# HDD Upgrade problems with Comcast/Cablecards



## steetyj (Feb 26, 2015)

Hey guys, first post here. Just got my first TiVo and love it!

I bought the base Roamio and quickly realized I would need more space.

Bought the Western Digital WD30EURX and install went smoothly.

My problem now is that I can't access my premium channels or Comcast ONDemand.

I knew I would need to re-pair the cablecard and I called a Comcast tech recommend on the forums(he is awesome and got my initial setup issues fixed quick!)

Anyway, he says he has seen the same problem with TiVo HD upgrades and the inability to access premium channels. Everything checks out on the Comcast side.

My options now are:

1. Throw old HD back in and see if it still works. This would rule out a bad cablecard/Comcast issue.

2. Try to get a new cablecard and go through the whole setup process again. This seems less likely to solve my issue as the cablecard worked fine before the HDD upgrade

Any thoughts? Has anyone heard of this issue? Will putting the old drive in to test cause any issues?


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

If your premium channels don't work, then your card is not paired properly, or your account has the wrong billing code.


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## DarcyM (Jan 2, 2002)

Make sure you tell them to unpair and then repair it. They tend to try and skip the unpair part and thats where the problems start.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


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## steetyj (Feb 26, 2015)

I Can't imagine my billing code would have changed due to a HDD upgrade and I would assume my technical contact would have seen this.

He assures me that everything looks good on his end and I trust him in that regard due to his reputation with other members here and his ability to instantly fix my initial issues during first setup.

I suppose my best option would be to visit the local Comcast office tomorrow and get a new cablecard and check my account status.

I assume others have successfully upgraded the roamio here and are on Comcast?


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

If the card worked in another TiVo and now it doesn't tune premium channels, then they didn't pair it correctly. You can go get another one, but either way it needs to be paired properly.


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## steetyj (Feb 26, 2015)

Well, it's the same box...just different HDD. Would that matter?


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## DarcyM (Jan 2, 2002)

When you change the hard drive the data id number changes if i remember correctly. If you look at your conditional access screen and if val shows a ? Then you are not paired probably. 

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## DarcyM (Jan 2, 2002)

You seriously need them to unpair before they repair as the data id number change won't property take in thier database.

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## steetyj (Feb 26, 2015)

The tech confirmed my data id on the cablecard screen matched. He updated his system to match. S/N and host ID also match.

I do have a ? For the Val value and mentioned this to him. Still claims everything on his end is ok and either it's my HDD or my card isn't taking the hit due to bad connection in my house(unlikely since this worked 2 days ago) or I am wondering if the card somehow went bad.


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

Un-pair and re-pair. It doesn't matter what he tells you. If you don't get it paired from scratch, it will never work.


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## DarcyM (Jan 2, 2002)

The way it was explained to me is if they don't unpair first the change doesn't properly migrate down to the headend so the pairing to the card doesn't work. It takes them to unpair and then repair to work.

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## steetyj (Feb 26, 2015)

Good info. Will try to call back and give this a shot. Thanks!


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## steetyj (Feb 26, 2015)

Well Got it working...

Unpairing and re-pairing actually didn't work. Went and swapped out my cablecard for a new one and all seems to be functioning properly.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

steetyj said:


> Well Got it working... Unpairing and re-pairing actually didn't work. Went and swapped out my cablecard for a new one and all seems to be functioning properly.


I still agree with the others though. I'm sure all that happened was the new card you put in was just paired and provisioned properly and the old one wasn't after the HDD upgrade.

Only possibility I can think of regarding the card swap is if you plugged and/or unplugged the old cablecard while the Roamio was still powered on and you got some sort of electrical surge, short, arc, etc through the card.


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## steetyj (Feb 26, 2015)

I thought it was ok to plug cablecard in while the box was powered on...no?


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

steetyj said:


> I thought it was ok to plug cablecard in while the box was powered on...no?


Yes that is fine. PCMCIA (which is what a CableCARD is) was designed as a hot-plug device.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

steetyj said:


> I thought it was ok to plug cablecard in while the box was powered on...no?


They advise not to.


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

HarperVision said:


> They advise not to.


Where? Certainly not on the screen where it says "insert cable card now."


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

Arcady said:


> Where? Certainly not on the screen where it says "insert cable card now."


Your correct, plugging in a cable card on a running TiVo is no problem, you will have a problem if a paired cable card is plugged into another TiVo for some reason then plugged back into the original TiVo, if you change hard drives one should first unplug the cable card from the running TiVo, than change out the hard drive, then set up the TiVo with the new hard drive, then plug back in the Cable card, in some cases you will not have to pair the card, in other cases you will not need pairing.


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

lessd said:


> if you change hard drives one should first unplug the cable card from the running TiVo, than change out the hard drive, then set up the TiVo with the new hard drive, then plug back in the Cable card


If you are cloning a drive or copying to a larger drive for a Series 3 or 4 TiVo, you don't ever need to touch the CableCARD. The act of cloning the drive keeps the CableCARD pairing.

If you change drives in a Series 5, you will most likely need to get it re-paired, especially if you have premium channels.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

Arcady said:


> Where? Certainly not on the screen where it says "insert cable card now."


I don't think I read it in TiVo's literature or website. I'm pretty sure I saw it mentioned in cable co instructions. I'll see if I can dig it up again.

I'm not saying that I do that, cuz I don't. I plug them in and out all the time with power on. Just remember reading somewhere that it wasn't advised to do so.


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