Stuck at "bash-2.02#"

[westbend]

Philips1 SA TiVo w/ two 120 GB HD via MFS Tools2
AirNet using nic_cd_20030223 (which enables Telnet & FTP)
software: 3.0
Lifetime Sub

Everything works perfectly, e.g. daily call through ethernet, able to xfer files with ftp, etc..
Telnet through TCP/IP however, shows 'bash-2.02#' but cannot change directory. I am unable to access bash through serial for some reason.
I simply want to install TivoWeb throuh bash.
I admit I'm not too experience with Linux but I've been reading for the past few days regarding this matter but was unable to find any relevant solutions.
I've tried cd, cd /, root, etc. all that happens is it just show 'bash-2.02#' on the following line and nothing else.
I cannot cd /var/hack, or anything else. When I hit Enter it just shows 'bash-2.02#' on the next line.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Bigdog999]

The bash prompt doesn't change although you may have actually moved through directories. Try "pwd" to see what directory you're in, or "dir" or "ls" to see files in that directory.

[westbend]

I was thinking the same thing but unfortunately dir, ls responds with "command not found" and pwd does seem to show the directory that I wanted e.g. var/hack but am unable to execute any commands, for instance: gzip –d joe.tar.gz. It says "No such file or directory". It's as if it doesn't even acknowledge var/hack directory. I believe I can just use the PC and Linux boot disk to get the job done, but I really like to be able to access a functional bash if at all possible.
Thanks for any suggestions.

[captain_video]

I don't believe any of the programs you listed are installed on a SA Tivo right from the factory (i.e. ls, dir, etc.) and would have to be installed manually. If you already have bash then you're off to a good start but you'll need to read some background info on Linux to install the other stuff. You might check out the Tivo Hacking FAQ referenced in the How Tos Only sticky of the DirecTV Tivo Hacking forum. There are several posts on page 3 of the thread under my name that have links to various Tivo-related sites. I'd suggest looking at the FAQ and see what it says.

[westbend]

Thanks for the tip Capt', I have been to that thread that you posted as well as doing numerous search on the topic, but I'm still unclear as to what specific step I need to follow as far as getting ls, dir, etc. I'm not looking for any hand holding by any means, I learn best when I do it myself, but I'm a bit frustrated as to what I need to do in terms of finding the specific tutorial to get me going.
If anyone can point me to the right place, I would really appreciated.

[borderline]

Have you checked out Steve Jenkins' website (http://tivo.stevejenkins.com/)? He has an excellent how-to guide for beginners. To get many common linux commands like "ls" on your TiVo, download tbin.tar.gz from his files section to your c: drive. FTP it to your TiVo in binary mode with a command like "put c:\tbin.tar.gz /var/hack/tbin.tar.gz". Then telnet into your TiVo and follow the steps under section 4.2 of his how-to in order to install the binaries. You will also need to download, ftp, and install joe.tar.gz if it's not already in your /var/hack directory. Then skip down to section 6 of the how-to and follow the directions to include these directories in your PATH (otherwise anytime you want to use a command like "ls" you would have to type the full path - i.e. "/var/hack/bin/ls").

[westbend]

Hey Borderline, I have pretty much read all the tutorials that has been posted or mentioned in this forum as well as others. I feel that most, if not all, the tutorials that I've read are concise and easy to execute, but the bane of the matter is that I am unable to do anything with 'bash-2.02#'. I agree stevejenkins' tutorial is a great reference and extremely easy to follow. So, why am I here asking for assistance?

I cannot "cd" to anything.

If I can, everything else would be irrelevant.
For example, in stevejenkins' section: 4.2 Installing the tivo-bin binaries, a simple command of "cd /var/hack [ENTER]"yield another 'bash-2.02#' on the next line. I have tried various commands but still the same outcome.

I've read hinsdale (backup), tivofaq, stevejenkins, linux.org.mt, etc. as well as all the posts in the "How-To" of this forum. I understand the procedures and follow all the steps, DL all the files, prepare all the pertinent information before I do anything else.
Yet, I am unable to change directory. I've FTP the appropriate files with no problem, as well as using other methods i.e. Dylan's boot disk to transfer files. The files are there at /var/hack.
I would love to get past section: 4.2, which at this point is where I am stopped dead in my tracks.
If anyone know of a solution or recommend any radical steps to take, please let me know.

[borderline]

As Bigdog999 pointed out above, the bash prompt does not change when you change directories. If "pwd" does show the correct directory as you indicated above, then the "cd" command is working properly and your problem must lie elsewhere. I guess you could try hooking your drive up to your computer and using Kazymyr's boot cd to install the files in tbin.tar.gz to your /var/hack directory. The cd will have the linux commands on it, so you can issue commands such as "ls" to verify what's going on.

[mmmm_beer]

As was said before "cd" does not change the prompt, unless you modify the PS1 environment variable. To get any of the utilities (ls, cat, pwd, ...), they need to be your PATH, you can see what it is currently set as by issuing the command 'echo $PATH' without the quotes. You can add to the PATH, by adding a directory to the PATH by issuing the command 'export PATH=$PATH:/var/hack/bin' , this adds the directory /var/hack/bin to the PATH, so you can issue commands from that directory without have to use the full path name. Some of the prepackaged utilities set these in a .bashrc and include some aliases to allow non-UNIX like commands to work like 'dir'.

Try adding your utility directory to the PATH and do a search for .bashrc and see how to make the changes more permanent.

[Delta]

One way to get the 'ls' command to work without the extra tools is to use tivosh. At the bash prompt type: tivosh

Tivhsh has 'ls' as a built in command so you should be able to type 'ls' to get a file/directory listing and 'cd' to change directories.

Of course the prefered method is to copy the tools mentioned above into your path.

[johnmacd]

You stated that you have read Steve Jenkins' website but you havent done any of the steps listed. Yes, the Tivo is a Linux machine, but it doesnt have most of the commands that Linux users are used to. It really doesnt take that long, and I really suggest that you at least follow the instructions listed in at least section 4 and on. (you already have bash so you can skip some of the earlier sections.
Sections 6 and 7 just make your life a hell of alot easier.


I think gzip is installed at the factory, but I know that joe is not, along with a bunch of other 'normal' commands.

[westbend]

I appreciate all the response. I finally got everything to work properly. I will share my experience with anyone that may perhaps come up with the same situation.
I use stevejenkins tutorial version 3.3, which says to create 2 boot disks, 1 linux, 1 DOS (which tbin.tar.gz and joe.tar.gz files are located.) Then to copy the files to the hack directory. **I'm skipping the minute details and just getting to the main points.
I use the command as described: "cd *.gz /mnt9/hack". The files were transfered but I failed to noticed later that the files were remaned to joetar~1.gz and tbinta~1.gz due to the * symbol I believe. When I Telnet back in and tried to decompress and extract the files using the command "gzip -d joe.tar.gz" it didn't recognize it. By transfer the files using FTP thus conserving the actual file name, I was able to decompress and extract the files.
If my statement is inaccurate, please let me know, I'm always learning with everyone's inputs
It's gradifying to be able to resolve a problem and to perhaps pass on the experience to others that may need it.
Thanks again to all the posts.

[fixn278]

Originally posted by westbend
The files were transfered but I failed to noticed later that the files were remaned to joetar~1.gz and tbinta~1.gz due to the * symbol I believe.

The issue is DOS filenames. DOS filenames can't be longer than 8.3. (8 characters followed by a three character extension)

Anything longer gets a ~1 or ~2 etc...

[westbend]

Thanks for the info fixn. ...and thanks to this forum and its members and moderators for all the help they've given. :)