# Roamio OTA HD Replacement



## Chad Davis (Apr 24, 2017)

What is the maximum size HD that a Roamio OTA will handle? Will a 6TB WD Red drive work?


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

It will auto-format drives up to 3TB by itself. If you use MFS Reformatter (in the Upgrade forum) you can go up to 8TB.


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## Jim861 (Jan 9, 2017)

You may want to go with a WD Blue or green drive for the lower 5400 rpm. The 7200rpm drives do get a little warmer, 10 degrees F or so. I bought a WD external 6TB drive on clearance and it had a Blue drive inside. The Two Tivo I upgraded had WD green drives in them.

MFS Reformater MFS Reformatter (mfsr)

If it does not work for you at first it could be their server. I wasted a day or so wiping the drive and starting over.


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## sfhub (Jan 6, 2007)

Jim861 said:


> You may want to go with a WD Blue or green drive for the lower 5400 rpm.


WD Red comes in both 5400 and 7200rpm varieties. As you mentioned 5400rpm is recommended, especially for the OTA with the power supply that just has enough power.


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## Jim861 (Jan 9, 2017)

sfhub said:


> WD Red comes in both 5400 and 7200rpm varieties. As you mentioned 5400rpm is recommended, especially for the OTA with the power supply that just has enough power.


Thanks for the clarification. I have not shopped for drives much lately. I remember the day drives got below $1/MB (yes MB) and I thought that was a good deal.

And on the Blue and Green WD drives as I understand they are the same, from what I read Green is bad/slow/poor performance word so WD renamed the Green drives to Blue Drives.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

Jim861 said:


> ...
> 
> And on the Blue and Green WD drives as I understand they are the same, from what I read Green is bad/slow/poor performance word so WD renamed the Green drives to Blue Drives.


Over time there have been a number of different drive lines labeled "Blue" or "Green" without knowing specific model numbers it is pretty hard to make any general statements like the one you made. It is true that the Green line of drives have been discontinued and the current Blue line of drives appear to be designed to function properly in a DVR so it certainly appears the current Blue line is a successor to the former Green line, put it also appears that the new Blue line are updated drives and not the same as the discontinued Green drives.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

And red seems to be the current darling of choice.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

I've read here and there that Purple drives are good for DVRs and Surveillance. Also seeing nods to Red. I'm considering getting a used Roamio Plus then upgrading replacing the original old 1TB Hard Drive with a fresh new 3TB, and these three drives seem to be recommended:

*WD Red 3TB Hard Drive WD30EFRX *

Western Digital Red NAS Hard Drive Review [WD30EFRX] | Hard Drive 
Amazon.com: WD Red 3TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD30EFRX: Computers & Accessories

Western Digital Red NAS Hard Drive Review [WD30EFRX] | StorageReview.com - Storage Reviews

*WD Green 3TB Hard Drive WD30EURX *

Amazon.com: WD 3 TB WD AV-GP SATA III Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM AV Hard Drive WD30EURX: Computers & Accessories

*WD Purple 3TB Surveillance Hard Drive WD30PURX*

Amazon.com: WD Purple 3TB Surveillance Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD30PURX: Computers & Accessories


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

If you can find a WD30EURX that's actually new (not a refurb), that's the AV Green drive that TiVo shipped in the Roamio Pros and it hasn't been produced for almost a year. Note that all the listings in your Amazon link are from third party "partners" and some other TCF members have been burned.

I wouldn't pee on a Purple drive if it was on fire. My advice - stick with the EFRX Reds.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

ggieseke said:


> If you can find a WD30EURX that's actually new (not a refurb), that's the AV Green drive that TiVo shipped in the Roamio Pros and it hasn't been produced for almost a year.


Ah, didn't know the Green was discontinued that long ago. Explains why i don't see many new ones for sale online, and why the prices are so much higher than the Red.



> Note that all the listings in your Amazon link are from third party "partners" and some other TCF members have been burned.


Good to know, my links were mostly for information anyway and didn't look at the sellers. But the reviews for the drives are helpful.



> I wouldn't pee on a Purple drive if it was on fire. My advice - stick with the EFRX Reds.


Good to know - prolly why i haven't really seen much mention of the Purple here on TCF.

So Red it is !!


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## ClearToLand (Jul 10, 2001)

randywalters said:


> I've read here and there that Purple drives are good for DVRs and Surveillance. Also seeing nods to Red. I'm considering getting a used Roamio Plus then upgrading replacing the original old 1TB Hard Drive with a fresh new 3TB, and these three drives seem to be recommended:
> *WD Red 3TB Hard Drive WD30EFRX*
> - optimized for reading
> .
> ...


Usage recommendations in red above inside your QUOTE.

Get a WD*N*0EFRX Red from a reputable vendor (i.e. Amazon, BestBuy, Newegg - WD30EFRX currently $99 on sale IIRC) and enjoy your TiVo.


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## ClearToLand (Jul 10, 2001)

*Best By on eBay: WD 4TB Red WD40EFRX $105.99 AC until 6PM PDT Today!*


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## Chad Davis (Apr 24, 2017)

How long does it take to format a 6TB drive in a roamio ota? My understanding is that it will only format to 3 TB and I will need to expand it on my PC. The new WD red 6 TB drive has been in the roamio ota with all lights blinking for almost 24 hours now.


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## sfhub (Jan 6, 2007)

Chad Davis said:


> How long does it take to format a 6TB drive in a roamio ota? My understanding is that it will only format to 3 TB and I will need to expand it on my PC. The new WD red 6 TB drive has been in the roamio ota with all lights blinking for almost 24 hours now.


I think you have something wrong. It probably took less than 15 minutes for initial format to 3TB.


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

A Roamio should format any drive in less than 4 minutes. The amount of data it writes is roughly the same no matter how big the drive is.


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## JTHOJNICKI (Nov 30, 2015)

Go with the WD Red drive. It's designed for NAS devices, so it has the best meantime between failures; meaning the lowest chances for failure. If I remember correctly, the WD Red is 5400rpm and the WD Red Pro is 7200rpm. As previously stated the 5400rpm version is best for the Roamio OTA. I prepped a 6TB WD Red with MSFR and installed it in mine. It's been great.


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## sfhub (Jan 6, 2007)

Chad Davis said:


> How long does it take to format a 6TB drive in a roamio ota? My understanding is that it will only format to 3 TB and I will need to expand it on my PC. The new WD red 6 TB drive has been in the roamio ota with all lights blinking for almost 24 hours now.


One possibility is the power brick is not supplying enough power for the new drive. Another is the new drive has some issue. Try zeroing out the drive using the manufacturer's tools and make sure no errors show up. Then try again. If it is still a problem, try the original drive. If that boots, and you had no errors on the PC, it might be the power supply doesn't have enough power for your drive.

If you post your drive manufacturer and model #, that might get some additional comments from folks.


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