Peter is correct on all accounts. However one thing Peter does not know is that this TiVo came via me direct from the USA for modification. This being the case I can shed the following light on this unit:

* TiVo was modded for 2nd A/V input only so an external input is being used

* TiVo was tested with my test hard disks (note plural) before AND after modifications with no sign of above symptoms

* TiVo came with a 30GB hard disk that was untested but loaded with the OzTiVo image and booted up to the point of beginning Guided Setup. As always with these old hard disks they are an unknown quantity, although the background animations were OK while sitting idle in Guided Setup.

I'm assuming the old 30GB hard disk is being utilised and therefore my advice is like Peter's: Try another hard disk. This is the most common cause for the problem described. If however this does not fix the problem then I will have to take another look at the TiVo for a hardware fault that did not reveal itself while I had the unit.