# How do I access Tivo over LAN?



## dd_ (May 13, 2006)

Hello
And yes, I've searched for the answer and checked the above 'similar threads' (nice touch), several times actually, over previous months. Finally, I have to ask for help.
I can't access my Tivo internally over the LAN. Having read lots of pages of forums etc this morning (yawn, bed is calling), I've downloaded [email protected] to check what's on the network and the Tivo still seems to be on the old ip of 198.168.1.200 but if I type that in, I don't get the Tivo page like I used to. I thought it might be a laptop issue so I checked the PC, which used to 'see' Tivo and that also now can't. Something has happened, as the Tivo has now locked up, awaiting hard reboot - whether it's the [email protected] or me trying to access it from 2 machines, I don't know.
Once it's back on the network, I need to do some memory clearance and learn how to use various bits and pieces that the 'new' HD enables. And yes, I could see the Tivo after fitting the 'new' HD.
Tivo has 512mb cache & network card (obviously), err.....what else... it is making daily calls over broadband, no problems there. The broadband runs into a Linksys wireless router and the Tivo is connected via cable.

Any help is most welcome. I'm not that technical, so apologies if I've missed anything, keep answers moderately simple and apologies if for some reason I'm being a complete dunderheid.

Long live Tivo and long live TC (and all the other great sites). Thanks all.

PS, is it still possible to buy lifetime subscriptions (&#163;200ish I think)? And if so, will Tivo (ie Sky) keep it going for that long? I don't know what the terms & conditions contracts quote, but I'm assuming Sky didn't agree to keep Tivo going for ever.


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## Cainam (May 25, 2004)

It sounds from your e-mail that you have recently installed a new hard disk? I am a bit confused as to where your problem lies.

I think you are saying that you put in a new hard drive fairly recently, and that while you could connect to it initially, you can no longer do so. Is that right?

If it is getting its calls over the internet OK, then that implies the drivers are installed and working OK. I would guess right now it is one of 2 things

1) Your PC is on a different network than your Tivo somehow

2) If the Tivo reboots multiple time in succession, it can delete everything in the /var/hack folder (which is where Tivoweb) normally resides. But it normally leave FTP and telnet access alone.

So we can test both of these things at once

a) From a command prompt on your PC can you ping the Tivo ok? i.e. if you type:
ping 192.168.1.200

what does it come up with?

b) Assuming that 'a' works, from a command prompt on your PC can you telnet the Tivo ok? i.e. if you type:
telnet 192.168.1.200

what does it come up with
c) Assuming that 'b' works, from the telnet prompt on your PC, what happens if you type
cd /var/hack
ls

It should be a starting point to narrow down the problem anyway!


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## johala_reewi (Oct 30, 2002)

You could fire up a command window on your PC and type in tracert 192.168.1.200
I assume you are running windows?

This will show you how far round your network tivo traffic gets.
Could point you in the direction of where the problem lies.


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

Go to www.tivo.com/mma and make a account if you didn't have one, with your tivo listed, there will be 2 checkboxes for transfer and download, check both. Then have tivo call in to tivo service on network or phone. You may need to do this several times, until in system infomation screen there should be "a,a,a" listed.

Then, you will need tivo desktop from the tivo site, which lets you transfer back and forth on tivo.


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

ThAbtO, 
Unfortunately we only have S1 tivos here in the UK ... so no fancy stuff like tivo desktop etc



dd_ said:


> PS, is it still possible to buy lifetime subscriptions (£200ish I think)?
> And if so, will Tivo (ie Sky) keep it going for that long? I don't know what the terms & conditions contracts quote, but I'm assuming Sky didn't agree to keep Tivo going for ever.


Yes you can still buy a £200 lifetime, but although you ring sky to process payments and support, 
the dialup service itself is not provided by sky.


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

mikerr said:


> ThAbtO,
> Unfortunately we only have S1 tivos here in the UK ... so no fancy stuff like tivo desktop etc
> 
> Yes you can still buy a £200 lifetime, but although you ring sky to process payments and support,
> the dialup service itself is not provided by sky.


Well, he never mentioned what model tivo he has.


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## ...coolstream (Dec 10, 2005)

dd_ said:


> I've downloaded [email protected] to check what's on the network and the Tivo still seems to be on the old ip of 198.168.1.200 but if I type that in, I don't get the Tivo page like I used to.


Am I right in thinking that you had tivoweb installed on your old HDD? Is that what you are referring to?

If so, does the new HDD have tivoweb installed?


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## dd_ (May 13, 2006)

Hi both. Many thanks for your responses.
When I say 'new' I just meant 'not original'. Sorry, my fault.

I replaced the HD a few years ago and tested the LAN connection (using TivoWeb presumably) but never really used it. Now I want to try to do some captures and also learn how to connect remotely to it (will be away at college and Tivo will be at home).... and bang it's gone.

Ok, your observations:

1) PC, laptop & Tivo are on the same network. Have a look at the attached 'Tivo [email protected] image' to verify.
2) Although I have no idea what a /var/hack folder is, that sounds emminently possible. Sometimes, when Tivo has rebooted, there is no sound, so I have to do a restart, sometimes more than once; from what you're saying, this may well have wiped Tivoweb.

So, testing (see 'Tivo cmd image' for screen cap)
a) Tivo pings ok, 1 or 2ms (strangely, [email protected] reports 10-70ms and makes Tivo lock up, but perhaps it's using larger packets - I'll just use the command prompt next time, much easier).
b) Telnet gives
bash-2.02#
c) cd /var/hack gives
No such file or directory

I think that confirms point 2) above.

Tracert gives:
1	1ms	1ms	1ms	192.168.1.200
Trace complete


Once again, thanks for your help. What's next?


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## dd_ (May 13, 2006)

Wow, more replies...

ThAbtO: as mikerr said, unfortunately we can only really use old Series 1 Tivos in the UK (later ones are apparently possible with much pain, heartache and hard work).

mikerr: thanks for the info. At present I don't subscribe but after I've moved, I may need to. Who is the dialup service provided by? Do they also supply the internet version?
Just bookmarked your site, too, for future reference. Wow, 1000Gb drives in a Tivo, what a thought.

...coolstream: I had everything installed on the 'replacement' drive (old drive was original quiet 40Gb and had diddly squat):
- mode 0, I think that's some sort of LCD/plasma/HighDef enhancement which kicks in if you select "High Quality"
- TivoWeb
- err... can't remember what else
From what we've discovered above, it seems probable that Tivoweb and it's directory have gone gawn gonn. Shame.
Can't believe you were up and on a forum at half 3 in the morning! I thought 6.30am was bad.

Quick side question: can someone please direct me to the latest/definitive article on Sky requesting PIN numbers for movies during the day. I've done a fair bit of searching but a lot of what I find is quite old; apparently this has been going on for a long time, despite Sky saying that they'd sort something out (that was years back). I also read someone saying it might be possible to hack an 'add 0000 to each channel request', having set your PIN at 0000. Anyway, if anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd be most grateful. I'm sick of missing good daytime films because of Sky demonstrating a total lack of common sense. Yes, I'm aware of the child issue, but there should be an option to disable. Grrrr.....

Thanks all.


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## martink0646 (Feb 8, 2005)

ThAbtO said:


> Well, he never mentioned what model tivo he has.


Hi ThAbtO,

We never bother mentioning models because we all have the same one!!! an ancient S1. If you happen to find yourself in the UK section again (and you are most welcome) this is why!

Martin


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## staffie2001uk (Apr 1, 2004)

dd_ said:


> b) Telnet gives
> bash-2.02#
> c) cd /var/hack gives
> No such file or directory


I don't think there is anything wrong with your TiVo or the networking, you just don't have TiVoWeb installed on this HD, or if you did a system reset has erased your hack folder.

Either way, you need to install TiVoWeb to be able to "see" your TiVo on the web.

Get an FTP client if you don't already have one(I use FileZilla) and use it to install TiVOWeb.

You can get TiVoWeb 1.9.4 from http://www.angelfire.com/darkside/wanker/ or http://www.swanstep.f2s.com/tivo//download/twinst.zip

Hope this helps.


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## ...coolstream (Dec 10, 2005)

Glad that we have the problem established now 

As has been suggested, an install of tivoweb is the next step. 

The default directory is var\hack hence the reason for the suggestion to check for it.

There are times when tivo throws a wobble and deletes this directory, so when you eventually get tivoweb and any additional modules installed, it would be worthwhile doing a search for backing up tivoweb. 

Some people prefer to backup automatically via a script, others do it manually, either way, it saves a lot of work. Whichever you choose, someone here will be able to help if required.


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## dd_ (May 13, 2006)

Ok. Just looking for info now, re. Filezilla "...and use it to install TiVOWeb"; that may be second nature to some but not everyone.

After I've found a good guide to the setting up/using of ftp, I'll do a search for "backing up tivoweb", as you say, it could be handy. Backing up "via a script" is again, something I will have to look up, as that means nothing to me at present.

Right, back to searching for ftp instructions. I'll let you know how it goes. Many thanks for help thus far.


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## ...coolstream (Dec 10, 2005)

Thought I'd reply now to prove that I am online during the day too and just in case I forget later on.

'manual backup' involves installing a few things then with one click on the PC, the backup is made.
'automatic backup' basically has a program running on tivo at a set time to make the backup for you.

If you get stuck, PM me for my details and I could talk you through the process over the phone.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/archive/index.php/t-344326.html
For installing tivoweb, look for twinst.zip It has a good readme with all the instructions you should need.

As far as transferring the setup files to tivo is concerned, I have never bothered with external programs and use windows' inbuilt ftp.
Use 'My Network Places' and 'Add a network place'. Use tivo IP and no password is required unless you later on decide to use one.


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## dd_ (May 13, 2006)

Ha. Another nocturnal creature. Glad to know I'm not alone.
I'll have to have a look at the 'manual backup' issue; I don't know where to start, so I may go for the telephone support option! 

After some shenanigans and tomfoolery, I somehow muddled through ftp, Filezilla, twinst and 2 reboots later, I've got Tivoweb back, so many thanks to everyone who gave willingly of time and effort. Later, I'll expand on what I did, as to a non-techie person like me, it wasn't straight forward. That way, I, or any other less gifted person, might not need to bother you guys next time.

Thanks once again. Now I can start learning (playing). Where's my tytools.....
...coolstream, I'll PM you about the 'manual backup', once I've gone to bed. Oops.


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## ...coolstream (Dec 10, 2005)

I've made a package for you to help you install and use TyTools. It also includes help with streaming from TiVo which you would probably also want to do.

http://rapidshare.com/files/171455401/mods4dd.rar


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## dd_ (May 13, 2006)

Ah, what a star you are. I've just had a quick gander through that and it looks pretty idiot proof (ha, just wait).
Tivoweb wasn't launching today, so went through some of the instructions on Steve Conrads page and hopefully have made it so that Tivoweb reopens automatically without needing to telnet to it. I don't understand what I did, or what I just said, but it made sense at the time. 

I'll give your Tytools a whirl when my brain has cooled down. Between this, working on the car in zero temperatures (probably nothing like as cold as Scotland, I know), making bread, and packing up, ready to move house, I'm now drained. Need bed.
Many thanks for putting that together, I really appreciate it.


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## ...coolstream (Dec 10, 2005)

Did you manage to get it to work?

(I've been out of circulation the last few days hence my late reply)


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## dd_ (May 13, 2006)

Me too - packing, bills, van hire, etc etc. I'll be glad when it's all done.

Right.
Part 1, Start Up editor. After uploading the file to Tivo, you say: 
"Don't forget to click 'Save' and restart TiVo after you have made the changes."
Save, where? Restart Tivo, fine and dandy, on the remote, or telnet. Fine. But 'Save'?
I searched the FileZilla GUI and couldn't see a 'Save' anywhere, or is the a command line function?

I went on to part 2, but couldn't find the 'TServer' folder you mentioned. I assume that's because part 1 didn't save.

I told you this wouldn't be easy!

Thanks once again for your help (and patience).
dave


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## ...coolstream (Dec 10, 2005)

dd_ said:


> Me too - packing, bills, van hire, etc etc. I'll be glad when it's all done.
> 
> Right.
> Part 1, Start Up editor. After uploading the file to Tivo, you say:
> ...


Ask someone to stand by you when you try this again.
Ask that person to be wearing a big boot on their right foot.
Make the changes again as described in my instructions.
Bend over.
Scroll down.

Tell person to start kicking!!!!!!  
Part 2 tserver etc

looks like I missed out something important in my instructions,

there is a folder called *put these files on tivo*. _The subfolders indicate where they should go on TiVo._

So to get them onto TiVo, all you have to do is ftp them over to their respective subfolders.

Once you have these necessary files on TiVo and have saved the newly configured startup file, you can reboot TiVo.

Fingers crossed that I haven't missed out anything else


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## dd_ (May 13, 2006)

...coolstream and everyone - many thanks for your previous assistance.
I've only just got Tivo out of storage and back into use, so am pretty much back to square one again now, as Tivo is stuck in Guided Setup, won't connect by phone/internet and I can't see it on the network. Up until I went down the "no way out" nightmare that is the Guided Setup (why oh why oh why), it was working fine as a recorder and the Silicondust splashscreen suggests that the cachecard was working.
I'll have a search and see if I can help myself but any pointers are welcome.

Good to be back, even if I'm still a dunderheid and still stuck in the back of (Welsh) beyond.


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## AMc (Mar 22, 2002)

If it were mine I would take the drive out, connect it to a PC and run the cachecard drivers from a linux CD to get the network configuration to a known IP, gateway and address
http://forum.technicalpeak.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11

I believe that a networked Tivo will revert to dialup if you phyiscally remove the cachecard. That would presumably get you through the guided setup but no further.


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## dd_ (May 13, 2006)

Looks technical. Still.... if I do have to go down that route, I'll just take it one step at a time.
Wow, that does look like a good post with an excellent link and even seems to have a link to the fabled image! Thanks for that. Not sure which image I'd need though... probably the basic driver installed by PC.
I'd like to do a search to see what comes up on my wee network here. But having been out of touch with techie things for the last year, I'll have to wade through threads and forums and remind myself how to do that.

Good point about removing the cachecard - I'd have thought that it would try the network first, then modem, but perhaps that's too obvious. I know it seemed to *jump* with joy at the network connection without me needing to tell it. It'd be good if it worked the same in reverse!

Thanks for the suggestions there, I may have no option but to try that. 3 shredded wheat for brekkie that day, methinks.


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