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Tivo HD rebooting only with cable card inserted

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  • #1

    Tivo HD rebooting only with cable card inserted

    Have had Tivo HD for 13 months, worked flawlessly until about a week before Christmas 2008 which seems to be somewhere around when version 11 was pushed out by Tivo. Unit now will reboot itself or go to black screen with beeping when at the Cary Grant scene upon boot up. Unit only does this when cablecard is inserted in slot 1 or slot 2. Unit works fine without cablecard but no HD ;-( Cablecard works fine in the TV itself but not in the Tivo unit. Cable company has attempted to change out card but Tivo will not parity check so not able to view numbers for cable company activation. Multiple calls to Tivo on the issue, they now acknowlege possible issue with software upgrade and want $140 to exchange unit and they put blame on cable company for not upgrading card firmware.

    Has anyone run into this before and is there a work around solution?

    I am very disappointed that Tivo will not step up and address their software upgrade issue and puts the blame on cable companies. What's to prevent Tivo from doing bad software updates in the future and forcing people to spend additional $$?
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  • #2
    In our experience, that's really a bad card reader slot on your unit, and not a hardware issue. If you can get over-the-air HD, you could probably verify this by seeing if that works fine.
    Been here a long time . . .

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    • #3
      But both slot 1 and slot 2 react the same way. Would both be bad or are they really part of one card reading unit? Are they replaceable as a do it yourself job? Thanks.

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      • #4
        They're part of the motherboard, so they aren't replaceable at all.

        They could easily both be bad, or it could be a cable line problem, but it doesn't sound like that.
        Been here a long time . . .

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        • #5
          I have a spare HD unit, can I easily swap out the EPROM with the serial number with my lifetime subscription?

          Thanks

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          • #6
            I have a similar issue with my TivoHD. Reboots like crazy with cablecard (multi-stream card) inserted but... it only does it when I have the digital lineup from Tivo.

            To see if it is reacting the same do this:
            Remove cablecard(s)
            Rerun setup and pull analog guide
            instert cablecard(s) but DO NOT rerun setup again

            After you do this you should get all your normal digital channels but w/o the guide and the Tivo won't reboot. As soon as you rerun the setup again to pull the digital guide you will likely crash / reboot at the 2nd connecting to Tivo screen.

            If this happens then I'm going to say it's definately a software issue. Because I've already been through 2 TivoHDs and tons of CableCARDs. I have the issue escalated to Level 2 support with Tivo but they're saying they've "never heard of a problem like this." So if you can duplicate the issue it's definately confirmed as a problem.

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            • #7
              I have been through the steps you have outlined and can confirm that I am experiancing the exact same result. I have tried the scenario several times and in each instance the same results. I work in the software development business and it definitely looked like a software issue to me.

              Tivo support admitted to me that the version 11 software did have some issues with cablecard firmware and put the blame on the cable companies for not upgrading their firmware in every card. Do you blame them? That's a huge and expensive effort.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by LewNet View Post
                I have a spare HD unit, can I easily swap out the EPROM with the serial number with my lifetime subscription?

                Thanks
                That's really not something we'd recommend trying.
                Been here a long time . . .

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                • #9
                  I was doing a search on this issue and discovered this thread. I'm having exactly the same problem. The HD Tivo worked for approx. 1 week and then began rebooting incessantly until it reached Cary Grant. Eventually it would lock up with a high pitch beeping. Tivo has sent me a replacement unit. That one has never worked and reboots incessantly until it's at a point where the little Tivo guy is going down the slide - then freezes with the beeping or reboots.

                  I was at one point able to force a software update to version 11xx (sorry, don't have the exact update but know it started with 11). I'm frustrated beyond belief over this and wondering if these units actually ever work?!

                  The cablecard is a Motorola multi stream.

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                  • #10
                    They really do work, very solidly, all the time.

                    Have you gotten your CableCARD swapped? If you have similar behavior in two units, that suggests the CableCARD is your problem, or maybe bad power at the installation location.
                    Been here a long time . . .

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                    • #11
                      I have a Motorola single stream card. I have had cable company out twice to swap cards, once with another single stream and once with multi-stream. Neither one will parity check so that cable company can activate cards on their end. I seriously do not think the cablecards are the issue.

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                      • #12
                        I also have one of those large Monster Cable line conditioners/surge protectors for my entire entertainment system. I do not think it is a "dirty" power issue either.

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                        • #13
                          Is this a new unit? It sounds like the CableCARD slots are defective.
                          Been here a long time . . .

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                          • #14
                            Unit was 13 months old when issue started happening (December). It worked flawlessly with single stream cablecard previously. Unit was not touched by human hands between being brand new and when issue started happening.

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                            • #15
                              Still, it does sound like a CableCARD slot problem. Unfortunately, you may have to pay TiVo for a repair at this point.
                              Been here a long time . . .

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