# What did I do wrong?



## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

I have the Pioneer DVR-810H (Series 2). It has a 80GB Maxtor (91 hours). I want to change it to a Western Digital 250GB BY COPYING THE OLD DRIVE. I'm using the ISO image on a CD "Mfs Tools Boot CD 11.5MB with large drive support."

In the computer:

hda - Primary Master (dos/windows fat32 C: drive)
hdb - Primary Slave (NEW Western Digital 250GB)
hdc - Secondary Master (Old Maxtor 80GB)
hdd - Secondary Slave (CD Player)

I booted with the ISO CD. Then did the following:

mkdir /mnt/dos (Then I hit enter)

mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/dos (Then I hit enter)

mfsbackup -f 9999 -6so /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdc (Then I hit enter)

umount -f -a -r (Then I hit enter)

Ctrl+ Alt + Delete

I then put the drive in Tivo to see if it Boots ups ok. It did. But none of my pre recorded programs just yet.

I booted with the ISO CD. Then did the following:

mfsrestore -s 127 -bzpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdb (Then I hit enter)

mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdc (Then I hit enter)

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

Backup looked like it happened. I seen the % go up.

When finished, press Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' or it reboots then power down.

When I put the new 250GB drive in the Tivo I can the same 91 hours (should be much more). When I go to play any of my pre-recorded programs it says:

Error Playing 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."

This make no sense to me. I put my old Maxtor 80GB in the TIVO and to my surpise I am getting the same error. WHAT DID I DO WRONG. PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT COMMANDS AND SEQUENCE I NEED TO TYPE IN TO CORRECT THIS. HELP!!


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## funtoupgrade (Mar 15, 2005)

DennisTheMenace7 said:


> In the computer:
> 
> hda - Primary Master (dos/windows fat32 C: drive)
> hdb - Primary Slave (NEW Western Digital 250GB)
> ...


Everything fine up to this point.



DennisTheMenace7 said:


> I booted with the ISO CD. Then did the following:
> 
> mfsrestore -s 127 -bzpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdb (Then I hit enter)
> 
> ...


This is where the problem lies. First command formatted and installed the TiVo software without programs on hdb. Second command erased and formatted hdc (original drive) without programs (big mistake). Third command tried to copy all data including programs to hdb but failed (probably understandable after first two attempts). Your programs are toast so forget them as hard as that may be.

Basically to do what you were trying to do you needed to start with the third step above and forget the backups you tried at first. At this point I think you still have a good basic backup on your hard drive in hda1 so go ahead and mount the hda1 then:

mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdb

This should copy and expand the TiVo software to your new drive. If you want to you can also restore the image (without the x) to the original drive for a working backup, but in either case, as previously indicated, your programs are gone because you wrote over them.


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## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

Thank you for your help.

After you do a mount you must always do a "umount -f -a -r" ?

I did notice that a few of my programs on my old Maxtor 80Gb I was able to play. Shouldn't they all be lost?

Also, When I did the mfsbackup orginally I did see about 45GB of data go by. If it was all overwriiten what was that then?

I see a file on my C drive called TIVO.BAK. Size is 921,894,134. What exactly is this file and should I save it? Can it be copied in a Windows enviroment?


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## fade2grey (Oct 25, 2005)

the line:

```
mfsbackup -f 9999 -6so /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdc (Then I hit enter)
```
created your c:\tivo.bak file, which should theoretically be a complete backup of your Tivo drive as was when you started (including your programs I think)

AFAIK you can copy it/move it around/burn it to CD etc for later use if you want - that's what I did to mine, I added mine to the ISO so I didn't have to hunt for files later.

I'm guessing that

```
mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdb
```
 will allow you to restore your backup & expand it to use the 250GB drive.. but I might be wrong  I'll let one of the guys who know better to confirm that one before you get your hopes up 

Cheers,
A


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## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

I did as you suggested:

mkdir /mnt/dos (Then I hit enter)

mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/dos (Then I hit enter)

mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdb (Then I hit enter)

umount -f -a -r (Then I hit enter)

Ctrl+Alt+Del

Shut PC off. I put the Western Digital 250GB hard drive in TIVO.

All looks good however, when I go to Tivo Central then Message & Settings then Settings then Recording then Record Quality I see the following:

Extreme (Fine) Quality 16 hours
High (SP) Quality 30 hours
Medium (LP) Quality 61 hours
Basic (EP) Quality 91 hours

This is what I saw with my old Maxtor 80GB drive. Shouldn't I see much more record time here??


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

Two possibilites: 
You didn't expand (-x) when you restored. Any possibility you left off the -x? If this is the problem, the solution is easy: move the drive back to the pc and run *mfsadd -x* on it.
The image on the drive has a "capacity lock". Some Pioneer units, and all Toshiba sd-h400 units shipped with a software "capacity lock" that prevented expansion to a larger drive. There is a tool to remove the lock (sd-h400_unlock) on most of the upgrade CDs. Again, this is something you can run now; you don't have to reimage your drive again. I know the Weaknees guide describes how to use it if you select sd-h400 as your model.


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## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

I tried the following:

mfsadd -x /dev/hdb

I go the message:

Current estimated standalone size: 282 hours
Nothing to add!

All looks good however, when I go to Tivo Central then Message & Settings then Settings then Recording then Record Quality I see the following:

Extreme (Fine) Quality 16 hours
High (SP) Quality 30 hours
Medium (LP) Quality 61 hours
Basic (EP) Quality 91 hours

This is what I saw with my old Maxtor 80GB drive. Shouldn't I see much more record time here??


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

Sounds like you are in case 2 then, and need to run sd-h400_unlock to unlock the additional capacity.


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## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

But I don't own a Toshiba SD-H400


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

DennisTheMenace7 said:


> But I don't own a Toshiba SD-H400


So? The tool works on the Pioneer models too.


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## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

sd-h400_unlock Not Found on the "Mfs Tools Boot CD 11.5MB with large drive support."

Where do I get sd-h400_unlock?


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

DennisTheMenace7 said:


> sd-h400_unlock Not Found on the "Mfs Tools Boot CD 11.5MB with large drive support."


Both the Weaknees and PTVUpgrade CD's include it. As I said before, the Weaknees guide includes complete insructions. Just select "Toshiba SD-H400" rather than the Pioneer 810H that you actual have.


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## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

Ok I got to step 4 on their WEB site. It shows a file called DiskUtil.exe? Is this what I need?

See:

"Download DISKUTIL.EXE. Save the file onto a bootable DOS floppy disk. With your TiVo drive(s) connected, boot the floppy."

If so I did what they said:

diskutil /PermUnlock 3"

I got an error "Time Out Error Aborting"

What now?

They don't clealy say how to get the "sd-h400_unlock -w /dev/hdZ"


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

DennisTheMenace7 said:


> Ok I got to step 4 on their WEB site. It shows a file called DiskUtil.exe? Is this what I need?
> 
> See:
> 
> ...


No, you don't want to use DiskUtil.exe. You want to use the sd-h400_unlock utility, as I've said many times already. You want to use the Weaknees or PTVUpgrade upgrade cd's (NOT the mfstools cd linked to by Hinsdale). I'd use the Weaknees cd if you are following their instructions.

Perhaps I'm not communicating clearly, but to me it seems like you aren't listening, and I'm getting frustrated. I'll step back and let someone else chime in to clarify.


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## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

JamieP thanks. If you would have said go to step 4 then" Download the Boot CD image of MFSTool 2.0 here with WeaKnees Large Kernel Support:

http://www.weaknees.com/weaknees_lba_boot_cd.iso"

Burn that ISO file to a CD and boot with it. Now type the command "sd-h400_unlock -w /dev/hdb" If your hard drive is on the Primary Slave"

JamieP I can follow directions as long as they are spelled out. Thanks for all your help. I will test sd-h400_unlock now and report back.


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

DennisTheMenace7 said:


> JamieP thanks. If you would have said go to step 4 then" Download the Boot CD image of MFSTool 2.0 here with WeaKnees Large Kernel Support:.
> .....


The Weaknees guide spelled all that out, including what CD iso image to download. I didn't see the need to repeat it, choosing instead to simply link to the instructions.

In any case, sounds like you are on track now. Here's to your next post being a success report.


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## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

I put the hard drive in TIVo, powered up and it just sits there saying"

"Welcome. Powering Up..."

I waited more then 20 minutes.

Seems like the "sd-h400_unlock -w /dev/hdb" did something wrong to the drive even though I did get success to unlock.

I even went back and did a :

mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdb

then did

sd-h400_unlock -w /dev/hdb

Same thing:

"Welcome. Powering Up..."

I don't know what else to but to just put my old Maxtor 80GB back in. Any ideas?

What am I doing wrong?


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

DennisTheMenace7 said:


> I put the hard drive in TIVo, powered up and it just sits there saying"
> 
> "Welcome. Powering Up..."
> 
> ...


The 'hangs at "Welcome. Powering Up..."' problems are very difficult to debug without serial console output. My best guess is that you messed up your disk when you tried to run diskutil on it.

If I were you, I'd give it one more try: restore your backup image to your new disk. Test it and be sure it works. If it doesn't work, there's either something wrong with your backup image, or with your disk. If it does work, then pull the disk and try running the sd-h400_unlock utility on it again. Test again. If that works, you are done. If it doesn't work, then the sd-h400_unlock utility seems to be the source of the problem. I've never had a report of a problem like this, so I think it is unlikely, but anything is possible. In this case, your best shot is to go find one of the magic Pioneer images that is already unlocked and restore from that. InstantCake or a replacement drive from one of the upgrade vendors may also be an option.


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## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

I don't think the diskutil.exe did anything. Remember I got an error that it timed out.

I put back the orginal drive and the new drive in the PC Using the ISo Cd I did:

mount /dev/hdW1 /mnt

mfsbackup -f 9999 -1so /mnt/backup.bak /dev/hdc (my orginal Maxtor 80GB)

mfsrestore -s 127 -r 4 -zxpi /mnt/backup.bak /dev/hdb (my new Western Digital 250GB)

Shut down by using CTRL-ALT-DELETE and waiting until the Linux has halted.

I put the new Western Digital 250GB in TIVO and it booted ok. But I'm still getting only.

Extreme (Fine) Quality 16 hours
High (SP) Quality 30 hours
Medium (LP) Quality 61 hours
Basic (EP) Quality 91 hours

Do I dare try "sd-h400_unlock -w /dev/hdb" again?? I really don't expect it to work. Been down that road before. 

What is the -w for?


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

Well, good. You verified that your drive is ok and you have a working backup image.

Your options are:
Give up. Go find an unlocked Pioneer image and restore that instead. Or buy an instant cake image or a pre-imaged hard drive
Try sd-h400_unlock again.

If you take option 2) and it still fails, you could send me your image and I could try to work through why it is failing. I don't have that hardware model, so I can't promise anything. I don't want to take the time to do this unless you try it one more time to be sure it really is a problem with the utility and not something you are doing wrong.

Otherwise, it is back to option 1). I know of no other options.

*sd-h400_unlock --help* will list out usage information, in particular:

```
Usage: sd-h400_unlock [-p path] [-c tivoclipsKB] [-u userKB] [-w] [device]

  This program unlocks the 80 hour lock on a Toshiba SD-H400 TiVo by modifying
  the Active DiskConfiguration object in the Media File System (MFS).

  The device should be a device file such as /dev/hdc.  If not present, the
  vplay MFS_DEVLIST environment variable is used.

  The default is to modify "/Config/DiskConfigurations/Active" and
  set the TiVoClips size to 10000000 and the User size to -1.  This reserves
  10 million K bytes for tivo clips (ads), and expands the  user area to fill
  the remaining  available space.

  [b]Without the -w option, the program is running in test mode: it will show you
  the changes it would make, but it won't write them to disk.[/b]
```


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## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

I took option 1:

Give up. Buy instant cake image. $19.99 for the download. Make sure you get the exact one for the Pioneer 810H Series 2. Therer are many to choose from.

Applied the image in just a few minutes. WOW!

I put the 250GB drive in TIVO and now shows:

Extreme (Fine) Quality 55 hours
High (SP) Quality 107 hours
Medium (LP) Quality 217 hours
Basic (EP) Quality 326 hours

Nice!

Only difficult part is redoing the TIVO settings which can take an hour or more. I did lose all my recordings but no big deal since I had most of them burnt on DVD. 

I still have no reason why I could not do it but InstantCake can.

For those of you struggling to expand your TIVO unit get InstantCake! Trust me, they didn't pay me to say that I paid them. LOL


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## BrianEWilliams (Apr 15, 2002)

Hard to believe that you didn't at least try Option 2 again, but I am glad you are happy. JamieP, you have the patience of a saint. 

I've saved this thread because it is a nice tutorial on what to do right, and what not to do.


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## DennisTheMenace7 (Dec 10, 2003)

Glad to be a learning tool Brian.

I wasn't about to try option 2 again since it didn't work before and I was getting tired of plugging the drive in and out of the TIVO a dozen times. You never know if you will break or disconnect something by accident in the TIVO the more times you put your fingers there. 

One other thing. Now that I have my new 250GB prepared with all my settings for TIVO should I make a new BAK file in the event of a future hard drive crash? 

Example:

mkdir /mnt/dos (Then I hit enter)

mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/dos (Then I hit enter)

mfsbackup -f 9999 -6so /mnt/dos/cake.bak /dev/hdb (Then I hit enter)

umount -f -a -r (Then I hit enter)

Ctrl+ Alt + Delete

Does these command look correct to do that? I know it will not backup my recordings but at least I can get another 250Gb hard drive up and running in no time flat.

Can these BAK files be moved around in a Windows enviroment? I would like to maybe burn them to CD or put them on another hard drive.


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

Your procedure looks OK for a backup. However, since you loaded your drive with Instantcake, the only reason to do this is to back up your settings and season passes. Otherwise, just reload from Instantcake.

Once you have put your backup on the fat32 drive, remove the TiVo drive. (This is important because if you boot windows with the TiVo drive connected, it writes a signature to the drive and makes the drive not bootable in the TiVo.)
Then boot windows with the fat32 drive connected. You should be able to see the files on that drive and move them around in Windows with no problems. Yes, you can back them up on CD.


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