Tivo not responding

[Aaronpkelly89]

Hi guys,

I need some help and advice. My best Tivo which has largest capacity
hard drive and the ability to download schedule via an ethernet cable is unwell.
It is not responding to the remote control and is no longer outputting via the the scart lead. I do have another basic Tivo which only has 40gb hard drive and is not modified from factory standard (phone line only connection)

I have two questions.

1. What could be wrong with my best tivo?
2. Is it easy to swap the large capacity hard drive or drives over to my basic Tivo?


I just want to get a functional large capacity Tivo again.

Many thanks
Aaron

[Pegasus]

Hi Aaron,

Yes you can easily put the drives from 'best' TiVo into the 'standard' one. And is in fact the first thing I would try. It would help rule out whether it is the TiVo or the discs which are causing the issue. (My initial thought is the power supply in 'best' TiVo is worn out.)

Have you opened up a TiVo before? Opening the case requires a particular technique to open it without damage.

Then swapping discs is simples.

(Subsequently you can move the ethernet card into 'standard' TiVo but let's just try and get some sort of output first.)

Just checking: Does your 'standard' TiVo output a picture (and respond to remote control) ok?

[Aaronpkelly89]

Hi Pegasus,

Yes standard machine outputs picture OK and runs fine /responds to remote
(although standard unit is very noisy compared to the Tivo which is out of
action and has been for many years)
I have opened one before as I have some scrap Tivos for spares.
Any advice for opening correctly appreciated. I don't know if the upgraded
TIVO has one or two hard drives on-board. Have yet to open it up. I bought
It years ago after it had received upgrade

[Pegasus]

Any advice for opening correctly appreciated.

The easiest way is (having removed the 3 screws in the back ) place TiVo on floor on carpet, and then in a sort-of thrusting movement push the top downwards and backwards at the same time. It might take 3 or 4 'jerks' to get the lid to free from the clips at the front. Then it simply lifts off.

[Aaronpkelly89]

Is it then literally swap hard drives and re-assembled?
Plug and play...no assembly? My power supply had been
temperamental over the last year in the "good tivo" but it does
Still power up, just is non responsive to remote control and no
Output to television

Cheers

[Pegasus]

Unplug & unscrew drive(s). Insert replacement. Swap over any adapters that may be attached to the drive cable (you can't miss them!).

If replacing a 2-drive setup with 1-drive then make sure you attach the disc at the end (not middle) of the ribbon cable. If inserting 2 drives make sure you put them in the same relative positions they came out! ('right' and 'left', or 'end' and 'middle', or however you want to label them)


TiVo is known to be sensitive to power supply output. Power-up but no output is a classic sign of failing power supply. DO NOT TOUCH the power supply unless it has been off for over 30 minutes (the capacitors store a very high charge even when off).

[Aaronpkelly89]

Hi Pegasus,
Yeah I know only too well about the high charge.
I actually got electrocuted changing a PSU on a tivo
Tivo circa 2011. Left me in bad shape and most of
my fingertips where cut as well from Sharpe edges.
I got blew across the room at the time.....I'll never forget it.
Machine had been off for what seemed adequate
length of time.
Do you think I would be better off swapping the power
supplies first rather than the hard drives ?
The low capacity Tivo runs very noisy....Best way I can
describe it is like when old desktop computers used
to boot up 20 years back. Only the noise is constant.
Could that be a bad hard drive constantly being read?
We have had Tivos 20 plus years. Think my dad
bought first one in Dixons. I have 3 complete units for
parts, my low capacity unit and then of course my
"Good" Tivo . I think all the spare parts units have bad PSUs
but my low capacity unit seems to have a good PSU

I was previously on this site when the alternative EPG came out
but lost my log in . Glad it's still here and appreciate your help

Many thanks

Aaron

[Pegasus]

Ouch. Literally. There's a lesson for us all there.

Yep it sounds like a PSU issue so you could just swap the PSU from noisy TiVo into 'best' tivo. It's a few more cables to plug-in but obviously not a prob for you to do.

'Noisy' TiVo I'm guessing is because of noisy disc drive. It's probably original 20-year-old IDE disc. Discs were very noisy back then...and got worse as they aged! It's pretty much the only moving part - apart from the cooling fan (but they rarely break).

[Pegasus]

Or if you're handy with a multimeter, there's a pot on the PSU which can be twiddled to tweak the output voltage. But check the voltage first and don't overdo it (just a few degrees should do)!
Measure the +12v line and check it's over 12v.
To adjust it: Set the +5v line to around 5.1 - 5.2v. (The +12v line will float along with: to around 12.2v)

(Note the mobo needs to be plugged in for the psu to start-up)

[Aaronpkelly89]

Hi Pegasus,

Thank you for your replies. I have a multimeter but my knowledge
of them is limited to checking car battery voltage .. I may
go either way with the swap once I get a chance to take them apart.
I thought myself that'll be a very noisy hard drive, always
Sounds like something is loading/booting up. I've had a few units over the years but this poorly one was my favourite of the lot due
to the upgrades and silent running. I've 3 scrap Tivos but from memory all PSU are done.
All I should need is Torx Screwdrivers from memory to operate on the Tivo. Would that be right?
I wonder where in Ireland these where produced. I've had
DELL computers and Apple Macs in the past, all manufactured in Ireland. No electronics I'm aware of being made here nowadays

Cheers

Aaron

[Pegasus]

All I should need is Torx Screwdrivers from memory to operate on the Tivo. Would that be right?

Yep a T10 and a T15, I think.

I think they were based in Galway. Actually a French company I believe!

[Aaronpkelly89]

Hi Pegasus,

I haven't got round to trying your suggestions yet. I've been
away but heading back home tomorrow and will
try over next few days. I managed to acquire another
TIVO with great capacity and network capabilites.
This unit was previously used by another member on here,
however they no longer have need for it. This unit
Is still registered to their account which they no longer
have access to. Is there any reason I would need to register it
To myself in order for it to complete downloads of schedule?
I tried before going away and it wouldn't connect. Is there
anyone that I can reach out to regarding this?
Previous owner sent an Email too but said it had bounced
back to their inbox.

Cheers
Aaron

[Pegasus]

It depends on its 'status' whether it will download or not. (Note this is its "AltEPG" status - don't try and contact TiVo Inc.)

Safest way is to register it to yourself, via your account at altepg.com - "Add a TiVo".

It does need the TiVo to be able to make a daily call though.

[Aaronpkelly89]

Hi Pegasus,

Yeah I tried registering with altepg .....add a tivo......but
get an error message saying Tivo already registered.
Stuck at this point.

Cheers

[The maverick]

Robin

When you say scan is there a way to force the scan?

Thanks

Trevor