# TivoHD + WD 1 TB HDD: Inside or Outside?



## The Weissman (Dec 26, 2002)

My new TivoHD was delivered today and I bought a WD 1 TB drive over the weekend. Everything is still boxed up and I have questions!

(1) Is it better to replace the drive in the THD or to deploy it as an eSATA drive (at some additional cost for an external enclosure)?

(2) If I decide to install it internally, am I better off doing it before or after turning the THD on for the first time? (Or, am I just being anal?)

(3) If I decide to install it externally using WinMFS or mfslive, is there any warranty exposure on the THD?

(4) Should I use my THD as-is out of the box, until we learn what makes the TiVo-supported eSATA drive special, and might be able to clone this "specialness" to other, larger drives?

Steve


----------



## cr33p (Jan 2, 2005)

The Weissman said:


> My new TivoHD was delivered today and I bought a WD 1 TB drive over the weekend. Everything is still boxed up and I have questions!
> 
> (1) Is it better to replace the drive in the THD or to deploy it as an eSATA drive (at some additional cost for an external enclosure)?
> 
> ...


1) you could use the existing 160 internal plus your 1tb if you went with an enclosure for the new drive. I prefer a one drive solution, so I would add the 1tb internally myself.

2) I would install the 1tb now and set it up off that, this way you could use winmfs and make a truncated back up and then restore it to the new drive rather then setting up the original drive then needing to use a mfscopy to set up the new drive, although one added bonus to setting up the original 160 is you would also get the added benifit of the spare drive having the correct cable card settings stored for any future use or as a backup in the event the 1tb goes down.

3) Technically yes opening and altering the unit would not be covered under warranty but many users have been upgrading discs for years with no problem with warranty coverage, be sure to keep the original disc in the even that a unit needs to be replaced and or exchanged.

4) I think it sounds like you are fairly competent and not scared to open the case and use tools to make this happen. Its unclear if we will be able to fool an unsupported drive into thinking it is a supported drive via the plug and play method.

I say go for it man, pop the top and toss in the 1TB and welcome to the large disc club


----------



## Islanti (Dec 13, 2001)

Another perspective. I went external so my Tivo HD would be pristine inside in the event I had a warranty claim.


----------



## PooperScooper (Aug 22, 2007)

I just installed a WD 1TB drive in my three week old TivoHD. I used MFSlive boot CD since it was the most convenient. It was a piece of cake. I'm keeping the original drive as a backup. Later, if I need more space I'll add a 1TB eSATA drive.

larry


----------



## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

Would you notice the 160GB? IMO, just replace the drive, since you will have to void the warranty anyway. If you are that paranoid of the warranty, just get the official DVR Expander.


----------



## The Weissman (Dec 26, 2002)

Thanks, guys. I'm not hung up on the warranty -- I have a Series 1 and a Series 2 that I upgraded practically the day I got it, and I have Unix experience, so it wasn't that daunting. It's just that having a "legal" upgrade option this time made me want to think about it a bit . . . perhaps overthinking!

Tonight I swapped out the stock 160 GB TivoHD HDD with the WD10000CSRTL 1 GB drive using WinMFS. I've never had such a pleasant and easy upgrade experience with any TiVo. The stock A drive will go on the shelf with all my old stock A drives, and someday, maybe, when someone figures out how to add a "non-verified" eSATA drive to this setup, I'll do that too. _Nice!_


----------



## flatcurve (Sep 27, 2007)

You can already do that with mfslive. It's not plug and play though... and again, this brings back the issue of two drives being two failure points instead of one. IMO a one drive setup is always going to be the most reliable and logical solution.

I say that after your warranty expires, you just put the drive in an enclosure and use it on your PC. 160GB might not be a lot for a tivo, but it's still a considerable size for a computer.


----------

