# Can I Downgrade to TE3 during initial setup?



## Uncle_Steve (Jul 23, 2004)

The drive in my Bolt+ died last night. I've ordered a replacement external drive from Weaknees. Can I use the magical downgrade incantation during initial guided setup, or do I need to run guided setup with TE4, and then run guided setup again to downgrade? I'll know soon when the drive arrives and I try it, but was curious if it was possible to skip the 1st setup.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Uncle_Steve said:


> The drive in my Bolt+ died last night. I've ordered a replacement external drive from Weaknees. Can I use the magical downgrade incantation during initial guided setup, or do I need to run guided setup with TE4, and then run guided setup again to downgrade? I'll know soon when the drive arrives and I try it, but was curious if it was possible to skip the 1st setup.


If you were on TE3, you will continue to be on TE3 with the new drive. No action required. If you were on TE4 then you'll have to go through guided setup and then go through the steps to change to TE3.


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## dougtv (May 20, 2015)

Uncle_Steve said:


> The drive in my Bolt+ died last night. I've ordered a replacement external drive from Weaknees. Can I use the magical downgrade incantation during initial guided setup, or do I need to run guided setup with TE4, and then run guided setup again to downgrade? I'll know soon when the drive arrives and I try it, but was curious if it was possible to skip the 1st setup.


Was it the original HDD that came with the Bolt that died or a replacement? I find it amusing that my HDD in my Roamio Pro from 2015 and Premiere XL 4 from 2013 still work to this very day and just curious to know what HDD is the best should I ever want a 3TB.


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## Uncle_Steve (Jul 23, 2004)

UCLABB said:


> If you were on TE3, you will continue to be on TE3 with the new drive. No action required. If you were on TE4 then you'll have to go through guided setup and then go through the steps to change to TE3.


Excellent! I was on TE3 with the failed drive.


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## Uncle_Steve (Jul 23, 2004)

dougtv said:


> Was it the original HDD that came with the Bolt that died or a replacement? I find it amusing that my HDD in my Roamio Pro from 2015 and Premiere XL 4 from 2013 still work to this very day and just curious to know what HDD is the best should I ever want a 3TB.


My first Bolt lasted about 2 years when the drive died and the Tivo was replaced under warranty. The current system is also about 2 years old and no longer under warranty. So I'm replacing the drive myself with the Weaknees external.


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## tommage1 (Nov 6, 2008)

Uncle_Steve said:


> My first Bolt lasted about 2 years when the drive died and the Tivo was replaced under warranty. The current system is also about 2 years old and no longer under warranty. So I'm replacing the drive myself with the Weaknees external.


That will work. However you could do it yourself for less than half the price, takes 1/2 hour to an hour once you have the parts. Seems about average lifespan for a 2.5" drive in a Bolt. 2-3 years max. The 3.5 in an external could/should last 5 years or more, knock on wood. See link below, also works with TE3

TE4 Bolt upgrade with external drive


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

Uncle_Steve said:


> The drive in my Bolt+ died last night. I've ordered a replacement external drive from Weaknees. Can I use the magical downgrade incantation during initial guided setup, or do I need to run guided setup with TE4, and then run guided setup again to downgrade? I'll know soon when the drive arrives and I try it, but was curious if it was possible to skip the 1st setup.


As @UCLABB said you should stay on TE3. I just replaced a dead 3tb Bolt drive with a 2TB internal and remained on TE3. On another Bolt if just replaced a 1TB internal with the 3TB Weaknees external and also stayed on TE3. Neither required anything other than the normal guided setup.


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

dougtv said:


> Was it the original HDD that came with the Bolt that died or a replacement? I find it amusing that my HDD in my Roamio Pro from 2015 and Premiere XL 4 from 2013 still work to this very day and just curious to know what HDD is the best should I ever want a 3TB.


An external 3TB would be the way to go. internal 3TB drives are almost impossible to find and will probably die in a couple of years also.

You can DYI or get the Weaknees drive. I went with Weaknees for the simplicity.


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## dougtv (May 20, 2015)

bobfrank said:


> An external 3TB would be the way to go. internal 3TB drives are almost impossible to find and will probably die in a couple of years also.
> 
> You can DYI or get the Weaknees drive. I went with Weaknees for the simplicity.


Yeah I am wondering if that is why I've had longer lasting 2TB than 3TB drives. I might just stick with 2TB because "external drives" and "TiVO" are two things I don't do together in my world


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

dougtv said:


> Yeah I am wondering if that is why I've had longer lasting 2TB than 3TB drives. I might just stick with 2TB because "external drives" and "TiVO" are two things I don't do together in my world


The external drive for the Bolt that we're talking about is not the same as the external extended drive you may be thinking about. This is not adding to the internal drive, but replacing it completely. I wouldn't put the extended external drive on any of my Tivos, but replacing the internal Bolt drive with an external isn't a bad choice, IMO.

Just replacing the failed 3TB internal drive with a 2TB drive is the simplest and cheapest way to go, if you don't mind the drop in storage size.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

bobfrank said:


> The external drive for the Bolt that we're talking about is not the same as the external extended drive you may be thinking about. This is not adding to the internal drive, but replacing it completely. I wouldn't put the extended external drive on any of my Tivos, but replacing the internal Bolt drive with an external isn't a bad choice, IMO.
> 
> Just replacing the failed 3TB internal drive with a 2TB drive is the simplest and cheapest way to go, if you don't mind the drop in storage size.


What is Weaknees selling? A drive that connects to the esata port? 
My external setup I had to remove the cover and connect the external to the mother board.


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

UCLABB said:


> What is Weaknees selling? A drive that connects to the esata port?
> My external setup I had to remove the cover and connect the external to the mother board.
> View attachment 62890


No it doesn't connect to the esata port on the Tivo. It connects to the sata cable inside the Tivo.

It comes with a nice external drive case case with optional use stand, custom cable to connect from the internal Tivo connector to the external drive case, extension cable, some torx tools. hard drive power supply, replacement side panel with cutout for cable, and of course the hard drive with your choice of 1, 3, 6 or 10TB drive.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

bobfrank said:


> No it doesn't connect to the esata port on the Tivo. It connects to the sata cable inside the Tivo.
> 
> It comes with a nice external drive case case with optional use stand, custom cable to connect from the internal Tivo connector to the external drive case, extension cable, some torx tools. hard drive power supply, replacement side panel with cutout for cable, and of course the hard drive with your choice of 1, 3, 6 or 10TB drive.


Heh. As you can see from my pic, my set up is absolutely bare bones. Hacksawed a slot for the sata cable. No case for the hard drive. Bare bones power supply for the HDD. HDD purchased on eBay. But I'll bet I paid a lot less.


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

UCLABB said:


> Heh. As you can see from my pic, my set up is absolutely bare bones. Hacksawed a slot for the sata cable. No case for the hard drive. Bare bones power supply for the HDD. HDD purchased on eBay. But I'll bet I paid a lot less.


I'll bet you did too. I've been burned a couple of times on eBay so I won't buy anything on there anymore. I just didn't want to take the time and effort to find the right hard drive, the right power supply, etc. Also the WAF of my unit is probably higher than yours, if that's an issue in your home.

I knew it was going to cost me more. But, at my age I'm willing to pay extra for convenience.


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## Uncle_Steve (Jul 23, 2004)

The replacement drive arrived today and I've "installed" it. The Tivo did keep TE3. I MAY have to have the cablecard re-paired? We don't get any premium channels per se. So I'm wracking my memory and googling to see how to tell if the card is paired.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Uncle_Steve said:


> The replacement drive arrived today and I've "installed" it. The Tivo did keep TE3. I MAY have to have the cablecard re-paired? We don't get any premium channels per se. So I'm wracking my memory and googling to see how to tell if the card is paired.


It's not, but you have a "channel list" as shown in Diagnostics. This is where you check for pairing with M-cards:







The "Val = V" means it's paired. The number following is a count of the times the card has been paired. I have two unpaired boxes due to changing the hard drives, and no premium channels, for over two years.


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## Uncle_Steve (Jul 23, 2004)

JoeKustra said:


> It's not, but you have a "channel list" as shown in Diagnostics. This is where you check for pairing with M-cards:
> View attachment 62921
> 
> The "Val = V" means it's paired. The number following is a count of the time the card has been paired.


Thanks very much!


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## Uncle_Steve (Jul 23, 2004)

Uncle_Steve said:


> Thanks very much!


Alright! New drive and CC paired. Good day!


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

JoeKustra said:


> I have two unpaired boxes due to changing the hard drives, and no premium channels, for over two years.


Can you please elaborate on this? Are you saying that ever since you swapped the hard drives you are no longer able to get premium channels?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

gweempose said:


> Can you please elaborate on this? Are you saying that ever since you swapped the hard drives you are no longer able to get premium channels?


Bad phrasing. I don't receive premium or sports on my plan. However, when they have those "free" weekends, I get whatever is the special. My cable company just removes encryption. My feed has about 400 channels. I pay for about 250.


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