# Bad HD want to upgrade and save shows how?



## donskon (Oct 30, 2005)

My DVR-57H died a few weeks ago and now I want to replace the hard drive and copy all (if any remain) show to the new drive. The Tivo boots up and said there is problem it is trying to fix it and then it reboot and starts all over again.
I plan on ordering a new drive form week knees. Then I would like to copy just the shows to the new drive but I dont know how or what I need except a new drive. I know the new drive will come with the OS on it all ready and that I could just drop it in and go but I would like to try to save any old show. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

I don't know of any way to copy your recordings to the new Weaknees drive. Odds are that they're trashed anyway.


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

You can try dd_rescue. IMO, you are better off buying a retail drive and doing that, and buying instantcake if need be.


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## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

Or try SpinRite


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## ronsch (Sep 7, 2001)

Another vote for dd_rescue!


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## ciscokidinsf (Jan 26, 2007)

Same boat here. My Series 2 Tivo started stuttering, so I sent it to weaknees and paid for a full transfer, but b/c I have a 2 HDD tivo and I am upgrading to a single drive one, they were only able to copy the setup/passes but NO content. 

All I need is to get the individual files out of the hard drives. Weakness is sending me the 'old' HDDs back. Is there a way to get the content files out? (e.g. copy specific .tivo files?) Or not? Luckily I had backed up 50% of my 300 hr tivo, but I still have a few shows I want to rescue. 

Let me know, most of the links for HDD upgrades are related to full copies of HDD and not for my case exactly. Thanks.


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## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

ciscokidinsf said:


> Same boat here. My Series 2 Tivo started stuttering, so I sent it to weaknees and paid for a full transfer, but b/c I have a 2 HDD tivo and I am upgrading to a single drive one, they were only able to copy the setup/passes but NO content.
> 
> All I need is to get the individual files out of the hard drives. Weakness is sending me the 'old' HDDs back. Is there a way to get the content files out? (e.g. copy specific .tivo files?) Or not? Luckily I had backed up 50% of my 300 hr tivo, but I still have a few shows I want to rescue.
> 
> Let me know, most of the links for HDD upgrades are related to full copies of HDD and not for my case exactly. Thanks.


I don't know who I got this answer from (I'll have to look at my notes at home), but I was told that I could go from 2 HDD to 2 HDD saving the shows and passes with this caveat--even with new larger HDDs, the extra space would not be available on the new HDDs if they are larger.

So then the process would be 
a) transfer from 2 old HDD to 2 new HDD, 
b) watch new shows and/or save to DVD, 
c) start fresh and reimage to get extra space on new HDDs


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## ciscokidinsf (Jan 26, 2007)

> I was told that I could go from 2 HDD to 2 HDD saving the shows and passes with this caveat--even with new larger HDDs, the extra space would not be available on the new HDDs if they are larger.


Yep, that is exactly what the Weakness guy told me. Unfortunately, for me that was not an option as the Tivo was near full when I sent it. And I need the space. I have about 50% of it backed up. I lost however all 4 seasons of 'Teen Titans', 2 seasons of the BBC show 'Murphy's Law', FX's wonderful 'Thief' and for most of these the DVDs are NOT readily available (except the Teen Titans first 2 seasons)

So, no way to hook up the 'old' drives to a pc running some version of Linux to extract the targeted files, right? (and files that could be .tivo files that is)


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## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

ciscokidinsf said:


> So, no way to hook up the 'old' drives to a pc running some version of Linux to extract the targeted files, right? (and files that could be .tivo files that is)


I have no idea on that one--someone else will have to respond to that part.


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## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

*Question for Weaknees:* 
I have an RCA DVR40 with its original drive and a second 160 GB Seagate drive (can't remember who I purchased it pre-imaged from). Had it reboot a couple of times on its own, but otherwise appears to work so I've set it aside in case HDD is going. I would like to replace these 2 drives with 1 drive (probably 300 GB) and retain the old programs (I know, should have backed up some special stuff a long time ago.) Is this possible with the Deluxe Upgrade Service? Or does that only work for a one-to-one swap?

*Answer from Weaknees:* 
That only works one-to-one or two-to-two, so you could accomplish this with a dual drive kit, as long as each drive is at least 160 GB.

*Question for Hinsdale:*

I'm getting cold feet thinking about trying this myself and was 
thinking about trying your upgrade/repair/restore service for $95.

I have a RCA DVR40 with 2 drives that is starting to fail
(pixelation/reboots). I'd at least like to make an attempt to save the
programming until I can output it to my DVD/VHS recorder; however, 
right now it just seems like that I'll get through 30-45 minutes of a show 
and it reboots.

Does you're service include trying to restore the saved shows onto 
a new drive?

I'm getting mixed answers on several forums to these questions:
1) Can I go from 2 drives to 1 larger harddrive?
2) Do I need to go from 2 drives to 2 drives?
3) Will I be able to use the additional space on the new drive(s)?

I'm perfectly fine with
a) upgrading to a new larger HDD temporarily without obtaining the 
new space
b) saving my recordings on my DVD recorder
c) "formatting" or whatever it takes to wipeout the existing image 
on my own to regain the space and putting on a new image myself

Is this feasible?

*Answer from Hinsdale:*

Yes, we can try to get the data. The $95 full upgrade includes a basic
attempt.

1 - Yes, but if you are keeping the recordings, you can't get the extra
space. If you do settings-only, you can get the extra space.

2 - If you want more space and recordings, yes.

3 - Yes, if you get two.

You should do the DVD copy ASAP, then send us the unit.

*Get's confusing, doesn't it??? I'm still not sure if Hinsdale understood my question.*


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## spike2k5 (Feb 21, 2006)

So you got original "A" and expanded 160GB "B" right?

If you want to retain recordings,
your options are

1. new dual drive setup where combined "A" and "B" has to be at least 200GB or more and use extra space if you have it. (mfslive 1.0 or 1.1)

2. combine into new "A" drive and use extra space. Again, drive has to be greater than 200GB. (mfslive beta)


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## ciscokidinsf (Jan 26, 2007)

hey *anonymuse*, I think you misunderstood the 'order' of what
Hinsdale wanted you to do to accomplish moving the shows and then expanding the hard drive.

What Hinsdale is saying is:

Step 1 - Send it to Hinsdale to move your 2 hard drives _with content _ to another 2 hard drive setup. However, regardless of the size of the new drives, you only get your 'old capacity' back, but you do get your recordings in a working tivo

Step 2- Upon you receiving the Tivo back, burn to DVD/backup all the shows you want to keep.

Step 3 - After completing step 2, send the tivo back AGAIN to them, so that they can 'reset' the hard drives so that you can gain any extra space (whether you want to keep it with 2 hard drives or only a bigger one is up to you at that point)

(mind you, if you were so inclined, you could do step 3 yourself with instantcake or whatever)

So I guess moving your stuff costs you twice as much, b/c you have to do two separate processes and buy at least 2 new hard drives (or even 3 depending)

Sigh.... I guess I won't recover this stuff then. Has anyone connected an ACTIVE tivo drive to a pc (or a linux pc) and seen the contents?


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## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

When he said that I should do the DVD copy ASAP, that's what threw me. 

I wanted for Hinsdale to do Step 1 & 2 and then I would do step 3. 

I just think they'd have a better shot at recovery than I would and that's why I'm nervous about trying it myself since if I muck it up, no one can bail me out.

I don't mind mucking around with a new HDD--it's not like you can really mess anything up since you can always re-format it and start again.

Plus, I'd have them go from 2 HDD ==> 2 HDD and have them use some small HDD I have laying around to replace the 40 GB and then get something like a 250GB+ for the secondary. After I'd grabbed any programs I could, then I'd go with the new large HDD only, format it, and use instacake on it.


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## ronsch (Sep 7, 2001)

Sorry I've been off the forum for a week.

ciscokidinsf,

Do you know which drive is bad? Did Weeknees tell you? 

You can use dd_rescue to copy each drive individually to a new drive as long as the size is the same. This is really only necessary for the bad drive but if you do it for both you will know you've fixed the problem. As long as you keep an A drive paired with a B drive you'll be fine.

When you copy the bad drive with dd_rescue, you will know it. It will pause in it's process and repeatedly try and rescue the bad sectors. Anything it can't recover will be written out in zero'ed 512K blocks. If none of these are in a "system" area of the A drive, you will probably be able to recover everything but a few minutes of some shows.

For example, if the A drive (assume 250GB Western Digital) is bad, dd_rescue it to a new 250GB(or larger) Western Digital. Then put the new drive into the TiVo with the old B drive and see what happens. If the B drive is the bad one, dd_rescue it to a new drive of the same size and put the new one into the TiVo with the old A drive. You can always dd_rescue both of them individually and put both new drives into the TiVo.


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## ciscokidinsf (Jan 26, 2007)

Thanks *ronsch*, Though I really don't want to buy 2 or 1 more drives, I only need less than 50% of my content and what I wanted was to get specific files out of the drives, not a complete copy.

Additionally, when I got my Tivo back weakness said it encountered a total failure and could not even transfer my settings. So maybe the HDD has gone completely bad.


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## ronsch (Sep 7, 2001)

That does sound like the drive was pretty bad off. Oh well....


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## destinydog (Jun 5, 2007)

ronsch said:


> Sorry I've been off the forum for a week.
> 
> ciscokidinsf,
> 
> ...


Hey Ronsch,

What if a system area _IS_ corrupted?

I have this exact situation: Series 1 Philips Tivo. Original quantum 30gig Single A drive. Then added a B drive . Then Upgraded A for larger drive. Used for a while. Now Tivo is dead; won't boot. Ran spinrite and repaired several sectors on both drives, but still no boot. One drive (B I think) all sectors repaired/recovered. The other, all but like 10 sectors recovered. Still no boot.

Can I restore My tivo to working order? I guess I don't necessarily care about the programs, I just want my tivo back!

DD

PS - In case you're wondering. I never made a back up of my original drives. For whatever reason mfstools never allowed me to complete a backup; I tried several times. So I just upgraded without one.


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## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

If you accidentally booted into Windows and that corrupted it, use MakeTivoBootable to fix that.

If the physical hard drive is damaged where the files were and can't be fixed with SpinRite, etc., then that hard drive is hosed.

However, you can obtain the correct image for your machine and put in a new harddrive to get your unit up and running again.


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## destinydog (Jun 5, 2007)

anonymuse said:


> If you accidentally booted into Windows and that corrupted it, use MakeTivoBootable to fix that.
> 
> If the physical hard drive is damaged where the files were and can't be fixed with SpinRite, etc., then that hard drive is hosed.
> 
> However, you can obtain the correct image for your machine and put in a new harddrive to get your unit up and running again.


Sweet! THat's what I'm looking to do. How/where can I obtain an image for a phillips HDR312 Series 1?

I've been without a tivo for over a year because I was stumped with this problem. I gave up and recently started "my plight" again. THings have changed since I last researched. I remember before I gave up, I found some posts about some "forbidden arts" where you could actually use linux commands to extract individual programs directly from the drive itself. It was a pain finding the stuff. Litterally like the holy grail. Hidden away. I perused the guide, but it was over my head since I'm a very novice linux user. It seems extremely complex. It made me want to give up. So I did.

I've heard that stuff has changed now. Apparently it's ok to extract stuff now. If I can recover my tivo with an image, can I salvage the non corrupted data from the existing drives? I mean most of it (except a few key areas) is complete....

THanks for the reply. I guess there is hope!

DD


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## destinydog (Jun 5, 2007)

anonymuse said:


> If you accidentally booted into Windows and that corrupted it, use MakeTivoBootable to fix that.


Didn't boot into windows with any of my tivo drives. But I did try to use a drive which had been formatted for windows use. I wiped it before I used it with my tivo. But could this have caused a problem? I guess I never thought of it before since I never "booted" into windows after I changed it into a tivo drive.....

Also is there a way to check which drive is which, A or B that is. It's been so long since I've tried to revive this thing Im not sure I can remember which drive is which...

DD


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## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

destinydog said:


> Sweet! THat's what I'm looking to do. How/where can I obtain an image for a phillips HDR312 Series 1?
> 
> DD


IMO Instacake is the easiest way to go: ($20 well spent)

http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/instantcake.cfm


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## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

destinydog said:


> Didn't boot into windows with any of my tivo drives. But I did try to use a drive which had been formatted for windows use. I wiped it before I used it with my tivo. But could this have caused a problem? I guess I never thought of it before since I never "booted" into windows after I changed it into a tivo drive.....
> 
> Also is there a way to check which drive is which, A or B that is. It's been so long since I've tried to revive this thing Im not sure I can remember which drive is which...
> 
> DD


When I booted into Linux using mfstools or one of those, there was a lot of stuff output on the screen. When I paged up, it showed hda, hdb, etc and their drive sizes. From there, I was able to make sure I knew which drive was which.


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## ronsch (Sep 7, 2001)

anonymuse said:


> IMO Instacake is the easiest way to go: ($20 well spent)
> 
> http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/instantcake.cfm


Or see this thread.


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## destinydog (Jun 5, 2007)

anonymuse said:


> IMO Instacake is the easiest way to go: ($20 well spent)
> 
> http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/instantcake.cfm


Thanks for the info. If I can't find a "shared" image... I'm thinking this is the way to go!



anonymuse said:


> When I booted into Linux using mfstools or one of those, there was a lot of stuff output on the screen. When I paged up, it showed hda, hdb, etc and their drive sizes. From there, I was able to make sure I knew which drive was which.


I thought that was the readout for how the drives are connected to the PC itself. hda is connected as the master and hdb is connected as the slave. Is there any file or identification on the actual drive itself that tells you whether it was the A or B drive in the Tivo?

I know it's dumb of me, but I got so frustrated last time I tried to fix this I just stored the drives without labels.... Maybe it's a moot point. What would happen if I reversed the drives in the tivo anyway?

DD


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## destinydog (Jun 5, 2007)

Thanks Ronsch!

Just posted my request/beg. Too bad you can't post on a cardboard box for added beg effect!

DD


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