Swapping mainboards???

[armis]

Hey all,

Total nube to this - I havent hacked anything since the good ol' days a few years back.

Anyway, I have a SA TiVo Series 2 (or 2.5 as I see referenced on here - the one with the retarded night light). I bought it with the lifetime subscription just before they went away.

A year and a half later, it developed a popping sound in the audio circuit - the problem appears on both the left and right channels at the same time. On a scope, the voltage at times wavers +/- from 0v at a very low frequency - down to less than 1 Hz. Then, on a negative swing, it will slam down to the negative rail for a few milliseconds. This is not good for my soundsystem no doubt! :)

I have not been able to find a schematic for this one, but it looks as if the sound DAC is integrated in the Broadcom BCM7317, with no external op-amps driving the audio outputs.

So - to the heart of the matter - I have a good working mainboard, but need to know if there is a serial number in the security chip that must travel with the hard drive image? In other words, which chip would I need to transfer to the good board to make it work?

I just absolutely refuse to pay TiVo $179 bux to "repair" a unit that should have lasted much longer than a year and a half.

Thanks!!!!

Chris

[tivo4mevo]

You should be able to convince TiVo that you have a valid concern. If you bought the lifetime on the unit, and now it's pooping out after 18 months, it seems justified to expect the unit should function properly for at least that long (after all, if you paid $300, that would normally buy you 2-3 years worth of prepaid service, and you should have a right to assume that the box should last at least as long).

That said, to answer your question is yes, you need to move the crypto-chip over to the good board. It is an Atmel chip. Add that to your search and you can turn up posts like this (http://dealdatabase.com/forum/showpost.php?p=169201&postcount=2).

[captain_video]

If the replacement mainboard is the same as the defective one you can simply swap out the boards and call Tivo to have them switch your lifetime service over to the new mainboard. Just get the Tivo service number from the system information screen and attach a label with the new number to the back of your Tivo for future reference. Tivo will think you're swapping out the old Tivo for a new one and should transfer the lifetime service to the new unit.

[armis]

"...you can simply swap out the boards and call Tivo to have them switch your lifetime service over to the new mainboard"

Oh, if life were that simple. They will not do that with a lifetime sub, they will only offer to repair the unit for a mere $179. They will, however do it with a regular, month-to-month sub.


The "lifetime" refers to the lifetime of the unit, not the user. So if your unit dies, so does the subscription. Thats why I want to move either the security chip or the boot prom over to the new board that works, since removing and resoldering the large BGA chip would not be as practical.

So, I'm still trying to confirm (without a doubt - no probablies please :) ) if the security chip holds the TSN, or if its contained in the flash rom. The less i have to solder the better - with age comes bad eyesight!

Chris

[tivo4mevo]

So, I'm still trying to confirm (without a doubt - no probablies please :) ) if the security chip holds the TSN, or if its contained in the flash rom. The less i have to solder the better - with age comes bad eyesight!ChrisConsider it confirmed, it's the security chip: /tvbin/crypto -gsn
/tvbin/crypto -x -gek

[armis]

Thanks! :D

[armis]

Just a follow up - swapped the Atmels - works like a charm - YAY!

I found the coolest stuff at fry's called "Chip Quik". Its a kit that has some flux in a syringe and some special solder that keeps the solder from solidifying too fast. Applied it to all 4 sides of the Atmel QFP, and it was able to slide right off before the center of the carrier even got warm!

Was able to clean the board and salvaged chip and resolder with a bit mroe flux and some paste. All without a microscope. Would be afraid to do it on a chip with any smaller pitch, but sure it woudl work fine if you have a stereo u-scope.

Cheers!

Chris

[captain_video]

A lot of members swear by the Chip-Quik solder removal stuff in the PROM socketing thread. It appears I may have spoken too soon about transferring the lifetime sub on your old Tivo to your new one. I haven't owned a subbed SA Tivo for over five years so I haven't kept up with the whole lifetime sub issue on any of the SA models. I have an old S1 SA model that I used briefly as a manual recorder for dubbing some home videos but I haven't used it in years. Once upon a time we used to be able to transfer our lifetime subs to a replacement Tivo on a one time basis. I guess now the party line is if it dies you're SOL.

[armis]

I am starting to wonder if moving the Atmel over to a dual tuner S2SA unit from a single tuner S2SA would work?

No doubt that would have its own issues when they send a SW update.

[danimo]

Do you have the chip location for the Atmel part that has the TIVO ID number in it? Also, what is the Atmel chip blank part number? I want to try and remove my "master" chip and then clone it to make a backup copy.

thanks

[ciper]

Look near the bottom of this page http://www.9thtee.com/insidetivo.htm
Then read this http://www.atmel.com/dyn/corporate/view_detail.asp?ref=&FileName=AT90SC3232C.html&SEC_NAME=Product

[tamagachi8]

Look near the bottom of this page http://www.9thtee.com/insidetivo.htm
Then read this http://www.atmel.com/dyn/corporate/view_detail.asp?ref=&FileName=AT90SC3232C.html&SEC_NAME=Product

I also have to replace my broken motherboard.

Is the ATMEL AT90SC6464C the chip I need to move to transfer my series 2 (TCD540080) TSN with lifetime subscription from a broken motherboard to a good motherboard. What about the SST39VF010 eeprom? (Do I need to move this the SST eeprom as well?).

Thanks in advance.

[PlainBill]

I also have to replace my broken motherboard.

Is the ATMEL AT90SC6464C the chip I need to move to transfer my series 2 (TCD540080) TSN with lifetime subscription from a broken motherboard to a good motherboard. What about the SST39VF010 eeprom? (Do I need to move this the SST eeprom as well?).

Thanks in advance.
You will have to transfer the AT90SC6464C in any case. If you have hacked the system with the broken motherboard, you must also replace the prom on the new motherboard.

PlainBill

[Omikron]

I also have to replace my broken motherboard.

Is the ATMEL AT90SC6464C the chip I need to move to transfer my series 2 (TCD540080) TSN with lifetime subscription from a broken motherboard to a good motherboard. What about the SST39VF010 eeprom? (Do I need to move this the SST eeprom as well?).

Thanks in advance.

You need to move the crypto chip to transfer the TSN. The PROM should only be moved if you've modified it and you intend to hack the new one.

[tamagachi8]

Thanks PlainBill and Omikron for the reassuring confirmation.

My original motherboard was not hacked. I will give this a go and let you know how it goes.

What info does the SST eeprom hold? Is it only the Tivo boot code and software updates? Also, when is it written to? Only when your box dials in?

Does clear and delete update the SST eeprom or harddrive only?

[PlainBill]

Thanks PlainBill and Omikron for the reassuring confirmation.

My original motherboard was not hacked. I will give this a go and let you know how it goes.

What info does the SST eeprom hold? Is it only the Tivo boot code and software updates? Also, when is it written to? Only when your box dials in?

Does clear and delete update the SST eeprom or harddrive only?
The SST prom holds only the boot code. It is never updated once it is programmed in the TiVo factory. The motherboard does not have the capability to program it.

C & D E only updates the hard drive.

PlainBill

[stevel]

Clear and delete affects the disk only. I have not heard of ANY official TiVo software updates or procedures which change anything on the mainboard.

[tamagachi8]

The SST prom holds only the boot code. It is never updated once it is programmed in the TiVo factory. The motherboard does not have the capability to program it.

C & D E only updates the hard drive.

PlainBill

Here's an update. I swapped out the Atmel chip, and I am extremely happy to say it worked perfectly. :D

Thanks to all for sharing your knowledge.

[wild123]

hi,
If I just want to swap out the mainboard and keep the existing harddrive and access card, which chip needs to go along with the transfer?

Is it the Atmel or SST or both?

I swapped out the mainboard and tried activating it, I can get a picture and channels but my recordings can't be accessed. I'm thinking there's a link between the software in the harddrive and the mainboard.

is there any harm in just swapping out both?

thanks
Jack