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

[jblake]

WOW! I was still under the impression that you couldn't hack series 2s. This is awesome!

In the instructions it says use a USB adapter, but if I'm hacking a DT, can I just use the on board ethernet?

[MungoJerrie]

Originally Posted by jblake

WOW! I was still under the impression that you couldn't hack series 2s. This is awesome!

In the instructions it says use a USB adapter, but if I'm hacking a DT, can I just use the on board ethernet?

Yes, you can use on-board ethernet, but just be aware that to hack a Dual Tuner (TCD649 series) you need a PROM modification which involves desoldering an EEPROM on your tivo motherboard and replacing it with a hacked one. If you have the skills/tools you could DIY - or there are those who will do this for a fee - found at the "other" forum deal database dot com.

[jblake]

oh well, it was worth hoping for it. maybe the page should be updated to show that.

[classicsat]

Originally Posted by jblake

WOW! I was still under the impression that you couldn't hack series 2s. This is awesome!

You could almost always hack a Series 2 standalone. It is just that nobody made a script for it, till now. And since 7.x came out, the primary reason for hacking Series 2 Standalones has been supplanted by TiVoToGo.

And the Sapper doesn't change the fact that 5xx/6xx still need the PROM mod.

[rbautch]

Originally Posted by jblake

oh well, it was worth hoping for it. maybe the page should be updated to show that.

It does. See Note 2.

[Soapm]

Anyone hear from Omikron? I sent him a PM but haven't received a response.

[rbautch]

Originally Posted by Soapm

Anyone hear from Omikron? I sent him a PM but haven't received a response.

Try sending him an email at sapprom@brokenpixel.net.

[Omikron]

Originally Posted by Soapm

Anyone hear from Omikron? I sent him a PM but haven't received a response.

I've been away from the net for a few days since the old PC crashed and a new one had to be built in its place. I've sent you an email reply to your question.

That said, I will be unavailable via email or PM between July 31st and August 8th since I will be at DEFCON 15 in Las Vegas.

[Soapm]

RBautch...

Will it hurt anything if I put the ccxstream file in the Sapper image before I hack my Tivo? Would it be better to move it to the Tivo via the bash prompt or web interface after the Tivo is hacked?

[Soapm]

Originally Posted by rbautch

No, it's only installed with the Zipper. With every new software release, superpatch changes. However, if you stick it on your SApper CD, it will get installed. With 8.x software, transfers between a Dtivo and standalone tivo are not possible anymore because of the DRM objects in the new software. The only way I was able to do it was with mfs_ftp, and a DRM patch that can be found on DDB.
Why is it not possible?

Where do I stick Superpatch on the SApper CD so it get's installed with Sapper? Do I have to make any other changes other than putting te files on the CD? By installed do you mean files will be on the Tivo but I still have to manually execuste the commands? What is the command to make it work? I mean do I just type these in just like this and hit enter?

Code:
patch -o superpatch-678all-NutKase-1.12.tcl < superpatch-1.2to1.12.diff.txt
chmod 755 superpatch-678all-NutKase-1.12.tcl
./superpatch-678all-NutKase-1.12.tcl

EDIT: My Tivo is connected to my LAN via ethernet. It will remain this way because it's 2 feet from my router. Do I will need a serial null cable to telnet in or can I get in the Tivo via ethernet?

[rbautch]

Originally Posted by Soapm

Where do I stick Superpatch on the SApper CD so it get's installed with Sapper? Do I have to make any other changes other than putting te files on the CD? By installed do you mean files will be on the Tivo but I still have to manually execuste the commands? What is the command to make it work? I mean do I just type these in just like this and hit enter?

Code:
patch -o superpatch-678all-NutKase-1.12.tcl < superpatch-1.2to1.12.diff.txt
chmod 755 superpatch-678all-NutKase-1.12.tcl
./superpatch-678all-NutKase-1.12.tcl

EDIT: My Tivo is connected to my LAN via ethernet. It will remain this way because it's 2 feet from my router. Do I will need a serial null cable to telnet in or can I get in the Tivo via ethernet?

Put superpatch in the root of the CD. If you stick it in the /zipper_tools folder on your PC, the isomaker will copy it over into the iso. The Zipper with then copy it to your tivo drive, and it will get run automatically when you run the enhancement script. If you want to transfer any more files to your tivo, I suggest using FTP after the tivo is up and running.

[Soapm]

I hit my first road block;

I kept hitting enter on the CD until I got to a prompt that says; PTVupgrade /#

At that prompt according to step 3c i typed mount /dev/hdd /cdrom

I get mount: block device /dev/hdd is write-protected, mounting read only.

According to step d I then type /cdrom/sapper

To this I get sh: /cdrom/sapper: No such file or directory

What am I doing wrong or where do I go from here?

[Soapm]

Never mind, I have it figured out. The first disc I made didn't have nearly all the directories. I downloaded the SApper again and made a fresh disc and I made it to a sucessful finish.

[ciper]

do an "ls -l /cdrom" and see if its listed

[Soapm]

Well, I am in and hacked but I would like to suggest one addition to the instructions.

F. If you copied a software image to your SApper CD, the script will detect it and prompt you to install it. (this will overwrite your existing drive)

i didn't completely understand this means it would over write the image on my drive. I am now running instantcake 7.xxx and lost all my recordings and settings. It is connecting and I believe downloading the 8.xxx OS but it kind of sucks to loose all my recordings and season passes. I think the above should be a footnote in the instructions. Other than that it all went as expected.

Thanks a bunch RBautch! You are the man!

[Soapm]

This kind of sucks setting everything from scratch knowing I will soon get a new OS version pushed to me. This is a major update that will require me to hack the drive again. I think I will use MFS lite to restore the image from my original drive then run sapper again. This time I won't over write the image. Wish me luck. I think this should work.

[Soapm]

Well, I am right back at square 1. What a day and boy am I frustrated.

I found this page http://www.dvrpedia.com/Zipper_-_SAp...ncement_Script and down in the section titled "Add new Hack, and keep it out of the /var directory" it said I could at bash type sh /enhancements/var-symlinks.sh to create symlinks and all would be well.

Was this wrong to do?

After doing this I could no longer get my bash prompt or FTP to the Tivo. I figured I could run SApper again to fix this. Well, again I made the mistake and over wrote my drive with Instacake. SUCKS! </pounds head>

I am putting my original image back on the drvie not and will start over from scratch. Sure wish I could get a little help...

[Soapm]

Does anyone know if SApper sets the serial port that feeds the cable box?

I was using the serial cable since I got the Tivo. After running SApper, the serial to my cable box stopped working. I didn't think nothing of it at first, I just threw on the IR cable and kept on hacking.

I am looking at it now so I switched the cable box with the box from upstairs. Same problem, serial doesn't work.

I then put my original drive back in the Tivo and the serial works.

Put the hacked drive back in the Tivo and the serial stops working?

I am thinking it may be something like the other serial connection to the bash prompt where it was setting the tty1 or what ever wrong. Does it set this serial port also? How so I find that setting to try and adjust it?

[Da Goon]

Disable bash in test.conf or rc.sysinit.author, whichever starts it.

[Soapm]

Originally Posted by Da Goon

Disable bash in test.conf or rc.sysinit.author, whichever starts it.

#####Newbie alert#####

Are you talking about this line in the rc.sysinit.author file?

tnlited 23 /bin/bash -login &

Where is the test.conf file located?

If I disable it, will I still be able to telnet in? Are you implying that bash conflicts with the other serial port so I can't have both running?

[Da Goon]

Test.conf would be in root (/) The line would be something like /bin/bash </dev/ttyS1...
The tnlited line is the call to telnet.

[Soapm]

Originally Posted by Da Goon

Test.conf would be in root (/) The line would be something like /bin/bash </dev/ttyS1...
The tnlited line is the call to telnet.

Is there a hide system file command or something?

My root has 23 folders and one file named standalone_flag.

I am doing a search via ftp for test.conf. It is going slow so I will report back if it finds anything.

Iam still asking, will this disable my ability to telnet into the Tivo?

If so, how do I disable this feature if I need to telnet in again? I make all the changes via telnet using joe.

[rbautch]

It's in the author file, not test.conf. You have to disable serial bash and serial console, which are competing for use of your serial port. Serial bash is in your author file, and looks something like this:

/busybox/setsid bash < /dev/ttyS$console &> /dev/ttyS$console &

Serial console is set in your bootpage.

[Soapm]

Originally Posted by rbautch

Serial console is set in your bootpage.

Cool beans, I never understood how to change the bootpage. I gatherd from earlier post you type "bootpage -p" at the bash prompt. I do that and get;

No device name given, assuming /dev/hda
root=/dev/hda4 dsscon=true console=0,115200 upgradesoftware=false

How do I make changes?

Also, how do I turn the updatesoftward to true if a new OS comes out (I assume that's what it's for)?

[Soapm]

Ok, I found you use a -P instead of -p to edit the bootpage.

What line do I use to turn off the console?

root=/dev/hda4 dsscon=true console=0,115200 upgradesoftware=false

Do I have to type in the entire line or just

bootpage -P dsscon=false

should I move the console to 1

is it bootpage -P console=1,115200

[Da Goon]

The -p switch just prints your current bootpage settings. If you want to change your bootpage you'll need to use the -P switch. For example, if you wanted to disable bash and enable software updates you'd do this in telnet :

bootpage -P "root=/dev/hdaX" /dev/hda

leaving out the dsscon and console variables, where X is 4 or 7 depending on your current root. To enable software updates, you just leave out the upgradesoftware variable. dsscon enables console messages, and console enables bash at 115200 baud. To set those variables again, just use the same command, but include the dsscon and console settings.

edit - I type slow

[Soapm]

I ran the command like this

bootpage -P "root=/dev/hdaX" /dev/hda upgradesoftware=false


Looks like I dropped the serial stuff but I am also missing upgradesoftware from the line

Here is what it looks like now

FamRoom-bash# bootpage -p
No device name given, assuming /dev/hda
root=/dev/hda4

I don't want to reboot until I know this is ok and I would like to turn the software update back off until I get my simlyncs correct

[Da Goon]

You'd need to have upgradesoftware=false and anything else you want included, inside the ""s. Such as :
bootpage -P "root=/dev/hda4 upgradesoftware=false" /dev/hda

[Soapm]

Cool beans...

Thanks buddy

No device name given, assuming /dev/hda
root=/dev/hda4 upgradesoftware=false

[Soapm]

Sure nice to have the serial connection to my cable box back. I was tired if it recording the wrong channel. Last night I recorded real sex instead of Andy Griffith and the wife was the first to notice.