Hi all and sorry for the lame question, please excuse my ignorance. I did try to search for any other reference to this problem before posting.

I have a lifetime membership on my Sony SVR-2000. The hard drive on the unit is loud, old, and I believe so quickly deteriorating that I can't even watch regular tv without it skipping and pausing. I figure replacing the HD is the solution. I don't care about saving any of my old shows so IC seems like the simplest solution to throw in a new (bigger, quieter) replacement drive.

So my question. Is the lifetime membership information somehow stored on the HD? If so, by creating a new HD for the tivo, do I lose my membership? And lastly, based on the symptoms, am I correct in assuming that upgrading to a new HD is the best solution?

Thanks in advance!