# Want to upgrade Bolt Vox 500GB (TCD849500V)...



## Hoyt Platter (Jul 11, 2018)

New to the TiVo family but already feel like I need more memory. Have been doing more recording than I thought I would. I am looking to upgrade to 2TB (unless 3TB is around the same price) Overall, which hard drive is the most recommended? I've seen a few posts recommending Western Digital, Seagate, and even Samsung drives. Also, will I need to format the drive before installing? And for the particular model that I have, what tools will I need to remove the case?

Thank you for any help you can provide.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Bolt Hard Drive Upgrade Choice

Good reading.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

The Western Digital 3TB 2.5" drive available through Amazon.com and MacMall seems to be the most-recommended drive, and is at a good price-point.


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## Hoyt Platter (Jul 11, 2018)

Thanks for your replies so far. So once I install the new hard drive, will it just prompt me to run TiVo setup again? And since I will have to remove the CableCard while performing the upgrade, will there be any issues with that? Was reading this on a tutorial " Secondly if you use a cable card with your Tivo you may need to call your cable company to re-pair these depending on how aggressive your cable operator is with authentication" Did anyone here who has upgraded drives run into this issue?

Thanks!


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Hoyt Platter said:


> Thanks for your replies so far. So once I install the new hard drive, will it just prompt me to run TiVo setup again? And since I will have to remove the CableCard while performing the upgrade, will there be any issues with that? Was reading this on a tutorial " Secondly if you use a cable card with your Tivo you may need to call your cable company to re-pair these depending on how aggressive your cable operator is with authentication" Did anyone here who has upgraded drives run into this issue?
> Thanks!


A new hard drive is like having a new TiVo. Cable card pairing will be needed. While you may still have your channels, a pairing will be needed. What changes is that "hardware number". Not all companies care.

When asked to choose a country, hit the Info button on the remote. Post the default software. It will upgrade to Hydra.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Nicely, with a new drive of 3TB or less, the machine handles the formatting of the drive--no need to do so manually before installing the drive.

Do note that once the Hydra UI gets installed, you can go back to the Gen3 UI. Currently, you can do so at any time--but you will lose your box's recordings. And so, if you might want to, you might want to do so up-front.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

I second the vote for the 2TB WD20NPVZ. I also opted to spend a few more bucks to order direct from Western Digital to make sure I got a full warranty on the drive.

Also, here's a video that may help you with your upgrade. Note, I was super careful and still popped off a few clips but that's not really that big a deal.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

No clue about any BOLT or Hydra caveats re: the capability, but couldn't MFS Tools 3.2 facilitate an upgrade migration from the original drive to a 2TB or 3TB drive, preserving all settings and recordings ... including CableCARD pairing?

MFS Tools 3.2


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

krkaufman said:


> No clue about any BOLT or Hydra caveats re: the capability, but couldn't MFS Tools 3.2 facilitate an upgrade migration from the original drive to a 2TB or 3TB drive, preserving all settings and recordings ... including CableCARD pairing?
> 
> MFS Tools 3.2


It can, but most people won't even look at alternatives that involve hooking the drive(s) up to a PC and running another program as long as a Roamio or Bolt can auto-format drives up to 3TB.


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## Hoyt Platter (Jul 11, 2018)

Ok so I went with the 2TB WD20NPVZ and ordered directly from WD. Bottom line, do I need to be concerned with having to repair the CableCard? I had to have my cable company come out to my house to "install" it, initially. Really don't want to have to call them for another house call.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Re-read post 5.


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## Hoyt Platter (Jul 11, 2018)

Thank you for all your replies! I was able to successfully upgrade the drive to the 2TB WD20NPVZ. Once I powered the Bolt back on, it proceeded with the Tivo setup. All went fine. Then, when I went to watch "Live TV" a message popped up about my CableCard. I called my cable provider and indeed had to have them re pair the card. After that, all was golden. Thanks again for all your help!


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## PeytonRE (Oct 23, 2006)

After seeing this post/instructions, I am leaning toward getting the 500 GB TiVo BOLT BOX with the intention of upgrading the HD since i have a 6-year-old TiVo Premier lying around not really being used that is eligible for the upgrade offer. My current intention is just to use the new TiVo for OTA only, so my question is "How large of an HD can I swap for?" The TiVo technical specs indicate that the "TiVo BOLT VOX 3 TB not compatible with antenna." Does that just apply to the stock 3TB TiVo or does it include any potential HD upgrades to the 500GB or 1Tb TiVos?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

PeytonRE said:


> After seeing this post/instructions, I am leaning toward getting the 500 GB TiVo BOLT BOX with the intention of upgrading the HD since i have a 6-year-old TiVo Premier lying around not really being used that is eligible for the upgrade offer. My current intention is just to use the new TiVo for OTA only, so my question is "How large of an HD can I swap for?" The TiVo technical specs indicate that the "TiVo BOLT VOX 3 TB not compatible with antenna." Does that just apply to the stock 3TB TiVo or does it include any potential HD upgrades to the 500GB or 1Tb TiVos?


A 6-tuner TiVo is cable only. The 4-tuner Bolt or Roamio can be OTA or cable.


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## PeytonRE (Oct 23, 2006)

JoeKustra said:


> A 6-tuner TiVo is cable only. The 4-tuner Bolt or Roamio can be OTA or cable.


So, if I understand you correctly, the 500GB and 1 TB are 4-tuner Tivos; therefore, they will accept up to a 3TB replacement drive with no issues, under OTA conditions, using the upgrade instructions above?


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

PeytonRE said:


> So, if I understand you correctly, the 500GB and 1 TB are 4-tuner Tivos; therefore, they will accept up to a 3TB replacement drive with no issues, under OTA conditions, using the upgrade instructions above?


Yes, the 4-tuner BOLTs can be easily upgraded to a 3TB drive capacity. You could go larger than 3TB if you could find a compatible drive, or were to opt for one of the mods allowing connection of a drive externally.

The BOLTs all have the same drive limitations; the 3TB vs smaller capacity differentiation is only relevant as it regards the stock drive included with the unit, for differentiating between the 6-tuner (CC-only) and 4-tuner (CC or OTA) models. TiVo, in all their wisdom, discarded the "+" differentiation in the BOLT+ 3TB 6-tuner model when they released the VOX lineup, choosing to call all the boxes "BOLT VOX," and leaving it up to the buyer to figure out the difference.


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## PeytonRE (Oct 23, 2006)

Thanks for the info -- I think that the 3TB solution will be more than sufficient and appears to be the most fool-proof (which is important in my case...)

That being said, I didn't find the Western Digital 3TB 2.5" drive available through Amazon.com -- what is the recommended 3TB HD?


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