# Is my Direct TV Tivo Dead?



## GoLaLakers (Oct 12, 2006)

I get a searching for Sat 1 message, went to re-start and could not acquire sat info. I switched the Antenna cables, and still no luck. My guess is the Tivo is dead. Anyone know anything else to try before I go to Direct TV to get a new DVR? 

Also, to Tivo's just die? My HR10-250 suffered a similar fate, but I think that is more to do with the hard drive. Just wondering if this is the price we have to pay to enjoy our DVR's. How are the Direct TV Standard Def DVR's holding up? :nono:


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## rlgold88 (Aug 30, 2006)

Do you have another receiver that you can swap the tivo unit with to see if you get a signal with the other receiver?
before you switched the cables did you get tuner two in? 

Did you try unplugging the tivo unit?


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## Crystal Pepsi Ball (Jun 29, 2004)

If you have switched both cables, and reset the receiver, then it may be dead. I would suggest a "Clear and Delete Everything". My R10 was having an issue and I did this. I lost all of my recordings, but it seemed to fix problem. I would suggest taping the shows that you have already recorded before you do this, though.


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## GoLaLakers (Oct 12, 2006)

rlgold88 said:


> Do you have another receiver that you can swap the tivo unit with to see if you get a signal with the other receiver?
> before you switched the cables did you get tuner two in?
> 
> Did you try unplugging the tivo unit?


Yes, I did unplug the TIVO and no luck. The problem just started last night, with the message. The last few weeks the screen has been going black, and then a restart would work. I just figured it was in it's final days. The funny thing is had an old Direct TV box, but I just gave it away to GoodWill. And yes, I have 2 HR20's in the house but though of disconnecting one of them and going to test it just does not sound fun. Access to the cables on both of those machines suck. But that does seem like the next step before I go asking for another box.


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## nuke (Aug 14, 2003)

The most likely problem with the HR10-250 is a failed hard drive.

You can easily hack one back to life yourself if you are a bit of a computer wiz. 

Or you can buy an upgrade drive, ready to install from a few vendors out there and put it in, or you can send your box to said vendor and get it upgraded.

Or get D* to replace it.

I get about 3 years out of Tivo hard drives, then they putter out.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

How many have you gone through?


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## GoLaLakers (Oct 12, 2006)

nuke said:


> The most likely problem with the HR10-250 is a failed hard drive.
> 
> You can easily hack one back to life yourself if you are a bit of a computer wiz.
> 
> ...


Well, luckily for my Hr10-250 we bough the extended warranty, so the major electronic store we bought it from replaced the unit. They replaced the HR10-250 with the Direct TV Hr20. The person working the register didn't know that I was only suppose to get a replacement, not a complete credit of the $900 I had spent when the HR10-250 came out. So I ended up winning, because I got 2 HR20's and $300 balance back to my account.

Regarding my standard def TIVO, how do I know what the problem is? If it's a failed drive, that sounds easy to replace but anything else may be to complicated.

What does Direct TV charge for there Standard Def DVR's?


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## nuke (Aug 14, 2003)

Stuart Sweet said:


> How many have you gone through?


On the HR10-250, I had one early failure, opted to just swap the drive out myself instead of waiting for a warranty repair/replacement. Then the drive I put in died almost exactly 3 years old. ( Maxtor ).

I've had Tivos for several years, seems like 2 - 3 years on the drives. It is a really tough environment for a hard disk drive.


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## GoLaLakers (Oct 12, 2006)

Quick update. My Tivo started working today after several days of not working. Very strange.


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## bhyde (Jun 8, 2007)

Funny,I am having the same issue with my SD Tivo. Everyday I get "Searching for Sat 1" message. I go through the Sat settings and it comes back, but the following day it' s gone again. I have 2 R15's, a H20 and a HR20 and they have no issues on SAT 1 when my SD Tivo is dead on SAT 1. I guess it's on it's last days.....


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## BruceS (Sep 23, 2006)

If you keep getting Searching for satellite signal problems, it is much more likely to be a problem with your cables than your hard drive. 

When the boot has reached that point, I don't believe the hard drive is even being used except to record the results of the search.

When my HR10-250 started having that problem, I checked all my cable connections outside the receiver first to make sure none of them were loose.

When that didn't solve the problem, I removed the case and checked the cables inside the receiver. One of them was loose and after pushing it back into the connector my problem went away.

The cable connections inside the HR10-250 are not screw on connectors like the external ones. The inside ones are just push connectors and they can work their way loose.


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