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-- How soon should you upgrade a new DirecTivo? (http://archive.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?threadid=32934)

How soon should you upgrade a new DirecTivo?

I just set up my new Sony DirecTivo last night, and have everything I need to add a second drive. Is there a popular opinion here about how soon after setting up should you upgrade? I am planning on copying the original hard drive and then storing it away. Does it matter that under account status it still says "1:New"? Will that affect anything if I need to re-install the original? The unit works great so far, and the internal temp is around 48 degrees so I assume the fan is working fine. Thanks!

It depends on a lot of things.

Since you're storing it away (making a backup onto another hard drive), it doesn't really matter when you do it, as long as you make the backup before adding hte second drive. Unless you also plan on making a CD backup.

As for the time, then, I'd suggest doing your backup/upgrades after the warranty is over (3 months, IIRC), since there are other problems that could crop up (modem, etc), and you really don't want to lose the warranty over that. For extended warranties, if you can live with your conscience, then if it breaks, remove the added drive, bring it back and say it doesn't work. But for original warranty, don't upgrade yet, if you think you'll need it.

If you're just too impatient to wait 3 months, then at least consider going through guided setup first, then backup - at least you'd have verified that the parts that can break are working, and than when you restore, you don't have to redo guided setup - just get new data + housekeeping.