Sick TiVo — Healed

Like most people that have one–I love TiVo. It’s hard to imagine watching television without one. Record the shows you want, watch them anytime, fast-forward through commercials. Sure it is mostly like a VCR of old, but it is so easy to incorporate into your life: ease of programming, season passes, no tapes, etc. A 1-hour show like American Idol can be watched easily in less than 30 minutes. See my review of TiVo from last year.

Since we had not be living in our house for the past 9 months, TiVo was packed away in the basement. Without TiVo, I watched very little television during that period and found I really didn’t miss it that much. But now that we have moved back in, a priority was to setup the TiVo. It was great in the first few days as we were without cable and Internet–all of the shows that had been recorded (mostly kid shows) were still there and watchable. My trouble started once the cable and network were back up and I needed to connect back to TiVo’s home base.

Since the TiVo had been dormant for so long, it had some catching up to do. There was a system update, and of course I needed to load the channel programming information. Things seemed to be fine, but I noticed that the programming was incomplete as it had been failing. In retrospect, perhaps the TiVo’s hard drive (80-hour series 2) was full and didn’t have any room to process these updates.

After reading about this problem (error S03) and possible solutions at a popular TiVo forum, I decided to try a fix by using a special remote-control button combination at TiVo start-up sometimes referred to as a “kick start.” After trying this, I got the expected “Green Screen of Death” (GSOD), and after waiting the suggested 3 hours, the unit restarted. However, the GSOD returned again and then continued in an unexpected endless loop of green screens and restarts.

Green Screen of Death

There is not much to a TiVo. It is basically a hard drive with media software, and everything I read seemed to indicate some kind of hard drive failure. I really wasn’t too concerned for any of the content I had on the drive, I just wanted a working TiVo.

There were a few options:

1. Buy a new generation TiVo
2. Buy a refurbished similar TiVo
3. Buy a preconfigured replacement hard drive
4. Buy a TiVo software program and configure a new hard drive

My TiVo was over 2 years old and out of warranty. I had purchased the lifetime service from TiVo which seems is no longer available. If I got a new TiVo, I would have to change my service plan to a much more expensive, non-lifetime plan. It seems having a lifetime plan is very valuable now, but not if your unit is not working.

I decided to give TiVo service a call to see what my options were. I spoke to a very helpful technician who indicated that the “green screen is very bad,” confirming my conclusion. He told me about choices 1 and 2. The new generation TiVo was quite expensive (HD, dual-tuner), and the new service “special” was also costly. This option seemed to add up to about $1,000. Very steep.

Option 2 was to send my TiVo back and get a similar refurbished model. For $149 I would be back to normal. Seemed like a safe option.

However, I did some research, and option 3 and 4 seemed viable. A replacement hard drive kit seemed the easiest. A new hard drive comes with TiVo software installed. You simply open your unit and replace it using the included torx wrenches. Simple for anyone who has every worked inside of a computer. For $139 I could get a 173 hour hard drive. $10 less than a refurb, and pver double the capacity! Sounded very good. I asked the TiVo technician about this option trying to understand the “official” position on this 3rd-party solution. After being placed on hold, presumably to ask others what was supposed to be said, the tech and I concluded that it was certainly worth a try. I had nothing to lose, for if it didn’t work, I could always send the TiVo, with the original drive, back for a refurbished unit.

I considered the $20 solution of downloading software, making a boot-able CD, plugging in a new hard drive into a PC, booting from the CD, and transferring the software, but it seemed like too much work and had potential for mistakes. If I was in a more daring mood, I might try it.

I ordered the replacement drive from weaKnees.com which seems to be the preferred supplier by my research. I used UPS ground shipping, and in less than 1 week, got my new drive. In the box: drive, instructions, 2 torx wrenches.

My 3-year old helped me unscrew the case. A few more screws to free the ailing hard drive. Unplug power cable and ribbon cable. Reverse operation using new drive. Done.

I reconnected the TiVo to the television and started it up. After a few minutes, a setup screen appeared as if the TiVo was brand new. Success!

The serial number of the TiVo is not part of the hard drive, so my lifetime service is still valid and I did not need to go through a reactivation of the unit. It’s as if nothing had happened, except now I have a higher capacity TiVo with a brand new hard drive.

If you have an broken TiVo and you have lifetime service, you should consider having it fixed, and I can highly recommend a replacement drive from weaKnees.

Add comment January 25th, 2007

Blue Water Syndrome

We have just moved back into our house after nine months of major renovations. Almost every aspect of the house has been changed in some manner, including a new kitchen and bathrooms. The two upstairs bathrooms both have brand new tubs: a traditional tub/shower in the hall bathroom and a whirlpool tub in the master bathroom.

Although I wasn’t ready to venture into the whirlpool, I did want to check that it at least worked, so I filled the tub with water. As it filled up to about six inches, necessary to operate the jets, I started noticing that the water was a very pretty bluish color. I didn’t think too much of it, focusing on the operation of the tub. The tub worked fine, creating frothy cauldron of water. I turned my attention back to the blue water and considered its source. Perhaps the internal plumbing of the tub has some kind of anti-freeze or lubricating residue that would be washed away. I didn’t think that it was the water as I never noticed this before. The water in the toilets, also white, had no blue appearance, although there is much less water in a toilet.

I checked the hall bathroom which is just a standard white tub and the water in this tub had the same bluish color. It must be the water. Nothing in either bathroom would create any hint of a blue reflection.

Now I had to question if this was new or had always been there? Our old tub was coincidently blue, so we never would have noticed.

My wife called the water department and told them how we had not been in the house for some time. The offered explanation was that perhaps algae had grown during the time of non-use and caused this color. We would not be making soup anytime soon. As a rule, we drink bottled water even when home. Normally, I find this practice kind of silly, but reconsidered this as prudent until I get to the bottom of this issue.

In researching what could be causing the water to be blue, I have found the probable cause to be copper in the water. The copper most likely comes from the copper pipes that transport the water through the house. There are a few reasons why the copper in the pipes could be dissolving:

• Low pH: Low pH indicates acidic and corrosive water that can break down the pipes and would cause a higher concentration of copper.
• New pipes: The copper in new pipes breaks down more quickly in the first year of usage.
• Electrolysis: The water pipe that enters the house is normally used to ground the electrical system. A variety of different scenarios can cause a very small electrical charge to be present in the plumbing. This electricity can cause a chemical breakdown of the copper.

If the contaminant is indeed copper, I will need to find what is causing it and rectify it. I also need to do a bit more detective work to narrow down the mystery.

Action items:

• We have emailed our neighbors to see if anyone else has noticed this issue.
• I have a spigot right after the water meter in the basement that allows access to water prior to it going through the house plumbing. I will cart some buckets up to the tub to see if this has the same bluish hue. This should eliminate the new plumbing as a cause of the color.
• I also have a fire hydrant at the foot of my driveway. If daring, I could check this water for color which would indicate that the issue is not specific to my house.
• Get water tested for pH, copper, algae, and other nasties.

I will post my findings.

Has anyone out there ever seen this problem?

4 comments January 18th, 2007

Is That a Fire in your Pants?….

…or are you just glad to see me?

A cell phone caught fire in the pants pocket of a California man burning him and causing damage to the hotel room where he was staying. The brand of phone was not mentioned, but I don’t expect it to be any of the top brands as the man was wearing “nylon and polyester clothes” and staying in a residential hotel where the furniture consists of a “plastic chair.”

Read: Vallejo mans cell phone ignites in pocket, causing serious burns

Add comment January 16th, 2007

Line Rider

Here is a cool item I just discovered. Part game, part experiment, part cult, is Line Rider. The object is simple enough: draw lines for your digital sledder to ride. Some basic physics are programmed into the environment, so your lines must keep him moving and prevent him from crashing or falling into the abyss of infinity.

It’s probably best understood by watching what some have already done…

… and then try it yourself at The Official Home of Line Rider.

Snow Line is a similar game with more structure and a holiday theme.

Enjoy!

1 comment January 5th, 2007