voidptr
11-17-2006, 10:15 PM
I've pieced together a way to use MFSTools and any other tivo tools on a Mac. This works as well for Series 1 disks (which the current Mac build can't do) as well as get access to the ext2 partitions without installing the Ext2 extension into your Mac and the headaches that can cause. (And which can't read Series 1 drives anyway)
Personally, I think once you get this setup, it's easier than doing it the old way with a PC. No rebooting the box, no ripping out your good drives or mucking up the inside of your computer.
Ok, first things first:
This isn't a step by step or beginners guide. There's plenty of those already, pick your favorites and use them (you'll see what I mean in a minute). You'll probably need to fill in the blanks in a couple places.
It's slightly complicated. If you've never hacked a tivo before, read this a couple times. Then read the guides you picked out above a couple times. Then read this again. You'll need to understand that underneath OS X is a real Unix system, and be able to use the shell there.
I've tested this a couple times. If you melt your Tivo or Mac doing it, I'm not responsible.
It's accurate, but slow. Restoring a backup took maybe 20 minutes, if you want to expand to a new drive and preserve recordings, doing this on a G5 will probably take a while. If you own an Intel, see the notes at the bottom. If you own a Series 2, I'd try the native MFSTools first, and then use this to reset the kernel and tweak the ext2 partitions.
What you need:
Your favorite Linux tools. I have a boot disk with MFSTools 2.0 (http://mfstools.sourceforge.net/) that has served me well over the years. You don't need a physical cd, just the iso will do, in fact it's quicker. You can also use the CD if you want. I also briefly tested Spike2k5's updated MFSTools disc (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=327239) with success on a 250 gig drive. Instantcake may work too (although I haven't tried it.)
USB or Firewire drive enclosures for each drive. I restored an existing backup, so I only used one. If you're doing a drive swap, you can also get away with one if you do it in two steps and switch drives in the middle.
QEMU (http://fabrice.bellard.free.fr/qemu/) . See the notes at the end, as you need to do a little work to get it. The current release won't work.
Also, collect any other files you need. If you're installing onto a drive that needs LBA48 support, this includes the appropriate LBA48 Kernel and tpip (http://www.courtesan.com/tivo/bigdisk.html) linux binary. If you've got an existing backup image, you'll need that.
Ok, on to the hard part.
Create a reasonable size disk image formatted with a DOS file system to shuffle files between OS X and Qemu. At the command prompt, run:
hdiutil create -size 2G -fs MS-DOS -o dos.dmg
hdiutil attach dos.dmg
to create a 2 gig virtual disk and attach it. A new drive icon should appear on the desktop and finder for the virtual drive.
Copy any files (Other than the boot cd) onto this drive.
Cable up your target (or source if you need to do a backup first) drive to the USB enclosure, and connect it. If OS X pops up a dialog that it doesn't recognize the drive, hit ignore.
Launch Disk Util. It should look something like this (Notice the USB drive and the Dos image):
http://www.csh.rit.edu/~sunday/mactivo/disk_util_1.png
Unmount the dos volume by clicking on the drive icon and clicking the Unmount button. Do not eject the drive, as that will remove OS X's mapping completely, and we still need it mapped later. At the same time, if OS X did mount any partitions on your USB drive, make sure to unmount them now as well. (Again, use unmount, not eject)
Click on the USB drive, and hit the info button. You should get a screen that looks like this:
http://www.csh.rit.edu/~sunday/mactivo/disk_util_2.png
Write down the disk number on the line that says "Disk Identifier:", in this case disk3. Close this window and repeat for the dos.dmg drive image.
Continued in the next post...
Personally, I think once you get this setup, it's easier than doing it the old way with a PC. No rebooting the box, no ripping out your good drives or mucking up the inside of your computer.
Ok, first things first:
This isn't a step by step or beginners guide. There's plenty of those already, pick your favorites and use them (you'll see what I mean in a minute). You'll probably need to fill in the blanks in a couple places.
It's slightly complicated. If you've never hacked a tivo before, read this a couple times. Then read the guides you picked out above a couple times. Then read this again. You'll need to understand that underneath OS X is a real Unix system, and be able to use the shell there.
I've tested this a couple times. If you melt your Tivo or Mac doing it, I'm not responsible.
It's accurate, but slow. Restoring a backup took maybe 20 minutes, if you want to expand to a new drive and preserve recordings, doing this on a G5 will probably take a while. If you own an Intel, see the notes at the bottom. If you own a Series 2, I'd try the native MFSTools first, and then use this to reset the kernel and tweak the ext2 partitions.
What you need:
Your favorite Linux tools. I have a boot disk with MFSTools 2.0 (http://mfstools.sourceforge.net/) that has served me well over the years. You don't need a physical cd, just the iso will do, in fact it's quicker. You can also use the CD if you want. I also briefly tested Spike2k5's updated MFSTools disc (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=327239) with success on a 250 gig drive. Instantcake may work too (although I haven't tried it.)
USB or Firewire drive enclosures for each drive. I restored an existing backup, so I only used one. If you're doing a drive swap, you can also get away with one if you do it in two steps and switch drives in the middle.
QEMU (http://fabrice.bellard.free.fr/qemu/) . See the notes at the end, as you need to do a little work to get it. The current release won't work.
Also, collect any other files you need. If you're installing onto a drive that needs LBA48 support, this includes the appropriate LBA48 Kernel and tpip (http://www.courtesan.com/tivo/bigdisk.html) linux binary. If you've got an existing backup image, you'll need that.
Ok, on to the hard part.
Create a reasonable size disk image formatted with a DOS file system to shuffle files between OS X and Qemu. At the command prompt, run:
hdiutil create -size 2G -fs MS-DOS -o dos.dmg
hdiutil attach dos.dmg
to create a 2 gig virtual disk and attach it. A new drive icon should appear on the desktop and finder for the virtual drive.
Copy any files (Other than the boot cd) onto this drive.
Cable up your target (or source if you need to do a backup first) drive to the USB enclosure, and connect it. If OS X pops up a dialog that it doesn't recognize the drive, hit ignore.
Launch Disk Util. It should look something like this (Notice the USB drive and the Dos image):
http://www.csh.rit.edu/~sunday/mactivo/disk_util_1.png
Unmount the dos volume by clicking on the drive icon and clicking the Unmount button. Do not eject the drive, as that will remove OS X's mapping completely, and we still need it mapped later. At the same time, if OS X did mount any partitions on your USB drive, make sure to unmount them now as well. (Again, use unmount, not eject)
Click on the USB drive, and hit the info button. You should get a screen that looks like this:
http://www.csh.rit.edu/~sunday/mactivo/disk_util_2.png
Write down the disk number on the line that says "Disk Identifier:", in this case disk3. Close this window and repeat for the dos.dmg drive image.
Continued in the next post...