# Adding external drive



## drdave17 (Nov 21, 2014)

Hi folks i have a Tivo Roamio Model TCD846500 and another one (same model) that i want to know how to go about adding the internal hard drive to an external enclosure as a second storage for my existing Tivo box.

Can I get the steps to do it?

Also will adding this second drive affect any of my existing setup? I don't have any critical preference settings but I want to at least be able to still see all the recorded shows I already recorded.

Any help appreciated
Thanks


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

The only external drive you can add is the one TiVo sells, nothing else will work.


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

The only drives Tivo support are the Tivo brand WD MyDVR drives, 500 MB/1TB. However, users do not recommend externals as failure anywhere can cause loss of recordings. Users recommend replacing the internal drive with a larger one as recordings are kept in one place and not 2.


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## PCurry57 (Feb 27, 2012)

ThAbtO said:


> The only drives Tivo support are the Tivo brand WD MyDVR drives, 500 MB/1TB. However, users do not recommend externals as failure anywhere can cause loss of recordings. Users recommend replacing the internal drive with a larger one as recordings are kept in one place and not 2.


Bull! I've had the WD My DVR Expander on both of my TiVo Premiere's for FOUR years with no problems, errors or interruptions. I highly recommend using the external to expand storage capacity in order to protect warranties. If you buy an extended warranty for your TiVo replacing even opening the box will void said warranty, btw Best Buy extended warranty can be had for the same price and twice as long.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

PCurry57 said:


> Bull! I've had the WD My DVR Expander on both of my TiVo Premiere's for FOUR years with no problems, errors or interruptions. I highly recommend using the external to expand storage capacity in order to protect warranties. If you buy an extended warranty for your TiVo replacing even opening the box will void said warranty, btw Best Buy extended warranty can be had for the same price and twice as long.


I had a nearly new XL4 die on me. No one should ever buy an XL4 because they are terrible and will all die within months. See what I did there? Anecdotal evidence is usually worthless.

There have been reported problems with externals, but of course not all of them have problems. Adding an external just introduces another potential failure point. Most of us have found that simply changing the internal drive for a bigger one is the simplest and cheapest way to go. As far as I know, no one has ever been turned down for a warranty claim because they put in a bigger drive. As far as just "opening the case" being a problem, how in the world would they even know?


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## drdave17 (Nov 21, 2014)

It sounds like i can possibly replace my internal drive with this other Tivo one? They are the same model.

Is this something worth trying? Provided I do not loose any of my recordings or any else on my original hard drive if/when I decide put it back in at a later time.

Just to be clear the idea is to continue recording since the old one is now full.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

drdave17 said:


> It sounds like i can possibly replace my internal drive with this other Tivo one? They are the same model.
> 
> Is this something worth trying? Provided I do not loose any of my recordings or any else on my original hard drive if/when I decide put it back in at a later time.
> 
> Just to be clear the idea is to continue recording since the old one is now full.


Hey Dave,

So an external drive expansion stripes all new shows across both drives creating risk - you loose all shows if one drive fails. It is also the most expensive option for adding space with the fewest options.

A new, significantly larger, internal drive is easy to install and the cheapest option, but you will loose all your current recordings.

For you, I would recommend a third option (or combination of options) I would setup a local share on another computer. Using either PyTiVo, kmttg or archivo you can copy (copy freely) content over to the shared drive and free that space up on your TiVo.

TiVo was never designed to be a long term content archive repository - And it sounds as though that is how you are using it. Get that stuff you want to keep moved to a local shared drive and you can free up space on your TiVo.

Once you have the important stuff moved, you can consider upgrading you internal hard drive to something that will give you more flexibility.

Anecdotally - I did have an extender fail on me. There was nothing wrong with either drive, just lost the marriage configuration and all my recordings - I would not recommend it...

As for "warranty" I just keep my original hard drive sitting in a box in case I ever need to send the TiVo back for warranty work. (Hasn't ever happened, but, just in case)


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## drdave17 (Nov 21, 2014)

> TiVo was never designed to be a long term content archive repository - And it sounds as though that is how you are using it. Get that stuff you want to keep moved to a local shared drive and you can free up space on your TiVo.


Right. I was using a DVD Recorder but that is also full and why I opted for a second drive.

Your suggestion sounds quite interesting. I will look into that option.



> Once you have the important stuff moved, you can consider upgrading you internal hard drive to something that will give you more flexibility.


Guess I could try the drive in the other Tivo? Maybe not following you here. It's not crucial that I upgrade to a larger drive.

I still don't know what to do with this other Tivo Box except for parts if need later or possibly repair.

Thanks


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

KMTTG:  is probably the easiest way to get content off of your TiVo

Archivo:  I haven't tried it, but I hear it is similar to KMTTG and also makes the archiving process very easy.

To watch the content back on your TiVo you will need either Plex, PyTiVo or Streambaby... Your choice.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

With a Roamio, you can just place a 3 TB drive in and it will JUST WORK. (You won't have the shows from your previous drive, of course..)

Has to be 3 TB or under.. There are tools to work up to IIRC 6 TB now..


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## PCurry57 (Feb 27, 2012)

UCLABB said:


> I had a nearly new XL4 die on me. No one should ever buy an XL4 because they are terrible and will all die within months. See what I did there? Anecdotal evidence is usually worthless.
> 
> There have been reported problems with externals, but of course not all of them have problems. Adding an external just introduces another potential failure point. Most of us have found that simply changing the internal drive for a bigger one is the simplest and cheapest way to go. As far as I know, no one has ever been turned down for a warranty claim because they put in a bigger drive. As far as just "opening the case" being a problem, how in the world would they even know?


You're making the same wireless anecdotal observation about the Froome of external drives. The drive itself is by it's construction no more likely to failure than any drive you would replace internally. I could make the anecdotal argument that by replacing the internal drive you risk actually damaging your TiVo (I'm really guessing but I'd bet someone somewhere did). That statement has the same weight as you comment that external drives will fail.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

PCurry57 said:


> You're making the same wireless anecdotal observation about the Froome of external drives. The drive itself is by it's construction no more likely to failure than any drive you would replace internally. I could make the anecdotal argument that by replacing the internal drive you risk actually damaging your TiVo (I'm really guessing but I'd bet someone somewhere did). That statement has the same weight as you comment that external drives will fail.


Except over the years the community at TCF has seen a lot of external drive failures for various reasons including cable related issues. Why should anyone double the failure points when replacing the internal drive in a Roamio or Bolt is SO easy?


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## tampa8 (Jan 26, 2016)

The way TIVO has structured it using an external hard drive doubles the chance of losing recordings. You can certainly discuss how much of a chance that is but when either one dies programs are lost.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

I think there are valid points on both sides of this. I have used a 500GB external drive on a TiVo HD and a 1TB external drive on a Series 3. I have also upgraded the internal drives on my both of my Series 2 TiVos, my TiVo HD, my Premiere, & my Roamio. 

The external drives where always a little dicey and many times I would have issues getting the TiVo HD or Series 3 to find the drives again when rebooted, resulting in several reboot attempts to get everything working again. 

Upgrading internal drives does require some skill and you can damage your TiVo if you really mess up. TiVo may also refuse support when they see you have upgraded you internal drive (several people have report being denied support) and there are questions about the warranty (I have not seen anyone say specifically that they were denied a warranty claim). 

Adding an external is certainly easy and there will not be any support or warranty questions because of it. However is costs more and you get less than an internal upgrade and you now have way more failure points that may result in the loss of all of your recordings. You actually add 6 more failure points (the eSata port on the TiVo, the cable, the eSata port on the external drive, the rest of the external drive enclosure electronics, and the actually hard drive).

Each person needs to way the pros and cons of each method and do what works best for themselves.


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