Okay, this is NOT A GUIDE! I will do my best to maintain this, but PLEASE POINT OUT ANY MISTAKES! I will edit it ASAP if any are found.
1) What is 6.2? What systems can it be installed on? What kernel version is running in 6.2?
6.2 is DirecTivo software version that is the next step for DTivos from 3.1.1e. It includes the folders that were introduced in 4.x, as well apparently including HMO features within the software although not activating them for users. This means that while the HMO code is in there, or at least appears to be, it is NOT activated at this point. The guide speed is faster than 4.x/3.x.
HMO features can be activated however, as of 5/8/2005. NutKase has graciously released a superpatch for 6.x and 7.x which enables HMO/MRV features. The main post for this is found here, while the support thread for NutKase's release is found here. I'll leave most of the support of the superpatch to those threads, but one common question should be addressed: while it's okay to dial home if you're running a clean 6.2, you MUST NOT dial home if you've superpatched your DirecTivo. If your unit does so, it will get certificates from Tivo, meaning that in 6 months, your HMO/MRV features will expire. There is a silver lining though, if you make such a mistake: the call home will create two entries in MFS.
/State/Keyring/SP_4-production-5-12929-180-A-13109-A-13109-A
/State/Keyring/SP_5-production-2-12929-180-A-13109-A-13109-A
And if you rubbish/trash those entries, your system should maintain the HMO capabilities beyond the 6-month deadline. For more information, have a look at this thread.
Version 6.2 can be installed on Series 2 hardware. If you are using a Series 1 box, this is NOT for you. If you are using a Series 2.5 box, you can ONLY install 6.1 at this point. I am unsure as to the overlap between 6.1 and 6.2, but it should be significant.
6.2 includes Linux kernel version 2.4.20, just like 3.1.5, 5.x and 7.x. This is as opposed to 3.1.1x which runs 2.4.4. As a result, it has LBA48 support built in.
One of the main points of running 6.2 instead of 4.x is the increased guide/menu speed: there is an excellent post here detailing exactly how much faster 6.2 is (short answer: much quicker!).
2) How do I install 6.2?
6.2 can be installed just like any other software version. Either a full image can be restored, slices downloaded from the internet can be uploaded to your system for install (instructions below), or slices downloaded from DTV via satellite can be used for install. However, a few things need to be changed, due to an oddity in the installSw.itcl script.
2.a) How do you modify the installSw.itcl script to properly upgrade via slices/downloaded updates?
The default installSw.itcl script has two main problems for a hacker to use it in installing 6.x: first, the reboot command needs to be removed (so that after the upgrade, the hacks can be installed without removing the drive), and second, the parameters need to be adjusted.
To solve the first problem, do a search for "reboot" in the script, and replace it with an "exit 0" command. Personally, I put an "echo" command by that exit, so provide me with a notice.
To solve the second problem, follow the following advice the user 7.1 provided:
Originally Posted by
7.1
In my experience, ErrDbNotFound means that the tyDb object being opened doesn't exist. In this case, it's trying to open "/SwSystem/$swName". If you dig through the updateroot script (in /var/utils), you'll see that it accepts $swName as an argument, but if it isn't passed in, it uses the value in the SwSystemName field of /State/ServiceConfig object. What value is stored there? The tivosh command "dumpobj /State/ServiceConfig" will tell you.
The easy fix is to edit installSw.itcl to add $name as a new fourth argument to the call to updateroot.
After you run the installSw.itcl script (with the appropriate parameters), all you should have to do is (1) check the bootpage, (2) copy your new hacks over INCLUDING YOUR .AUTHOR FILE and (3) reboot.
Not incidentally, make sure you've got the right loopsets for DTivo, if you're downloading stuff from online as opposed to just waiting for the forced download of the updates (remember, all series 2 DTivos WILL download 6.2 eventually...waiting a little while may save you some headaches). You'll need the following:
loopset-2702706-2.slice
loopset-6055486-6.slice
loopset-6055491-6.slice
loopset-6055496-6.slice
loopset-6055501-6.slice
loopset-6055505-4.slice
loopset-6506965-3.slice
loopset-6506970-3.slice
3) How do I HACK 6.2?
3a) The kernel
The basic hack - to circumvent the initrd security - is thankfully easy. Just as a 3.1.1c kernel could have killhdinitrd applied, and be used on a 3.1.1e system, a 3.1.5 kernel can have killhdinitrd applied and be used on a 6.2 system.
3b) Networking
Before going any further, I should mention a new problem involving 6.2 and NutKase's new superpatch: apparently if you setup your network info manually, the Tivo doesn't have the opportunity to properly set itself up for HMO/MRV. Unfortunately, this means your options are somewhat limited.
So, here are the options:
- Set your networking info as described below, but don't use the superpatch.
- Install 4.x, set your network info up there, and then upgrade via slices to 6.2
- Use the built-in DHCP (which means you'll have to check your DHCP tables periodically to identify your tivo or assign it a static IP w/ the server).
- Employ Lgkahn's script (or something like it).
Please see this thread for some further discussion. I'd also recommend 7.1's post here, since he explains it in a bit more detail.
If you're -not- using the superpatch, then the networking hacks have a few steps. Since 6.2 includes a DHCP client (and obviously network drivers) you need to disable that client so as to be able to assign a specific IP via your .author file (otherwise, you'd have to check your router's DHCP table to find out the Tivo's location). To do this, rename /sbin/dhclient to /sbin/dhclient.orig (since you never want to DELETE these files). As noted below, you'll also want to replace those drivers.
You also need to either rename netfilter-enable, or alter the iptables. Messing up the former will remove networking, while the latter will cause a reboot loop. Your call which you want to do.
Here's how to modify the iptables:
by executing the following code:
Originally Posted by
alldeadhomiez
cd /sbin
mv iptables iptables.old
echo -e '#!/bin/bash\nexit 0' > iptables
chmod 755 iptables
3c) Free space issues
You also should be careful about the free space in your partitions. PlainBill explained it this way:
Originally Posted by
PlainBill
The partition is the same size, however it does have a lot more in it. Root on 3.1.1e with AlphaWolf's Series 2 binaries (TiVoApp not patched) is 30% used. With TiVoApp patched, it's 47% used. On 6.2, it's 57% used. Others have had problems when they tried to copy the expanded Series 2 binaries from one partition to another and failed to use the proper switch (-r?). The results in multiple copies of busybox.
Currently, only some of the other hacks are available for 6.2:
3d) Disabling encryption.
Tivoapp can be patched to prevent CSO encryption according to this post.
If you want to do it via echo (instead of a hex editor), use the following command:
Code:
echo -ne "\x3C\x02\x00\x00" | dd conv=notrunc of=tivoapp bs=1 seek=10705308
Of course, if you use the superpatch it will disable encryption.
3e) MFS_FTP.
MFS_FTP can be used for extraction, but due to the event handling system being removed in 6.2, insertion doesn't work properly yet. IF you want to use it, comment out the event lines in the appropriate script. I do NOT recommend doing this, as it is known to cause several difficulties for many users. Please see the discussion below in this thread.
3f) Backdoors.
Backdoors can be enabled. Among other things, this will enable you to use your broadband connection to connect to Tivo. There is LIMITED point here: you shouldn't be dialing home with a DirecTivo if you're not running the expected software. Running 6.2 is germane right now (as is 3.1.1e) so its okay to dial home, either via phone or via the network. To do so, first you have to enable backdoors in /etc/rc.d/StageD_PreMfs/rc.Sequence_150.CheckForDebug.sh by setting:
This will allow you to dial via your broadband connection.
3g) TivoWebPlus.
As noted here originally, older versions of TivoWebPlus could not be run without difficulty on 6.2 That said, the current build of TivoWebPlus - available here includes all the necessary changes to run. In other words, installing TivoWebPlus is now as simple as can be (and those steps are described on that site).
3h) TyTools.
Tserver (for Tytools) can be run properly, but not NowShowing.tcl. As a solution, use the version of tserver here which doesn't require NowShowing.tcl.
Download speeds are currently limited by the default network drivers, but the use of backported USB2.0 drivers have brought the speeds back up. Find them here.
3i) Fakecall.tcl.
Fakecall.tcl (the script to avoid the nag on dtivos when you don't make a call home) is not currently usable on 6.2. However, it can easily be modified (courtesy of AlphaWolf) to work. Go to line 78 of the script, which should read:
Code:
} elseif { [regexp {^4} $sw] } {
and change it to read:
Code:
} elseif { [regexp {^4} $sw] || [regexp {^6} $sw] } {
3j) Audio-only channel recording.
Tivoapp can be patched to allow recording of audio-only channels. A full list of the three patch points can be found here,, courtesy of AlphaWolf and jeboo.
EDIT HISTORY:
3/15/2005: Created
3/15/2005: Modified to include TivoWebPlus fixes (90%).
3/16/2005: Modified to clarify the network section.
3/17/2005: Modified to include fakecall info
3/18/2005: Modified to include the patch for recording audio-only channels.
3/18/2005: Modified to include links to the backported drivers, and clarify a few points.
3/21/2005: Modified to clean up a little language, etc.
3/22/2005: Modified to update insertion debate, formatting.
3/24/2005: Modfified to fix backdoors section
3/29/2005: Modified to add something to the tivoapp patching.
5/12/2005: Modified to add Nutkase's superpatch info for HMO.
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