Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Gray Screen and No Lights

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • #1

    Gray Screen and No Lights

    My series 2 (TCD240080) froze up. On reboot it got as far as the gray screen and hung there. I could hear the drive spin up, the head move, the drive spin down... the fan was blowing then gray screen and nothing. I went through the forums and got the impression it was the hard drive - it's a 12 year old Tivo that been running pretty much 24/7 all this time, so the HD was not much of a stretch. Ordered a new one (thanks WK for getting it to me so quickly). The install was even easier than the paper work said. Hooked it all back up and nothing - not even the gray screen. The drive and fan both spun up, but this time I noticed there were no green lights on the front panel. Any thoughts on what's the next likely culprit? Also, when I was changing the HD I noticed a small nickel size battery on the mother board. Can/should that be changed? It's been in there forever....

    Thanks
    JK
    Tags: None
  • #2
    I really doubt it's the battery.

    More likely, the white flat cable between the power supply and the motherboard became disconnected, at least slightly. Check that cable.
    Been here a long time . . .

    Comment

    • #3
      Thanks for the lead - unfortunately that didn't do the trick. The ribbon from the power supply to the motherboard is/was secure. Checked the flat ribbon from the motherboard to the front panel - that too was secure. On power up, I got nothing, no lights, no grey screen... The fan and HD both started spinning, and after about 2-3mins it sounded like the HD parked the heads. One thing I noticed this time was there was no power to the wireless (tivo) adapter through either of the USB ports.

      My question about the small battery was more out of curiosity - what does it do, and how long should they reasonably last?

      Next idea?
      JK

      Comment

      • #4
        Honestly, I really don't know that the battery is used. I've never seen one cause a problem.

        Sounds like your power supply is bad. While in most TiVos, a bad power supply is pretty obvious due to bursting capacitors, in the 240 series units, there's generally no visual evidence of failure.

        Replacement power supplies are here:

        http://www.weaknees.com/ps
        Been here a long time . . .

        Comment

        • #5
          Hi - purchased a new power supply. When I installed it, nothing - not even the fan or the HD started spinning. Reseated all the connections, ribbon to the motherboard from the power supply, cable to the HD, (even the ribbon from the MB to the front panel). Still nothing. Put the old power supply back in. When I put the power to it - the fan started spinning. Soooo, I'm thinking the PS was not good. How do we get a new one shipped?

          Already replaced the HD so I'm a little concerned that delaying much more time will not allow me to return the HD if it was in fact the PS

          Thoughts?
          Jeff

          Comment

          • #6
            That sure sounds like a bad power supply. I'll email you directly to work on a solution.
            Been here a long time . . .

            Comment

            • #7
              Originally posted by WK-Michael View Post
              I really doubt it's the battery.

              More likely, the white flat cable between the power supply and the motherboard became disconnected, at least slightly. Check that cable.
              Lol, the same thing was happening to me but it was just the white cable was loose. All fixed now, thanks.

              Comment

              • #8
                Yeah - that white cable just has to move a little bit to lose contact. Glad you got it fixed!
                Been here a long time . . .

                Comment

                Previous template Next
                Working...
                X