# pre-modified DirectTV R10 connectivity issue



## buddha2 (Jul 25, 2003)

Hello,

Been trying to search around for answers, but could not find the right help.

I have a DirectTV R10 which I purchased pre-modified from digitalrecorder-dot-com in May 2006. It's been working fine - until recently (about a month ago) - I went into TivoWebPlus and renamed the machine to "D & J's Tivo" in anticipation of setting up another machine in the house. Ever since, I have not been able to log in to TivoWebPlus via the web browser using the IP address. I am able to ping it. But that's it. I cannot telnet into it, or ftp, or http. I know the connection is there, because I can still use the machine to view photos and listen to music that are on my son's PC. I just cannot get into TivoWebPlus.

Anyone with a clue as to what I can do to resolve this issue? Hopefully a solution that does not involve deleting everything on the HD?

BTW, I do not have a serial cable. I do have a CD that came with the package, which contained the software to be installed on my PC. I don't believe it is a boot disc though.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!


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## BTUx9 (Nov 13, 2003)

If you can't telnet/ftp/etc., there's an excellent chance that your rc.sysinit.author isn't marked as executable any more (or possibly was saved with DOS line endings).

Unfortunately, without a serial cable, you'll have to pull the drive and fix it in a PC (using a tivo boot disc).


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## buddha2 (Jul 25, 2003)

One other note... when I used PuTTYtel to try to connect, the error I receive is "Network error: Connection refused"


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## buddha2 (Jul 25, 2003)

BTUx9 said:


> If you can't telnet/ftp/etc., there's an excellent chance that your rc.sysinit.author isn't marked as executable any more (or possibly was saved with DOS line endings).
> 
> Unfortunately, without a serial cable, you'll have to pull the drive and fix it in a PC (using a tivo boot disc).


Hi,

Thanks for your response.

Where can I obtain a serial cable for the Tivo? And when/if I do, can you direct me to instructions on what to do?

If a serial cable isn't something I can get a hold of, then where can I download the boot disc I need? I've pulled Tivo drives out of my old SAT-T60 to upgrade a couple years ago, so I know what is needed to do to take the drive out.

Thanks again...


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## captain_video (Mar 1, 2002)

> I have a DirectTV R10 which I purchased pre-modified from digitalrecorder-dot-com in May 2006.


Congrats for supporting a total scumbag. The guy sells pre-hacked Tivos on ebay and the hack developers never see a penny for their hard work. Were you aware that you were buying software that is copyrighted and was being distributed illegally?


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## buddha2 (Jul 25, 2003)

captain_video said:


> Congrats for supporting a total scumbag. The guy sells pre-hacked Tivos on ebay and the hack developers never see a penny for their hard work. Were you aware that you were buying software that is copyrighted and was being distributed illegally?


No I did not know that... I did a search at the time and his website came up. The price seemed reasonable, so I went for it. Of course, soon after it was delivered, when I was looking up various set up issues, I found another site with a better deal (dvrupgrade-dot-com)... but by then it was too late.

But no, I did not know that I was buying software that is copyrighted and was being re-distributed illegally. But then, why doesn't anyone associated with the software stop this guy? His website still appears to be up and running, though I haven't received a reply from him about my above problem...


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## buddha2 (Jul 25, 2003)

captain_video said:


> Congrats for supporting a total scumbag. The guy sells pre-hacked Tivos on ebay and the hack developers never see a penny for their hard work. Were you aware that you were buying software that is copyrighted and was being distributed illegally?


Now that you mentioned this... if I were to buy an "Add a 2nd drive" for my DirecTV R10, can I buy one from any of the pre-formatted dealers? I was thinking that since my R10 was pre-modified with hacks, I may need to buy one from the same guy. Now that I hear that he is selling other people's work, I would prefer not to buy from him. But I need to make sure that what I buy can be simply hooked up to my current setup with the least amount of work involved.

On the other hand, am I able to buy a standard hard drive and format it myself, for use in a modified R10? As I mentioned earlier, I have done drive upgrades myself on my old SAT-T60, using two brand new drives from CompUSA....


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## BTUx9 (Nov 13, 2003)

buddha2 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thanks for your response.
> 
> ...


check my wiki for serial cable info



buddha2 said:


> Now that you mentioned this... if I were to buy an "Add a 2nd drive" for my DirecTV R10, can I buy one from any of the pre-formatted dealers? I was thinking that since my R10 was pre-modified with hacks, I may need to buy one from the same guy. Now that I hear that he is selling other people's work, I would prefer not to buy from him. But I need to make sure that what I buy can be simply hooked up to my current setup with the least amount of work involved.
> 
> On the other hand, am I able to buy a standard hard drive and format it myself, for use in a modified R10? As I mentioned earlier, I have done drive upgrades myself on my old SAT-T60, using two brand new drives from CompUSA....


If you've got the standard size drive in there now, I'd suggest replacing it with a single, larger drive... 2-drive systems tend to run hot and may put too much strain on the power supply.

mfslive.org is a good resource for going to a larger drive.


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## buddha2 (Jul 25, 2003)

BTUx9 said:


> check my wiki for serial cable info


Ok, I will do that later. Thanks.



BTUx9 said:


> If you've got the standard size drive in there now, I'd suggest replacing it with a single, larger drive... 2-drive systems tend to run hot and may put too much strain on the power supply.
> 
> mfslive.org is a good resource for going to a larger drive.


Sounds like a good idea - I didn't know about the power supply possibly not able to do the extra work. My SAT-T60's power supply burned out after a year and a half.

If I do a replace, I hope I can copy my existing recordings to the new drive? If I recall correctly I think that is possible (I am pretty sure I did that on the SAT-T60)

Thanks!


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## BTUx9 (Nov 13, 2003)

buddha2 said:


> If I do a replace, I hope I can copy my existing recordings to the new drive? If I recall correctly I think that is possible (I am pretty sure I did that on the SAT-T60)


as I said, as long as it's the original drive, you should be able to expand to a new, larger drive AND keep recordings.

If it's already been expanded once, things get much more complicated.


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## captain_video (Mar 1, 2002)

DVRUpgrade pays a licensing fee to use the mods they sell, including their drive upgrade kits and networking hacks. They are the only dealer licensed to distribute such hacks. Digital-recorder.com pays absolutely no fees to anyone. There are several volume vendors of pre-hacked Tivos on ebay that violate the copyright agreements, especially a seller by the name of shaunisnow, but there are others. Weaknees legitimately sells upgrade drives but is not licensed to sell any of the network hacks or anything related to hacking an S2 Tivo or HDTivo.


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## buddha2 (Jul 25, 2003)

BTUx9 said:


> check my wiki for serial cable info
> 
> If you've got the standard size drive in there now, I'd suggest replacing it with a single, larger drive... 2-drive systems tend to run hot and may put too much strain on the power supply.
> 
> mfslive.org is a good resource for going to a larger drive.





BTUx9 said:


> as I said, as long as it's the original drive, you should be able to expand to a new, larger drive AND keep recordings.
> 
> If it's already been expanded once, things get much more complicated.


Hi,

Thanks for your help.

I have found and ordered a Tivo-PC serial cable. Now I just have to find a computer in the house that has a serial port. 

I checked my drive, and it's the original 80GB/70-hr drive in there.

I've decided to buy a Seagate DB35 400GB drive from the sponsor link at mfslive.org... it's certainly a lot cheaper to do it myself than to buy a kit. I also had to get two USB-IDE cables as I don't want to have to dig up my old PC and monitor from the basement.

I do have one more concern though... will the TivoWebPlus/hacks be copied over to the new drive too?

Once again, thanks for all your help!


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## BTUx9 (Nov 13, 2003)

expanding to a larger drive using mfstools SHOULD leave the system in the same state (just add a new pair of partitions containing the extra space on the new drive).


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

buddha2 said:


> Now I just have to find a computer in the house that has a serial port.


You can get a USB to Serial adapter fairly cheap too.


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## cr33p (Jan 2, 2005)

captain_video said:


> DVRUpgrade pays a licensing fee to use the mods they sell, including their drive upgrade kits and networking hacks. They are the only dealer licensed to distribute such hacks. Digital-recorder.com pays absolutely no fees to anyone. There are several volume vendors of pre-hacked Tivos on ebay that violate the copyright agreements, especially a seller by the name of shaunisnow, but there are others. Weaknees legitimately sells upgrade drives but is not licensed to sell any of the network hacks or anything related to hacking an S2 Tivo or HDTivo.


How come this shaunisnow guy continues to profit and sell other peoples work? how come Ebay hasnt revoked his account with them? I see his crap for sale every day on ebay and people actually pay him top dollar for his stolen goods.


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## tivoupgrade (Sep 27, 2000)

cr33p said:


> How come this shaunisnow guy continues to profit and sell other peoples work? how come Ebay hasnt revoked his account with them? I see his crap for sale every day on ebay and people actually pay him top dollar for his stolen goods.


Yeah, we've had run-ins with this guy too. Here is how it generally works:

1) infringee files a vero complaint with ebay
2) Ebay kills the auction
3) infringer threatens infringee's life
4) infringer continues to list auctions
5) infringee complains to Ebay
6) infringer signs an affidavit swearing that he is not an infringer (perjury) 
7) Ebay informs infringee that they will continue to list items unless infringee gets a federal injunction against the infringer

So, these guys basically pop up like flies and call the bluff of anyone trying to assert their proprietary rights. And Ebay harbors the low-lifes because after all, they do make money on the transactions.

Its an ugly side of how the system works, but unfortunately, its not worth the resources to actually pursue these guys (plus we don't actually own the rights, we are only licensees of some of the software and that doesn't give us the authority to actually pursue these guys in Federal court).

Really, the ONLY way to get these guys to stop is to completely ignore them, don't give them any of your money, and support the vendors who are actually paying for the rights to use the software (and spending the money to sponsor forums, stores, etc which keep communities like this one in business).


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