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Hacking your Series 2 DTivo just got a WHOLE lot easier...

2M views 12K replies 1K participants last post by  Wil 
#1 ·
Hacking your 6.2 DirecTivo just got very easy! Rbautch and I have partnered to create a tool that completely automates the "Unguide" and installs his Tivo Enhancements, allowing you to completely hack your Tivo in no time at all. We thought it was the next logical step in Tivo Hacking, and so we proudly present "The Zipper". The Zipper is as easy as Tivo hacking gets! Please note, I will no longer be monitoring the 6.2 to hacked 6.2 thread so if you have questions ask them in THIS one. Support for Rbautch's enhancement script will continue in his original thread.
Many thanks to principal tester Dirac, and beta testers Jasch, Tsunami, and David Platt. Special thanks to Lou Jacob for his guidance throughout the development of The Zipper.
Please note, Rbautch and I will be monitoring this thread very regularly, so PLEASE don't discuss it at "the other place" or fill up our PM Boxes with questions.
DO NOT POST ON DDB ABOUT THE ZIPPER....
 
#77 ·
There is a list of compatible wireless adapters on the Tivo website. Only the 802.11b adapters will work with 6.2, or you can use a wired adapter with a wireless bridge as described in many posts on TCF. On the left side of the Zipper website, there's a link to instructions on setting up wireless on 6.2 with a wireless usb adapter. The catch is that you need a serial cable or wired adapter initially to run the script that sets up wireless. A future version of the Zipper may change that. The 802.11b adapters work fine for me as far as speed. I can initiate a trasfer from one Tivo to another, and begin watching it immediately. By the time the first commercials roll around, I've built up enough buffer to skip through them. I use an MA111 and WUSB11.
 
#78 ·
Few quick questions...

The hard drive I'll run zipper on was previously installed in a winxp box as the main C: drive. I've pulled it out of haven't done a thing to it. Will this drive be OK to use? Do I have to prep it in any way before I run the zipper instructions? It is a 7200 WD 60 gig drive.

One of the enhancement scripts installs USB 2.0 drivers. What are the benefit of these drivers? Should I install them if I only plan to run only a WIRED network? I'll be using a Linksys 100TX usb adapter.

Thanks
 
#79 ·
Hard drive is fine, no prep necessary. USB 2.0 drivers increase the speed of MRV transfers and video extraction (which can't be discussed further here). They are only useful on wired connections, since the 802.11b wireless speeds limit the speed on wireless connections.
 
#80 ·
well USB 1.1 is what 11 megabit?
USB 2.0 is much faster, so unless you are going to be wired, or using a wired connection into a wireless G bridge, there's no need for 2.0 drivers, but there's no harm in installing them either since 2.0 will fall back to 1.1 if it needs to.
and your 60 gig XP drive will be fine since the image install will totally wipe the drive.
Just be aware the 7200 RPM drives run hotter than 5400 rpm ones.
 
#83 ·
Just wanted to give you guys kudo's for this. The last year and a half have been a blast for me with all the hacking, testing, rehacking, screwing up and rehacking again. I wouldn't have missed it for anything since I learned so much in the process. I suggest anyone who wants to learn about the behind the scenes stuff do it the old way and have fun. If you screw it up you always have "The Zipper" to make things right.

Awesome job!
 
#88 ·
Zipper was very easy to use. I was finished in under an hour last night.

My Tivo is rebooting quite a bit now. I used the kernel from the "$5 CD" and followed your instructions. I've included a text doc with my running processes. Is it normal to have that many duplicate processes running?

Please let me know if you would like more info.

Thanks again.
 

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#93 ·
Arthur,

Duplicate processes are normal, frequent reboots are not. There's nothing in the script that would cause this. Even if your drive was working fine before, a switch to a newly active partition when the Zipper ran could be exposing a problem with the drive. I suggest giving it a few days to see if the reboots stop. If you have a spare drive, try running the Zipper on it to confirm that the problem is indeed the drive. You could also try to run the drive manufacturer's diagnostics on it. Latly, check your logs in Tivowebplus (kernel log, tvlog) to see if there's anything that might indicate a HD or other problem.
 
#94 ·
Thank you both for the quick responses. I'll check the logs tonight. I did notice the hard drive was very active last night (and noisy).

I had two 120 gig drives in the machine before, running the sleeper hack. It was crashing on me about once a day. I was blaming the hacks when it may have been a drive problem all along. Now I'm glad that I only put one drive back in...

Thanks again,

AF
 
#97 ·
If you already hacked it with slices, then just use the enhancement script in my signature. If you meant hacking from 4.01b to 6.2 with a new script, then no, there are no plans to do that (I doubt it's even possible). It's just a easy to start over and re-image the drive with the Zipper. If you want to save your recordings, extract or MRV them to another Tivo (which can be had for $35). If you want to preserve your season passes, make a backup using TWP, and then restore them after you install 6.2.
 
#98 ·
Gunnyman said:
steve, at this time the problem with wireless G is Linux.
There are only a handfull of wireless G adapater chipsets with Linux drivers.
Those drivers have yet to be incorporated into any TiVo software besides 7.x and users are reporting not much faster than B speeds.
Now onto Wireless on 6.2. 6.2 software does not have the configuration screens that allow you to enter SSID and encryption keys.
Hey Gun - thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to try it. I suppose when drivers are available for G series wireless adapters, I'll be able to telnet them in - right?

Wireless bridges.. hmm is that an AP - or something else?

Thanks!
 
#99 ·
rbautch said:
There is a list of compatible wireless adapters on the Tivo website. Only the 802.11b adapters will work with 6.2, or you can use a wired adapter with a wireless bridge as described in many posts on TCF. On the left side of the Zipper website, there's a link to instructions on setting up wireless on 6.2 with a wireless usb adapter. The catch is that you need a serial cable or wired adapter initially to run the script that sets up wireless. A future version of the Zipper may change that. The 802.11b adapters work fine for me as far as speed. I can initiate a trasfer from one Tivo to another, and begin watching it immediately. By the time the first commercials roll around, I've built up enough buffer to skip through them. I use an MA111 and WUSB11.
Thanks - good info to know. I'm gonna have to check this out myself - soon.
 
#100 ·
stevecon said:
Hey Gun - thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to try it. I suppose when drivers are available for G series wireless adapters, I'll be able to telnet them in - right?

Wireless bridges.. hmm is that an AP - or something else?

Thanks!
A Bridge connects wireless networks togther while a WAP extends a network.
I'm sure there are more technical explanations out there, but I'm not a network geek :D
 
#101 ·
Gunnyman said:
your ps output looks normal.
What's going on when tivo reboots?
Restarting Tivowebplus can trigger a reboot.
sorry, I missed the question. The last reboot occurred while I was sleeping. It crashed about 8 hours before that while I was watching a recorded show. I think rbautch is on to something with the HD. I'll try another drive tonight. Thanks for the help and all the work you guys have done on this.
 
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