Before we get started, be forewarned that this hack supposedly only works on unmodified TiVo Series3 units. Not that we have any idea how the machine knows whether it's been upgraded (we had a how-to for upgrading your internal drive, too), but supposedly if you upgraded your internal drive, this isn't going to work. (If you want to try anyway, let us know in comments how you fared.)
Equipment
- TiVo Series3 (and remote, duh) running 8.1.1 software
and... - eSATA enclosure + drive with eSATA cable
or... - SATA drive with external power source and eSATA to SATA cable
Directions
This is a fairly easy procedure, so we'll run through the steps.
Power down your TiVo.
Turn on your drive, and while you're powering on your TiVo, hold down the pause button. Make sure you keep your remote aimed at your TiVo the whole time!
Keep holding it. The front panel lights turn off, then the orange LED will light up. Now you can go ahead and let go of the pause button; then punch in "62" on your remote. (Apparently this maneuver is called "kickstart 62".)
Other bits
Apparently this technique has been verified up to 1TB total storage -- anyone with a massive eSATA array want to take the plunge and see if we can get a few terabytes of TiVo going on up in here? Leave it in comments.
We didn't have a chance to run some tests on the programs stored on the secondary drive, but let us know if you see anything worthwhile.
Finally, big ups to spike2k5 on TiVo Community who pioneered this technique. Now go forth and expand.