Format Access Request For Next Revision

It would be very helpful if a “Reformat” option were made available in the Web Interface for the Tablo. Every once in a while, perhaps due to a power outage or something, the Tablo’s hard drive becomes corrupt. It becomes necessary to erase the drive. Currently, the only solution is to remove the drive, connect it to a computer, erase it, reattach it to the Tablo, and then follow the Format utility.

If that Format utility were accessible through a web link, it would make life a bit easier.

Sounds like a problem that tablo support should look at. Tablo uses, at the minimum, the ext3 file system. It’s a journaling file system that is suppose to recover from power failures.

I’ve had multiple tablo units for over 3 1/2 years and never any corruption that required a reformat.

@zippy I would echo the request for a format option, as well as being able to see the S.M.A.R.T. data. I’ve had really only one problem with my Tablo and according to Support, it was that the HD was having problems. I did have them format it, but not long after started having problems again. At this point, Support suggested it was a problem with recording at the highest quality setting.

I replaced the HD with some ol’ thing I had laying about and have not had problems like those since. I realize not everyone is going to be interested in looking at the S.M.A.R.T. data or doing their own reformat, but I would venture to guess that there is a heavier population of us than might be realized. Had I been able to see the S.M.A.R.T. I may have moved to replace the drive sooner and had less frustration.

And I wonder how many people that don’t have that tech-geek gene would work through a support ticket and the setting to remote mode (and in my case having to do so repeatedly because the tech didn’t “get to it” in time), lose all their recordings, etc. before they just decide it was an expensive lesson and go to something more “name brand” like Tivo.

Just my 2 cents worth…

There is a difference between having the tablo metadata being corrupt and the filesystem being corrupt.

If your disk’s filesystem becomes repeatedly corrupt and the disk needs to be reformatted it doesn’t take a geek to realize that the reformatting is reallocating the bad blocks and your disk is going to electronics heaven.