# Recycling broken Series 3?



## Robert Lauriston (Jul 7, 2008)

My Series 3 won't start. It shows the "Welcome, powering up" message for a minute or two, reboots, and does the same thing again, endlessly. I called Tivo and they had me hold the reset button on the remote and then press 5, 4 when the red and yellow lights went on, which did not bring up the diagnostics. They wanted $149 to repair it, which I didn't want to invest in an EOL unit that only cost me $220 in the first place, plus it isn't even two years old. Based on this and other bad customer service experiences, I'm done with Tivo.

So I wonder (1) if I could repair it myself and (2) if it's possible to hack it to make it a generic Linux box for streaming media from the Web?


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## HomeUser (Jan 12, 2003)

"Reset" button? You probably are referring to the 'Pause' button.

*richsadams's* Kickstart procedure post

The kickstart code 54 test the hard drive(s) used in/with your TiVo box. If the problem is the drive the drive can be replaced without too much difficulty by someone with a little PC repair experience.

Both of the forum sponsors sell pre-loaded drives and kits or can replace it for you.

WeaKnees TiVo Upgrade Kits require NO computer or computer experience!

DVRupgrade "The ORIGINAL TiVo Upgrade and Repair Service"


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## Thom (Jun 5, 2000)

Robert Lauriston said:


> My Series 3 won't start. It shows the "Welcome, powering up" message for a minute or two, reboots, and does the same thing again, endlessly. I called Tivo and they had me hold the reset button on the remote and then press 5, 4 when the red and yellow lights went on, which did not bring up the diagnostics. They wanted $149 to repair it, which I didn't want to invest in an EOL unit that only cost me $220 in the first place, plus it isn't even two years old. Based on this and other bad customer service experiences, I'm done with Tivo.
> 
> So I wonder (1) if I could repair it myself and (2) if it's possible to hack it to make it a generic Linux box for streaming media from the Web?


Pull the drive from the Series 3 and download the drive manufacturer (probably Western Digital) hard drive diagnostics. If it still doesn't boot, buy an InstantCake image for the drive; image it; and install it again to see if boots.

Another possible cheap fix is to disconnect then reconnect all hard disk and power supply cables (both at the drive and the main board and the power supply). Make sure you plug them back in correctly and securely. This will sometimes cure a problem caused by a poor connection.

- Thom

Put the drive in your desktop PC and run the drive manufacturer diagnostics on it. Make sure you do NOT run a destructive (write) test. You only want to run a read test, sometimes called a scan.

If no problems are found, you can buy an InstantCake image (download or CD) for your Series 3 and use it to put fresh, good software on the drive. Then reinstall the drive in your Series 3.

If problems are found, the diagnostics will either ask if you want to repair the drive (swap bad sectors for spare good sectors) or tell you to send it in for service.

If the diagnostics say to send the drive in for service, just locally purchase a new drive, image it with InstantCake and install.

If the diagnostics ask if you want to repair the drive, answer yes. Once it finishes repairing the drive, install it in your Series 3 and see if it boots.


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## RickyY (Apr 22, 2010)

Thom said:


> Pull the drive from the Series 3 and download the drive manufacturer (probably Western Digital) hard drive diagnostics. If it still doesn't boot, buy an InstantCake image for the drive; image it; and install it again to see if boots.
> 
> Another possible cheap fix is to disconnect then reconnect all hard disk and power supply cables (both at the drive and the main board and the power supply). Make sure you plug them back in correctly and securely. This will sometimes cure a problem caused by a poor connection.
> 
> ...


My Tivo HD had the same issue, and I fixed it by replacing the Hard drive .. had re install the M card. Everything working fine.


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