angry reply with links to the pictures of my product.


Get on the phone with them. With email, it's too easy for them to just look up a model number and say "no such product". I've found their customer support on the phone to be amongst the best.


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

They responded and asked for the serial number so I've given it to them. If they don't get me a good answer this time around I'll give them a call. I've just been a little too busy at work to sit around on hold for 20 or 30 mins...


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

There's something up on TiVo Australia's site about this drive. It lists it as "coming soon". I have not been able to find a similar page on the U.S. site.

I still think J&R jumped the gun.


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## myklup (Apr 7, 2009)

I just got off a 1.5 hour call to tivo support where the rep (who was excellent, but unfortunately couldn't help) actually conferenced in WD - where we made it to Level 3 (WD) support who has promised me a call back within a day or so.

I'm currently unhappy with my $700 ($299 + $400 lifetime service) plastic box with a full harddrive and my $180 plastic box with an empty harddrive sitting on top of it

Combined it's a $980 plastic box that can't record anything tonight without deleting something


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

I'm sure it's just a matter of time till it's official. I assumed just a few days- but now with the recent comments I dont have a clue when they might ...

on a side note this drive is CRAZY quite. They really tweaked it nicely. I had two freeagents pro's on my S3's. More recently I have another 750 with acoustic management on the middle level in "the" antec enclosure on one and this drive on the other. The mydvr expander is essentially silent compared to the others. When i first put it in i had to keep checking to make sure it was actually running.


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## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

MichaelK said:


> I'm sure it's just a matter of time till it's official. I assumed just a few days- but now with the recent comments I dont have a clue when they might ...
> 
> on a side note this drive is CRAZY quite. They really tweaked it nicely. I had two freeagents pro's on my S3's. More recently I have another 750 with acoustic management on the middle level in "the" antec enclosure on one and this drive on the other. The mydvr expander is essentially silent compared to the others. When i first put it in i had to keep checking to make sure it was actually running.


Based on another post to this forum, it uses the WD10EVVS, the same drive as the TivoHD XL. This drive and its "brother" (the WD10EVCS) are also the most popular choices for internal drive upgrades.


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## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

Just got off the phone with TiVo support...

So they're saying basically that the product was released early. Apparently it is available in Australia but since they run a different firmware there the product is supported but NOT on US units which run a different firmware.

He said they usually do firmware updates near the beginning of the month, so it's looking like either 01 May or 01 June would be the likely release date for this to be supported. He says there's no guarantee it will be supported but that it seems likely.

I'm thinking I'll just return it to Amazon for a refund and wait until I hear about some official support. I've only got 30 days I think until I won't be able to get a refund.


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## myklup (Apr 7, 2009)

brd6644 said:


> I'm thinking I'll just return it to Amazon for a refund and wait until I hear about some official support. I've only got 30 days I think until I won't be able to get a refund.


I'm not letting them off that easy. They (tivo) locked down their hardware for only tivo approved harddrives. I played their game, i bought a harddrive with an $80 tivo sticker on it (assuming 1TB drive is $100 and this was $180). For that $80 i expect support from tivo - they licensed their name to WD.


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## Dmon4u (Jul 15, 2000)

The time you gain seems a bit confusing. It appears from what is written that you get more than you would think - based on the amount of time one gets with a similiar drive built into an XL.

Am I wrong ?


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

myklup said:


> I'm not letting them off that easy. They (tivo) locked down their hardware for only tivo approved harddrives. I played their game, i bought a harddrive with an $80 tivo sticker on it (assuming 1TB drive is $100 and this was $180). For that $80 i expect support from tivo - they licensed their name to WD.


you need to relax. Tivo gave WD permission to put the sticker on AFTER A CERTAIN DATE. It's not yet that date. Hence Tivo isn't supporting it, hence WD denies all knowledge, hence Amazon wont sell it yet.

If you dont get supported after that date then go ahead and complain. But having a hissy fit because you aren't getting support for a product before it's launch date isn't going to get you far.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

What you seemed to have experienced is a shipping error by Amazon, not a lack of support from Tivo. Tivo has not released it for the US market.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

Dmon4u said:


> The time you gain seems a bit confusing. It appears from what is written that you get more than you would think - based on the amount of time one gets with a similiar drive built into an XL.
> 
> Am I wrong ?


internal drives are partitioned with space for recordings and space for the OS and other stuff. External drives just get space for recordings. So the same size drive used externally will have more room on it for recordings.

Beyond that the partitions for recordings also have space reserved for the buffer, showcases, and other stuff. An add on drive wont need all that (although I'm not sure of how it currently behaves- at one point add-on drives did get some amount of space on them 'reserved' but i think that got adjusted downward at some point when the huge drives starting coming along.)

I'm not sure what numbers get listed and where- i dont pay much attention personally, but i think the above explains much of the difference.


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

Several people have seen an update pushed from tivo in the last couple of days that appears to add additional external drive model numbers and firmware revisions to the supported list.

In particular:

```
model=WDC WD10EVVS-63E1B1
fwrev=01.01A01
```
which may be this drive.

This is not a full software update; it's been seen on 11.0b.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

JamieP said:


> Several people have seen an update pushed from tivo in the last couple of days that appears to add additional external drive model numbers and firmware revisions to the supported list.
> 
> In particular:
> 
> ...


is that the information I should see in system information if i have this drive installed? I can double check tonight that is the data it reports if we aren't already certain that is this drive.


----------



## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

MichaelK said:


> is that the information I should see in system information if i have this drive installed? I can double check tonight that is the data it reports if we aren't already certain that is this drive.


I'm not certain, but it's worth checking.


----------



## Shanezam203 (Jul 28, 2007)

CUfuzzy said:


> I had just bought the 500gb expander at BB, but saw this thread before I opened it. Returned it, and am waiting for someone on this thread to have success with the 1tb expander before I buy it off of Amazon.
> 
> Let us know as soon as you get it working! Good luck!


Same here! Once it is working I will get 1tb and my goal is to have all 180 episodes of Seinfeld available at once. 

http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/ThePoolGuy.html


----------



## myklup (Apr 7, 2009)

So here's my breakdown of who I talked to today:
12:00 Noon - WD Tier 3 calls me back as promised and says "It will work with an update Tivo is pushing this week" - my question - "What is the version number of the software you have tested the dvr expander with" - his answer "Call you back"
3:00 PM - WD Tier 3 calls me back and tells me it is not a version issue - this is a seperate list of supported devices, but that 11.0b is the one they were using in house for testing - and says to ask Tivo for the update
4:00 PM - Call tivo (on my way home in the car) to ask for update of supported devices list. All of tivo's support people are friendly, and professional, but unfortunately have no apparant link to Tivo engineering department because they say "The ONLY supported device is the 500gb WD MY DVR EXPANDER, and the tivo verified sticker means nothing. Return the 1TB drive, or wait until it shows up on our website for sale"

6:00PM (After being stuck in boston traffic) - I get home, force connect, reboot, shut down, plug in drive and

IT WORKS! on both of my THD's. Now showing 165 HD hours or 1444 SD hours!

Just to confirm one more time - it now works perfectly, on both of my THDs!


----------



## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

Sounds like TiVo pushed out support for the 1TB My Expander in the last day or so. Can anyone else confirm?

brd6644?


----------



## Shanezam203 (Jul 28, 2007)

myklup said:


> IT WORKS! on both of my THD's. Now showing 165 HD hours or 1444 SD hours!
> 
> Just to confirm one more time - it now works perfectly, on both of my THDs!


So anyone can purchase one now, and do an Update after plug and play and it works?

Or is it not that easy?

Thank you guys,
Shane


----------



## AbMagFab (Feb 5, 2001)

Shanezam203 said:


> Same here! Once it is working I will get 1tb and my goal is to have all 180 episodes of Seinfeld available at once.
> 
> http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/ThePoolGuy.html


That's a very depressing life goal...


----------



## emfusion (Apr 10, 2009)

This is a dumb question. What is the version of sw you have?

Thanks

Edwin



myklup said:


> So here's my breakdown of who I talked to today:
> 12:00 Noon - WD Tier 3 calls me back as promised and says "It will work with an update Tivo is pushing this week" - my question - "What is the version number of the software you have tested the dvr expander with" - his answer "Call you back"
> 3:00 PM - WD Tier 3 calls me back and tells me it is not a version issue - this is a seperate list of supported devices, but that 11.0b is the one they were using in house for testing - and says to ask Tivo for the update
> 4:00 PM - Call tivo (on my way home in the car) to ask for update of supported devices list. All of tivo's support people are friendly, and professional, but unfortunately have no apparant link to Tivo engineering department because they say "The ONLY supported device is the 500gb WD MY DVR EXPANDER, and the tivo verified sticker means nothing. Return the 1TB drive, or wait until it shows up on our website for sale"
> ...


----------



## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

myklup said:


> Just to confirm one more time - it now works perfectly, on both of my THDs!


Do you think the update is the same one that put the Netflix folder in Find Programs?


----------



## stujac (Jan 26, 2002)

I have the netflix folder but still have 11.0b


----------



## SJPstl (Mar 27, 2005)

Awesome! I just ordered one from J&R. $179.99, no tax, no shipping. It said it should ship in 1-2 days.

It seems like I have been waiting for this for years. Maybe it has been that long.


----------



## Shanezam203 (Jul 28, 2007)

SJPstl said:


> Awesome! I just ordered one from J&R. $179.99, no tax, no shipping. It said it should ship in 1-2 days.
> 
> It seems like I have been waiting for this for years. Maybe it has been that long.


Here is the link if anyone else needs it.

http://www.jr.com/western-digital/pe/WD_WDG1S10000N/


----------



## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

Joe01880 said:


> Do you think the update is the same one that put the Netflix folder in Find Programs?


It doesn't require a new version of the software. TiVo just has to add that model to their list of supported devices, which is downloaded during the nightly service connection.

TiVo enabled support for the 1TB drive in the AU market last week, and it _sounds_ like they've now done the same thing in the US market.


----------



## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

Now we need an upgrade path from the 500Gb to 1Tb without loosing programs...


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

There might be some sort of hack to do that, but I wouldn't expect an official upgrade path from 500GB-1TB. The S3/TiVoHD only has one eSATA port and TiVo is not the kind of company to involve a PC in any sort of official upgrade path.

Dan


----------



## Jonathan_S (Oct 23, 2001)

MighTiVo said:


> Now we need an upgrade path from the 500Gb to 1Tb without loosing programs...


Well there are a couple, but they're slow, unreliably, laborious paths that involves having either:

1) a computer with a free terrabyte of space and a cable company that doesn't set no-copy flags on their content.*
2) a 2nd TiVo with lots of free space and a cable company that doesn't set no-copy flags on their content.*

I agree we could use a _better_ upgrade path.

*Use TiVo Desktop to copy every program off your TiVo to your PC. 4 days later, pull all the news shows that recorded while you were transfering. (Or do a MRV copy to your 2nd TiVo, this will be faster but still not _quick_. Once this process ends, pull the 500 GB drive, hook up the 1TB and copy everything back


----------



## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

Jonathan_S said:


> Well there are a couple, but they're slow, unreliably, laborious paths that involves having either:
> 
> 1) a computer with a free terrabyte of space and a cable company that doesn't set no-copy flags on their content.*
> 2) a 2nd TiVo with lots of free space and a cable company that doesn't set no-copy flags on their content.*
> ...


Or, just buy yet another TiVo, hook the new 1 TB drive up to that, and use MRV.


----------



## myklup (Apr 7, 2009)

emfusion said:


> This is a dumb question. What is the version of sw you have?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Edwin


Sorry for the delay in response - software version is 11.0b-01-2-652

Does seem like the compatibility came at about the same time as the new placement of the netflix in now playing.... may be linked?


----------



## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

aindik said:


> Or, just buy yet another TiVo, hook the new 1 TB drive up to that, and use MRV.


That's what he said:



Jonathan_S said:


> 2) a 2nd TiVo with lots of free space and a cable company that doesn't set no-copy flags on their content.*


Of course the CCI bit can't be set.


----------



## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

Dan203 said:


> There might be some sort of hack to do that, but I wouldn't expect an official upgrade path from 500GB-1TB. The S3/TiVoHD only has one eSATA port and TiVo is not the kind of company to involve a PC in any sort of official upgrade path.
> 
> Dan


I think TiVo Desktop could be useful here.

Have a system menu on the TiVo - prepare for SATA removal

All this would need to do is stop new recordings from going to the SATA and mark shows would be deleted if the SATA drive would be removed with a special color or icon in NPL.

You then go to Desktop and manually move all programs you want to save before you remove the SATA drive.


----------



## Phantom Gremlin (Jun 20, 2002)

MighTiVo said:


> I think TiVo Desktop could be useful here.
> 
> Have a system menu on the TiVo - prepare for SATA removal
> 
> ...


The problem with your idea is it would be useful to people like me. Can't have that. Instead, TiVo offers me a chance to order a crappy pizza from Dominos. Yuck.


----------



## phil4v4 (Apr 10, 2009)

myklup said:


> So here's my breakdown of who I talked to today:
> 12:00 Noon - WD Tier 3 calls me back as promised and says "It will work with an update Tivo is pushing this week" - my question - "What is the version number of the software you have tested the dvr expander with" - his answer "Call you back"
> 3:00 PM - WD Tier 3 calls me back and tells me it is not a version issue - this is a seperate list of supported devices, but that 11.0b is the one they were using in house for testing - and says to ask Tivo for the update
> 4:00 PM - Call tivo (on my way home in the car) to ask for update of supported devices list. All of tivo's support people are friendly, and professional, but unfortunately have no apparant link to Tivo engineering department because they say "The ONLY supported device is the 500gb WD MY DVR EXPANDER, and the tivo verified sticker means nothing. Return the 1TB drive, or wait until it shows up on our website for sale"
> ...


Has anyone else been able to make the 1TB expander work? 
Myklup... Have you heard of any other successes? Will it be supported?


----------



## TiVoJerry (Jul 26, 2005)

Sorry for not being able to post now due to the prerelease glitch, but I can confirm that the support for the 1TB model was added to the servers.


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2007)

TiVoJerry said:


> Sorry for not being able to post now due to the prerelease glitch, but I can confirm that the support for the 1TB model was added to the servers.


Great!

Mine shipped yesterday, so should be here in a few days.


----------



## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

[LOL_On] Wouldn't it be a hoot if WD/TiVo offered some form of upgrade/reduced price path for current 500gb owners to upgrade/switch to the 1tb......[/LOL_On]

While I would really like that, my 500gb seems to be just fine space-wise. We probably never hit much more than about 50%-60% full, and that was in the middle of the TV season. With a lot of re-runs as we head towards sweeps, and with summer fare coming up, I think we'll be fine.

But I am UMFing for the 1tb drive. Of course, I could pick up a 1tb internal and work on that this summer..........


----------



## zlguocius (Apr 14, 2009)

Shanezam203 said:


> So anyone can purchase one now, and do an Update after plug and play and it works?
> 
> Or is it not that easy?
> 
> ...


I can confirm it works. I have the exact model number under discussion here; my drive and box look exactly like brd6644's. In fact, I found this thread by googling "WD10000F032", which was listed on the back of my box.

I received my 1TB MyDVR Expander today from jr.com. It was basically plug and play (after the initial reset, I had to go into a menu to choose the option to activate the drive). My total capacity went from ~32 hours on highest quality to ~244 hours now.

Hooray!


----------



## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

zlguocius said:


> I received my 1TB MyDVR Expander today from jr.com. It was basically plug and play (after the initial reset, I had to go into a menu to choose the option to activate the drive). My total capacity went from ~32 hours on highest quality to ~244 hours now.


The System Information screen reports 244 HD hours for HD? That can't be right.


----------



## zlguocius (Apr 14, 2009)

bkdtv said:


> The System Information screen reports 244 HD hours for HD? That can't be right.


Oops, just checked again. It says 244 hours on "highest quality", but no mention of HD. I can submit photos if desired, but I surmise from the first page of this thread that I have to spam a lot of posts before being able to do that.

Anyway, I can confirm the 1TB WD drive works as intended now.


----------



## TiVoJerry (Jul 26, 2005)

Check the entry in System Information. It will list HD and SD hours.


----------



## zlguocius (Apr 14, 2009)

TiVoJerry said:


> Check the entry in System Information. It will list HD and SD hours.


Thanks, sorry. In that space it says 165 HD hours & 1,444 SD hours.


----------



## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

Do you think the price on the WD 1TB My DVR Eaxpander is going to come down, stay the same or go up in the near future?

Im trying to decide to score one now or wait to see if there is a Memorial Day sale.


----------



## Shawn95GT (Oct 7, 2005)

I have a 500 Gig Explander gatehring dust... can I pop the case and put in a WD10EVVS and have a home grown 1TB Expander?

Bleh if I'm going to that trouble I'd just put the 1TB drive on-board.


----------



## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

Shawn95GT said:


> I have a 500 Gig Explander gatehring dust... can I pop the case and put in a WD10EVVS and have a home grown 1TB Expander?
> 
> Bleh if I'm going to that trouble I'd just put the 1TB drive on-board.


The case has nothing to do with drive compatibility. The drive itself has to match one of the following strings:

{model=WDC WD5000AVJS-63TRA0|fwrev=12.01C01|bits=0x00000000}
{model=WDC WD5000AVVS-63ZWB0|fwrev=01.01B01|bits=0x00000000}
{model=WDC WD10EVVS-63E1B1|fwrev=01.01A01|bits=0x00000000}


----------



## larrs (May 2, 2005)

bkdtv said:


> The case has nothing to do with drive compatibility. The drive itself has to match one of the following strings:
> 
> {model=WDC WD5000AVJS-63TRA0|fwrev=12.01C01|bits=0x00000000}
> {model=WDC WD5000AVVS-63ZWB0|fwrev=01.01B01|bits=0x00000000}
> {model=WDC WD10EVVS-63E1B1|fwrev=01.01A01|bits=0x00000000}


So does that mean that I can replace the case with a more robust (IMHO) case with better fan like an MX-1?


----------



## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

larrs said:


> So does that mean that I can replace the case with a more robust (IMHO) case with better fan like an MX-1?


There's no way for the Tivo to know what case you are using. There's no controller on the case. All it contains is a fan and the power source. eSATA is basically just a SATA connection. I've never messed with the Tivo expander, but I can't see how it could be doing anything proprietary.


----------



## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

Funny, I just started the return process through Amazon but haven't shipped the unit yet. I'll test it and let you guys know what I find later this evening.


----------



## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

I can confirm that it works! The drive was recognized and I was prompted for set up, and after two full startups I am greeted with this glorious info on my System Info screen:










Better late than never.


----------



## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

Anyone with a TiVo HD XL install one yet?


----------



## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

Adam1115 said:


> Anyone with a TiVo HD XL install one yet?


300 HD hours.


----------



## TiVoJerry (Jul 26, 2005)

brd6644 said:


> I can confirm that it works!
> Better late than never.


I told ya so!


----------



## SJPstl (Mar 27, 2005)

Mine was delivered from J&R today. About 10 minutes later, the system info reported 179HD.


----------



## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

brd6644 said:


> I can confirm that it works! The drive was recognized and I was prompted for set up, and after two full startups I am greeted with this glorious info on my System Info screen


I highly suggest, you edit that screen shot to mask out the TiVo Service Number. It's not something you want to make public.


----------



## RossoNeri (Nov 26, 2005)

Joe01880 said:


> Following the above link the product desciptions is as follows;
> Product Description
> 
> *Instantly add up to 60 hours of high-definition TV or up to 300 hours of standard-definition TV *to your Scientific Atlanta 8300 or 8300HD DVR. My DVR Expander is ideal for the living room or bedrooms.
> ...


And below that the page (now) says:

Product Description
Compatible with TiVo / You no longer have to delete your favorite episodes just to save space / Sleek and stylish / Easy to use

<shrug>


----------



## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

morac said:


> I highly suggest, you edit that screen shot to mask out the TiVo Service Number. It's not something you want to make public.


Thanks for the tip; I've updated the photo.


----------



## SJPstl (Mar 27, 2005)

brd6644 said:


> Thanks for the tip; I've updated the photo.


um . . . no you haven't. I still see the service number.


----------



## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

Your browser must be caching the photo because I've updated it over at Photo Bucket. I'll kill that photo altogether and replace it with one at a new URL.

Update: Done...

Anyways, pretty ridiculous that one would need to secure your TiVo service number. Once it's linked to a TiVo account it shouldn't be usable by anyone other than the account owner.

</rant>


----------



## TiVoJerry (Jul 26, 2005)

brd6644 said:


> Your browser must be caching the photo because I've updated it over at Photo Bucket. I'll kill that photo altogether and replace it with one at a new URL.
> 
> Update: Done...
> 
> ...


It's always better not to have the information out there. While extremely unlikely, someone could possibly find a way to use it to their advantage at a later time. Better safe than sorry.


----------



## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

Yep, all good, I've done everything I can to purge my service number from the internetz...

Anyways, glad to see this issue has finally been resolved. I suppose 2 weeks isn't a terrible turnaround time, I was just frustrated that everyone was telling me the product sitting in my hands did not exist.


----------



## Alcatraz (Nov 22, 2000)

Sounds like someone slipped and put it up for sale:down: before Tivo could, or would, tell there phone reps.


----------



## DaveMN (Nov 14, 2001)

Amazon is now listing it at $167.70 for preorder:
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239563184&sr=8-3

Just ordered mine.


----------



## brd6644 (Apr 1, 2009)

Ugh, gonna contact them and see if they will give me the difference. I ordered it two weeks ago for $199.


----------



## Shanezam203 (Jul 28, 2007)

Got mine yesterday, it works fine after a reset and update.


----------



## riz (Dec 30, 2000)

DaveMN said:


> Amazon is now listing it at $167.70 for preorder:
> http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239563184&sr=8-3
> 
> Just ordered mine.


when does amazon expect to ship and d they pricematch pre-orders if they lower the price before shipping it?

thx
riz


----------



## DaveMN (Nov 14, 2001)

riz said:


> when does amazon expect to ship and d they pricematch pre-orders if they lower the price before shipping it?


They don't mention a date, but I'm assuming it won't be long. I believe they have a pricing policy that will give you the best price on any preorders. You should probably verify that, however.


----------



## riz (Dec 30, 2000)

DaveMN said:


> They don't mention a date, but I'm assuming it won't be long. I believe they have a pricing policy that will give you the best price on any preorders. You should probably verify that, however.


thx, hmmm
--------------------------------------
_*Amazon.com Pre-Order Price Guarantee

Amazon.com's price for not-yet-released items sometimes changes between the time the item is listed for sale and the time it is released and shipped. Whenever you pre-order a book, CD, video, DVD, video game, or software item, the price we charge when we ship it to you will be the lowest price offered by Amazon.com between the time you place your order and the release date. The order summary in Your Account will reflect the lowest price within 24 hours of the price change.

Please note that our Pre-Order Price Guarantee applies only to items sold by Amazon.com, and not to items (or prices) offered by other sellers on our site.

If your order enters the shipping process before the release date and the price is lowered on the release date, we will automatically refund your credit card for the difference between the price you were charged and the release-date price. If you did not use a credit card to pay for your order, please contact customer service through the Contact Us box on the right side of any Help page. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=468502&qid=1240007969&sr=1-2*_
---------------------------------------------
the only _weird_ wording is "Whenever you pre-order a book, CD, video, DVD, video game, or software item," this is none of those lol but I would obviously bet that it would be the same


----------



## mgorsk02 (Apr 14, 2009)

I jumped on this too. I've only had my Tivo for 3 days and I had to get this. Now I just want the last 3 years of my DVR watching life back. I am coming from a SA8300HD on the SARA software so people familiar with that will know what I'm saying.


----------



## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

DaveMN said:


> Amazon is now listing it at $167.70 for preorder:
> http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239563184&sr=8-3
> 
> Just ordered mine.


Thanks for posting that, i had a $40 gift card for Amazon bringing the total to $127.50, couldnt pass that up!


----------



## Videodrome (Jun 20, 2008)

DaveMN said:


> Amazon is now listing it at $167.70 for preorder:
> http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239563184&sr=8-3
> 
> Just ordered mine.


I just went in and canceled my original order, Amazon sometimes does things after the fact. I would encourage people to cancel, because i am sure they might make a mistake. Two times in the past , i had a price change and it didn't reflect. Programming error of course.


----------



## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

mgorsk02 said:


> I jumped on this too. I've only had my Tivo for 3 days and I had to get this. Now I just want the last 3 years of my DVR watching life back. I am coming from a SA8300HD on the SARA software so people familiar with that will know what I'm saying.


*THREE YEARS!!!* Ugh. I was beyond my limit of tolerance at 3 months.


----------



## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

lrhorer said:


> *THREE YEARS!!!* Ugh. I was beyond my limit of tolerance at 3 months.


Im close to owning my TiVo HD 2 months and also have a FiOS HD DVR and i am running out of room on both now. The 1 TB esata is going to come in handy.


----------



## xboard07 (Dec 16, 2007)

Any word on a release date yet?


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> Mine shipped yesterday, so should be here in a few days.


Arrived today - 24 hours late (UPS claimed nobody was at home yesterday to receive the package, which is untrue; I really dislike UPS).

Installation didn't go totally smoothly; when I powered everything back up the TiVo did detect the new hardware, but after the obligatory reboot to enable the external storage I checked system information and saw only a blank field for both recording capacity and account status. Checking the "Info" screen for a 2-hour HD recording showed 12.75GB, which was now reported as 1% of system capacity. I then tried to pull up a Program Guide screen to check that recording was working, and the TiVo hung, with "0" in the channel number above the right half of the screen, and chanel 1, "On Demand", highlighted on the left half. There was no information on the right pane.
At this point the TiVo was unresponsive.

After another reboot the system information showed the expected 165/1444 capacity, and "Account in good standing". Switching to live TV got me the "acquiring channel information" screen, but after around another 30 seconds that went away and I now appear to be up and running.

It rather looks as though my TiVo had to phone home as part of the installation. Have other people expereinced this?


----------



## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

xboard07 said:


> Any word on a release date yet?


Amazon is now shipping them, afaik.


----------



## Joe Siegler (May 10, 2000)

bkdtv said:


> Amazon is shipping them.


My order still says "we don't know what date", and the listing on their site says pretty much the same thing.


----------



## stujac (Jan 26, 2002)

I ordered mine from JandR yesterday. They price-matched (plus $2) the Amazon deal so I got it for 169 shipped. Since these boxes are reported to last approx 12 to 14 months, I got the extended warranty for 19. Should be here today. Does it come with the cable? Is it a simple usb cable or an sata cable or are they one in the same?


----------



## Shawn95GT (Oct 7, 2005)

It comes with a cable and it is completely different than USB.


----------



## TDoodle (Mar 23, 2009)

Just put one on order with Amazon too. I'm not in a big hurry for it, but can see that disk space on the standard 160GB is going to be an limiting issue with our Tivo HD. I'm OK to wait for Amazon to start shipping (which I would guess will be soon). 

Also noticed that B&H has the drive on sale for $159.95, but there is shipping cost that applies ($10.99) to my location. From the posts here, looks like J&R (with Amazon price match) is the best overall deal if you need this disk right away.

Rick


----------



## stujac (Jan 26, 2002)

Don't forget, you have to call JandR to get them to come close (within $2) of the price match. That includes shipping but in my case, I'm one state away so not sure if they would charge more for longer distances. New York residents will have to pay tax.


----------



## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

Western Digital Press Release dated today:
http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/04-22-2009/0005010636&EDATE=


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2007)

Possibly just a coincidence, but we experienced our first grey screen Netflix hang the day after installing the expander.


----------



## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

When do you think Amazon will get around to shipping them?


----------



## TDoodle (Mar 23, 2009)

After reading the recent threads about WD officially announcing the product this week and the fact that some online resellers have been shipping product, I decided to just ask Amazon the question. I asked when they think the drive will move from "not yet released" status now that Western Digital has released the product and it is in stock at some online resellers? Here's an excerpt from the reply that I just got a few minutes ago from Amazon:

"We rely on the manufacturer for release date information. Our latest information indicates that "Western Digital WDG1S10000N My DVR Expander 1TB eSATA (Black)" has not yet been released and the expected release date is not known. As soon as the item has been released, we'll be able to ship it to you. As per our standard policy, we do not charge you for items until they enter the shipping process, so you will not be charged for this item until it is available and we have shipped it to you.

If you haven't received a shipment confirmation by June 22, let us know by visiting the URL below:"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/wheres-my-stuff.html/

That's about the crux of the reply,

Rick


----------



## stujac (Jan 26, 2002)

TDoodle-just cancel it and go to J&R and they'll price match. You have to call them, however. I called Tuesday and it was here Wednesday.


----------



## noads123 (Apr 25, 2009)

Oops - I already have 1/2 of that 1 TB as I bought the 500 GB last year from WD per TiVo's suggestion. How do I upgrade without losing those movies? Is there a daisy chain or swap process?


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

How's the noise on this?

Anyone add it _*after*_ installing CableCARDS? Do you have to redo guided setup or re-authorize/pair the cards?


----------



## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

noads123 said:


> Oops - I already have 1/2 of that 1 TB as I bought the 500 GB last year from WD per TiVo's suggestion. How do I upgrade without losing those movies? Is there a daisy chain or swap process?


nope.

if you have a second tivo AND none of the content is flagged you can move all the content to the other tivo before you "divorce" the 500gb.

Otherwise basically everything recorded since the time you plugged the 500gb in will be lost once you unplug it.

(well actually- if you dont mind cracking open the case, pulling the internal drive and sticking all 3 drives in a pc- then you may be able to manually move everything and prep the new drive (it's been a while I'm not certain). head on to the "underground" or "upgrade" sections of this forum.)


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

MichaelK said:


> (well actually- if you dont mind cracking open the case, pulling the internal drive and sticking all 3 drives in a pc- then you may be able to manually move everything and prep the new drive (it's been a while I'm not certain). head on to the "underground" or "upgrade" sections of this forum.)


Not possible using WinMFS.  Not aware of any way of preserving recordings w/o offloading first (to a PC via Tivo2Go or another Tivo via MRV).


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

Bierboy said:


> Anyone add it _*after*_ installing CableCARDS? Do you have to redo guided setup or re-authorize/pair the cards?


No. Shouldn't ever have to do that when just adding an external drive.


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

greg_burns said:


> No. Shouldn't ever have to do that when just adding an external drive.


Great...thanks. Normally I would upgrade the internal drive (which I did with my original S3 - but BEFORE I had CableCARDS installed). I had such a problem with our local cableco when I installed the cards on my new TiVo HD that I don't want to mess with them again.


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

Bierboy said:


> Great...thanks. Normally I would upgrade the internal drive (which I did with my original S3 - but BEFORE I had CableCARDS installed). I had such a problem with our local cableco when I installed the cards on my new TiVo HD that I don't want to mess with them again.


If you use WinMFS to copy your current internal drive to a new one it WILL preserve your CableCard settings (along with everything else).

As an added benefit you will be left with a backup drive which you can shelve that has those settings as well.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

greg_burns said:


> Not possible using WinMFS.  Not aware of any way of preserving recordings w/o offloading first (to a PC via Tivo2Go or another Tivo via MRV).


is winMFS the only tool that works with the Series 3's? If not is there anything that can do work for people trying to go from 500gb external tpo one tb?

(sorry it's been a while- haven't kept up on the tools)


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## jeffw_00 (Sep 19, 2000)

I'm wondering about winMFS too. I have an external P/P expander and wanted to backup my internal drive as a precaution, and I'm told WinMFS won't do this because when used with the external expander Tivo writes something somewhere on the internal disk that WinMFS doesn't backup, so a restored drive won't work. Apparently the WinMFS people have a bias against external P/P expander so they won't support backup/restore for people who have one. Are they the only game in town?
/j


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## TDoodle (Mar 23, 2009)

stujac said:


> TDoodle-just cancel it and go to J&R and they'll price match. You have to call them, however. I called Tuesday and it was here Wednesday.


After the rather lackluster reponse that I got from Amazon last week as to when they would have the WD 1TB Expander in stock, I decided to take your advice and place the order with J&R instead. There is also some "history" that I have with Amazon over the years of seeing them play around with order delivery, so it didn't really take much to encourage me to cancel with them and buy from someone else. I have made many purchases through Amazon for many years, but occasionally I get the "cold-fuzzies" about them and this is one of those times. Telling me to check back with them if I don't receive the product by the end of June was the start of that feeling.

Anyway, I called J&R, they have the drive in stock and they matched Amazon's price to the penny including the free shipping. The guy did have to go away for a few minutes and discuss it with his boss since they are supposed to only price match things that Amazon has in-stock. It was a pleasant ordering expereince with J&R and my first order with them.

Rick


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## jeffw_00 (Sep 19, 2000)

did you check price at newegg?


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

jeffw_00 said:


> did you check price at newegg?


They don't list it on their Web site -- only the 500GB model.


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## TDoodle (Mar 23, 2009)

jeffw_00 said:


> did you check price at newegg?


I buy a lot of stuff from NewEgg and they are my favorite place and internet reseller, but they do not list the 1TB product. Right now, of the larger named places, you have a choice between Amazon, J&R or B&H Photo. Amazon doesn't have it and J&R/B&H have had stock on the product for a couple of weeks (on and off). B&H's price is very competitive, but has shipping costs that bring it above the price offered by Amazon and matched by J&R.

Rick


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## stujac (Jan 26, 2002)

Geez-you did better than I did. They matched all but $2. No biggie. Congrats; when is it due?


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## TDoodle (Mar 23, 2009)

stujac said:


> Geez-you did better than I did. They matched all but $2. No biggie. Congrats; when is it due?


Maybe they gave me a couple bucks more because I was a new customer...I don't know. My first question to them before asking for the price match was "is it in-stock" and they said "yes", so it should be here in 3-4 days if they ship today. I'm really not in a big hurry for the drive, but do have to admit that I could use the extra space over the standard 160GB disk in our TivoHD.

When I asked for the price match, the initial (polite) response from J&R was that since Amazon doesn't have it in stock and is not shipping, that J&R could not do the match. But the guy wanted to check with his boss and then they decided to do it anyway (which was what I'd expected they would do).

Thanks for your suggestion on going over to J&R.

Rick


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## stujac (Jan 26, 2002)

Great news. I love J&R - they will always bargain (only on the phone) if they have adequate stock. I was in New York City on Sunday and wanted to make a pilgrimage to their store but ran out of time.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

TDoodle said:


> ...
> 
> Anyway, I called J&R, they have the drive in stock and they matched Amazon's price to the penny including the free shipping. The guy did have to go away for a few minutes and discuss it with his boss since they are supposed to only price match things that Amazon has in-stock. It was a pleasant ordering expereince with J&R and my first order with them.
> 
> Rick


I've ordered a bit from J&R over the years. Never had anything but a pleasant experience. They price match really easily. And if you are the hagling type you can just call them about ANY item and say "hey what cvan you do for me"- they are very negotiable.


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## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

I got tired of waiting for Amazon to get off the pot so i cancelled my order and called J&R yesterday at 2pm, my NEW 1TB DVR Expander arrived TODAY at 2pm, thats what i call service! They matched Amazon's 167.70 too!


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

yep- the almost always ship that night and they ship from Queens NY (maspeth actually i beleive) so their free ups ground is overnight to a good chunk of the northeast.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

noads123 said:


> Oops - I already have 1/2 of that 1 TB as I bought the 500 GB last year from WD per TiVo's suggestion. How do I upgrade without losing those movies? Is there a daisy chain or swap process?


I'm afraid most, if not all, of the movies recorded after the addition of the 500G drive will be lost. If they are not copy protected, you can copy them off onto an external PC.


----------



## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

Bierboy said:


> Anyone add it _*after*_ installing CableCARDS? Do you have to redo guided setup or re-authorize/pair the cards?


Marrying or divorcing an external drive does not affect the CableCard information.


----------



## Videodrome (Jun 20, 2008)

i just canceled my amazon order, tired of waiting.


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

greg_burns said:


> Not possible using WinMFS.  Not aware of any way of preserving recordings w/o offloading first (to a PC via Tivo2Go or another Tivo via MRV).


MFS_Live will work just fine, as long as the total drive size is less than 1T. Dealing with an upgrade to a drive larger than 1T still has some issues.


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## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

I connected my 1TB DVR expander this morning, could not have been easier, set up went smooth and it kept all the recordings already on the internal HDD.


----------



## Dark Helmet (Sep 15, 2006)

Dammit, I pulled the trigger too late on this one, and now it's out of stock at both J&R and B&H. I put in a pre-order at Amazon; does anyone else know if any other retailers have it?


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## TDoodle (Mar 23, 2009)

Got my external WD 1TB DVR Expander yesterday and it was a totally smooth process with J&R. Excellent shipping, packing and delivery time from J&R as well (ordered on Tuesday and received on Friday).

The new Disk is configured and working just fine with my TivoHD box. The only thing that the instructions didn't say was that Tivo would eventually send me a "pop-up Message" that the new drive needed to be configured.

After installing the drive and rebooting Tivo, there weren't any on-screen instructions about what to do next for the drive as the installation instructions had indicated. So, I looked into the System information screen and saw that my Disk space had not been updated to reflect the new external drive (still showed 21hrs HD and 184hrs SD). However, Tivo was reporting that the drive was present by name as an external drive.

So, I went back into the "Settings", "Remote, Cable Card & Devices", "External Storage" area, and ran the installer myself to configure the drive. All went well and the additional disk space was correctly showing in the System information screen. It was only at this point that the Tivo popped-up a Message informing me that I needed to configure the new external disk. Just a delayed automated reaction I guess. Since I had just done that very thing, I ignored and deleted the message. I think that message was supposed to have popped up much earlier after adding the new drive and rebooting the Tivo, but it did not.

By the way, I see that Amazon still doesn't acknowledge that the Western Digital 1TB Drive has been "released by the manufacturer" and they have raised their price too (about $5). I guess according to Amazon, people really don't have that drive, they just think they do!  I'm really glad I cancelled my order with Amazon for this product and took it over to J&R instead.

Rick


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

TDoodle said:


> ....After installing the drive and rebooting Tivo, there weren't any on-screen instructions about what to do next for the drive as the installation instructions had indicated. So, I looked into the System information screen and saw that my Disk space had not been updated to reflect the new external drive (still showed 21hrs HD and 184hrs SD). However, Tivo was reporting that the drive was present by name as an external drive.
> 
> So, I went back into the "Settings", "Remote, Cable Card & Devices", "External Storage" area, and ran the installer myself to configure the drive. All went well and the additional disk space was correctly showing in the System information screen....


That was my only beef with the installation process (when I added the 500GB Expander). I had the same "problem" and had to get to that menu to discover I had to run the installer for the added space to be recognized. Other than that, it's been a smooth transition.


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## CUfuzzy (Apr 3, 2009)

Got mine from B&H last week for 167.70 shipped before they ran out. Now it looks like amazon raised their preorder price. Install was simple, very pleased!

Available on ebay for only $459 + $30 shipping!
I'll match that price if anyone wants mine! Heck, I'll even throw in free shipping!

LOL!


----------



## gonefishin (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi all,

I got my 1TB drive last week. I hooked it up and it took a couple of install attempts before it recognized the drive. But it ended up showing the additional drive...so all was well.

Over the last few days I've been noticing that Tivo is saving a TON of recently deleted episodes, I'm talking 80 and above. But it keeps my Tivo suggested recording usually below five.

Is anyone else seeing this problem after installing the 1TB drive?

thanks,
dan


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

jeffw_00 said:


> I'm wondering about winMFS too. I have an external P/P expander and wanted to backup my internal drive as a precaution, and I'm told WinMFS won't do this because when used with the external expander Tivo writes something somewhere on the internal disk that WinMFS doesn't backup, so a restored drive won't work. Apparently the WinMFS people have a bias against external P/P expander so they won't support backup/restore for people who have one. Are they the only game in town?
> /j


There are no "people" writing WinMFS, it's just one person, and he has nothing against the My DVR Expanders. Indeed, as long as you use WinMFS or MFS_Live to marry the two drives, you can use WinMFS or possibly MFS_Live to copy the drives. The original KickStart method on the S3 and the MFS utilities use a different method of marrying the internal and external drives than the new automated procedures, creating a different partition table structure. The MFS utilities won't work on an S3 married using the internal routine, either, no matter what brand of drive is employed.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

gonefishin said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I got my 1TB drive last week. I hooked it up and it took a couple of install attempts before it recognized the drive. But it ended up showing the additional drive...so all was well.
> 
> ...


are you deleting the suggestions?

I'm under the impression it should keep anything recently deleted until the drive is full (if it's only been a week- you may not have even filled the drive yet). then once the drive is full with things YOU recorded, suggested recordings, and deleted stuff it will start clearning deleted items to add more suggestions and stuff you record. Once deleted is all gone and it needs more room for your stuff it will start deleteling suggestions.

at least that's the way I understand it.

So unless you ar deleting suggestions they should build and build and build I *think*


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## TDoodle (Mar 23, 2009)

MichaelK said:


> are you deleting the suggestions?
> 
> I'm under the impression it should keep anything recently deleted until the drive is full (if it's only been a week- you may not have even filled the drive yet). then once the drive is full with things YOU recorded, suggested recordings, and deleted stuff it will start clearning deleted items to add more suggestions and stuff you record. Once deleted is all gone and it needs more room for your stuff it will start deleteling suggestions.
> 
> ...


Yes, I've noticed that Tivo keeps deleted recordings in the deleted folder until disk space is needed for a new recording. We've had our 1TB DVR Expander running since Saturday and are not seeing any unusual amount of deleted items. We also have that Tivo feature disabled that allows Tivo to record things it thinks we would like to watch. My wife has no problem at all coming up with her own faves list. Our Tivo with the default Disk was running around with it's tongue hanging out from my wife's schedule. With this new 1TB Drive it's breathing better! 

Rick


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## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

gonefishin said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I got my 1TB drive last week. I hooked it up and it took a couple of install attempts before it recognized the drive. But it ended up showing the additional drive...so all was well.
> 
> ...


That's not a problem. That's normal operation.

You see more programs in Recently Deleted because they don't have to be deleted so fast to make room for new programs. Adding hard drive space doesn't necessarily increase your number of Suggestions; once you've refined your preferences by using Thumbs +/-, the TiVo becomes much more particular about the programs it records.

From the Using the TivoHD FAQ:



> *How does the TiVo determine what recordings to delete?*
> 
> By default, all new recordings are 'protected' for 48 hours.
> 
> ...


If you have ~80 programs in Recently Deleted, and 5 Suggestions, then that means you have space for ~85 new recordings.


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## gonefishin (Dec 29, 2007)

Now we're over 113 recently deleted and still only 3 tivo suggested recordings. Before adding the 1TB external drive we used to hover around 20-30 suggested recordings (if we we're caught up on our Tv watching).

I wonder if I have to set all my preferences again? I'll check. I did notice that all my season passes had to be re-set after adding the drive. They were still showing up in the to-do list...but didn't actually record the programs.

thanks,
dan


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## larrs (May 2, 2005)

gonefishin said:


> Now we're over 113 recently deleted and still only 3 tivo suggested recordings. Before adding the 1TB external drive we used to hover around 20-30 suggested recordings (if we we're caught up on our Tv watching).
> 
> I wonder if I have to set all my preferences again? I'll check. I did notice that all my season passes had to be re-set after adding the drive. They were still showing up in the to-do list...but didn't actually record the programs.
> 
> ...


I had the same thing happen to me at some point last year after adding an external drive. I finally reset the systeme and it started back recording suggestions.


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

gonefishin said:


> Now we're over 113 recently deleted and still only 3 tivo suggested recordings. Before adding the 1TB external drive we used to hover around 20-30 suggested recordings (if we we're caught up on our Tv watching).
> 
> I wonder if I have to set all my preferences again? I'll check. I did notice that all my season passes had to be re-set after adding the drive. They were still showing up in the to-do list...but didn't actually record the programs.
> 
> ...


Did you upgrade using WinMFS to copy over your settings? Or did you buy a preformatted drive from DVRUprade or Weeknees?

If preformatted you would loose all your setting (including its database about favored shows for suggestions.) Your SPs may have reappeared due to TiVo Magic though.

Edit: oh wait. We are talking about just adding a 1TB external? Then disregard.


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## mgorsk02 (Apr 14, 2009)

I ordered from Amazon on 04/17 and my account got charged today so I think they might be coming in even though it still doesn't say that its shipped.


----------



## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

just go an email that buy.com has them in stock for those looking.


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## Dark Helmet (Sep 15, 2006)

mgorsk02 said:


> I ordered from Amazon on 04/17 and my account got charged today so I think they might be coming in even though it still doesn't say that its shipped.


You were more patient than I. They were available Wednesday night from J&R, so I canceled my Amazon order placed an order with J&R. Mine shipped yesterday and should be here on Monday. Woo-hoo!


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## DaveMN (Nov 14, 2001)

I see Amazon has raised the price again ($183.57):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UHOR88


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

$169.99 on Amazon.com, via J&R Music World, In Stock, Free Shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UHOR88

Strange, my order from Amazon.com at $172.43 each, which has been sitting unshipped because it's a "pre-order"/no stock, and had increased in price since I ordered, now ends up showing the J&R model using the same URL.

Oh well, whatever. Sometimes Amazon is just strange.



--Doug.


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## gonefishin (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi all,

I went thru and re-selected my suggestions and everything has been fine since. Go figure???



I haven't had any other problems with the drive.

thanks all,
dan


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

I Tera-fied my Series 3's yesterday with 2 MyDVR 1TB drives from J&R. And canceled my "pre-order" for the other 2 drives from Amazon.

Just in time, too... I was falling behind and my suggestions were getting down to 2 or 3 left some days; there's just too much good stuff on UK TV and I'm falling behind on US TV, though din't want to just stop watching some of it... just save it for summer when there's little else to choose from.


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## AndyMorrison (Aug 23, 2004)

Amazon shipped my drive today. The product page still says not yet released.


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## Videodrome (Jun 20, 2008)

I got mine from J & R, on monday, its perfect. The delivery was one day, faster then amazon.


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## cholly (Mar 27, 2009)

My 500 MB expander started failing last month. Not having a way to run the WD diagnostics on it, I decided to purchase a new 1 TB one. I finally ordered one from J & R on the 11th and received it yesterday (the 13th). Fantastic delivery time! Installed the unit yesterday and had one issue that was corrected by a forced restart (empty now playing screen).


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## Shawn95GT (Oct 7, 2005)

cholly said:


> My 500 MB expander started failing last month. Not having a way to run the WD diagnostics on it, I decided to purchase a new 1 TB one. I finally ordered one from J & R on the 11th and received it yesterday (the 13th). Fantastic delivery time! Installed the unit yesterday and had one issue that was corrected by a forced restart (empty now playing screen).


I'm just curious, what was the symptom?

Was it just a matter of it saying the external storage was missing, or was it just acting like a bad hard drive?

My Tivo HD was hanging and sometimes not even booting. I pulled the expander and did a 1TB internal drive. I was gonna move the expander to one of the S3s but now I'm kind of spooked.


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## ThomC (Nov 4, 2003)

Have had the 1TB expander since it was available,
(as in before it was official).
I haven't had a single issue with it.


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## JohnDiamant (Feb 16, 2009)

Does anyone have reason to believe they've improved longevity of the 1 TB model over the original 500 Gb My DVR Expander (often failed after 1-1.5 years)? Plug and play 1 TB expansion without voiding the warranty is attractive, but a 1-1.5 year drive life expectency is not (longer warranty coverage may even avoid or reduce lifetime service transfer fees if a repair/replacement TiVo is needed in the original warranty period).


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## cholly (Mar 27, 2009)

Shawn95GT said:


> I'm just curious, what was the symptom?
> 
> Was it just a matter of it saying the external storage was missing, or was it just acting like a bad hard drive?
> 
> My Tivo HD was hanging and sometimes not even booting. I pulled the expander and did a 1TB internal drive. I was gonna move the expander to one of the S3s but now I'm kind of spooked.


I was getting spontaneous reboots and a number of hangs. I ran the kickstart test and the primary drive showed clean, but the external had some errors.


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## qwiksandx (May 22, 2009)

I've bought a 1tb expander drive 3 weeks ago, and my (australian) Tivo is completely unreliable while it is attached. 

My TIVO randomly reboots too (4 times while watching a one hour program)

TIVO support in Australia is basically ignoring me


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## TiVoJerry (Jul 26, 2005)

Have you followed any of the troubleshooting listed in our support article, especially performing Kickstart54 SMART drive diagnostics?


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## Joe Siegler (May 10, 2000)

I got my 1TB myDVR yesterday. Followed the instructions last night, got it working, but it didn't go completely according to the steps in my instructions.

Powered down, connected the MyDVR, plugged that in, waited, then turned on the TiVo. It powered up, and ended up at the regular menu. There was no automatic "Hey, you hooked this up, do you want to set it up" dialog box. I had to go find it in the setup menus. That's not a problem as such, beyond deviating from what I thought the procedure would be. From there, it went fine, no problems, but it didn't auto detect.

Once it finished doing it's thing and rebooting, I got an addtl screen on the bootup which said "Your Expansion drive has been authorized for use on this DVR" (or something like that, I forget the exact verbiage). I got back to the main menu, and went to system information, and it all seemed fine, as evidenced by this picture: 










Anyway, once I went back to TiVo Central from here, it was THEN I got the message saying my TiVo had detected an external expansion drive, and asked if I wanted to set it up. Uh, hello? I just did that. I deleted the message, and everything seemed fine.

There was one post install blip. After everything was running, I went to bump up all my programs so they didn't have yellow dots or exclamation points (Yeah, I know I don't HAVE to, but I like to). Anyway, I picked the first thing on the list, and bumped it up a few weeks. It sat there on "Please Wait" FOREVER. I thought "Well, OK, maybe for this first one it needs to run an indexing or something". So I came back about 10 minutes later, it was still doing it. Switched over to my Xbox 360, played a game for a bit, *came back AN HOUR later*, and it was still sitting there. This seemed wrong. I noticed the TiVo was still working behind it, because one of the two red lights came on, and then the second did at half hour breaks when new things were being recorded. But it was just stuck there at "Please Wait". I don't know if this is the fault of the MyDVR Expander at all, but I power cycled the TiVo from there, and when it came back, it all was working fine.

I've had no problems since then, and only that one stuck "Please Wait". Has anyone else run into that?


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Sometimes the initial marriage between the drive and the TiVo box doesn't go smoothly. Normally a restart or removing it and adding it again fixes this. 

I would keep an eye on it though, as the expander drives appear to have a higher fail rate than normal drives. Also whether the drives are working or not isn't cut and dry as it should be. One would think that the drive should either work flawlessly or fail to work at all, but that's not the case.

If you see any of the following things periodically on a regular basis (fixed by a restart), the drive, eSATA cable and/or power adapter are most likely bad:
1. Lock ups (obviously)
2. Screens not drawing in completely, especially the System Info screen.
3. Now Playing List loading extremely slowly
4. Background video (loopsets), not displaying in a timely fashion (i.e., seeing live TV in TiVo Central)
5. TiVo Service Connections, never finishing loading.

Basically anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes the above issues can be fixed by divorcing the drive and starting over, but not in all cases. If the drive passes the Kickstart 54 test, the drive itself is likely okay, but the cables could be bad.


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## TiVoJerry (Jul 26, 2005)

The autodetect sometimes takes five minutes or so to kick in, so if you married it up immediately the message is still expected to populate one time (it's not logical, but expected nevertheless). 

I wouldn't worry about the initial "Please Wait". The scheduler was likely reassessing everything now that it was given so much more space to work with.


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## Joe Siegler (May 10, 2000)

TiVoJerry said:


> The autodetect sometimes takes five minutes or so to kick in, so if you married it up immediately the message is still expected to populate one time (it's not logical, but expected nevertheless).


I would have figured the autodetect would be immediate.



> I wouldn't worry about the initial "Please Wait". The scheduler was likely reassessing everything now that it was given so much more space to work with.


I wasn't too worried about it either, but I waited for over an hour - that seemed excessive to me, so I assumed it was stuck and unplugged.


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## hugenut (Mar 24, 2009)

I installed one yesterday morning, and everything seemed smooth.

But last night when I was setting up some new season manager programs, the Tivo just went to the "powering up" screen.

This morning, I was watching regular live TV, the was looking into some of my recordings, and the same thing happened again where it went to the "powering up" screen and I had to wait like 5 minutes for the system to start up again.

Do I have a lemon? My Tivo worked fine until I added the 1 tb My Dvr expander....


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## TiVoJerry (Jul 26, 2005)

check your esata connection to make sure it is tight on both ends


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## hybucket (Nov 26, 2004)

morac said:


> Sometimes the initial marriage between the drive and the TiVo box doesn't go smoothly. Normally a restart or removing it and adding it again fixes this.
> 
> I would keep an eye on it though, as the expander drives appear to have a higher fail rate than normal drives. Also whether the drives are working or not isn't cut and dry as it should be. One would think that the drive should either work flawlessly or fail to work at all, but that's not the case.
> 
> ...


I have started to occasionally notice the Now Playing list filling in very slowly, once not at all until a restart. The unit has been in OK for 6 months or so. What is "Kickstart 54 Test?"


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

hybucket said:


> I have started to occasionally notice the Now Playing list filling in very slowly, once not at all until a restart. The unit has been in OK for 6 months or so. What is "Kickstart 54 Test?"


Check out this support article.


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## riz (Dec 30, 2000)

Hi guys, WD mydvr expander 1tb is only $129 at amazon now!!! and I have a off the wall question. If I plunk down and later do away with Tivo in favor of win 7 media center pc next year with quad tuners, can I use this 1tb drive in a pc or can I take out the drive and intsall it in a pc?

I did google this and came up empty. I can't imagine I wouldn't be able to use this 1 tb hdd in the future in a pc but cannot seem to verify this!

thx for your input,
riz


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## cjkreklow (Sep 6, 2008)

It's also $129 at Best Buy - I picked one up at the local BB last week. It was listed at $169 on the shelf, but I showed them the price online and they corrected it.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

riz said:


> Hi guys, WD mydvr expander 1tb is only $129 at amazon now!!! and I have a off the wall question. If I plunk down and later do away with Tivo in favor of win 7 media center pc next year with quad tuners, can I use this 1tb drive in a pc or can I take out the drive and intsall it in a pc?


The expander is simply a drive with an eSATA connector so as long as you have an eSATA connector on your PC (or a USB to eSATA converter) it will work fine there.


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## riz (Dec 30, 2000)

well i thought maybe it has a special file system to not be readable on a pc? to prevent piracy? you think it's readable without doing anything special? 

thx


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## TostitoBandito (Sep 18, 2006)

I've had this drive (1 TB) for several months now. The only problem I've had is a semi-recurring issue where new recordings won't actually record to disk. They'll be listed as recording but nothing in the buffer actually gets written to disk and the final recording will be zero-length. I believe this occurs when the usage on the entire disk volume (including "recently deleted") is at or very near 100% and it is unable in this instance to free up space as it should. I've fixed this both times by deleting some stuff from the "recently deleted" folder. The second time this happened when I actually caught it in the act (instead of afterwards via empty recordings) I saw the recordings immediately begin writing to disk as soon as I deleted a program from the "recently deleted" folder.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

riz said:


> well i thought maybe it has a special file system to not be readable on a pc? to prevent piracy? you think it's readable without doing anything special?


Oh you are asking if you can read the TiVo files off the drive once it's been paired with a TiVo DVR. The answer to that is no.

I thought you were asking if the drive can be used on a PC. The answer to that is yes, if you format it.


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## riz (Dec 30, 2000)

morac said:


> Oh you are asking if you can read the TiVo files off the drive once it's been paired with a TiVo DVR. The answer to that is no.
> 
> I thought you were asking if the drive can be used on a PC. The answer to that is yes, if you format it.


no, you were right the first time... I am considering building a win 7 media center pc in the new year with the announcements of those new quad tuner cards and relaxed drms but need to go until at last january so since the price dropped, i want to buy the 1tb mydvr but I want to make sure that hdd inside is totally formattable and useable in a future pc, just for hdd space...

I wanted to make sure they didn't lock that drive out from normal pc use i guess is my question


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

riz said:


> I wanted to make sure they didn't lock that drive out from normal pc use i guess is my question


The drive will work fine on a PC after it has been used with a TiVo DVR. Windows will simply treat the drive like any other drive it doesn't recognize. You'll simply need to partition and format it.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

riz said:


> Hi guys, WD mydvr expander 1tb is only $129 at amazon now!


I saw that too after being frustrated that my $129.99 order for the 1TB My DVR Expander at jr.com is backordered. I also see that Best buy supposedly has them for that much but they seem out. Any idea why? High demand? The drives are problematic so WD doesn't want to ship them?

Are the "reviews" at http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...0000VN/dp/B001UHOR88/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top referring to defective/poor eSATA cables true?

I just got my TiVo HD going w/Verizon FiOS today and I KNOW that the stock 160 gig drive won't enough. I doubt that buying the 500 gig WD version will mean I get a better cable. (I'm coming from DirecTiVo but can't be on D* any more due to lack of line of sight at my new place.)

I thought about hacking (replacing the stock drive in) the Tivo HD but it's still under warranty so I'd rather not and I'm ok w/paying some extra $ for the supported method.

I'm concerned about all reliability related issues that might occur such as blank, corrupted, missed recordings or worse yet, loss of all shows recorded after the marriage process.


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## jjcool (Sep 24, 2009)

cwerdna said:


> I saw that too after being frustrated that my $129.99 order for the 1TB My DVR Expander at jr is backordered. I also see that Best buy supposedly has them for that much but they seem out. Any idea why? High demand? The drives are problematic so WD doesn't want to ship them?
> 
> Are the "reviews" at amazon referring to defective/poor eSATA cables true?
> 
> ...


Just ordered one off of amazon last night. Hopefully the cable will be fine.

Just got a TivoHD 3 weeks ago, and it is already full. I wish there was a way to set it to not record in HD over the air. Then I wouldnt have needed the expander.


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

jjcool said:


> Just ordered one off of amazon last night. Hopefully the cable will be fine.
> 
> Just got a TivoHD 3 weeks ago, and it is already full. I wish there was a way to set it to not record in HD over the air. Then I wouldnt have needed the expander.


There is no encoding at all on digital content (and everything OTA is digital now). That's by design. It's already in ones and zeros, ready to be stored on a disc. Adding encoding hardware for HD content, which is already in digital format, would make the box much more expensive.


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## jjcool (Sep 24, 2009)

aindik said:


> There is no encoding at all on digital content (and everything OTA is digital now). That's by design. It's already in ones and zeros, ready to be stored on a disc. Adding encoding hardware for HD content, which is already in digital format, would make the box much more expensive.


You are referring to the encoding hardware to convert the HD signal to a SD signal, correct?

Maybe I need to adjsut my thinking on the whole HD thing. Should I be looking at it as a converter box, or digital tuner running to an SD tv, as only converting a digital signal, to an analog one. Not converting an HD signal, to an SD one. My initial impression was that the box would do both, making it seem like the Tivo should be able to record an HD program in SD.


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

jjcool said:


> You are referring to the encoding hardware to convert the HD signal to a SD signal, correct?
> 
> Maybe I need to adjsut my thinking on the whole HD thing. Should I be looking at it as a converter box, or digital tuner running to an SD tv, as only converting a digital signal, to an analog one. Not converting an HD signal, to an SD one. My initial impression was that the box would do both, making it seem like the Tivo should be able to record an HD program in SD.


"Converting a digital signal to an analog one" is what a converter box would do. TiVo does that when it sends stuff out to the TV via an output other than HDMI, just like any converter box does. But that's completely different from saving it to disk (which, obviously, a converter box doesn't do), where it needs to be digital. To save an HD show in SD on a disk, it would need to reencode it from one digital format to another.


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## jjcool (Sep 24, 2009)

aindik said:


> "Converting a digital signal to an analog one" is what a converter box would do. TiVo does that when it sends stuff out to the TV via an output other than HDMI, just like any converter box does. But that's completely different from saving it to disk (which, obviously, a converter box doesn't do), where it needs to be digital. To save an HD show in SD on a disk, it would need to reencode it from one digital format to another.


I think I get what you are saying here. 
If a show is broadcast in HD, Tivo will record it in HD. It can convert the digital signal to an analog output, but cannot convert an HD signal to an SD signal. 
In short, I need to get some more storage space.


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

jjcool said:


> I think I get what you are saying here.
> If a show is broadcast in HD, Tivo will record it in HD. It can convert the digital signal to an analog output, but cannot convert an HD signal to an SD signal.


It can convert it to an SD analog signal to send out to your TV. It cannot convert it to an SD digital signal to save to disk.



jjcool said:


> In short, I need to get some more storage space.


Yup.


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## TiVo Is God (Sep 28, 2004)

Quick questions:
Does this work with Series 3?
Will it work with my Mac?


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## stretch35 (Nov 9, 2007)

I use mac, expander is to be sync'd with tivo however my 500g died after 17 months luckily I used tivo transfer (part of toast suite) to move important stuff off to storage on my mac. in the fine print for wd expanders it says NOT INTENDED TO BE USED FOR ARCHIVAL STORAGE (OR PORTABLE) other threads show theses to fail (ie erase your recordings) frequently with little help from wd


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## TiVo Is God (Sep 28, 2004)

I am new to this, just saw it at Best Buy. Can someone give a dumb guide to it. If I am right, this hooks to the TiVo USB and you can move TV shows/movies from your TiVo Drive to this? Series 3 works with it, right? Any NEED to know info I need or any thing I need to make it work?


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## hiker (Nov 29, 2001)

TiVo Is God said:


> I am new to this, just saw it at Best Buy. Can someone give a dumb guide to it. If I am right, this hooks to the TiVo USB and you can move TV shows/movies from your TiVo Drive to this? Series 3 works with it, right? Any NEED to know info I need or any thing I need to make it work?


This sticky thread should have all you need to know:
Drive Expansion and Drive Upgrade FAQ


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## stretch35 (Nov 9, 2007)

TiVo Is God said:


> I am new to this, just saw it at Best Buy. Can someone give a dumb guide to it. If I am right, this hooks to the TiVo USB and you can move TV shows/movies from your TiVo Drive to this? Series 3 works with it, right? Any NEED to know info I need or any thing I need to make it work?


it works with either series 3 or tivo hd, uses the esata port on back of unit not usb and doesn't move shows around. once connected (it is easy just requires reboot of tivo per directions) all shows from that point are spread across internal drive and this new drive. if you disconnect it all shows recorded since it was installed are eliminated. no portability, not the sturdiest drive longevity wise. The drive in my series 1 tivo 9 years and counting tivo expander dead after 17 months.


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