hard drive problems?

[desired_username]

i just bought a tivo series 2 unit with lifetime subscription. worked great for 2 days. on the 3rd day, the picture froze and the sound stopped. i couldn't do anything, but unplug the unit. After plugging it back in, it ran fine for 5 minutes and then did the same thing. this continues to happen over and over again. Is my hard drive going out?

if my hard drive is going out, i guess it is a good time to upgrade the size of the hard drive. do i need to get a dvr specific hard drive (seagate db35 or maxtor quickview)? also wondering since my hard drive seems flaky, i probably cannot attempt to get the image off that? sounds like i should purchase instantcake.

my computer does not have a secondary IDE connector. i do have a pci card with IDE interfaces. would that work with instantcake? do i have to go into the advanced screen or whatever to "see" the drive? or could i use my usb to ide interface?

also saw the info about ptvnet. do i need that to continue to use tivo desktop and download files off my tivo to my computer via the wireless adapter? or will using instantcake be enough?

thanks.

[Lou Jacob]

i just bought a tivo series 2 unit with lifetime subscription. worked great for 2 days. on the 3rd day, the picture froze and the sound stopped. i couldn't do anything, but unplug the unit. After plugging it back in, it ran fine for 5 minutes and then did the same thing. this continues to happen over and over again. Is my hard drive going out?

if my hard drive is going out, i guess it is a good time to upgrade the size of the hard drive. do i need to get a dvr specific hard drive (seagate db35 or maxtor quickview)? also wondering since my hard drive seems flaky, i probably cannot attempt to get the image off that? sounds like i should purchase instantcake.

my computer does not have a secondary IDE connector. i do have a pci card with IDE interfaces. would that work with instantcake? do i have to go into the advanced screen or whatever to "see" the drive? or could i use my usb to ide interface?

also saw the info about ptvnet. do i need that to continue to use tivo desktop and download files off my tivo to my computer via the wireless adapter? or will using instantcake be enough?

thanks.

du -

Knowing the make and model of your TiVo will help, but I'm assuming you have a Series2 standalone unit, and not a DirecTV unit, from your question.

First and foremost, you should go to the Seagate web site, download the latest version of Seatools and run PC diagnostics on your TiVo drive to see if that is the problem. If it is, then replacing your drive is the way to go.

If you want to do-it-yourself, then InstantCake is the way to do it; read up on the system requirements and how to use it in the 'articles' area of the forum, or use the link to the instructions in my signature.

If you are not comfortable with that approach, then a kit is probably the way to go.

If you do have a standalone unit, then a kit or InstantCake is all you need. PTVnet is for DirecTV units and it is NOT for video extraction. Spend some time to read up on that, as well - plenty of info on what it is intended to do.

Lastly, if its not the drive, or you are not comfortable diagnosing it, consider a professional service. Go to our main site, and order a recertification and send us your unit; we'll figure out the problem and give you some options to keep the costs to a minimum.

Thanks,
Lou

[desired_username]

Thanks Lou,

You were correct on your assumption - Tivo Series 2 standalone 240080.

Pardon my ignorance, but can I use the Windows version of Seatools on the drive?

Also, I can see that it is much more economical to purchase InstantCake and my own hard drive than to order the upgrade kits.

But will InstantCake work with a IDE interface on a PCI card? Or with the USB to IDE adapter?