Add drives to DirecTV Tivo's

[BC_Violence]

I do not want to do anything too fancy, just add time to my Hughes DirectTivo. I have read the kit instructions DealDB and it sounds almost too simple.

I have built dozens of PC’s from scratch so I am not afraid of hardware or opening my Tivo. I have IDE drives in the 120-300 GB range just lying around.

This sounds as simple as setting the master/slave jumpers on the drives and adding a double-ended IDE cable. Is it really? Linux (not my forte) will recognize the new drive is there and just use it? Is there a size limit to the drives? I read 130 GB somewhere or is that only for series 1? What format should the drive be? FAT16, 32, NTFS?

[captainjrl]

Read the Hinsdale guide, as it is a little more involved than just spliting the IDE cable.

Hinsdale guide (http://www.newreleasesvideo.com/hinsdale-how-to/)

And I would use 120-160 GB drives as anything larger would be wasted space, without getting into some sort of hacking of your Tivo.

[kennet6565]

I went with PTVUpgrades to put larger drives in my TiVo's. With their software it truely was a piece of cake and really works. I know have HD TiVo's that records 70 hours of HD material, and an SD TiVo that records 484 hours of SD material. And the software is only $20, will worth it.

[ciucca]

I went with PTVUpgrades to put larger drives in my TiVo's. With their software it truely was a piece of cake and really works. I know have HD TiVo's that records 70 hours of HD material, and an SD TiVo that records 484 hours of SD material. And the software is only $20, will worth it.

The Hinsdale guide is free. Why waste $20. If you are adding a drive and not replacing it, you may need to spend money on a bracket, a Y cable for power and a IDE cable, if you don't have them already. The bracket is dependent on the tivo model, some already have room for a second drive.

[Iago]

I do not want to do anything too fancy, just add time to my Hughes DirectTivo.

I have IDE drives in the 120-300 GB range just lying around.

I read 130 GB somewhere or is that only for series 1? What format should the drive be? FAT16, 32, NTFS?


Adding more than a 137gb (per drive) involves something a little more fancy.

Any format is ok as the upgrade will re-format the new drive.


If you really "do not want to do anything too fancy" - remove your stock drive and perform the 8 hour transfer of all your settings and recordings to one 120gb drive. THis is easy and requires no hardware modifications other than removing and replacing your drive.

[Iago]

This is a newbie question.