The HDVR2/DSR7000 Quick-Start How-To: From BASH to EXTRACTION

[cobelli]

I have written a quick-start guide to hacking the HDVR2 (or DSR7000). For more information keep reading. The guide itself can be found at http://generationtivo (http://generationtivo.com).

The WHY: There is a lot of information on out there about hacking the HDVR2 (and DSR7000), but it is scattered in many different places. I thought it best to collect all that information into one easy guide. After receiving so much help from the tivo community, I thought it time to give something back and my contribution is this guide.



The WHAT: Detailed below are all the steps required to get a virgin HDVR2 (DSR700) running with all the latest hacks. This includes:

A larger hardrive – U5 kernel with the 151 userland - Serial bash – Telnet – FTP – Tivoweb – Tserver and TyTools



What is not included? There are three main hacks I was unable to get working and they are therefore not included in this guide. These are the Lba48 kernel (Larger than 137gb hard drive support), daily calls out the ethernet adapter, and monte (an alternative to using the U5 kernel and 151 userland).



DISCLAIMER: None of the hacking in this guide was discovered by the author (Cobelli). The following is instead a compilation of other people’s work organized in an easy-to-follow manner. Credit is given to the appropriate individual when possible.


The guide was just to big to fit in posts, so you can find it here
http://hostfreedom.com/tivo

Have fun hacking!
- Cobelli

[Shr00m]

Nice site, I have been having some problems with the video on the background of my tivo after i mfsrestore the drive, i am following your guide to see if it fixes the problem.

[mrblack51]

Cobelli: i can see you put some work into the how-to, and its appreciated that new users do somehting like that. overall, it seems pretty good. there are a few issues though...the biggest is that you want two hard drives to restore with. really, you should just need one beyond the original tivo drive if you want to keep that one completely virgin. if you are using a drive to copy the kernel, then really you should just post the kernel somewhere and link to it, rather than suggesting so many drives are needed.

it would be a good idea to change the blue ips in your listings to different values. using the same ip implies that they should all be the same value, which is definitely not the case.

with so many steps in the same page makes it rather confusing. if the goal is a .txt file, then thats cool, but making it into a more linux-style how-to would be highly effective. ie: use a table of contents, seperate each section into its own page. use internal links to assist in moving around.

[cobelli]

Thanks for the compliment and yes it was alot of work (6 hours and counting) :)

Great idea on the kernel thing. Two 40+ hard drives is asking a little much. My one reservation is are there any legal issues surrounding me hosting the kernel?

Good point, the ip thing will be changed in the next revision (by the way, what is a broadcast ip?)

I originally intended it to be posted in forum, but it just ended up being too long. I like the one page format so that people can print the whole thing out and have it by their side while hacking the tivo. But, more web-navigation would help. Maybe I will make two versions.

The last thing is, I don't want to see my work dissapear into the mounds of info here. Is there any chance I could get a sticky?

Thanks,
- Cobelli

BTW -- I'd love some more feedback. I've checked my logs, I know you guys are visiting the guide, let me know what you think!

[Shr00m]

I followed your webpage exaclty as shown and took the 1st option ((A) Serial bash + Pegasus).

I put my drive back in my tivo, started up HyperTerminal, tested the end with a paper clip and got echo.

No bash prompt :(

I have no idea what I am doing wrong, being I followed the steps, step by step.


EDIT: What should my software version read on the Tivo when the drive is in?

[cobelli]

Hmm, not sure what's going wrong. First of all, the guide is still in beta, so there may very well still be a mistake in it. I checked it again, though, and I don't see anything wrong. My bet is the cable. I found a cable that I thought would work (it passed the test) but it didn't. If you have an ethernet device you are sure will work, go ahead and try setup C) Let me know if you need any more help
BTW, software version should still read 3.1.0-01-2-151

- Cobelli

[Shr00m]

Alright, my software version matches up with what you said.

I am using the cable that came with my Stand Alone Series 2, but I have a gender bender on it. I also have a null adapter, but I can't get echo with it connected to my computer with the gender bender.

Maybe I should order one from 9th tee?

I have a LinkSys USB100TX. It worked on my SA2 with some problems, but when my software upgraded to v4 it worked flawlessly.

I am playing on getting a LinkSys USB200M this week. Let me know if you think I should order another cable.

[SR712]

If I remember correctly, the tip and ring of the mini connector were reversed on the DTiVos as compared to the Standalones. The sleeve remained the same. I don't have a series2, but I would think they would be the same. Try swapping the tip and ring wires.

[Shr00m]

Originally posted by SR712
If I remember correctly, the tip and ring of the mini connector were reversed on the DTiVos as compared to the Standalones. The sleeve remained the same. I don't have a series2, but I would think they would be the same. Try swapping the tip and ring wires.

That sounds like it could be the problem, I will try it when I get home tonight and let you guys know.

Thanks.

[lol999]

cant i just take the chance and use the orig 40 giger that comes on the TiVo? So i would just need the tivo drive, and an 8 gig fat32 drive? Would that be enough?

[fixn278]

Originally posted by lol999
cant i just take the chance and use the orig 40 giger that comes on the TiVo? So i would just need the tivo drive, and an 8 gig fat32 drive? Would that be enough?

You could, but you would be breaking the first rule of working on a PC... always have a backup.

If you have problems and can't get the new image to work, what will you revert back to?

[DblDamage]

Originally posted by lol999
cant i just take the chance and use the orig 40 giger that comes on the TiVo? So i would just need the tivo drive, and an 8 gig fat32 drive? Would that be enough?

You can take the chance, but if the backup of your drive is no good, you won't know about it until after you try to restore it. And since you will be overwriting your original drive.....

Good luck,

DblDamage

[cobelli]

To be sure your serial cable is working, you could purchase one from 9th tee, or make one yourself. I made mine and it worked perfectly. The proper wireing is as follows:

1/8" Tip to DB9 Pin 2
1/8" Ring (Middle) to DB9 Pin 3
1/8" Sleeve to DB9 Pin 5


Also, from what I remember, the Linksys USB100TX works perfectly with thte pegasus.o driver. If you can't get serial bash working, try doing procedure B, going straight to ethernet.

Originally posted by Shr00m
Alright, my software version matches up with what you said.

I am using the cable that came with my Stand Alone Series 2, but I have a gender bender on it. I also have a null adapter, but I can't get echo with it connected to my computer with the gender bender.

Maybe I should order one from 9th tee?

I have a LinkSys USB100TX. It worked on my SA2 with some problems, but when my software upgraded to v4 it worked flawlessly.

I am playing on getting a LinkSys USB200M this week. Let me know if you think I should order another cable.

[cobelli]

Major update to the guide. Now only requires one additional hard drive and a u5 kernel image instead of two hard drives and the entire image.

- Cobelli

[Liam1965]

Cobello-

First off, thanks for an EXCELLENT resource. I've gotten tivoweb running in very short order, thanks to this. (Now if only I knew enough about networking to figure out how to access the TiVo through my firewall from the internet... Ah well, next time...)

However, when I tried to follow the instructions for TyTools, one of the zip files to which you point is bad.

tytool 7r7a (everything as of 7-10-2003).zip will not unzip. I've downloaded it on a Linux box and on a WinBlows box. I've used Mozilla, Netscape and IE. In each case, I get a file which, when I try to unzip it, says something about it not being a valid archive.

Any thoughts? I went to the TyTools discussion and downloaded 7r7a from there, but it doesn't include the TiVoSide directory that you say I need a file from.

Can you help?

=Liam

[cobelli]

Glad I could help! It's cool to see people using it :)

I thought I mentioned in the resource, but yes, i did have problems unzipping it. The solution for me was to use winRAR by rarlabs. Since I'm sure you aren't the only one going to ask this, I'll rezip it for you and put it on my site. You can find a working zip at: hostfreedom.com/TyTools.zip (http://hostfreedom.com/TyTools.zip)

Enjoy!
- Cobelli

[Liam1965]

Thanks much!

Now I just have to figure out why I get "Data socket connect failed!" when I try to actually extract a file (everything else seems to work right).

But thanks!

-Liam

[Liam1965]

Whoops, nevermind, I found the problem in the TyTools forum:

It happens if you have an internal network with a port to the internet, and you have (technically) more than one IP address on the local machine...

If this is happening to you, go to "Options-->Networking-->Find Network Addresses". This should come up with ONLY your *INTERNAL* IP address, but if this is coming it, it'll probably come up with both your INTERNAL (which is usually 192.168.*.*), and your INTERNET IP, and this is what causes the problem.

According to the folks in that forum, if you get more than one, go to Single Socket mode, and it works. (A little bit slower, but it works).

Of course, now TyTools just dumped core on me, but that's another problem.

-Liam

[TheWickedPriest]

Hi all, my first post, but I've been reading for a few weeks...

I don't understand how it is, on tivocommunity.com and now here, that people are saying that you need only the U5 kernel image. I tried that, and it did NOT work on my HDVR2 -- it rebooted, and then came up fine in 3.1.0, but without the hacks active. In other words, the root failed the initrd check. When I used the U5 kernel AND root, it worked immediately; since then I've set up kmonte so that I boot with U5 kernel + root and then switch to a "clean", hackable 3.1.0.

The U5-kernel-only thing caused me great frustration, because I took people's word that it worked, and assumed something else must've been the problem. Once past that, everything else was dead easy.

The other problem I've found with some of the existing instructions is the reference to a "blank" partition "before Apple_Free". No such partition is created by mfstools, according to pdisk; that threw me off, but I think some people were just misreading the output. You can use the Apple_Free partition itself just fine, or indeed, create a new partition just for your romfs image. This isn't really a big deal, but I struggled with it for a while because of the U5 root thing, where I was mistakenly looking for other problems.

HTH.

[TheWickedPriest]

Originally posted by Liam1965
(Now if only I knew enough about networking to figure out how to access the TiVo through my firewall from the internet... Ah well, next time...)

Set port 80 (or perhaps an alternate port) on your firewall's external IP to forward to port 80 on the Tivo's internal network address. (If you happen to be using a Linksys BEFW11S4 or something similar, I can give more explicit instructions.) Note that this is potentially dangerous (opening up your Tivo to the outside world); at a minimum, you should put a username and password in tivoweb.cfg before you do this.

[cobelli]

IMPORTANT! For anyone who has followed the guide, revision 0.7 includes two major changes.

1. The original hackinit had IGNOREOFF instead of IGNOREEOF
2. I found a new set of drivers for non-pegasus adapters. These work MUCH better and now run at the USB 2.0 speeds!! YAY! If you followed the instructions for ax8817x.o, please go back and use the updated setup.

Sorry for any inconveinence, but the guide is a work-in-progress
-Cobelli

[plurranger]

Does anyone have a copy of tnlited I could get for my hdvr2? I see I would have to cross-compile my own and I would really rather not. Is there a link someone could provide.. please?

Thanks in advance!

Cruzer

[cobelli]

tnlited should be on your HDVR2 in the directory /sbin

[Shr00m]

EXCELLANT GUIDE!!!
I had some problems with the bash cable, but I think it was my cable and not the guide.

I purchased the LinkSys usb200m as mentioned in the guide, because i want to transfer files off and my usb100tx is slow.

I did option "b" and got ethernet up and got bash over telnet with out any problems at all!!!

I got tytools and tivoweb up, but didn't mess with them much yet.

I would suggest copying all of mr. blacks hackinit file, telnet didn't work for me until I did that.

Thanks for all your time and effort on that page!!

[Shr00m]

I just tried the new usb200m drivers on your v8, copied over the new stuff in /var/hacks/lib and changed my hackinit,

did a chmod -R 777 /var/hack

I can telnet into my box, but it locks up on "Almost there. A few more secounds please..." Is there any log or something I can check to see what is causing this??

Thanks.

[cobelli]

ya, check /var/log Most helpful in there is probably kernel. Sorry to hear that is happening. Make sure you are only using the new drivers. Don't load some stuff from /lib/modules and other from your var/hack/lib. Also, note that it is not the same drivers as before. Instead of ohci, you must load hcd and ehci-hcd. Hope this helps.

- Cobelli

[Shr00m]

I've commented out some other things in my hackinit that i don't use to rule them out.

here is my hackinit:

#!/bin/bash
date>>/var/hack/hackinit.log
PATH=/var/hack/bin:/sbin:/bin:/tivobin:/tvbin:.

#Environmental variables
TIVO_ROOT=
MFS_DEVICE=/dev/hda10
IGNOREEOF=1000
export PATH TIVO_ROOT MFS_DEVICE IGNOREOFF

/bin/bash</dev/ttyS2&>/dev/ttyS2&


#Load ethernet drivers
insmod /var/hack/lib/usbcore.o
insmod /var/hack/lib/hcd.o
insmod /var/hack/lib/ehci-hcd.o
insmod /var/hack/lib/ax8817x.o
sleep 10
ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.110 broadcast 192.168.1.255 netmask 255.255.255.0
route add default gw 192.168.1.254 netmask 0.0.0.0 metric 1

#Telnet and FTP
tnlited 23 /bin/bash -login &
tivoftpd

#TivoWeb
#/var/hack/tivoweb-tcl/tivoweb

#TyTools
#kmem 800b23b4 00001021

Look alright?
Like I said, I can get bash right now via telnet.

[cobelli]

Looks fine. Did you check the kernel log?

Actually, there is one mistake, but this was my fault (and it shouldn't cause this problem):

export PATH TIVO_ROOT MFS_DEVICE IGNOREOFF

should be:

export PATH TIVO_ROOT MFS_DEVICE IGNOREEOF

[Shr00m]

Here is my /var/log/kernel
--------------------------------

Jul 25 05:18:06 (none) kernel: Checking for additional disk...
Jul 25 05:18:07 (none) kernel: Starting EventSwitcher...
Jul 25 05:18:08 (none) kernel: Not going to start Test service with NULL executable
Jul 25 05:18:08 (none) kernel: Not going to start Epg Manager (/tvbin/EpgManager isn't an existing executable)
Jul 25 05:18:08 (none) kernel: Not going to start thttpd (/tvbin/thttpd isn't an existing executable)
Jul 25 05:18:08 (none) kernel: Not going to start DmComponent (/tvbin/DmComponent isn't an existing executable)
Jul 25 05:18:08 (none) kernel: Not going to start IdlComponent (/tvbin/idl-component isn't an existing executable)
Jul 25 05:18:08 (none) kernel: Not going to start Falcon (/tvbin/falcon isn't an existing executable)
Jul 25 05:18:09 (none) kernel: EXT2-fs warning: mounting unchecked fs, running e2fsck is recommended
Jul 25 05:18:10 (none) kernel: Start fan control...
Jul 25 05:18:10 (none) kernel: Terminal temp: 71
Jul 25 05:18:10 (none) kernel: Critical temp: 62
Jul 25 05:18:10 (none) kernel: Logging temp: 60
Jul 25 05:18:10 (none) kernel: Target temp: 50
Jul 25 05:18:12 (none) kernel: Scanning for phase2 repair scripts
Jul 25 05:18:12 (none) kernel: syslog: /etc/build-version: No such file or directory.
Jul 25 05:18:14 (none) kernel: Checking for database conversions...
Jul 25 05:18:16 (none) kernel: Checking new software installation
Jul 25 05:18:17 (none) kernel: SwSystem 3.1.0-01-2-151 is already active, nothing to do.
Jul 25 05:18:17 (none) kernel: Scanning for phase3 repair scripts
Jul 25 05:18:17 (none) kernel: Starting Services.
Jul 25 05:18:18 (none) kernel: Scanning for phase4 repair scripts
Jul 25 05:18:18 (none) kernel: rc.sysinit is complete
Jul 25 05:18:19 (none) kernel: MCP startup complete
Jul 25 05:18:40 (none) kernel: Calling Run...
Jul 25 05:18:40 (none) kernel: APGOpen called
Jul 25 05:18:40 (none) kernel: APGInitRead called
Jul 25 05:18:41 (none) kernel: APGOpen called
Jul 25 05:18:41 (none) kernel: APGInitRead called
Jul 25 05:18:41 (none) kernel: DTuneOpen called
Jul 25 05:18:41 (none) kernel: ApgLogFrequency( 0 sec )
Jul 25 05:18:41 (none) kernel: Finished creating ApgDriverFrameIter
Jul 25 05:18:41 (none) kernel: Using a smartSorter!
Jul 25 05:18:41 (none) kernel: Creating ApgReader
Jul 25 05:18:42 (none) kernel: CamOpen called
Jul 25 05:18:42 (none) kernel: CamInitRead called
Jul 25 05:18:42 (none) kernel: CamOpen called
Jul 25 05:18:42 (none) kernel: CamInitRead called

-------------------------------------
It stopped there last time too :confused:

Should I try to run a e2fsck manually?

[cobelli]

You have me stumped :( It looks exactly like mine (even the temps are the same lol) except where yours stops, mine has

Jul 24 23:32:33 (none) kernel: oslink: 00 00 00 Access Card: Not Inserted Tuner[0]: Not Locked Tuner[1]: Not Locked
Jul 24 23:32:33 (none) kernel: **Transition from unpaired to paired card.**
Jul 24 23:32:33 (none) kernel: oslink: 01 01 00 Access Card: Inserted Tuner[0]: Locked Tuner[1]: Not Locked
Jul 24 23:32:46 (none) kernel: CleanUpStreamFileNoRetry: setup for stream 690937: 0x0
Jul 24 23:32:46 (none) kernel: CleanUpStreamFileNoRetry: shutdown
Jul 24 23:32:47 (none) kernel: Initialize with 2 live caches
Jul 24 23:32:47 (none) kernel: Helper Thread 175 (for 174) waking up
Jul 24 23:32:47 (none) kernel: Helper Thread 177 (for 176) waking up ....

Maybe it has something to do with your access card? I'm just guessing. But double check that it is fully inserted.

- Cobelli

[cobelli]

Yet another update. Now at revision 0.9. Proofread the entire thing and weaded out most (hopefully all) of the typos/inconsistencies. Also did some re-organizing so kmem is its own section. I'm off on a long weekend, when I get back, if no one has any major complaints, I'll chop the guide into sections with navigation like most linux-style how-tos.

Seeya then,
- Cobelli

[Shr00m]

Got my other issues fixed,

Now, I am having some problems using TyTools. I can connect to my tivo @ port 21 and 3105 with a normal ftp program, but when TyTools trys to connect I get this when I use 192.168.1.110 in the tivo address:

Trancode Selected Mode: 6
Ready...
Reading list from the server...
Clear Now Showing List...
Connecting to '192.168.1.110'
ERROR: Failed to Connect!

Any Ideas?

[Liam1965]

This one I may be able to help with.

Apparently the latest version of TyTools will occasionally attempt to get to your TiVo through both your internal AND internet networks (if you have more than one).

I was having that problem on ONE of my computers, and the solution was to do Options-->Networking-->Single Socket Mode.

It's slightly slower, but doesn't continue to try to go through the internet to get to your TiVo.

If that doesn't work, then I'm stumped.

--Liam

[moretivo]

Hi folks,

I just got my HDVR2 (first Tivo I've had as well).

Immediately I ran in to a major problem - I have Vonage, so I couldn't activate it over the phone (as has been covered on tivocommunity.com at length).

So I decided to downgrade to U5 so I could to get the network going.

I did so by restoring the U5 backup on twinbrothers FTP site.

So far so good - I got bash working, telnet, and of course the network.

Network dialing seemed to work (went through choosing a local # even though I wasn't using it - which was much further than I got on the vonage line).

But when I hit "List" on the remote, or select "Now Playing"
I get "Problem Found" "A hardware problem has been detected which needs your attention. Until this problem is fixed you will not be able to record programs or watch recordings. Please restart the Recorder......."

Of course I've restarted the box a few times to no avail.

Any ideas??

The system screen shows 3.1.U5-01-2-151.

Account shows in good standing, and the last phone call shows this morning and successful.

DVR service shows as active - but not for 2 Tuners record/record.

There's an error and a few DEBU?G SS lines in the System Info.

Service Data Download Shows "none available"

I'm stuck and so sad...

I still have a backup of the image that shipped with the system - but it's one of the new "unhackable" kernels according to tivocommunity.

[mrblack51]

Originally posted by moretivo
But when I hit "List" on the remote, or select "Now Playing"
I get "Problem Found" "A hardware problem has been detected which needs your attention. Until this problem is fixed you will not be able to record programs or watch recordings. Please restart the Recorder......."

this is the error 51 which is covered numerous times. either do a clear and delete everything, or use the new script to kill the message.

DVR service shows as active - but not for 2 Tuners record/record.

dvr service is activated by the access card. call dtv and sign up for tivo service to enable it.

[moretivo]

I'm trying that now...

BTW, I'm getting these in the kernel log, is it something to worry about:

Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start Test service with NULL executa
ble
Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start Epg Manager (/tvbin/EpgManager
isn't an existing executable)
Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start thttpd (/tvbin/thttpd isn't an
existing executable)
Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start DmComponent (/tvbin/DmComponen
t isn't an existing executable)
Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start IdlComponent (/tvbin/idl-compo
nent isn't an existing executable)
Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start Falcon (/tvbin/falcon isn't an
existing executable)

[mrblack51]

Originally posted by moretivo
I'm trying that now...

BTW, I'm getting these in the kernel log, is it something to worry about:

Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start Test service with NULL executa
ble
Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start Epg Manager (/tvbin/EpgManager
isn't an existing executable)
Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start thttpd (/tvbin/thttpd isn't an
existing executable)
Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start DmComponent (/tvbin/DmComponen
t isn't an existing executable)
Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start IdlComponent (/tvbin/idl-compo
nent isn't an existing executable)
Jul 26 17:26:34 (none) kernel: Not going to start Falcon (/tvbin/falcon isn't an
existing executable)

nothing to worry about. in case you are interested, my understanding is that those messages are a result of the HMO type hooks which were in the release. no-one has gotten hmo to work on a 3.1 unit, but it looks like they left some testing hooks there

[cobelli]

Another important update. If you do not reboot after the mfsrestore, dd the kernel over will fail. You will get a:
"Not enough space
3+0 records in
2+0 records out"
Reboot between the two and that should fix it.

Revision .10 has been added to reflect the extra step

- Cobelli

[didjit]

Looking for a little help.

Followed the instructions and have success up to step 24. After I create the Bash_ENV/hackinit my Tivo does not go past the Powering Up Screen. I double checked my work and for giggles followed all steps again 3 times. I'm not doing serial only Ethernet.

I looked through the kernel log (/dev/hdc9/log/kernel) and do not see any current messages. If I'm looking in the right place, then I guess the kernel isn't even getting loaded?? Also, made sure cables were seated properly.

If it matters, using a Maxtor 80 GB, 3Com USB Adapter 3c4608b

Any suggestions would be appreaciated. Thank you

Didjit

[cobelli]

First off, make sure you used revision .10 of the guide. There was a huge bug in everything before it. When you dd the kernel, it should say 4+0 records in 4+0 records out.

Sorry, it is a work in progress. I think this is the root of your problem. In the old guide, step 25 began bash_env, now step 27 does, so it sounds like you used an earlier version.

Let me know,
- Cobelli

[tivomaster]

Cobelli I think I found out what USB2.0 adapteres that the ax8817x.o driver supports. According to a search I did it supports
Linksys USB200M,
Netgear FA120,
Dlink DUB-E100,
Hawking UF200.

I havent tried any of these yet but I have a UF200 that I bought for $4.99 at Fry's today am going to try in the next couple of days.

[cobelli]

Thanks for the info, I'll add them to the next revision. Let me know how it goes :)

- Cobelli

[fixn278]

Originally posted by tivomaster
Cobelli I think I found out what USB2.0 adapteres that the ax8817x.o driver supports. According to a search I did it supports
Linksys USB200M,
Netgear FA120,
Dlink DUB-E100,
Hawking UF200.

I havent tried any of these yet but I have a UF200 that I bought for $4.99 at Fry's today am going to try in the next couple of days.

I can confirm the Linksys USB200M works

[cobelli]

Using my guide? Or at least the same drivers?

- Cobelli

[fixn278]

Originally posted by cobelli
Using my guide? Or at least the same drivers?

- Cobelli

Sorry, I meant the drivers in general. I have been using it for a few weeks.

[cobelli]

Revision 0.11 !

Now includes a web-style layout with hyperlinking! The original format is also there for those of you who want to print it.

In addition, if a few of you with the appropriate box would run through revision 0.11 from beggining to end, it would really help. I know it works on my setup, but I would like to get some more feedback. Once i know it has worked a few times, ill move the guide out of beta.

Thanks
- Cobelli

[didjit]

Still having problems booting Tivo. I loaded the "pre-made" image just to see if I could get it working, then I could look at the details. Well, Tivo was able to boot but still no Ethernet.

Here is the strange thing, If I change the jumpers on the drive (to cable select) the lights on my 3com USB light up, however, Tivo does not boot (stays on the Powering Up Screen). So, I either get Tivo to boot or ethernet...

Anyone have this problem before? The drive is a new Maxtor just bought.

TIA

Didjit

[lol999]

Does anyone have any confirmation if the new version .11 works? I am just waiting to see if it works out before I try it. Anyone have luck? Any vets know?

[fixn278]

Originally posted by lol999
Does anyone have any confirmation if the new version .11 works? I am just waiting to see if it works out before I try it. Anyone have luck? Any vets know?

Why not try it so you can be the one to report back?

[tivomaster]

Didn't work for me but it probably was a "loose nut on the keyboard" error. I am going to try it again.

[ehf]

I've set everything up and got as far as installing TyServer, but after a reboot, network connectivity went out, and my /var/hack was gone. From what I've read, it seems to be mostly a problem with the log files being too large -- once they get to a certain size, the tivo will automagically reimage /var to a clean state, thereby deleting the hacks. This problem has occured on other systems, but I haven't found any solution in the forums that would work with the HDVR2.. (mostly because the files they say to modify don't exist).

I deleted my /var/log dir, and then created a new blank /var/log. I'm going to try going though some reboots to see if the hack holds.

I've also seen some snippets that the tivo may even reimage after a certain number of mountings of the /var partition...

This begs the question... what is the best way of getting around this? I've seen some solutions of squishing the hackinit file into partition 16 for boot, but then it makes the shell barely usefull since /var/hack/bin is gone.

Would it be possible to put hackinit in partition 16, and then all of the binaries somewhere other than under /var?

Great job on the HDVR2 Hack compilation, Cobelli... thanks for your effort.

[mrblack51]

Originally posted by ehf
This begs the question... what is the best way of getting around this? I've seen some solutions of squishing the hackinit file into partition 16 for boot, but then it makes the shell barely usefull since /var/hack/bin is gone.

Would it be possible to put hackinit in partition 16, and then all of the binaries somewhere other than under /var?
i will answer the second question first - no, if you are using straight bash_env, then the only place you can put stuff is the var partition. you have more freedom if you use the monte setup.

as for the first question - the rc.sysinit does the check. if you look in there, its pretty obvious what sections should be commented out. i showed how to replace the kernel on boot in the first page of my hack how-to thread

[fginneba]

First, I'm a Newbie...

I've read the guide as well as read most stickies on the subject of hacking a HDVR2.

The guide is a great help. I have learned much in a very short amount of time.

My question is can the hacks described be done without the hacked prom? It seems like there is no requirement accoridng to this guide, but I've read so much about others hacking the prom. What does the hack do?

Also, I'm wondering if many folks have made wireless ethernet work. Asking that question is putting the cart in front of the horse, but I'm curious.

Thanks in advance!

[cobelli]

No, a hacked prom is not necessary. My guide uses a hole found in version 3.1.U5 of the tivo software called BASH_ENV. Using a hacked prom is another method of hacking the tivo. It is a difficult approach to use on an hdvr2, because the prom cannot be hacked in place. It has to be removed from the motherboard, flashed, and resoldered.

I have seen several posts about successfully implementing a wireless adapter. Some of the drivers included in my zip should fit your needs.

Good Luck
- Cobelli

[fginneba]

Thanks for that great info; it make sense.

I assume the 3.1.U5 is the load currently shipped (as far as we know)? That is the firmware flashed to the prom, I assume?

Thanks again!

[fixn278]

Originally posted by fginneba
Thanks for that great info; it make sense.

I assume the 3.1.U5 is the load currently shipped (as far as we know)? That is the firmware flashed to the prom, I assume?

Thanks again!

3.1.U5 is not the current release. I think it was pre-release or initial release code. New units will ship with newer code that do not take advantage of this exploit.

If you use the monte method, you do not need to worry about the prom at all. All of the code you will use will be on the hard-disk

[pitt30]

just a newbie question, but first let me say this guide is great. i was up and running in a couple of hours.
at the state im in now (bash enabled) if i plug my phone line in and there is an update, will this be all for nothing? will i lose my bash?

also, just an FYI, for anyone with a philips pronto remote, the serial cable works just fine for BASH. A little research showed they use the same pinouts:)

[cobelli]

HI all, several things:

I assume the 3.1.U5 is the load currently shipped (as far as we know)? That is the firmware flashed to the prom, I assume?

3.1.U5 and 3.1.0 are the versions of the software, not the firmware. As fixn said, 3.1.U5 was the prelease that shipped on first-run hdvr2's. It has since been updated to take out the flaw that my guide utilizes. That is why my guide uses the core from 3.1.U5 and the rest from 3.1.0

If you use the monte method, you do not need to worry about the prom at all. All of the code you will use will be on the hard-disk

What fixn says is true, monte is one method to hack the tivo, but you can also use the kernel replacement method in my guide. For now, both funtion the same. I found kernel replacement to be alot easier, all though I may make another guide for monte.

if i plug my phone line in and there is an update, will this be all for nothing? will i lose my bash?

Currently, the software used in the guide is up-to-date, so the daily phone call will not trigger an update. If tivo releases new software for the 2s dtivos, though, that is a whole other story. There are some steps that can be taken to to stop the update, but none are fool proof. For now, don't worry about it, we will cross that bridge when we get there ;)

ANd finally: Pitt, did you follow the guide revision 0.11 from beginning to end?

Thanks and enjoy!
- Cobelli

[mrblack51]

Originally posted by cobelli
Currently, the software used in the guide is up-to-date, so the daily phone call will not trigger an update. If tivo releases new software for the 2s dtivos, though, that is a whole other story. There are some steps that can be taken to to stop the update, but none are fool proof. For now, don't worry about it, we will cross that bridge when we get there ;)

This is not accurate. the only difference between 3.1.0 and 3.1.u5 is the kernel, everything else is the same. it is that reason only which allows us to swap kernels, because the initrd for both contains the same signatures.

As such, any 3.1.u5 version is subject to upgrade during a daily call. that is precisely why monte is attractive

[cobelli]

I stand corrected :)

- Cobelli

[pitt30]

i only got to section 4. i dont have an adapter as of yet. doing a little research on the cheapest most effective adapter (incl usb 2.0)
but so far so good Cobelli!!!!!! :D

thanks again.

any chance of explaining how to get vi on the tivo. im comfortable using it (use it at work some) but not sure about setting paths and uploading it using the serial cable (little nervous :( ) . I believe this would also help a lot of people out if we can get a real simple how to on this. the searches i got were not the easiest to follow. im a windows guy hanging in a unix neighborhood.

Anyway, thanks for your hard work and now its time to get back to some reading!!!

i forgot to ask 1 more question (sorry, bare with me) do you always need to restart the TIVO to get the bash prompt with serial?

[cobelli]

Hey pitt,
Glad to hear you've had success so far. As for vi, I probably will include instructions for it and joe, a similar but easier editor, but they will be an after section, Meaning you won't transfer over serial because you will have ftp running.

i forgot to ask 1 more question (sorry, bare with me) do you always need to restart the TIVO to get the bash prompt with serial?

As far as this question, once you load the bash shell (which you do during boot) it stays running. I think you are asking is "if you close hyperterminal does it kill the bash?" and the answer is no. You can even remove and re-attach the serial cable without problem.

Good luck
- Cobelli

[tivomaster]

Cobelli,

Thanks so much for this...

The printer friendly version on the web is different from the multi-page version at least in the revision history. I would like to print this out but is it the "latest"? One other thing. Could you possibly when you post in the version history log, post what steps you modified? It would help me keep up with what has changed from my printed version. I know I could just print it out again....

Again Thanks so much Cobelli and all of the other "masters"

m_lar
ingineer
mrblack
alldeadhomiez
jdiner

just to name a few........

[pitt30]

Cobelli,

i have an idea/suggestion, if it wont be too distracting to the user or you. because this is a "work in progress", while the revision release section is nice, how about indicating changes with different colors or revision numbers.

Im not talking about section additions(that can be left for the revision section), but if a command, statement, or step is found to be bad or forgotten and there is a correction, having it in a different color or a rev number next to the correction would make users who adopted your guide early more easily able to follow and or fix things.


pitt30

[Shr00m]

Originally posted by ehf
I've set everything up and got as far as installing TyServer, but after a reboot, network connectivity went out, and my /var/hack was gone. From what I've read, it seems to be mostly a problem with the log files being too large -- once they get to a certain size, the tivo will automagically reimage /var to a clean state, thereby deleting the hacks. This problem has occured on other systems, but I haven't found any solution in the forums that would work with the HDVR2.. (mostly because the files they say to modify don't exist).

I deleted my /var/log dir, and then created a new blank /var/log. I'm going to try going though some reboots to see if the hack holds.

I've also seen some snippets that the tivo may even reimage after a certain number of mountings of the /var partition...

This begs the question... what is the best way of getting around this? I've seen some solutions of squishing the hackinit file into partition 16 for boot, but then it makes the shell barely usefull since /var/hack/bin is gone.

Would it be possible to put hackinit in partition 16, and then all of the binaries somewhere other than under /var?

Great job on the HDVR2 Hack compilation, Cobelli... thanks for your effort.


Did this work? my /var/log/tclient & /var/log/0messages are at 13MB :eek:

Just wanted a confirmation so I could delete my files, thanks.

[tivomaster]

After I do the genrom to generate the img and dd it to the first blank partition is there a way to test it that it worked? IE. Can I mount it and look at it? Or should it display a name in the partition check or ?????

[fginneba]

One open pc-compatible computer running a Fat32 filesystem with at least 2 gigs of free space and a bootable cd-rom drive. If you don’t know what Fat32 is, use Windows 98/ME

So, NTFS is a no-no (xp)? I've got a machine that has a pair of HD's running NTFS. Having linux interface with the NTFS drives isn't going to work, is it?

I do have a much older machine but I don't know that it will take a 120GB drive as it is a P-133... I guess I can see about it...

[cobelli]

Hey all,
Great suggestions on the revision stuff. From now on I'll be more detailed about the changes. Both guides are now at revision 0.12 (uncluding the one in the zip). For all revision here after, the newest changes will be highlighted in yellow, and second newest in grey.

- Cobelli

[ehf]

Originally posted by Shr00m
Did this work? my /var/log/tclient & /var/log/0messages are at 13MB :eek:

Just wanted a confirmation so I could delete my files, thanks.

Yeah, deleting my /var/log dir seemed to work. However, at the same time I took in MrBlack's suggestion of removing the section in rc.sysinit that reimages the /var partition.

From the looks of it, the rc.sysinit reimages if two e2fsck do not come out clean... it recreates the /var filesystem and it's dirs. The /var/log clean out section comes later in rc.sysinit, but it doesn't seem to have to do anything with reimaging /var. I think that commenting out the part in rc.sysinit probably helped more than manually removing /var/log

On another note... i've been seeing a lot of people talking about a "monte" setup... how does this differ from the one combpiled in Cobelli's how-to? Can someone send a link to a post or a how-to to hack with the monte setup?

Cheers,
Evan

[cobelli]

Glad to hear you got it working, maybe I'll add that rc.sysinit info to the guide. As far as monte, it differs quite a bit. My guide has you use the 3.1.0 software with the 3.1.U5 kernel. In monte, you use a slimmed down version of 3.1.U5 to boot from, than chain load another version of the software, currently 3.1.0, that has been modified to remove the signature check. At least that is my understanding. Monte has the benefits of allowing you to run a modified kernel and will be more compatible with future software upgrades. I found the kernel replacement, however, simpler and therefore better suited for newbies. And, for now anyway, the two methods yeild similar results. Maybe eventually I will write a monte how-to.

- Cobelli

[saltydog4791]

your guide is awesome. let me know when you get that monte one done. ;)

saltydog4791

[tivomaster]

According to a thread on tivocommunity (see Upgrade Coming Soon to a Tivo near you (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=123346) ) a "Directv employee" said that Tivo and/or Directv is planning on an update in "September". If so we could need the monte sooner than we suspect.

[cobelli]

Yup, monte is coming soon... I want to make sure this guide is solid, though, before moving on. So, I really need people to test it out. Follow the guide from beggining to end and post your results. Thanks

- Cobelli

[Shr00m]

Originally posted by ehf
Yeah, deleting my /var/log dir seemed to work. However, at the same time I took in MrBlack's suggestion of removing the section in rc.sysinit that reimages the /var partition.

From the looks of it, the rc.sysinit reimages if two e2fsck do not come out clean... it recreates the /var filesystem and it's dirs. The /var/log clean out section comes later in rc.sysinit, but it doesn't seem to have to do anything with reimaging /var. I think that commenting out the part in rc.sysinit probably helped more than manually removing /var/log

On another note... i've been seeing a lot of people talking about a "monte" setup... how does this differ from the one combpiled in Cobelli's how-to? Can someone send a link to a post or a how-to to hack with the monte setup?

Cheers,
Evan


Could you post the lines that you commented out?? I am going to do this when I get home tonight.

Thanks!!

[ehf]

Originally posted by Shr00m
Could you post the lines that you commented out??

See line 285:

echo "Cleanup $varpartition pass 1"
if e2fsck -p $varpartition ; then
echo "$varpartition is clean"
else
echo "Cleanup $varpartition pass 2"
if e2fsck -p $varpartition ; then
echo "$varpartition is clean after pass 2"
else
echo "Can't clean $varpartition - full rebuild cancelled"
#mke2fs -c $varpartition
#echo "Mounting /var to rebuild it"
#mount -t ext2 -n $varpartition /var
#mkdir /var/log /var/tmp /var/run /var/packages /var/dev /var/bin /var/utils /var/persist
#umount -n /var
fi
fi

Also note that you'll have to replace the rc.sysinit each time you start up... add these lines to your hackinit:

# replace rc.sysinit with modified copy
mount -o remount,rw /
rm -rf /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit
cp /var/hack/rc.sysinit /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit

... and make sure that you put the copy of rc.sysinit in /var/hack

It would also be a good idea to backup your original rc.sysinit, too :)

cheers,
Evan

[tivomaster]

I want to make sure I have the bootpage set right...
After I set it when I issue the command
bootpage -p /dev/hdc it prints out.

root=/dev/hda7 BASH_ENV=`mount$IFS-n$IFS/dev/hda16$IFS/mnt;echo$IFS/mnt/hacks`

Does this look right?

[cobelli]

My mistake, root should be the same number as bootpage originally spit out. Or Y from section 2 step 13. Other than that it looks fine. So, unless your Y was 7, repeat the bootpage command, only this time "bootpage -P "root=/dev/hdaY..." where Y is the number spit during the first bootpage -p.
Make sense?

Sorry about the mistake and it will be corrected in the next revision :(

- Cobelli

[tivomaster]

Good catch. Mine was 4 to begin with....

[tivomaster]

Originally posted by tivomaster
Cobelli I think I found out what USB2.0 adapteres that the ax8817x.o driver supports. According to a search I did it supports
Linksys USB200M,
Netgear FA120,
Dlink DUB-E100,
Hawking UF200.

I havent tried any of these yet but I have a UF200 that I bought for $4.99 at Fry's today am going to try in the next couple of days.

The Hawking UF200 worked like a champ with the ax8817x.o driver.... Cheap at twice the price....

[didjit]

Ah Ha! The bootparm -P /dev/hda7 ... was my problem too. Up and running now w/bash.

Thanks for the guide! Awesome work.

Didjit

[pitt30]

guide worked perfect. i got my usb200 today and i was up and running in 5 mins.

once i got connection, i loaded tvweb, tty, kmem as per guide. all worked flawlessly

well except for tivoweb. whatson doesnt load. i get an error, but thats a tivoeb issue, not because of your guide.

anyway, i transfered a show over and voila i can watch it on my laptop. cant wait to burn movies now!!!!

now to get VI on the tivo!

one question, is it possible to back up over ethernet instead of pulling the drive again???


thanks again for everyones contribution to this

[mrblack51]

Originally posted by pitt30
one question, is it possible to back up over ethernet instead of pulling the drive again???

you could create a tarball of your /var/hacks dir, which could be applied to a clean backup to let you skip some steps in the guide during the restore phase. this task is not necessarily trivial, so dont expect a how-to for it.

if you mean an mfs backup, then no, you can't.

[Cheesmo]

Everything works great up until I get to replacing the kernel. Before the dd command, my drive is still bootable by tivo. However, after running bootpage (which gives me a value of 4), and then using

dd if=/mnt/c/disk2/dt2_U5kernel.img of=/dev/hdc3

my drive is no longer bootable. It keeps resetting itself at the bootup screen. Any ideas?

[cobelli]

I THINK I know what's wrong. This was a problem in the early versions of the guide, but it has since been fixed. You MUST reboot the PC between the mfsrestore and the dd. It is step 11 in section 2. When you do the dd, it should say 4+0 files in 4+0 files out. Any other numbers and there was an error in your dd. Also, there is a step missing after step 11. In addition to mounting the cdrom, you must remount the hard drive with mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/c. This error will be corrected in the next revision.

Hope this helps
- Cobelli

[flynmoose]

cobelli,

Followed your guide exactly (I think) 3 times. Twice I got stuck on the "startup screen" and once my machine got as far as "Just a few more seconds" and THEN went into the the startup loop.

I know that others have successfully followed your instructions, so it is clearly me but I have yet to figure out the PEBOAK (Problem Exists Between Operator and Keyboard).

I gave up and used an image from twinbrothers and I'm up and running fine so it's not my box (RCA DVR-39 - Hughes HDVR2 Clone).

The wife is not happy with "down time" (being a CIO and all) so I haven't been able to go through your guide one more time.

I think I am having the same problem as Cheesmo and I have incorporated the changes in your last post.

Willing to try additional step over the weekend and can provide an image if you would like.

[tivomaster]

What is the purpose of the command: date>>/var/hackinit/hackinit.log in the hackinit file? I just looked in mine and all of the entries contain almost the exact same time.

Fri Jan 2 00:00:22 UTC 1970
Fri Jan 2 00:00:19 UTC 1970
Fri Jan 2 00:00:22 UTC 1970.....

[mrblack51]

Originally posted by tivomaster
What is the purpose of the command: date>>/var/hackinit/hackinit.log in the hackinit file? I just looked in mine and all of the entries contain almost the exact same time.

Fri Jan 2 00:00:22 UTC 1970
Fri Jan 2 00:00:19 UTC 1970
Fri Jan 2 00:00:22 UTC 1970.....

there is no point other than to show that the hackinit is running properly. the time may not be properly set on boot on your unit. this could be due to a dead battery, or because it is too early in the boot process.

[jeffscott72]

I am having trouble getting tivoweb to work. I followed all the steps....and when I type ./tivoweb console from the bash prompt inside the tivoweb-tcl folder I get the following message:

bash-2.02# ./tivoweb console
./tivoweb: tivosh: command not found

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Jeff Scott

[tivomaster]

Originally posted by mrblack51
there is no point other than to show that the hackinit is running properly. the time may not be properly set on boot on your unit. this could be due to a dead battery, or because it is too early in the boot process.

Cool.. I understand.
Thanks..

PS: Thanks for all the work you have/are doing..... This would be a LOT harder without experts such as yourself.

[tivomaster]

Originally posted by jeffscott72
I am having trouble getting tivoweb to work. I followed all the steps....and when I type ./tivoweb console from the bash prompt inside the tivoweb-tcl folder I get the following message:

bash-2.02# ./tivoweb console
./tivoweb: tivosh: command not found

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Jeff Scott

While I am not an expert in this by any means. There are a couple of errors that I made when I started up that mimic what you are seeing.

1. Make sure your path is set right.
Fire up a bash shell and type:
echo $PATH
it should print out /var/hack/bin:/sbin:/bin:/tivobin:/tvbin:.
If not then check your hackinit and make sure it is getting set/exported correctly.

2. Make sure your try to run tivoweb from the /var/hack/tivoweb-tcl directory.
Fire up a bash shell and type:
cd /var/hack/tivoweb-tcl
./tivoweb console

I had both of the above problems the first time I tried tivoweb...

[jeffscott72]

There was a little typo in the path....Thanks for the hint! It runs now....

however it blows up with me when I try to record something, I get the following error:

INTERNAL SERVER ERROR
--cut here--
action_record '' 'set "quality" "100";set "kal" "2";set "startearly" "0";set "endlate" "0";set "objectid" "435403/225";set "conflictslist" "";set "Record" "Record";'
can't read "objectid": no such variable
while executing
"string index $objectid 0"
(procedure "::action_record" line 2)
invoked from within
"::action_$action $chan $part $env"
("eval" body line 1)
invoked from within
"eval {::action_$action $chan $part $env}"
--cut here--

It also blows up when I click on 'Whats On' I get the following error:

INTERNAL SERVER ERROR
--cut here--
action_whatson '/' ''
can't read "env(TV_STD)": no such element in array
while executing
"if { $env(TV_STD) != "PAL"} {
set usformat 1
} else {
set usformat 0
}"
(procedure "::action_whatson" line 12)
invoked from within
"::action_$action $chan $part $env"
("eval" body line 1)
invoked from within
"eval {::action_$action $chan $part $env}"
--cut here--


I haven't gone trough everything so there may be some more stuff I haven't rn across yet.

Thanks,

Jeff

[cobelli]

Haven't tackled what's on yet, but I do have a fix for the recording problem. Open up ui.itcl in a unix compatible editor. Run down to line 1692.

The original line reads:
puts $chan "<INPUT TYPE=\"submit\" NAME=\"foo\" VALUE=\"No\" onClick=\"history.go(-1)\">"

Change it to:
puts $chan "<INPUT TYPE=\"BUTTON\" VALUE=\"No\" onClick=\"history.go(-1)\">"

That should do it
- Cobelli

[cobelli]

Revision 0.13 is up. Fixed a major issue with the bootpage command. It may be at the root of flynmoose and cheesmos' problems. Also, as per request, added highlighting to track changes.

Enjoy!
- Cobelli

[tivomoron]

Wow what a great guide THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Why does the title of "Revision .13" still say "Revision .12" and there is no mention of revision .13 in the "revision history"?

Also I found one thing that might trip up a newbie... The reboot at step 11 will require "hda" to be remounted before step 14.

Thanks again nice work!

[rpl]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by tivomaster
What is the purpose of the command: date>>/var/hackinit/hackinit.log in the hackinit file? I just looked in mine and all of the entries contain almost the exact same time.

Fri Jan 2 00:00:22 UTC 1970
Fri Jan 2 00:00:19 UTC 1970
Fri Jan 2 00:00:22 UTC 1970.....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

there is no point other than to show that the hackinit is running properly. the time may not be properly set on boot on your unit. this could be due to a dead battery, or because it is too early in the boot process.

TM I would guess the date>>... is a TIVO or Linux thing. I noticed that by not having that in my hackinit file a file called hackinit.log? was created. That .log? just has the date the file was ran in it. Since I'm not versed in either TIVO or Linux ease this is just an observation.

I would also have to guess that the entry is made in the log as it finishes executing the file. Add a sleep 60 command at the end of your hackinit and see if you get the right date into the log.

[cobelli]

Sorry about that, revision .13 is now actually up. Also, tivomoron, that step 11 and 14 thing was one of the changes made in revision .13 :)
Enjoy!
- Cobelli

[bayarealondoner]

Just wanted to add my thanks. I took advantage of a $99 after rebate deal on a 120GB Barracuda at Best Buy, and followed The Guide yesterday.
Glad to see that Rev 0.13 corrects what tripped me up yesterday (the bootpage thing).
Do I gain anything by using mfs_ftp to pull streams off the Tivo rather than using the interface that is part of TyTool?
Anyway thanks again and I wrote it up on my weblog: http://www.groovelicious.org/david

[RadOD]

So, I really need people to test it out. Follow the guide from beggining to end and post your results.

Ok. You asked for it.

I backed up in section 1 with no problems. I followed through to section 4.B.2 - The lights on the Linksys USB200M were on and I could ping the Tivo, but I couldn't telnet to it from windows. Figuring I had mad a mistake I restored from "mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi /mnt/c/dt2_3.1.0.mfs /dev/hdc" (I think this should actually be a '-' not a '_'. Someplace in the guide this was mixed up.)

I have now restored 5 times and I can no longer even get the USB lights to go on. I've gone through the guide with painstaking checking of every line and character. While I'm new to linux, I have been able to double check some things like after copying the devbin-s2 stuff, I've made sure it actually went to /mnt/tivo/hack/bin/.

I'm not sure what to try. I can't see any typos and I'm not getting any errors. I've read this whole thread and the guide in detail.

For me:
XX = 16
Y = 7
Z = 6

Any typo?
dd if=/mnt/c/disk2/dt2_U5kernel.img of=/dev/hdc6

dd if=/romfs.img of=/dev/hdc16 bs=1024 count=1

I'm using the "`" under the "~".
bootpage -P "root=/dev/hda7 BASH_ENV=\`mount\$IFS-n\$IFS/dev/hda16\$IFS/mnt;echo\$IFS/mnt/hacks\`" -C /dev/hdc
I get:
root=/dev/hda7 BASH_ENV=`mount$IFS-n$IFS/dev/hda16$IFS/mnt;echo$IFS/mnt/hacks`
like tivomaster does with bootpage -p /dev/hdc

[RadOD]

Something else I just noticed:

Section 4.B.1 ends with me putting my Tivo HD back into the tivo and then 4.B.2 starts up the tivo. But reading down to 4.B.6, shouldn't "tnlited 23 /bin/bash -login &" and "tivoftpd" be included at the end of 4.B.1 before you reboot and try to telnet the tivo?

Ah, if only I could get those USB lights back on.

[jeffscott72]

The change you mention below was already there. I'm am still getting the same error trying to record stuff.

Thanks,

Jeff
---------------------------------------------------------
Haven't tackled what's on yet, but I do have a fix for the recording problem. Open up ui.itcl in a unix compatible editor. Run down to line 1692.

The original line reads:
puts $chan "<INPUT TYPE=\"submit\" NAME=\"foo\" VALUE=\"No\" onClick=\"history.go(-1)\">"

Change it to:
puts $chan "<INPUT TYPE=\"BUTTON\" VALUE=\"No\" onClick=\"history.go(-1)\">"
---------------------------------------------------------

[RadOD]

Don't know why it would work, but reformatting the drive and starting over from there seemed to work. Damn typos.

[crabra]

This is the best looking guide I've seen so far in relation to hacking my HDVR2! I've had my Tivo for several months now and so far I've been able to resist the urge to crack open the case, but this guide might just push me over the edge. Hopefully all the typos will be ironed out before I get my 120GB Barracuda because I've only got enough info about Linux to be slightly dangerous. Great job on documenting the upgrades Cobelli!!!

[easyrotor]

I sure have enjoyed this "How To". You have worked really hard on this and it shows. Many Thanks.

This is your Revision 0.13 and I'm working with a 2 week old Hughes HDVR2 that has a 160 gig drive and it works fine with or without the hack.

I can't get a BASH prompt and I suspect it's me but even after reading every post in this thread, can't discover how I scewed up. Hardware is something I do well and I know the serial cable is perfect. I use it with other devices and it works fine. It pased the tip/ring short test as well. There were a few places that I saw something either not mentioned or might be a typo. Again it is likely just me but here goes:

In section one, step 10 we mfsbackup to a file called dt2-3.1.0.mfs but in section 2, setp 20 we mfsrestore a file dt2_3.1.0.mfs. I just assumed typo and corrected for the dash/underline. The restore seemed to go fine...

In section3, step 34 when logging in the cdrom withthe command: cd /cdrom , I was already there. That is, I was on the cdrom already, why relog? My goof?

After completing section 3, step 34 the response on the screen was:

Writing new root page to /dev/hdc.......(about 3 rows of periods)..
....done

My worry was that in your really complete notes there was no mention of this. My goof?

Well, hope you can spot my error in these notes. I try it a third time but I really have triple checked every command before entering them. If you would like a rank ameteur to try any new "How Tos" you write, I'm your guy.

Howard

[cobelli]

Hi all,
First I would just like to thank easyrotor and RadOD for trying the guide. Sorry you guys had porblems and your feedback really helps. You both picked out some glaring mistakes that will be corrected shortly in rev .14.

now for easyrotor:
1. The - _ was my mistake, it will be fixed
2. The second cd /cdrom is to assure you are in the right place. You should already be there, but with all the commands between the first and second cd, it is possible for somebody to have moved by mistake.
3. That should happen, i will add a not about it

And RadOD, you are correct that tnlited should be in 4.b, I can't believe that slipped through so long.

Easyrotor, I don't know why you are having problems. I know you say that your cable is definately correct, but I still mistrust it. The only way to be sure is to brew your own. If you have some soldering skills, that's what I would do. Also, try the serialless method (but be sure to make RadOds correction). Other than that, I don't know... Sorry

And a final note, Jeff, If you could send me all the .itcl files from your tivoweb directory, I would appreciate it. I can run a compare and see where ours differ.

Thanks
Cobelli

[jeffscott72]

And a final note, Jeff, If you could send me all the .itcl files from your tivoweb directory, I would appreciate it. I can run a compare and see where ours differ.

Here are the files zipped up. BTW Thanks so much for the guide! You did a great job putting all the info together.

Jeff

[tivomoron]

Michael, Again nice guide. I have everything working.....almost.... mfs_ftp is workinfg fine to take files off my tivo. The problem is putting them back on. If they are small it works fine, but the 1 gig or so files wont seem to go. I get in a type of loop that just keeps putting the very beginning of the show back, over and over. Have you, on your S2 tried to restore a large file to your tivo? Does it work for you? Does anyone have this working on a S2 tivo? Is there an alternative to mfs_ftp for putting large tmf files back? This was my main goal.

Anyone please help!!

[easyrotor]

Thanks for clarification on points in the guide. I still cannot get a BASH prompt and the serial cable I am using is tested with other devices and I metered it just to be sure that the RS null modem adapter was OK as well. I have noted one thing that may be a clue?

I am stopping at the end of the 3rd section and going for the BASH prompt.

Each time I redo the hack I notice that on 1st and only the first power up the HDVR2 is posting, "Wait a minute, powering up" screen twice. On the second pass it pauses the same amount of time and goes into the "just a few more seconds" screen. This occurs only on the first power up does not occur again after a power cycle or a restart. It will not happen again unless I redo the hack from the mfsrestore. I think something is getting changed on that 1st power up. Could the 160gb drive be the issue? I havre noted that most are using smaller drives.

[cobelli]

Hmm, interesting. I too noticed that double boot every once in a while, but never thought much of it. Maybe Mr. Black knows the technical side of what's happening. At any rate, just on a whi I have an idea. At step 11 where is says reboot the pc, actually shut down, pull the drive, and boot it in the tivo. Everything should go fine, at which point put the drive back in the pc and continue. As far as the hard drive, I used a 160. While mr black is convinced it will cause problems down the road, it shouldn't effect anything this early.

- Cobelli

[mrblack51]

Originally posted by easyrotor
Each time I redo the hack I notice that on 1st and only the first power up the HDVR2 is posting, "Wait a minute, powering up" screen twice. On the second pass it pauses the same amount of time and goes into the "just a few more seconds" screen. This occurs only on the first power up does not occur again after a power cycle or a restart. It will not happen again unless I redo the hack from the mfsrestore. I think something is getting changed on that 1st power up. Could the 160gb drive be the issue? I havre noted that most are using smaller drives.

the drive itself wouldnt be the issue. what is happening is that on the first boot, the initrd is finding modified files on the root partition, removing them, and then rebooting. since the rc.sysinit is the one that displays the "almost there" screen, it won't show it on the first boot because it doesnt get run. once all the files with sigs that don't match are replaced, the unit will reboot. on the second boot, your unit is booting like normal.

well, thats the "what is going on", its harder to say what you are doing to do this. my guess is that you aren't properly replacing the kernel, and the first boot is cleaning the bash_env variable out of your bootparams. make sure you are replacing the right kernel partition, as is described in the guide.

[easyrotor]

Thanks mrblack51, your answer makes sense to me. I have armed myself with a basic Linux book and will confirm each step as I go. When I find what I have done wrong, will post here.

[crabra]

I'm watching this thread with baited breath. I alreadly received my Linksys USB NIC and my 120 GB barrucuda drive with Fluid Dynamic Bearings should arrive tomorrow or Monday and I'll be "testing" the guide myself. Having only been toying with Linux for a couple of months, I'm about as much of a noob as there is. I figure if I'm able to go through the guide, pretty much anybody can.

I found a decent book for Linux noobs that have a Windoze backgroud. It's called "Linux for Windows Administrators". The name makes me think "Linux for Dummies". And it's kinda geared that way. It doesn't try to make you into a Linux expert by any means, but teaches you just enough tobe able to get the job done. It's a very practical book and not too long.

[Mr novice]

Does anyoone know what driver this uses for HDVR2/DSR7000?
I now know it is pegasus! Here is what I enter at a bash prompt.

insmod /lib/modules/usbcore.o
insmod /lib/modules/usb-ohci.o
insmod /lib/modules/pegasus.o
ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.86 broadcast 192.168.1.255 netmask 255.255.255.0
route add default gw 192.168.1.1 netmask 0.0.0.0 metric 1

I get no errors and nothing works. Any suggestions? I'm going to try the NIC on my windows and see if it works.

[bobanon]

First, I just want to say this was a fantastic how-to Cobelli. I pretty much got from start to finish with almost no trouble at all (forgot to chmod 777 my hackinit once... Doh!!).

The only problem I'm having at the moment is extracting video via tytools. I connect to my tivo, pick a show to extract, wait for it to download, and then I get the following message on the pc side:


Name = 'f:\tivo_mpegs\X Play-'
fsIDs = '292303'
Tivo Address = '12.12.12.99'
Connected...
Sorry... Failed to get the first 10 initial chunks...
Have to have at least that many to start the analysis phase...


DiffTime = 0.000000 (0) == 0.000000 Minutes

total = 1310720


I did a search on this, and everything thread that came up had to do with someone not using noscramble. I thought kmem was supposed to take care of disabling scrambling.

Here is my hackinit:


date >>/var/hack/hackinit.log
PATH=/var/hack/bin:/sbin:/bin:/tivobin:/tvbin:.

#Environmental variables
TIVO_ROOT=
MFS_DEVICE=/dev/hda10
IGNOREEOF=1000
export PATH TIVO_ROOT MFS_DEVICE IGNOREEOF

/bin/bash</dev/ttyS2&>/dev/ttyS2&

#Load ethernet drivers
insmod /lib/modules/usbcore.o
insmod /lib/modules/usb-ohci.o
sleep 10
insmod /lib/modules/pegasus.o

ifconfig eth0 12.12.12.99 broadcast 12.12.12.255 netmask 255.255.255.0
route add default gw 12.12.12.1 netmask 0.0.0.0 metric 1

#Telnet and FTP
tnlited 23 /bin/bash -login &
tivoftpd

/var/hack/tivoweb-tcl/tivoweb

kmem 800b23b4 00001021


I've tried several different extractions, and many reboots. I've even re-typed my hackinit 3 times. Any thoughts?

[mrblack51]

bobanon: congrats on getting stuff going. please dont post your entire sysinit...it just confuses the issue. the only pertinent line is that kmem is being called.

now, on to your question. i would suggest removing the kmem line, and following some of the info in the original kmem thread. you should be able to see the original settings of the bytes in memory, apply the patch manually, then check the bytes to see if they were changed. thats really the only way to troubleshoot the issue. one common problem could be that kmem is not being run because the path is not setup properly, or you didnt make kmem executable. the latter would be obvious by following the steps i just described.

[binkatl]

Hi all,

I'm having the same problem as Easyrotor. I go through the process through part 3. Connecting through the serial cable, I can't get a Bash prompt no matter what I do. My serial cable is fine, tested with a meter and the connections are solid.

I'm getting the double boot as well at the first bootup after replacing the kernel. This makes me think Mr. Black has it right, in that modified files are being replaced and the unit is rebooting. The question is, why is this happening? I've followed Cobelli's guide to the letter, 3 times tonight... with the same result each time.

Cobelli, the last time through, I tried your suggestion on step 11, putting the drive in the Tivo and booting up, instead of merely booting the PC.

Here's the interesting thing. I didn't get the double boot that time (the kernel hadn't been replaced yet). The next step was to replace the kernel, then put the drive in the Tivo *again.* I did so, and this time I got the double boot screen. Hrm.

So again, to recap: it looks like Mr. Black is right, but why is this happening and how do I fix it?

Also, Easyrotor, it looks like you might be a day ahead of me on this, so if you have found anything out I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks guys, hopefully I can get this sorted out soon.

- Bink

[tivomaster]

Are you absolutely positive you are doing the bootpage right. That is exaclty the symptom I was getting when I had that messed up. But then that is only ONE thing that could cause the reboot symptom ;-). What was happening was it would boot then swap to the other partition and reboot. I would look at the drive and low and behold the boot partition had changed to the unhacked "alternate". I suggest you start from a new restore and check, doublecheck, triplecheck your steps. Before you go on to each step study and understand what each step is doing. (Don't just do it, understand it).

After you enter the bootpage command do a bootpage -p /dev/hdc.
It should print out.
root=/dev/hdaY BASH_ENV=`mount$IFS-n$IFS/dev/hda16$IFS/mnt;echo$IFS/mnt/hacks`
where Y is the boot partition you discovered in the previous steps. Make sure it is prints the above out "EXACTLY" with no missing backquotes, etc....

[bobanon]

please dont post your entire sysinit...it just confuses the issue. the only pertinent line is that kmem is being called.

Sorry about that. I honestly though it would help shed light some light on the issue, not confuse it.



now, on to your question. i would suggest removing the kmem line, and following some of the info in the original kmem thread. you should be able to see the original settings of the bytes in memory, apply the patch manually, then check the bytes to see if they were changed. thats really the only way to troubleshoot the issue. one common problem could be that kmem is not being run because the path is not setup properly, or you didnt make kmem executable. the latter would be obvious by following the steps i just described.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm sure my path is correct and kmem is executable, so I'll refer to the kmem thread for troubleshooting.

[binkatl]

Tivomaster,

Thanks for your post. I was hoping I could use that to troubleshoot, but I'm still stumped.

I went through the procedure again, and immediately after doing the bootpage, I typed bootpage -p /dev/hdc like you suggested. I got the exact same output that you listed in your post. The Y value was correct (7 on my machine) and every backspace and quote was in place exactly where it should be.

I placed the drive in my HDVR2, booted up, and got the double boot screen problem. No Bash prompt on Hyperterm.

So I took the drive out and put it back in my computer to take another look. Doing the bootpage -p /dev/hdc command still gives me the same output. I'm going to enter it here just to make 100% sure I'm not missing a character somewhere:

root=/dev/hda7 BASH_ENV=`mount$IFS-n$IFS/dev/hda16$IFS/mnt;echo$IFS/mnt/hacks`

sigh... this is getting frustrating. I just looked that over *again* and it still looks 100% correct. Is there anywhere else I could be making a mistake to cause this to happen?

One question I had was step 7 in section 3 ... the cat command. One of the lines of code ends with a period "." Is this correct or is it a typo? It just seemed out of place because there were no other periods. I included it because the instructions said to type it exactly, but I was wondering if maybe this could be it.

Thanks for any help...

- Bink

[tivomaster]

Bink:
Looks like your bootpage stuff is right. Do you get any postings to hackinit.log?

[binkatl]

Originally posted by tivomaster
Bink:
Looks like your bootpage stuff is right. Do you get any postings to hackinit.log?

Yep, I sure do... but they all say Fri Jan 2 00:00:27 UTC 1970 (there are 3 entries like this)

I've been told that's normal, since it's written before the clock is set, right?

Anyway, I was wondering, I read somewhere on the forums that someone was having similar (but not identical) problems, and he reformatted his hard drive and started from scratch, and that fixed his problem. Can you tell me what that would entail and how I would do it? Do you think it's a good idea? I have the backup image created at the beginning of the guide, so I could just restore from there, right? Or does something else need to be done with setting up partitions on the drive....

Thanks again for your help.

- Bink

[tivomaster]

All you have to do is start with a clean mfsrestore. The mfsrestore process should re-format your drive....

[jeffscott72]

Michael,

Did you get a chance to look at my Tivoweb files yet?

Shr00m from the remote control thread is having the same problem as I am.

Thanks,

Jeff

[cobelli]

Sorry folks,
I live in NY, so unless you live under a rock, you know that I spent most of yesterday in the dark. It was like armageddon. Traffic lights out all over. Ice cream stores giving away free stuff. Craziness...

Anyway, Jeff, I did look at those files, and they are identical to mine. However, I think I may have been unclear. I would also like to see httpd-tt.tcl, util.itcl, and the entire modules folder. Thanks.

-Cobelli

[binkatl]

Ok, I've finally got a bash prompt (woohoo!) and I want to back up my new drive with hacks and all, just for safe keeping. Will the original command in Cobelli's guide do the trick? Note that I now have a 120GB drive instead of the stock 40GB. Here's the command:

mfsbackup -f 4138 -6so /mnt/c/filename.mfs /dev/hdc

I want to be sure this will work for the new drive size. Thanks!

- Bink

[tivomaster]

Originally posted by binkatl
Ok, I've finally got a bash prompt (woohoo!) and I want to back up my new drive with hacks and all, just for safe keeping. Will the original command in Cobelli's guide do the trick? Note that I now have a 120GB drive instead of the stock 40GB. Here's the command:

mfsbackup -f 4138 -6so /mnt/c/filename.mfs /dev/hdc

I want to be sure this will work for the new drive size. Thanks!

- Bink

Yep that will work... Note: It will not backup any of your video....

PS: You might want to start posting questions like this in the newbe forum. The moderators hereabouts get pretty testy with us mucking up the threads with "how do I" type of questions. Don't worry about it getting ignored in the newbe threads the experts also tread there and are more than helpfull...

[pitt30]

Cobelli,

any luck getting VI to work on this yet. im getting frustrated trying to make this work.

[jeffscott72]

Originally posted by cobelli
Anyway, Jeff, I did look at those files, and they are identical to mine. However, I think I may have been unclear. I would also like to see httpd-tt.tcl, util.itcl, and the entire modules folder. Thanks.

-Cobelli

I pulled the whole folder down of the the Tivo.

Thanks,

Jeff

[crabra]

Cobelli,

I'm going through your guide (awesome guide BTW) and I tripped myself up on something that might not trip up others, but it sure did me. By default, Hyperterminal in Windows XP uses hardware flow control when you set up a new connection. With that set I was able to see the info show up when I had the cable plugged in and booted the Tivo, but I couldn't type anything. I was suspecting my home made cable, but then I tried setting flow control to "none" and it started working perfectly. Just an FYI.

Now back to step 38! w00t!

Craig

[Sleeper]

Cobelli,

Nice Job!

I just used the .13 guide and am having the exact same tivoweb errors as jeffscott72. I already had the modified line (1692) in ui.itcl.

Also, I believe Step 32 path statement is incorrect. It reads:
PATH=/var/hack/bin:/sbin:/bin:/tivobin:/tvbin.

Shouldn't it be:
PATH=/var/hack/bin:/sbin:/bin:/tivobin:/tvbin:.

When I performed Step 34, I accidentially used Z (boot part) instead of Y (root). This caused the notorious tivo reboot loop. It might help others if you changed the highlighted yellow line to read:

The blue Y (NOT Z) should be the same as the blue Y found in the 12th step of section 2.

[cobelli]

Good suggestions sleeper, expect to see them in revision .14. Also, I think I have found a fix for the tivoweb problem. Attached is my ui.itcl file. Interestingly enough, it is identical to the one jeff uploaded except in formatting. Even more interesting is that mine is formatted for windows! not unix. Anyway, give it a try. Replace the file in your modules directory.

Enjoy!
- Cobelli

[jeffscott72]

Originally posted by cobelli
Good suggestions sleeper, expect to see them in revision .14. Also, I think I have found a fix for the tivoweb problem. Attached is my ui.itcl file. Interestingly enough, it is identical to the one jeff uploaded except in formatting. Even more interesting is that mine is formatted for windows! not unix. Anyway, give it a try. Replace the file in your modules directory.

Enjoy!
- Cobelli

That did the trick, however I forgoet to restart the TIVO before I tried it and I got the same error. After I restarted the record function works fine....Thanks so much!!!

Jeff

[rpl]

I would recommend removing the Siemens SpeedStream USB 10/100 Ethernet adapter from the list of working/supported drivers. After doing a search on this forum and AVS I have not found anybody who has this model working with thier TIVO.

I picked one up today for 10 bucks and tried alldeadhomiez version of usbcore.o, usb-ohci.o, & pegasus.o drivers. The link light comes on but I cannot make a connection:confused: Lights on but nobody is home.

When I use alldeadhomiez modules for my Linksys USB100TX the link light doesn't come on but I can connect and the activity light will blink. Going back to the stock drivers on /lib/modules the Link light comes on and I get a good connection.:)

Anyways I don't think anybody has reported the Siemens wired SpeedStream USB adapter works.

[cobelli]

Congrats Jeff! And thanks for the info RPL, it will be noted in the next version.

- Cobelli

[buktotruth]

Does anyone know if any of the driver packs (ie. pegasus) support the Linksys WUSB11 wireless USB adabter Linksys Site (http://linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=36&prid=435) ?

I have it working to make the daily call, but i don't know if it will work for telnet/ftp.

Thank you.

[fixn278]

Originally posted by buktotruth
Does anyone know if any of the driver packs (ie. pegasus) support the Linksys WUSB11 wireless USB adabter Linksys Site (http://linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=36&prid=435) ?

I have it working to make the daily call, but i don't know if it will work for telnet/ftp.

Thank you.

Not sure, but I think you are saying you have a WUSB11 already making a daily call. If that's true, then you can use the adapter for any network-enabled program.

If you are asking if the driver will work at all with the WUSB11, I am not sure. Maybe someone else will know.

[Zyll]

Cobelli,
A big THANK YOU for producing your how-to! I just finished, and apart from a few detours (some of my own making, some puzzles....) it is up and running. I am much more comfortable making the changes on my own than just using a pre-made image, and appreciate learning enough to be able to do more on my own later. I went straight to ethernet without serial bash.
I want to echo Sleeper's suggestions - I made the same mistake (X vs Y) and ended up in a reboot loop that took a while to figure out.
A couple of suggestions: after having to try entering all of the hackinit text several times, I finally used the joe editor and that was much easier. You could even include a starting hackinit in your set of files.
One strange thing happened to me. After getting bash and ftp running, my hack directory disappeared. I searched the forums and found that this has happened to other people running xtreme. If it happens again I'm going to try the "chattr +i" fix, but so far so good.
A couple of questions:
I have since tried installing SuperZap's XplusZ, but the setup script complains that I am running an "unsupported software version" - I'd appreciate any ideas you have. Also, I have my phone line disconnected for the time being - is it safe to connect it (that was part of why I wanted to install XplusZ)
Thanks again for an excellent guide!

[crabra]

After a fun filled weekend of bashing away at the prompt, I've got everything up and running! (Thanks to the excellent guide). I'm seeing some rumors about a new software version coming out. Maybe as soon as the end of the month. I figure this is a newbie type question but I'm gonna ask it here anyway because somewhere in this thread that topic was addresed and it was decided that we would "cross that bridge when we get to it".

I'm just wondering what the general thought on this is. If I could get my box to somehow ignore the upgrade, I would rather do that at this point than let the upgrade happen and loose all the cool features. I figure there's not much way around it, and I've got my old hard drive tucked away in case the new upgrade renders my current setup useless. I guess we just wait and see what happens?

Maybe Tivo will "accidentally" release a hackable image just long enough to get it out like they did on the last version and then turn around a "fix" it later. I believe the Tivo guys really want you to be able to hack the thing myself because it generates tons of extra interest in the box. They just have to close up the holes to make the lawyers happy. Maybe not, but it sure seems that way to me.

Craig

[tivomaster]

Originally posted by crabra
I figure this is a newbie type question but I'm gonna ask it here anyway because somewhere in this thread that topic was addresed and it was decided that we would "cross that bridge when we get to it".
Craig

Take a look at the threads that deal with replacing the rc.sysinit in the hackinit. They say that it will keep the upgrade from happening (I hope).

PS: You might want to post to the newby thread. The "experts" are realy good at answering questions there and get a little testy if we "n00b's" mcuk up their threads....

[RiverRat]

Cobelli,

Terrific guide!!! I was able to go from start to finish with no major problems. I did have some trouble with tivoweb, but I see that's already been covered. I've since installed elvis, vi, and have started playing around with some scripts. Ahhh.... the possibilities....

Anyway, I noticed your guide makes no mention of avoiding software updates. You may not want to include an exact how-to, and I know there are several threads out there on this topic. However, it may be beneficial to the reader if the guide at least mentioned the need to avoid software updates. Perhaps if nothing else, you could include this in the "What is not included?" section of your guide.

[pitt30]

RiverRat,
how did you install vi. can you post the files and directions

thanks

[RiverRat]

Originally posted by pitt30
RiverRat,
how did you install vi. can you post the files and directions

thanks

The vi I use is really just a link to the elvis program. Elvis and vi are pretty much the same. The version of elvis I use installed a file called vi in /var/hack/bin. However, this file is simply a link to elvis. Therefore, you can simply type "vi [filename]" like you normally would. You can download a copy of elvis compiled for mips at http://tivoutils.sourceforge.net/.

FTP it to /var/hack (use binary xfer). At bash, type:

cd /
gzip -d /var/hack/elvis-2.1_4-s2.tgz
tar -xvf /var/hack/elvis-2.1_4-s2.tar

This will place a file called libtermcap.so.2.0.8 in /var/hack/lib, and the vi and elvis files in /var/hack/bin

Enjoy!

[roach]

Why is IGNOREEOF being set to 1000? Is there any particular technical reason or just so that I can't ^D out of bash?

[crabra]

Anyway, I noticed your guide makes no mention of avoiding software updates. You may not want to include an exact how-to, and I know there are several threads out there on this topic. However, it may be beneficial to the reader if the guide at least mentioned the need to avoid software updates.

Great suggestion!

I've been trying to find a definitive answer on that today without much luck. I find lots of posts on the subject, but it's hard to tell what's really valid for my box and what's just partial info. So much to learn yet so much info in bits and peices. A step by step would be awesome for this. <Insert begging and pleading here>

-Craig

[mrblack51]

Originally posted by roach
Why is IGNOREEOF being set to 1000? Is there any particular technical reason or just so that I can't ^D out of bash?

that setting came from ingineer's bash_env thread over at avs (check the link in the sticky threads). im not sure exactly what it does, so if you want to test out a different setting and report the results, go for it.

[crabra]

After looking back over this thread:

http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22577&perpage=40&highlight=rc.sysinit&pagenumber=1

I finally found the info about stopping the update from happening. The very first post has the correct info in it even though it sounds like it's just being presented for public review as an alpha version. On down in the thread is the actual fixsub.tcl that you need. Maybe this will keep somebody else from getting confused on the whole matter. Sorry for being a pain but if you read the thread from top to bottom, you really have to rebuild the original story based of posts that where re-edited at a later date.

-Craig

[cobelli]

As an alternative to fixsub, I allow my box to make a daily call, but take the following precautions:

I commented out the lines in rc.sysinit pertaining to software updates. I store that file in var/hack, then from my hackinit I call the following:

#Remount / writable
mount -o remount,rw /

# replace rc.sysinit with modified copy
rm -rf /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit
cp /var/hack/rc.sysinit /etc/rc.d/

#Remove the software update script and backup to var
cp /tvlib/tcl/updateSoftware.tcl /var/hack/bak/
rm -rf /tvlib/tcl/updateSoftware.tcl

#Remount / write only
mount -o remount,ro /

This mounts the / drive writable, replaces rc.sysinit with the one from /var/hack, removes the script used to perform the software update, then remounts read only.

This seemingly works as well as fixsub, while still allowing the box to make its daily calls. Don't know what the benefit is there, but... Anyway, I would like to hear opinions on both, and the most solid method will be included in the next revision.



In response to the new version rumors: A directv insider posted over at AVS that there is a definite upgrade coming down the pipe sometime in the next month. For those of you wanting to dodge the upgrade, I will include instructions in rev. .14 (see above). However, the informant said that the upgrade will include a fix for the audio dropous, and to me this is a must have. Therefore I make the following announcement. rev .14 will be the last upgrade to the current guide. I will continue to bug fix, but don't expect to see any further enhancements, such as vi or lba48. These procedures will instead be included in THE COMPLETE GUIDE V2. Following the monte procedure, this guide will be better suited for future upgrades (like the new software planned in september). In addition, while it will be written as simply, it will follow more complex procedures, so I suggest anyone just entering the hacking ring to follow V1 first.

My schedule is getting tighter, so we will see, but here is what I am shooting for: V2 will include monte, vi, lba48, and optional 2 drives in addition to the bash, ethernet, tivoweb, etc... and will be ready by (tentative) early september! Let's cross our fingers ;)

- Cobelli

[RiverRat]

I personally use the rc.sysinit replacement method, as well as fixsub and an unplugged phone line. That may be overkill, but I didn't want to take any chances. I've put too much time into this just to have it all flushed down the toilet.

[crabra]

I really like the idea of the unplugged phone line. :cool: Since I work in the compter field (Network Engineer) I've seen my fair share of equipment damaged from high voltages coming in over the phone line. Depending on your wiring situation, you can be more likley to take a hit on the phone line than the electrical outlet. I have my electrical and phone line running through surge protector, but that doesn't always stop mother nature. An unplugged line is a great idea. I'll have to see if I can get that to work! I'm now armed with both methods and now I just need a little time to set it all up.

-Craig

[MBQuart]

Great guide Cobelli!! Thanks for all your effort.

I followed it step by step last night and was able to get everything working in no time!

A couple of minor things:

Step 33 of section three there is a typo.

PATH=/var/hack/bin:/sbin:/bin:/tivobin:/tvbin.<-----

--- missing colon ---

PATH=/var/hack/bin:/sbin:/bin:/tivobin:/tvbin:.

Step 34 of section three refers to the Y found in the 12th step of section 2. I think this should say the 24th step of section 2.

Also for those interested, I was able to get my Belkin F5D6050 wireless USB ethernet adapter (http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=201520&pcount=&Product_Id=139676), that I picked up for $22.49, working using the following lines in my hackinit file:

# USB & Ethernet drivers
insmod /var/hack/lib/usbcore.o
insmod /var/hack/lib/usb-ohci.o
insmod /var/hack/lib/usbdfu.o
insmod /var/hack/lib/at76c503.o
insmod /var/hack/lib/at76c503-rfmd.o

sleep 15

ifconfig wlan0 192.168.1.111 broadcast 192.168.1.255 netmask 255.255.255.0
route add default gw 192.168.1.1 netmask 0.0.0.0 metric 1

Thanks to egghead and alldeadhomiez for wireless adapter info.

I look forward to testing out your next guide Cobelli! :D

-Brian

[roach]

Originally posted by mrblack51
that setting came from ingineer's bash_env thread over at avs (check the link in the sticky threads). im not sure exactly what it does, so if you want to test out a different setting and report the results, go for it.

Basically IGNOREEOF is a shell variable that controls the interactive features of the shell. Specifically it tells the shell how many EOFs (Control-D0 to ignore.) So a setting of 1000 means that the shell will wait for the 1001st EOF before it quits. I changed mine (default is 0) with no harmful effects so far.

[mrblack51]

Originally posted by roach
Basically IGNOREEOF is a shell variable that controls the interactive features of the shell. Specifically it tells the shell how many EOFs (Control-D0 to ignore.) So a setting of 1000 means that the shell will wait for the 1001st EOF before it quits. I changed mine (default is 0) with no harmful effects so far.

ah, that makes sense. i think the reason was to prevent the bash shell from closing. one option for doing bash differently would be to start a script in the background which will sit in a loop, restarting bash anytime it gets closed

[tivomaster]

Originally posted by cobelli

#Remove the software update script and backup to var
cp /tvlib/tcl/updateSoftware.tcl /var/hack/bak/
rm -rf /tvlib/tcl/updateSoftware.tcl
- Cobelli

Thanks Cobelli but wont the removal of the updateSoftware.tcl cause the HDVR2 to go into a reboot loop because it detects a modified system file?

[mrblack51]

Originally posted by tivomaster
Thanks Cobelli but wont the removal of the updateSoftware.tcl cause the HDVR2 to go into a reboot loop because it detects a modified system file?

nope. the tivo doesnt care about missing files (in regards to the initrd checks that is). as such, stuff can be missing, and thats ok.

[tivomaster]

Originally posted by mrblack51
nope. the tivo doesnt care about missing files (in regards to the initrd checks that is). as such, stuff can be missing, and thats ok.

Cool then the removal of updateSoftware.tcl adds a double protection...
Kinda like wearing two..............

.....Raincoats.

Thanks cobelli and mrblack.....

[roach]

Originally posted by mrblack51
ah, that makes sense. i think the reason was to prevent the bash shell from closing. one option for doing bash differently would be to start a script in the background which will sit in a loop, restarting bash anytime it gets closed

yup, good tip, without the IGNOREEOF set the bash prompt on the serial connection can be killed and you'd have to telnet in to restart it. note that the telnet daemon will spawn a new bash each time you log in so that shouldn't be affected, but the serial bash prompt definitely is.

[tivomaster]

Originally posted by cobelli
As an alternative to fixsub, I allow my box to make a daily call, but take the following precautions:

I commented out the lines in rc.sysinit pertaining to software updates. I store that file in var/hack, then from my hackinit I call the following:

#Remount / writable
mount -o remount,rw /

# replace rc.sysinit with modified copy
rm -rf /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit
cp /var/hack/rc.sysinit /etc/rc.d/

#Remove the software update script and backup to var
cp /tvlib/tcl/updateSoftware.tcl /var/hack/bak/
rm -rf /tvlib/tcl/updateSoftware.tcl

#Remount / write only
mount -o remount,ro /

This mounts the / drive writable, replaces rc.sysinit with the one from /var/hack, removes the script used to perform the software update, then remounts read only.


- Cobelli


Cobelli, I included the above patch in my hackinit and after a reboot did a check.

bash-2.02# mount
/dev/hda4 on / type ext2 (rw)
/dev/hda9 on /var type ext2 (rw)
/proc on /proc type proc (rw)