Is it toast?

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TinMan55

50 posts

Geek

#317428 14-Oct-2024 17:25

It's been a while since I've needed to seek advice, having been happily using my Tivo since the resurrection. However... my brother recently decided to give up on his Tivo so I took it off his hands. I hooked it up to the TV and powered it up and all looked OK, so I figured I'd do a reset & clear and keep it as a reserve in case my own machine packs up. It was going through the guided setup and was at the stage of accessing the network when I accidentally dropped the power to it. Now there's no output from it - screen is blank. It's also displaying "Fixed" and "576P" on the front panel. Is there anything that can be done here, or is it now just a paperweight?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Spong

1005 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3297392 14-Oct-2024 17:50

When you first power up the machine, do you see the initial "Powering Up" screen at all? On a good machine, it should stay like that for a minute or two, then go blank for a while, then you'll see the "A few minutes more" screen. With no hard disk or perhaps failing or corrupt hard disk, you should at least see the initial "Powering up" screen for a few seconds. Flashing Green LED is not a good sign and you can usually assume it's terminal. If you see the initial "Powering Up" message, a new HDD load may get you backup and running into a guided setup, but this will only be possible if the new PROM chip has been fitted.

Tivo upgrades to operate with the new OzTivo EPG, support and service. Over 400 performed here so far. See: www.hillcrest.net.nz

TinMan55

50 posts

Geek

#3297398 14-Oct-2024 18:26

Thanks for the quick response! I was seeing nothing on the screen at all - however I just powered it up again and it started up normally. I did plug it into a different HDMI port on the TV this time, so maybe there was a problem there? Anyway, looks like it's still alive so I'll do the setup and this time keep my hands away from the power cord!

Spong

1005 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3297471 14-Oct-2024 22:32

TinMan55:

Thanks for the quick response! I was seeing nothing on the screen at all - however I just powered it up again and it started up normally. I did plug it into a different HDMI port on the TV this time, so maybe there was a problem there? Anyway, looks like it's still alive so I'll do the setup and this time keep my hands away from the power cord!

Just something to be aware of, and I'm making the assumption that your Tivo has a replacement PROM fitted and has been getting the EPG up until now. If it fails to connect to the OzTivo server during initial guided setup, and you're using an ethernet network connection, change to a WiFi connection during setup. You can go back to ethernet once everything's done.

Tivo upgrades to operate with the new OzTivo EPG, support and service. Over 400 performed here so far. See: www.hillcrest.net.nz

fe31nz

1229 posts

Uber Geek

#3297476 14-Oct-2024 23:11

Since I have been switching my test TiVo between the OzTivo site and my two VM servers, I have discovered that if you blunder badly with the settings and it is unable to connect, and is stuck in a screen where you are unable to get it back to the normal screens to change the dial code again, then just turning it off and on again will revert it back to the standard settings. Someone seems to have had this problem themselves at some point and made sure to fix the firmware to make sure there is always a path back to normal operation. I really appreciate that level of care in firmware - I would have had to dismatle the TiVo and extract its hard drive to fix the settings otherwise.

TinMan55

50 posts

Geek

#3297499 15-Oct-2024 08:23

Spong:

Just something to be aware of, and I'm making the assumption that your Tivo has a replacement PROM fitted and has been getting the EPG up until now. If it fails to connect to the OzTivo server during initial guided setup, and you're using an ethernet network connection, change to a WiFi connection during setup. You can go back to ethernet once everything's done.

Thanks for that tip. Yes, it is an upgraded machine.