# JMFS Crashes During Boot



## mdkrough (Oct 25, 2009)

I've used JMFS V1.04 before with no trouble. I've purchased a new computer and JMFS won't run on it. Crashes during boot. Displays 'Loading /boot/initrd.gz.........................................Ready'. Then my computer shuts down.

I have;
ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 Motherboard
AMD FX-6300 CPU
GeForce 210 Video Card with 1G RAM
8GB Ram

Any thoughts what might be causing JMFS to shut down?


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

mdkrough said:


> I've used JMFS V1.04 before with no trouble. I've purchased a new computer and JMFS won't run on it. Crashes during boot. Displays 'Loading /boot/initrd.gz.........................................Ready'. Then my computer shuts down.
> 
> I have;
> ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 Motherboard
> ...


Was the previous machine an Intel CPU by any chance?

(Of course you were supposed to save the old one to use as a dedicated TiVo drive wrangling machine.)

As an experiment, try booting with the Ultimate Boot CD if you made yourself one of those, or with your od copy of the MFS Live cd v1.4 if you have that on hand.


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## mdkrough (Oct 25, 2009)

Thanks for the quick reply

Yep. Wouldn't have a problem if I had saved the old computer (also AMD)! D'oh!

Tried booting from MFS Live v1.4. Same deal. Starts to boot then shuts down. Loading inittramfs.gz, I think.

I also set up a USB thumb drive to boot JMFS. Same thing. Starts to boot, then shuts down. Symptoms don't change, except it all happens faster.

I can boot other software like Clonezilla from CD or USB Drive.
And of course Windows runs just fine from the C: drive.


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## jmbach (Jan 1, 2009)

Looks like you are going to have to find a version of Linux that boots in your computer and compile JMFS from source. Or you can boot JMFS in a virtual machine on your computer and hook the drives up via a SATA to USB adapter to a USB 2 port (unless you know your virtual machine supports eSata or USB 3 ports) and run JMFS that way.


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## mdkrough (Oct 25, 2009)

My plan is to update to a 2.0TB drive on my TCD648250. Use JMFS to move up in 2 stages (using a 1.0TB drive as an intermediate step) so that I don't exceed the 1.2TB partition size boundary or the 16 partition limit. But reading some other posts, it looks like TiVo has upgraded it's Linux to a kernel that doesn't crash on partitions bigger than 1.2TB. Is that correct?

If I use WinMFS, I can use MFSadd and create a 1.6TB partition. Will TiVo work correctly with this larger partition?

Does this same process work on still larger drives? A 3.0TB drive? 4.0TB drive?


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## jmbach (Jan 1, 2009)

You can just go straight to the 2TB drive without an intermediary drive as long as you are on 11.0k or later. 
JMFS only works on the TiVo HD series S3. WinMFS works just fine.


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## mdkrough (Oct 25, 2009)

Great. Thanks! WinMFS is the way I'll go.

What's the max partition size that TiVo will work with now?


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

mdkrough said:


> My plan is to update to a 2.0TB drive on my TCD648250. Use JMFS to move up in 2 stages (using a 1.0TB drive as an intermediate step) so that I don't exceed the 1.2TB partition size boundary or the 16 partition limit. But reading some other posts, it looks like TiVo has upgraded it's Linux to a kernel that doesn't crash on partitions bigger than 1.2TB. Is that correct?
> 
> If I use WinMFS, I can use MFSadd and create a 1.6TB partition. Will TiVo work correctly with this larger partition?
> 
> Does this same process work on still larger drives? A 3.0TB drive? 4.0TB drive?


I went down that road with my first 652 (S3 HD), but it's no longer necessary, as has been pointed out, as long as you're running at least 11.0h, and by now you should have been updated to k and then to m.

Use WinMFs to copy the current drive to the 2TB.

When it finishes (and it may appear frozen for a while before it does--just leave it be and it'll get there eventually), it'll say you've got extra space and ask if you want to expand.

Tell it no.

Seriously, do not tell it to expand at this point.

You will have selected the original drive in order to be able to copy it.

Go back and now select the 2TB drive.

Go to File, mfsinfo, and make sure everything looks okay.

You could hook the new drive up in the TiVo to test it if you wanted to and come back to expand later.

But if you want to go ahead and do it now, you have the 2TB selected and you just checked with mfsinfo, now go to File, mfsadd to expand.

Why does it need to be done as a separate step? I do not know. I do know that sometimes doing as the final part of the copy process appears to work but actually doesn't.


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## jmbach (Jan 1, 2009)

That is complicated. The max partition size that "TiVo" can handle is 0xffffffff because that is how large a partition can be described in the APM. But the total aggregated partition size is limited by the type of MFS structure that resides on the TiVo. A 32bit MFS can only go up to 2.2TB. A 64bit MFS can go much higher. Premieres can go to 4TB (mainly because of the limit of the 32bit APM it uses.) In theory the TiVo HD line should go up to that as well. Someone has tried to take a TiVo HD over 2.2TB with WinMFS but it did not work. I am not sure WinMFS can handle modifying larger images correctly. I know JMFS can and am waiting for someone to try it. If it doesn't work when expanded with JMFS, then perhaps there is something else is amiss.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

jmbach said:


> That is complicated. The max partition size that "TiVo" can handle is 0xffffffff because that is how large a partition can be described in the APM. But the total aggregated partition size is limited by the type of MFS structure that resides on the TiVo. A 32bit MFS can only go up to 2.2TB. A 64bit MFS can go much higher. Premieres can go to 4TB (mainly because of the limit of the 32bit APM it uses.) In theory the TiVo HD line should go up to that as well. Someone has tried to take a TiVo HD over 2.2TB with WinMFS but it did not work. I am not sure WinMFS can handle modifying larger images correctly. I know JMFS can and am waiting for someone to try it. If it doesn't work when expanded with JMFS, then perhaps there is something else is amiss.


What's complicated? The 2 step, expand separately, WinMFS technique?


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## jmbach (Jan 1, 2009)

Apparently you posted your response to one of his questions and I to another. Since I did not quote him there in lies the confusion. I was answering this question


mdkrough said:


> What's the max partition size that TiVo will work with now?


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## mdkrough (Oct 25, 2009)

WinMFS did the trick. Thanks guys!!


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## billbillw (Aug 15, 2005)

Ran into this exact issue today. I replaced my kid's computer a few months back. The old one, which was a low end Core 2 Duo with basic MSI board always worked fine. The newer AMD system is a no go. 

Luckily I kept the parts. Had to rig it up like this today.

I suppose I didn't read down far enough into the thread to see that it can now be done with WinMFS... Oh well. It only took me 10 minutes to dig up the parts and get it copying. It would have taken me just as long to install WinMFS and figure it out since I haven't used it in about 6 years.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

billbillw said:


> Ran into this exact issue today. I replaced my kid's computer a few months back. The old one, which was a low end Core 2 Duo with basic MSI board always worked fine. The newer AMD system is a no go.
> 
> Luckily I kept the parts. Had to rig it up like this today:
> 
> ...


That looks just like my desk, only better organized.


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