Hackman -- A Hack Manager module for TivoWeb

[PortlandPaw]

Hack Manager is a plug-in module for TivoWeb and TivoWebPlus that allows the user to start and stop TiVo hacks, such as telnet, tivoftp, TiVo Control Station, TyStudio, tytools, cron, YAC, autospace, EndPadPlus, elseed, elseedyac, ccxstream, etc.

Hackman also has the ability to edit startup scripts, including rc.sysinit, rc.sysinit.author and config files for other programs. NOTE: Please read the warnings about these features!

Hackman includes support for xPlusz commands and backdoor codes as well as incorporating JJBliss's bufferhack, KeepUpTo and TCTimout utilities, and many other features.

Hackman features Starts and stops hacks in real time
Creates rc.sysinit.author files to simplify setting hacks to start when TiVo boots. One click and a hack is either added or removed from the startup sequence.
Can manage other start-up files such as hacks_callfromrcsysinit
Provides information about multiple start-ups and command conflicts
Executes backdoor commands such as setting 30-second skip
Sends backdoor commands to the TiVo at boottime
Provides a TivoWeb interface to execute xPlusz commands
Can switch between TivoWeb 1.9.4 and TivoWebPlus on the fly
Provides means to set root directory read-only or read-write
Sets startup parameters for EndPad, EndPadPlus, YAC and elseed
Support provided for TiVoVBI (closed-caption display)
Provides protection against reboot cycling caused by corrupted guide data
Remote reboot capabilities
Remotely executes bash command lines
Auto-configures itself -- no .cfg file to mess with!
A preference screen provides flexibility -- for example, password protection is optional, as is display of backdoor commands, bufferhacks, and the display of boot load items.
Set internal TiVo time and date -- helpful for an unsubbed Series 1 being used as a VCR
Copy active partitions to inactive partitions and flip, if needed
Customize the banner to say "Living Room" or "Bedroom" instead of "TivoWebPlus"
Adjust the time zone setting to allow for new DST start and end dates
On-line help
In development since 2004
Successfully tested on all TiVo models.

CAUTION: Adding or removing hacks from the startup sequence will overwrite any previous rc.sysinit.author file. A backup copy will be made, but please look at the README and plan accordingly.

Installation
NEW! Simplified installation uses the TivoWebPlus Update module. Check the readme file in the hackman.tgz file or online (link in sig). Please do read the README!

Support
Click the "About Hackman" button and look for the other pop-up links for the various menu items. Upgrades and debugging information will be found on this and other informative TiVo forums.

Acknowledgements
My appreciation goes to sanderton, cojonesdetoro, JohnSorTivo, JJBliss, EvilJack, n4zmz, BTUx9, Stan Simmons and many others who have been particularly helpful in inspiring the hackman idea and providing assistance when I spun out on the learning curve. And thanks to everyone else who has contributed to TiVo programming and together have led the way.

Here's a screen shot (http://169.244.187.60/DRH/hackman/screenshot.jpg). If you like the theme I'm using, look here (http://archive2.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?postid=1712379#post1712379). I added the TiVo man and some local artwork.

Downloading
NOTE: Due to upload size limitations and a desire to consolidate postings, the latest version will be found here (http://www.tivohackman.com).

[threadkiller]

the hack looks useful, but when I try to run it I get this error

hackman
POSIX ENOENT {no such file or directory} couldn't execute "find": no such file o
r directory
while executing
"exec find / -name ps -type f"
(file "/var/hack/tivoweb-tcl/modules/hackman.itcl" line 27)
invoked from within
"source $module "
index

any Ideas?

[PortlandPaw]

Yep. I'm discovering what is and what isn't included on all TiVos. The "find" command is one of those things that is not. I'm going to pull that part out of the code. It is not necessary to run hackman.

Sorry for the problem. Look for a fix later tonight.

Update: Should be OK now. Please let me know if it works for you.

[Fozzie]

Great idea :)

Just tried the reboot option but got:

INTERNAL SERVER ERROR
--cut here--
action_startstop '' 'set "ID" "868686P";set "pid" "868686P";'
bad index "868686P": must be integer or "end"
while executing
"lindex $appnamelist $ID"
(procedure "::action_startstop" line 71)
invoked from within
"::action_$action $chan $part $env"
("eval" body line 1)
invoked from within
"eval {::action_$action $chan $part $env}"
--cut here--

[PortlandPaw]

Thanks, Fozzie, look for a fix tonight.

[threadkiller]

That works, thanks

[David Platt]

This is a cool little add-on. It sure makes stopping and starting the processes a lot more convenient.

After installing it last night, I woke up this morning to find my TiVowebplus (series 2 DirecTiVo) not responding. Not sure if it's related or not, but I've never had this problem before.

There's also a problem with the reboot command on Series 2 machines (DirecTiVos, anyway)-- 'reboot' doesn't work on those boxes; you have to use 'restart.'

[mike0151]

Might I suggest adding a version number to the zip file name so that it is immediately obvious when there is a new version?

Cheers

Mike

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by David Platt
There's also a problem with the reboot command on Series 2 machines (DirecTiVos, anyway)-- 'reboot' doesn't work on those boxes; you have to use 'restart.'

Is the path to the reboot command /tvbin/restart? If not, what would it be?

I don't think hackman could mess up tivowebplus. I've had it running for weeks on both tivoweb 1.9.4 and tivowebplus with no such problem. It lies pretty dormant until it's asked to do something.

[David Platt]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
Is the path to the reboot command /tvbin/restart? If not, what would it be?


It's /sbin/restart.

[PortlandPaw]

Thank you! There is an update posted now, with its own version number.
Dave

[The Soapbox Kid]

This is a really cool module! Thanks!!

One suggestion for future versions would be to create global directory variables (myTyTool is installed in /var/hack ... not /var/hack/tytool) and I had to make changes in three places. I certainly don't mind for something as cool as this ... but just a note.

Thanks!

[PortlandPaw]

Thank you for the suggestion, Soapbox. That's a feature I tried to incorporate into hackman, but ran into difficulties. I agree it would be an improvement and will continue to try to make it work.

UPDATE: Consolidated the paths into a single section in the latest version. And, Fozzie, thanks for the status report.

[Fozzie]

Reboot working OK now on Series 1.

[The Soapbox Kid]

Awesome Portland!! Thanks ... much easier to install newer beta!!

[PortlandPaw]

The latest beta version (in the first post) has more information in the ReadMe, a more informative variables section in hackman.itcl, and alt tags for the buttons in case they aren't installed or graphics are suppressed. No other substantive changes.

[Fozzie]

Stopping or Stop/Start Tivoweb doesn't work for me. I get the OK button but Tivoweb is still running. ps ax shows a new thread:

/tvbin/http_get -U http://127.0.0.1:80/quit -D /tmp -T 0 -C

[Fozzie]

Also got some problems running some shell commands. ls gives:

INTERNAL SERVER ERROR
--cut here--
action_shell '&cmd&title' 'set "cmd" "ls";'
/bin/bash: ls: command not found
while executing
"exec /bin/bash -c "ls && > /dev/null 2>&1 &" "
("uplevel" body line 1)
invoked from within
"uplevel "$cmds [string range $cmd [string length $cmd0] end] $args""
(procedure "unknown" line 4)
invoked from within
"$command"
(procedure "::action_shell" line 58)
invoked from within
"::action_$action $chan $part $env"
("eval" body line 1)
invoked from within
"eval {::action_$action $chan $part $env}"
--cut here--

Presumeably because ls is not in /bin/bash (it's actually in /var/hack/bin)

[PortlandPaw]

Fozzie, you're right about the shell calls. They are "false" calls in that none of the shell environment elements are set, such as aliases or paths. So if it's not a bash call or if the command lives elsewhere, you're going to have to specify the full path to make it work. I consider this to be kind of a long distance way to look at a quick shell call. If I have a lot of stuff to do, I'm better off just doing a telnet session.

As for TivoWeb not shutting down, I don't know what the reason would be. That's been the accepted shutdown method that works without rebooting the TiVo. (Can't remember who to credit with figuring this out). It's worked every time for me on my Series 1 SA.

If anybody has any ideas on how to implement this on other models, please let me know. Fozzie, I assume you're running something other than 1-SA. If you're on a 1-SA, I'm really stumped!

P.S.
I just did an ls from the shell command line with no problem. And mine is also in /var/hack/bin. I think the difference is that my path statement in the TiVo boot sequence includes /var/hack/bin. That's included in the /var/hack/etc/hacks_callfromrc.sysinit which is Jeff Keegan's methods for starting stuff without messing up rc.sysinit too much.

[Fozzie]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
As for TivoWeb not shutting down, I don't know what the reason would be. That's been the accepted shutdown method that works without rebooting the TiVo. (Can't remember who to credit with figuring this out). It's worked every time for me on my Series 1 SA.

Hopefully someone will have an idea what to try ;)

Fozzie, I assume you're running something other than 1-SA. If you're on a 1-SA, I'm really stumped!Mine is a Series 1 SA (UK model running 2.5.5 software).

I just did an ls from the shell command line with no problem. And mine is also in /var/hack/bin. I think the difference is that my path statement in the TiVo boot sequence includes /var/hack/bin.Just checked and I've also got /var/hack/bin in the path (albeit in using a slightly different way - using a .profile file - but it's definitely in the path.)

Post typing note - having just checked my path I thought I'd just try ls again and it works now! The only thing I've done since it not working is reboot Tivo so gremlins must have been at work! CD doesn't change directorys though - cd or cd .. gives an OK but then pwd shows I haven't changed directorys ?!

It would be nice to solve the shutting down/restarting Tivoweb problem though because I've just put TWP on and would like to switch between them.

[PortlandPaw]

OK, the challenge is out there to all the UK'ers -- how does one shut down TivoWeb using 2.5.5 software?

As for the shell commands, I don't think it executes .profile or anything when it starts. I think you may be having success because you went to bash, executed .profile, and had your paths set. I think they need to be set explicitly in one of the boot scripts, like rc.sysinit or rc.sysinit.author.

For multiple commands, construct a single line that does everything you want it to do. For example, the following sets the directory, sends a line return and then does an ls on that directory:

cd /var/hack/bin \n ls

This is really kind of fun, isn't it?

[PortlandPaw]

Thanks to mini_me from the UK, the TivoWeb shutdown puzzle has been solved, I think. Please try out the latest version (top post in this thread) and let me know.

[sanderton]

The reason it didn't work is beacuse local loopback is disabled by default on UK TiVos for some reason.

You need to issue a

ifconfig lo up

first.

[Fozzie]

Yippee - stopping/starting and switching between Tivoweb versions now works for me :) Thanks.

I don't know if this is 'normal' behaviour but although the tivoweb process is killed immediately, the '/tvbin/http_get -U http://127.0.0.1:80/quit -D /tmp -T 0 -C' process hangs around for a couple of minutes before dying of its' own accord?

[PortlandPaw]

I left the old loopback command in just in case TivoWeb wasn't responding and this might work instead. Since, as you noted, it disappears, I figured it was harmless to leave it in and it just might help one of us yanks.

[PortlandPaw]

Just posted a new beta -- tightened up the code and made the file 20% smaller. Other than displaying the version number, no real difference in functionality.

[PortlandPaw]

The latest beta version (top post in this thread) has a separate .cfg file which can be edited directly from the module (thank you tivo-onion and sanderton).

Since it is unlikely that the release configuration file will change, future updates to hackman won't require additional adjustments to your .cfg file.

All this will make initial installation and subsequent updating much easier.

[PortlandPaw]

I borrowed a little too much from tivo-onion's code and was trying to call a subroutine that lives in managedailymail.itcl. Worked fine as long as managedailymail.itcl was installed, but failed miserably when it wasn't. Plus it was unnecessary. So I pulled the offending line of code and have posted version 1.08 beta.

[PortlandPaw]

Maintenance, housekeeping and general tidying up are the hallmarks of this latest beta version, available in the first post of this thread.

[Prof. Yaffle]

PortlandPaw, excellent module thanks. Already coming in very handy when FTP stops working! Two slight problems though. When going from Tivoweb 1.9.4 to Tivowebplus and vice-versa the top section of the Tivoweb is duplicated with inverted colours (exactly the same as Tivo-Onions Dailymail module did). Also, with the newest version when I edit the .cfg file in TiVoweb it overwrites the rc.sysinit.author.edit file rather than the hackman.cfg file. I have Stuart's Startup editor installed so I suspect the problem is the same as TiVo-Onions was here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?postid=1856985#post1856985)

[PortlandPaw]

Two good catches, Professor! I'm aware of the double-headed transition page and it has to do with terminating TivoWeb midstroke. I tried putting in and removing html_end commands, but I think the problem has to do with the rug being pulled out from under TivoWeb when it shuts down. I now consider it a transition "feature." If only half were 1.9.4. and the other half TivoWebPlus. Now that would be cool!

Thanks for the catch on the edit_save section. It's funny what plagarism will do to you.

I'm adding the ability to edit other text files, such as crontab, and any other /var-resident startup file, so watch for the next beta, maybe as soon as later tonight.

And thanks for the kind words.

[Prof. Yaffle]

Two different versions of Tivoweb would definitely be cool!I like the sound of being able to edit other text files remotely. I can break TiVo from work then ;)

[PortlandPaw]

This latest beta version (first post in thread) "borrows" sanderton's startuped.itcl concept and expands it to allow editing of other text files, such as config files for TCS, TivoWeb and hackman itself. Comments will be welcome as I approach the end of the beta stage.

Just don't remotely break your TiVo!

[PortlandPaw]

The latest beta version (first post in this thread) is either a terrific service to the TiVo community or its ruination. I've added the ability to safely edit the /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit and rc.sysinit.author files. Mounting, remounting, chmod'ing, UNIX format are all taken care of. You'll note I said safely edit the file. I have no control over how people edit it, and therein lies the danger. This may be too simple and too much power in the hands of an inexperienced user.

But I've put big red warnings in the editing module and warnings in the readme files and so, acting under the assumption that we're all responsible adults willing and able to be accountable for our own actions, I offer this tool.

Now, to paraphrase Prof. Yaffle, you have the power to ruin your TiVo from anywhere in the world! Use this power wisely, Grasshopper.

(And, yes, I've tried editing my own rc.sysinit and it worked fine for me)

[Fozzie]

Great stuff again PortlandPaw :)

A couple of really minor things:

An extra " has crept into this line:

0 {set popup [html_link "javascript:oPopup1.show(400, 100, 300, 185);" [lindex $appnamelist 0]]"}

Reload TivoWeb says "start/stop" which I always end up editing to say stop/start ;)

13 {set popup [html_link "javascript:oPopup7.show(400, 100, 300, 162);" "Reload (start/stop) $tw"]}

Your readme.html uses the old variable names for Tivoweb & Tivowebplus

Favorite should be favourite............. ok, I'm pushing my luck ;)

Thanks again.

[PortlandPaw]

Fozzie, thank you for the excellent catches...except for that favourite thing, that is. Maybe I should find an anglo-neutral alternative, such as "preferred" or "popular." I think I've dodged this issue practically everywhere else in hackman.

[The Soapbox Kid]

Anglo-neutral?? No such thing ... there is only one correct way to spell favourite and it includes the 'u' (this is what happens when a Canadian wades into this ... lol).

Actually, hackman gets better and better with each beta, esp. the switch to a separate config file. My only comment is that when I went to 1.10, I had to use a newer .cfg file and edit it. It would be great if you could indicate which new betas require updating the .cfg file and which ones won't? Just as a convenience.

Thanks again for the great module!

[PortlandPaw]

Will do, Soapbox Kid. I'm working on adding an option to create a secondary startup file (rc.sysinit.author, hacks_callfromrc.sysinit, rc.sysinit.author.edit). I think this with each feature I add, but I think I'm getting close to the end of the development string. That is unless I get any other bright ideas or any of you do.

[PortlandPaw]

As promised, the top of this thread has the latest beta which includes the ability to create a secondary startup file (rc.sysinit.author, hacks_callfromrc.sysinit, rc.sysinit.author.edit). The .cfg file contains a few added comments, but is functionally identical to the prior beta version 1.11.

[David Platt]

Just installed the latest beta, and this thing simply rocks, PP!! It's come a long way in just the short time you've been working on it.

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by David Platt
Just installed the latest beta, and this thing simply rocks, PP!! It's come a long way in just the short time you've been working on it.

Thank you, David! It's certainly nice to get positive feedback. I appreciate it.
Dave

[PortlandPaw]

The comment was made that the bash command line could be made more "user friendly," so I changed it so that it will accept multiple lines of commands, such as:
cd /var/hack/etc
cat crontab
If a command's path is included in one of the startup PATH statements, it will run. However, it still doesn't remember aliases, even if .profile is run as a part of the group of commands. Hmmm.

I changed the password process so it only has to be entered once per visit to the editing screen.

The comment was also made that more applications could be added. What would those be? Any ideas?

I'd like to wrap up the beta phase and move on, so any and all comments and criticisms are welcome.

(Note: No changes were made to the hackman.cfg.file)

[David Platt]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
The comment was also made that more applications could be added. What would those be? Any ideas?



One I wouldn't mind seeing is a command to run moviesort.tcl. Don't know how much of a demand there would be for that, though, or how many people are even using it.

[PortlandPaw]

I've got moviesort.tcl running as a cron job. Would people want to have the ability to run it manually? I guess they might, but I don't see the point.

[David Platt]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
I've got moviesort.tcl running as a cron job. Would people want to have the ability to run it manually? I guess they might, but I don't see the point.

Maybe it's just cause I've never bothered to set cron up on my machine. ;)

Maybe that will be my project for this weekend. It's something I've been meaning to do for a long time, but it intimidates me for some reason.

[PortlandPaw]

For what it's worth, here's my crontab file, edited down to essentials:

# /var/hack/etc/crontab: system-wide crontab
SHELL=/bin/sh
PATH=/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/var/hack/bin
MFS_DEVICE=/dev/hda10
TIVO_ROOT=""

# Five after three a.m.(EST) or four a.m. (DST), every day, push backup of /etc onto PC
5 8 * * * rsync -PavzH --numeric-ids --delete --exclude=displayfiles --exclude=apsrunning.sh /etc/. 192.168.1.10::tivo/etc/. > /var/hack/log/rsync 2>&1

# Ten after three a.m.(EST) or four a.m. (DST), every day, push backup of /var/hack onto PC
10 8 * * * rsync -PavzH --numeric-ids --delete --exclude=displayfiles --exclude=apsrunning.sh /var/hack/. 192.168.1.10::tivo/var/hack/. > /var/hack/log/rsync 2>&1

# Fifteen after three a.m.(EST) or four a.m. (DST), Maine time, every night, update moviesearch
15 8 * * * /var/hack/bin/moviesort.tcl > /var/hack/log/moviesort 2>&1

# Fifteen after eight a.m., Maine time, every weekday, push dailymail

# EST:
# 15 13 * * 1-5 /tvbin/tivosh /var/hack/dailymail/dailymail_jazz.tcl > /var/hack/log/dailymail_jazz 2>&1

# DST:
15 12 * * 1-5 /tvbin/tivosh /var/hack/dailymail/dailymail_jazz.tcl > /var/hack/log/dailymail_jazz 2>&1

I forgot to mention that you can get cron from here. (ftp://ftp.alt.org/pub/tivo/dtype/cron-3.0pl1_TiVo-2.tar.gz) There are complete directions included and it really isn't all that hard to install. Once its running, it works pretty dependably.

[David Platt]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
I forgot to mention that you can get cron from here. (ftp://ftp.alt.org/pub/tivo/dtype/cron-3.0pl1_TiVo-2.tar.gz) There are complete directions included and it really isn't all that hard to install. Once its running, it works pretty dependably.

Thanks for the link. I don't want to get this thread too far off track, so I'll just ask one question about it and if I need any more help I'll start a new thread: do you know if this version works on a Series 2 TiVo?

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by David Platt
Do you know if this version works on a Series 2 TiVo?

No, I'm sorry, I don't know. But I bet it does. Others? This is Vixie Cron V3.0.

[PortlandPaw]

The latest version is a housekeeping update with nothing really new. I hope this is a "disaster check" before going out of beta. Please let me know if there are any problems with it.

[Fozzie]

What's the difference between hackman.itcl & hackmanG.itcl, which are both in the zip?

[stark]

I'd love it if Hackman included <a href="http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=153732&highlight=autospace">autospace</a>.

It's a great little utility, but it has a problem with spontaneously aborting. Being able to easily restart it when that happens would be great.

[Fozzie]

Originally posted by stark
[B]I'd love it if Hackman included autospace.

It's a great little utility, but it has a problem with spontaneously aborting. You must have other problems stark becuase I've been running it for a few months now and it's not stopped on me yet :)

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by stark
I'd love it if Hackman included <a href="http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=153732&highlight=autospace">autospace</a>.

It's a great little utility, but it has a problem with spontaneously aborting. Being able to easily restart it when that happens would be great.

I'll work on adding autospace.

As for aborting, I'm with Fozzie, I haven't seen anything remotely related to such a problem in two months of development. Can you provide details?

As for hackmanG.itcl -- oops -- that's my development code for the last "good" version so I can regress if I have to. Shouldn't have been in the package. Please delete and ignore.

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by stark
I'd love it if Hackman included autospace (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=153732&highlight=autospace) .

Could you please tell me where the lastest and best version of autospace can be downloaded? I don't want to work with an outdated version.

Thanks!

[Fozzie]

I'm running Version 1.1 (from the second post in this thread):

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=153732&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

[arthur]

Excellent tool PortlandPaw
Can I customize how Hackman launches some of the apps where one doesn't specify the app path + arguments.

For example:
I only have control to specify the path to tserver

set tytoolpath "/var/hack/tserver"

and then when hackman launches the app, it would launch with the following command (which I have no control over)

/var/hack/tserver/tserver_mfs7 -s /var/hack/tserver/NowShowing.tcl


I would like to launch it as such

/var/hack/tserver/tserver_mfs7 -s tivosh /var/hack/tserver/NowShowing.tcl

otherwise it wouldn't work for me.

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by arthur
Excellent tool PortlandPaw
Can I customize how Hackman launches some of the apps where one doesn't specify the app path + arguments.

Thank you, arthur. The latest beta version (first post in thread) does the following:
-- Adds autospace as an option (will display only if autospace is installed)
-- Simplifies the process for adding new apps, directions included (inspired by autospace!)
-- Moved startup paths to hackman.cfg per arthur's concern. Now easily editable.
As a result of these changes, updaters should copy both hackman.itcl and hackman.cfg.

As always, please inform me of any problems with hackman and I'm open to suggestions for improvement and/or new apps to include.

[arthur]

Awesome,
what a support,
I just posted the request, and now I have a fully functional version.

Thank you thank you thank you.

[PortlandPaw]

I thought 45 minutes was a reasonable response time. Sorry it took so long! (just kidding) Thanks for the good words!

[stark]

Thanks Portland Paw! The turn-around of your response was incredible.

As to autospace (I'll repost this in the autospace thread when I'm done):

I've got two theories about what is the problem is. One is that the Tivo is spontaneously rebooting. I'll be checking my dailymail to see if that is happening.

The other is that autospace is aborting based on some internal error. The problem is that the autospace log only exists while autospace is running. Autospace ends, the log is deleted. I've got a telnet session open doing a tail of the log. If this is the problem, I hope to see an error in the telnet session even if the log is gone.

[PortlandPaw]

The latest beta (top of thread) adds support for editing the data files for LJay's new "What's On" module and for moviesort. In addition, the ability to edit any read/write file is added. Updaters should copy both hackman.itcl and hackman.cfg.

[PortlandPaw]

It's been about a month and the latest version of hackman has been downloaded well over a hundred times and I haven't heard any further complaints or bug reports. So I think it's time to declare the project finished (for now) and designate the latest release as Version 1.0.

Nothing other than the version designation has been changed from Beta 1.16, so there's no real need to download this other than to ensure that you have the latest version.

Of course, if any problems arise, or if there are requests for other features or support for new hacks, please make those requests known here.

[Fozzie]

A great hack and one of my most used :)

[PortlandPaw]

Thank you, Fozzie, it's great to have a cheering section!

[cachecard_user]

ok, how about a hack to start/stop cachecard caching?

jafa
Site Admin


Joined: 13 Jan 2004
Posts: 841

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 8:29 pm Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi,

You can disable caching by telnetting in, running "cachectl -n -t" (cachectl with test and no splash screen) and then CTRL-C aborting during the write or verify stages.

You can re-enable cacheing by running "cachectl -n" (no need to do a memory test -t).

[PortlandPaw]

Two problems:

1. I don't have a cachecard, so I couldn't test it.

2. Testing would be necessary, as I'm very uncertain how to send a ctrl-c without some experimentation.

You would certainly be able to at least start cachecard from hackman using the bash command line feature.

If anybody has a surefire method for sending a ctrl-c through an "exec /bin/bash -c XXX" type command, please let me know. Then I could set it up and PM it to you for testing. Also, how much time should elapse between the cachectl command and the ctrl-c? And where does cachctl live on your box?

[cachecard_user]

i guess that you can do a ps ax and scan to find the cachctrl process pid, then send a kill command. You can kill it as soon as you can.

[PortlandPaw]

cachecard_user, please tell me if the ps ax/kill pid method works to shut down the cachecard. That is what hackman does now to stop programs.

But I suspect that jafa is giving you his method because kill reboots the TiVo. But if it doesn't and if it shuts down politely, then I can definitely add cachecard support to hackman. Let me know.

[arthur]

To send a CTRL+C use SIGINT
To send a CTRL+BREAK use SIGQUIT

example:

kill -INT <pid of the process that will receive the CTRL+C>

[PortlandPaw]

Thank you, Arthur. That helps.

Here's what I need to create a prototype for testing:
1. Path to cachecard
2. Answer to question re: killing cachecard with PID (kill <PID>) -- does it reboot TiVo?
3. Answer to question re: Will Arthur's method alone do it? (kill -INT <PID>) -- without running "cachectl -n -t" first
4. Time elapsed between the cachectl command and the ctrl-c in the method suggested by jafa

What I really need to know is which of the following sets of commands shuts down cachecard gracefully:
1. kill <pid>
2. kill -INT <pid> (may have to experiment with case)
3. cachectl -n -t
kill -INT <pid>
All of these depend on running ps ax first to determine cachectl's pid.

If somebody with a cachecard will do a little telnet experimentation and fieldwork for me, I can whip up an experimental version to try.

[cachecard_user]

[quote]bash-2.02# cachectl: Driver version: 20040522tr1/20040522tr2
cachectl: 512MB DIMM detected
cachectl: Found partition 0:10 (512MB)
cachectl: Found partition 0:12 (0MB)
cachectl: 512MB database detected
cachectl: Writing.... 0%
bash-2.02# ps ax
PID TTY STAT TIME COMMAND
1 ? SW 0:00 (init)
2 ? SW 0:03 (kflushd)
3 ? SW 0:23 (kswapd)
...blah....blah....blah...
140 ? S 0:00 (myworld)
141 ? S 5:06 ContextMgr eve
235 p0 S 0:02 /bin/bash -login
237 p1 S 0:00 /bin/bash -login
239 p0 R 0:04 cachectl -n -t
240 p1 R 0:00 ps ax
bash-2.02# kill -int 239
bash-2.02# ps ax
PID TTY STAT TIME COMMAND
1 ? SW 0:00 (init)
2 ? SW 0:03 (kflushd)
3 ? SW 0:23 (kswapd)
51 ? S 0:00 update (bdflush)
...blah...blah...blah...
139 ? S 0:05 PvrMain
140 ? S 0:00 (myworld)
141 ? S 5:06 ContextMgr eve
235 p0 S 0:02 /bin/bash -login
237 p1 S 0:00 /bin/bash -login
241 p1 R 0:00 ps ax
bash-2.02#
bash-2.02#[quote]

path is /sbin/cachectl

[arthur]

You're most welcome, I'm glad it helped.

[PortlandPaw]

Cache, alright, this is all very good news. Just one more favor...believe it or not, everything will be simpler if a simple kill <pid> will do the job. That way, I don't have to create an exception for cachecard and I can shut it down the way I'm shutting down most other apps. So could you please see if (in the example above) kill 239 does the trick with no adverse effects?

And do you have to run cachectl -n -t first, or is there a cachectl app already running?

[cachecard_user]

cachectl has to be invoked, and terminates when it is finished testing and/or prefetching. As to weather we are doing anything constructive... I have to defer to Jafa.



bash-2.02# cachectl -n -t &
[1] 251
bash-2.02# cachectl: Driver version: 20040522tr1/20040522tr2
cachectl: 512MB DIMM detected
cachectl: Found partition 0:10 (512MB)
cachectl: Found partition 0:12 (0MB)
cachectl: 512MB database detected
cachectl: Writing.... 0%
bash-2.02# ps ax
PID TTY STAT TIME COMMAND
1 ? SW 0:00 (init)
2 ? SW 0:03 (kflushd)
3 ? SW 0:25 (kswapd)
51 ? S 0:00 update (bdflush)
...blah...blah...blah
141 ? S 6:44 ContextMgr eve
250 p0 S 0:00 /bin/bash -login
251 p0 R 0:04 cachectl -n -t
252 p0 R 0:00 ps ax
bash-2.02# kill 251
bash: ki: command not found
bash-2.02# kill 25.1
bash-2.02# ps ax
PID TTY STAT TIME COMMAND
1 ? SW 0:00 (init)
2 ? SW 0:03 (kflushd)
3 ? SW 0:25 (kswapd)
51 ? S 0:00 update (bdflush)
59 ? S 1:00 syslogd -p /var/dev/log -m 10000
...blah...blah...blah...
250 p0 S 0:00 /bin/bash -login
254 p0 R 0:00 ps ax
[1]+ Terminated cachectl -n -t
bash-2.02# ps ax
PID TTY STAT TIME COMMAND
1 ? SW 0:00 (init)
2 ? SW 0:03 (kflushd)
3 ? SW 0:25 (kswapd)
51 ? S 0:00 update (bdflush)
59 ? S 1:00 syslogd -p /var/dev/log -m 10000
...blah...blah...blah...
1 ? S 6:45 ContextMgr eve
250 p0 S 0:00 /bin/bash -login
255 p0 R 0:00 ps ax
bash-2.02#

[PortlandPaw]

Anyone with a cachecard is invited to try out this experimental version of hackman with cachecard support.

Basically, what it does is start cachecard with:
cachectl -n

And stop it with
cachectl -n -t
followed by a ctrl-c

Please let me know if this works, and if it does I'll add it to the general release version.

(obsolete attachment deleted; see end of thread)

[cachecard_user]

i've been too busy to properly thnk you for a great app and the new cachecard support... I'm going to try it now.

[cachecard_user]

ok good news: starts no problem

now bad news :

Now shutting down cachecard ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
list element in quotes followed by "}" instead of space

....

[PortlandPaw]

That I can fix.

But I've been thinking about this and I need to understand how cachecard works a little better. I'm assuming that there is no app always running while cachecard is operational...that you start it with cachectl, that app terminates and then you run cachectl again (with ctrl-c) to stop it.

This means that there is no application-related way to tell if cachecard is active or not. That means that hackman will look at the list of running apps, not find cachecard and only offer "start" as an option.

So my question is, how do you tell (from software) if cachecard is active or not? Then I can set the state of the start/stop button appropriately.

Or, if there is no good way to tell if cachecard is active, I can set up some kind of toggle to keep track of the status.

So please let me know if there's a way to check the cachecard status and I'll pick up from there.

And thank you for the kind words about hackman; greatly appreciated.

[nosaj56]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
Of course, if any problems arise, or if there are requests for other features or support for new hacks, please make those requests known here.

How about elseed and ccxstream? Thanks. :)

[PortlandPaw]

Okay, for each of these hacks please tell me:
1. The full path and name to the hack
2. The command used to start the hack
3. The command used to stop the hack (if any)

I don't have either of these hacks installed on my SA1 box, so I'll have to do what I'm doing with cachecard, i.e. put together an experimental version and let you tell me if it works.

[nosaj56]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
Okay, for each of these hacks please tell me:
1. The full path and name to the hack
2. The command used to start the hack
3. The command used to stop the hack (if any)

I don't have either of these hacks installed on my SA1 box, so I'll have to do what I'm doing with cachecard, i.e. put together an experimental version and let you tell me if it works.

elseed:
/var/hack/bin/elseed -s 30 -t 15 -b 390 -r 50 &
For elseed, those are the options I use.

ccxstream:
/var/hack/bin/ccxstream &

thanks

[PortlandPaw]

Thanks, nosaj, as soon as I get the info on cachecard, I'll post an experimental prototype for all three new hacks.

[cachecard_user]

i don't think there is an easy way to see the cachecard state, perhaps a half on/off button is the easy solution here...

or just assume it is on when the tivo starts and set up a flag on /tmp, it will syncronize anyway...

[PortlandPaw]

I think I'll pursue your second suggestion -- assume cachecard is running, set a flag to that effect, and if it's not running, you'll have to "stop" it once before you can start it. Not too bad. I'm taking off for the weekend, so look for something around the middle of next week.

[Prof. Yaffle]

I think I might have found a problem. If I run MFS_FTP from Hackman the button alters to Stop as it should. If I then go out of Hackman and back in the button has reverted back to Start even though it's still working which then attempts to restart it if I click it. It used to work fine for me on the older betas and everything is set up correctly in the .cfg file.

[PortlandPaw]

I haven't been able to replicate the problem. Are you sure mfs_ftp didn't shut down on its own? When you telnet in and do a "ps ax", what entry comes up for mfs_ftp? Hackman is looking for "mfs_ftp.tcl" and if it doesn't find it (exactly), it concludes that mfs_ftp isn't running. If it shows a different entry, please let me know and I'll adjust accordingly. Thanks for the heads up!

[Prof. Yaffle]

Many apologies PortlandPaw, you're right. If I ran it manually from the bash prompt it seems to run okay for a few seconds and then when I check with ps ax it's not running. I'm not sure if I had the latest version but I installed it a while ago so I got the current release from Another Place, deleted the version on TiVo and reinstalled it and all is working well now. Again, many apologies :o

[PortlandPaw]

No apologies necessary, Prof., I'm just glad you're getting use from hackman!

[dialanothernumb]

IMHO Hackman is very similar to sanderton's work in approach and practicality. Simply a hack most people want, well-executed.

Thanks PortlandPaw, for thinking of it and delivering it.

I'm especialy looking forward to the ccxstream version as I use XBox Media Center with my TiVos very siuccessfully but don't always remember to start ccxstream.

Again, many thanks for hackman!

[stark]

Apparently Riley put a time limit on mfs_ftp 1.29Q. I found this out at the "forum which shall not be named".

You can downgrade to the P version, or reload the Q version.

[PortlandPaw]

This is kind of like programming in the dark, since I can't test any of these additions:
1. cachecard
2. elseed
3. ccxstream

But take a look at this experimental version [obsolete version deleted] and if something doesn't work right or you get any error messages (I suspect you might!) be sure to cut, paste and post them here. I'll keep dabbling until I get it right.

And thanks again for the kind words.

[nosaj56]

Ok, quick reply: Look in line 9 of the config:
asdfasf# See ReadMe for explanations of these switches:
:)

After I removed the asdfasf, I get two cachecard entries, one that I can start and one that I can stop. Odd (I'm on a series 2 dtivo.). Plus no elseed or ccxstream entries.

[PortlandPaw]

OK, try this one [obsolete deleted]. Almost makes me want to go out and buy a cachecard!

[nosaj56]

Now, no more cachecard stuff. elseed and ccxstream both appear. Starting ccxstream works. But I can't shutdown either hack. (I have elseed start at boot.) progress...

[PortlandPaw]

Kind of like playing chess by mail, isn't it? This should help.

NOTE: Obsolete Revised Experimental 4 deleted

[PortlandPaw]

Check latest version in previous post.

[nosaj56]

It helped indeed. Everything works (or doesn't when I click stop). Good job.

[PortlandPaw]

Does cachecard work, too? With which version?

[nosaj56]

I have no cachecard. (on s2dtivo here) With the second verion of exp-4, cachecard shows up even though I have no cachecard...

[PortlandPaw]

Well, it looks like we need a cachecard user to try my experimental version.

I'll upload one soon.

[nosaj56]

btw, you might want to change the may 2004 shortcut to june 2004 :)

[dialanothernumb]

PP, ccxstream works a dream for me.. thanks v. much

[PortlandPaw]

Here's the latest experimental -- looks like ccxstream and elseed are working OK, but I need feedback on cachecard.

There are now entries in the hackman.cfg file to indicate whether cachecard is:
0 = not installed
1 = installed, default to off
2 = installed, default to on

The idea is that when hackman starts, it will either consider cachecard to be on or off (default). From there, it will toggle cachecard on and off. If it's out of phase to begin with, an extra cycle of turning it on or off will be required to align it properly.

Since I'm writing this "blind" and can't test it, I'll expect a few errors before I get it right. So please let me know as much as you can, error messages and such, and I'll get it running.

Dialanothernumb, you're welcome!

[Obsolete attachment deleted]

[nosaj56]

No cachecard shows when the setting is off. cool. Could you alphabetize the hacks? bug alert: tserver doesn't appear in the list unless it's exactly named tserver_mfs7. thanks again

[nosaj56]

None of the hacks want to shutdown with the newest version. I get this error: extra switch pattern with no body

[PortlandPaw]

Fixed now. You tickle one end and the other giggles.

I've come up with a way to allow tserver alone to operate. It looks for NowShowing.tcl as a test for TyTool.

As for alphabetizing, I want the most frequent running hacks up top. Personal preference. Allowing the order to be customized would be a challenge.

Check out the prototype in the next post. Still looking for cachecard comments!

[PortlandPaw]

Here's the latest experimental -- looks like ccxstream and elseed are working OK, but I need feedback on cachecard.

There are now entries in the hackman.cfg file to indicate whether cachecard is:
0 = not installed
1 = installed, default to off
2 = installed, default to on

The idea is that when hackman starts, it will either consider cachecard to be on or off (default). From there, it will toggle cachecard on and off. If it's out of phase to begin with, an extra cycle of turning it on or off will be required to align it properly.

Since I'm writing this "blind" and can't test it, I'll expect a few errors before I get it right. So please let me know as much as you can, error messages and such, and I'll get it running.

[Prof. Yaffle]

Originally posted by stark
Apparently Riley put a time limit on mfs_ftp 1.29Q. I found this out at the "forum which shall not be named".

You can downgrade to the P version, or reload the Q version.

Thanks stark, that would explain it. I'll remember that next time it stops working.

[nickmoody]

Can you walk me through how to edit in HackManager. I have configured the password to get into the "dangerous" functions yet have not found link in HM that requests the pw nor can I figure out how to edit. Any help is greatly appreciated! I am currently displaying:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TiVo Hack Manager
TiVo Telnet TiVo FTP
TivoWeb 1.9.4 TyTool (tserver)
TiVo Resources Reload (stop/start) TivoWeb 1.9.4
Reboot TiVo

Enter shell command:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[PortlandPaw]

In an attempt to be less than obvious, I made the entry point to the "dangerous" section the dateline at the bottom. Just click on "June, 2004" and you'll be there.

[TimTrace]

On my HDRV2, I'm not seeing HackMan in my TiVoWeb plus menu.

It shows up fine on my Series-1 SA.

???

[PortlandPaw]

I don't have an HDRV2 to test it on, but there's no reason why it shouldn't at least appear as a menu item. Not to be insultingly obvious, are you sure hackman.itcl and hackman.cfg are in the modules directory of your TivoWebPlus? And have you done a complete shut down of TWP and restart from telnet? This shouldn't be necessary, but may be the kick it needs.

[TimTrace]

PortlandPaw - nope, you're not being insulting at all!

Both files are in the modules folder. I've actually completely rebooted the TiVo several times, playing with other hacks.

???

[PortlandPaw]

The only time I haven't seen hackman load is when it has some kind of fatal error in it. So, first, I'm assuming you're using v1.0 and not the experimental version I've been working with in this thread.

So with v1.0 installed, shut down TWP completely and from a telnet session enter the start command, "tivoweb console." If you get any error messages please cut, paste and send them to me. Thanks!

[TimTrace]

Thanks for the tip on echoing the TiVo output to the console...

hackman
NONE can't read "tivoweb194path": no such variable
while executing
"file exists $tivoweb194path/tivoweb"
(file "./modules/hackman.itcl" line 24)
invoked from within
"source $module "
I've remmed the "tivoweb194path" line in hackman.cfg . I don't have 1.94 installed, only TiVoWeb Plus.

HackMan works beautifully if I unrem the "tivoweb194path" line, and point it to my TiVoWeb Plus installation.

Seems as if both TiVoWeb 1.94 and TiVoWeb Plus are required for HackMan...?

At the risk of topic drift, it seems that it might behoove me to ask, "Should I have both 194 and Plus installed, and why?" :confused:

[PortlandPaw]

I love happy endings. No, there's no reason to have both 1.9.4 and Plus installed other than to offer people the option of having both available for various purposes and in case there are modules that work in one but not the other.

For the benefit of others installing hackman, both hackman.cfg and the readme file include instructions not to delete a path even if it's not installed. I guess I should expand that to include commenting out.

Glad you got hackman running and I hope you enjoy it.

[jbstix]

First off, great hack here PP!!!

I'm having trouble getting "ccxstream" to show up in HackManager.
I have it in /var/hack/ccxstream/ccxstream
here's what I tried in hackman.cfg

set ccxstreampath "/var/hack/bin/ccxstream"

set 14 "exec $ccxstreampathname &"

I also tried this:

set ccxstreampath "/var/hack/ccxstream/ccxstream"

ccxstream is running fine on my Tivo, and I can start and stop it via Telnet.

What am I doing wrong here??

thanks for the help,

jb

[PortlandPaw]

ccxstream hasn't been added to the general distribution yet, as I'm waiting to fix cachecard support (low level priority project both on my end and, apparently, on the user side). Are you using the experimental version found here? (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?postid=1997334#post1997334) . This one supports ccxstream, to the best of my knowledge (I don't have ccxstream to test it with).

[jbstix]

Thanks for the reply PP...

Would it be possible for me to add the ccxstream support to HackMan 1.0?
Are there any big differences between Ver. 1.0 and Experimental Ver. 7?
I'm using HackMan 1.0 and its working great, so if I didn't have to switch to the othere version, that would be great.

thanks for the support and a great hack!

jb

[PortlandPaw]

The only differences between v1.0 and Exp.7 are that 7 supports ccxstream and elseed and is in development to support cachecard, although it doesn't work yet. You can safely use Exp.7 and I would recommend you do so. Don't forget to replace both hackman.itcl and hackman.cfg!

And thanks for the kind words.

[jbstix]

Just switched over to Exp. 7, and ccxstreax now shows up in HackMan.
At first I could stop it, but couldn't start it. So, I telnetted and allowed permission "cd /var/hack/bin" chmod +x ccxstream and now it works!
Will the chmod +x allow permission from now on, even if I reboot?

thanks again,

jb

[PortlandPaw]

That should take care of it.

[jbstix]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
That should take care of it.

Very cool!!!
Thanks again- great hack great support!!!


jb

[threadkiller]

thanks portlandpaw, just upgraded to v1, excelent hack

[tivo4ever]

First of all, great tool.
I was wondering what it would take to make hackman recognize and be able
to start the tyhttpd daemon that is part of mfsstream. I like the ability to start
and stop these servers from hackman. Do I just need to update hackman.cfg?
with?

[PortlandPaw]

The program itself has to be updated. I've included steps to add other hacks in the code, but it would be better if I did myself, had you test it, and then went public with it.

For both tyhttpd server and mfsstream please tell me:
1. The full path and name to the hack
2. The command used to start the hack
3. The command used to stop the hack (if any)

I don't have either of these hacks installed on my SA1 box, so I'll have to put together an experimental version and let you tell me if it works.

And thanks for the kind words!

[tivo4ever]

Well, I can tell you what I know from the readme.txt file for this server:

Installation
------------

1) copy mfs_stream (this is compiled with pri1) AND tyhttpd to a directory of your choice.
2) chmod 755 tyhttpd mfs_stream
3) copy all files in modules/ to your tivoweb modules directory (ie - /var/hack/tivoweb-tcl/modules).
4) edit modules/mfsstream.cfg and change 'path' to the path that contains mfs_stream.
5) add this line to /etc/rc.d/rc.sysint
"/path/to/tyhttpd 2000 4 >> /dev/null &"
2000 is the port number and 4 is the number of concurrent streams allowed.
6) reboot your tivo (or start tyhttpd and tivoweb by hand)

I'm very far from a Linux expert, but I think the /tivoweb-tcl directory is for the
original tivoweb. I think the /tivowebplus directory is for the webplus level. correct?

I'd prefer the hackman.cfg to point to tivowebplus directory if I had a vote

[tivo4ever]

forgot to add....I'd be happy to test a private level....

[PortlandPaw]

So, what was your "directory of choice"? I'm assuming the "/path/to" is intended to represent this directory. Is that correct?

I found this at http://www.fumanchu.com/tivo/ ... does it represent where you put your files?

mfs_stream -> tivo:/var/hack/mfs/mfs_stream
readme.txt -> tivo:/var/hack/mfs/readme.txt
tyhttpd -> tivo:/var/hack/mfs/tyhttpd
mfsstream.cfg -> tivo:/var/hack/tivoweb-tcl/modules/mfsstream.cfg
mfsstream.itcl -> tivo:/var/hack/tivoweb-tcl/modules/mfsstream.itcl
mfscat.cfg -> tivo:/var/hack/tivoweb-tcl/modules/mfscat.cfg
mfscat.itcl -> tivo:/var/hack/tivoweb-tcl/modules/mfscat.itcl

Finally, is there any particular command to shut down tyhttpd? I can stop it, but it may reboot TiVo.

As far as your tivoweb directory, it is what you name it. For example, I have 1.9.4 in /var/hack/tivoweb-tcl and I have tivowebplus in /var/hack/tivowebplus. This would be editable (is that a word?) in the hackman.cfg file.

[tivo4ever]

I'm not familar with this server to know what the command is to stop it.
That's why I prefer using hackman to stop/start things...
I guess I'd prefer tivowebplus directory, but here again I'll defer to you on that.

[PortlandPaw]

OK, but is tyhttpd found at /var/hack/mfs/tyhttpd? If not, where did you put it? This can all be adjusted in hackman.cfg, but we might as well get it right to begin with.

[tivo4ever]

I picked it up in a zip file out of mfsstreamweb98b(from that other forum).
I put it in the tivowebplus directory. I'll move it to /var/hack/mfs/tyhttpd
in the interest of keeping it 'clean' if that's your preference.

[PortlandPaw]

I just downloaded mfsstreamweb and read the readme file. It would make sense to follow their directions and look for tyhttpd in the /modules directory.

But I also looked to see what it does -- if you're looking to stream files from the TiVo using a web interface, TivoWebPlus does that very nicely -- I use it all the time. Also, and this is speculation, TWP is using more advanced techniques -- mfsstreamweb is over two years old, which makes it ancient in TiVo hacking. But we're treading into "forbidden" territory.

Do you still want me to proceed?

[tivo4ever]

Sorry, I didn't get notified that you had made another append.
Hold off on the change. You are probably correct. Let me look at other 'options'
My head starts spinning as there are soo many hacks....thanks for the listen

[Francesco]

Great add-on, PortlandPaw!

OK, I'm on the right track. I have one of those big BG Micro VFDs attached to my S|1 DTiVo, and I run demark's vfd.tcl (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=53954) with it. I have managed to get it set up as pid 14, and it shows up. Clicking the start button does indeed start vfd.tcl and the display fires up! However, the button does not change to "stop" and I can find nowhere to change this in the itcl. I did add 14 {exec /bin/bash -c "$vfdpathname -stop"} to the shutdown commands, but I'm not entirely sure which command actually stops this script... still, the button stays green.

Thanks,

[PortlandPaw]

Thank you for the good words. Is this a popular hack? Maybe I should just add it into the package. In the meantime, if you would PM me your version of hackman.itcl and hackman.cfg, I'll figure it out.

[PortlandPaw]

Francesco, I checked the files you sent me, and you've done all the right things. Hackman does a "ps x" (actually, something very similar) to read what processes are currently running on the TiVo. The only thing I can think of is that either vfd.tcl runs but doesn't stay resident, or you have the wrong identifier defined in the "set applist" section of hackman.itcl.

With vfd running (give it a couple minutes after it starts), do "ps x" from telnet and see what a suitable identifier would be.

If vfd is not running, I would have to do some major surgery as was suggested for cachecard support. A better idea would be to make a new (#15) entry that would call "exec /bin/bash -c "$vfdpathname -stop"

The "stop" and "go" buttons would be meaningless, but you would have the functionality you want (I hope!)

[PortlandPaw]

I looked at demark's original posting (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?postid=531297#post531297) of this script and found this:

It's been running on mine for the past month or so. The only caveat is that you cannot just kill the process if you want to stop or restart it -- there is a good chance that your tivo will reboot. Therefore, you have to "touch /tmp/vfd.stop" and wait for it to exit normally. Remove /tmp/vfd.stop and then you can restart the script.

So where did your "-stop" command come from? Unless there's been some update to the script that provides a graceful exit, I'm afraid hackman won't be able to handle the hands-on shut-down process.

[Francesco]

LOL! OK, thanks. Just a guess from someone trying to logically decipher a language that is 100% foreign to him (tcl)! At least I found all the right things to do! Hehehe... Now on to figuring out why I can't get TiVoweb Plus to install.

[Fofer]

Wow, this is a cool add-on indeed. Thanks PortlandPaw for all the great work, and sharing it with us!

Is there anyway to get this to work with the newer EndPadPlus instead? Simply changing the path in the .cfg file didn't work for me.

[PortlandPaw]

Thanks for the good words. Could you point me to EndPadPlus and I'll take a look at it?

[Fofer]

It's over at the "other" forum, I don't think a link would work here.
But if you Google for "endpadplus" it's the first link that comes up.

EndPadPlus * for all your soft padding needs
==========================================

Adds padding at the start and end of every program as long as it does not
conflict with another recording.

This script was derived from sanderton's EndPad 1.3.3. The most notable
improvement is the addition of DirecTiVo Dual Tuner support. Other
refinements include modularization of code, improved command line handling,
improved and verbose logging, suggestion equalization, and more.

Thanks to sanderton for allowing me to start from his existing code and
to splitsec for helping during the debugging process. Some thanks from the
original EndPad include Dibblah and ccwf for suggestions and refinements and
LJ for log rotation code. Additionally, some portions of the new code were
based upon code taken from TivoWebPlus, which is a collaborative effort.

Latest release: 1.1.1
Release timestamp: July 22, 2004 @ 11:00pm CST

=======================================
Latest improvements/fixes:
-- Daylight Savings status report on startup fixed
-- added error recovery code in case of channel fsid changes
-- Daylight Savings Time is now processed for each timestamp instead of only when the script is started

=======================================
Features:
-- user-defined start and end padding
-- dual tuner DirecTiVo support
-- optional suggestion equalization

Compatibility:
-- Series 1 and 2
-- TiVo and DirecTiVo
-- USA and UK
-- All software versions

[PortlandPaw]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[Fofer]

Thanks for checking into that, PortlandPaw.

How about using HackMan to be able to remount root read/writeable and then change it back to read-only? I know there are lots of other shortcuts (I'm currently using the remount.itcl TivoWeb module) but it seems like it would "belong" best in HackMan.

[Porterx]

Originally posted by Fofer
Thanks for checking into that, PortlandPaw.

How about using HackMan to be able to remount root read/writeable and then change it back to read-only? I know there are lots of other shortcuts (I'm currently using the remount.itcl TivoWeb module) but it seems like it would "belong" best in HackMan.

Wow, great idea.

[PortlandPaw]

I can do this very easily -- already being done to edit rc.sysinit -- but setting the file system to read/write can be dangerous if left in the read/write mode. Is this too risky for inclusion in hackman? Or should we take the route of "personal responsibility?"

Over the next few days, I'll try to add support for EndPadPlus and release an update that will include support for a couple of other hacks not included in the original release.

And I'll add remount support if you don't think it's too risky.

[Fofer]

I like the route of "personal responsibility." Anyone sophisticated enough to be installing HackMan should already be aware of these risks anyway. As mentioned above, I use remount.itcl and its a great lil' shortcut.

Is there a way for HackMan to be state-sensitive? For example, when the file system is in read/write mode, there's some indication, and when it's back in read-only mode, you can visually tell?

(I'm thinking red light/green light, or perhaps an icon of a combination lock, open or closed.)

Something like that would make it the most elegant remounting method, IMHO.

[PortlandPaw]

I don't know of a simple way to read the read/write state. I would just set the mount to ro when hackman starts (which will probably not be necessay, but establishes the state for certain), set the control to "start" (rw), and then toggle accordingly.

[Fofer]

Yeah, that's cool too :cool:

[Francesco]

Ah. That would certainly explain why "Endpad" has never worked for me. I just assumed "Plus" was a logical extension of sanderton's original, and installed it instead...

[Porterx]

You could do it like steve jenkings guide does the read/write and read only. When hackman is closed, it automatically sets the system back to read only.

[PortlandPaw]

Good idea, but I don't know of any exit code that is automatically called when a module is exited. Control just jumps from module to module. I plan on putting this control on the "danger" page, so people can choose to not display it if they want to play it safe.

[PortlandPaw]

Version 1.1 update (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?postid=1869551#post1869551) includes support for EndPadPlus, elseed, and ccxstream as well as ability to set permissions for the TiVo root directory to read/write and back to read-only.

[Fofer]

Awesome, great work PortlandPaw!

When I try to use HackMan to edit the hackman.cfg file (specifically to edit the password) however, I get this:
"error copying "./modules/hackman.cfg" to "./modules/hackman.cfg.old": read-only file system"

Even if I just go in to read the hackman.cfg file and make no changes, but click "Save," I get that error when I'm done.


Also, when I toggle to read/write and back to read only, there is an intermediary page that says "OK/Cancel" or just "OK" that seems to serve no purpose... there's no other text.


But EndPadPlus control seems to be working great!

[PortlandPaw]

I can't seem to replicate these problems...all works fine here. Try another download/install, and I'll do the same here -- must be a file corruption issue.

Another thought -- what model/software are you running? Maybe /var has to be explicitly made r/w. I'm setting / to r-o when hackman starts.

[Fofer]

I'll try again. I am running OS 4.0 (Superpatch) on an HDVR2. All of my add-on software is in /hack.

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by Fofer
All of my add-on software is in /hack.

I think maybe that's the problem. TiVo software locks down all the directories but /var. That might include your /hack. Did the problem with writing to the .cfg file exist in the last edition of hackman?

Typically, people keep their hacks in /var/hack to get around this problem.

[Fofer]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
I think maybe that's the problem. TiVo software locks down all the directories but /var. That might include your /hack. Did the problem with writing to the .cfg file exist in the last edition of hackman?


No it didn't.

Originally posted by PortlandPaw

Typically, people keep their hacks in /var/hack to get around this problem.

I used to as well, in my previous DirecTiVo. But then one day the contents of var/hack were cleared out:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=178966

so I thought I'd put them elsewhere this time around.

[PortlandPaw]

OK, I did a little experimentation and by setting the root directory to be read-only, your /hack directory is also ro. I'm doing this when hackman loads, and that's why your edits are failing. So maybe I should add a variable to the .cfg file that allows for alternate locations for hacks, such as /hack. Then when I lock down the root directory, I can open up /hack. I'll work on that.

As to the other problem with the OK/Cancel screens, I have no clue at this point.

[Fofer]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
OK, I did a little experimentation and by setting the root directory to be read-only, your /hack directory is also ro. I'm doing this when hackman loads, and that's why your edits are failing. So maybe I should add a variable to the .cfg file that allows for alternate locations for hacks, such as /hack. Then when I lock down the root directory, I can open up /hack. I'll work on that.

That would be great. As I mentioned earlier, this wasn't an issue with the previous version (I was able to edit both tivoweb.cf and hackman.cfg before on the same hacked box.) Yet with the new version, this glitch happens for me whether or not I even use the new RW/RO toggle at all. I understand that merely loading HackMan sets the dir to RO automatically. I guess the new variable would help out.

Take your time and I'll be happy to test v1.2 immediately when its ready. :up:

Originally posted by PortlandPaw

As to the other problem with the OK/Cancel screens, I have no clue at this point.

I'll check this out some more... it doesn't seem to impair any functionality, it's just a strange UI thing to have to click "OK" twice.

If you'd like me to open my box for outside access so you can check it out and see the behavior I am talking about, feel free to PM me and I can arrange that as well.

And thanks for all your great work on this, we all appreciate it.

[Porterx]

I just wanted to say thank you for a great hack. I love it, especially being able to edit inside hackman. Again, thanks.

Porter

[PortlandPaw]

Fofer, I'm trying to figure out why hackman editing worked before. Did you have the root directory set as read/write? If not, what did you do to /hack to allow access to it?


Originally posted by Fofer
Also, when I toggle to read/write and back to read only, there is an intermediary page that says "OK/Cancel" or just "OK" that seems to serve no purpose... there's no other text.

Are you sure there's no other text? That's what's confusing me. One page consists of:

Are you sure you want to do this?...
You'll risk corrupting your files in the event of a disk malfunction.
OK
Cancel

And the other page has:
Now setting the root directory permissions to read/write (dangerous!)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: It is dangerous to leave your TiVo file system with read/write permissions.
Be sure to return permissions to read-only when you're finished!
You have been duly warned!
OK

The page for returning to read-only says:
Now setting the root directory permissions to read only (safe)
OK

I don't know how only parts of those pages (the controls) could be displayed without the rest. Maybe I will have to see your box working over the 'net.

And Fofer and Porterx, thank you both for the kind words. It will be a few days before I can get back to the permissions question, but I think its a valid point.

[Fofer]

Well I figured out the second part of the puzzle... I am using the schedule theme... it is the most elegant and understated IMHO, with light colors and easy on the eye. (all of the others were so glaring and obnoxious to my eye.) So the text you quoted didn't appear. When I switched to another theme the text was visible again.

As far as what I did before to /hack, I did nothing different. It's a relatively new box to me, recently hacked, but the previous HackMan worked fine to edit text but the new version doesn't. Nothing else has changed on this machine (or how I access it) whatsoever.

[PortlandPaw]

I should have thought of the theme possibility. Now I can sleep tonight.

But do you run your box with the root directory in read/write? I'm trying to figure out how /hack would be accessible otherwise.

[Fofer]

On this particular HDVR2 I am using a pre-hacked image so I will have to check out the rc.sysinit file to see how it's configured. I am not sure if the root directory starts in read/write or not. Hopefully I'll be able to make heads or tails of it...

But I do know that before I can make any changes I have to do the remount R/W ... and then always remember to remount R/O when I am done.

[stevehaley]

Firstly great module - saved my life on more than one occasion.
But
I suddenly notice that your example screen had an FTP button and mine didnt. If this has the capability to restart the ftp service that would be great. Did a bit more investigation and found that my tivoftpd is installed in /sbin.
Do i simply change the line in the cfg file for ftp
from set ftppathname "/var/hack/bin/tivoftpd"
to set ftppathname "/sbin/tivoftpd"

rgds
Stephen

[Prof. Yaffle]

Mine is also in /sbin and that's all I did. It's very handy when FTP crashes!

[Fozzie]

Portland Paw,

Any chance you could add the ability to edit another Tivoweb module's config file? The module is 'whatson.itcl' and it has a text file called 'favchan' which is located in '/var/hack'. The file is used to list channel numbers that are designated as Top Favourites.

The thread is here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=87794) but more info on LJ's site here (http://www.ljay.org.uk/tivoweb/).

Many thanks.

[PortlandPaw]

It's already there.

By the way, this is one of the easier things to modify in hackman. To add a file the way Fozzie wants, just follow these steps:
1. In hackman.cfg, add the full pathname of the file to the list of "set filexx 'pathname'"
2. Find the following line in hackman.itcl:
set filelist "$file2 $file3 $file4 $file5 $file6 $file7 $file8 $file9 $file10 $file11 $file12 $file13 $file14 Other"
3. Add $filexx to the end of the list, before "other"

These instructions will be added to the next release of hackman.

[Fozzie]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
It's already there.So it is! How stupid do I feel? :o

Thanks.

[PortlandPaw]

Not to worry. I had to look at it and check to see if my memory was accurate!

[philhu]

Hey

This is a great module!

What are 'Resources', why would I want to stop or start them?

Also, does anyone have a link to 'autospace'?

[PortlandPaw]

Thank you. Starting resources lists all the resources that can be edited with TivoWeb's Resource Editor. That button doesn't really work to start or stop hacks like the other ones -- it just displays the resources.

A search of this thread quickly brought up autospace (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=153732&highlight=autospace) .

[philhu]

Thanks

I did a search, only saw items referencing autospace. Thanks for the link.

The resource stuff is very cool.

Now I have something new to play with!@

[PortlandPaw]

A minor update Version 1.2.1 (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?postid=1869551#post1869551) improves the remount function by adding an automatic detection routine and makes default read-only mounting optional. Users who have their hacks in a directory other than /var/* may want to override the default read-only which hackman sets when it loads. Updaters should install both hackman.itcl and hackman.cfg.

[crow]

Here's my error.. I just Sleepered my TiVo and DLd the latest version of TiVoWebPlus as well as Hackman.. what am I missing?

tivo:/usr/tivoweb-tcl/modules$ chmod 755 hackman.itcl
tivo:/usr/tivoweb-tcl/modules$ hackman.itcl
./hackman.itcl: global: command not found
./hackman.itcl: global: command not found
./hackman.itcl: global: command not found
./hackman.itcl: global: command not found
./hackman.itcl: global: command not found
./hackman.itcl: global: command not found
./hackman.itcl: global: command not found
./hackman.itcl: global: command not found
./hackman.itcl: global: command not found
./hackman.itcl: /tv/sendkey.tcl: No such file or directory
./hackman.itcl: /modules/hackman.cfg: No such file or directory
./hackman.itcl: line 32: syntax error near unexpected token `}'
./hackman.itcl: line 32: ` }'

[Fozzie]

You shouldn't be running hackman.itcl. It's a module for Tivoweb/Tivowebplus.

[crow]

well, I copied the cfg file and the itcl file to the modules dir and the images to their location and I get nothing.. As I say, what am I missing?

[PortlandPaw]

I'm betting you're trying to do all this without the benefit of assistance from the README file -- that's what I wrote if for and it's included in both .html and .txt format for your reading pleasure and technical edification.

[crow]

mk, currently running TivoWebPlus 1.0 from http://tivo.fp2000.org/twp/. .

I actually had the README open under my FTP and Telnet windows. I extract the files into a temp directory on my PC and then FTP them to their respective locations on the tivo. I then restart TivoWebPlus and get nothing new..

I just removed Tivoweb altogether and am redoing the whole thing since Sleeper put the initial install on there.


That seemed to do the trick, the Hackmanger now shows up.. I guess there were remnants of the old tivoweb software from Sleeper..
Looks like a great addition, Thanks.

[PortlandPaw]

I apologize for the snide comment -- enjoy!

[SeanC]

Hey PP,

As always, great work :). I updated to the new version of HM last night with no problems but as I was doing it I had a thought. Because of Dailymail crashing every 1-2 weeks I have to do a reboot, then re-enable the 30 second skip. I have often wished to have a more automatic method of enabling this code. I went into hackman.itcl and edited/added these lines:

puts $chan [html_link "/password;" "August, 2004<br>"]
puts $chan [html_link "/sendkey/select/play/select/3/0/select;" "Dis/Enable 30 second skip"]

This is a kludge at best but it was a nice simple area to stick my one line of html. Also it only works about half the time. I'm guessing that the code gets sent to the Tivo too fast and a kepress gets missed. Clicking on the link 2-3 times works though. Any idea if there is a way to add pauses in the URL?

[PortlandPaw]

I don't know about pauses, but you could try looking at the sendkeypress code that I use to shut down TCS -- it's in hackman.itcl, as well. I don't have it in front of me, so I don't remember precisely...look for something like {SendKey "num9" SendKey "num9" SendKey "clear"}.

You might try experimenting with this control. If it works, let me know and I'll hard code it into a new section. Maybe some kind of "user definable" section.

Let me know how it works!

p.s. I've been thinking about doing something similar to enable backdoors and other features...maybe this is the spark I need to make that happen.

[Carlton Bale]

I think auto-enabling the 30-second skip would be an excellent addition! I believe you need to be watching a pre-recorded show to get the key sequence to work? I have a macro on my Pronto remote that works well to guarantee that a recorded show is being played when the 30-second skip is activated. There is the key press sequence (with explanations):

Live TV (known starting point)
Tivo button (menu)
Tivo button (now playing)
Down (to make sure an in-progress recording isn't selected)
Down (same as above for dual tuner directivo)
Play (plays show)
Select
Play
Select
3
0
Select (enable 30 second skip)
Tivo button (back to main menu)

Not sure if sendkey would require this same sequence. I do have to put some pauses in the macro because Tivo is a little slow switching screens.

Since I usually don't know that my tivo had rebooted, I always accidentally skip to the end of the show after a power outage (usually once a week here.) It would be great to automatically enable this feature on boot.

[SeanC]

Grrrrrrrrrr

Well on investigation I found that SendKey is the way to go but I've run into some consistency issues.

When using this line:

exec /var/hack/scripts/SendKey tivo tivo select select select play select 3 0 select livetv

It will start playing whatever is listed in the now playing list but it won't execute the S P S 30 S. If on the other hand I use :

exec /var/hack/scripts/SendKey select play select 3 0 select livetv

It works but you have to make sure that you are watching something. It even works while watching live tv as the final livetv stops the tivo from changing to channel 30. This is annoying however because I would like to have code that works no matter what state the Tivo is in.

I have also been trying to create one for backdoors and have run into a similar issue but worse in that I can't get the code to work at all.

This code:

exec /var/hack/scripts/SendKey tivo 4 select 3 left up left select 0 select down select right select thumbsup livetv

Stops at the first left. What happens is after the number 3 keypress the "cursor" (don't know what to call it) jumps over to highlight a program called 30-Minute Meals. The left command and all subsequent commands do not execute.

[SeanC]

Success!

I went back to the beginning and started over from scratch. I found an old thread at the other board where they had already conquered this problem. From there I got these scripts:

SendKey
--------------------------------------
#!/tvbin/tivosh

source $tcl_library/tv/log.tcl
source $tcl_library/tv/sendkey.tcl

foreach k $argv {
SendKey $k
}

--------------------------------------

SPS30S (my name)
--------------------------------------
#!/bin/bash

#SendKey select play select 3 0 select
SendKey tivo tivo
sleep 5
SendKey play
sleep 2
SendKey select play select 3 0 select livetv
--------------------------------------

backdoors
--------------------------------------
#!/bin/bash
#Enable Backdoors
SendKey tivo 4 select 3
sleep 2
SendKey left up left select 0 select down select right select thumbsup livetv

---------------------------------------


In my previous iteration the 30 sec and backdoor scripts I had them running under /tvbin/tivosh, the scripts at the other forum were executing in /bin/bash. I have no idea what difference that makes but it really helped.

One other thing I did, I put my scripts directory in the path to make it easier to execute SendKey. Also note that the pauses in backdoors and SPS30S are critical. In fact if you have a lot of programs in Now Playing you may need to make the pause bigger than 5.

[Fozzie]

Doesn't need to be a pre-recorded programme to work. Mine is simply "livetv select play select 3 0 select tivo"

Complete script is:

#!/tvbin/tivosh
source $tcl_library/tv/sendkey.tcl
set verboseSendKeyG 0
after [expr 95 * 1000]
set seq [ list livetv select play select 3 0 select tivo]
foreach key $seq {
SendKey $key
}

This script has been floating around for a while now ;)

[PortlandPaw]

fozzie, iguru42 and Carlton Bale (!), you've inspired me! I'm going to start working on a new hackman segment next week. Without getting too carried away, what do you think the most popular scripts would be?
1. 30-second skip
2. Back door
3. ?
4. ?

[SeanC]

LOL

awesome :)

I LOL because I was looking at the list myself to see what other scripts I would be interested in and came up with....... none.... Well none that I'm really interested in, there was only one other that was vaguely interesting, enabling sort on the Now Playing list on SA3.0.

[Fofer]

How about "Sort" in Now Playing (Slow, Zero, Record, ThumbsUp)?

[Carlton Bale]

Yes, I agree with the list.

1. 30 Second Skip
2. Sort in the now playing list (3.0 Directivos)
3. Backdoor enable

For the Sorting the now playing list, I prefer to sort by alphabetically by name, so the entire key sequence would be:

Live TV (known starting point)
Tivo (menu)
Tivo (now playing)
Slow
Zero
Record
ThumbsUp (enables sorting)
3 (causes list to be sorted alphabetically)
LiveTv (end)

The three options for sort are 1 (normal), 2 (by expiration date), and 3 (alphabetically). All could be options, but I think the third is by far the most useful.

PortlandPaw, thanks for all of your efforts!

[Fofer]

I have recently installed a new version of YAC Caller ID for Series 2 machines (with a newly engineered OSD system, thanks to Xybyre.) It works great.

Quick question about the the YACID button in HackMan, though. I am able to use it to STOP but not to START.

I am starting it manually now by going into Terminal and changing to the /var/hack/bin directory, and then using this command:

./yac -t 10 &

(The -t 10 part just tells it to leave the display up for 10 seconds.)

If on the other hand I try to start it by just using:
./var/hack/bin/yac &
It says "osd: command not found"

I have to switch to the directory first and then execute the command.
This is probably why I can't get HackMan to start it up either. Any tips?

[PortlandPaw]

Try editing the hackman.cfg file so that the line that reads
set 3 "exec $yacpathname &" reflects your new setup (I think it needs the -t):
set 3 "exec $yacpathname -t 10 &"
Please let me know if this works.

[Fofer]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
Try editing the hackman.cfg file so that the line that reads
set 3 "exec $yacpathname &" reflects your new setup (I think it needs the -t):
set 3 "exec $yacpathname -t 10 &"
Please let me know if this works.

It does not; that was the first thing I tried when troubleshooting. With or without the -t variable set, I can only start YAC reliably by first switching to the /var/hack/bin directory and then executing it.
I think that's the only way it can use the osd library that it depends on.

In other words, even if I manually type in Terminal:
./var/hack/bin/yac -t 10 &
...it doesn't work, and I get the error "osd: command not found"
If I can't launch it manually that way, then HackMan wouldn't be able do it either, right?

I have to switch to the directory first. Can HackMan handle that command? When I launch it that way, it works great.

(Hopefully this makes sense, as hacking TiVo is my first real exposure to *nix commands.)

[PortlandPaw]

OK, try this:

set 3 {exec /bin/bash -c "cd /var/hack/bin"
exec $yacpathname -t 10 &}

[Fofer]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
OK, try this:

set 3 {exec /bin/bash -c "cd /var/hack/bin"
exec $yacpathname -t 10 &}

Okay, after stopping the YAC process with HackMan, I pasted the above in place of:
set 3 "exec $yacpathname &"

...saved it, and did a Quick Reload of TiVoWebPlus. I then tried starting YAC with HackMan but it didn't appear to do anything. I then tried to start it manually in Terminal, and got this error:

"error while loading shared libraries: cannot open shared object file: cannot load shared object file: No such file or directory"

(That's the first I'd seen of that error.)

Then I went back to the ReadMe, saw the reminder to make sure LD_LIBRARY_PATH contains /var/hack/lib:
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/var/hack/lib

Even though I invoked this command when I first installed, I invoked it again. And now I'm able to start YAC manually via the Terminal again. But still not with HackMan.

[PortlandPaw]

This is puzzling...I think the /var/hack/lib stuff was an issue separate from hackman.

But I had a thought...I didn't really recreate how you started from the bash prompt. Try this:

set 3 {exec /bin/bash -c "cd /var/hack/bin"
exec yac -t 10 &}

I hope that does the trick!

[Fofer]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw

set 3 {exec /bin/bash -c "cd /var/hack/bin"
exec yac -t 10 &}

I hope that does the trick!

Copy-and-pasted that in exactly and now HackMan gives this error when I try to start YAC:

couldn't execute "yac": no such file or directory

[PortlandPaw]

Here's an experimental version that adds a few back door functions to hackman. Even though there are readme files included in the zip, they haven't been updated yet. Here's the Readers' Digest version:

1. A "Commands Page" button has been added. There's a new graphic for the button.
2. The page has five back door features that should be self-explanatory.
3. There are flags in the hackman.cfg file (which has to be copied to the /modules directory, along with hackman.itcl) which provide the option to run four of the scripts on boot (enable 30-second skip, etc.), assuming that TivoWeb is being loaded on boot. As was found in Fozzie's script, there's a two minute (or more) delay after booting before things start to happen. Be patient, as some of the screens have as much as a 12 second delay to allow the TiVo to keep up with the script. However you are starting TivoWeb, you should make it the last in your startup sequence.

So I need your help to make this as universal as possible. I noted that the keys to enable backdoors that iguru42 listed did not correspond to the keys that work on my Phillips HDR-112 Series 1 TiVo running version 3.0-01-1-000 software.

So please check these on your machines and report back what modifications you have to make to get them running on your box. Don't forget to specify model and software. I don't want a whole lot of "it doesn't work on my TiVo!" complaints.

One word of caution: The last two items open up what may the Pandora's Box of the Node Navigator. So I suggest you check out the keypresses you need to do these things, and then check them against the commands listed in hackman.itcl.

I appreciate everyone's help in adding to hackman's functionality.

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by Fofer
If on the other hand I try to start it by just using:
./var/hack/bin/yac &
It says "osd: command not found"

Where are the osd files? I would check to see that the path to the osd's is included in your boot path statement (rc.sysinit). You'll have to reboot after adding the path, if that's the case.

[SeanC]

Hmmmm weird that they would be different. I have a Philips HDR310 on 3.0. I thought the codes went by Tivo software version in which case we have the same.

YAY! I downloaded first!

:P

[PortlandPaw]

I hope you're not the one who downloaded my first effort a couple of hours ago! That one didn't work...this one (uploaded about 15 minutes ago) does...I hope!

Let me know what you think.

[SeanC]

I got the one from 15 minutes ago. :)

I quickly looked inside hackmanager but I don't have time to try to adjust it now. I'll give that a shot Wed, though I suspect you'll have the kinks ironed out before then.

I did not test doubling the overshoot value as I have no interest and I wasn't sure if redoing it would revert to original settings.

Backdoors is not working. Here is my Backdoor script that I have:

SendKey tivo 4 select 3
sleep 3
SendKey left up left select 0 select down select right select thumbsup livetv

I have 100% success with this the sleep 3 is key before that first left command.

Sorting and 30 second skip work perfectly.

[SeanC]

Oh yeah and I noticed you were enabling 30 second skip from Now Playing. I had it in live tv with:

SendKey livetv
sleep 1
SendKey clear select play select 3 0 select livetv clear

It works faster and that last livetv stops the cable box from changing channel.

[PortlandPaw]

All five functions work perfectly on my box, so I'll wait until you've had some time to experiment. I, too, thought the software version was consistent, but maybe there are other factors at work.

In Backdoors, I'm using the tcl command "after" followed by the number of milliseconds, as I saw the problem you referred to. I don't understand why the sendkey patterns are so different.

Despite the claims in the TiVo hacking literature, overshoot will reset upon reboot, which is why I included it. Advance Wishlists will retain its value, but it's such a valuable feature, I thought I'd make it easy for people to activate it.

I'll play around some more with your 30-sec code -- I wish I could remember why I did it that way. I know I had a reason. EDIT -- it came back to me when I tried it again -- it didn't work! There's something different between our machines. The key sequence works from the remote but not from code.

I have a brother-in-law who lives in Franklin...do you know Glenn Ross or his son Christopher?

[SeanC]

I have backdoors and 30 second skip working here is my code:

1 {set seq "livetv tivo 4 select 3"
hacksendkey $seq
after 5000
set seq "left up left select 0 select down select right select thumbsup livetv clear"
hacksendkey $seq
}
2 {set seq "livetv clear"
hacksendkey $seq
after 500
set seq "select play select 3 0 select livetv clear"
hacksendkey $seq
}

[SeanC]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
I have a brother-in-law who lives in Franklin...do you know Glenn Ross or his son Christopher?

Oh wow, that is weird, but nope. I actually just moved to Franklin this is my first year as resident and property owner. I grew up in Millis (2 towns over), I went to college at USM in Portland. Then before I bought my condo I kicked around Mass; Millis, Foxboro, East Bridgewater, Hyde Park, and finally Franklin. Moving sucks and I really hated doing it every year, hence the impetus to buy a place of my own.

Random question: What is the opposite of chmod 755? I accidently made all the files in my /var/hack directory executable.

[PortlandPaw]

Well, I got 30-second going with this:
2 {set seq "livetv clear select play select 3 0 select livetv clear"
sendkeydelayed $seq
}

proc sendkeydelayed {seq} {
foreach key $seq {
after 250
SendKey $key
}
}

But I can't get your key sequence for Backdoors to work at all -- when I walk through it from the remote, it's not even close! After I do the "livetv tivo 4 select 3" the cursor is on the "A" -- moving it to the left takes it back to "All Programs." Even if I got that space in correctly, when I hit "3" I'm taken to the program list (something called 3 Strikes -- makes me wonder what would happen if nothing started w/"3"), so I've got to move left before I can punch in the "0." From there it's OK.

Does this mean that we have to ask each user to determine their personal key sequence?

We're in the process of moving for the last time. It sucks, but at least I can set up the house the way I want it with a heavy investment in coax and RG6 cable.

[SeanC]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
But I can't get your key sequence for Backdoors to work at all -- when I walk through it from the remote, it's not even close! After I do the "livetv tivo 4 select 3" the cursor is on the "A" -- moving it to the left takes it back to "All Programs." Even if I got that space in correctly, when I hit "3" I'm taken to the program list (something called 3 Strikes -- makes me wonder what would happen if nothing started w/"3"), so I've got to move left before I can punch in the "0." From there it's OK.

Does this mean that we have to ask each user to determine their personal key sequence?

We're in the process of moving for the last time. It sucks, but at least I can set up the house the way I want it with a heavy investment in coax and RG6 cable.

I KNOW WHY!

The solution to this puzzle is when you mention "the cursor is on the "A"". In my list of programs I have a show called 30-something something, so the cursor gets pulled over there and I have to bring it back with left. Obviously this is a concern for consistancy. Depending on whether or not there is a show with the digit 3 at the begining of your list this will affect how the code get entered.


[Edit]

hmmmm ok I just finished reading your entire post and now I'm puzzled. We both have shows that start with a 3, but in your case after you hit 3 you are on the A, but I'm on my 30- show.

Let me ask you this, do you have more than one show that starts 3? That would explain the cursor not jumping over. If this guess is right it means there has to be specific code for people who have no or multiple shows that start with the digit 3, and people who only have one show that starts with 3.

In fact now I'm sure my case proves the point. If you only have one show in the program list that starts with a 3 you will have to use my code. Grrrr this sucks because that could change at anytime for anybody.

[PortlandPaw]

I, too, have shows starting with "3." That's the confusing part ... on my machine, it doesn't get pulled to the right until I hit the space. If I understand you correctly, yours gets pulled over when you hit the "3."

I think I got it -- my show beginning with three is literally "3" followed by the space. So mine jumps after yours does.

This is going to take some work -- the program list will change and the script will break.

p.s. We must go to the same barber, too.

[PortlandPaw]

Maybe the solution is two menu items -- one for "3 " and all others. I think mine is the special (and rare) case. I don't think it would be worth trying to read the MFS to find out what the real case is.

I'm going to bed and let the Red Sox lull me to sleep.

[SeanC]

We are both special and rare. :)

I think these are the only 3 situations that need to be worried about.

There is only one program that starts with the digit 3: cursor jumps on input of 3.

There is only one program that starts with 3 and space: cursor jumps on the input of space.

There are no programs or there are multiple programs that start with 3 and 3 space: cursor never jumps.

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
I don't think it would be worth trying to read the MFS to find out what the real case is.

While listening to the Sox win again, I decided I'd give it a try. Stay tuned.

[Porterx]

Portland Paw,

Can autospace be added to Hackman? I ask because, 2 or 3 times a week, autospace stops working and I have to reboot the tivo. Maybe, instead of stop/start, it could be reload.

Also, in regards to endpadplus, I have what may or may not be a problem. When I originally installed autospace, I set it to pad 1 min before and 1 min after. When I installed the newer version of hackman, your endpadplus defaults were 1 min before and 2 mins after. I liked this better so I started using it. Now, when I reboot the tivo, endpadplus defaults back to 1 min before and 1 min after. I have to stop/start endpadplus in Hackman to get endpadplus back to your defaults. Is this something you'd be interested in fixing?

Thank you,
Porter

P.S. I'm really looking forward to using the new version of Hackman that includes 30 sec skip and sort on bootup. I'm confused by the above posts about it. I have the same tivo/software that you have. Please advise when you've got it nailed. I d/l'ed files for 30 sec skip and sort from the other place that alter tivoapp but I'm skittish about using them considering my hacking level.

[PortlandPaw]

Autospace is already in hackman. Please check that the paths match between the hackman.cfg file and where it is on your box.

The problem with endpadplus is not hackman, but rather how you're starting endpadplus on boot. Use hackman to edit whatever file you're using to start endpadplus to specify the -1 and +2 settings you prefer.

I agree about modifying tivoapp -- I chowdered my machine up good the last time I tried that and vowed I'd leave it alone after that.

I hope we can solve the backdoor problem. 30 sec skip and sort are OK, but there are some challenges w/backdoor. It's kind of like building a macro where the elements aren't constant.

[Fozzie]

Originally posted by Porterx
Can autospace be added to Hackman? I ask because, 2 or 3 times a week, autospace stops working and I have to reboot the tivo. Maybe, instead of stop/start, it could be reload.It already is! (I asked the same question a couple of pages back - I hadn't noticed that I hadn't edited Hackmanager's config file to point to where I had installed autospace!).

You're looking for a line like:

set autospacepathname "/var/hack/autospace.tcl"

Make sure it reperesents where your autospace.tcl is located ;)

[SeanC]

Originally posted by PortlandPaw
I hope we can solve the backdoor problem. 30 sec skip and sort are OK, but there are some challenges w/backdoor. It's kind of like building a macro where the elements aren't constant.

I've been thinking about this. What would solve the problem is if there is a key we can press that would put the cursor on the ouija board in a specific and predictable way. I don't think there is, but I haven't really looked for one yet. When I was having a problem with the cursor jumping over to the program list I did notice that most keypresses were ignored except for right and left (select probably works too).

That's what I plan on looking for tomorrow. I won't have anytime today as after work I'm headed up to your neck of the woods PP, dropping by a friends place in Portland.

[PortlandPaw]

I'm planning on using the search module to check the programs that might come up on the "Search By Title" screen, but they don't match!

On the Search By Title screen, one program that starts with 3{space} comes up, but in search, there are several. And the details don't match, either. Search By Title says 3 Strikes is going to show on Sepember 17; search says none of the several 3{space} programs are scheduled to air. Now I get a [can't read "cache_sp_moddate"] error, so maybe I caught it in mid-index or something.

I'll keep plugging at it.

[JFH108]

I had my SVR2000 running Tivoweb on a TurboNet card. Installed the HackMan module. Everything was working fine. Wanted to try out the "reboot" feature. Pressed the button. The unit went to the "Your recorder is starting up. Please wait a moment..." screen - and never came back.

Now, the unit won't do anything. I've unplugged it and left it unplugged for hours. Plug it back in, and the same screen appears. Nothing else. The unit seems to be completely dead.

The ONLY thing I did was press the REBOOT button from the Hackman module.

Anybody got a clue?

[PortlandPaw]

I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune. Hackman, however, must plead "not guilty." All he does is execute either the reboot or restart program native to your TiVo. I'm afraid you're going to have to follow the various de-bugging threads here and on the other forum. If you still have telnet access, I'd start with mfsassert -please.

Good luck!

[JFH108]

I guess I can't blame you for taking that position. Can you give me some pointers in the use of mfsassert? I'm not sure where to go from this point, and I must reiterate that everything was working fine until I pressed the reboot button from hackman.

Since the system will not move past the startup screen, is it possible that I'll still have telnet access? What else to try?

[Francesco]

Sounds like a dead hard drive, to me.

If it never gets past "Welcome..." it likely can't even "see" the hard drive. With luck, maybe one of the cables worked its way loose; check both the IDE (at both ends if you can) and power cable. If that's not it, I wouldn't be surprised to find a dead A drive. That happenned to me when TiVo sent the C1 upgrade, just the death blow to an already-dying drive.

[JFH108]

Here's what I know:

1) hard drive was working when I pressed the "reboot" button - then suddenly stopped working on reboot - not likely, but just in case...

2) removed the hard drive and inserted it into my pc - booted the MFS tools and searched through the drive - no problems

3) place the hard drive back into the TiVo unit - same result as before

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by JFH108
...I must reiterate that everything was working fine until I pressed the reboot button from hackman.

And everything was fine with mine until the electrician cut power to the family room. You can't blame the straw when the camel's back was weak!

[Fozzie]

This is often caused when people make bad edits of rc.sysinit ;) The problems only show up next time Tivo is rebooted, which could be weeks, months even!

Installing a tivoweb module really is unlikely to stop Tivo from booting.

[JFH108]

Ok, so if it was not caused by installing the tivoweb module, and was caused by a bad edit to rc.sysinit, what can be done now?

I tried replacing the rc.sysinit with the backup file (by connecting the disk to a spare pc) - same result. Then I tried using InstantCake to create a fresh TiVo image on a brand new disk - same result.

What next?

[Francesco]

A new image on a new drive? And it still stops at "Welcome..." right? To me that sounds like a bad (or no) IDE connection, or the jumper is set wrong.

[JFH108]

In the extraordinary Yogic text called the 'Yoga Vashishta', written several thousand years ago, the story is told of the crow and the coconut.......

A crow alights on a coconut tree and at the very same moment, by chance, a ripe coconut falls. These two unrelated events seem to be related in time and space, though in fact there is no causal relation. A man sitting under the tree would think 'it is because of the crow that I am now eating this wonderfully ripe coconut.'

1) The failure to reboot was caused by editing rc.sysinit on a pc. Rolling back to a prior version of this file enabled the system to reboot.

2) It is not yet known why the system failed to boot on a new hard disk with a fresh disk image. It could be the disk, or it could be a problem with InstantCake or a combination of both.

[Fozzie]

:)

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=146542 ;)

[heyitscory]

I loved him as Lex Luthor

[crow]

Originally posted by JFH108
A crow alights on a coconut tree and at the very same moment, by chance, a ripe coconut falls. These two unrelated events seem to be related in time and space, though in fact there is no causal relation. A man sitting under the tree would think 'it is because of the crow that I am now eating this wonderfully ripe coconut.'


Mayhaps I have a new title now... "Bringer of the almighty Coconut"

[slydog75]

Portland, What a great tool this is! I am having one (small) issue however.. I'm not able to get tserver to launch from within hackman.. I get the error "couldn't write file "&1": read-only file system " . I can launch tserver just fine when using the Tytools client. Also, vserver, which is in the same directory as tserver (/var/hack) works just fine through hackman.. Below is the pertinent hackman.cfg entry:

set tytoolpath "/var/hack"

Edit: Just noticed that if I set the driver to read/write that it works fine.. but I'm guessing I shouldn't have to do that.

[PortlandPaw]

I'm not familiar with "set the driver to read/write" -- do you mean the root directory (mount / -o remount,rw) or something else?

[slydog75]

I meant to say drive and by drive yes, I meant the root directory. Also, what is the 'view daily mail' module from your screenshot?

[PortlandPaw]

It should work with the root directory set to read only. Did you change the start up command line in hackman.cfg? It should look like:
set 8 "exec $tytoolpath/tserver_mfs7 -s $tytoolpath/NowShowing.tcl > /dev/null 2>&1 &"

"View Daily Mail" is for the Daily Mail module available from here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=140252&highlight=daily+mail).

This isn't exactly a "plug-n-play" module; read the thread and figure out what will work for you.

[slydog75]

nope, my startup command line matches that exactly.. here is a copy of the execute string that the TyTools client actually uses:

/var/hack/tserver_mfs7 -s /var/hack/NowShowing.tcl

One thing to note.. the tserver I installed originally had a mips tag on the end of it (tserver_mfs7_mips) which wasn't working with hackman for obvious reasons so I just renamed the file to match what hackman expected.

[slydog75]

just noticed someting else very strange.. as I said if I set the root to rw it will launch.. if I then try to set the root back to ro without shutting down tserver I get an internal error:

INTERNAL SERVER ERROR
--cut here--
action_toggle_remount '' ''
mount: / is busy
while executing
"exec /bin/bash -c "mount / -o remount,ro""
(procedure "action_goremount" line 10)
invoked from within
"action_goremount $chan $path $env"
(procedure "::action_toggle_remount" line 13)
invoked from within
"::action_$action $chan $part $env"
("eval" body line 1)
invoked from within
"eval {::action_$action $chan $part $env}"
--cut here--


I have to shut tserver back down before I can return the root to ro. Just in case it has any relevancy, I have tivowebplus installed in /var/local/tivoweb-tcl

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by slydog75
the tserver I installed originally had a mips tag on the end of it (tserver_mfs7_mips) which wasn't working with hackman for obvious reasons so I just renamed the file to match what hackman expected.

Could this then be actually launching the real tserver_mfs7 with the unexpected results?

Try renaming tserver back to its original name and edit hackman.cfg to match, instead of the other way around.

[slydog75]

Nope, same results. I also just discovered I get the same error when I try to use hackman to stop/restart tivowebplus (couldn't write file "&1": read-only file system).

[PortlandPaw]

I'm stumped. Never seen anything like that happen before. Does anybody else have any ideas what might be happening?

[mike0151]

I can only imagine that hackman has been installed to the root directory or somewhere off there that is not rw. Feel free to ignore this as I'm probably completely wrong. Something is certainly amiss.

[PortlandPaw]

I assume you've tried rebooting the machine. If that doesn't work, how about a stab in the dark:
mount /var -o remount,rw

If that works after a reboot, something is setting /var to read only. Never heard of that happening before.

[slydog75]

Could I have somehow made the /var mount ro?? Leave it to me to find th real stumpers! Maybe I'll try your new beta and see what happens!

[PortlandPaw]

Unless the r/w problem is solved, I can almost guarantee that the new beta will perform in exactly the same way!

But here's a thought...if mount /var -o remount,rw works, go ahead and put that line into the hackman.itcl file, right after the other remount,ro line...maybe that will take care of it. Doesn't exactly get to the root of the problem, but it may be an acceptable workaround.

[markcous]

I have a S1 DirecTivo and to use TyTools I need to start unscramble.o

IS there any plans to add control of this from Hack Manager.

I currently use the shell command window to start and stop it, but since everything else I use is just a start/stop button, it would be cool to be able to do this too!

The commands I use are:
insmod unscrable.o
rmmod unscramble

Thanks!

[PortlandPaw]

I don't know why not...in what directory are those files typically found?

[slydog75]

Nope, that didn't work either.. at this point it's more trouble than it's worth to solve right now.. main motivation at this point is intelectual.

[PortlandPaw]

Originally posted by markcous
I currently use the shell command window to start and stop it, but since everything else I use is just a start/stop button, it would be cool to be able to do this too!

I've been thinking about this...I don't have an S1 DirecTivo (although I do have one on order) but it always seemed to me that one would automatically start this mod on boot and let it run. Why would you want to shut it down?

[slydog75]

Portland after some experimenting I finally got Hackman to work with tserver.. I just removed the /dev/null 2>&1 so my execute string now looks like this:

set 8 "exec $tytoolpath/tserver_mfs7_mips -s $tytoolpath/NowShowing.tcl &"

Is there any danger in doing it this way? Could you give a quick explanation to a unix dummy what the '/dev/null 2>&1 ' tag does exactly?

[PortlandPaw]

I confess to being almost as much of a Linux dummy, but I'm learning. I think that removing what you did just suppresses the writing of a log file anywhere, which is OK.