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am I a wimp to buy a pre-fab upgrade kit?
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Posted by: jph1207

i have a new series2 60 gb unit and am going to add a second 120gb drive..after reading many posts and the hinsdale instructions i'm thinking of just buying a kit from hinsdale or weaknees.com instead of doing it myself. am i being a wimp..it seems like alot of time & alot could go wrong (i'm running windows xp ntfs) and not all that much more expensive to buy a kit and just drop in the drive...i'm pretty good with computers & electronics and not afraid to do it..just looking for the easy way out...let me know what you guys think...thanks

Posted by: messy

ahh...I am the perfect person to answer your question!

I was in the same boat you are in now. I *JUST* finished upgrading my HDR212 with a 120gig WD HDD.

I was also a bit nervous about doing the upgrade, although I have built close to 30 computers and have some electronics background. Hinsdale instructions looked a bit intimidating at first (and I did not want to mess up my TiVO!) but what I did is just sort through them and cross out everything that did not pertain to my situation. Then, as I reread the instructions, it seemed VERY simply.

Another thing that kept me from doing it sooner was the fact that I had WinXP like you. Fortunatly though, for some reason when I installed it I had done a FAT32 partition (still don't know why I had done this). From what I've read, all you need to do is create a FAT partition on your existing C: and copy the backup to that partition. Pretty easy. Oh, and don't boot into Windows as you probably already know.

Hope this helps. By the way, it only took me about 30 minutes to complete the whole process, and it felt so good carrying my TiVo from my computer room to the TV room and feeling that extra weight of the additional HDD in there. Pretty cool. (ok, I'm a nerd)

Posted by: stormsweeper

Is an hour of your time worth $100 or more? Then buy a drive. Otherwise, do the upgrade yourself.

The drive thing is not a huge problem - by adding 1 or 2 extra steps, you can use your new drive temporarily to make a backup. I've detailed it a few times before, search for NTFS and limit the usernames to mine.

Posted by: Nihilator

Ah, do it yourself. It's more rewarding...you learn stuff.

--Chris

Posted by: bsd

I am in the same boat. I will probably order a pre-formatted 120 Gig drive if I can get a back-up disk sent to me. I want the flexibility to undo the upgrade in the future if I have a problem with Tivo in the future. Is there any way to get a pre-formatted back-up disk for a Series 2 60 Gig unit?

If I do decide to do it myself, how much does it cost for the Torx wrenches, Y power cable and the IDE cable? It doesn't look like any HDs come with any of this stuff. Is this right? I think this is all I need, but if someone can confirm . . .

-Brett

Posted by: David5150

I am going the *replace* route...replace the 40gb drive with a 120gb. That way if the 120 fails I can swap them out.

Posted by: Jorossian

This is why I've decided to try to do it on my own.

I figured, what good is having a good backup image if I don't have the knowledge/experience to implement it if there ever is a problem.

Buying the drive and doing it on my own will hopefully give me a more secure understanding of what to do and make future upgrades a lot less stressful.

I'm using Kazymyr's boot disc (without DTiVoMad since I'm just adding a drive to the existing 40 gig A drive). Also picked up Qunlock and the mfstools 1.1 mfstools file. (I'm going to use the TiVoMad Floppy code in the Hinsdale's How-to backing up process to avoid any problems the mfstools 1.0 version included on Kaz's boot disk may cause)

Gotta give all thanks to Hinsdale's and 9th Tee's wealth of info for getting me to try this on my own.

Just waiting for my new 120 gig drive to arrive in the mail.

Should be a blast (crossing fingers)

Posted by: stormsweeper

quote:
Originally posted by bsd

If I do decide to do it myself, how much does it cost for the Torx wrenches, Y power cable and the IDE cable? It doesn't look like any HDs come with any of this stuff. Is this right? I think this is all I need, but if someone can confirm . . .

May HDDs come with IDE cables, albeit rather short ones that may not work for you. You can buy longer ones online for less than $5 - same for the y power cable. A small computer store (not CompUSA) should have these for cheap, as well. The torx T10 bit I use in my modular screwdriver comes from a set of bits I bought at the local dollar store.

Posted by: Robert S

Most TiVoes already have a power and IDE connector for a second drive, so you might want to open the case and check before you buy them. The only exception I know of is the Hughes DTiVo.

I used Allen keys to turn my Torx bolts - tedious, but it worked. They're the same bolts as those used to hold CD-ROM drives in a PC.

Jorossian: I would strongly recommend you do your upgrade differently. For a start use MFS Tools 2.0. It's more reliable and you get a faster TiVo. It's mfsadd function will add a B drive to your A drive.

I would also recommend replacing your A drive rather than adding to it. Use an MFS Tools pipe transfer (it's in Hinsdale) to copy your recordings if you want to keep them. Otherwise do a backup > restore to prepare the new drive.

If, after a month or so, everything is working properly and you want more space, use mfsadd to add your old A drive as a B drive.

Use MFS Tools 2.0 as described in New Hinsdale.

Posted by: weaknees

Just following up on Robert's comment about TiVos having power and IDE connectors for second drives:

The Hughes has one of each, as do the Series2 units (TiVo and AT&T).

Some newer Sony SAT-T60s have an IDE cable that only allows for one drive.

All the other, older units, have two of each, at least in their original configuration (refurbs may vary).

Michael

Posted by: EricG

It's all about comfort level. Some people are comfortable changing their own oil. I prefer to take it in.

Yet I DID upgrade my two DirecTivOs myself. Whatever works for you.

Posted by: Jorossian

Robert S.-

Thanks for the advice. I did make the Tiger MFS Tools 2.0 boot disk, but decided to use the Kaz disk due to the warning in hinsdale about the lack of long term feedback as to problem that may arise.

I still have about 4 days before my new drive arrives to make a final decision.

Why do you recommend I REPLACE my A drive rather than add to it? Is there an advantage to having the larger of the 2 drives be the "A" rather than "B"?

Please explain. This is all EXTREMELY educational and I appreciate any advice from upgrade vets before doing the job this weekend.

BSD - I got the "Y" power splitter at Radio Shack today for 3.25. The T-10 and T-15 wrenches were also available there but I had several bits of both sizes around the house already from various tool kits that have found their way into my junk drawer over the years.

I'm assuming my Hughes GXCEBODT reciever already has a double IDE cable and won't require a mounting bracket. Am I correct on that assumption?

Thanks again Rob S. - Hope to hear a response from you sometime this week.

Posted by: Jorossian

Just read your comment weaknees - I guess I better head out and get that IDE tomorrow.

Thanks

Posted by: Robert S

I recommend replacing your A drive - it's much safer.

Use MFS Tools 2.0. It's easier to use and produces a faster TiVo than TiVoMad. No significant problems have shown up, apart from some dumbness with the swap partition. Use it ad described in New Hinsdale and you'll be fine.

Posted by: Jorossian

Ok then. (starting to wonder why I was so confident about this yesterday :)

I'm going to follow your advice if it creates a faster TiVo.

Thanks again - BTW: Feel free to share any info you may have that may be specific to the Hughes DirecTiVo model GXCEBODT.

Posted by: stormsweeper

Also, go ahead and use the -s 127 switch when restoring to increase your swap space. That equates to a loss of ~8 mins of Basic quality to ensure smoothness if any troubles happen down the road.

Posted by: majones

quote:
Originally posted by Jorossian

I'm assuming my Hughes GXCEBODT reciever already has a double IDE cable and won't require a mounting bracket. Am I correct on that assumption?

My Hughes GXCEBOT only had a single power connector and drive cable. As stated before though, Radio Shack should be able to supply you with these.

Mark

Posted by: bsd

Robert,

I'm planning to add a 120GB drive my existing 60GB drive that came with my Series 2. Is there any benefit to replacing the 60GB drive with the 120GB (as the A Drive) and then putting the 60GB drive back in at a later date as the B drive? If I put in replace the 60GB Drive with a new 120 GB drive as an A Drive and I have a problem, can I just slap the old 60 GB drive back in the Tivo until I resolve the problem? Is this why you made that suggestion?

-Brett

Posted by: Robert S

Exactly, Brett. Once your drives are 'married', if one of them fails you have a big problem - you have to figure out which one is failing and 'divorce' the good drive from it. If one of the drives drops dead, you'll have to restore from backup.

One of the reasons people use BlessTiVo is that they don't want the hassle of removing the A drive and making a backup. Making a backup is definitely worth while (particularly if you've got a Series 2 as backups for those aren't easy to get on the Net).

My upgrade drive was a DOA, it failed after 36 hours, so I was very glad I still had my original A drive.

If your upgrade drive lasts a month, you can be pretty sure it's OK and use mfsadd to add your old A drive as a B drive, or buy another 120 :)

Posted by: bsd

Robert,

Thanks for the response. BTW, I just spent an hour or so going through the swap thread and, while it was a bit over my head, it sounds like its a good idea to increase the swap if nothing more than to future proof your Tivo. One thing that I didn't see was whether I would need to or can increase the swap on a Series 2. Has this been tested?

My ultimate goal is to have a 180GBs. At your suggestion, I would probably replace the stock 60GB A Drive with a new 120 GB Drive then, after a month, add the old drive back in as a B Drive.

Another question - I noticed that online sites offer OEM drives for a few dollars less than the retail boxed drives. Is this a worthwhile tradeoff? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I think I'm going to take the plunge and do the upgrade myself instead of ordering a pre-blessed drive. Hope it passes the WAF (wife approval factor).:D

-Brett

Posted by: Robert S

Using -s 127 to increase your swap is one of the secondary reasons for replacing the A drive. You should be able to use the bodges from the Fixes thread to increase swap on a Series 2 (the only real problem is that you can't run binaries on a Series 2, fiddling with the partition table is OK).

I've no idea about OEM drives, over here 'Retail' means it comes in a fancy box, possibly with an interface card and cables. 'OEM' means it comes in a stat-bag. Check to see if it affects your warranty. As the mfrs warranty is now only one year, it may not make a difference.

Posted by: bsd

Thanks for the suggestions. I purchased a Maxtor 120GB 5400 RPM drive online. It is from pre-10/1 so it should still have a 3 yr. warranty. I will do the upgrade when I get the drive.

Thanks again,
Brett