The SApper - A "Zipper-like" tool for standalone tivos

[MungoJerrie]

Originally Posted by Sbmocp

Ah, now that makes sense. I was reading through the file thinking I'd be able to modify it and thus its operation. If its compiled, well...I'm not sure what to do there. It's been a while since I've programmed anything like that.

I'm not sure you would have to compile it. I don't see why you couldn't modify and just run the shell script "sapper.sh" from the boot cd (lba48). It should just be executed by the shell interpreter assuming the lba48 has /bin/bash (can't remember haven't used it in awhile), if not I'm sure you could find another linux boot cd that does.

[slider_wc]

Originally Posted by Sbmocp

I dug out the LBA48 file(s) I purchased several years back as well as the slicer file I had (v1.7, from 2007). I didn't have the original archive of the LBA48 files, just the unarchived version on a CD. When I tried copying the files over to my PC, NOD32 antivirus claimed that the "autorun.inf" file was infected and wouldn't copy it. I copied the rest of the files over and re-archived them according to the naming convention used on the SApper instructions page in a screengrab.

I copied the files into the named locations per the instructions after unzipping the SApper archive. I then used the isomaker to make an iso file and burned it using Nero 9. The PC won't boot off the disc. I don't know if the autorun file is crucial to the disc creation (I thought autorun.inf was a windows system file...), but if it is I'm hosed since mine's corrupt.

I've done a lot of research over at "the other place" about what's used to add functionality to the TiVoHD. (Of course, they do their mods manually.) There's a newer, more "accepted" method of applying patches to tivoapp using a program called tvapppatch.tcl. They mention the need for a "hacked" GEN06 custom kernel to install and use any extra functionality (including EXT3 filesystems and no initrd) and give links to get one. The kernels require some additional drivers (included with the kernel) which are also copied to particular locations, et cetera.

This makes me wonder whether or not the scripts in the SApper should or could be modified to include these files and do the requisite copying work. I know that only a portion of the work is done in the script that comes on the disk; the tweak.sh would probably need modification too but the program downloads a newer version if one's available. If you modified the version on the disk you'd also have to modify any newly downloaded version as well...

This is all new to me as I've not mucked around much in Linux. Could anyone share any insights they might have on what's involved in an update?

Here is my process for upgrading the TivoHD.

- Pull the drive and take a backup using WinMFS.
- Run the Sapper against the drive
- Replace the kernel with Jamie’s Gen06 custom kernel using WinMFS.
- Apply cci patches, install TivoWebPlus, etc.

[Sbmocp]

Originally Posted by slider_wc

Here is my process for upgrading the TivoHD.

- Pull the drive and take a backup using WinMFS.
- Run the Sapper against the drive
- Replace the kernel with Jamie’s Gen06 custom kernel using WinMFS.
- Apply cci patches, install TivoWebPlus, etc.

Thanks for this--I'll try it later tonight. I may have to try and dig deeper to "hack" the SApper to do these steps automatically. For now it'll get me going.

[Sbmocp]

Well, that didn't go smoothly.

I pulled the TiVo drive after making a SApper disc, put the drive on a PC and booted with the SApper disc. I followed instructions and noticed that there were a few errors (apparently some things didn't copy the way they should have). I put the drive back onto a PC with WinMFS and "restored" a modded Gen06 kernel to it, then put the drive back into the TiVo and booted.

I was able to telnet to the TiVo. Off the root directory was a directory called /hacks, no /enhancements directory. I changed to the /hacks directory and found about five files, one of them being rbautch_files.tgz. I used tar to dump the files in the directory. There was no tweaks.sh file, only the start.sh file. I tried running that and it attempted to install some things but failed most of them. I then manually created an /enhancements directory, moved all the files, and tried again. Again, things failed.

I'm giving it up for tonight. At least I can telnet in. Maybe I'll try again in a few nights...

[slider_wc]

Originally Posted by Sbmocp

Well, that didn't go smoothly.

I pulled the TiVo drive after making a SApper disc, put the drive on a PC and booted with the SApper disc. I followed instructions and noticed that there were a few errors (apparently some things didn't copy the way they should have). I put the drive back onto a PC with WinMFS and "restored" a modded Gen06 kernel to it, then put the drive back into the TiVo and booted.

I was able to telnet to the TiVo. Off the root directory was a directory called /hacks, no /enhancements directory. I changed to the /hacks directory and found about five files, one of them being rbautch_files.tgz. I used tar to dump the files in the directory. There was no tweaks.sh file, only the start.sh file. I tried running that and it attempted to install some things but failed most of them. I then manually created an /enhancements directory, moved all the files, and tried again. Again, things failed.

I'm giving it up for tonight. At least I can telnet in. Maybe I'll try again in a few nights...

For what it is worth, I've never run the enhancement script on the TivoHD. I usually only apply cci patches and install TivoWebPlus (manually).

[Sbmocp]

Originally Posted by slider_wc

For what it is worth, I've never run the enhancement script on the TivoHD. I usually only apply cci patches and install TivoWebPlus (manually).

Hmm...you'd said that your process included "running the SApper against the drive." If you don't run the enhancement script then which part of the disc do you run?

[slider_wc]

Originally Posted by Sbmocp

Hmm...you'd said that your process included "running the SApper against the drive." If you don't run the enhancement script then which part of the disc do you run?

I run the main script cdrom/sapper

[rbautch]

Originally Posted by Sbmocp

Well, that didn't go smoothly.

I pulled the TiVo drive after making a SApper disc, put the drive on a PC and booted with the SApper disc. I followed instructions and noticed that there were a few errors (apparently some things didn't copy the way they should have). I put the drive back onto a PC with WinMFS and "restored" a modded Gen06 kernel to it, then put the drive back into the TiVo and booted.

I was able to telnet to the TiVo. Off the root directory was a directory called /hacks, no /enhancements directory. I changed to the /hacks directory and found about five files, one of them being rbautch_files.tgz. I used tar to dump the files in the directory. There was no tweaks.sh file, only the start.sh file. I tried running that and it attempted to install some things but failed most of them. I then manually created an /enhancements directory, moved all the files, and tried again. Again, things failed.

I'm giving it up for tonight. At least I can telnet in. Maybe I'll try again in a few nights...

lt failed because you didn't follow the last step of the instructions:

D. Run the Enhancement Script with:
cd /hacks
sh tweak.sh

This script pulls files from rbautch_files.tgz and installs all the hacks. If tweak.sh is not there, you can ftp it to your tivo from the sapper tools folder contained in sapper.zip. You can also find it here.

[Sbmocp]

Originally Posted by rbautch

lt failed because you didn't follow the last step of the instructions:
This script pulls files from rbautch_files.tgz and installs all the hacks. If tweak.sh is not there, you can ftp it to your tivo from the sapper tools folder contained in sapper.zip. You can also find it here.

I ended up having to ftp the tweak.sh up to the TiVo (before I saw your reply) and then ran it per the instructions.

I noticed that TivoWebPlus was installed to the root (/) and not in the /enhancements directory. I figured it would be safer there so I moved everything and changed my rc.sysinit.author file. Do I need to rerun the var-symlinks script at this point? I'm a little fuzzy on whether or not it "finds' where things are installed or if it has to be edited...

[rbautch]

Originally Posted by Sbmocp

I ended up having to ftp the tweak.sh up to the TiVo (before I saw your reply) and then ran it per the instructions.

I noticed that TivoWebPlus was installed to the root (/) and not in the /enhancements directory. I figured it would be safer there so I moved everything and changed my rc.sysinit.author file. Do I need to rerun the var-symlinks script at this point? I'm a little fuzzy on whether or not it "finds' where things are installed or if it has to be edited...

No, no need to run the var-symlinks script. That's only for things stored in /enhancements/varhacks.

[slider_wc]

I attempted to apply the 11.0j update to my TivoHD using the "SApper" but could not get the Tivo to boot. The result was an endless reboot loop. I thought it might be a bad hard drive so I reran it on a spare. Same result. I have since gone back to 11.0h. Has anyone successfully upgrade to 11.0j using the "SApper"?

[Sbmocp]

Originally Posted by slider_wc

I attempted to apply the 11.0j update to my TivoHD using the "SApper" but could not get the Tivo to boot. The result was an endless reboot loop. I thought it might be a bad hard drive so I reran it on a spare. Same result. I have since gone back to 11.0h. Has anyone successfully upgrade to 11.0j using the "SApper"?

Well, I was going to try this weekend after I changed out my bad hard drive, but now I'm not sure.

This program r-e-a-l-l-y needs a good updating...

[Soapm]

I have a Tivo TCD652160 on the way and the prom has been replaced. I plan to run SApper when I get it.

1. I checked DVRUpgrade and it says there is no slicer for this model. What do I do to run the script if I don't have slicer? Can I use the previous version I had for my S2 DT?

2. I would like to extract the image from the drive that comes with the Tivo instead of buying instacake. What is the best took for extracting or making an image of the drive that can be expended to the 2TB I have on the way?

3. Any way I can hook both my new S3 drive and my old S2 DT drive to a computer and transfer the stored shows over?

4. On the enhancement script, anyway I can update the versions in the script before I run it? Example, TWP has a nice version I've been using. Can I slip that in so the enhancement script installs the latest version?

Edited to add... 5. On the SApper site there is a file named 000001. Where does that come from?

[wkearney99]

Originally Posted by svenn

Specifically, I would like to know if the scripts will disable the CCI bytes.

I believe forum rules here strictly prohibit discussions regarding theft of service and/or programming.

Perhaps those that handled modifying your PROM would be the ones to ask. And DDB seems to pride itself on making it difficult for newbies.

[wkearney99]

If you don't like how your cable provider encodes their programming you're going to have to ask them to change it (fat chance). It's within their rights to limit further distribution of the content they deliver. Your choice is to abide by their legal rights and the contract to which you agreed or use some other service that doesn't encode the programming (unlikely). Not the ideal situation, but such is the state of that kind of media.

That your bill is "astronomical" is the choice you make when agreeing to purchase their services, encoding and all. Hey, we'd all like to get something for nothing... but it ain't gonna happen.

[Soapm]

Anyone seen Russ around lately? I was hoping he would've been by to look at our questions? I guess he moved on in life???

[classicsat]

I don't think Series 2s are updated anymore, so there is no need for Slicer. Let it update to the latest software, then backup, and apply Sapper.

WinMFS is probably the best tools these days. Although I have only used MFSTools, and as big as a 200GB drive.

There is no supported way at TiVo Communiuty (read:within accepable rules), to pull programming outside of TiVoToGo. I am not saying you cannot (from what I gather it isn't easy), just that it is not discussed here.

I think is should be easy to upgrade the TWP in the script.

I think the 000001 file is the TiVo backup from Instantcak, or your mfsbackup named that.

[Soapm]

Originally Posted by classicsat

I don't think Series 2s are updated anymore, so there is no need for Slicer. Let it update to the latest software, then backup, and apply Sapper..

Thanks CC, I think we're both have TivoHD but I think you're advice still applies with the exception of using jmfs instead of MFSTools (2TB drive). Is that correct?

Last question, do we need that image 000001 or can SApper just hack the OD on the drive?

I want to use jmfs to copy and expand my stock image onto the new 2TB drive then run SApper telling it to keep the image just hack the OS. Do you know if that's an option?

[Soapm]

Can someone look at the SApper code and see why it doesn't recognize my TivoHD image on a 2TB drive but it sees it just fine on the factory drive. When running it on my 2TB drive I get to where it says,

"backing up kernel to alternate partition" then it says;

0+0 record in
0+0 record out

Mounting Tivo drive
/dev/hda: success
mount: you must specify file type
Unable to mount your Tivo drive. Please confirm there is a valid image on the drive and that it is properly connected to the PC.
Exiting...

[Soapm]

Ok, I'm back to where I was with SApper able to modify my stock 160gb drive but it fails like above when I run it on my 2TB drive with same image except expanded. Thanks to the source code in the first post of this thread I was able to isolate the portion of the script that appears to be failing on the 2TB drive.

The first point of failure has to do with this line;

"dd if=$bootpath of=$altbootpath bs=1024 count=2048"

On the stock drive it comes out with numbers (I don't remember what they were) but on the 2TB I'm getting 0 for both in and out. That can't be good.

What I don't know is if the previous lines failed to set correct parameters for bootpath, rootpath, altbootpath or altrootpath causing the "0" or is there a tool being used here that's not handling the size of the drive. Could it be the "dd" utility not working on this drive? I think "dd" is the copy command???

The the script goes on to;

echo "Mounting tivo drive..."

Then I believe this command must also be failing because I get the "else" message instead of the "if" message (sorry, not a code guy);

mount $rootpath tivo

Again, could it be a failure to previously identify the rootpath correctly meaning the parameter is wrong or is there something about the tool that makes it "mount" that works on the 160gb but unable to handle a 2tb drive?

bootpath="/dev/$location$boot"
rootpath="/dev/$location$root"
altbootpath="/dev/$location$altboot"
altrootpath="/dev/$location$altroot"
echo "Your root filesystem is located on $rootpath"
echo "Your boot partition is $bootpath"
if [ "$1" = "restore" ]; then
	echo "Restoring your alternate root filesystem..."
	dd if=$altrootpath of=$rootpath
	echo "Restoring the kernel from alternate partition..."
	dd if=$altbootpath of=$bootpath bs=1024 count=2048
	echo
	echo "Done! Now exiting..."
	exit 0
elif [ "$1" != "nobackup" ]; then
  echo "Backing up your root filesystem to alternate partition..."
  dd if=$rootpath of=$altrootpath
  echo "Backing up your kernel to alternate partition..."
  dd if=$bootpath of=$altbootpath bs=1024 count=2048
  echo
fi
echo "Mounting tivo drive..."
sleep 2
cd /
mkdir -p tivo
mount $rootpath tivo
sleep 2
if [ -d /tivo/tvbin ];then
	echo "Your Tivo drive was mounted successfully. Proceeding..."
else
	echo
	echo "Unable to mount your Tivo drive. Please confirm there is a valid image"
	echo "on the drive, and that it is properly connected to your PC."
	echo "exiting..."
	exit 1

I am thinking (which isn't always good) is if the tools are unable to handle a 2tb drive then perhaps I can find some of the same tools with the same names that are able to handle 2tb and switch them into the file structure before making the disc.

I ran into a similar situation when trying to run ciphercheck after using the tivoapppatch and ScanMan from the other place had me "Make sure you are using the 64-bit mfs_utils for the TivoHD."

Is it the size of the drive the necessitates using 64-bit mfs_utils or is the TivoHD disc structure different? Is it possible to insert these same files somehow in the SApper CD and all would be happy, happy, happy???

Am I on the right street or should I be pissing on a different fire hydrant?

[rbautch]

Originally Posted by Soapm

The first point of failure has to do with this line;

"dd if=$bootpath of=$altbootpath bs=1024 count=2048"

This is a safety measure that backs up your system to the alternate partition. You can force the script to skip this non-essential step by invoking it with the argument "nobackup". Like this:

cdrom/sapper nobackup

See if that gets you any further. If it still won't mount your drive, trying mounting manually outside of the script. FYI, the purpose of making the backup is so that if you brick your tivo running the script, you can always restore it by using the "restore" argument. Like this:

cdrom/sapper restore

Sorry I haven't been around in awhile. Life has a way of intervening sometimes.

[Soapm]

Originally Posted by rbautch

You can force the script to skip this non-essential step by invoking it with the argument "nobackup". Like this:

See if that gets you any further..

No problem buddy, I know life will intervene and we appreciate the time you've already given. I ended up loading a machine with Debian just so I could insert Jamies kernel then get FTP and Telnet working. Once I got in I was able to run the enhancement script that appears to have installed the rest of your setup.

I had a heck of a time realizing my profile file was /etc/profile instead of /.profile but it was all down hill once I figured that out. It also helped that I still have my working S2DT on the network since I was able to copy files from it to my new Tivo so in the end you were still there in spirit...

Thanks...

PS... question... If I delete the /etc/profile with it automatically start using the /.profile file or is there a setting I have to make somewhere? If this were windows it would be a registry setting but Linux is a strange animal to me...

[rbautch]

Not sure about that. It's in /.profile on all my DTivos. This may throw off some of the non-essential script items like custom bash prompts and shortcuts. It you delete it, may want to symlink it to /etc/profile.

[Soapm]

Good idea, thanks... then I will have the same file in both places...

[55tbird]

Anybody heard from Rbautch this year? Hope he's doing ok. His scripts and feedback have been greatly appreciated.

LOL