TiVo Failure - Advice Needed Please....

After experiencing random reboots I did a full reset after having unplugged the unit for 48 hours.

The TiVo starts booting ie almost there etc and then gets to the Press TiVO Button, Live TV or Format to switch on unit - The TiVo does not respond to any input from the remote then after awhile all lights go off - I can still hear a humm from the unit but it is effectively dead.

Is this Hard drive, motherboard or PSU problem - just need to be pointed in the right direction as to how if it all I can get this unit back up and running as I really can't afford to buy another one.

I purchased the unit from HN in 2009.

Many Thanks.

Cheers.

It's pretty impossible to tell exactly what it is, but the most common part to fail is the hard drive. with about 3-5 years being the average lifespan.

You don't need to press anything on the remote to turn it on. Just plug it in and wait. Usually it will drop you to the main screen after a few minutes, but it can take over 30 minutes if it is installing a software update. So plug it in and walk away, just leave it and see if it comes right on it's own.

Send a private message to Darren King. He is the resident hardware guy.

Pete.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by petestrash

It's pretty impossible to tell exactly what it is, but the most common part to fail is the hard drive. with about 3-5 years being the average lifespan.

You don't need to press anything on the remote to turn it on. Just plug it in and wait. Usually it will drop you to the main screen after a few minutes, but it can take over 30 minutes if it is installing a software update. So plug it in and walk away, just leave it and see if it comes right on it's own.

Send a private message to Darren King. He is the resident hardware guy.

Pete.

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I may have not made myself clear - I turn on the tivo and it commences booting - you know the one that takes about 7 minutes apon which it goes to a grey screen and asks me to press the Tivo, Live TV or Fowemat button to switch on the device - it does not respond to any remote input and then after a couple of minutes the lights go out - dead.

I have left it like this and nothing happens - I turn the mains off then back on - the process above repeats.

Cheers.

I may have not made myself clear - I turn on the tivo and it commences booting - you know the one that takes about 7 minutes apon which it goes to a grey screen and asks me to press the Tivo, Live TV or Fowemat button to switch on the device - it does not respond to any remote input and then after a couple of minutes the lights go out - dead.

I have left it like this and nothing happens - I turn the mains off then back on - the process above repeats.

Cheers.

Ok, so it does not sound like a hard drive issue, more a remote issue.

Do you have more than one TiVo?

have tried moving the "DVR" switch on the remote to the other position, if 1 try 2 or vicsa versa.

When you press the remote while the TiVo is on this screen, does a yellow light flash on the TiVo? Does the red light come on on the remote?

If the red light does not come on on the remote, try removing the batteries for 30 seconds and put them back in. If still no red light try another set of batteries.

If the red light is coming on, but the TiVo's yellow light is not, then try resetting your remote. Hold down the PAUSE and TiVo buttons for 5 seconds, until the red light on the remote comes on, then press 0 on the remote. This sets the remote back to default TiVo controls.

Peter.

Thanks for your help Peter but still no go. The yello light on the unit does come on when pressing remote buttons.

Damn frustrating these things especially when all you want to do is isolate the exact problem so if I decide to get it repaired will not get ripped off. I'm pretty sure it's the hard drive as I was experiencing the constantly rebooting problem prior to total failure.

If I decide to buy another hard drive where would I go for instructions particularly as I will have to install it from scratch without the original TiVo hard drive and the software contained on it.

It's very ordinary having to watch live FTA and all the bloody adds!! I had forgotten just how many there are!!

Again thanks for your advice so far - will get back here once I have the time to have a look at it.

PS Who would you recommend for repairs if it comes to that and is it worth it??

Cheers.

Refer to post 3 of this thread for reliable service.

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Originally Posted by sketchdude

PS Who would you recommend for repairs if it comes to that and is it worth it??

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There are plenty of guides around for imaging a replacement drive (just google it), but most rely on you either having a backup image or a working drive.

Without either of those, as I mentioned in post #2, Darren king is your guy.

Peter

Well, here is one for the books!!

After leaving the TiVo unplugged for nearly 2 months I decided to plug it in again to see what happens - works!!

The only thing that was different was using the component video connection and not the HDMI.

Had it on for 24 hours now and so far so good - must be an HDMI issue who knows.

Weird!!

Now that it is working again, it might be a good time to make a backup of your hard drive, as it will fail one day.

Pete.

HDMI output failure is a common problem, usually because the HDMI socket on the back was not soldered properly and the pins float free of the PCB pads on the motherboard. I've fixed my fair share of them. Not easy to remedy unless you are *VERY* good at soldering.