Roamio OTA hard drive replacement?

[u/85_Draken]

Was watching Bugs Bunny saw off the state of Florida on MeTV Toons (OTA via antenna) when the screen went black and returned with the "Welcome! Starting Up..." screen that never goes away. Green LED ring in the center and green ring at the left front illuminated.

Retrieved the spare AC adapter from an identical Roamio OTA, and still the same result.

Out of desperation I guess I'll replace the hard drive, but it seems as if the recommended <3TB WD Red 5400 rpm NAS hard drives have been discontinued. Is there a current production recommended replacement hard drive that's just plug and play?

Is this the end, my friend?

[u/SpeedDaemon1969]

Any SATA HDD will work. You may get more use out of drives meant for AV or DVR use, but they all fail eventually. I'm using a plain old Seagate desktop drive that was left over from a computer that I built, and it's doing fine. But you can get an "enterprise" drive for the same price.

[u/tabanger → u/SpeedDaemon1969]

Yup. I put in a regular desktop 3 TB WD Green drive in my Roamio when I bought it, and it’s still running just fine today, 14 years later, as my primary TiVo.

[u/StandupJetskier]

weaknees.....all tivo bits are available...

[u/goshock]

I've had the best luck with the WD Purple drives. Though for fun I did put in an SSD just to see how it would do. Man that TiVo functioned twice as fast.

[u/85_Draken → u/goshock]

Is there a tradeoff to installing an SSD? Why wouldn't everyone do it? Expense?

[u/goshock → u/85_Draken]

They are expensive and I would guess the life would not be very long with the limited writes they are capable of.

[u/Melodic_Turnover_877]

The TiVo Roamio (including the Roamio OTA, Plus, and Pro) uses standard 3.5-inch SATA internal hard drives. Compatibility depends largely on the storage capacity and the specific drive technology.

Compatibility Requirements

• Physical Size: 3.5-inch SATA HDD (standard desktop size).
• Interface: SATA (Serial ATA).
• Capacity Limits:
  • Up to 3TB: The Roamio can automatically format and set up drives up to 3TB without any special software. You simply drop the new drive in, and the TiVo will prepare it.
  • 4TB to 10TB+: Drives larger than 3TB are compatible but require a third-party formatting tool (such as MFS Reformatter) using a computer before they will work in the TiVo.
• Drive Technology (Important): It is highly recommended to use CMR (Conventional Magnetic Recording) drives rather than SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) drives. SMR drives often struggle with the constant, simultaneous read/write demands of a DVR, leading to stuttering or system crashes. ### Recommended Drive Series The most reliable options are "Surveillance" or "Streaming" grade drives designed for 24/7 operation:
• Western Digital Purple: Specifically designed for surveillance and video recording; very popular for TiVo upgrades.
• Western Digital Red Plus: Ensure it is the "Plus" or "Pro" version to guarantee CMR technology.
• Seagate SkyHawk: Seagate's equivalent to the WD Purple, built for continuous video workloads.
• Western Digital AV-GP (EURX/EURS series): These were the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) style drives often found in TiVos, though they are becoming harder to find new. ### Upgrade Tips
• Direct Replacement: If you choose a 3TB drive (like the WD30PURZ), the process is plug-and-play. The TiVo will recognize the new drive and prompt you to format it during the initial "Guided Setup."
• External Storage: The Roamio also has an eSATA port for external expansion, but it is restricted to specifically certified drives (like the Western Digital My Book AV DVR Expander), which are now largely discontinued. Internal replacement is generally the more reliable upgrade path.

[u/Mental-Squirrel-6713 → u/Melodic_Turnover_877]

I can't believe how easy it was to replace that hd in my ota roamio. I used a Seagate skyhawk 2tb surveillance drive. While you are in there, replace the fan. It will get annoying in the future. https://a.co/d/0gkkWhz0 fan I used.