# HR10-250 How to reformat?



## WilsonFlyer (Jan 16, 2006)

I've put my beloved HR10 up for auction on eBay. I need to clean it off. I have already deactiveted it on my account and hence; the card. What do I need to do to "clean it off" completely?

Thanks!

-bob


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

"Messages & Setup" -> "Restart or Reset System" -> "Clear and Delete Everything".


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## WilsonFlyer (Jan 16, 2006)

Thanks litz. ReplaTV was my gig. Thought this would work but just wanted to make SURE I got rid of everything before I sold it.

Thanks again!

-bob


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## Mr_Bester (Feb 13, 2007)

litzdog911 said:


> "Messages & Setup" -> "Restart or Reset System" -> "Clear and Delete Everything".


Does that set it back to normal if it has been "modified"?


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

Mr_Bester said:


> Does that set it back to normal if it has been "modified"?


What do you mean by "modified"? Typically the "clear & delete everything" will reformat the Tivo drive back to its initial out-of-the-box condition.


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## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

C&DE doesn't reformat anything. It just clears out any settings that were made after the unit was received from the factory. It sets everything back to factory defaults and deletes all of your recordings, settings, and preferences. The drive only gets formatted when you restore a backup image to the drive from scratch.

If your HR10-250 was hacked with the fakecall hack then doing a C&DE would be a bad move. You'll never be able to make the initial calls required to complete guided setup. Performing a C&DE will require that you repeat guided setup and perform the two initial phone calls. You'll get an error when attempting to dial out during the negotiating phase of the call, resulting in a dead end and a failure to complete guided setup. You will be unable to use any of the Tivo features until the initial calls have been completed successfully.

The only way around this would be to disable the fakecall hack by deleting it from the rc.sysinit.author file or at least commenting out the line that calls it and then rebooting several times until it clears itself to the point where you're able to complete the initial phone calls. Otherwise, you're pretty much left with an expensive doorstop.

Your best bet would probably be to restore an unhacked backup image to the drive. That way you won't have to worry about completing guided setup since it should work fine with a plain OS image. If the image was taken from a different Tivo, as in the case with an Instantcake image, you would then have to perform a C&DE to get rid of the hardware error #51 message.


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## Mr_Bester (Feb 13, 2007)

Thanks, that's what I thought. I was just wondering if I could avoid tearing apart the tivo and my computer before putting it back to normal. No big deal. I think it would be faster to do all the restoring and everything than C&DE. That seems to take over an hour. I can do the restore in about the same time, and I'll actually be doing something rather than watching it flash red light on, red light off.....

Thanks again
Dug


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## smitchell24 (Sep 22, 2005)

captain_video said:


> C&DE doesn't reformat anything. It just clears out any settings that were made after the unit was received from the factory. It sets everything back to factory defaults and deletes all of your recordings, settings, and preferences. The drive only gets formatted when you restore a backup image to the drive from scratch.
> 
> If your HR10-250 was hacked with the fakecall hack then doing a C&DE would be a bad move. You'll never be able to make the initial calls required to complete guided setup. Performing a C&DE will require that you repeat guided setup and perform the two initial phone calls. You'll get an error when attempting to dial out during the negotiating phase of the call, resulting in a dead end and a failure to complete guided setup. You will be unable to use any of the Tivo features until the initial calls have been completed successfully.
> 
> ...


So if one does not have the fakecall hack, than there are no issues doing the C&DE than correct? For example, if the H10-250 is going up on ebay (being replaced by the HR-20), is the C&DE recommended to erase all previous owner info & recorded shows? For security reasons Or is the unit more desirable or preferred without the C&DE & not really necessary. btw, is anybody looking to purchase one...PM me if so!

Thanks for any info!

Steve


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## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

It doesn't really matter if you do a C&DE or not if you're planning on selling it. The buyer will still have to go through guided setup to reset the zip code to get the correct guide data. I've bought lots of used DTivos and HDTivos over the years and most of them came as is with all the previous owner's settings, preferences, season passes, and recordings intact. I usually installed a clean OS on top of everything and hacked it from scratch. I don't think I've ever watched any recorded shows that came with a Tivo that I bought, mostly because the previous owner had tastes that were 180 degrees out from mine. I mean, how many episodes of "The Dog Whisperer" do you really need, anyway?:lol: 

My recommendation would be to do the C&DE before you sell it. That way the new owner gets a Tivo that looks like it came fresh from the factory, at least from a software perspective.


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## smitchell24 (Sep 22, 2005)

captain_video said:


> It doesn't really matter if you do a C&DE or not if you're planning on selling it. The buyer will still have to go through guided setup to reset the zip code to get the correct guide data. I've bought lots of used DTivos and HDTivos over the years and most of them came as is with all the previous owner's settings, preferences, season passes, and recordings intact. I usually installed a clean OS on top of everything and hacked it from scratch. I don't think I've ever watched any recorded shows that came with a Tivo that I bought, mostly because the previous owner had tastes that were 180 degrees out from mine. I mean, how many episodes of "The Dog Whisperer" do you really need, anyway?:lol:
> 
> My recommendation would be to do the C&DE before you sell it. That way the new owner gets a Tivo that looks like it came fresh from the factory, at least from a software perspective.


Great, thanks for the info! Do you know if the access is wiped clean of any personal info once the receiver is turned off? Basically should the access card go with the HR10-250 or should a new owner just purchase one from DirecTV when they get the unit?


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

smitchell24 said:


> Great, thanks for the info! Do you know if the access is wiped clean of any personal info once the receiver is turned off? Basically should the access card go with the HR10-250 or should a new owner just purchase one from DirecTV when they get the unit?


Generally recommended not to include Access Card when you sell your equipment. New purchaser will usually have to buy a new one anyway.


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## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

It doesn't matter what you do with the access card once it's been deactivated. If you include it with the HDTivo then the buyer may get lucky and talk to a CSR that's willing to activate it on his or her account without having to buy a new card. There really isn't a valid reason why you can't or shouldn't include the card with the receiver when you sell it but there's also no compelling reason to include it either. It won't have any impact on your life in any way. 

Once you deactivate it and your account is free and clear (at least as far as that particular card is concerned) you are essentially divorced from the card, unless you want to reactivate the same receiver at a later date using the same card, in which case you should be able to do it with no problem. Essentially, the card will be a useless piece of plastic to the new owner that can be used as an ice scraper in a pinch. Technically, DirecTV owns the card (read the fine print on the back of the card) but they'll never ask for it back. 

Once upon a time they actually requested that they be returned when they swapped out the H cards for the Hu versions, but I haven't heard of anyone having to send one back in about five years or so. Now that DTV has secured the cards from hackers they don't really care what you do with them since they are of no use to anyone without an active sub.


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