Newbie: Need help.

[Gamer1]

I have an RCA DVR 80 DTivo I wish to hack. Now, I would perfer to use my exsisting HD because I feel it is enough, but according to this guide it suggest I replace it.
http://www.weethet.nl/english/tivo_dtv2_hacksleeper.php#whatweneed
Can I just make an image of my oringal HD and then and save it if I want to restore my Dtivo? Or is that not recomended or possible? I bought a seagate 160 gig HD for 60 bucks just in case. I also bought a D-Link usb wireless adaptor (DWL-G122). I would go wired for ease, but it was only 20 bucks. Can I use this wireless adaptor?. I have D-Link DI-524 router aswell. Anyhelp would be GREATLY appreciated. I have looked all through out this forum for info. Thanks

[Thinkdiff]

Making a backup of the drive is good enough imo. But that's simply my feeling. Generally, you want to keep the original drive safe. I did not care very much when I started hacking my tivo, plus I'm a cheap bastard.

Where did you get that wireless adapter for 20 bucks? Sounds like a great deal. And yes, I think that should work, but i'm not 100% sure. do a search on it here and see what comes up.

[PlainBill]

A question, a suggestion, and a comment:

If you are going to depend on your backup, how do you know it is good unless you restore it to a drive?

Look at the image begging thread. Notice, 33 pages of posts from people who were SURE they had a good backup.

I have seen 80 Gig hard drives advertised for as little as $30 AR, 120 Gigs for < $50, and 200 for under $70.

PlainBill

[Gamer1]

Well I bought the D-Link wireless adaptor at CompUSA. It's 45 bucks, and 25$ in mail in rebates. I hope I can use this adaptor, because I dont wanna pay 30 for a wired adaptor (no sales at the moment). Also, I wouldn't know if it's a good back up untill I tried it. But I dont really know why I would need to go back. But according to ur comment PlainBill, I'm guessing people have failed in making good copies. I didn't wanna replace it with another 80 gig hard drive, so I might aswell go with 120 I suppose (which is 60 after rebates). Anyhow, thanks guys...I'm just gonna be using that guide I indicated earlier, so wish me luck.

[hayreass]

I'm just gonna be using that guide I indicated earlier, so wish me luck.Don't do it man....

That guide is so outdated, the publisher should take it down.

You'll be sorry in the long run, maybe even sooner.

I've never been one to suggest, or recommend walkthroughs, but if you must use one I suggest finding one that uses the killhdinitrd method instead.

[Roger Dylan]

I'm just gonna be using that guide I indicated earlier, so wish me luck.

You will probably achieve a result you find useful, maybe for many months or even longer, and the world will not come to an end because you have followed a path that is not the best or most flexible or most efficient in terms of your long-term use of your Tivo. Of course, if you make mistakes they are difficult to correct in this particular process, though most people who make mistakes simply repeat until successful, no big deal.

But I _guarantee_ at some point you will want more, and you will have to redo the hacking. And when that happens I also guarantee you will say to yourself, "I should have done it right in the first place".

There are two _excellent_ threads on the Tivo Community Forum (TCF), exhaustively describing a better approach. Unfortunately the signal-to-noise ratio is very low so you have to do hours of reading and copy/paste to a your own executive summary, which will be only a few pages. But it is a process I would highly recommend.

WeetHet has himself published a "guide" derived from the guide referenced in the TCF threads I mentioned (which guide is itself derived mostly from raw data here on this forum). He describes his new guide as a successor to the outdated (though still admittedly simple and useful) guide you are contemplating. Ask yourself, since Weethet has basically disclaimed the old guide you're considering, and has published a new one, do you really want to follow a path he has abandoned?

[PlainBill]

<SNIP>

But I _guarantee_ at some point you will want more, and you will have to redo the hacking. And when that happens I also guarantee you will say to yourself, "I should have done it right in the first place".

<SNIP>
Well said.

PlainBill

[willard322]

....If you are going to depend on your backup, how do you know it is good unless you restore it to a drive?

Look at the image begging thread. Notice, 33 pages of posts from people who were SURE they had a good backup.....PlainBillGood advice on the backup. But a GROSS over generalization on the image begging thread.
For an example I looked at page 13 (purely chosen at random) and only one post mentioned that they had made a backup and that it did not work - and he said it was because his toddler had destroyed it. :eek: (So in that instance it didn't matter that it could have been a tested backup). The only other poster on that page that used the word backup indicated that he had not made a "proper backup" - which could have meant that he had not made one at all. ;)

[Gamer1]

Thanks for all the advice people. According to all your comments, I will not be using that guide. With everything I come across in this forum, it seemed a little confusing to hack it, so I was looking for a step by step guide for DTivo's. I will look for what you guys mentioned, and see how it goes. I have to hack this crap today. Again, THANKS ALOT.