Hello,
I recently bought a stand alone Series 2 Tivo. The last time it was operating was in January (still active at the time). When I used the RF input I couldn't get any signal (I got a message stating the box had not called in, in over 30 days).
However, when I used the RCA inputs I got both video and sound. I could press the record button and record (and then playback) whatever the RCA inputs were. It made a great "record manually only" DVR. Today I got to wondering if there was any service left on the box (or the "goldmine" lifetime service). Well..., that was the end of that. Once it connected to the service I guess the clock or info or whatever updated and the RCA input no longer functioned.

So, my questions are:

1. Was the box itself tricked into thinking it was still valid (at least to operate as a manual DVR) because it hadn't been connected to Tivo after the service expired? And could that have gone on forever if I hadn't connected to the service?

2. Is there anyway I can restore at least the manual RCA input functionality? Perhaps there is a CMOS/BIOS type battery to remove, or can the OS be reloaded and put in a similar state such as when I got the box (functioning, but needing to update). I don't need the Tivo service, but I do want a DVR even if it is totally manual.

Otherwise it seems I got my kid an 80 gig drive for his computer and yet another box to throw in the trash.

Thanks for any input, Tom