MFStools Boot CD - LBA48 Boot Disk for ALL TiVo Models

[BobCamp1]

Not sure what you're talking about... Series2's have networking by default, you just need a USB adapter.

Drew

But DirecTivo series 2 units don't, unless their hacked.

[khyberman]

I just purchased a toshiba rs-tx60 ans want to upgrate to version 7.0 from 5.4 which is currently on the system.


Please advice how I can do this, do I need to do this over a phone line?

thanks,

[azitnay]

As long as you can connect to the TiVo service, you can get the upgrade (doesn't matter if it's via phone or ethernet).

Put your TiVo on the 7.2.1 priority list to get 7.2.1 faster:

http://research.tivo.com/72.1priority/

Drew

[windhorny]

I bought a Phillips series 1 not knowing anything about tivos. I bought it because I didnt want t subscribed tivo, just a digital vcr. Is it a pain in the ass to make a new drive using XP? It is a refurbished model that comes with no drive, so i have nothing to copy over. Please help. i am about to just buy one from Weekknees but even they arent sure if I can use it without a subscription. Input?

thanks

[azitnay]

You won't use Windows XP itself in your upgrade process, you'll use a boot CD. Check out http://tivo.upgrade-instructions.com/index.php for instructions.

Since you say you don't even have a drive, you'll need to find an image somewhere.

Drew

[gloco101]

if u dont want to backup and restore, what are the commands to copy the original drive to the new one. all the guides say is what to type to backup, restore then add...

[HomeUser]

DANGEROUS no checking for a valid TiVo drive and will destroy (over-write) any data on hdY "cp /dev/hdX /dev/hdY"

A little safer and expands to fill the new drive.
mfsbackup -Tsao - /dev/hdX | mfsrestore -s 127 -r 4 -xzpi - /dev/hdZ

Try following azitnay link http://tivo.upgrade-instructions.com/index.php to the WeaKnees "Interactive TiVo Upgrade Instructions".

[gloco101]

if i only have the tivo drive and the new hd (i had to take out my usual hd) what is it backing up a nd restoring to. dont i just want to move files from the tivo drive to the new drive?

[HomeUser]

If you have it booting the MFSTools CD from the USB drive.

Backup to a FAT32 partition on the New drive then transfer the backup to your main HD for archival.

Just mfsbackup and pipe "|" the output "-o -" to the input "-i -" of mfsrestore to the new hard drive then keep the original drive as your backup.

[sammyplo]

the weakness guide says to use mfsbackup -f 9999 -so - /dev/hdx | mfsrestore -s 127 -r 4 -xzpi - /dev/hdz will this work if i dont use the weakness cd and am just using msftools?

[azitnay]

Yes, the mfstool commands aren't specific to the WeaKnees CD, and can be used on the PTVupgrade CD or any other method of running MFS Tools 2.0.

Drew

[windhorny]

O.k., so I downloaded Instant Cake and it seems to work really well on any drive i throw at it. But when I stick the drive in the tivo it doesnt go any further than the start up screen.

Does instant cake put the software image on for you? I assume it does since I remember something about version 3.01. How would I tell if ti were the tivo that was bad?

[ycartf]

I will begin by saying I HAVE scanned the posts in this section.

After limited success at upgrading with MFS tools, old HD and the like, I broke down and bought an InstantCake CD for my S1 Philips 212. I used it (SIMPLE - and with great success) to make a dual-drive setup consisting of 2-120GB HDs. I would like to know if there is some way to utilize this LBA48 with the InstantCake CD and not having to use MFS tools? I would potentially want to do this for installing a 160GB HD (or possibly 2) in the future. I have limited "savviness" at the more complicated workings of this, so please forgive me. Thanks for any and all help or knowledge anyone may be able to give me.

[Michael_M]

I have a Sony SAT T-60 that I upgraded along time ago the single 120HD in it now is failing -- so I have the opportunity to upgrade beyone 120 that didn't exist years ago - I'll probably use instacake to do the upgrade

My question is this -- what is the best scenario -- I don't need an outrageous amount of storage - I basically want to save movies

One (1) 300 gig drive
Two (2) 160 gig drives

I am wondering about 2 drives in so far as they are married and if one fails then you have complications with both --

thanks

[tivoupgrade]

I have a Sony SAT T-60 that I upgraded along time ago the single 120HD in it now is failing -- so I have the opportunity to upgrade beyone 120 that didn't exist years ago - I'll probably use instacake to do the upgrade

My question is this -- what is the best scenario -- I don't need an outrageous amount of storage - I basically want to save movies

One (1) 300 gig drive
Two (2) 160 gig drives

I am wondering about 2 drives in so far as they are married and if one fails then you have complications with both --

thanks

One drive is better than two.. statistically, with two drives, your chance of a drive failure is twice that of a drive failure if you are only using one drive. With that said, its not *that* big a difference overall - whatever you pick: ensure you run manufacturer's diagnostics on your drive prior to installing it in your TiVo (we recommend the 'advanced' and 'low-level format' tests, whenever possible...

[PhatheadWRX]

tivoupgrade, I have a TCD 24004A and was upgraded with a second drive that has just failed. I ordered your 240XXX [7.1b] InstantCake. That will work for me, correct? It is an older TiVo, but I did have the latest version on it when it failed Friday.

I know the 7.1b has LBA48 to work for my new 250 GB drive I just ordered. I'm pretty sure it will all work, just would be nice to get some reassurance from you :D

[Michael_M]

One drive is better than two.. statistically, with two drives, your chance of a drive failure is twice that of a drive failure if you are only using one drive. With that said, its not *that* big a difference overall - whatever you pick: ensure you run manufacturer's diagnostics on your drive prior to installing it in your TiVo (we recommend the 'advanced' and 'low-level format' tests, whenever possible...

Thanks for the views! -- I have a cachecard to be installed the i purchased from PTVupgrade -- It seems a tight very tight fit inside the T60 with one drive let alone 2

What is your experience / learnings about putting the cachecard in the T-60 with 2 drives?

thanks

Michael

[tivoupgrade]

tivoupgrade, I have a TCD 24004A and was upgraded with a second drive that has just failed. I ordered your 240XXX [7.1b] InstantCake. That will work for me, correct? It is an older TiVo, but I did have the latest version on it when it failed Friday.

I know the 7.1b has LBA48 to work for my new 250 GB drive I just ordered. I'm pretty sure it will all work, just would be nice to get some reassurance from you :D


yes, it should work; please refer to the release notes (http://forum.ptvupgrade.com/showpost.php?p=8609&postcount=4) for more information

[tivoupgrade]

Thanks for the views! -- I have a cachecard to be installed the i purchased from PTVupgrade -- It seems a tight very tight fit inside the T60 with one drive let alone 2

What is your experience / learnings about putting the cachecard in the T-60 with 2 drives?

thanks

Michael

We don't recommend it; we also don't sell dual-drive kits with the CacheCard for the SAT-T60 specifically for that reason. (are you sure you didn't purchase that CacheCard from 9thTee? - we don't sell them separately). With that said, it IS possible to install both drives in the unit with a CacheCard, but it is a very tight fit, and you could break something. I'd recommend you start a separate thread in the underground if you have problems or questions about that - this thread is really for support of our upgrade CD.

[PhatheadWRX]

yes, it should work; please refer to the release notes (http://forum.ptvupgrade.com/showpost.php?p=8609&postcount=4) for more information

I have read them numerous times, but they do not seem to give a definative answer that it will work.

My 24004A is 2 1/2 years old.

[tivoupgrade]

I have read them numerous times, but they do not seem to give a definative answer that it will work.

My 24004A is 2 1/2 years old.


TiVo TCD240040. TCD24004A, TCD240080, TCD24008A, TCD240140 [7.1b-01-2-240]

You may use any drive or drives larger than 30GB. This version of InstantCake supports LBA48 (drives larger than 137GB) and has been tested to run on a drive set as large as 2x400GB.

Clear as mud? ;-)

[ycartf]

I have a Philips HDR212 which I used InstantCake to upgrade to 2 new 120GB HDs. My question is - Can I utilize more than 137GB of bigger HDs (LBA48?) while only using InstantCake (and NOT having to use more complicated MFS tools or the like)? If so, is this a new version of InstantCake from the one I bought several months ago? What are the limitations of HD size? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[tivoupgrade]

I have a Philips HDR212 which I used InstantCake to upgrade to 2 new 120GB HDs. My question is - Can I utilize more than 137GB of bigger HDs (LBA48?) while only using InstantCake (and NOT having to use more complicated MFS tools or the like)? If so, is this a new version of InstantCake from the one I bought several months ago? What are the limitations of HD size? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Yes. Please see the InstantCake release notes (http://forum.ptvupgrade.com/showpost.php?p=8607&postcount=2) for more information on this.

[ycartf]

Yes. Please see the InstantCake release notes (http://forum.ptvupgrade.com/showpost.php?p=8607&postcount=2) for more information on this.

Thanks. I had seen what you referred to, but in my way of reading things as more complicated than they are, I wanted to make sure I did not have to use Linux / MFS tools / etc (anything else BESIDES the InstantCake CD). Would the CD I bought a few months ago (April of 2005) have this LBA48 support where all I have to do is cook a drive (up to 250GB) using the CD?

Thanks

[tivoupgrade]

Thanks. I had seen what you referred to, but in my way of reading things as more complicated than they are, I wanted to make sure I did not have to use Linux / MFS tools / etc (anything else BESIDES the InstantCake CD). Would the CD I bought a few months ago (April of 2005) have this LBA48 support where all I have to do is cook a drive (up to 250GB) using the CD?

Thanks

You don't have to do anything other than use the InstantCake CD you already have for a 250GB drive; LBA48 support is already part of that release.

[ycartf]

THANKYOU!

I LOVE InstantCake!

[Michael_M]

Could you remind me about the sway file size when you go to 200g and 300g drive?

is it still -s 127?

[azitnay]

For a 200GB drive, -s 127 is definitely fine. For a 300GB drive, you might want to look into -s 150 and tpip.

Drew

[tecumuman]

I am going through the process of upgrading my HR 10-250 so I can enable the USB ports on the back in order to utilize FTP and Telnet to transfer files.

I first made a backup of the original drive and then proceeded to perform the modifications on the new drive. I was successful in taking the 3.1.5 kernel fromt he PTV CD to hcd6 and then applying killhdinitrd. After I did that, I made sure the drive booted properly in the TIVO box.

The next step is where the problems are. When I attempt to mount hcd7 to /mnt/mnt7 I get the error message that I need to specify the file system. So instead of using hcd 7, I used hcd 4 and added the files to enable the USB ports and start the FTP and Telnet protocols. I then took the drive and booted it to the TIVO box. It booted up once just fine; however, when I shut it down and plugged in the Linksys 200M and rebooted it, it now is in an endless cycle of powering up. It is stuck on the "Welcome Powering Up" screen. If I remove the USB drive and reboot it, it still never gets past the Welcome screen.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

This is why we make backups!!!

[frodneb]

I have an eMachines T5026 that I am trying to use to upgrade my TiVo 80GB to a 300GB. My T5025 has 1 Standard IDE port for the DVD, CD drives and 1 SATA port for HD. I also have an additional IDE RAID (2 port) controller card for my 2nd HD. Any one had any luck upgrading TiVo drives in the type of configuration? When I run the PTV or the Weaknees or the IC programs they are all looking for hdc which is on the additional controller...and the upgrade software will not see the IDE controller? Any suggestions...any experience with this configuation? Also, can the upgrade software be run if I put the new TiVo drive on the IDE cable instead of one of the DVD/CD drives? Thanks in advance for any help.

Rich

[frodneb]

Ok, let's try this...(considering that I am unable to get any help on this problem)

I can us the cntrl c command to break into the script and then the BlessTiVo /dev/hdb command to set my output of the IC to hdb rather than hdc...how do I resume the IC script after I break in and make the changes?

Rich

[HomeUser]

Sorry I don't know anything about Instant Cake

This is what I would do Create a full Linux run form CD with with the drivers for your IDE RAID card and add MFSTools to it. Then use the MFSBackup --> MFSRestore option.

Or you might find something in one of these two threads
mount /dev/hdg1 /mnt fails! (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=3055744&&#post3055744)
Weaknees interactive upgrade - "No CD-ROM found" (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=3649790&&#post3649790)

[mattack]

Does anybody here know about EFI support in Linux? Basically -- is it a simple fix to an existing CD image to make it bootable on an EFI machine? (e.g. Intel-based Mac)

I found a project on sourceforge that involves EFI and Linux, but I don't quite understand this whole thing. Would it be just one file changed on the CD, or is this a 'boot blocks' kind of thing?

[InspectorGadget]

I haven't seen any mention about the LBA48 kernel (copykern from LB48 CD onto a series 1 TiVo) and how safe it is to use with TiVo online upgrades. If TiVo updates the kernel in a Series 1 unit which has adopted an LBA48 kernel to use a larger drive, the results would be disasterous.

1. I've seen a couple of hints that the TiVo app software is different from the kernel, and the TiVo app software is what's updated in a TiVo update, not the kernel. Is this true?

2. If so, Is there any time when TiVo would update the actual kernel, that we have to watch out for?


Todd Miller says there will be problems. He implies that the TiVo software is synonymous with the kernel: http://www.courtesan.com/tivo/bigdisk.html

"Note that using an LBA48 kernel on your TiVo means that you will have issues when a new version of the TiVo software comes out since the kernel shipped with the new software will not be able to see the entire disk which may cause serious corruption of the media filesystem the TiVo uses to store programs "


Yet I don't see anything about this in the PTVUpgrade documentation.

[tivoupgrade]

I haven't seen any mention about the LBA48 kernel (copykern from LB48 CD onto a series 1 TiVo) and how safe it is to use with TiVo online upgrades. If TiVo updates the kernel in a Series 1 unit which has adopted an LBA48 kernel to use a larger drive, the results would be disasterous.

1. I've seen a couple of hints that the TiVo app software is different from the kernel, and the TiVo app software is what's updated in a TiVo update, not the kernel. Is this true?

2. If so, Is there any time when TiVo would update the actual kernel, that we have to watch out for?


Todd Miller says there will be problems. He implies that the TiVo software is synonymous with the kernel: http://www.courtesan.com/tivo/bigdisk.html

"Note that using an LBA48 kernel on your TiVo means that you will have issues when a new version of the TiVo software comes out since the kernel shipped with the new software will not be able to see the entire disk which may cause serious corruption of the media filesystem the TiVo uses to store programs "


Yet I don't see anything about this in the PTVUpgrade documentation.


You've misunderstood "the risk" in a variety of ways. The point being made is that if you install an LBA48 kernel on a filesystem created in an LBA48 environment, all will work fine. If there is a software upgrade with a version of software that is NON-LBA48, then you will have problems.

This point is moot for several reasons. First and foremost, there are no longer any software updates for the Series1 system. Its been an EOL product for something like THREE years. Secondly, if there were an update, most likely it would be an LBA48 version of the software anyway - all TiVo OS'es have been LBA48 for some time now, as well.

There is no reason to document something like this; its a non-issue...

[InspectorGadget]

...
First and foremost, there are no longer any software updates for the Series1 system. Its been an EOL product for something like THREE years. Secondly, if there were an update, most likely it would be an LBA48 version of the software anyway - all TiVo OS'es have been LBA48 for some time now, as well.
Ahhh... I've had the feeling of being an orphan for some time now but I just didn't know where it was coming from! In this case, it's just what I needed.


There is no reason to document something like this; its a non-issue...
Well, thanks for spelling it out here for this novice. I will sleep much easier.

And extra thanks to all your good work on the upgrade disks and bringing the LBA48 kernel to the masses. My upgrade went in without a hitch.

[tivoupgrade]

Ahhh... I've had the feeling of being an orphan for some time now but I just didn't know where it was coming from! In this case, it's just what I needed.


Well, thanks for spelling it out here for this novice. I will sleep much easier.

And extra thanks to all your good work on the upgrade disks and bringing the LBA48 kernel to the masses. My upgrade went in without a hitch.

Ah - thank you!

And thanks to Todd Miller for making the LBA48 kernel available, as well as tpip. All my script does is make it easy to install it...

Sleep easy - folks are only now starting to realize that the older TiVo systems are actually the better ones when it comes to "upgradability" -- a Series1 DirecTiVo with a CacheCard in it will outshine any current Series2 unit in terms of the things you can do, and the ease with which you can do it.

[john wiens]

Help, I have backup and restore my tivo image to a new 320GB drive without any problems. But after doing the mfsadd -x /dev/hdb command, Tivo will report that there is a problem and it may take 3 hrs to fix and then it reboot, now it reboot about every 2 min. I then restore the image again this time with this command mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdb and it does the same thing.

I following this document http://www.newreleasesvideo.com/hinsdale-how-to/index9.html and used PTVupgrade LBA48 CD v4.01.


I had to increase the swap space to 160. See http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=283677 :D

[HomeUser]

You need the -r4 option in mfsrestore for the larger partitions.

[skyler4321]

I have a samsung sir-4080r.
I would like to change the drive to a 300GB and maybe add a second drive later. Do I need to do any lba 48 stuff to make this work?
Should I use PTVupgrade Universal Boot CD v 11 or PTVupgrade LBA48 CD v4.01?
Thanks
Skyler

[wallsbk]

So, I booted off of the CD with my 30GB Tivo disk and my new, 200GB WD disk in the computer.

The Tivo disk is a Quantum Fireball lct10 30. It shows up on hdb, with 20000 sectors (10MB).

Now, that sort of sounds locked, but I can see the disk fine by booting off of a non-LBA48 kernel disk. :-(

So, I booted off of one of those other disks, and did
mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hdb | msfrestore -s256 -xzpi - /dev/hdd

This worked fine, but only for the limited piece of the drive, of course.

So, I booted off this CD again, did copykern, did mfsadd -x. It tells me:
Current estimated standalone siz: 147 hours
Nothing to add!

mfsinfo says:
The MFS volume set contains 4 partitions
/dev/hdd10
MFS Partition Size 512MiB
/dev/hdd11
MFS Partition Size: 27661MiB
/dev/hdd12
MFS Partition Size: 0MiB
/dev/hdd13
MFS Partition Size: 102204MiB
Total MFS volume size: 130378MiB
Estimate hours in a standalone TiVo: 147

Any hints on what I can do to use all the space?

[john wiens]

What model Tivo. I had the same problem with my older Tivo model 140 but my new 540 model has no problem seeing all my 320Gb drive. Check out http://www.newreleasesvideo.com/hinsdale-how-to/index9.html Read step 2

ATA and TiVo kernel confinements limit using at most 137GB (128GiB) of any drives installed in your TiVo. Larger drives will function but you are currently limited to a maximum of 2 drives x 137GB (128GiB) or 274GB (256GiB) of usable space (exception are the Pioneer DVD/TiVo, HR10-250, DirecTiVo R10, TiVo TCD540XXX models, and Humax models with large drive support that can address larger drives).

[wallsbk]

Philips HDR312 30-hour Series 1 TiVo.

Using the PTVupgrade LBA48 CD Version 4.01AVS

[jack22182]

I have having an awful time trying to replace two drives in a DVR39 with a single large new drive while keeping old recordings intact.

I am using the PTV Upgrade CD with LBA support.

The current configuration uses the original Maxtor 40GB drive as "A", and a WD120 as "B". This upgrade was performed about two years ago and still works fine.

My goal is to get the existing A and B data (including programming) to a new 250GB Hitachi drive. Then, once that seems stable, I would like to incorporate the WD120 back into the system as a "new" B drive (but this does not need to happen until much later).

I have tried several mfsbackup|mfsrestore commands but each time I get the "Backup target not large enough for entire backup by itself" error. For example:

mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hda /dev/hdb | mfsrestore -s 127 -r 4 -xzpi - /dev/hdc

mfsbackup reports 152 MB uncompressed backup size, and even if both the old A and B drives were at capacity (total 160 GB) I should be able to fit that on the new 250GB drive.

I have searched and found other instances where this error is encountered, but I am unable to tell if there is a resolution. From what I've heard I have a hunch that I will not be able to do this and save my recordings at the same time.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Jack in Vienna, VA

[madhack]

I'm not so sure that the -x option to mfsrestore works in that scenario; I had a similar problem last night. My suggestion is to try doing the expand separately:

# mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hda /dev/hdb | mfsrestore -s 127 -r 4 -zpi - /dev/hdc
# mfsadd -x /dev/hdc

I wasn't able to do a full mfsbackup of my entire system because my second drive has serious errors on it; later, a shrunken backup failed to boot. Backing up without -x and then expanding separately eventually got me booting, and I imagine it would have worked if I'd been able to back up all my streams, too.

[epster]

My dual drive (upgraded) DSR6000 primary drive went south. Wanting a quick fix, I put in a 160GB samsung and put on my original back-up image and expanded it. Did not modify the kernel (this time). Booted fine, reported 147hrs.
Software updated to 3.10c . Still working fine.
Now...All menus seem to work EXCEPT any of the "Programs to Record" sub menus (toDoList, Season Pass, etc.) The machine just reboots when I access any of them. I did a full reset.
Any ideas??
Thanks - Pat

[cg2]

i downloaded the $5 lba48 cd image from ptv - burned iso - got the pc to boot from the cd.

I see the usual startup items (uncompressing, etc)

then it detects my hard drive (/dev/hda 30gb) and cd rom (/dev/hdc)

next it says

ide0 at (......) irq 10
ide1 at (......) irq 15

and then it sits forever - I never get to the linux prompt. :confused:

Can anyone provide any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong?

Thanks

[Richard Chalk]

With most of the newer PCs coming with SATA hard drives, there is only one IDE controller, and it is usually used for one or two CD or DVD drives. Installing a Promise (Maxtor) IDE controller is recognized by the boot process, but the attached drives are listed as hde and hdf.

Apparently, the commands only work with drives a, b, c, and d. There is a post in another thread which addresses the problem by way of manually entering the "mknod" commands, but it would be really helpful if this were to happen automatically.

Any chance of getting the upgrade CD updated to add the necessary setup automatically? It would be much appreciated...

Thanks,
Richard

[tivoupgrade]

With most of the newer PCs coming with SATA hard drives, there is only one IDE controller, and it is usually used for one or two CD or DVD drives. Installing a Promise (Maxtor) IDE controller is recognized by the boot process, but the attached drives are listed as hde and hdf.

Apparently, the commands only work with drives a, b, c, and d. There is a post in another thread which addresses the problem by way of manually entering the "mknod" commands, but it would be really helpful if this were to happen automatically.

Any chance of getting the upgrade CD updated to add the necessary setup automatically? It would be much appreciated...

Thanks,
Richard

If someone can document how to do that, I would happily incorporate it into the CD; I think part of it is an MFStools limitation, however.

[Richard Chalk]

If someone can document how to do that, I would happily incorporate it into the CD; I think part of it is an MFStools limitation, however.

If you do a search for "promise" in the upgrade forum, you will see a thread beginning with the title "mount /dev/hdg1 /mnt fails!" or something close to that. There is a reply by JamieP which tells what the additional commands are required, and from the reply, it appears to work.

The link is http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=249617&highlight=promise

I will be happy to "beta test" if you can give it a try...

Thanks,
Richard

[seanmcgpa]

Hey guys... I need some advice from the experts, please.

A couple years ago, I bought an HR10-250 HDTivo (with the original 250GB drive). I used the LBA48 CD to add another 250GB drive. Two years of joy. :)

Now I'm getting symptoms of HD failure ... random reboots, I can hear one of the HDs make a soft "click" noise occasionally. Shows are recording a minute late into a program, etc.

I purchased two 2 500GB PATA drives as replacements and need advice on how to proceed. I would love to copy my [2x250] -> [2x500] and then use the additional space, but is this possible since I've already added a drive once?

Or do I need to make a backup of just the HR10-250 file system (without recordings) to move over to the new drives? I had made a backup of the original file system two years ago, but I cannot find the tivo.bak image anywhere.

I have an old computer with a SCSI cd rom and 4 EIDE ports, so in theory I could make a backup of the original drives and save my recordings ....

Any advice on how to proceed is greatly appreciated. I am getting a lot of aggro from the wife regarding Lost (rebooting in the middle, lost half the episode), and usabillity etc.

[Rhughes]

When I look at the PTV page, I see PTVupgrade LBA48 CD v4.02 which is free, and PTVupgrade LBA48 CD v4.02 Enhancements which costs $5. Could someone tell me the difference between the free version and the $5 version? I don't mind spending the $5, but what will it do for me that the free version won't?

[azitnay]

If you're just looking to upgrade a TiVo to a bigger hard drive, the enhancements version isn't really necessary. There's a list of the enhancements on:

http://downloads.ptvupgrade.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=LBA48DD&Category_Code=

Drew

[PatC]

Hi, I downloaded the IC for my TCD540040 to upgrade the 40 hour to a 160GB WD hard drive. Using a Dell XPS T450 PIII machine with two IDE controllers I could not get the IC CD to boot from the Primary Slave position, No OS found.

Anyway, after fooling around, I found the IC CD would boot from the Secondary IDE on either Master or Slave CD drives. So, I removed the Master CD drive on the Secondary IDE and installed the new HD as the Master on the Secondary IDE. I removed the Primary IDE cable from the MB and booted to the IC CD in the Slave CD drive on the Secondary IDE. The only installed were"

IDE1 Drive 0 none PM (cable not connected)
IDE1 Drive 1 none PS (cable not connected)

IDE2 Drive 0 SM New 160Gb WD HD
IDE2 Drive 1 SS HP CD Writer (Booted with IC CD)

Instant Cake baked my cake and returned the following messages:

Starting Restore
1010 of 1010 MB 100% at 33% Compression
Adding Pair /dev/hdc14-/dev/hdc15
New Standalone Size: 174 Hours (134 more)

Your Cake has been successfully baked. Please shutdown your computer remove the drive and install it in your TiVo. Don't forget to clear and delete.

Does this look like a successful install?
Does IC support booting from the IDE2 Slave position with a one drive upgrade conected to the IDE2 Master?
Thanks, Pat

[tivoupgrade]

I've edited the first post in this thread with the following information:

[Note: As of 4/26/06 DirecTV, is releasing version 3.5 of the TiVo software; this kernel is NOT lba48-aware. CopyKern will NOT install a compatible version of the kernel for 3.5. Please stay tuned for more details as they become available.]

So, bottom line is this -- for those of you with > 137GB drives in your Series1 DirecTiVo units, you most likely will experience problems when the 3.5 software is ultimately installed on your unit. (you may want to unplug your phone lines in the interim).

The CopyKern utility on our utility disk does not install a kernel compatible with 3.5 (only its predecessors, 2.5.2 and 3.1.0). Hopefully, a new lba48-enabled kernel will become available soon; we'll update the free lba48 cd with any updated kernels, and a newer version of CopyKern, as well.

Stay tuned...

[ccallana]

So if I'm reading this correctly - I can use the PTVupgrade CD with LBA48 support to copy my 120GB drive (which is about to throw a bearing) onto a 200GB drive, and Tivo will see the whole drive?

Box is a Philips 40GB originally, upgraded to 120 a few years ago.

Thanks

[HomeUser]

Yes, without saving recordings. No if you want to keep recordings.

If you want to keep recordings you either need to offload the recordings or "image copy" the 120G to the new drive the TiVo will see only the 120G.

[ccallana]

Thanks! Worked Great! - although it took a lot longer than I expected - started @ 11:30pm last nite - didn't finish the restore until 5:30pm today - 18 hours..... seems a bit long. either way, it worked - kept everything, have a newer drive - and a bigger one to boot.

:)

[funtoupgrade]

If you search through the cd to find the correct replacement kernel, note its name and path, and enter the same string generated by copykern with the corrected kernel name and path, tpip should work as advertised. I verified this on the 2 different PTV boot CDs I have been using and was able to make them both work.

My 2 cents. I hope this helps others save some of the debug time I have spent.
Brent

As you indicated, the canned copykern script looks for the new kernels in the wrong place so does not really update the kernel even though it seems to with error messages.

After a couple of hours of fooling around I also came to the same conclusion but darn if I can find the kernels anywhere in any of the directories on the CD. I'm looking for the series 3 standalone.

[tivoupgrade]

As you indicated, the canned copykern script looks for the new kernels in the wrong place so does not really update the kernel even though it seems to with error messages.

After a couple of hours of fooling around I also came to the same conclusion but darn if I can find the kernels anywhere in any of the directories on the CD. I'm looking for the series 3 standalone.

They are there...

Make sure you've mounted the CDROM properly, they are not in the initrd (ergo, not in ramdisk) but on the CD itself in the s1_kernels folder...

[funtoupgrade]

They are there...

Make sure you've mounted the CDROM properly, they are not in the initrd (ergo, not in ramdisk) but on the CD itself in the s1_kernels folder...

I just figured this out by myself before reading this post. Somehow I missed, or never read, or it was not there that I needed to enter the mountcd command before running copykern. As soon as I did this the copykern ran fine and updated the kernel.

In my opinion, everytime copykern is mentioned there ought to be a footnote or parentheses reminding user to enter mountcd before running copykern. It really would have been helpful if that had been part of the script during the copykern process. In fact, what harm would there be in your copykern script mounting the CDrom automatically so user did not have to do this?

Very happy to finally have figured this out but many hours wasted fooling with it.

[funtoupgrade]

One more thing I am not sure about regarding copykern. Do you need to use it when you have two drives that total more than 137GB, or just if one or both drives are bigger than 137GB? I'm guessing no since the copykern script asks which drive is the TiVo drive and does not seem to provide option for two drives.

[azitnay]

The total size of the two drives together doesn't matter... The problem you're dealing with here pertains to the size of a single drive. If it's bigger than 137GB, you need LBA48 to address the whole drive.

I've never used copykern, but I'd imagine it only needs to know about the A drive, since that's where the kernel is.

Drew

[funtoupgrade]

Thanks, I think I'm finally all squared away on copykern.

[gr8reb8]

I've edited the first post in this thread with the following information:

[Note: As of 4/26/06 DirecTV, is releasing version 3.5 of the TiVo software; this kernel is NOT lba48-aware. CopyKern will NOT install a compatible version of the kernel for 3.5. Please stay tuned for more details as they become available.]

So, bottom line is this -- for those of you with > 137GB drives in your Series1 DirecTiVo units, you most likely will experience problems when the 3.5 software is ultimately installed on your unit. (you may want to unplug your phone lines in the interim).

The CopyKern utility on our utility disk does not install a kernel compatible with 3.5 (only its predecessors, 2.5.2 and 3.1.0). Hopefully, a new lba48-enabled kernel will become available soon; we'll update the free lba48 cd with any updated kernels, and a newer version of CopyKern, as well.

Stay tuned...


Alas, I saw this message to late. Now my DSR6000 never gets past the powering on message.... :(

[Francesco]

Yep. If you have access to a spare drive less than 137 GB, re-image to it to 3.1x and let it upgrade (or not) and at least get some use out of your DTiVo until a compatible LBA48-aware kernel is added to the upgrade CDs.

[tivoupgrade]

Yep. If you have access to a spare drive less than 137 GB, re-image to it to 3.1x and let it upgrade (or not) and at least get some use out of your DTiVo until a compatible LBA48-aware kernel is added to the upgrade CDs.

An alternative would be to reimage after booting with a non-lba48 CD, then you will only be using 137GB of the drive, even if its a 160GB...

[mlamanuzzi]

Hello everyone. I have a Series 2 model TCD540080. I bought a Maxtor QuickView 250GB drive to replace the one that came with my TiVo. I used the LBA48 BootCD to copy the TiVo's drive to the new drive using dd. The new drive works, but the recording time under system info still reads "up to 40 hours". Is there a way to make a Series 2 use a drive larger than 137GB? Shouldn't the TiVo at least recognize 137GB of the drive? I haven't been able to find a definite answer to this question, other than "it can be done". Please help.

Thank you,

Michael Lamanuzzi

[azitnay]

The TiVo software doesn't magically determine that it's been moved to a bigger drive. You need to use MFS Tools 2.0 to tell it. Follow these instructions (you can most likely substitute the LBA48 boot CD it tells you to create with the PTV CD you've already created):

http://tivo.upgrade-instructions.com/index.php

Drew

[ashu]

Yeah.

And if you DID use mfstools, it's possible you forgot a step.

Specifically, you need to run the mfsadd command to expand your drive (or tell the TiVo OS to use the available extra space, and the partitions therein)

[lorenmcguire]

OK. I have read almost all the postings in this area. Here is my system and problem.
System:
Phillips HDR212
Original Drive - 22 gig - Toasted beyond recovery

I have bought the PTVupgrade InstantCake CDROM for a Series 1 Standalone TiVo Unit.
Code: ICAKE-S1SA
Price:$19.99
Thought this would be the easy way to do this, I would not have to write the program, I would get a good restore CD and everything would be cool. NOT!!

I have followed the instructions on the CDROM to the letter. The CDROM is on the Primary IDE controller and a slave on that contoller. There is no primary drive, as I have removed the drive (was a windows drive and wanted to make sure it did not get toasted). The drive to be upgraded is on the secondary controller as a slave drive. There is no other hard disk in the system. The new drive is a 60 gig Maxtor MX6L060J3. This is a drive I have had in a Windows system which I recently upgraded.

During the "Baking" portion, it appears the scripts and so forth are copied into memory. The "Baking" occurs and says I now have good disk with like 47 hours available.

Adding Pair /dev/hdc12-/dev/hdc13

Your Cake has been successfully baked. Please shutdown your computer remove the drive and install it in your TiVo. Don't forget to clear and delete.
(OR SOMETHING LIKE THIS IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY)


Put the disk in the TiVo and the TiVo boots. It goes through a few cycles, asks me what my zipcode is, my phone number prefix, then dials. After dialing, the hard disk basicly is accessed for about 60 seconds or so, indicated by the hard disk red light going on and off. The screen then goes to the "Almost there. A few more seconds please" with the PTVupgrade logo on it. IT THEN REMAINS ON THIS SCREEN VIRTUALLY FOREVER.

I have also tried this with the following command line:
mfstool restore -r4 -b -x -p -s 300 -zi /cdrom/.images/000001

Took me a bit to figure out that the program on the disk unmounted the cdrom after copying what it needed into memory. I remount the cdrom, go to the mfstools directory, then access the image on the cdrom directly.

This above command line gets the same response at the end, stating a successful restore with 47 hours now available.

I have seen a couple of errors at the end of some of my attempts stating:

umount2: Device or resurce busy
umount: /dev/hdb busy - remounted read-only

I don't believe these errors are significant issues, as unmounting and mounting a file system with linux is not generally an issue. Hitting control-alt-delete sends a kill signal to all processes and will stop the machine.

This only appears to happen when using the PTVbake method, so not sure what that is all about. It doesn't happen all the time.

My questions are:
1. Why does the bake not work all the way?
2. Anyone ever seen the above 2 errors? (and are they significant)
3. Why would it be successful (according the cdrom load) but hang after being put in the TiVo
4. Is there a jumper setting that is specific to the TiVo hard drive? (does the drive have to be a Master, Slave, ????)

As a side note, I have used both an AMD 2000+ on an ECS Motherboard and an Intel 866 Slot 1 on an Abit motherboard. The results are the same.

As another side note, I have run the PTVupgrade cdrom in a Microsoft Virtual Machine with the same results on both the manual mfstool input and the run from the CDROM. I had to change the script on the CDROM a bit (and reburn it) because MVM does not put a hard disk on the secondary controller and the CDROM can only attach to the Secondary Controller. Other than that it worked fine.

Any help on this would be appreciated. I just want my TiVo!!!

[tweekerz]

I am in the same boat as you, but I have not successfully copied everything.

I have S2 130 Series AT&Tivo which started with a 40gb, that was upgraded and expanded to a 160 GB 5400 rpm

But now, the drive clicks when I have something on pause for more than 10 minutes.

Now, I am trying to copy everything over to a new 200GB.

I tried the PVxxx cd and instruc, and also the weaknees instruc. To no luck.

I even tried the dd: command, and that didnt work either.

What command lines did you use?

Specifics would help.

Thanks

Matt

Thanks! Worked Great! - although it took a lot longer than I expected - started @ 11:30pm last nite - didn't finish the restore until 5:30pm today - 18 hours..... seems a bit long. either way, it worked - kept everything, have a newer drive - and a bigger one to boot.

:)

[lorenmcguire]

The command line I actually used to restore the PTV image to the hard drive was:

mfstool restore -r4 -b -x -p -s 300 -zi /cdrom/.images/000001

This also required the mount for the cdrom. Here are the steps:

1. Boot from the PTV cdrom.
2. Let it go through to the point where it asks you if this is going to be a 1 drive or 2 drive installation.
3. Hit Control C - Ctrl key and C key at same time to abort the script
4. Type - fdisk - l (this is a lower case L)

The fdisk command will tell you what drives are connected and where they are mounted. The drive you want will be on hda, hdb, hdc, or hdd. The cdrom will also be on one of these. The mfstools-2 directory will be in the root partition. This actually is residing all in memory.

Type - mount /dev/hdb /cdrom (this will most likely be your cdrom if you have it connected to the primary ide controler as instructions state.

This should then allow you to run the mfstool restore command.

Let me know if this works for you. The -x option in the mfstool restore is to expand the "image" to fit the drive and have access to all the space. The 300 option is for caching purposes. (300 megabytes). If you look in the /bin directory you will also find a BlessTivo executable which is supposed to restore the boot partition (first few tracks) and make the drive bootable in the TiVo.

I have been programming for a number of years, including on Linux, HP, Windows and with a variety of programs including C, C++, Vis Basic, Basic, Shell Scripts and a lot of others, but this has got me stumped. Short of going over to a friends and sticking the hard drive on his PowerPC machine, I have about exhausted my options. At one point, I did a mfstools mfs /dev/hdc and I did get a listing from the drive of all the available partitions, but the thing still failed to completely work after putting it in the TiVo. Not sure if the TiVo has a problem, or I'm still doing something wrong.

Any insight would be appreciated. I have also tried the above commands without the -x option just to see if a simple restore of the image to the disk would work. It didn't.

Thanks.

[claird]

I have read and read but am still confused. I am not a linux user (sorry). I downloaded the free PTV cd ISO for kernel 3.10+ and burned the CD. Booted on the CD with my broken (3.5) Directivo series 1 160GB drive as secondary master (hdc). typed copykern and followed the prompts. But I simply do not understand killinitrd!
Is is a command: kill initrd ?
Is it a program somewhere on the CD?
Is it a program on the TIVO?
Do I have to mount something or change to something and then type something?
I see in the threads the utility program killhdinitrd which people vaguely state you can download and put onto a floppy or CD and then voila type killhdinitrd and Linux finds the media and utility somehow on its own, but where are the specific instructions on how to download a Linux utility and put it on a CD or floppy while using Windows XP?
Thanks for any replies that can help me fix this problem.
Craig Laird

[tweekerz]

I have S2 130 Series AT&Tivo which started with a 40gb, that was upgraded and expanded to a 160 GB 5400 rpm

But now, the drive clicks when I have something on pause for more than 10 minutes.

Now, I am trying to copy everything over to a new 200GB.


Well I got everything to copy over... but I am unable to expand using the
mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hdc | mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi - /dev/hda COMMAND.

I get Backup target not large enough for entire backup by itself.

I used these commands to get it to copy EVERYTHING

mkdir /mnt/dos
mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/dos
mfsbackup -f 9999 -6so /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdc
dd if=/dev/hdc of=/dev/hda
umount -f -a -r

Then tried to expand, but no luck
I just want more hours... but can live withou em, the rive only costed $30 during Black Friday!

[azitnay]

This is often the case when attempting to expand a second time... Most likely, you'll need to start over without recordings if you want to use the full 200GB.

Drew

[LastPlace]

I'm having some trouble, too, with my Sony SVR-2000.

I tried to copy the image from the original 30GB to my new Seagate 7200.9 300GB hard drive but finally gave up and bought InstantCake.

I've "baked" it twice and both times it just hung at the initial "Powering Up..." screen.

Some more details:

Went through and got a message about it being successful and to do a clear-and-delete.

Put it in the TiVo and powered it up – it just stuck at Powering Up, just a minute...

Unplugged it, powered it down and started it back up – let it sit for about 3 hours but never made it past that same Powering Up, just a minute… screen.

Took the drive out, and figuring I missed something important the first time, I rebaked it. It seemed to go through fine and then said

Uncompressed backup size: 816 megabytes
Restoring 816 or 816 megabytes (100.00%) (83.78% compression)
Cleaning up restore. Please wait a moment.
Restore done!
Adding pair /dev/hdc12-/dev/hdc13
New estimated standalone size: 342 hours (312 more)

CONGRATULATIONS! Software installed…

Your cake is baked! You should now power down your PC and move your drives to the TiVo. Don’t forget to do a clear-and-delete everything once you’ve booted your unit for the first time with your new software.

umount2: Device or resource busy
umount: /dev/hda busy – remounted read-only
/#

After a while the last line changed to
/# May 13 22:58:03 PTVupgrade syslog.info - - MARK - -

So given that I felt like I was "giving up" by going to InstantCake, I'm feeling particularly stumped! I did see that the image I bought had been successfully tested on a drive as large as 250GB and mine is 300GB. Given that it recognized the larger amount during the baking, that's not the problem is it?

Any help is most appreciated!

[LastPlace]

I was concerned that the jumpers may be the problem...

When I baked the new Seagate 300GB 7200.9 hard drive, I had the jumper in the Master position. I recall that was the correct placement but now I haven't been able to figure out where I read that and can refer back to for confirmation.

I had started up the TiVo with the Seagate's jumper still in the Master position and it hung at "Powering Up..."

To make sure it wasn't a jumper issue I've tried starting the TiVo with the jumper in each of the possible locations and got the same result each time; the unit just sits on the first "Powering Up..." screen.

And I've confirmed that the TiVo unit is not the problem because I restarted it with the original drive that came with it - no problem with that (other than the hard drive size)

So - what do I try next :confused:

Please - help me climb my way out of this "easy" project I got myself in to!

Thanx :o

[tivoupgrade]

LastPlace...

You are posting in the wrong thread. FirstPlace ;-) to start is with the instructions (http://www.dvrpg.com/article/10140/) ; from your first post, because it sounds like you may not have connected your drives properly. You may also want to read this thread (http://www.dvrpg.com/forum/thread/12324/?action=stick) and if you continue to have problems, use the official support thread (http://www.dvrpg.com/forum/thread/11896/?page=1) as another resource. Thx.

[LastPlace]

OOPS :o

I'm off to confirm I've read through the suggested links!

[Blitz68]

Here is what I want to do. I have an HR10-250 with the Super Bowl recorded. I want to make this DVR networkable without reimaging. I am going to have a full backup image before doing this. It is my understanding if I use Instant Cake I will erase all of my recording and settings...right?

[tivoupgrade]

Here is what I want to do. I have an HR10-250 with the Super Bowl recorded. I want to make this DVR networkable without reimaging. I am going to have a full backup image before doing this. It is my understanding if I use Instant Cake I will erase all of my recording and settings...right?

InstantCake is for reimaging drives, not networking; and yes, it will overwrite everything the drive used. We do not recommend using your original drive.

You can use PTVnetHD for networking, however that is beyond the scope of this thread which is intended for DIY folks using the LBA48 CD.

[johnny*dangerous]

HELP!
I have a t-60 with a 300g drive. This is what I did - tell me where I may have gone wrong....

After receiving the 3.5 upgrade, many of my shows in the now playing list were not working, as well as my cachecard.

I reinstalled the cachecard with /nic_install/nic_install cachecard (from the iso disc) It asked me if it could disable the initrd - I said yes.

After the install was complete, I used the 4.04 LBA48 iso from PTV Upgrade.

All I did was boot the disk and type "copykern" and followed instructions to ensure I had the correct hard drive.

It said it was successful and I rebooted and hooked the t-60 back up. The cachecard is working but the shows still aren't working.

Did I miss something in my process?

Johnny

[Rhughes]

HELP!
I have a t-60 with a 300g drive. This is what I did - tell me where I may have gone wrong....

After receiving the 3.5 upgrade, many of my shows in the now playing list were not working, as well as my cachecard.

Did I miss something in my process?

JohnnyWith the 3.5 upgrade you can no longer use all of a large hard drive because the new kernel won't support it. I'm sure it won't be long before we have another kernel for large HD support with the Series 1 DirecTiVo's.

[tivoupgrade]

With the 3.5 upgrade you can no longer use all of a large hard drive because the new kernel won't support it. I'm sure it won't be long before we have another kernel for large HD support with the Series 1 DirecTiVo's.

Please take a look at the first post of this thread - there is already one available.

[johnny*dangerous]

:) I solved it - for some reason it wasn't copying the kernal properly, I had to mount the cd rom again and then copykern.


Everything is up and running now.

[john_o]

I am having trouble with the copykern utility -- I am not convinced it is actually copying the kernel over since when I put the drive back in my TiVo it still reboots during playback and many shows are not accessible.

I have telnet and ftp back up -- can anyone give me the file path where the kernel lives? I remember seeing a reference from tivoupgrade but I can't find it for the life of me now. I presume I can just ftp the 3.1.0+ kernel image over from the cd and swap it out?

Does the utility move the 3.1.0+ kernel to both the 3 and 6 partitions?

Will the kernel rev # be reflected in the TiVo System Information screen?

[Rhughes]

Please take a look at the first post of this thread - there is already one available.I guess that's what I get for reading the lastest posts instead of going back and starting from the beginning. :)

[john_o]

Of those who have successfully upgraded to the LBA48 kernel, do you have issues with the video image not clearing when you get the 'keep/delete this episode prompt?' (i.e. you see the show you were just watching rather than the blue background?) This is what makes me wonder if I am actually at 3.1.0+ or not...

[PyroMan]

I have a SAT-T60 that I forgot to pull the phone line from and it received the upgrade. The drive had recently been upgraded to 300GB and now upon boot it says "Cannot load kernel" or something to that effect. For now I have loaded the original HD back into the unit and pulled the upgraded drive.

Most people on this site have stated that they can boot, but cannot view all of their shows. I would like to know if I should be able to use this CD, along with the one at SiliconDust forums and be able to get my unit working again with the upgraded HD? The unit in question is currently not networked, but I am considering doing this in the future.

Second issue, I have another identical unit that I was able to stop from updating. Do I just follow the directions in the first post prior to allowing the unit to take the update and reboot or after?

Thanks!

[john_o]

Looks like TiVo finally posted the 3.5 source.

http://www.tivo.com/linux/linux.asp

I look forward to a rev of 3.5 with an LBA48 kernel, as the 3.1.0+ / LBA48 sidegrade has been extremely unstable, rebooting several times an hour...

By the way, if you are running TivoWebPlus you will probably notice that a bunch of stuff broke. 3.5 uses V3 rather than V2 of the guide directory, but the script in index.ictl thinks that all 3.x revs use V2. As noted on other web sites, you need to change this:

if {$::version >= 3} {
set guideindexdir "/GuideIndexV2" <---- This changes to V3
} else {
set guideindexdir "/GuideIndex"
}

[tivoupgrade]

Looks like TiVo finally posted the 3.5 source.

http://www.tivo.com/linux/linux.asp

I look forward to a rev of 3.5 with an LBA48 kernel, as the 3.1.0+ / LBA48 sidegrade has been extremely unstable, rebooting several times an hour...



To my knowledge, TiVo has not posted the 3.5 kernel changes. You may want to look into other potential causes of the instability you are experiencing. We've installed the kernel on MANY systems and have done quite a bit of testing with no problems at all.

[JamieP]

To my knowledge, TiVo has not posted the 3.5 kernel changes.It was there yesterday, but it appears to have been since pulled.

[john_o]

http://tivo.com/linux/35/Tivo-3.5-cmd.tar.gz
http://tivo.com/linux/35/TiVo-3.5-linux-2.1.tar.gz

With 3.1.0+ (presuming it actually installed properly, of which I am not convinced) new shows are fine, old ones have pretty much had a shotgun taken to them. Going into "Pick Programs to Record" often triggers a reboot.

How can I actually confirm that the Universal Boot CD did indeed move the 3.1 kernel over? The error checking on the tpio script is pretty poor.

[JamieP]

http://tivo.com/linux/35/Tivo-3.5-cmd.tar.gz
http://tivo.com/linux/35/TiVo-3.5-linux-2.1.tar.gzDead links for me. Like I said, it looks like they were removed since yesterday....
How can I actually confirm that the Universal Boot CD did indeed move the 3.1 kernel over? The error checking on the tpio script is pretty poor."uname -a" on the tivo will provide kernel version information. The build date/time generally can uniquely identify a kernel build.

[john_o]

OK, *that's* weird, i just downloaded them a minute before I posted. 6.5 MB and 5.8 MB. Can send to whoever needs them.

Results of uname -a:

Linux (none) 2.1.24-TiVo-2.5 #9 Wed May 10 11:08:35 EDT 2006 ppc unknown

[JamieP]

OK, *that's* weird, i just downloaded them a minute before I posted. 6.5 MB and 5.8 MB. Can send to whoever needs them.

Results of uname -a:

Linux (none) 2.1.24-TiVo-2.5 #9 Wed May 10 11:08:35 EDT 2006 ppc unknownNear as I can tell, you have the 3.1+ kernel Todd compiled:
.../s1_kernels/kernel-3.1+ % strings vmlinux-3.1.px | grep "Linux version"
Linux version 2.1.24-TiVo-2.5 (millert@inverness.columbia.ads.sparta.com) (gcc version 2.8.1) #9 Wed May 10 11:08:35 EDT 2006Note that the data and time of the build match yours exactly.

[tivoupgrade]

http://tivo.com/linux/35/Tivo-3.5-cmd.tar.gz
http://tivo.com/linux/35/TiVo-3.5-linux-2.1.tar.gz

With 3.1.0+ (presuming it actually installed properly, of which I am not convinced) new shows are fine, old ones have pretty much had a shotgun taken to them. Going into "Pick Programs to Record" often triggers a reboot.



I don't think that's an indication that the 3.1.0+ kernel is unstable; its more likely an indication that the files became corrupt during the interim period prior to the 3.1.0+ kernel being installed...

[john_o]

Thanks, JamieP, appreciate the confirmation.

I don't think that's an indication that the 3.1.0+ kernel is unstable; its more likely an indication that the files became corrupt during the interim period prior to the 3.1.0+ kernel being installed...

While that's a possibility (though what could have caused the corruption? simply accessing shows that crossed over the 120MB kernel limit before updating the kernel?) it doesn't explain the immediate reboot when I access the "To Do List" in the "Pick Programs To Record" menu.

One thing I don't understand -- shouldn't I be seeing the whole disk rather than just 120-ish GB? Here's what I get with df:

Filesystem 1024-blocks Used Available Capacity Mounted on
/dev/hda7 126911 16832 103526 14% /
/dev/hda9 126911 22607 97751 19% /var

I see "up to 146 hours" in the System Info screen.

[PyroMan]

To my knowledge, TiVo has not posted the 3.5 kernel changes. You may want to look into other potential causes of the instability you are experiencing. We've installed the kernel on MANY systems and have done quite a bit of testing with no problems at all.

They are there again. I can't attach them because of there size, but I can post them on a website if they disappear again:
Commands, Modules
Tivo-3.5-cmd.tar.gz
MD5 372448D947299EEDDF2442F07F30A610

Linux for Power PC
TiVo-3.5-linux-2.1.tar.gz
MD5 93614277E35A2A8147D17AE28CCC756E

[john_o]

While I'm willing to accept that 3.1.0+ is stable for some, has anyone with 3.1.0+ seen the following?

1) instant reboot when entering the "To Do List"
2) video image in background of "Now Playing List" (rather than standard TiVo background) after accepting "Delete this recording" of a show just watched
3) reboots while watching certain shows recorded prior to the 3.5 update

For that matter, did anyone with an unpatched 3.5, >120GB system seen these issues *before* going to 3.1.0+?

Can anyone running 3.1.0+ confirm that the updated kernel allows them stable access to all shows recorded prior to the 3.5 update?

Thanks,
johnny0

[danmcd]

While I'm willing to accept that 3.1.0+ is stable for some, has anyone with 3.1.0+ seen the following?

1) instant reboot when entering the "To Do List"
2) video image in background of "Now Playing List" (rather than standard TiVo background) after accepting "Delete this recording" of a show just watched
3) reboots while watching certain shows recorded prior to the 3.5 update

For that matter, did anyone with an unpatched 3.5, >120GB system seen these issues *before* going to 3.1.0+?

#1 --> No, but I get reboots when playing shows.

#2 --> Yes. I thought this might be a "feature" of the new bits.

#3 --> Absolutely yes. And given your previous posts, I'm guessing just upgrading the kernel will not allow me to recover those shows. Oh well. Good thing our archived children's shows get rerun all of the time.

I'm upgrading my kernel tonight using copykern and the free LBA48 CD. I hope it works...

[tivoupgrade]

While that's a possibility (though what could have caused the corruption? simply accessing shows that crossed over the 120MB kernel limit before updating the kernel?) it doesn't explain the immediate reboot when I access the "To Do List" in the "Pick Programs To Record" menu.



Yes, that is all it would take; and corruption could absolutely explain the immediate reboot. Remember, your to-do list contains information about the shows and where they live on the drive. If that information became corrupt, as it is like to have become when a kernel ran on the system that could not keep track of information beyond the 137GB barrier, it could cause the system to panic.


One thing I don't understand -- shouldn't I be seeing the whole disk rather than just 120-ish GB? Here's what I get with df:

Filesystem 1024-blocks Used Available Capacity Mounted on
/dev/hda7 126911 16832 103526 14% /
/dev/hda9 126911 22607 97751 19% /var

I see "up to 146 hours" in the System Info screen.


Remember, df doesn't show you the whole drive; the mfs partitions, which are raw partitions, don't show up with a df...

... I don't think you are dealing with a kernel problem here, or the problems would be across the board (ie happening on all systems using it, not just a few where the kernel has been installed after the update has taken place).

[danmcd]

I'm upgrading my kernel tonight using copykern and the free LBA48 CD. I hope it works...

I just got back from my friend's house (I've no whitebox PCs in my house, just my AMD64 work laptop and our Macs). The kernel upgrade (using copykern) seems to have worked, and kill_initrd indicated there was no initrd on my HD.

I'm waving the dead-chicken of "remove all shows", which IIRC is a self-initiating MFS format. Hopefully from here on out there will be no problems or corruptions of recordings.

BTW, I was damned lucky my friend had kill_initrd - I didn't see it on the LBA48 disk, and it really should be there for folks to at least verify they don't *need* it.

[tivoupgrade]

BTW, I was damned lucky my friend had kill_initrd - I didn't see it on the LBA48 disk, and it really should be there for folks to at least verify they don't *need* it.

killinitrd won't work as you'd expect it to if it were on the lba48 CD; when run on series1 drives, you need to boot the kernel differently than its set up for on the lba48 CD; that is why, in the 3.5 migration thread, we recommend you just use the silicondust network driver CD to do that part... i know that is not clear from this thread - but we drifted off-topic here several posts ago - it is discussed in more detail here, though:


Series1 DirecTiVo Software Update (3.5.0) Migration Thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=297372)

[danmcd]

that is why, in the 3.5 migration thread, we recommend you just use the silicondust network driver CD to do that part...

That's funny - we found it on a network driver CD he had purchased from you guys (probably the very Silicon Dust one). Well, that confirms we did the right thing.

Now I just gotta go see if the reformat's done yet...

[tivoupgrade]

That's funny - we found it on a network driver CD he had purchased from you guys (probably the very Silicon Dust one). Well, that confirms we did the right thing.

Now I just gotta go see if the reformat's done yet...

True - yes, its on the Universal Boot CD; that CD does contain the proper boot environment and also the Silicondust drivers, and killinitrd; but the recommendation we made was related to the free stuff, not stuff you have to pay for...

[dumpav]

Is this the right thread to ask about instant cake question?

I have a HUMAX DRT 800 with DVDR and a 500GB drive.

I want to know is this the right item i should order/download?
Code: ICAKE-S2SA
Price:$19.99
Tivo model number HUMAX DRT800(+9.99 -large download)

what does it mean "large download"?

if i buy this IC do i need to run any special command? to set up the swap file for a 500GB drive?
or it will automatic do the optimize the setting for me?

thanks

[AdventureDude]

My hard drive was dying on my Sony Series one. I had upgraded it 3 years ago and was aware of the process. I was also aware that it took me the better part of a Saturday to do. I was not looking forward to it.

I decided to purchase the InstantCake ISO. It promised to be an easy way to rebuild the system without too much work.

I purchased the system on 5/12 (21 days ago)

TWO days later I get an email saying I might have some problems (rebooting, freezing, some programs not working).

A week later, those promised problems arise.

I've done some research and I found out the PTVUpgrades knew about the problem several weeks before they sold me the software, and released and updated CD two days later.

When I asked them for the updated ISO so that I can have the simple install (that works) that I purchased, they tell me that I can use the update (which requires a familiarity with MFS tools) or rebuy the software.

They are jerks, and I will not do business with them again. I write this as a warning to others.

To be fair:
The software was simple to use.
Their tech support responded quickly.

To be even more fair:
Solving my problem could not have been eaiser and I can't imagine how they think charging me twice for software that didn't work the first time was 'fair'.

I'm very dissapointed

Tony Wilson

[dumpav]

thanks for the info, so how you finally fix your problem? do you pay again for their buggy software?

if i am not using their software are there any easy way to do my own?

As i am confuse there are so many different version, like Hinsdale, weaknees.... and from different post, some said some of the iso not support large drive. Some need to dl another disc to set up swap file.

I just hope there is a clean easy way to set up my box.

[tivoupgrade]

thanks for the info, so how you finally fix your problem? do you pay again for their buggy software?

if i am not using their software are there any easy way to do my own?

As i am confuse there are so many different version, like Hinsdale, weaknees.... and from different post, some said some of the iso not support large drive. Some need to dl another disc to set up swap file.

I just hope there is a clean easy way to set up my box.

You can ignore that fellow; he couldn't be more wrong and has completely misrepresented the situation. Our software is not buggy, and the thread referenced just a few posts ago discusses the migration of the DirecTV software from 3.1.0 to 3.5.0 and how to use free tools here to deal with that issue, even if you've used InstantCake for your upgrade. If you've purchased an earlier version of InstantCake there is no need to purchase anything further and no knowledge of MFStools is required regardless of the path chosen (unless you want to do your upgrade over again completely from scratch). Just follow the recommendations made in the Series1 DirecTiVo Software Update (3.5.0) Migration Thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=297372) and you'd be good to go.

In your particular case, you may not want to go the DIY route; consider a kit, or consider a DIY software product, or consider a completely DIY route that involves purchasing nothing and using all of the free resources at your disposal. BUT, whichever method you choose to use, please do your research and understand the implications of using that particular method before you implement it.

As for this thread, its about our free LBA48 CD; please see the first post as it will give you a good overview of what this CD is used for.

[ItzNeil]

I have a 140060. The version on my InstantCake CD is 4.xx, but my TiVo is updating itself to > 7.2, which I think should support >137GB. I installed a pair of 200GB drives, but did not use the LBA48 CD, and as expected, IC showed about 360 hours, and my TiVO shows the same, even after it installed the 7.2 software.
My question is does 7.2 support >137 on ALL TiVo boxes?
Seems I have 3 options. Any suggestions which would be best are welcome.
- Start over w/ 2X120 and call it good, since not all 7.2 loads support large drives.
- Start over w/ 2X200 and the LBA48 CD, and hope this will work (can't really tell from the instructions, as the 140060 model is ONLY mentioned with the 4.xx software)
- Start with a single 120 drive, and *after* the 7.2 update, bless a 200 to install, hoping 7.2 DOES mean large drive support on my box.

[azitnay]

All 7.x (and for that matter, 5.x and up) software supports LBA48.

You should be able to boot with an LBA48-compatible CD and simply mfsadd -x to expand to fill both drives.

In lieu of that, you can certainly start over with an LBA48 CD and a 7.2 image.

Drew

[ItzNeil]

Thanks Drew.

Just to rephrase this in a way that I clearly understand...

You said> LBA48-compatible CD and simply mfsadd -x to expand to fill both drives.
I think you mean> Now that I have updated to 7.2, I should be able to expand to the full 200GB size.
This would be ideal, since it would save all teh settings and shows I've recorded again, and not irritate TiVo by rerunnig the update, correct?

You said> start over with an LBA48 CD and a 7.2 image.
I think you mean> You'll have to find 7.2 image somewhere, since the IC CD only contains 4.xx.
Is there some way to make my current image the backup on the CD?
Will teh LBA48 Cd (From PTVUpgrade) NOT work with the 4.xx image to do what I'm trying to do? That would suggest using teh 120GB drive and adding a second drive after would be best...

Thanks for clarifying.

[ItzNeil]

OK, so I typed this command

mfsadd -x dev/hdc dev/hdd

after booting from the lba48 CD from PTVUpgrade. The response back was Current estimated size is :312 Hours
Nothing to add!

Not sure what to make of that... Am I really back to whacking these drives and starting over?

[JamieP]

OK, so I typed this command

mfsadd -x dev/hdc dev/hdd

after booting from the lba48 CD from PTVUpgrade. The response back was Current estimated size is :312 Hours
Nothing to add!

Not sure what to make of that... Am I really back to whacking these drives and starting over?You need to manually update your partition tables to reflect the actual disk sizes. After that, you'll be able to expand with mfsadd. See this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=629559&&#post629559).

The A drive probably has a full partition table now and can't be expanded again, so only the B drive will expand. If you want the full space of both drives. you probably want to start over with a fresh image.

[tivoupgrade]

There is a much easier way to do this and it is discussed more in the Official InstantCake Support thread over the DVR playground and specific steps are documented in part 1 of this thread (http://www.dvrpg.com/forum/thread/11010/).

Basically, you want to boot with the LBA48 CD and use the PTVbake-special script, in combination with your 4.01 InstantCake CD. What that will do is create the partitions in LBA48-mode, and although the resulting 4.01 installation will not be LBA48 aware, just ensure your unit updates itself to 7.2 prior to it actually filling up with more than 137GB of information on the drive. Once 7.2 is installed, your TiVo operating system will see the full capacity of the drive.

Granted, this does mean you need to whack your drive and lose what is currently on there, but the process is simple and straightforward.

[JamieP]

Basically, you want to boot with the LBA48 CD and use the PTVbake-special script, in combination with your 4.01 InstantCake CD. What that will do is create the partitions in LBA48-mode, and although the resulting 4.01 installation will not be LBA48 aware, just ensure your unit updates itself to 7.2 prior to it actually filling up with more than 137GB of information on the drive. Once 7.2 is installed, your TiVo operating system will see the full capacity of the drive.
Ack! That sounds really dangerous. It's quite possible to see lba28 wrap around even if mfs isn't full of shows yet. The upgrade to 7.2/3 itself may end up writing to blocks above the lba28 mark (137GB).

The safe way to do this is to first lay the 4.x image down without expansion (so the space above the lba28 mark is still unpartitioned), then update to 7.x, then expand. This ensures that a non-lba48 kernel never uses space above the lba28 mark.

Even better, start with a 7.x image.

[tivoupgrade]

Ack! That sounds really dangerous. It's quite possible to see lba28 wrap around even if mfs isn't full of shows yet. The upgrade to 7.2/3 itself may end up writing to blocks above the lba28 mark (137GB).

The safe way to do this is to first lay the 4.x image down without expansion (so the space above the lba28 mark is still unpartitioned), then update to 7.x, then expand. This ensures that a non-lba48 kernel never uses space above the lba28 mark.

Even better, start with a 7.x image.

I know... but we've tested it internally and it works fine. We actually shipped "large drive kits" with 4.01 on them about 3 months prior to 7.1 being released and had zero transition issues, when tivo updated to 7.1...

I agree, though - best way is to start with a 7.X image, or do as you say by not expanding, then expanding...

[BubbaDude]

I downloaded and applied the PTVupgrade for large disks day before yesterday and had exactly the same problems as john_o:

While I'm willing to accept that 3.1.0+ is stable for some, has anyone with 3.1.0+ seen the following?

1) instant reboot when entering the "To Do List"
2) video image in background of "Now Playing List" (rather than standard TiVo background) after accepting "Delete this recording" of a show just watched
3) reboots while watching certain shows recorded prior to the 3.5 update


I copied the entire contents of a single-disk Philips DSR6000 DirecTivo Series 1 to a new 300 GB Maxtor drive, using:

mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hdd | mfsrestore -s 300 -r 4 -zxpi - /dev/hdc
copykern (3.10+ and /dev/hdc)

There were no errors on the backup/restore or copykern (both commands were successful). Mfsrestore reported 300 hrs more or less.

I didn't take a backup of the kernel since I already had one on the original disk, which I'm no longer using, and the system I ran these commands on doesn't have any FAT partitions, only NTFS and Ext3's.

As this box is already dual boot Linux/Win XP, I also tried running the mfstools from my Linux setup (FC5) and they didn't work, mfsinfo said the volumes were corrupt, but that's an aside.

I booted from CD to run the upgrade.

After doing the LBA48 upgrade, everything appeared to work at first - TiVo reported 284 hrs of record time, and I could play all my saved shows no problem. But as soon as I'd recored some new shows, the problems started:

1. Existing recordings were lost.
2. Now Playing background was lost
3. Going to To Do list caused a reset.
4. MPEG errors playing new shows (black bars, intermittent.)

So it appears that the disk partitioning/upgrade worked and the patch failed, as the "patched" kernel behaves like it's not LBA48-aware.

Am I doing something wrong, or is the "experimental" patch not right?

[tivoupgrade]

Am I doing something wrong, or is the "experimental" patch not right?

We've not had any problems with the updated kernel (3.1.0+); chances are that it either was not installed correctly or you have a hardware problem (bad drive, bad cable, etc); We've done plenty of testing, and there are enough kits / InstantCake-created drives out there now running the recompiled kernel - no problems...

[BubbaDude]

We can rule out any hardware problems, as the hardware works fine as long as the patch isn't installed, and two people have the identical set of problems.

And if the patch is perfect, that leaves us with only one explanation: some sort of user error in the upgrade process. So let's explore that.

1. Are my parameters bad?

2. Specially, is -s 300 too large?

3. Is it necessary to backup the kernel before patching it?

4. Is it necessary to run killinitrd? I didn't do that.

I'm just trying to figure out how to make this upgrade work, whatever it takes.

[BubbaDude]

Man, it sure got quiet here all of a sudden.

[Beantownbeanie]

Hi, SOrry if this is the wrong place. I was not sure where to post.
I got the ethernet adapter and I can see my tivo from my computer when I open a browser and type in the IP Address.

However, I can't record or do anything until it makes its first call. I thought once I connected the adapter and got it online I was all set. Should I plug the phone line in and let it call? Please advise.


Also does this replace my calls?
Thanks.
Ken wooo hoooooooooooo my 100th post!

[enigma_K]

I just got a copy of Instant Cake. During the restore process I keep getting:

Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 00000001
*pde = 00000000
Oops: 0002
CPU: 0

and a whole buch of other stuff.

This has happened with two drives and I am very sure at least one of them is in good shape. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[TerryK]

I have a Sony SVR 2000 that a couple months ago developed a skip where the picture would freeze and sound would go out for about 5 seconds. Frequency varied but averaged at least once a 1/2 hour program. I contacted PTV and they said it was probably the HD (sounds reasonable). I got the replacement, installed it, and the TiVo continues to do exactly the same thing. I emailed PTV several days ago and no reply. I'm not looking to get a refund or anything, I just want to get to the bottom of what's wrong with my poor TiVo. I have a lifetime subscription and I don't want to give it up.

Thanks!

[Jgriffi104]

I just upgraded my HR-10-250 with two Maxtor 250 gig drives and the Weakknees bracket and Interactive Tivo instructions and the free lb48 cd iso download. It took me two weeks playing with the MFSbackup, MFSADD and Mfsrestore trying to get the tivo to recognize the two drive even though the the computer said the 2 drives add 301 hours for a total of 501. The tivo would only show 30 hd and 200 sd. Then last Tuesday I got additional information on the 500 mb swap file and tpip version 1.2. I used the my orginal mfsbackup and redid the restore with the following commamd line

mfsrestore -r 4 -s 500 -zxpi /mnt/hdtivo.bak1 /dev/hdc /dev/hdd

This took 6 and a half hours in the cleaning up restore mode. I unmounted the drives then rebooted the computer and used the command tpip -1 -s /dev/hdc

unmounted the drives and put them into the tivo. Now system ifrormation showed
63 hd and 426 sd hours.

Everything went well but all the saved recordings went to delete now when you clicked on them. Then said the recorder could not record because there was no video and I may have tried to record a channel I wasn't authorized to receive.

I still have the original 250 gig drive. Is there any way to restore it again and get the recordings this time and be able to watch them? According to the instruction the recording should have been transfered and been usable.

John Griffin

[kpauley]

I'm upgrading my T60 right now from it's original 40GB drive to a 200GB Maxtor. Using the Instant Cake Software. It is actually transferring right now. I was reading a little closer though and I'm concerned about one thing.

I checked my Tivo before I took it apart, showed I'm on version 3.5.01.1.011. I'm I now going to have a problem? I see some comments about the 3.5 version and the copykern command.

Do I need to run the copykern command with this version? Or will this 3.5 version not work for me with the large disk?

Ken

[kpauley]

updated 5/12/06

Note: 4/26/06 DirecTV, is releasing version 3.5 of the TiVo software; this kernel is NOT lba48-aware. CopyKern will NOT install a compatible version of the kernel for 3.5.

Note: 5/12/06 New Release of the LBA48 CD (ver 4.04) includes a revised copykern and a recompiled kernel (labeled 3.10+) in the s1_kernels directory. We have done preliminary testing with this kernel in conjunction with version 3.5 of the Series1 DirecTV TiVo release and early tests are encouraging. If you have built LBA48 drives which are spuriously rebooting, or contain content that is not accessible through the "Now Playing" list, we encourage you to use copykern to transplant this newly updated kernel. Also note that you will need to use killinitrd to zap the new initrd (or use nic_config in the silicondust network driver release to achieve the same result).




I re-read the beginning of the thread, saw the update (above) from 5/12. I just downloaded the tool so I'm thinking I'm using this version (will verify when the copy is done). So I'll use the copykern command to get this latest recompiled kernel and hope it works with my 3.5 version....

[Sbmocp]

I have the growing feeling that there really IS some problem with this "patched" version of the earlier kernel. I've been holding off performing an upgrade/redo of my S1 DTiVo box just because I keep reading horror stories from people who have problems with this patched upgrade. PTV says they've tested many boxes and haven't had problems, yet why are people posting with wierd quirks when they're trying to upgrade their boxen?

I think PTV should bite the bullet, do the work, and incorporate the latest kernel. That would, most likely, solve these odd problems and make everybody happy.

[Tim N.]

I licensed the software for Sony SVR2000 and tried to build a 200GB Maxtor drive. This would be the second upgrade/replacement disk. I only have a single drive.

When I ran the upgrade software it reported everything worked fine. When I replaced the new drive into the TIVO I olny get the black "TIVO is starting up" image and it never goes any further.

Any suggestions?

[Tim N.]

Forget the above post. I went to the right support place and probably found my answers.

Next time, I'll look first and post second...

[Tim N.]

I cannot get much of anything to behave the way the instructions tell me to expect...

I try three different schemes to get PTV IC and PTVlba48 to work and nothing gets past the TIVO startup screen. PTV fails to answer any emails for support.

I go back to 2.0 tools and start over. I'll live with 137GB of space out of 200GB on the drive.

I perform mfsbackup to a FAT32 partitiion and it says "okay"
I put the new disk in and msfrestore -s 127 -zpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdb results in "/mnt/dos/tivo.bak: No such file or directory"

Any suggestions?

[azitnay]

Is /mnt/dos/tivo.bak definitely the correct location of the backup image you created in the mfsbackup step?

What happens when you type:

ls -la /mnt/dos

?

Drew

[Tim N.]

I'm linux illiterate. I don't know what commands to use for simple information gathering.

I figured out that the restore didn't work because I didn't execute the two commands earlier for mkdir amd mount. When I did these, the restore worked and the disk booted up in the Sony TIVO.

Then I tried to restore all of my old movie files and the restore operation failed on error 3.

I'm going back to resore with expand and will live with no old recordings.

Thank you for trying to help me.

[NardVa]

Does the free PTVupgrade LBA48 4.04 cd include a virgin 3.1.5 keneral?

I know the PTVupgrade cd with enhancements includs the killhdinitrd 3.1.5 kernel, but I was reading where you can do the killhdinitrd process yourself on a virgin 3.1.5 kernel.

[tivoupgrade]

Does the free PTVupgrade LBA48 4.04 cd include a virgin 3.1.5 keneral?

I know the PTVupgrade cd with enhancements includs the killhdinitrd 3.1.5 kernel, but I was reading where you can do the killhdinitrd process yourself on a virgin 3.1.5 kernel.

Only Series1 kernels on the free CD...

[dsnook]

Hi Folks,

Like most everyone else on this forum still owning a series 1 DirecTiVo unit , I've been reviewing all these threads and gleaning them for the necessary info to remedy my ailing TiVo unit. In spite of my efforts, I still cannot find a set of detailed instructions to upgrade the kernel.

I have deduced that I need to use 'copykern' and 'killinitrd' (or is it killhdinitrd?), but I have found little in the way of how to use them. Could some kind soul on this thread please offer this data without telling me to look at some other obscure thread? I don't have the time to pick this out one post at a time; that's why I'm requesting it from you experts here on this forum.

Here is my situation:

I own a Sony SAT-T60 series 1 unit that had the HD upgraded recently (last Jan) using InstantCake app. I replaced the original 40 GB HD with a 160 GB HD following their instructions and was working fine until a few months ago when my Tivo unit froze on me. All I did was press the Tivo button on the remote and the Tivo menu overlaid my live TV display and would not go away regardless what buttons were pressed on either the remote or the unit . I was only able to reset the unit by cycling the power.

I have over 40 hrs of recorded content that I dearly wish to recover. Will upgrading the kernel with 3.1.0+ allow me to retrieve this content afterwards or will it disappear?

When I invoke the 'copykern' command to upgrade the kernel, do I have to use 'killhdinitrd' too? Is this only necessary for units that have additional networking functions? This unit has only had the HD upgraded and no other networking features were added. Do I still have to use 'killhdinitrd' anyways? Could someone please clarify this?

Thanks for the help.

-Darren

[kpfleming]

In November of last year I bought two Maxtor 300G drives and InstantCake to use to upgrade my HR10-250 (which was brand new at the time). I tried multiple computers, multiple IDE cables, etc., but was never successful.

A few weeks ago, I tried again, using yet another computer I had built since then. Wonder of wonders, this time InstantCake actually produced a usable Tivo drive, but the Tivo did not see the additional space on the second drive (even though the 'mfsadd' output during the InstantCake run did show it being added).

I then started trying to manually use mfsadd to add the space myself, using the LBA48 boot CD I downloaded at the same time as InstantCake (as well as the recently updated 4.04 LBA48 boot CD). Each attempt failed, and trying to do is resulted in a series of 'drive busy' and 'drive write error' messages in the kernel message log. However, the drives are fine; they have been thoroughly tested by the Maxtor tools, and it doesn't matter which drive I make the A drive... the errors are always reported on the same sectors.

Since I still had my original drive from the HR10-250, I decided to try the Weakness upgrade process instead (I was originally trying to avoid touching that drive, even just to read from it). I downloaded their CD yesterday, plugged all three drives into my computer, booted off the CD an ran the mfsbackup/mfsrestore piped process. Less than an hour later, I had a fully functional HR10-250 with 600GB of working space (77 hours HD, 515 hours SD). There were no kernel messages when the mfsrestore process ran; everything was clean.

So, as best I can tell, the Linux kernel on the Weaknees CD is significantly better than the one on the PTVUpgrade LBA48 CD (and apparently on their other CDs as well, since my InstantCake CD had the same problem).

Just thought I'd report this in case others are interested... I'm happy now that my Tivo is upgraded and working, and I'll write off the $20 InstantCake purchase as a learning experience :(

[jelboston]

Hi- newbie question here. I am trying to upgrade my TiVo 540040 with a Seagate 300GB drive. I downloaded the newest version of PTVupgrade LBA48 Boot Disk (version 4.04) and loaded it onto my computer. It is an old AMD K6 with 256MB ram running Windows 95- I borrowed it from the trash heap at our office.

I have gone over the instructions on the PTVUpdate site and Weaknees numerous time. I have been planning on doing this for 2 months- today I took the plunge.

I took apart my TiVo and put the drives in place. I have my c: drive recognized in the hda position, the Seagate is recognized in the hdb position and the CD Rom is recognized in the hdd position. In lieu of it saying hdc it says

ide: Assuming 33MHz system bus speed for PIO modes; override with idebus=xx

in another place it says

spurious 8259A interrupy: IRQ7.

I have moved the jumpers around a couple times to no avail.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help in advance.

A newbie.

[steff3]

Hi,
Attempting to complete the upgrade using instant cake for my HR10-250 to a single new seagate 400gb hd. Everything fine until I get to .....................now we will begin baking..... then I receive:

mount: medium not found

/etc/rc.d.S: /cdrom/ .live/bin/ptvbake: No such file or directory

What is happening? :confused: It looked as though everything was found as it should have. Problem with the download of instant cake?

Thanks

[deek_man]

I hope this is the right place to post this.

I have upgraded several different units for myself and a couple of friends. I now have a refurbished Hughes SD-DVR40 which I want to upgrade for a friend to two 200 GB hard drives. I've checked the machine and it seems to work properly but it has the 3.xxxxx software. My underestanding is that it has to have the 6.xxxx software in order to recognize the entire 400 GB due to the limits on the older software. I can't activate with DTV and force the new software upgrade since I'm upgrading this for a friend who lives on the other side of the country. My question is this: If I choose the option in the option list that I have less than the 6.2 software version in the weaknees interactive upgrade instructions, will the upgrade process do whatever is necessary to recognize the entire 400 GB? Or will the software have to be upgraded first. If it will not recognize the entire 400 GB, must I have the DTivo upgraded to the higher version software first and can I do that without sending the machine to my friend to activate and force the upgrade, then send it back to me to upgrade with the larger drives?

Any help greatly appreciated.

[albrandwood]

Hi- newbie question here. I am trying to upgrade my TiVo 540040 with a Seagate 300GB drive. I downloaded the newest version of PTVupgrade LBA48 Boot Disk (version 4.04) and loaded it onto my computer. It is an old AMD K6 with 256MB ram running Windows 95- I borrowed it from the trash heap at our office.

I have gone over the instructions on the PTVUpdate site and Weaknees numerous time. I have been planning on doing this for 2 months- today I took the plunge.

I took apart my TiVo and put the drives in place. I have my c: drive recognized in the hda position, the Seagate is recognized in the hdb position and the CD Rom is recognized in the hdd position. In lieu of it saying hdc it says

ide: Assuming 33MHz system bus speed for PIO modes; override with idebus=xx

in another place it says

spurious 8259A interrupy: IRQ7.

I have moved the jumpers around a couple times to no avail.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help in advance.

A newbie.
OK ... I'm not sure what your _ACTUAL_ problem is ... but you can ignore the "ide: Assuming 33MHz system bus speed for PIO modes; override with idebuss=xx" ... since that is just the system telling you that the linux kernel did not recognize the IDE controller, and so is unable to use DMA transfer ... the net result is slightly slow upgrades ...

you have mentioned that:

(a) your C: drive is showing as hda
(b) your _new_ Tivo drive is showing as hdb
(c) your CD Drive is showing as hdd

are you saying that the CD is not recognizing your _old_ Tivo drive (as hdc)? Is it being seen by the BIOS during the initial POST ?

Once the machine has booted to the CD, try typing "mount" ... what does it report?

@

[deek_man]

Can I use a drive from one DTivo (Hughes SD-DVR40) to replace a drive in an identical unit? It could solve the problem I mentioned above.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[marsbarbabe]

Hello everyone,

This thread seems to be on the subject I need help on. i'm haveing a lil problem HERE (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4378363#post4378363)

to summerise..
I have a UK spec series 1 single drive TiVo version 2.5.5. I used Hinsdales guide to upgrade it to a 250gb single drive. I need to make my TiVo see all 250gb and understand I need to change the kernel to lba48.

This CD that this thread is based about.. does it cater for my needs on a UK (only ever series1) spec TiVo?

Is there a guide on what/how to use copykern or this disc to help me out?

I've read and read and found little tit bits on UK machines but no definitive answers.

Any and ALL help is greatly appreciated.

Many Many Thanks

MBB

[steff3]

Hi,
Attempting to complete the upgrade using instant cake for my HR10-250 to a single new seagate 400gb hd. Everything fine until I get to .....................now we will begin baking..... then I receive:

mount: medium not found

/etc/rc.d.S: /cdrom/ .live/bin/ptvbake: No such file or directory

What is happening? :confused: It looked as though everything was found as it should have. Problem with the download of instant cake?

Thanks
Oops, my bad, had the HD connected to the wrong IDE ribbon and forgot to disconnect the other two cd/dvd drives. Once I woke up and connected properly, all went smooth! :up:

[heatzeker]

Has anyone tried the Knoppix Linux disk image?

[azitnay]

It should work fine, but you'd have to obtain the mfstool binary yourself... Much easier to just use this CD with mfstool built in.

Drew

[jbch]

Does someone have a link to a 2.4.18 kernel thats been patched for lba 48 support. Need the old kernel for a 4.x software to monte to. Its preferred that it be pretty standard without other hacks, but I will try any that are provided.

Thanks.

[JerryZ]

Attempting to do an upgrade. Is anyone available for some help? Either phone, email or PM?
Many thanks
Jerry

[tivoupgrade]

With the new site launch, we've moved some things around (and some things have broken).

Here (http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/lba48_support.cfm) is the new location of the free lba48 CD; feel free to refer to it in your guides/posts.

Please do not redistribute the ISO or link directly to the file, as its likely to create confusion - especially when we update the CD, or change its location.

Enjoy!

[sleepeeg3]

Does the free PTVupgrade LBA48 4.04 cd include a virgin 3.1.5 keneral?Only Series1 kernels on the free CD...How do you access these then? I am unable to use copykern, because it does not have support past drive "hdg" and when I run the command:
tpip -s -o /mnt /kernel.orig -k /cdrom/s1_kernels/kernel-3.0/vmlinux-3.0.px /dev/hdj"vmlinux-3.0.px" can not be found. Changing to the s1_kernels directory and running "ls" or "dir" shows no subdirectories. I think there was just the kernel.orig file listed.

Assumed this was because the drive is not mounted, but mountcd and oodles of other commands will not mount the CD. I see an "@CDROM" directory so maybe it is mounted...

What do I need to do?

Edit: I found the vmlinux-3.0.px package is compressed, by looking at the CD in Windows. Does copykern uncompress is onto the source TiVo disk or can Linux store the output in RAM?

Tried to use a floppy drive and I get an "error writing kernel.orig ...Success!" (surprise!)

[tivoupgrade]

How do you access these then? I am unable to use copykern, because it does not have support past drive "hdg" and when I run the command:
tpip -s -o /mnt /kernel.orig -k /cdrom/s1_kernels/kernel-3.0/vmlinux-3.0.px /dev/hdj"vmlinux-3.0.px" can not be found. Changing to the s1_kernels directory and running "ls" or "dir" shows no subdirectories. I think there was just the kernel.orig file listed.

Assumed this was because the drive is not mounted, but mountcd and oodles of other commands will not mount the CD. I see an "@CDROM" directory so maybe it is mounted...

What do I need to do?

Edit: I found the vmlinux-3.0.px package is compressed, by looking at the CD in Windows. Does copykern uncompress is onto the source TiVo disk or can Linux store the output in RAM?

Tried to use a floppy drive and I get an "error writing kernel.orig ...Success!" (surprise!)

What is the device label for your CD-ROM?

If its /dev/hdg, for example, then try

mount /dev/hdg /cdrom

And you should then be able to see the files...

[sleepeeg3]

It was hdi, but I believe I tried that. Oh well, I will probably never delve into a Linux command prompt again.

I happened to be installing a new motherboard, without the problem of the first 8 channels being used and the cdrom/drive device ids changed to hda / hdb respectively. Ran copykern and it worked fine. :) Thanks tivoupgrade man!

The rest of you - buy instantcake.

[bob2112]

Hello, I was wondering if you could help me out. I've been working on this for 10hrs or more and have not gotten anywhere with the msfbackup command.
I have a Tivo 2 Series 40GB HD Life Time
I use the boot disk with the mfstools 2.0 on it and come to the #
My hard drive setup is....
Prim Master: hda1 (80GB C drive Fat32)
Prim Slave : hdb1 (120GB Replacement Tivo HD Fat32)
Sec. Master: hdc1 (40GB Tivo HD)
Sec. Slave :hdd(cd-rom)

All disk show correct size. i.e. all are unlocked and master and slave pins are setup correctly on HDs and ribbins setup correctly too. i.e. Prim/Sec Master on end of ribbin etc. BIOS setup to auto detect HDs.
Also, for some reason I cannot mount hda1 or c: drive. It's FAT32x and so are the other ones which I can mount.

I start with...
mkdir /dev/hdb1 /mnt/target
mkdir /dev/hdc1 /mnt/source
# mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt/target
# mount /dev/hdc1 /mnt/source
#mfsbackup_-f_9999_-6so_/mnt/target/tivo2.bak_/dev/hdc1

I then get an error input/output error
Underscore"_" means a space between. It's sometimes hard to tell if there is or is not so this makes it easyer for me and others.

Could you please give me the commands step by step so I can make an image of my Tivo2 so I may restore it on to a larger hard drive. I hope I'm just missing something really easy.

Thanks for your help in advance.
Sincerely,
bob2112

[MungoJerrie]

mkdir /dev/hdb1 /mnt/target
mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt/target
mfsbackup_-f_9999_-6so_/mnt/target/tivo2.bak_/dev/hdc

Deleted some unnecessaries; what you were really missing is you backup (and restore for that matter) an entire device (/dev/hdc) as opposed to a partition. Have you read the Hinsdale howto (google it); lot of good info there...

[fozzir]

I have a Series 1 standalone. I tried to re-initalize the singe drive after I removed the second one. I even redid copykern. Any ideas? Another option I have is put in a smaller second drive (80g from 250g) but not sure what commands to use. I built this using instantcake (which I don't have anymore because all 3 of my backups are jacked up).
Thanks,
Scott

PS, the original second drive went into another Tivo. (I have 3)

[mj1856]

Hi. Sorry if this has already been answered, but I can't find it.

I have a HR10-250 that I upgraded using the lba48 cd and mfsadd with the +x and +r 4 options. The upgrade was successfull and reported 655 hours now available.

However, when I put them back in the tivo, the system info screen only shows 477 SD hours. This is a new 300gb drive added to the existing 250gb.

What happened to the rest of the space? I saw some stuff about kernel swapping, but I thought that was on series 1's only? Shouldn't the 10-250 see the whole 655 hours?

I put them back in the pc and checked with mfsinfo, and it still shows 655.

What am I missing??

Thanks!

[spike2k5]

Hi. Sorry if this has already been answered, but I can't find it.

I have a HR10-250 that I upgraded using the lba48 cd and mfsadd with the +x and +r 4 options. The upgrade was successfull and reported 655 hours now available.

However, when I put them back in the tivo, the system info screen only shows 477 SD hours. This is a new 300gb drive added to the existing 250gb.

What happened to the rest of the space? I saw some stuff about kernel swapping, but I thought that was on series 1's only? Shouldn't the 10-250 see the whole 655 hours?

I put them back in the pc and checked with mfsinfo, and it still shows 655.

What am I missing??

Thanks!

Hours reported using mfstools is an estimate for Standalone TiVo. Actual hours for dtv tivo you reported sounds right.

[davidk]

If I am using copykern to replace the my non-LBA48 kernel (that came with my 3.5b software last night) with the 3.10+ kernel on this CD, do I need to expand my swap again by using the -s option?

Thanks,
David

[ISWIZ]

I made an ISO from the V4.04 as reccomended. Never found copykern, instead it redid my drive, wiping out Tivo 3.5, now back t 3.1 again and lost what programs I had. At the # prompt I tyed in copykern but it would not take the command.

1. Where did I screw it up?
2. I am going to let it load 3.5 again but know I will have the same issue.. any help out there?

[rob.williams]

I'm having a problem with the LBA48 kernel replacement. Maybe someone can help.

1) This morning, I watched a program, and when I deleted it, the GXCEB0T rebooted. When it completed rebooting, I checked the software revision, and I had 3.5b installed.
2) When I went to the "Now Playing" list, the TiVo rebooted again, so I went online and found that the new software update probably replaced my kernel with a non-LBA48 version.
3) I downloaded the V4.04 ISO and burnt a CD. I used "copykern" to replace my kernel with 3.1
4) I installed the drives back into the TiVo, and after rebooting, I could see my recordings (I played a recent one), but I could not download satellite data (my account was listed as CLOSED in the information screen). I re-ran guided setup, and was able to get info from the satellite, and my account was back in good standing. I could watch live TV, but when I went to the "Now Playing" screen, the TiVo rebooted again. The software was still listed as 3.5b
5) I tried to reinstall the LBA48 kernel. I noticed that the CDROM did not mount, so the new kernel was not being found. I had not updated the kernel as I thought.
6) I mounted the CD drive, and installed the new kernel properly.
7) I reinstalled the drive in the TiVo, and now I'm stuck at the "Welcome. Powering up..." screen.

I double checked the drive jumpers, and they are correct. I have a 40GB main drive, and an 160GB second drive installed. I used the InstantCake CD two months ago to build this system.

Am I hosed?

**Update - as I was typing this, the TiVo booted. I still have 3.5b listed, and when I go into the Now Playing list, the TiVo reboots still. Any suggestions?

[michaelrj9]

I posted this in the undergroung playground but was giving a like to here so I reposted it here. Sorry

I have a series 1 Directv tivo model GXCEBOTD that I upgraded the hard drive to a single 400gb drive using the PTVupgrade TiVo Upgrade CD a bout 6 months ago or so and everything was working great.

I updated the software that Directv came out with for for the Day light savings time update.
The software before the DST update was 3.5.01-1-031
After the update it is now 3.5B.01-1-031 THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THE "B"
Now almost all my programs are gone. when I select it they say: Error play a recording. The recorder was not able to record this program because there was no video signal on the channel. You may have been trying to record on a channel that you don't receive.

What would be the best way to try to save the programs and get it back working again If any.

Thanks for all your help everyone.

Michael

[davidk]

Michaelrj9, my DSR6000 had the same error after the 3.5b update. From what I understand, until you replace the non-LBA48 kernel, the longer you use your tivo after the upgrade, the more programs you will lose. Once I replaced my kernel with the LBA48 kernel from the v4.04 cd (I used the 3.10+ kernel), all but two of my programs were viewable again.

[michaelrj9]

Michaelrj9, my DSR6000 had the same error after the 3.5b update. From what I understand, until you replace the non-LBA48 kernel, the longer you use your tivo after the upgrade, the more programs you will lose. Once I replaced my kernel with the LBA48 kernel from the v4.04 cd (I used the 3.10+ kernel), all but two of my programs were viewable again.

Thanks

So just use the copykern then it should work?

Edit:

I Just tried copykern with the same results.

[davidk]

Thanks

So just use the copykern then it should work?

Edit:

I Just tried copykern with the same results.
A couple of questions:

How long did you continue to leave the tivo plugged in after the upgrade? That could have a direct effect on how many programs can be saved.

When you used copykern, are you sure that copykern actually copied over 3.10+? Some users have reported that the cdrom was not mounted and therefore copykern could not find the new kernel.

[spiffy]

It's not just copykern, is it? According to PTVupgrade's first post, "Also note that you will need to use killinitrd to zap the new initrd." Is that a necessary step as well?

[michaelrj9]

It's not just copykern, is it? According to PTVupgrade's first post, "Also note that you will need to use killinitrd to zap the new initrd." Is that a necessary step as well?

I seen that too but if you go to the website that has killinitrd it says for series 2 tivo's and I have a series 1.

[davidk]

I seen that too but if you go to the website that has killinitrd it says for series 2 tivo's and I have a series 1.
Yes, I believe you need to use killinitrd. In addition to using the 3.10+ kernel, I also had to reinstall my cachecard drivers so I zapped the new initrd while running nic_config from the Silicondust driver boot cd.

From the top of this page http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=297372:
update: 5/12/2006 - 7:31CDT

New Release of the LBA48 CD (ver 4.04) includes a revised copykern and a recompiled kernel (labeled 3.10+) in the s1_kernels directory. We have done preliminary testing with this kernel in conjunction with version 3.5 of the Series1 DirecTV TiVo release and early tests are encouraging. If you have built LBA48 drives which are spuriously rebooting, or contain content that is not accessible through the "Now Playing" list, we encourage you to use copykern to transplant this newly updated kernel. Also note that you will need to use killinitrd to zap the new initrd (or use nic_config in the silicondust network driver release to achieve the same result).

[spiffy]

I seen that too but if you go to the website that has killinitrd it says for series 2 tivo's and I have a series 1.

Um, which web site are you referring to?

[rpongett]

The new 3.5b hit my system today. I already zapped init and gave myself telnet, tivoweb, etc. All of my drives were originally formatted with the InstantCake and LB48 before the upgrade.

But now I have no LB48 kernel and my system is haywire.

Is there anyway to use the copykern utility to install the LB48 via my telnet connection? I don't want to go through the monster pain in the a*s of pulling all drives, computer drives, etc.

Isn't this just a kernel patch/replacement that could theoretically be done via telnet?

Thanks to anyone who knows.

[michaelrj9]

Yes, I believe you need to use killinitrd. In addition to using the 3.10+ kernel, I also had to reinstall my cachecard drivers so I zapped the new initrd while running nic_config from the Silicondust driver boot cd.

From the top of this page http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=297372:

Thanks for all your help. I got them all back except 3 of them using Killinitrd then copykern.

What confused me is when I googled "killinitrd" because I nevered heard of it being a newbie. I went to the sourceforge website which had it but it said:
x86 binaries of killinitrd for Series2 kernels. This will patch the four locations that would normally call panic("No bootable RAMdisk"), instead having them return normally. This will also nuke the gzip magic on the initrd image, effectively disabling initrd on S2 units. Two binaries are provided, one that has been tested against v3.1.0 and v3.2 kernels, and another for v4.0 kernels. In order to take advantage of this, you will need to have your PROM patched. If you use these w/o a patched PROM, your unit will not boot. Provided because the current method in the 'scene' for bypassing initrd is utterly pathetic.

Then I was googling more and found SteveJenkins iso which had Killinitrd on the cd so I used that then used the copykern command.
Thanks again everyone.

Michael

[tivoupgrade]

The new 3.5b hit my system today. I already zapped init and gave myself telnet, tivoweb, etc. All of my drives were originally formatted with the InstantCake and LB48 before the upgrade.

But now I have no LB48 kernel and my system is haywire.

Is there anyway to use the copykern utility to install the LB48 via my telnet connection? I don't want to go through the monster pain in the a*s of pulling all drives, computer drives, etc.

Isn't this just a kernel patch/replacement that could theoretically be done via telnet?

Thanks to anyone who knows.

Please see this thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=297372&goto=newpost) for more information.


Currently, none of our units have received the update to 3.5b, so we've been unable to update InstantCake. If anyone has a good tivo.bak file of the Philips DSR6000, Sony SAT-T60 or Hughes GXCEBOT, and would be willing to upload, please PM me and we'll happily barter a kit or compensate you for the effort. Folks who have purchased InstantCake within the past 3 months will get a free update when it becomes available.

Thx

[rpongett]

Please see this thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=297372&goto=newpost) for more information.


Currently, none of our units have received the update to 3.5b, so we've been unable to update InstantCake. If anyone has a good tivo.bak file of the Philips DSR6000, Sony SAT-T60 or Hughes GXCEBOT, and would be willing to upload, please PM me and we'll happily barter a kit or compensate you for the effort. Folks who have purchased InstantCake within the past 3 months will get a free update when it becomes available.

ThxIs there anyway to copy the kernel via telnet?

I've already killed initrd, installed my versions of Tivowebplus, etc. and teh drives were LB48 before the 3.5b upgrade.

On the thread you linked, Lew said "Did you previously use he LBA48 hack? You could have done the upgrade without pulling your drive." But he didn't explain this.

Thanks for any help.

[rpongett]

Frustrated, I finally ripped Tivo Drive A out and put in my computer (again) to run copykernal to copy the 3.10+ Kernal to the drive. Remember, I had already made these LBA48 with PTV and Instantcake before the 3.5b update from Tivo today.

It claimed to update the Kernel.

I then had to go find lba48chk.ppc to run on Tivo. I got this in return:

lba48chk.ppc: drive /dev/hda is 268435455 blocks
NORMAL: partition 1 ends at 63
NORMAL: partition 2 ends at 75149375
NORMAL: partition 3 ends at 75153471
NORMAL: partition 4 ends at 75415615
NORMAL: partition 5 ends at 75419711
NORMAL: partition 6 ends at 75423807
NORMAL: partition 7 ends at 75685951
NORMAL: partition 8 ends at 76300351
NORMAL: partition 9 ends at 76562495
NORMAL: partition 10 ends at 77611071
NORMAL: partition 11 ends at 75145279
NORMAL: partition 12 ends at 78659647
NORMAL: partition 13 ends at 42996799
NORMAL: partition 14 ends at 78660671
LBA48: partition 15 ends at 488391743
BAD: partition 15 ends at 488391743, drive ends at 268435455
lba48chk.ppc: returning 3

So it looks like it installed LBA48.

What's the "Bad" partition?

[rpongett]

I found out from another board that the "Bad" partition meant the copykernel didn't take.

Figuring I was facing wiping my drive, I struck out on my own and used tpip to throw in the so-called "Frankenkernal" for 3.10+, which I think might be the same kernel the "copykernel" app from PTV throws on there. Having zero idea what I'm doing, but just looking for anything. And then rebooted.

The "Bad" partition is now gone.

This is my lba48chk.ppc output:

/var/hack %lba48chk.ppc
lba48chk.ppc: drive /dev/hda is 488397168 blocks
NORMAL: partition 1 ends at 63
NORMAL: partition 2 ends at 75149375
NORMAL: partition 3 ends at 75153471
NORMAL: partition 4 ends at 75415615
NORMAL: partition 5 ends at 75419711
NORMAL: partition 6 ends at 75423807
NORMAL: partition 7 ends at 75685951
NORMAL: partition 8 ends at 76300351
NORMAL: partition 9 ends at 76562495
NORMAL: partition 10 ends at 77611071
NORMAL: partition 11 ends at 75145279
NORMAL: partition 12 ends at 78659647
NORMAL: partition 13 ends at 42996799
NORMAL: partition 14 ends at 78660671
LBA48: partition 15 ends at 488391743
lba48chk.ppc: returning 2

Is that acceptable? Am I successfully running an lba48 kernel?

[rpongett]

This looks to have taken. My Tivowebplus now works perfectly and the shows that were showing up as encrypted in ciphercheck aren't anymore.

For anyone else in my predicament, here's what to do.

And this is ONLY if you've already run killinitrd after the 3.5b update and LBA48 partitioning on your drives in the past. And don't want to go through the huge hassle of pulling your Tivo hard drive out, cracking open your computer and going through the CD-rom primary/secondary master/slave dance. Again.

(1) Download a program called tpip. This will let you replace the new screwed up 3.5b Kernel (really screwed up if you are running lba48 partitioned drives). It is here:

http://www.courtesan.com/tivo/tpip.html

(2) Unpack it, and rename the file called "tpip.tivo" to tpip. Throw that in a directory like /var/hack

(3) Go get the so-called "Frankenkernel", which is a kernel for 3.10+ systems that happens to work, here:

http://************.com/forum/showpo...8&postcount=94

(4) Unpack the frankenkernel file (either on the Tivo or your PC) and put the following file in a folder on your Tivo like /var/hack:

vmlinux-3.1.px

(5) Then use tpip to replace your kernel. Something along the lines of:

tpip -k vmlinux-3.1.px /dev/hda

[tlehotsky]

I followed the instructions early on in this thread for using copykern however, when I get to the point where you choose the dev to copy the kernal to it doesn't list hda (where my Tivo drive is) as a destination.

The drive is initially detected by Linux, I can see it with dmesg | grep hd

With mfsinfo (if I remember correctly - I'm at work now - did this last night) it lists 6 partitions on hda.

[spiffy]

I'm a little confused... Am I supposed to wait until my HD starts to behave strangely before I apply the copykern patch? I went ahead and did a copykern a couple of nights ago (did not do the killinitrd, since it was not on the free LBA48 CD, and the way I understood from finally reading the readme file, that killinitrd was for Series 2 only.) Follow the instructions as best as I could, and in the end the screen showed that I was successful in performing the copykern. I put the HD back into my SAT-T60, and thought everything was done. But today recordings are not accessible again. Anyone in the same situation?

[tivoupgrade]

I'm a little confused... Am I supposed to wait until my HD starts to behave strangely before I apply the copykern patch? I went ahead and did a copykern a couple of nights ago (did not do the killinitrd, since it was not on the free LBA48 CD, and the way I understood from finally reading the readme file, that killinitrd was for Series 2 only.) Follow the instructions as best as I could, and in the end the screen showed that I was successful in performing the copykern. I put the HD back into my SAT-T60, and thought everything was done. But today recordings are not accessible again. Anyone in the same situation?

If your unit has downloaded 3.5b; transplanting the kernel on the LBA48 CD using CopyKern is the right thing to do, as well as using killinitrd (which is on the silicondust TurboNet/CacheCard driver CD). This still may not work for you, but if there is a chance of still being able to access all the shows, and information, that is the best one you'll have.

[spiffy]

If your unit has downloaded 3.5b; transplanting the kernel on the LBA48 CD using CopyKern is the right thing to do, as well as using killinitrd (which is on the silicondust TurboNet/CacheCard driver CD). This still may not work for you, but if there is a chance of still being able to access all the shows, and information, that is the best one you'll have.

OK, so I should perform killinitrd even though my DTivo is Series 1 (SAT-T60)?

If I don't have access to Silicondust TurboNet/CacheCard driver CD, your $5 LBA48 CD does have killinitrd function as well, is that correct?

Have you come across others saying copykern/killinitrd did NOT fix the 3.5b issue? I haven't deleted any recordings this time; and the background has not become transparent yet. I am about to rush home to pull the HD out and attempt to copykern again and see if that'll fix anything...

[tivoupgrade]

OK, so I should perform killinitrd even though my DTivo is Series 1 (SAT-T60)?


You should perform killinitrd because you have a Series1 DirecTiVo.


If I don't have access to Silicondust TurboNet/CacheCard driver CD, your $5 LBA48 CD does have killinitrd function as well, is that correct?


They are on our universal boot CD, but you can download the silicondust CD from their web site (www.silicondust.com).


Have you come across others saying copykern/killinitrd did NOT fix the 3.5b issue? I haven't deleted any recordings this time; and the background has not become transparent yet. I am about to rush home to pull the HD out and attempt to copykern again and see if that'll fix anything...

Hasn't worked for me yet, but that doesn't mean it hasn't worked for others.

[InspectorGadget]

I just Instant-Caked my SAT-T60 this weekend (was LBA48, got destroyed by 3.5b, couldn't restore old 2.5 drive). I was just enabling TiVoWebPlus Sunday night and this morning when I restarted it had downloaded 3.5b and blew away my IC kernel and hacks.

My question is: I still have NO IDEA what-all was in the Instant Cake installation. Will I have all the same features, utilities, and hacks if I just:

1. copykern from PTVu LBA48 disk?
2. nic_install from TurboNet disk (w/killinitrd)?

Is there anything I'll be missing?

Will my TiVo do dastardly things if I keep it running today and do the LBA48 copykern tonight?

[tivoupgrade]

Inquiries on the topic of dealing with the transition to 3.5b should really posted outside this thread; preferably here:

Series1 DirecTiVo Software Update (3.5.0) Migration Thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4977045#post4977045)

to keep the relevant information together.

[InspectorGadget]

Well, if you really look at my questions they aren't about 3.5 or 3.5b or the transition. That was just the preamble. The actual questions are about what's in Instant Cake versus what's on the PTVupgrade CD, which is precisely what this thread is all about.

Even forget the last question about running without LBA48. I shut it down already.

But I'll go move the post over there.

[PhatheadWRX]

I already purchased instantcake-tcd240-7.1b for my 240040.

I just purchased a second 24004A box. Will the same instantcake work with the 4A?

[azitnay]

Yes, all 240's are compatible.

Drew

[chlorox]

I bought the LBA48 Cd because I thought that the killhdinitrd tool was necessary to add additional software (bash/ftp/etc). I am having a REALLY hard time digging up anything useful in these forums. (aside from people needing to use an HD bigger than 137Gigs)

I have a standalone series 2 60 hour model. I instacaked a 100 Gig HD yesterday and now I have no idea what to do. I've tried running copykern, but it only appears to support series 1 units. Is this true? I manually ran tpip -k vmlinuz.px /dev/hdc and it said that it applied it. Wasn't this LBA bootdisk supposed to be filled with goodies?

I wasn't expecting it to contain tivoweb and all that junk, but the documentation was next to nothing of how to do anything. I've read every readme on the disk. I'd like to kill the initial ramdisk so I can get on to other fun things before I put this drive into his new home.

Thanks,

[azitnay]

I'm assuming you're talking about the "DVRupgrade LBA48 CD v4.04 With Enhancements" (a $5 download)... For hacking purposes, the main advantage this $5 CD gives you over the one that can be downloaded freely is the inclusion of several killhdinitrd'able (and I believe, in fact, already killhdinitrd'ed) kernels that you can use to replace the kernel your TiVo uses.

You're correct that this site isn't the best resource for general hacking... But there are plenty of resources "elsewhere".

Drew

[Fezmid]

I have a DSR6000 (Series 1 DirecTiVo)

My ssytem has two drives -- one 30G (stock) and one 120G (that I added years ago).

I want to combine these two onto a single 250G drive. It looks like I can do that - however I've read a few warnings about swap space. Is that still an issue? If so, how should I address it? I'm not finding any specifics (but maybe I'm not looking in the right place).

I'm going to attempt it now with the Hinsdale docs and then just run a "swapkern" at the end and see what happens... If anyone has any other suggestions (ie: that won't work), let me know so I can save myself some time. I want to save recordings. :)

EDIT: I see in the mfsrestore that there's a -s flag for swap... I'm wondering if it's safe to just increase that number or if that'll break things...

EDIT2: After doing some reading, I decided to skip the -x flag. My understanding is that it'll give me 160G on the new drive (leaving 90G unused), but I'm fine with that -- the only reason I'm doing this is because one of the drives is starting to act a little flaky. Hopefully it works the way I think it will :)

[Fezmid]

Ok, I just got an error during my copy and I can't find many references on it. The error is:

Restore Failed: Internal error 3.es

:confused:

I suppose I should run tests to see if the drives are really failing or not, since that could be it (since that's the reason I'm doing this migration to begin with). I might have to just start over from scratch and lose my recordings :(

[Fezmid]

Well, one last call for help. :)

I still get the "Restore Failed: Internal error 3.es" every time I try the mfsbackup/mfsrestore line. It always fails at the same percentage as well (I think it's 32.3% or something like that). I have two drives -- 40G and 120G, so it seems like it's puking between the two drives. Could be a bad disk -- I suppose I'll run some diagnostics to try finding out. I was hoping someone may have a suggestion though...

If I can't figure it out, I guess I just lose the recordings and make a new disk from the 250G one, watch all of the shows on the old disk while recording new stuff to a different TiVo. A hassle, but hey.

Hope someone can help, thanks!

[rbtravis]

Try Spinrite if you have to recover the disk. A new disk may be cheaper.

[grharman]

Hi,

Please pardon the pedantic inquiry, but if I understand you properly, is this what I should do?

I just got done upgrading to a single 250GB Drive in my Series 2 Dual Tuner TiVo, but obviously I saw the 137 GB Limit immediately afterward. If I simply remove the drive, back it up and then restore it again using your program instead the offending kernel will be automatically updated in the process? Do I also have to reformat the new drive to regain the available space?

Thanks for your efforts!

[HomeUser]

Hi,

Please pardon the pedantic inquiry, but if I understand you properly, is this what I should do?

I just got done upgrading to a single 250GB Drive in my Series 2 Dual Tuner TiVo, but obviously I saw the 137 GB Limit immediately afterward. If I simply remove the drive, back it up and then restore it again using your program instead the offending kernel will be automatically updated in the process? Do I also have to reformat the new drive to regain the available space?

Thanks for your efforts!
If it is working you are fine. All the Series2 Stand Alone TiVo's have had the the LBA48 kernel for a couple of years now. The Series2 DT has had the LBA48 kernel from it's release.

[grharman]

If it is working you are fine. All the Series2 Stand Alone TiVo's have had the the LBA48 kernel for a couple of years now. The Series2 DT has had the LBA48 kernel from it's release.

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, everything is working just fine, but when I go to System Information it lists Recording Capacity as "Variable, up to 140 Hours". Doesn't this indicate that I am up against the 137GB limit?

[HomeUser]

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, everything is working just fine, but when I go to System Information it lists Recording Capacity as "Variable, up to 140 Hours". Doesn't this indicate that I am up against the 137GB limit? Ah, yes now I understand, You used the old non LBA48 MFSTools boot CD that is limited to working with up to 137G of the drive. I think the new MFSLive (http://www.mfslive.org/) CD will let you re-expand the drive.

[TuesdaysChild]

I posted this question in another thread but think it might be better suited here.

I'm trying to upgrade a 649080. I purchased a 400gb drive and instantcake. When I went to do the upgrade, I found out my computer only has one IDE cable. The version of instantcake I have does not allow you to enter into advanced mode to change the destination drives. Lou suggested that I run the PTVbake-special script (found on the free LBA48 CD) after booting and specify the drive letters. Can someone tell me what I need to do to specify the drive letters?

Thanks!

[tivoupgrade]

I posted this question in another thread but think it might be better suited here.

I'm trying to upgrade a 649080. I purchased a 400gb drive and instantcake. When I went to do the upgrade, I found out my computer only has one IDE cable. The version of instantcake I have does not allow you to enter into advanced mode to change the destination drives. Lou suggested that I run the PTVbake-special script (found on the free LBA48 CD) after booting and specify the drive letters. Can someone tell me what I need to do to specify the drive letters?

Thanks!

I gave you bad advice here; I forgot that the PTVbake-special script does not allow you to specify drive letters - you'd still have to edit the script. Its on the list to update the LBA48 CD with a newer version of the PTVbake-special script that will allow you to do so. My list is very long these days, however; sorry.

[gary80920]

Hi,

I currently have a Series1 running v3.0-01-1-000 with a 120gB drive. I am getting ready to add a 160gB drive to it. And, I have a couple of questions:

If I use one of the traditional non-LBA48 boot CDs, I can just proceed along and the 160gB will only be expanded to the 137gB limit. Correct? I already have the swap file set at 127mB.
If I want to use all of the 160gB, I need to do the following:

boot using a LBA48 compliant CD/kernel
use mfsadd to add/marry the 160gB drive to my existing 120gB drive
use the copykern utility to update the Tivo kernel to be LBA48 compliant



Thanks!

[rbtravis]

Gary I think you are in the wrong thread. I think you belong here:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=63606
they will likely have your answer

[Tekrone]

Hi,

I have a question on using the LBA48 kernal and getting a series 1 software update...

My upgraded drive failed, so I set about upgrading again.

I have a truncated backup of the original 30 hour image that is several years old.
I used the LBA48 CD ver 4.04 to do a MFSTools restore onto a new 320 gb drive.
Then I copykern'd the series 1 LBA48 kernal (had to mount the cdrom drive though).

All seems successful, but it turns out that the backup image had the series 1 2.5 software. The system booted fine and connected to do an update. Afterwards it said "pending restart", so I rebooted to apply the update to software version 3.0.

I then pulled the drive and did the copykern again.

Question is, did I do the right thing? Is this going to continue working?

[gary80920]

I have been running a Tivo Series 1 using a 180gB drive using the modified kernel for about a month with a 300mB swap file.

The commands used to do this were:

mfsrestore -s 300 -r 4 -zxpi tivo_backup /dev/hdc

The backup was made from an earlier upgrade that was working well.

copykernel -s (cd was burned on 9/21/2007)


Today I wanted to add a 120gB drive to the unit, and I used the command

mfsadd -r 4 /dev/hdc /dev/hdd


When the tivo got the grey screen, "almost there", it became hung in a reboot loop.

What am I missing?

Thanks!

[rbtravis]

Did you remember to configure the jumpers on the Drive to Master and Slave? Cable Select only works with a special cable that i have not seen in over a decade. (it disconnects one line between the master and slave.)

[tivoupgrade]

Hi,

I have a question on using the LBA48 kernal and getting a series 1 software update...

My upgraded drive failed, so I set about upgrading again.

I have a truncated backup of the original 30 hour image that is several years old.
I used the LBA48 CD ver 4.04 to do a MFSTools restore onto a new 320 gb drive.
Then I copykern'd the series 1 LBA48 kernal (had to mount the cdrom drive though).

All seems successful, but it turns out that the backup image had the series 1 2.5 software. The system booted fine and connected to do an update. Afterwards it said "pending restart", so I rebooted to apply the update to software version 3.0.

I then pulled the drive and did the copykern again.

Question is, did I do the right thing? Is this going to continue working?

Things should work fine; when the 3.0 version of the software download and installed itself, the results of your initial use of CopyKern were overwritten. By running it again, you re-installed the LBA48 kernel on the active root and also re-initialzed your swap. Should be fine now...

[tivoupgrade]

I have been running a Tivo Series 1 using a 180gB drive using the modified kernel for about a month with a 300mB swap file.

The commands used to do this were:

mfsrestore -s 300 -r 4 -zxpi tivo_backup /dev/hdc

The backup was made from an earlier upgrade that was working well.

copykernel -s (cd was burned on 9/21/2007)


Today I wanted to add a 120gB drive to the unit, and I used the command

mfsadd -r 4 /dev/hdc /dev/hdd


When the tivo got the grey screen, "almost there", it became hung in a reboot loop.

What am I missing?

Thanks!

Not sure about that "copykernel" command you just listed, but the use of the command should just be:


CopyKern


Not sure that it matters in this situation, though. What sort of results did you see when you ran mfsadd? Success? Failure?

As rbtravis suggested... did you ensure that you explicitly set the jumpers on your drives to master and slave? Cable select will work, however you have to get it right and if you attempted to use it on the two drives plugged into your PC with the boot CD, you might have erased your drives. Or you might have connected them wrong in your TiVo.

Best practice: ALWAYS set your jumpers explicitly - it will help you to avoid some problems...

[gary80920]

Interesting. I have never had to jumper the drives before. I have always had them in cable select. FYI, I'm not using the standard Tivo cable but a traditional ATA 100/133 cable.

This Tivo used to have 2 120gB drives 'til the master drive died back in September.

[gary80920]

In all the earlier tries
- mfsadd was successful
- drives were always put in correctly as I have marked the drives as Master and Slave
to prevent any mishaps

The only thing that I changed this time was jumpering the drives.

So I'm good to go.

Thanks!!

[Tekrone]

Things should work fine; when the 3.0 version of the software download and installed itself, the results of your initial use of CopyKern were overwritten. By running it again, you re-installed the LBA48 kernel on the active root and also re-initialzed your swap. Should be fine now...

:down:

Hmmm.... I think there is a problem. :(

After the upgrade, my series 1 said I had 403 hours Basic quality and 110 hours Best quality recording. So I decided to do a little test.
I set it up to do all recording at Best quality, including some blocks of long overnight manual recording on a single channel.

My very rough ballpark estimate was that the 137 gig limit would translate to about the mid 40 hour mark in recording. So I figured that if I could record and play back over 50 hours or so, then the LBA48 was indeed working.

It failed. I was in the process of recording a long block totaling 23:30. At about the 21 hour point, I started fast forward skipping through it. (even stopped to watch a couple of episodes of "How It's Made" - an oddly mesmerizing show).

At any rate, it had about 1.5 hours left to record, so I left it. Came back later, and it shows the show time as 23:18 instead of the programmed 23:30. And trying to play it now fails - goes straight to "are you done with this program?" and then "Error playing a recording" message. The next 1 hour show recorded after that worked, so it looks like that 23+ hour block was effectively deleted.

So it looks like it stopped right around the 43.8 hour point - which sounds about right to match up with LBA28/137 gig. Drat.

So now here is what I plan on trying:

1. Install my 2.5 software backup on the new drive, but do NOT expand it. Leave it as LBA28 with the original 30 gig size:
restore -s 127 -zpi /dos/backupfile.bak /dev/hdc

2. Run it, let it update to the 3.0 software and restart.

3. Expand it to the full drive capacity:
mfsadd -r 4 -x /dev/hdc

4. Install LBA48 and initialize swap.

5. Test again.

Questions:

A) Is this a reasonable plan?
B) Does the MFSTools version on the 4.04 cd properly support larger swap sizes? I know you'll probably say it's not needed, but if I change the -s parameter to 160 or higher, will it properly initialize?

BTW - on my system, I do have to mount the cdrom drive in order for copykern to work. So I am pretty sure it is getting copied over properly and it does say it initializes the swap.

I sure hope this works, 'cause I have another DB35 320 gig drive to go into the other series 1 (currently has a seagate 80 gig). I'm pretty sure that backup image also has the old 2.5 software on it. I need to get the first one actually working, so I can shift all recording over to it - then watch what I have on the small one prior to upgrading. Oh, wait - that drive works so I can just do a piped backup|restore. Duh.

ACK! does anyone else sometimes feel like they are a slave to their backlog of recorded programs? Strangely, I feel both dismayed and relieved after having the drive die on my first TiVo.

Long live TiVo!

[tivoupgrade]

A) Is this a reasonable plan?
B) Does the MFSTools version on the 4.04 cd properly support larger swap sizes? I know you'll probably say it's not needed, but if I change the -s parameter to 160 or higher, will it properly initialize?


Sure, or you can do it in two steps:


mfstools restore -x -s 160 -zpi /dos/backupfile.bak /dev/hdc
CopyKern


CopyKern is designed to install the kernel and properly initialize the swap.

[Tekrone]

Sure, or you can do it in two steps:


mfstools restore -x -s 160 -zpi /dos/backupfile.bak /dev/hdc
CopyKern


CopyKern is designed to install the kernel and properly initialize the swap.


Doing it in two steps was what I have already done. Doing that would fully expand the backup (with the 2.5 software), then I would have to let it upgrade to 3.0, then copykern again.

I'm going to try my other plan to see it if works. Something to do this weekend.

[Tekrone]

Eureka! Success! :up:

It seems to be working, though it gave me a scare.
I set up a series of 10 hour blocks of recordings to test the TiVo, and was gone when it got to the 40+ hour range (where I thought it might fail). When I got home and checked, it started up with the welcoming animation. That worried me.
And the point where the reboot occurred was just past 41 hours. Uh-Oh.

So my first assumption was that the drive had "filled" and for some reason caused it to flip out and reboot. :(

Apparently, while I was gone there was a power failure. The other TiVo also had rebooted. What a relief.

Now all the 10 hour blocks up to 50 hours are viewable, so the LBA48 kernal must be working. Yippee! :D

My feeling is that restoring a 2.5 software backup and using the LBA48 kernal may not be a good idea. At least it didn't seem to work for me.
Doing an unexpanded restore, letting it update to version 3.0, getting it all updated and stable, and then expanding the space and installing the kernal seems to be the right way to do it.

I'm going to let the 10 hour block recording go on for a while, to really be certain it works. Then I'll pull the drive and make a nice up-to-date truncated backup. :cool:

[tivoupgrade]

My feeling is that restoring a 2.5 software backup and using the LBA48 kernal may not be a good idea. At least it didn't seem to work for me.
Doing an unexpanded restore, letting it update to version 3.0, getting it all updated and stable, and then expanding the space and installing the kernal seems to be the right way to do it.


That is correct. When you run CopyKern, you should have choices on which kernel to install and for what OS. From my recollection, there is no modified LBA48 kernel for 2.5 (I actually don't even remember the 2.5 version for standalone units); there is only one for the 3.0 version (and then a couple of versions for the DirecTiVo models).

Lou

[sskraly]

I've read through this thread and a bunch of others and can't find a detailed description of the copykern syntax. I understand that it's on the CD, but can someone detail it here for the record? For example, I've seen mention of copykern -s. What does that option do? Also, people have mentioned that if you run copykern, it will prompt you to choose a kernel--what are the options and which one should be chosen?

Finally, it is correct that mountcd should always be done before running copykern?

Thanks...

[tivoupgrade]

I've read through this thread and a bunch of others and can't find a detailed description of the copykern syntax. I understand that it's on the CD, but can someone detail it here for the record? For example, I've seen mention of copykern -s. What does that option do? Also, people have mentioned that if you run copykern, it will prompt you to choose a kernel--what are the options and which one should be chosen?

Finally, it is correct that mountcd should always be done before running copykern?

Thanks...

Just type:

CopyKern

it is all menu driven.

Depending upon your PC's configuration, you may need to manually mount the CD; the boot CD does try to do it automatically, but it doesn't work on all PCs.

Lou

[sskraly]

After a quick look at the help on the LBA48 CD, it looks like, if you are using a large (approx. >250GB) drive on an S1, you should expand the swap space, and you need

copykern -s

to "initialize the swap space" rather than just copykern without any parameters. Is that correct?

Also, is it still true that the swap should be at least 1/2000 of the HDD size (i.e. 320GB drive -> 160MB swap)?

So, in summary, an S1 upgrade to use a >137GB drive would be:

1) mfsbackup/mfsadd/mfsrestore as needed depending on your config
2) mountcd (not sure when this is needed, but any harm in just doing it?)
3) copykern -s

Is this correct?

Thanks...

[tivoupgrade]

After a quick look at the help on the LBA48 CD, it looks like, if you are using a large (approx. >250GB) drive on an S1, you should expand the swap space, and you need

copykern -s

to "initialize the swap space" rather than just copykern without any parameters. Is that correct?

Also, is it still true that the swap should be at least 1/2000 of the HDD size (i.e. 320GB drive -> 160MB swap)?

So, in summary, an S1 upgrade to use a >137GB drive would be:

1) mfsbackup/mfsadd/mfsrestore as needed depending on your config
2) mountcd (not sure when this is needed, but any harm in just doing it?)
3) copykern -s

Is this correct?

Thanks...

Nope...

CopyKern is just run like this:


CopyKern


No parameters. You can trust me on that; I wrote the script.

If you choose to create your new drive with increased swap size (that is a function of how you use mfstools and the -s option), then CopyKern will initialize whatever size swap partition is available, regardless of size. We've found no benefits to increased swap size; won't argue about it any more though, I've posted on it many times before. Its personal choice though and it certainly doesn't hurt to have a larger swap.

[rvnap]

PTV LBA48 BootCD Ver4.04:
Tried to make backup image of HR 10-250 (orig. drv,with only 2hrs of recording on drv). I have used correct configuration,jumpers. Used commands suggested by Hinsdale Guide. Drives are recognized at full capacity.
The backup gets to " scanning source drive, wait a moment",
it will scan the drive for 4-5 hours , then stops responding.
I have made several good backups & restores of SD-40s,but can't make backup of this drive.
Please help if you can.
Thanks,
rvnap

[Kildurin]

If you see the 0x053xxxxx message when doing copykern, you are seeing a problem with the mounted CD. Basically, it did not mount the CD automagically as it tries to do. It does this to me even though my system has 1 CD drive as hdc. Anyway, easy enough to fix. See previous explanations on finding and mounting the CD but for me this works:

mount /dev/hdc /cdrom

Also, I have found that hacking the script to add hda as an option does not seem to be an issue. Thanks for including vi on the CD.

Hope this helps a few people.

I have one question. I am having a great deal of trouble doing the upgrade. I got 2 500GB hard drives from Fry's very cheap and am trying to install them in Series 1 Phillips HD212. It never boots with the 500GB drives. I wonder if this is due to a byte swapping issue? I do see a grey flicker screen before returning to the "starting" screen. Do I need byte swapping, DMA settings or other? When I complete the upgrade I get 515 hours or 1100 hours depending on using 1 or 2 drives. I am falling back to getting one drive working before moving ahead.

Where are these other threads if this is not the right one for the question?

[Kildurin]

I did some research on byte swapping and noticed a alternate boot on the CD with lines like hdb=bswap etc? Is this applicable to a Series 1 standalone? If so, what about the cdrom sitting on /dev/hdc? Will this bswap the data on it? Sorry, I want this to work but the 500G's are just not booting up fully in the Tivo.

[scoombs]

I have a Sony SVR-2000 with the TivoNET (pre-cursor to the TurboNET card) installed. It is running on a pair of 320GB drives without LBA48 support, each limited to 137GB. I believe that I can copykern a replacement kernel to add LBA48 and expand the space, but I see no reference to any modified kernels with TivoNET support and therefore expect I would lose network mods as a result of the kernel replacement. So would it be correct to assume my only three options would be to :

1.) Live with the current 137+137 non-LBA48 kernel

2.) Upgrade the kernel and lose networked capabilities

3.) Replace the TivoNET with a TurboNET or Cachecard, and then replace the kernel?

[tivoupgrade]

I have a Sony SVR-2000 with the TivoNET (pre-cursor to the TurboNET card) installed. It is running on a pair of 320GB drives without LBA48 support, each limited to 137GB. I believe that I can copykern a replacement kernel to add LBA48 and expand the space, but I see no reference to any modified kernels with TivoNET support and therefore expect I would lose network mods as a result of the kernel replacement. So would it be correct to assume my only three options would be to :

1.) Live with the current 137+137 non-LBA48 kernel

2.) Upgrade the kernel and lose networked capabilities

3.) Replace the TivoNET with a TurboNET or Cachecard, and then replace the kernel?

Replacing the kernel with one that supports LBA48 won't expand your space for you. Expanding the space is a separate process and that can be done with or without an LBA48 kernel in place on the TiVo, its just that if you do it without an LBA48 kernel installed on the TiVo, you are going to have problems.

Secondly, the kernel, and TiVoNet support are mutually exclusive, to get TiVoNet working you'd need to install the drivers. I have no idea on where to find them, these days, but I'm sure they are out there.

So, the questions you are asking are really not related to one another. I believe there may be a way to expand your drives, possibly using mfslive (mfslive.org). If you can, then you are essentially done, just run copykern after you've done so and get your LBA48 kernel installed.

With that said, you might consider just getting a new hard drive, starting over from scratch and possibly going to a TurboNet card; things are considerably less expensive than they used to be and by doing things fresh on new hardware, you won't be putting your old stuff in jeopardy, while experimenting.

It is a shame that you've got almost 400GB of unusable space by using 2 x 320GB drives in your system...

[scoombs]

Thanks for the reply. So if I swapped in the TurboNet card (or CacheCard), the $4.99 version of the LBA48 CD has the right kernel for the networking drivers and apps that I would need to retain that functionality as well as support the expanded size?

[tivoupgrade]

Thanks for the reply. So if I swapped in the TurboNet card (or CacheCard), the $4.99 version of the LBA48 CD has the right kernel for the networking drivers and apps that I would need to retain that functionality as well as support the expanded size?

You can use the free LBA48 CD which has CopyKern and the LBA48 kernel on it (see the first post of this thread for info).

Networking drivers and apps have nothing to do with the kernel; completely separate.

[scoombs]

You can use the free LBA48 CD which has CopyKern and the LBA48 kernel on it (see the first post of this thread for info).

Networking drivers and apps have nothing to do with the kernel; completely separate.

My apologies for being dense...so in the first post where it talks about:

"If you are looking for a CD with killhdinitrd, or kernels modified with killhdinitrd (these tools are used for installing networking and other aftermarket modifications to Series2 units with USB ports)"

If it literally only applies to Series2 units (I take it that it is likely referring to USB networking then), there are no kernel implications for networking of my Series1 aftermarket mods? If that is the case, and I have the TivoNet drivers installed and functioning on the device now, does that mean I really can just copykern from the free CD and take advantage of the increased space, and the TivoNet mods will be untouched? If so, it sound like you are saying the free image will do everything I need, and I don't need the "DVRupgrade LBA48 CD v4.04 With Enhancements" to deal with any of the networkability issues?

[gary80920]

I had a TivoNet card and my ISA lan controller died so I had to replace mine with a TurboNet card. This is no big deal as the Tivo is built using Linux. And the drivers are loaded dynamically.

The LBA48 upgrade using the free CD should do the trick for you.

Here's the process that I used:
1. I backed up my drives.
2. I did the kernel upgrade, and ran it for a couple of days.
3. Added my 160gB drive.

Cheers.

[scoombs]

Thanks much.

[martinfick]

I upgraded my series 1 tivo to a 500GB Seagate drive successfully, but with a glitch. Every now and then during playback the sound seems to get behind for a split second and then it catches up real quickly. It is not a big deal, but it is kind of annoying. It does not happen at the same place repeatedly so it must be an actual playback issue.

At first I thought it might be a defective drive, but since I have tried it with 2 other (also brand new) Seagate 500GB drives and I see the same problem. I also swapped the drive into my other series 1 tivo and see the same problem so it is probably not broken hardware. Has anyone else seen anything like this? I assume it could be some weird seagate behavior perhaps?

Background info: Series 1 Stand Alone Tivo (Phillips), Software System: 3.0-01-1-000. Hacked with several standard tivo utilities (mfs_ftp, tivoweb, endpad...), I dissabled those and found that it still occurs. LBA48 kernel, large swap (1GB), largest block size (mfstool -r 4).

If I decide to buy another new drive soon, could someone recommend one that is known to work, a 500GB or above, so that I could at least rule out any drive incompatibility problems? Thanks,

-Martin

[ADent]

How long ago did you upgrade?

I am getting this in the last week or two on my S1 unit. I haven't done anything new to it since the last DirecTV upgrade, over a year ago IIRC.

[martinfick]

Hmm, it's been doing it for over a year I think. I bought a 500G drive a year ago, and noticed the problem. I bought the second 500G last summer, swapped it, and still had the problem. I bought another one this year, swapped it again and still had the problem.

[tivoupgrade]

Hmm, it's been doing it for over a year I think. I bought a 500G drive a year ago, and noticed the problem. I bought the second 500G last summer, swapped it, and still had the problem. I bought another one this year, swapped it again and still had the problem.

It sounds like you may have a problem, other than the drive. We've used loads of 500GB Seagate drives, as well as many other manufacturer's and only have problems if the drive itself is defective. So, first you should run the manufacturer's diagnostics on the drive, just to be sure.

Another thing to try (after you do that) would be to replace the factory IDE cable with something that is better quality (practically any ATA/66 or ATA/133 cable will work fine).

Beyond that, it is likely that its a problem with the unit.

[mattack]

Possibly dumb question -- the download is a 'self extracting zip file'. How can I get it as a .iso file?

I'm on a Mac (but Intel Macs can boot Linux CDs, which I didn't realize until recently -- I upgraded my S3 recently with one of the other CDs).. I tried renaming it to .zip but it then wouldn't recognize it.

My S1 actually will only have guide data for another month or so, but I thought I'd play with it.

[tivoupgrade]

Possibly dumb question -- the download is a 'self extracting zip file'. How can I get it as a .iso file?

I'm on a Mac (but Intel Macs can boot Linux CDs, which I didn't realize until recently -- I upgraded my S3 recently with one of the other CDs).. I tried renaming it to .zip but it then wouldn't recognize it.

My S1 actually will only have guide data for another month or so, but I thought I'd play with it.

It's actually not self-extracting; you have to unzip the file yourself.

I'm not a big Mac guy, but I'd expect that there are plenty of 'unzip' programs out there, and quite possibly you can just unzip the file from the shell (it runs unix, doesn't it?)

You'll then have an ISO which you can burn - no idea whether that CD will boot on your Mac, though...

[danmcd]

Possibly dumb question -- the download is a 'self extracting zip file'. How can I get it as a .iso file?


If the other poster is right, and it's a conventional .zip file, just do the following:

1.) Find "Terminal" in Applications/Utilities.

2.) Place the .zip on your desktop and launch Terminal.

3.) Utter:

cd ~/Desktop

unzip *.zip

[tivoupgrade]

As it turns out, the file on our site IS a self-extracting file. Here is a zipped version; I'll keep the link here for now until we get the site updated:

LBA48 Boot CD (zip file) (http://www.dvrupgrade.com/downloads/ptvlba48-4.04.iso.zip)

If it works on your Mac, please reply to let us know.

Lou

[mattack]

Thanks.. I'll hopefully try it this weekend.

[milmo12]

Read through this entire thread and didn't find answer to this: does the latest CD provide all the tools necessary to upgrade a Series 1 Tivo still running Version 1.xxxx of the software? Seems like a utility called TivoMad was once needed to do this (still referred to in Hinsdale and Weaknees) but is now no longer available.

[weaknees]

The latest CDs (at least, from us) will work fine with your unit, regardless of the software version. The functionality of TiVoMad has been completely replaced by the newest mfstools, which is on the CD.

[tivoupgrade]

Read through this entire thread and didn't find answer to this: does the latest CD provide all the tools necessary to upgrade a Series 1 Tivo still running Version 1.xxxx of the software?

Yes, it should work fine. You might want to ensure your unit is updated to the latest version of the software (3.0) before performing the upgrade.

If you are going to use a drive that is larger than 137GB, also remember to use the CopyKern utility to replace the kernel so that it will recognize the additional space on the drive. Not certain that that kernel will work with the 1.0 software which is why I'd recommend you get your unit to 3.0 before doing that.

If you use a smaller drive (80GB), then you don't have to worry about any of that.

Lou

[milmo12]

Thanks to both for your quick response. Will I still have to issue an "edit_bootparms hdZ -i" command from mfstools, or is this functionality now automatic?

Thanks, again,

[tivoupgrade]

Thanks to both for your quick response. Will I still have to issue an "edit_bootparms hdZ -i" command from mfstools, or is this functionality now automatic?

Thanks, again,

edit_bootprams is not part of MFStools

Why is it you are considering using it? What method of upgrading are you considering using? Is there a particular guide that you are using and if so, have you consulted the instructions associated with that particular guide?

There isn't any reason you shouldn't be able to use this particular CD as part of the upgrade process, but whether you use the edit_bootparms or not really depends on what you are trying to do.

Just as a reminder, TiVoMad, and its associated utils has not been commonly used since MFStools came out many many years ago.

Lou

[milmo12]

edit_bootprams is not part of MFStools

Why is it you are considering using it? What method of upgrading are you considering using? Is there a particular guide that you are using and if so, have you consulted the instructions associated with that particular guide?


Lou


I looked at instructions for upgrading from both Weaknees and the Hindsdale guide, both having relatively recent dates on their pages, and both still refer to using TivoMad for software earlier than 2.0 (I have no way of updating the Tivo software to a newer version than the installed 1.xxx). If these are hopelessly out of date can you suggest another guide that reflects procedures for the new MFStools based CD?

[tivoupgrade]

I looked at instructions for upgrading from both Weaknees and the Hindsdale guide, both having relatively recent dates on their pages, and both still refer to using TivoMad for software earlier than 2.0 (I have no way of updating the Tivo software to a newer version than the installed 1.xxx). If these are hopelessly out of date can you suggest another guide that reflects procedures for the new MFStools based CD?

Well, a daily call (using a phone line or a network connection) should get your unit to update to the latest version.

Can't speak to those guides as I've not read either of them (they were written long after we used those tools and moved onto later ones as the OSes were updated quite some time ago), but if MFStools cannot be used to make a backup of your existing drive, then you'd have to use those older tools with the older OS.

What I'd recommend (if you are not able to update to the latest OS) is simply attempting to use MFStools to backup your existing drive and then restore to a new one, and see if it works.

You may as well try using this CD, but you may have to go find an older one somewhere to find those older utilities; Google will likely turn something up...

[milmo12]

What I'd recommend (if you are not able to update to the latest OS) is simply attempting to use MFStools to backup your existing drive and then restore to a new one, and see if it works.




That's what I'll try, thanks. At what point do I do copykern, as the very last step? And does the copykern prompting allow me to specify what drives I want to copy it to, I don't want to replace the kernel on the original Tivo drive but leave it exactly as it is.

[milmo12]

One other question about mfstools that might be of general interest - on most of my computers most likely to perfom the upgrade the windows drive is a RAID 0 array on a PCI card. What is, or how do I discover, the correct mfstools designation, e.g. hde, hdf etc, for that PCI located drive?

[tivoupgrade]

That's what I'll try, thanks. At what point do I do copykern, as the very last step? And does the copykern prompting allow me to specify what drives I want to copy it to, I don't want to replace the kernel on the original Tivo drive but leave it exactly as it is.

See this post (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6851345#post6851345) for the full recommendation there; CopyKern must be done AFTER the restore, but again, I don't think that kernel will work with the older OS. So use a smaller drive or an older version of the CD (non-lba48).

One other question about mfstools that might be of general interest - on most of my computers most likely to perfom the upgrade the windows drive is a RAID 0 array on a PCI card. What is, or how do I discover, the correct mfstools designation, e.g. hde, hdf etc, for that PCI located drive?

I don't think that is going to work; I don't know of any boot CDs (let alone this one) that will support the RAID device. Try to keep it simple and use an IDE channel.

[milmo12]

I've verified the Tivo drive is unlocked. During the mfsbackup stage of the process I get error messages "Inode xxxxx corrupt, trying backup" and "Inode xxxx backup corrupt, giving up" and "Unable to handle kernel paging request at yyyyy..." The Tivo drive came from a working Tivo that has never given a moment's trouble. It was at ver 1.xx of the software.

Trying use a direct copy to the new drive (dd if=/dev/hdc etc.) I get essentially the same messages.

Any ideas?

[tivoupgrade]

I've verified the Tivo drive is unlocked. During the mfsbackup stage of the process I get error messages "Inode xxxxx corrupt, trying backup" and "Inode xxxx backup corrupt, giving up" and "Unable to handle kernel paging request at yyyyy..." The Tivo drive came from a working Tivo that has never given a moment's trouble. It was at ver 1.xx of the software.

Trying use a direct copy to the new drive (dd if=/dev/hdc etc.) I get essentially the same messages.

Any ideas?

Well, again, we recommend you let your unit update to the latest version of the software, however if you can't do a straight DD, then there is probably something else wrong.

You should verify that there is nothing wrong with the hard drive, itself by downloading and running the manufacturer's diagnostics.

If there is nothing wrong with the drive, perhaps its the boot CD and/or a compatibility problem with your PC.

Or perhaps its the boot CD. Try Tyger's original CD here:

http://www.tyger.org/MFS/2.0/mfstools2.iso

[milmo12]

If there is nothing wrong with the drive, perhaps its the boot CD and/or a compatibility problem with your PC.


http://www.tyger.org/MFS/2.0/mfstools2.iso

That was it, thanks. Having read the warnings about doing this on Windows XP machines I dug out an old WinME box that had an AMD K6-2+ processor, slighly overclocked. The mfstools process didn't like either the 3 level cache architecture of the chip/MB or the slight overclocking of the FSB.

So I used an even older (Digital) not-overclocked PC frame without a hard drive with basic ATA/33 controller. The process completed successfully.

One more question: the basic mfstools CD has the option of turning byte swapping on or off (default = off). What is byte swapping and why would someone use it, it's not explained in any of the guides (weaknees or Hinsdale, or on the CD)? Is this what makes the new drive useable on older Tivos like my Series 1 and is it the replacement for the now defunct TivoMad?

Thanks again,

[tivoupgrade]

That was it, thanks. Having read the warnings about doing this on Windows XP machines I dug out an old WinME box that had an AMD K6-2+ processor, slighly overclocked. The mfstools process didn't like either the 3 level cache architecture of the chip/MB or the slight overclocking of the FSB.

So I used an even older (Digital) not-overclocked PC frame without a hard drive with basic ATA/33 controller. The process completed successfully.

One more question: the basic mfstools CD has the option of turning byte swapping on or off (default = off). What is byte swapping and why would someone use it, it's not explained in any of the guides (weaknees or Hinsdale, or on the CD)? Is this what makes the new drive useable on older Tivos like my Series 1 and is it the replacement for the now defunct TivoMad?

Thanks again,

Byte-swapping has to do with how the information is ordered on the hard drive (big-endian vs little-endian). On Series1 units, the byte-order is different than on Series2 units, and the kernel, when booted from the CD, needs to know the byte-order in certain situations. The default is "no swap" because its faster for the kernel when making backups and doing restores (because it doesn't have to worry about the byte-order). But on Series1 units, swap must be turned on if you intend to mount and access file systems, so that the data on the filesystems can be read and understood.

So, to answer your question, "it depends..." - a noswap mode should work fine for both units, but if you are doing something like installing TurboNet or CacheCARD drivers on a Series1, then you need to use the swap mode.