# Older WD external hard drive with bolt



## Althalus (Mar 29, 2016)

I just got a new bolt, after a couple of years away from TiVo. I have an older external hard drive from a previous TiVo (the WD one that TiVo supports) however it is an sata hard drive instead of the newer e sata. Does anyone know if this will work with the TiVo bolt if I get a sata to e sata cable (so I can plug it into the e sata port on the bolt). I don't want to bother getting the cable if the bolts don't support the older drives.

It just seems silly to pay for the newer 1 tb drives if I have a smaller drive from my last TiVo that works.


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## Althalus (Mar 29, 2016)

As a follow up, I know the shows on the Hard drive won't transfer, and that is not important, but will the TiVo automatically format the new drive so it works in the new tivo


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

Your posts are confusing. All of TiVos approved Western Digital (WD) external drives are in enclosures using eSATA. SATA is what a Bare drive would use, like inside of your computer or inside of your TiVo. 

Assuming are talking about an actual WD external drive, you may still need a new eSATA cable for it to work with a Bolt others have found the original cables don't fit correctly. If that is the case for you, you can call TiVo support, they have provided new cables to others for free. 

Again assuming you have an actual approved WD external drive once plugged into your Bolt, the Bolt will format it and marry it to your Bolt's internal drive automatically. Which of course removes any data you had on it.


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## Althalus (Mar 29, 2016)

Thank you. I must have been using the wrong terminology. I have an official TiVo external drive from an older TiVo (I think it was from my series 2). The back of the drive has the TiVo logo on it. It says sata, so I assumed it was a sata cable. I just noticed that it doesn't fit my bolt, so I thought it was because it wasn't an esata cable. It is good to know you can get a replacement cable

I assumed an old drive would reformat when I hooked it up to a new TiVo, I just wasn't sure it would work.


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## iLL0GiCaL L0GiC (Sep 17, 2011)

I know this thread is old, but I just wanted to thank you for the insight on the old cord not fitting. This was definitely the problem keeping me banging my head on the wall for the past day trying to figure out why my old expander wasn't working with my new bolt. 

As a fast and dirty alternative to Tivo sending you a replacement cord... I took an exacto knife and cut the last 1-2mm of black plastic off the end of the cord. This revealed more of the metal connection which then fit into the bolt perfectly fine.


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## wgameplaya (May 5, 2016)

doesnt any external HD work with the Bolt?
I have an old mybook i was planning on using?


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## jwort93 (Dec 18, 2015)

wgameplaya said:


> doesnt any external HD work with the Bolt?
> I have an old mybook i was planning on using?


Unfortunately, no, only approved WD external eSata DVR expander drives work, and they haven't released any new ones in quite a while. The largest one available is 1 TB.


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## wgameplaya (May 5, 2016)

jwort93 said:


> Unfortunately, no, only approved WD external eSata DVR expander drives work, and they haven't released any new ones in quite a while. The largest one available is 1 TB.


huh- how are people getting like 5 tb external drives?


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

wgameplaya said:


> huh- how are people getting like 5 tb external drives?


Check that site at the upper left hand corner named weenies. They have big ones.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

wgameplaya said:


> huh- how are people getting like 5 tb external drives?


You maybe mixing a few things. Some people are REPLACING the internal drive with an external one using a Sata of eSata cable. Also Weakness has a process where they can provide unit specific (meaning they have to have your TiVo) add on external drives that are not the current approved one. We do not know how their process works for sure.

When it comes to just adding a plug and play external drive for additional space there is only one that works.


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## wgameplaya (May 5, 2016)

thanks that helps a ton.

so there is some secret thing that needs to happen to use the external drive and only weakness knows. unless you use the dvr extender that's out of service....yeah that's a bummer


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## wgameplaya (May 5, 2016)

atmuscarella said:


> You maybe mixing a few things. Some people are REPLACING the internal drive with an external one using a Sata of eSata cable. Also Weakness has a process where they can provide unit specific (meaning they have to have your TiVo) add on external drives that are not the current approved one. We do not know how their process works for sure.
> 
> When it comes to just adding a plug and play external drive for additional space there is only one that works.


hey one more question- this 2tb drive from wd- does that work?

Originally Posted by Blakeintosh View Post
Western Digital has offered a 2 TB DVR Expander for a couple of years now. It's specifications are identical to the 1 TB model, except it has a 2 TB drive in it. I know this because I own one. The packaging even says that it's compatible with TiVo. Why won't TiVo support using the 2 TB model? It doesn't appear to be a technical reason, considering the custom solutions that WeaKnees sells with 6 TB internal/external drives paired together.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

wgameplaya said:


> hey one more question- this 2tb drive from wd- does that work?
> 
> Originally Posted by Blakeintosh View Post
> Western Digital has offered a 2 TB DVR Expander for a couple of years now. It's specifications are identical to the 1 TB model, except it has a 2 TB drive in it. I know this because I own one. The packaging even says that it's compatible with TiVo. Why won't TiVo support using the 2 TB model? It doesn't appear to be a technical reason, considering the custom solutions that WeaKnees sells with 6 TB internal/external drives paired together.


Nope, 
If it aint on the white list, it aint going to pair without significant magic.
But seriously, with it being an additional point of failure the answer the majority suggests is the best solution, biggest internal drive you can fit.


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## wgameplaya (May 5, 2016)

dianebrat said:


> Nope,
> If it aint on the white list, it aint going to pair without significant magic.
> But seriously, with it being an additional point of failure the answer the majority suggests is the best solution, biggest internal drive you can fit.


basically that's a 3tb one tho. since beyond that it wont recognize without formatting with that program. i've swapped out SSDs on a mac before and no big deal so i if that's all there is too it no big deal.

i'd hestitate more if it requires software updates


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

wgameplaya said:


> basically that's a 3tb one tho. since beyond that it wont recognize without formatting with that program. i've swapped out SSDs on a mac before and no big deal so i if that's all there is too it no big deal.
> 
> i'd hestitate more if it requires software updates


If you're comfortable swapping a drive the tools are there for a 4TB to 5TB swap with very little effort, you can check the upgrade forum to see how easy it now is to make a Bolt drive that big.


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## wgameplaya (May 5, 2016)

dianebrat said:


> If you're comfortable swapping a drive the tools are there for a 4TB to 5TB swap with very little effort, you can check the upgrade forum to see how easy it now is to make a Bolt drive that big.


roger.i'll check it out.


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## pwlcheng (Dec 6, 2007)

You can use "the tools" for up to 8TB now.


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## invader zog (Jun 13, 2006)

iLL0GiCaL L0GiC said:


> I know this thread is old, but I just wanted to thank you for the insight on the old cord not fitting. This was definitely the problem keeping me banging my head on the wall for the past day trying to figure out why my old expander wasn't working with my new bolt.
> 
> As a fast and dirty alternative to Tivo sending you a replacement cord... I took an exacto knife and cut the last 1-2mm of black plastic off the end of the cord. This revealed more of the metal connection which then fit into the bolt perfectly fine.


Thanks!! I had this problem (moving my supported WD from my series 3 to bolt). I called TiVo and the first told me that you couldn't use the drive witH a Bolt (incorrect) and then after I insisted on speaking to a manager they told me they had no more cables and to call WD. WD didn't know what I was talking about at first and then a manager told me they also didn't have the cables. I took my old cable and cut 2mm off.. voila!


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