TCD240004A - unable to execute rc.sysinit.author

[peter_m]

Hi,

I thought that this would be easier but ...

I have been struggling with getting a TiVoWeb-ed TiVo for about 2 weeks now. I went ahead and ordered the TCD24004A Series 2 SA tivo. It was recommended to be an easy hack.

I backed up the TiVo drive without a problem using the LBA48 cd (v4.01 with enhancements) and was able to restore the backup to another 120Gb hard drive. It took me about 30 min and I was extatic. Boy was that a premature joy ...

It took me sometime to figure out how to put a killhdinitrd-ed kernel on the new drive and how to setup the parameters accordingly (4 days to be more exact) but things finally worked out fine.

I finally have a TiVo with hacked kernel, 7.1b software version. The problem that I am having is that I am not able to execute any instructions from the rc.sysinit.author file. Thus I do not know how to enable telnet and other useful applications.

I put the following instruction in the rc.sysinit.author file :
date >> /etc/rc.d/date.log

The TiVo boots fine but when I shut it down there is no date.log file, which makes me conclude that the file rc.sysinit.author does not execute.

It must be something stupid that I am missing but I don't know what that could be. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

p.s. I have coppied the rc.sysinit.author file to both /dev/hda4 and /dev/hda7 partitions in the /etc/rc.d directory. Oh.. and the file is executable...

[Jamie]

The TiVo boots fine but when I shut it down there is no date.log file, which makes me conclude that the file rc.sysinit.author does not execute.

It must be something stupid that I am missing but I don't know what that could be. Any help is greatly appreciated. Are you certain you have a killhdinitrd'd kernel? Is the file still there after you boot, or did it get deleted? If it was deleted, you probably don't have a hacked kernel. Is the file executable? Does the file start with the required "pound bang" magic? That is, #! /bin/bash. Does the file have unix, not dos, line endings?

These are the most common issues with getting an rc.sysinit.author file to run. Hint: get a serial console cable and monitor the boot from the serial console. It's easier to debug when you aren't flying blind.

[PlainBill]

:D Ahhh, the entire root file system (including /etc/rc.d/) is read only. Change it to write to /var/hack.log.

PlainBill

[Jamie]

:D Ahhh, the entire root file system (including /etc/rc.d/) is read only. Change it to write to /var/hack.log.Good point! I missed that in my haste to promote serial cables.

[peter_m]

Thank you for the response guys.

1. I have a strong suspission that the kernel is hacked. The LBA cd came with hacked kernels (that is what they claim) and I dd-ed the 3.5.1 kernel to partition /dev/hda3 and /dev/hda6. The rc.sysinit.author files on both partitions exist after rebooting with saved changes. How else can I tell that I have hacked kernels
2. The file is executable (-rwxr-xr-x)
3. My rc.sysinit.author file actually looks like:

#! /bin/bash

echo "Hack" >> /var/hack.txt
date >> /var/hack.log

/bin/bash & /dev/ttys2&

tnlited 23 /bin/bash -login &


4. I use only linux so the the file endings are good
5. I do not have serial cable but I am working on getting one.


So even after changing to write to the /var I can't still get anything to be created on the hard drive. This sucks...

[Jamie]

Thank you for the response guys.

1. I have a strong suspission that the kernel is hacked. The LBA cd came with hacked kernels (that is what they claim) and I dd-ed the 3.5.1 kernel to partition /dev/hda3 and /dev/hda6. The rc.sysinit.author files on both partitions exist after rebooting with saved changes. How else can I tell that I have hacked kernelsIf the file isn't being deleted, you're good.
2. The file is executable (-rwxr-xr-x)good3. My rc.sysinit.author file actually looks like: ...
...
/bin/bash & /dev/ttys2&
...That line isn't right.
4. I use only linux so the the file endings are goodgood
5. I do not have serial cable but I am working on getting one.good. 9thtee is a good source if you just want to pick up a prebuilt cable.So even after changing to write to the /var I can't still get anything to be created on the hard drive. This sucks...Where are you looking for the file? Since you sound linux savvy, I assume you know that /var is mounted from /dev/hda9 and isn't included in the root partition.

If it were me, I'd write to /var/tmp instead. I don't like to clutter up the top of /var with junk files.

[peter_m]

Once again, you guys rule...
Since you sound linux savvy, I assume you know that /var is mounted from /dev/hda9 and isn't included in the root partition.
...
Apparently I am not :(
That definitely took me a step further. Once I placed the logging to happen on partition 9 everything worked like a charm. ... Except for the telnet ofcourse.

So I am now 100% convinced that I have a hacked kernel and I am able to execute commands on startup. I am not able to enable telnet however :(

Is there something special that I need to put in the rc.sysinit.author file in order to enable telnet? Is there a firewall? I have networking enabled through the menues of the TiVo and I am able to ping my TiVo from my PC. But I am not able telnet to it.

I corrected the error line to be /bin/bash</dev/ttyS2&>/dev/ttyS2&
I feel that I have accomplished so much and yet I have million more miles to go...

I got the serial cable and I am digging to findout how to debug the startup process (actually I am yet to find how to connect to the console on startup, I hear there is some majic sequences that must take place)

[Jamie]

Is there something special that I need to put in the rc.sysinit.author file in order to enable telnet? Is there a firewall?Yes. You have to disable the firewall by replacing the /sbin/iptables executable with a script that always exits with 0 status (success). reference (http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?p=204669#post204669).

I got the serial cable and I am digging to findout how to debug the startup process (actually I am yet to find how to connect to the console on startup, I hear there is some majic sequences that must take place)Add these messages to the bootpage to configure the port speed and enable serial console messages to the device:dsscon=true console=2,115200If you hit enter early in the boot you'll get a prompt for the PROM password. Don't do that (yet). Once the system has booted you can set the PROM password so in the future you'll be able to get into this menu. It's useful for error recovery as it lets you toggle what kernel/root you boot from.

[peter_m]

Yes. You have to disable the firewall by replacing the /sbin/iptables executable with a script that always exits with 0 status (success).....

That worked perfect. Thank you for the support Jamie. I can finally telnet and ftp to the TiVo.

TiVoWebPlus reports the following error on startup
invalid command name "pool"
while executing
"pool pool0 size"
(file "./httpd-tt.tcl" line 1)


but I am moving this issue to the TiVoWeb support thread. I hope that TivoWebPlus-1.0-final.tivo.tpm works with version 7.1b of my software... will see.

You guys are great!

[Jamie]

That worked perfect. Thank you for the support Jamie. I can finally telnet and ftp to the TiVo.

TiVoWebPlus reports the following error on startup
invalid command name "pool"
while executing
"pool pool0 size"
(file "./httpd-tt.tcl" line 1)


but I am moving this issue to the TiVoWeb support thread. I hope that TivoWebPlus-1.0-final.tivo.tpm works with version 7.1b of my software... will see.

You guys are great!

Now is the time I suggest you brush up on your searching techniques. See (S1) in this (http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?p=202772#post202772) post.

TWP (1.0 or 1.1) doesn't run on 7.1 out of the box. Look for a post from NutKase that describes what needs to be changed to get most things working. I could search for you so I could link it in here, but it should be a good exercise to practice your search techniques. :-)

[peter_m]

Well,

It turns out that there is no way to have TiVoWeb with Web Remote working on software 7.1 :( That kills me. The whole reason for which I was looking for TiVOWeb was to have WebRemote. Damn.

Is it possible to downgrade my software to 4.1?

I have a backup of my 3.2 software for my TCD24004A. The problem is that I dont know how to network it ... I guess some USB and network drivers need to be loaded in advance. With version 4.1 however, networking can be enabled from the menu's.

[Jamie]

Is it possible to downgrade my software to 4.1?You can get a 4.0.1b image off of emule, install it, and block software updates from tivo. MRV won't work without the "no thanks" patches. They might be blocking guide data updates for 4.0.1b now; not sure. In general you shouldn't run an obsolete software version on a stand alone tivo.

If you really want web remote, I guess you'll need to roll up your sleeves and see if you can figure out how to make the sendkey functionality work.

[peter_m]

If you really want web remote, I guess you'll need to roll up your sleeves and see if you can figure out how to make the sendkey functionality work.

:) I wish I were that good!

So isn't it easier to use my 3.2 software, load the USB drivers to my Lynksys USB200M on startup as part of the rc.sysinit.author (I dont have the drivers nor the configuration settings but I suppose I can find these)? Then maybe enable networking?

[Jamie]

:) I wish I were that good!

So isn't it easier to use my 3.2 software, load the USB drivers to my Lynksys USB200M on startup as part of the rc.sysinit.author (I dont have the drivers nor the configuration settings but I suppose I can find these)? Then maybe enable networking?I don't know anything about 3.x on SA machines. Before my time. The more out of date a software version is, the less likely it is that the daily calls for guide data, etc will work.

[bgreen]

So isn't it easier to use my 3.2 software...

Make sure you read the Sticky threads. They are more or less required reading for you if they apply to your system or what you're doing. This (http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41782) one would apply here... read up! :)