Tivo Hacks. 100 Industrial-strength Tips Tools 2003

2.4 Getting Everything Together

We know you're anxious to pop the top off that box, but it behooves you to take a moment to get everything you'll need together in one place so that you don't find yourself running frantically to the hardware store for a Torx screwdriver while your TiVo sits dismantled on your bench. Also, what would a hard drive upgrade be without the hard drive?

A Hard Drive

The most important, and costliest, part of a TiVo hard drive upgrade is the hard drive itself. Although most major hard drives are generally reliable, there are a number of factors ”such as price, warranty, noise, and speed ”that you should consider:

Finding the best price

Price comparison sites offer a convenient way to find drive deals and we have found Price Watch (http://www.pricewatch.com) to be the best resource. You might also try http://www.froogle.com. Be careful, however; drive performance is often significantly hampered due to poor packaging from discounters. Unfortunately, many discount vendors simply mail out drives wrapped in bubble wrap and tossed into a box of peanuts or shredded paper. Drive manufacturers universally discourage this. Reputable distributors enclose their drives in plastic casing or antistatic bags, surrounded on all sides with foam cushioning. This provides the best protection for your new drive.

Finding the best warranty

As of October 1, 2002, most major drive manufacturers ”such as Maxtor, Seagate, and Western Digital ”cut their warranty down from three years to one year for most basic EIDE hard drives. Some higher-end drives from these manufacturers still carry a three-year warranty. In addition, as of now, Samsung still has a full three-year warranty on its drives. Just something to keep in the back of your mind as you search for a drive.

Finding the right drive

A basic search of most TiVo community forums will reveal a wide array of opinions regarding drives, often with very little consensus. As drive technology, models, and reliability change frequently, a quick visit to the TiVo community message boards or other hard drive review sites would probably be prudent. As of this writing, TiVos ship with 5400 RPM drives, and, although higher rotational speeds such as 7200 RPM might be tempting, they may not offer any additional benefit when installed in your TiVo. The stock TiVo kernel can only use about 170 GB per disk, so don't bother getting a disk much larger than that. Also, remember to check out how loud the drive you're looking at is; it may be a turnoff to watch a romantic movie in your living room while your TiVo is loudly clicking and whirring away.

A Spare Computer

No matter what, you're going to need an Intel-based PC that you are willing to pop open and get inside of. That PC should be equipped with a CD-ROM drive (a floppy drive will do in a pinch ) and with as many free IDE slots as there are drives you plan to install. Don't forget that your CD-ROM ”if you are using one ”needs to remain connected during all this, so you lose an IDE slot right there.

If you intend to back up the TiVo's software, you are going to need an IDE hard drive installed in your PC (not one of the TiVo drives, or soon-to-be TiVo drives) that has a partition formatted as DOS/Windows FAT32 ”like that of your average Windows 95/98 install. To be safe, this partition should have at least 1.25 GB free, although backups can be done into as little as 150 MB. One final caveat: this drive has to be installed as the primary master on the PC's IDE bus.

Some Software

All the software required to upgrade your TiVo is free and publicly available for download. Grab yourself a copy of the CD-ROM (http://hellcat.tyger.org/MFS/2.0/mfstools2noJ.iso) or floppy version of Steven Lang's MFS Tools 2.0 (http://www.newreleasesvideo.com/hinsdale-how-to/Mfstools2floppy.zip). If you are adding a second drive and not planning to make a backup, then you can probably get away with grabbing BlessTiVo instead; you'll find the CD version at http://www.9thtee.com/tbdv2_6i.iso, and a floppy version is available at http://www.sonnik.com/tivo/downloads/upgradeav3.2.zip.

Download the software and burn the CDs using any basic CD-burning software package (Adaptec Easy CD Creator works well, as does Nero). Configure the CD software to burn as an ISO image. If you have difficulties, use data mode 1, block size 2048.

If you've opted to use the floppy versions instead, unzip the downloaded file, run MakeDisk.bat , and put a blank 1.44 MB floppy disk in your drive. Follow the prompts to create a bootable floppy.

Other Accessories

The last of the hardware you're going to need are some screwdrivers and an assortment of cables and mounting brackets for the TiVo itself. Table 2-3 lists TiVo models and the accessories needed to complete the upgrade. Model numbers denoted with an "(A1)" refer to adding a second drive to a one-drive TiVo, "(R1)" refers to replacing the drive with a new drive, and "(R2)" refers to replacing the installed drive with two new drives.

Be sure to get everything you need before starting the upgrade.

Table 2-3. Assorted hardware ”screwdrivers, cables, and mounting equipment ”for each TiVo model

^[1] In some cases.

What are all those bits and bobs ?

Torx screwdrivers

All upgrades (other than upgrades of the Sony SVR-3000) require at least a Torx T-10 screwdriver and, possibly, a Torx T-15 as well. Torx screwdrivers should be available at any hardware store, but if you have difficulty finding an actual screwdriver, Torx bits for cordless screwdrivers are quite common.

IDE cable

If you are considering adding a second drive to your one-drive TiVo (or replacing your drive(s) with two new drives), then you might need a new IDE cable (see Figure 2-1). If the already-installed cable has an extra connector on it, then a new cable is not needed. Where a new cable is required, a standard ATA/66 18" flat IDE cable, spaced at 0"-12"-18", should work. When purchasing an IDE cable, be sure that all of the connectors have all 40 holes open. Some connectors have only 39 open holes and one blocked hole. If you do end up with such a cable, you can often dislodge the last hole using a hot safety pin or other sharp object. Keep in mind that if you purchase a standard 18" IDE cable you will almost always have to reverse the cable to make it fit properly in your TiVo. In other words, the blue end of the connector (which is typically the motherboard connector) must be attached to the master drive for the cable to work.

Y-power cable

If you plan to house two hard drives inside your TiVo yet do not have a free power port, then you will need a power splitter (see Figure 2-1). The splitters are standard 5.25" IDE hard drive power splitters and are available at major computer stores or online. In addition, some professional upgraders sell Y-power adapters and IDE cables that are premeasured for use in TiVos.

Drive screws

Certain TiVo models require four standard #6-32 hard drive screws to mount a second drive. Other models require some other means of mounting the second drive; depending on your mounting solution, you may need different sized screws.

Mounting bracket

Certain models of TiVo do not have mounting hardware for a second hard drive. Mounting brackets for the HDR-series and the SVR-2000 are available both at http://www.9thtee.com and at WeaKnees, while custom-engineered brackets for models like the TiVo TCD 240040 and Hughes HDVR2 are currently available only from WeaKnees, at http://www.weaknees.com/twinbreeze.php.

Power management

Certain Series 2 standalone TiVo models have power supplies that have a maximum load of 38W. Hard drives take between 20W and 30W to spin up, but they then settle down to an average draw of about 5W. The 38W power supply in these particular units was not designed to handle the startup of two drives at once. To work around this power budget, WeaKnees sells the PowerTrip (at http://www.weaknees.com/powertrip.php, shown in Figure 2-1). The PowerTrip essentially delays the startup of the master drive for about 7-10 seconds, thereby reducing the peak total draw on the power supply.

Many online retailers do sell upgrade kits that contain tested hard drives, cables, tools, and instructions; these kits can potentially save you a lot of time and heartache. You can still have the fun of installing everything yourself, but you don't have to worry that you forgot to buy something in preparation.

However, do some research before you buy a hard drive, a mounting bracket, or any other TiVo part. Take a close look at what is being sold and make sure it won't make your TiVo look like it's being held together by duct tape or otherwise cause it to overheat. Ask around on some TiVo forums and make sure you are making an intelligent decision.