# Roamio (Basic) 3TB HDD Upgrade - Easy Question (for you guys)



## d_bondi (Mar 16, 2014)

Sorry if I shouldn't have started a new thread.....

I just received my Roamio (basic) and am currently running the WD Data LifeGuard Diagnostics EXTENDED TEST (8 hrs down 12 hrs to go) on my WD30EURX 3TB HDD.

I am a Comcast/Xfinity customer, I have the M-Card, and have not unboxed the TiVo yet.

The TiVo was purchased directly from TiVo with Lifetime Service, and was likely shipped Pre-Activated.

*Should I swap the HDD BEFORE initial power up and M-Card set-up.... or get it working as shipped from TiVo and then swap the HDD?*

Thanks for your help!


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## BP-isMe (Dec 16, 2003)

The OS is not stored on the Hard Drive. 

With that said, I swapped mine even before turning the TiVo on. No issues.

I believe this is covered in another thread if you need more info.

Good Luck...Brad


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## d_bondi (Mar 16, 2014)

Thanks Brad, I think I know the thread you are referring to and it has 58 pages in the thread, call me lazy...


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## L David Matheny (Jan 29, 2011)

d_bondi said:


> Sorry if I shouldn't have started a new thread.....
> 
> I just received my Roamio (basic) and am currently running the WD Data LifeGuard Diagnostics EXTENDED TEST (8 hrs down 12 hrs to go) on my WD30EURX 3TB HDD.
> 
> ...


Since opening the TiVo does technically void the warranty, I would consider running for a week or so using the original drive, just to make sure all tuners work, etc. Then after you're past the "infant mortality" period, swap in the 3TB drive and start over again. Of course, you'll lose all your recordings and have to re-pair your cable card, so you may want to take the (small?) risk of just installing the 3TB initially. If you did run into a problem, you should be able to swap the original drive back in and invoke TiVo's 30-day satisfaction guarantee to return the unit.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

If you only want to pair your card once, put it in right away.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

d_bondi said:


> Thanks Brad, I think I know the thread you are referring to and it has 58 pages in the thread, call me lazy...


I don't call you lazy, I call that you actually have a life, unlike many on these types of forums!


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## mcf57 (Oct 19, 2012)

I might be doing something similar in the future. However, if you replace the drive immediately, doesn't it void the warranty immediately? I was under the impression that when the TiVo dials in daily, it also gives system info about your unit. Therefore, if it reports that there is more recording space (I.e. a 3TB drive), they will know your TiVo has been altered and opened. 

Or does it work differently with these Roamios since the OS is now not on the drive, but rather on the board/flash memory?


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## roguewave24 (Jan 3, 2014)

I swapped my Roamio hard drive after running for three weeks and activating comcast m-card. With hard drive swap you usually have to re pair for the premium channels. So after I upgraded and tried to get comcast to re pair the m-card - it finally took a technician to visit the house. The comcast tech has access to the local folks at the headend to enter the proper commands in the comcast system. So my recommendation is to swap first, you can always put in the original drive if there are issues.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

L David Matheny said:


> Since opening the TiVo does technically void the warranty, I would consider running for a week or so using the original drive, just to make sure all tuners work, etc. Then after you're past the "infant mortality" period, swap in the 3TB drive and start over again.


I agree with this. Not only does this help ensure that the Tivo is working properly, it also gives you a backup drive that is already set up to swap back in if/when the upgraded drive ever fails.



mcf57 said:


> I was under the impression that when the TiVo dials in daily, it also gives system info about your unit. Therefore, if it reports that there is more recording space (I.e. a 3TB drive), *they will know your TiVo has been altered and opened. *
> 
> Or does it work differently with these Roamios since the OS is now not on the drive, but rather on the board/flash memory?


I would think they would work the same way. The logs are created by the OS, so it shouldn't matter where the OS is stored.
TiVo will know you have altered the DVR only if they look at the logs, which doesn't usually happen until someone comes to them for customer support. I base this on the fact that most people are still able to get support as long as they re-install the original hard drive and let it run a few days before calling TiVo.


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## d_bondi (Mar 16, 2014)

Thanks Everyone!

I decided to go ahead and set the Roamio Basic up with the stock 500GB Seagage HDD and get it's cable card paired to make sure that the unit is A-Okay and that all tuners work, record at same time, etc.... before cracking it open.

Everything seems OK, other than the miserable experience I had pairing the cable card. Comcast/Xfinity...... complete fail with their customer service and cable card pairing team.  Probably a total of about 3 hours (4 separate calls) of my life I'll never get back, and all because the appear to simply not know what they are doing. Hours of lets try this, lets power down, pull the card and start over, and their favorite, "it takes 30-45 minutes for the pairing to complete" so give it some time.

*In the end, it is working!* The "issue" is that they were sending the codes for "Limited Basic" and I have "Digital Starter", so I wasn't getting all the channels. I finally pulled a copy of the channel lineup by service level (yes I have a paper copy, and yes I know it is already out dated), and figured it out. Once they sent the *correct* codes to the card, it worked, 100%.

HOW RIDICULOUS IS THAT !!! 

Anyway.... I guess all is well that ends well.

I'm going to let the Roamio run for a few days, and then late this week or weekend I plan on putting the WD30EURX in it. And this time, I'm ready for those nice folks at Comcast/Xfinity now that I know what the problem is.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Hate to break it to you, but in most cases swapping out the hard drive requires them to have to re-pair the CableCARD. 

Although in my experience re-paring seems to be a lot easier then setting up a new CableCARD, so it may not be that bad.


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## d_bondi (Mar 16, 2014)

Hey Dan203, ya, I knew going into it that I'd likely have to re-pair the cablecard... but since the real issue was they weren't sending the codes for my correct level of service, and *I* know that now, hopefully they will listen to me and we can make it a painless (OK... relatively) experience.


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