Total noob needs help

[Bullets]

Hey guys, i'm a total noob when it comes down to TiVo, i've been building computers and stuff for years, but TiVo, i have got no clue about...and thats why i'm here...i'm going to buy a TiVo later this week, Series 2, brand new...now, what i want to do is get a usb NIC and hook my TiVo up to my network and be able to transfer the recordings between my computer and TiVo...so basically, i need to know how to get the MFS_FTP software over to my TiVo...i have been searching for guides and to no avail, i've found plenty on enabling the FTP once it is on the TiVo, but i've found nothing about getting the FTP Server onto the TiVo to begin with, so any help will be greatly appreciated!

[PlainBill]

Hey guys, i'm a total noob when it comes down to TiVo, i've been building computers and stuff for years, but TiVo, i have got no clue about...and thats why i'm here...i'm going to buy a TiVo later this week, Series 2, brand new...now, what i want to do is get a usb NIC and hook my TiVo up to my network and be able to transfer the recordings between my computer and TiVo...so basically, i need to know how to get the MFS_FTP software over to my TiVo...i have been searching for guides and to no avail, i've found plenty on enabling the FTP once it is on the TiVo, but i've found nothing about getting the FTP Server onto the TiVo to begin with, so any help will be greatly appreciated!

Congratulations!! You came to the right place to ask! The easiest way to do it is to use Sleeper's iso to hack your system. It automates most of the operation. Here's the support thread http://dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28921. READ AT LEAST the first two pages before you start. If you have questions, search, then ask.

Many claim the BEST way to do this is to do the operation manually. That way you understand exactly what is happening. Here's a thread for that. http://dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22154

PlainBill

[NutKase]

Good first question.

The above links are good ones. I'm one who thinks you'll learn more and be a do'er and not a beggar if you take the time to learn what's going on and manually monte your tivo.

For instance, TiVo just sent a new software update for SA S2 machines on 2/13/04 the last one was 9/03, if you can't manually do anything and have to wait on the script/iso writers to fix it all up you'll be screwed and not self sufficient.

There are a couple more good threads named "StandAlone Series 2 People out of Luck" and "MFS_FTP on Series 2" that you should read. You can learn everything you need to know in those. If you want to do it on your own you'll be closer to being able to help others and not just BE helped.

NutKase

PS. The order of hacks in my signature tells the trail to follow to extraction and beyond... THIS, of course is only my opinion.

I put -nkinfo in the subjects of many of my posts responding as clearly and throughly as I can to 'basic' tivo/unix hacking questions. I did this to help newbie's in searching and lower my workload while trying to help... but I'm not sure it has worked. :)

[PlainBill]

Good first question.

I'm one who thinks you'll learn more and be a do'er and not a beggar if you take the time to learn what's going on and manually monte your tivo.

I put -nkinfo in the subjects of many of my posts responding as clearly and throughly as I can to 'basic' tivo/unix hacking questions. I did this to help newbie's in searching and lower my workload while trying to help... but I'm not sure it has worked. :)

I've found there are two ways to learn. I prefer to get to a stable working system as quickly as possible. I then work from this midpoint both ways - what actually happens when the drive was Monte'd, and how do I update outdated packages that were installed by TiVoScripts?

Others prefer to work as you do - learn each step in order, building each success on the previous one (with a bunch of failures mixed in, I am sure). I claim either approach is valid. The first works best for me, (I NEED that early success), but may require more effort than the 'linear' approach. (Of course, this ignores the person who wants someone to hand him a totally hacked TiVo, and keep it running - free).
:rolleyes:

PlainBill

[NutKase]

i have been searching for guides and to no avail, i've found plenty on enabling the FTP once it is on the TiVo, but i've found nothing about getting the FTP Server onto the TiVo to begin with

If you use the Sleeper iso you'll have tivoftpd running and can just FTP to port 21 and transfer it over.

delete the MFS_FTP if already installed by the iso since it's old and buggy (if you use an older iso) then transfer, untar, and run with ./mfs_ftp.tcl

Connect to mfs_ftp on port 3105. You can watch what's going on (it takes a while to cache all your recordings) with

tail -f /path/to/mfs_ftp/port.3105.log

NutKase

[Bullets]

thanks for the great help guys, but one last question..when i use sleepers iso and create a backup of my original drive, is it required that i have a bigger hard drive to back up to and use? or can i just create an image on my normal computer hard drive that way i dont have to get another hard drive? Thanks!

[PlainBill]

thanks for the great help guys, but one last question..when i use sleepers iso and create a backup of my original drive, is it required that i have a bigger hard drive to back up to and use? or can i just create an image on my normal computer hard drive that way i dont have to get another hard drive? Thanks!

The backup image takes up about 200 megs on a hard drive. This can be your C: drive provided it is formatted FAT32. If you main hard drive isn't FAT32 (mine is NTFS), I'd suggest picking up a small hard drive somewhere - ask your friendly neighborhood computer shop if the have a 1 - 5 Gig drive they will sell for $10.

I STRONGLY urge you NOT to hack your original drive. Problems can occur (corrupted backup file) and you're SOL until you find a good image. Besides a 120 Gig drive can be purchased for about $60.

PlainBill

[Bullets]

alright, thanks for the help, i'll prolly go grab one of those 120gig drives...thanks for all your help guys!

[Bullets]

one more thing guys...i'm looking through the Sleeper FAQ thing and i see that there seems to be an issue with the MFS_FTP that is included in it...and i also see that tivoftpd is included...so why do i need both FTP programs? what is the difference between the two? Thanks.

[malfunct]

one more thing guys...i'm looking through the Sleeper FAQ thing and i see that there seems to be an issue with the MFS_FTP that is included in it...and i also see that tivoftpd is included...so why do i need both FTP programs? what is the difference between the two? Thanks.

tivoftpd lets you upload and download files from the ext2 paritions on the tivo, this is where you store scripts and whatnot.

mfs_ftp lets you upload and download video resources and is used for extraction and insertion of video files.

[PlainBill]

one more thing guys...i'm looking through the Sleeper FAQ thing and i see that there seems to be an issue with the MFS_FTP that is included in it...and i also see that tivoftpd is included...so why do i need both FTP programs? what is the difference between the two? Thanks.

In the simplest terms, tivoftpd handles transfers between the TiVo OS file system and your PC. mfs_ftp does transfers between the mfs file system (where the recorded shows are stored) and your pc.

I understand the only problem with mfs_ftp occur when transfering shows TO the TiVo (insertion); extraction works fine.

PlainBill

[Bullets]

nice, that cleared a lot up for me, you guys rock! especially you bill! Thanks :D

[malfunct]

I understand the only problem with mfs_ftp occur when transfering shows TO the TiVo (insertion); extraction works fine.

PlainBill

There are other problems with it that are subtle. Its HIGHLY recommended that you get the official version and wipe out that corrupted version. Considering that its so easy (delete old files, copy up new files) I don't see why people are resistant to do it.

[(o)here(o)]

with tivoscripts 1.02 you have no choice but to copy over the latest mfs_ftp...

it's not included in the .iso anymore. plus, it is really easy to do anyway :)

[Bullets]

another thing i thought of guys...i'm gonna get my tivo tomorrow, so, should i plug it in, get it running, updated software and stuff, then do the monte? or should it come right out of the box, do the monte, then hook it up and set up everything? Thanks!

[malfunct]

another thing i thought of guys...i'm gonna get my tivo tomorrow, so, should i plug it in, get it running, updated software and stuff, then do the monte? or should it come right out of the box, do the monte, then hook it up and set up everything? Thanks!

If you want the updates then let it update before you monte. Updating a monte'd system at this point is difficult.

[sanderton]

I recently purchased a Philips DTivo Series II with 3.1 1b software & a P5 card and HU card. Can a P5 card work with the software installed ? Or should I stick to the HU card ?

I have downloaded the FAQ info pack - but I'm still confused.

Thanks
Newbie


David Bought's still in bed then....

[malfunct]

David Bought's still in bed then....

I guess the mods aren't though, I can't find the post you are quoting :)

[chaeberle]

another thing i thought of guys...i'm gonna get my tivo tomorrow, so, should i plug it in, get it running, updated software and stuff, then do the monte? or should it come right out of the box, do the monte, then hook it up and set up everything? Thanks!
As a new TiVo owner who's only slightly ahead of the game in this adventure, let me add a couple pointers from my own recent experiences of getting everything up and running. Since you've got extensive computer experience, I won't explain any of the terms. :)

1) When you get ready to hack, if you're usually using windows machines instead of Linux, do NOT put the Original TiVo drive, OR the upgrade drive, into a WinNT4, Win2k or WinXP box and boot up to the Windows OS. Get the latest Sleeper CD ISO and follow its directions for the configuration of your drives to the letter and have a Fat32 formatted HD ready when you sit down to start hacking. (You need a Fat32 on IDE0-0, the Sleeper CD on IDE0-1, and your TiVo drive on IDE1-0 - first the Original, then the replacement)

2) You said, "now, what i want to do is get a usb NIC and hook my TiVo up to my network" - this is a no brainer with Series 2 units if your LAN is wired. It's nearly a nobrainer for Wireless networks as well - but you'll be well advised to check This List (http://customersupport.tivo.com/tivoknowbase/root/public/tv2006.htm?QS1=tv2006.htm&QS2=17201824010484065164%2CTiVo%2CTCD240040%2C4%2E0+and+higher) for compatibility.

3) When you hook up the network adapter, set up a STATIC IP. I had a headache recently with my TiVo dropping and reclaiming its IP only getting a different one repeatedly (see my threads from yesterday)...static IP makes it so much simpler.

4) Your network adapter will probably not work until you've done telephone connections to TiVo several times and rebooted several times. After the initial setup, tell the TiVo to connect, and reboot, until the system info says you have software 4.0.1b and you aren't 'Pending reboot'. That will get you current. I didn't start hacking until about 2 weeks after buying the TiVo, and had no real problems with the 4.0.1b software and the Sleeper ISO. I tried some other approaches first, before finding sleeper - but you'll have a truly 'virgin' drive if you wait until the updates are complete.

5) Don't bother recording any shows you want to extract before you hack the TiVo. They'll be recorded encrypted and (correct me if I'm wrong here, guys) useless after the hack for anything other than viewing on the TiVo - no extraction for pre-existing recordings.

Thats it right now... :) Other than to say that I'm in what I'm calling stage 2 of the hacking now - the TiVo is hacked with both tivoftpd and mfs_ftp running, and now I'm trying to figure out this whole extraction process...

Maybe we can travel this road together. :)

[captain_video]

A static IP is set up as part of Sleeper's tivoscript. I'd let your new DTivo get the latest update before you hack it. At the very least, go ahead and perform guided setup and let it make it's initial calls so you won't have to deal with a phone line later. The only downside is that it's taking some of us forever to get the latest update to 3.1.1c. It's been over a month and still counting since I activated two of my DSR704's and about the same for my DSR7000 that I reinstalled the original stock drive in to get it to take the update. You shouldn't have any problems getting it to update to 3.1.1b within a short time and if you're really lucky you might get it to jump right to 3.1.1c. I've got 3.1.1b on my HDVR2 and it's running fine with the monte hack.

[SR712]

4.01b needs those lines added by Sleeper's ISO for a Static IP to be commented out, as they are not needed. Your IP can be set in the Setup|Network screen.