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which hard drive is the problem?

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  • #1

    which hard drive is the problem?

    hello all --

    I've had a series 3 for about a year and a half, in addition to an external hard drive from back before it was officially supported. Around the time I added the external drive (but maybe not the exact same time) I have had problems with occasional reboots, occasional GSOD's, all of which would eventually correct themselves, and I thought it was just because I'd attached an external drive and technically this wasn't supported.

    This weekend, I think with the latest service update, I came home to find my tivo in an endless loop...powering up...almost there...powering up...almost there, which I could only break by divorcing the external drive. Tivo restarted, and I was then able to rehook the external drive. Things are working now. in the 24 hours since that time, I have had one GSOD but no endless loops.

    So, I am assuming this is a hard drive issue. I am fine with replacing the internal drive, but would hate to replace it if it is the external drive that is the problem. If the external drive is the problem, I could just get a new one, if the internal drive is the problem, I could upgrade to a TB drive and not need the external drive, but of course this would cost more.

    If I run Tivo for a while without the external drive and don't see any reboots or gsod's, does that mean for sure that the external drive is the problem? (sorry if that is a stupid question.)

    Is there a way to run diagnostics on the drives, even though I only have mac computers in the house and I haven't seen any diagnostic software for these drives that isn't windows?

    And, finally, is there something simple that could be causing these problems other than a failing hard drive?

    thanks so much
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  • #2
    You'd need a PC to really test the drives.

    So you had a GSOD with just the one drive running, since you removed the external? If so, that makes a pretty good case that the internal is bad.
    Been here a long time . . .

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    • #3
      no actually I reattached the external drive once I got tivo out of the rebooting loop, then another gsod.

      but since I just lost my programs on the external drive (lost everything in the divorce now might be a good time to just run it on the internal drive for a while to see if there are any rebooting problems.

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      • #4
        Yup - that's really the best test. Sometimes, even the manufacturer's diagnostics don't find faults where a TiVo does.
        Been here a long time . . .

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        • #5
          thank you for the assistance.

          I just realized, though, that if I got a terabyte internal drive and put it in the Tivo, and didn't bother with the external drive, that would fix the problem regardless of whether the internal or external drive were the issue.

          I guess the only reason it would matter is if I wanted to get a cheaper smaller internal drive and continue to use my external drive that I have. But I'm getting the impression that pairing an external drive with a replacement internal drive is something that would require sending my box in to you guys or someone else smarter than I. I don't think I want to bother with all that so that option probably isn't a good one for me.

          Similarly, if my external drive were definitely the issue, I could probably save money getting one of the tivo expander drives that is supported and cheaper than a TB internal.

          So, if money is not a consideration, best just to get a big ol upgrade internal drive.

          Just thinking out loud....

          thanks again

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          • #6
            oh and as one last question, if it crashes without the external drive hooked up, obviously that means the internal drive is shot. But if it doesn't, does that mean for sure it is the external drive?

            reason I'm asking is that someone mentioned that a new software update could cause problems, because it might write to a new, faulty area of the drive, thus exposing a dying hard drive. Similarly, can hooking up an external drive do something similar - causing a crash due to an internal drive that is on it's last legs?

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            • #7
              Originally posted by mac23 View Post
              oh and as one last question, if it crashes without the external drive hooked up, obviously that means the internal drive is shot. But if it doesn't, does that mean for sure it is the external drive?

              reason I'm asking is that someone mentioned that a new software update could cause problems, because it might write to a new, faulty area of the drive, thus exposing a dying hard drive. Similarly, can hooking up an external drive do something similar - causing a crash due to an internal drive that is on it's last legs?
              If it works without the external, that sure seems to suggest that the external was the problem. Software updates impact partitions on the internal, not the external.

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