That's really a drive failure, in spite of the Hitachi tests, most likely. We'd recommend a new drive:

http://www.weaknees.com/hdr1.php

By gum Michael you know a thing or two! I dug out the old (original) Tivo drive, a Quantum 13GB, put it in the box and it boots up and works just fine. So there is something wrong with that new Seagate drive. I'm going to re-copy the old drive to the new one using mfstool 2.0, and use a different parameter set this time. Maybe it'll be a little more sturdy.

mfsbackup -aqo- /dev/hda | mfsrestore -xpi- /dev/hdb

.....I got this line from the mfstool help page 10A) replacing a single drive Tivo to larger single drive and saving programs.

Thanks, I'll post again if it works OK.

Looks good - tell us how it goes.

The re-copy didn't work. I think you pegged it right up front, that this drive just has a problem. I was skeptical at first because this Seagate DB35 drive passes all tests on the Seagate Seatools disk diagnostic program (from DOS). However there's no getting around the fact that the old drive works fine, and the new one used to work but doesn't anymore. Something happened to the newer drive that PC based tools (neither Hitachi or Seagate tools) fail to detect, and there are no outward signs of failure like high noise or heat distress.

Fortunately the DB35 drives come with a stupendous 5 year warranty, which is one of many good reasons to select this drive model for use in a Tivo. I've packed up the ill drive and sent it out today for a defective product return and replacement. I must say that the online process Seagate has setup for this purpose is easy, quick, and you don't even have to explain what you think the problem is. I guess they figure if you say there's a problem with their drive, then that's good enough for them. Just ship it in and they return a refurbished drive that they know is fully functional. Nice.

I'll repost after I receive the replacement drive. In the meantime, thanks for nudging me to look at the drive! I was looking EVERYWHERE BUT the drive, so you saved me from lots of frustration.

We do sometimes (not often, but definitely on occasion) see drives that pass all tests but just won't work properly in TiVos . . .

I've received a replacement drive from Seagate, copied the old drive to the new drive using

"mfsbackup -aqo- /dev/hda | mfsrestore -xpi- /dev/hdb"

and installed the new drive in the Tivo. On the first powerup, the new drive was so quiet I thought it wasn't running until I looked up to see the startup screen! After 3 days of operation, Tivo appears to be working correctly in every way.

I still have a question about the drive copying. The Interactive Tivo Upgrade Instructions recommend the following mfstool command line to accomplish the drive copy:

"mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hda | mfsrestore -s 127 -r 4 -xzpi - /dev/hdb" which I did not use.

When I attempted to type this line, I could enter only up to the "-s" when my computer would beep. Thereafter the mfstool program would accept no further character entries. I was never able to enter the entire line (I could possibly have had a dash improperly placed).

Q: Will the shorter command line I used for the drive copy (having different options specified) have a detrimental effect on Tivo operation after the disk becomes full of recordings?

It looks like that other command should be fine if you are using a different boot disk. I've never heard of that beep limiting character entries.

I thought all was solved on this particular Tivo, but I was wrong. Following the last post here on 5-9-08, I ran this Tivo in a bedroom without fault until I went on travel 5-21-08 for 6 days over the Memorial Day weekend. Came back yesterday, and this Tivo is unresponsive to any remote command.

I've cycled power on the unit, only to find that it now progresses no further than the powerup screen.

The symptoms are identical to those listed in my very first post in this thread, so I'm back to square one even after having replaced the hard drive with an identical Seagate DB35 warranty replacement. I haven't tested the drive with the PC tools yet, but I would assume the symptoms point to hard drive failure again, as before.

Is this correct? Can I be this unlucky, two drives in a row failing? What's going on here?

That's a reason we don't recommend refurbished drives - they just aren't the same as new drives. The drive is likely the problem.

I decided I wouldn't give up on that refurbished drive, that maybe I'd made some mistake during the drive copy. So I just started over, and I used a different (older) computer to do the copy. I used the proper command this time (source hda, destination Seagate DB35 as hdb):

mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hda | mfsrestore -s 127 -r 4 -xzpi - /dev/hdb

which completed succesfully. Plus, I repeated the drive copy to an older Western Digital WD800 80GB drive I had laying around, so I could use either one. Either of these drives will pass all tests on their respective manufacturers PC based disk test programs.

When I installed the replacement Seagate, the Tivo booted right up! It worked normally for 12 days, then the same failure mode as before: red light on continuously, no Tivo response to any button; then upon cycling power I see just the initial powerup screen and it's stuck there forever.

Now I've taken the Seagate DB35 out, and put in the WD 80GB. Tivo has been operating normally for 3 days. Except for having just 58% of the recording time as the other drive, I notice no difference using the smaller WD drive.

Here's my comment & question. From this experience, it seems to me that a Tivo can be quite a picky, fussy and prudish girl when you offer her a drive. Any working drive may be rejected. The original 13.7 GB drive worked for 6 years, and still works. But a new (2007) Seagate DB35 worked only for a few months, and it's warranty replacement only for 12 days. Have you folks found any way to determine if a particular drive is really suitable for Tivo use, other than to install it in a Tivo and see if it works? I can't imagine what it is that the old, heavily used Quantum 13.7 GB unit does better than a Seagate DB35 drive (even a refurbished one) of 2007 or 2008 vintage.

Well, we have some deeper tools that really hammer on these drives to try to show any errors at all, but we do have the same experience that you report, where some drives just don't seem to work properly, no matter what we do. Our hunch is that the TiVo is just more demanding than the tests, since it asks for reads and writes all the time, 24/7.

But we've also seen some ancient 13.7 Quantum QuickViews really stand the test of time. Some sound like airplanes, but still run fine.