# My Bolt+ died. Should I fix it, or exchange it for an Edge?



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

Last night my Bolt+ suddenly started exhibiting the dreaded four flashing lights. I'm assuming the hard drive is toast. I just got off the phone with TiVo, and they will sell me an Edge for $249 and transfer the lifetime from my Bolt to it.

I'm thinking I probably don't even need a DVR in that room anymore, since I don't record nearly as many shows as I once did. We can make due with just a single Roamio and some Minis for the whole house. Given this fact, does it make sense to jump on the $249 deal? A brand new Edge with lifetime is obviously worth a lot more than $249. I could just turn right around and sell it on eBay. My other option would be to install a new drive in the Bolt and sell it, but I think it makes more sense to go the Edge route. What do you guys think?


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

Bear in mind my refusal to move to TE4 until I have no other choice for a variety of reasons. The edge will force you into using TE4 which might not be a problem for you. 

If you wanted to keep a Tivo in that room you can easily put in a new internal 2TB drive for about $60. If you want to use an external drive, that should outlast the internal drive option, there are several threads here describing how to do it. Or, you could take the easy way out and buy the 3TB external hard drive kit from Weaknees for the same $250.

I just had a 3TB drive fail in my bolt for the second time and just replaced the hard drive.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

bobfrank said:


> Bear in mind my refusal to move to TE4 until I have no other choice for a variety of reasons. The edge will force you into using TE4 which might not be a problem for you.


LOL! I'm the exact same way. I hate TE4. That's why I was never tempted to upgrade to an Edge. The only reason that I'm considering it now is because they are offering me one at a discounted price and will transfer my lifetime to it. This seems like a fair deal to me.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

gweempose said:


> LOL! I'm the exact same way. I hate TE4. That's why I was never tempted to upgrade to an Edge. The only reason that I'm considering it now is because they are offering me one at a discounted price and will transfer my lifetime to it. This seems like a fair deal to me.


Fair except for the fact you will have TE4 inflicted upon you and no options.
The odds are your Bolt+ just needs a new drive and the $60 Toshiba 2TB drive is a winner as far as reliablity when replacing the 3TB unit (3TB Toshiba's are all but disappeared)


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

gweempose said:


> LOL! I'm the exact same way. I hate TE4. That's why I was never tempted to upgrade to an Edge. The only reason that I'm considering it now is because they are offering me one at a discounted price and will transfer my lifetime to it. This seems like a fair deal to me.


Then if you're not planning to trying to sell the Edge, it seems to me you best choice is to replace the Bolt's hard drive. You've apparently already got lifetime on it and you can keep using TE3. Why take something you don't like just to get a discounted price. And as has been said before the 2TB drive replacement is only $60 not $250.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

bobfrank said:


> Then if you're not planning to trying to sell the Edge, it seems to me you best choice is to replace the Bolt's hard drive.


No, if I upgrade to the Edge, I'll almost certainly sell it without ever even opening it.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

dianebrat said:


> The odds are your Bolt+ just needs a new drive and the $60 Toshiba 2TB drive is a winner as far as reliability when replacing the 3TB unit (3TB Toshiba's are all but disappeared)


Out of curiosity, do you have a link to the exact 2TB Toshiba drive that is recommended?


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## ClearToLand (Jul 10, 2001)

gweempose said:


> Out of curiosity, do you have a link to the exact 2TB Toshiba drive that is recommended?


*GOOGLE:* "2TB Toshiba site:tivocommunity.com"​
Pops right out.


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## KRC1075 (Sep 22, 2021)

ClearToLand said:


> *GOOGLE:* "2TB Toshiba site:tivocommunity.com"​
> Pops right out.


Sold out 

I'm in the same boat, got my 4 lights this morning


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

gweempose said:


> Out of curiosity, do you have a link to the exact 2TB Toshiba drive that is recommended?


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DDJCFJ3/ref=aod_recommendations_asins_0

I just bought one about a week ago.


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

KRC1075 said:


> Sold out
> 
> I'm in the same boat, got my 4 lights this morning


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DDJCFJ3/ref=aod_recommendations_asins_0


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## KRC1075 (Sep 22, 2021)

I called and they offered me the edge replacement for $249 and an additional $50 off totaling at $199. What’s the difference with TE3 and TE4 that was discussed. No matter if I exchange or replace disk it’s still 2TB.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

KRC1075 said:


> I called and they offered me the edge replacement for $249 and an additional $50 off totaling at $199. What's the difference with TE3 and TE4 that was discussed. No matter if I exchange or replace disk it's still 2TB.


Different operating systems and completely different user experiences
If your system has a blue based background that's TE3, the classic Tivo experience, if it's black based, it's TE4 the new experience also referred to as "hydra" they are night and day and if the differences work for you, pick the one you prefer, the 2 biggest reasons to stay at TE3 are the older LiveGuide, and the ability to transfer video from your computer onto the Tivo, both are not in TE4.
TE4's big selling point is automatic ad skip and voice control.


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## KRC1075 (Sep 22, 2021)

Ok, I've been using the TE4 for quite some time now, so I guess it's really no different going from bolt to edge. Thank you for response


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

bobfrank said:


> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DDJCFJ3/ref=aod_recommendations_asins_0


Thanks for the link! How easy is it to swap out the drive in the Bolt? I know it formats itself, but is it difficult to get the box open?


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

KRC1075 said:


> I called and they offered me the edge replacement for $249 and an additional $50 off totaling at $199.


Interesting. That's $50 better than my deal. Did you have lifetime on the old box? If not, that may explain the extra $50 discount.


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

gweempose said:


> Thanks for the link! How easy is it to swap out the drive in the Bolt? I know it formats itself, but is it difficult to get the box open?


Depends on how handy you are and how you define "difficult." Weaknees has a good video on how to replace a Bolt hard drive including how to open the case. If you're doing with just replacing the internal drive with another internal drive you can ignore everything about the external drive. For the thin blade portion I just used a butter knife. You'll need some Torx screw drivers or screw driver bits to use on the screws.

Here is the link to the Weaknees video.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

I ultimately decided to repair the Bolt, so I ordered the 2TB Toshiba drive. I'll let you guys know how it goes.


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

gweempose said:


> I ultimately decided to repair the Bolt, so I ordered the 2TB Toshiba drive. I'll let you guys know how it goes.


Good luck. Replacing the drive is easy. Getting the case off is a pain. Patience is important.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

bobfrank said:


> Good luck. Replacing the drive is easy. Getting the case off is a pain. Patience is important.


Yeah, I just removed it. Definitely a pain, but I went slowly with a plastic razer blade. Only broke off one of the tabs.


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## bobfrank (Mar 17, 2005)

gweempose said:


> Yeah, I just removed it. Definitely a pain, but I went slowly with a plastic razer blade. Only broke off one of the tabs.


Only breaking off one tab on your first time is an accomplishment. I broke off 2 when I first removed the case previously. Recently I had to to it again when the replacement 3TB drive failed. Because of the previous practice I was able to get by without breaking any.


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## MrDell (Jul 8, 2012)

gweempose said:


> I ultimately decided to repair the Bolt, so I ordered the 2TB Toshiba drive. I'll let you guys know how it goes.


A family member used the Toshiba drive that you ordered and has been having very good luck with it! I think that you should be fine. Unfortunately he previously had a 3TB so he lost a little storage but still plenty of room in my opinion.


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## tommiet (Oct 28, 2005)

The deal depends on who you talk too. Just for fun, I called last week and asked if they could help me as my lifetime Roamio has a dead HDMI port and only IR remotes work. Was told they would sell me an Edge for $249.00 and tack on lifetime for $549.00. $800.00... That's more than the last sale TiVo had.

I should have asked if they take me out to dinner first.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

My Bolt is fixed. I popped the 2TB Toshiba drive in, and it fired right up. Thanks to everyone for your help!


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## Robin A Baum (Sep 13, 2021)

Will this one work in my Bolt+?
I'd really like to stick to a 3tb hard drive
Seagate 3TB BarraCuda 5400 RPM 128MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 2.5" 15mm Internal Hard Drive ST3000LM024 - Newegg.com


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## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

Robin A Baum said:


> Will this one work in my Bolt+?
> I'd really like to stick to a 3tb hard drive
> Seagate 3TB BarraCuda 5400 RPM 128MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 2.5" 15mm Internal Hard Drive ST3000LM024 - Newegg.com


That is an SMR drive, which you want to stay away from. CMR drives are recommended. List of known SMR drives








It MAY work, you will only know if you try. But, for the Bolt, if you are going to replace the internal drive, the only drive that is currently being recommended by most people is the 2TB Hitachi drives (MQ03ABB200). Even TiVo has stopped selling any TiVo's with a 3TB drive. They just do not last. That said, it is nearly impossible to find a brand new old stock drive, but you can get a renewed drive here https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-MQ03...hiba+2tb+drive+for+TiVo&qid=1634395910&sr=8-4 (who knows what renewed means) for $50.

If you decide to go external, you should buy a WD RED *PLUS *or PURPLE CMR drive, and an adapter to power it outside of the Bolt, and an SATA cable connected directly from the hdd SATA port to the TiVo internal SATA port. Then you can get your 3TB.


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## Robin A Baum (Sep 13, 2021)

pl1 said:


> That is an SMR drive, which you want to stay away from. CMR drives are recommended. List of known SMR drives
> View attachment 63245
> 
> It MAY work, you will only know if you try. But, for the Bolt, if you are going to replace the internal drive, the only drive that is currently being recommended by most people is the 2TB Hitachi drives (MQ03ABB200). Even TiVo has stopped selling any TiVo's with a 3TB drive. They just do not last. That said, it is nearly impossible to find a brand new old stock drive, but you can get a renewed drive here https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-MQ03...hiba+2tb+drive+for+TiVo&qid=1634395910&sr=8-4 (who knows what renewed means) for $50.
> ...


pl1,
Thanks for your swift reply! Good thing I didn't buy it before I asked!! Had it in my cart at Newegg.

So, I've already replaced the hard drive in this Bolt+ earlier this year with a 2tb WD drive which currently appears to be failing - Already!!! Original 3tb WD hard drive lasted less than 4 years. I've got a Premier Elite with 4 tuners I purchased used which has never given me a bit of trouble.

ALSO: Your post says to avoid SMR drives but lists a bunch of SMRs so I'm confused? Please clarify.

I'm pretty sure I could figure out how to install the external drive. I've already eyeballed the YouTube videos for this and it doesn't look too difficult.
Thanks again!!
Robin


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## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

Robin A Baum said:


> ALSO: Your post says to avoid SMR drives but lists a bunch of SMRs so I'm confused? Please clarify.


Hi Robin, I was just showing my search results for the drive you were thinking of purchasing. That site just tries to figure out which drives are SMR and which are CMR, so if you are looking at a drive and it does not mention it, you could look it up there. If you look on Amazon's site for the WD Red Plus, you'll see it is listed as a CMR drive. https://www.amazon.com/Red-4TB-NAS-Hard-Drive/dp/B008JJLW4M?th=1
*Western Digital 3TB WD Red Plus NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 5400 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, **CMR**, 64 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD30EFRX*

EDIT:This is a 3.5" drive so it will not fit inside the Bolt, it must be setup as an external drive.


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## Robin A Baum (Sep 13, 2021)

pl1 said:


> Hi Robin, I was just showing my search results for the drive you were thinking of purchasing. That site just tries to figure out which drives are SMR and which are CMR, so if you are looking at a drive and it does not mention it, you could look it up there. If you look on Amazon's site for the WD Red Plus, you'll see it is listed as a CMR drive. https://www.amazon.com/Red-4TB-NAS-Hard-Drive/dp/B008JJLW4M?th=1
> *Western Digital 3TB WD Red Plus NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 5400 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, **CMR**, 64 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD30EFRX*
> 
> EDIT:This is a 3.5" drive so it will not fit inside the Bolt, it must be setup as an external drive.


So far, the WD drive I bought this spring is working in my Bolt, albeit, sporadically. Keeps randomly rebooting itself when it gets "confused". I think I'll do some more research into the external option.
Thanks again!!!


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## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

Robin A Baum said:


> So far, the WD drive I bought this spring is working in my Bolt, albeit, sporadically. Keeps randomly rebooting itself when it gets "confused". I think I'll do some more research into the external option.


For some reason, laptop drives do not last very long in TiVo's. Even the recommended internal drive, the Toshiba MQ03ABB200, does not last as long as it should. The one I am currently using reboots occasionally. I do have a brand new one ready to take its place if needed. But, I've used a WD purple as an external in the past and it worked perfectly. 


Robin A Baum said:


> Thanks again!!!


Sure, no problem!


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