# Just replaced my hard drive - it was super easy!



## kisby (Mar 31, 2002)

After reading some threads, I was worried this would be too difficult for me. I'm no expert with setting up these things. I was afraid of bricking my unit, and for the past three days was too intimidated to even try. I am posting this in hopes if inspiring others. But, I know how to use a screwdriver and how to plug things in. Those were the only skills needed.

I used a Torx 10 screwdriver to remove the screws under the cableCard panel (not the cableCARD holder itself) and one from above the HDMI port. I then carefully removed the lid from the short end of the curve first, then the rest of the box top. _As long as you're careful_, this was not hard. I used a flat head screwdriver to press some of the tabs that held the lid in place.

Once the lid was off, the hard drive is easily accessible. I used the same screwdriver to remove a couple of screws holding the hard drive and unplugged it. I then removed the bracket holding the hard drive in place with the same screwdriver.

I placed the new hard drive in the bracket and started to reverse the whole procedure.

The lid goes back on easier than it comes off. I replaced all the screws and it went together quickly. The whole procedure too about 10 minutes.

I reattached all the plugs and cable cords to the back of unit and started from scratch, just like I did three days ago when the unit was new. Go through the whole setup procedure. You have to call your cable company to re-pair the cableCard.

I now have 243 HD hours. I'm glad I bought the 500gb unit and set up this new hard drive. All my One Passes are still there, too, waiting to record. I can't believe how easy this was! I only wish I had inserted an even larger hard drive!

This is the hard drive I used: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I8O6OQ4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00


----------



## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

CONGRATUALTIONS.
I think you can go up to 3TB with no problem.
After that you are in WeaKnees territory as to what needs to be done to get larger drives.
I bought a 12TB Roamio Pro from WeaKnees a few weeks ago.

I have one Roamio Basic at 1.5TB now on a month to month service agreement at $10/month. I would like to replace the Roamio Basic with a 6 or more tuner BOLT with much larger storage either from TiVo, Amazon or WeaKnees.



kisby said:


> After reading some threads, I was worried this would be too difficult for me. I'm no expert with setting up these things. I was afraid of bricking my unit, and for the past three days was too intimidated to even try. I am posting this in hopes if inspiring others. But, I know how to use a screwdriver and how to plug things in. Those were the only skills needed.
> 
> I used a Torx 10 screwdriver to remove the screws under the cableCard panel (not the cableCARD holder itself) and one from above the HDMI port. I then carefully removed the lid from the short end of the curve first, then the rest of the box top. _As long as you're careful_, this was not hard. I used a flat head screwdriver to press some of the tabs that held the lid in place.
> 
> ...


----------



## johndoedoes (Oct 10, 2015)

Why did you have to re-pair the cable card?

Was it a pain to do?


----------



## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

johndoedoes said:


> Why did you have to re-pair the cable card?
> 
> Was it a pain to do?


This depends on your ISP and cable card manufacturer. On Verizon Fios, they use Motorola M cards and these must be re-paired when the hd is changed. Also if you try to just pull the card out and reinsert it, power on. It changes what is referred to as the Data ID and kills the pairing. Some ISP's equipment seems very forgiving.


----------



## georgeorwell86 (Sep 15, 2015)

Good review....thanks. For those that haven't done this yet, the video below (posted by a member here) is a good reference. I agree with his comments, when putting the lid back on, the top edge on the back is tricky....start on the left on the edge and work your way over. I would not recommend using a power drill to reinsert screws into plastic....unless you are VERY careful.


----------



## johndoedoes (Oct 10, 2015)

fcfc2 said:


> This depends on your ISP and cable card manufacturer. On Verizon Fios, they use Motorola M cards and these must be re-paired when the hd is changed. Also if you try to just pull the card out and reinsert it, power on. It changes what is referred to as the Data ID and kills the pairing. Some ISP's equipment seems very forgiving.


I have Verizon FiOS. I thought it would work again (just like when the power goes out) but I guess I get that the new HD would cause an issue.

So I've already set everything up with the 500GB HD but I think I'll be taking the leap to 2TB. How hard was it to change everything with Verizon?

Do you have the best number/method to do so?


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

fcfc2 said:


> This depends on your ISP and cable card manufacturer. On Verizon Fios, they use Motorola M cards and these must be re-paired when the hd is changed. Also if you try to just pull the card out and reinsert it, power on. It changes what is referred to as the Data ID and kills the pairing. Some ISP's equipment seems very forgiving.


On FiOS I've always had cc pairing lost when the hard drive is swapped. But I've never lost pairing by just removing the cable card and putting it back in.

As long as the card was not put into another device.


----------



## johndoedoes (Oct 10, 2015)

aaronwt said:


> On FiOS I've always had cc pairing lost when the hard drive is swapped. But I've never lost pairing by just removing the cable card and putting it back in.
> 
> As long as the card was not put into another device.


So I can change the Hard Drive and turn it on.

Then I need to turn it off, pull the cable card out, and put it back in?

I thought I would have to call them to repair it or something.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

johndoedoes said:


> So I can change the Hard Drive and turn it on.
> 
> Then I need to turn it off, pull the cable card out, and put it back in?
> 
> I thought I would have to call them to repair it or something.


???? If you change the hard drive you will lose pairing. You will need to contact FiOS to repair the card to be able to view HBO, Cinemax, and Fox owned channels(like National Geographic)


----------



## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

aaronwt said:


> On FiOS I've always had cc pairing lost when the hard drive is swapped. But I've never lost pairing by just removing the cable card and putting it back in.
> 
> As long as the card was not put into another device.


You may be right, but my recollection is that if the Tivo is powered on and you pull out the cc and reinsert, you change the Data ID and then lose the pairing...but I wouldn't bet my life on my memory these days and I am not in the experimenting mood with my cc.


----------



## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

johndoedoes said:


> I have Verizon FiOS. I thought it would work again (just like when the power goes out) but I guess I get that the new HD would cause an issue.
> 
> So I've already set everything up with the 500GB HD but I think I'll be taking the leap to 2TB. How hard was it to change everything with Verizon?
> 
> Do you have the best number/method to do so?


Hi,
Regarding Verizon tech support, you can call, chat, or make a post in the Direct Forum...mention "manual validation" if there are any issues/ missing channels. The forum works well, but is the slowest. The other methods, call / chat....hit and miss, mostly hit though.


----------



## johndoedoes (Oct 10, 2015)

aaronwt said:


> ???? If you change the hard drive you will lose pairing. You will need to contact FiOS to repair the card to be able to view HBO, Cinemax, and Fox owned channels(like National Geographic)


Ok, thanks! I just purchased this 2TB Drive. Is this a good one?

Samsung Seagate HN-M201RAD Momentus SpinPoint ST2000LM003 2TB 2.5-Inch SATA III Notebook Hard Drive 9.5MM

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I8O6OQ4/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_aq-gwbMDGG2Q5

So I need to mention a Cable Card Repair and a Manual Validation? Is there a number that works best for FiOS?

I've read that I need to tell the rep to match everything - Data ID, Host ID and S/N.

Anything else?


----------



## keenanSR (Oct 13, 2004)

georgeorwell86 said:


> Good review....thanks. For those that haven't done this yet, the video below (posted by a member here) is a good reference. I agree with his comments, when putting the lid back on, the top edge on the back is tricky....start on the left on the edge and work your way over. I would not recommend using a power drill to reinsert screws into plastic....unless you are VERY careful.


I wouldn't use a power drill either. I invested in an iFixit tool kit which makes disassembling these snap together cases so much easier, the video poster might consider picking up one as well. The kit has tools that work specifically for those spots where he was trying to pry his fingers into the case to open it.


----------



## kisby (Mar 31, 2002)

johndoedoes said:


> Why did you have to re-pair the cable card?
> 
> Was it a pain to do?


Yes, I re-paired my cable CARD, but it was easy.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

jth tv said:


> The YouTube video used a Toshiba 3.0TB, where is the MQ03ABB300 Hard Disk Drive sold ?


I did a Google search and found a couple of places but they wanted more for the 3TB than I payed for the 4TB drive. So I'm curious where it can be found for a decent price. The 4TB drive(in an external enclosure) I got was only $180. And it was even $20 lower at some point last week.


----------



## galaxysurfer (Oct 20, 2011)

I'm tempted to do this after reading this post and watching the video. I'm completely new at taking devices apart and replacing hard drives, but this doesn't sound too too difficult as long as I am careful.

My question is, do I have to do anything with the new 2TB Hard Drive once I receive it from Amazon to get it "ready" to install? Or is it simply a matter of changing them out and that's it?


----------



## andyw715 (Jul 31, 2007)

galaxysurfer said:


> I'm tempted to do this after reading this post and watching the video. I'm completely new at taking devices apart and replacing hard drives, but this doesn't sound too too difficult as long as I am careful.
> 
> My question is, do I have to do anything with the new 2TB Hard Drive once I receive it from Amazon to get it "ready" to install? Or is it simply a matter of changing them out and that's it?


I'd run it through the manufacture's test program, just to make sure the drive doesn't have any issues.


----------



## b_scott (Nov 27, 2006)

I'm so glad I don't store enough backlog of TV to need a new hard drive........


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Why does it need to be a backlog? Personally I want a wide variety of stuff to choose from when I do sit down to watch TV. Even though I'm not going to watch 85% of what is recorded. I never know what I will be in the mood to watch. So the more options I have available, the more likely I can quickly find something to match what I'm interested in at that point in time.


----------



## b_scott (Nov 27, 2006)

Different types of people. I only record what I'm interested in, watch it, and delete it.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

b_scott said:


> Different types of people. I only record what I'm interested in, watch it, and delete it.


I only record what I'm interested in too. The problem is it's not possible to watch everything I'm interested in.


----------



## RockinRay (Aug 25, 2004)

johndoedoes said:


> Ok, thanks! I just purchased this 2TB Drive. Is this a good one?
> 
> Samsung Seagate HN-M201RAD Momentus SpinPoint ST2000LM003 2TB 2.5-Inch SATA III Notebook Hard Drive 9.5MM
> 
> ...


This is the hard drive that I installed and so far it is working fine for me.


----------



## sangs (Jan 1, 2003)

b_scott said:


> I'm so glad I don't store enough backlog of TV to need a new hard drive........


Well if you change your mind and don't want to open up the box, it's much easier to attach an external drive. Just an eSATA cable and a power cord. Have done it with both my Bolts, easy as pie and 2 TB total on each one now. Don't worry about the "another point of failure" Chicken Little crowd either, because everything has multiple points of failure to begin with, so shying away from something for fear of that is highly illogical captain.


----------



## gigaguy (Aug 30, 2013)

Are you talking about My Book drives? Those are only up to 1TB.


----------



## sangs (Jan 1, 2003)

gigaguy said:


> Are you talking about My Book drives? Those are only up to 1TB.


Yes, I know. Internal on Bolt is 1 TB, external on MyBook is 1 TB for 2 TB total.


----------



## L David Matheny (Jan 29, 2011)

aaronwt said:


> I only record what I'm interested in too. The problem is it's not possible to watch everything I'm interested in.


I'm in the same situation. Obviously, I record only shows in which I have some interest. So I initially tended to succumb to the "terror of TiVo", feeling that I must eventually watch everything recorded. Then I developed the habit of promptly screening topical shows to skip segments (PBS NewsHour, talk shows) or sometimes discard whole episodes (Charlie Rose) in which I have little interest. Now I'm learning to also promptly screen and discard many non-episodic shows (music performances, etc) simply because I don't foresee having the time to watch them. I spend time every day pruning the My Shows list to minimize the residue of shows that I still feel I _should_ watch eventually (Nova, Frontline, etc). But I am controlling the "terror of TiVo", one day at a time.


----------



## markjrenna (Mar 23, 2006)

Quickmode is a big plus here when the shows are more *talk* than visual...



L David Matheny said:


> I'm in the same situation. Obviously, I record only shows in which I have some interest. So I initially tended to succumb to the "terror of TiVo", feeling that I must eventually watch everything recorded. Then I developed the habit of promptly screening topical shows to skip segments (PBS NewsHour, talk shows) or sometimes discard whole episodes (Charlie Rose) in which I have little interest. Now I'm learning to also promptly screen and discard many non-episodic shows (music performances, etc) simply because I don't foresee having the time to watch them. I spend time every day pruning the My Shows list to minimize the residue of shows that I still feel I _should_ watch eventually (Nova, Frontline, etc). But I am controlling the "terror of TiVo", one day at a time.


----------



## djjuice (Mar 29, 2008)

I used this drive in my bolt and noticed it made random chirping noises. hopefully you don't experience the same, but it appears to be a known issue


----------



## cjnj (Oct 14, 2015)

Any way to do the internal upgrade while keeping my recordings? Thanks.


----------



## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

cjnj said:


> Any way to do the internal upgrade while keeping my recordings? Thanks.


Not easily. You may be able to copy your shows to a computer and then back to the new hard drive depends on how your cable company has them flagged.


----------



## cjnj (Oct 14, 2015)

atmuscarella said:


> Not easily. You may be able to copy your shows to a computer and then back to the new hard drive depends on how your cable company has them flagged.


I'm with FiOS. Any thoughts?


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

cjnj said:


> I'm with FiOS. Any thoughts?


On FiOS, HBO, Cinemax, and FoX owned channels(like National Geographic and FX) are restricted. Which are also the channels that need a paired cable card to be able to view them. Programming from other channels aren't restricted so they can be transferred to a PC.


----------



## b_scott (Nov 27, 2006)

aaronwt said:


> I only record what I'm interested in too. The problem is it's not possible to watch everything I'm interested in.


that's why you have to edit and make cuts.


----------



## markjrenna (Mar 23, 2006)

QuickMode helps...



aaronwt said:


> I only record what I'm interested in too. The problem is it's not possible to watch everything I'm interested in.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

markjrenna said:


> QuickMode helps...


Yes! It's been great with the news, reality, and sports recordings.


----------



## b_scott (Nov 27, 2006)

aaronwt said:


> Yes! It's been great with the news, reality, and sports recordings.


all things I avoid like the plague.  (TV news)


----------



## Jay2tak (Jun 10, 2009)

What is the make of the original 500mb drive?


----------



## Joe01880 (Feb 8, 2009)

What is the best 3tb internal HDD to put into one of these new Bolts.

Also, if I buy a new Bolt will they give me $99 lifetime on my Roamio Pro??

EDIT: I didn't get a Bolt, I bought a "new" 4 Tuner Roamio with lifetime service (all in) for $249.99 (includes both the Roamio and LTS.

The supervisor lady I was speaking to did tell me there is a (her words) "HUGE CHRISTMAS SALE" coming up on the Bolt. She added it would not be as good a deal as I got on the Roamio I just bought.
I could NOT get lifetime service on my Roamio Pro this call but it is grandfathered at $99 yearly MSD now tied to my Premiere.


----------



## Robbo1 (Oct 31, 2015)

For anyone who has used the Samsung Seagate 2TB, are you hearing any "chirping" noises? How often? How loud? While I don't think I will need a 3TB drive, if the chirping is annoying, I may end up going that route.


----------

