# Upgrading HDD in Tivo Edge



## dtr20 (7 mo ago)

So my 2TB internal HDD just died. I had the unit maybe a year, but since TiVo gave me a discount to replace a TiVo Bolt, they wont do anything with this one after the initial 90 days. I've been doing a ton of research on this, but nothing seems to be recent. There really doesn't seem to have any suitable internal 2.5" 2TB drives anymore. I've seen some posts about the Seagate ST2000LM015 drive, but my TiVo will not get past the Starting Up screen. I've tried formatting with Windows, deleting the partitions with Windows, etc. The only other thing I can try is to 0 it out using KillDisk. I had an old 500GB 2.5" hdd that I put in there for now, to get me by for a bit until I can sort this out. I wanted to keep it internal, but from everything I have read, going external with an 3.5" hdd will be better long term. It seems like the WD Purple CMR drives are the way to go for now. My question is what enclosure should I be using? I saw a bunch of people recommending the Rosewill esata drive enclosure, but that is no longer available. Any suggestions? Thanks


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

dtr20 said:


> It seems like the WD Purple CMR drives are the way to go for now.


You can also use WD Red Plus drives (ends in EFRX, EFZX, 3.5", CMR).


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## CWSpangler (Dec 25, 2018)

dtr20 said:


> ... I saw a bunch of people recommending the Rosewill esata drive enclosure, but that is no longer available. Any suggestions? Thanks


For my Bolt I have purchased _but have not yet tried_ these items for an external 3.5" drive enclosure and power supply:
- Kingwin KF-91-BK "hot swap rack", Amazon, $20 (form factor: old school half-height 5.25" drive sized, holds 3.5" drive; aluminum & plastic with small fan)
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0002474VM
- Bytecc AC-BT300 power supply, Newegg, $13 (4 pin Molex IDE-type connector for 12V and 5V; the adapter for SATA power is pretty bad, I plan to use the Molex, which should work)
BYTECC AC-BT300 AC to DC PSU Adapter and Power cord Set for IDE/SATA Drives - Newegg.com

I think these will work for me, but I cannot really recommend them, as I have not tried them yet. This project is in my queue, after updating the disk in the Premiere XL.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

dtr20 said:


> So my 2TB internal HDD just died. I had the unit maybe a year, but since TiVo gave me a discount to replace a TiVo Bolt, they wont do anything with this one after the initial 90 days. I've been doing a ton of research on this, but nothing seems to be recent. There really doesn't seem to have any suitable internal 2.5" 2TB drives anymore. I've seen some posts about the Seagate ST2000LM015 drive, but my TiVo will not get past the Starting Up screen. I've tried formatting with Windows, deleting the partitions with Windows, etc. The only other thing I can try is to 0 it out using KillDisk. I had an old 500GB 2.5" hdd that I put in there for now, to get me by for a bit until I can sort this out. I wanted to keep it internal, but from everything I have read, going external with an 3.5" hdd will be better long term. It seems like the WD Purple CMR drives are the way to go for now. My question is what enclosure should I be using? I saw a bunch of people recommending the Rosewill esata drive enclosure, but that is no longer available. Any suggestions? Thanks


3.5 External, Sata to Sata is best. VERY hard to find the Rosewill. Can use a Sabrent (specific model, see link) and go Sata to Sata with a molex to Sata power adapter.

TE4 or TE3 Bolt or Edge upgrade with external drive | TiVo Community Forum 

Or if internal use a *Seagate Samsung ST2000LM003 2TB, it's CMR and only 9.5mm so will fit in an Edge with no mods. Find new/new old stock, or used with not TOO many hours (maybe under 3-4000?)*


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

The Seagate you mention is SMR, not good, some SMR will work, most will not, but NEVER a good choice.


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## Dan3 (Jan 18, 2009)

If you have a Bolt, and either haven't upgraded it to the new interface or can downgrade it, you can install an SSD. I went with a Samsung 860 1TB about 3 years ago and it's great. If you ever have to restart the box (YouTube Video seems to hang it every month or two) it completes a reboot in about 30 seconds.
The downside is that if you ever click on "Upgrade to Tivo New Experience" you'll toast the installation and have to do a wipe/reinstall and then re-pair the cable card (I know because I tried to get it to work with "New Experience" a half dozen times). 
With an SSD you get very quick startup if it ever has to reboot or there's a power glitch. The unit quieter and runs cooler. I have it set to sleep after a couple of hours and have calculated that it should last 12 to 15 years based upon Samsung's SSD duration spec and the typical mix (HD and SD) of shows it records continuously from its 4 tuners when it isn't sleeping. The 3.5" "regular" disks never seemed to last more than about 5 or 6 years and the 2.5" drives are more like 3 to 5 years so SSD is the way to go. When a Tivo dies and trashes all the recorded shows, it's extremely annoying and leads to dealing with a devastated wife... 
I wish I could upgrade to an Edge, but until they fix whatever it is that killed off using SSDs if "new experience" is installed, I have to stick with the old Bolt. If/when something happens to the bolt, I may have to end my decades long relationship with Tivo (I started wtih DirecTivos many years ago, then DirectTivo HD, then a couple of Series 3s with cable (those were the best!) a Romio, and 2 Bolts. I'll be sorry to leave Tivo but being stuck with 2.5" spinning rust just isn't acceptable in 2022!


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## tivois4me (May 7, 2004)

Any one know the power supply load limits of the internal SATA power connector inside the TiVo Edge? I asked this question in another post as well titled "Edge Hard Drive Upgrade".


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