TiVo Community Forums Archives - Anyone use Weaknees kits?

TiVoCommunity.com
(c)opyright 1995-2005 All rights reserved
indexcheckTC
This area is a static history of posts in the TiVo Community Forum Archive.
This archive history was made for the simple indexing of search sites like Google.

Pages:1

Anyone use Weaknees kits?
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: skanter

Anyone use Weaknees kits for adding on another HD to Series 2?

Appreciate any feedback...especially any -problems-.

Thanks,

Posted by: headroll

I used weaknees for an upgrade to my SVR-2000 (had them do it) and bought a pre-upgraded SVR-3000 from them.

I recommend them.

-Roll

Posted by: skanter

quote:
Originally posted by headroll
I used weaknees for an upgrade to my SVR-2000 (had them do it) and bought a pre-upgraded SVR-3000 from them.

I recommend them.

-Roll

I was planning on doing it myself to save down time. I figure they could fix it if it doesn't work for any reason.

Were you just not inclined to do it yourself?

Posted by: sneagle

I got my Twinbreeze Complete from them. I prepped the drives myself.

The install was pretty easy. I did point out to them that the pictures on the directions did not reproduce well in the papers included in the kit. They fixed this by posting the instructions on the web-with full color pics.

Posted by: headroll

quote:
Originally posted by skanter
I was planning on doing it myself to save down time. I figure they could fix it if it doesn't work for any reason.

Were you just not inclined to do it yourself?

Since this was the 'family' TiVo, I chose excess downtime over even the remotest chance that I would screw it up. I hear that the upgrade (especially with a kit) is trivial.

-Roll

Posted by: lflorack

quote:
Originally posted by skanter
Anyone use Weaknees kits for adding on another HD to Series 2?

Appreciate any feedback...especially any -problems-.

Thanks,

I bought a Weaknees kit to upgrade my 80 hour SA TiVo by adding a 2nd (120 Gig) drive to my 80 hour Series 2 SA (TCD240080). The kit included the hard drive, a TwinBreeze hard drive/fan bracket, a replacement case fan and a 2nd fan for the bracket. It also included a device called a
'PowerTrip and some connectors, screws, wires, etc..

The installation was very quick -- about 20-30 minutes and went off without a hitch. The result is a very professional installation that does not include any two-sided tape nor does it create any holes in the TiVo. The PowerTrip delays the startup (from power-off state) of the 2nd hard drive by 7 seconds to reduce the load on the small (38 watts?) TiVo power supply during startup. After all, that's when the largest load is felt. So by separating the start of the 2nd drive by 7 seconds, the heaviest load of starting two hard drives simultaneously is avoided -- possibly saving the power supply from an early death. In spite of adding the 2nd hard drive, the combination of the TwinBreeze hard drive/fan bracket, and two fans actually reduced the internal temperature of my TiVo. It used to run 40C- 45C. Now my TiVo runs 36C-41C.

I have no interest of any kind in WeaKnees -- except that I'm now a happy customer of theirs with lots of space in my TiVo. ;-)

Posted by: Beavis

I also got a Twinbreeze Complete kit. It was easy to install and reduced my temp by 6C or so. I'll be swapping out my 80g for two 120g's next. Seems like a great company. They've always promptly answered my emails.

Posted by: skanter

Thanks to all -- I just ordered a 120Gig add-on from Weaknees. Hope to get it before Wimbledon Tennis Championships -- 6 to 10 hours aday for two weeks! I need more space!

Posted by: Beavis

Let us know how it goes! :)

Posted by: ashutoshsm

What he said - almost exactly! Kit, PowerTrip, 120GB 2MB cache 7200 rpm Maxtor.

My temperature went up. Overall noise level was high until I used the AMSET utility to quieten the Maxtor. Then I noticed the fan replacement was a bit quieter too.

The overall temp in my mostly enclosed (in the home theater shelves) went up a couple of degrees, but my upgrade also coincided with the eventual thaw and warmup of the East Coast!

Overall - satisfied.
Recommend Wekaness - enthusiastically.

quote:
Originally posted by lflorack
I bought a Weaknees kit to upgrade my 80 hour SA TiVo by adding a 2nd (120 Gig) ...

<snip>

I have no interest of any kind in WeaKnees -- except that I'm now a happy customer of theirs with lots of space in my TiVo. ;-)

Posted by: ashutoshsm

quote:
Originally posted by ashutoshsm
Recommend Wekaness - enthusiastically.

In addition, I also recommend Weaknees.

(I know, I could edit my post - but this was the funnier option)

Posted by: Aquatic

Twinbreeze early adopter here... Sweet! Did the drive prep myself (HDVR2 from stock 40 Maxtor to twin Samsung 120 drives) and didn't even sweat it...in fact.. I did it after work one day--before dinner with my Tivo addict wife...had about 90 mins to tear apart, do the drives (via Hinsdale) and put back together) and we had a nice dinner setting up ALL manner of Season passes with the 212 hour " new" box I put together.

I Just picked up a 2nd HDVR2 and will be picking up a second twin breeze one of these days.. with Disk prices dropping, I'm hoping to invest in dual 160 or even 200+ and have the software be able to address ALL OF IT!

Sweet!

Posted by: skanter

Once you do the update, is there a way to check that Tivo has increased capacity?

Posted by: lflorack

quote:
Originally posted by skanter
Once you do the update, is there a way to check that Tivo has increased capacity?

Yes. Go to System information screens. It will tell you there.

Posted by: skanter

quote:
Originally posted by lflorack
Yes. Go to System information screens. It will tell you there.

OK -- thanks!

Posted by: rook

Installed my HDVR2 on Sunday and recieved my Weaknees 120gb upgrade kit with the advanced cooling system yesterday.

Went home and installed the entire thing in about 25 minutes, hooked everything back up and

Blamo

141 hours of recording time, all previous info was saved

Was simple enough except I installed the drive B on the twinbreeze bracket backwards and had to remove it and reinstall it properly (my dumb fault)

Directions rocked and were simple enough, lots of warnings to avoid doing stupid stuff.

Kudo's to Weakness except I just found another place (digitalrecorder.tv) that had it for $10 cheaper but doesn't offer the cooling upgrade

Rook

Posted by: myriadian

hi,

i'm thinking about buying the 160gb add-on drive from weaknees (i'm very excited to see they've developed the bracket).

and i had read on thier site that some ppl are reporting experiencing a slowdown in thier tivo going thru menu's, i was wondering if anyone here who has upgraded an 80hr series2 could comment about any before/after speed differences?

i'm not largely concerned but curious.

thanks!

M.

Posted by: weaknees

Just to be clear, the potential slowdown is only in the Now Playing List, and it's due to the fact that your Now Playing List can now be three times as long as it way - so it may take the system a bit more time to load.

Michael

Posted by: myriadian

perfect :)

thanks for the quick reply!

M.

Posted by: cbearnm

Highly recommended.
I ordered the 120 Gb kit to add in a second drive and was up and running in about 30 minutes.
One Caveat: They spent a good bit of time on making the install instructions pretty complete. Take the time to read it through (all the way) before opening the TiVo. Well worth the effort. If you have any questions, get them answered before you start, will save you a little frustration.

Posted by: myriadian

this raises another question for me.

why do most ppl seem to have bought the 120gb drive instead of the 160gb drive?

this may just be my perception, but i'm curious if there's a particular logic to it.

M.

Posted by: skanter

AFAIK, Tivos can only use 137G out of 160, so 23G are wasted. Hence, 120G makes more sense until Tivo changes their OS to accomodate 160G.

Posted by: Shark73

I just got my HDVR2 last week via the $99 deal at DirecTV. I'm not a tech person, but have installed a cd-rom or two a while back. My question is...is this TiVo 120 GB HD upgrade difficult for a non-tech person? I've read the instructions on Weaknees website and it looks very basic. However, I would like to receive some confirmation before I put my order in.

Also, do I need the advanced cooling pack for an additional $19

Thanks,

Jim

Posted by: GordonB

Yep, installing a new HD from the Weaknees kit is very easy. Pretty much as straightforward as it seems.

I just upgraded my HDVR2 last weekend using the kit and it works like a champ. I supplied my own HD so the procedure, while a lot more involved, was still not difficult.