# Upgrading Series 2 Standalone



## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

Hi...

I am in the midst of upgrading a Series 2 24008A unit. I have purchased a 300 GB HD (Comp USA) and a twinbreeze kit (Weaknees) and I am in the home stretch of this upgrade but can not get the HD to be fully blessed. I have tried the Dylan solution only to find out that the HD will only bless 127GB (apparently a limit to Linux floppy booting). Using the Weaknees upgrade instructions I am told to download an .iso image and burn a bootable CD. Nero does not work as it is looking for an .IMA image and I don't have Easy CD Creator so burning a bootable is out (unless you folks have a solution for me).

This leads me to just buying a CD from one of the vendors (9th Tee, Weaknees, PTV, etc.). I frankly don't know what software package I will need (MSTools 2.0 CD, Universal Boot CD Version 11, PTVupgrade LBA48 4.04 with Enhancements)? 

I have read many threads, in the end I am just confused.

HELP!

Regards,
Jim


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

I thought Nero had a way to burn an ISO image. Try double-clicking on the ISO image. This should load the file and start Nero. Then you should just need to hit burn to burn the image.

I assume that you are adding the 300GB as a second drive. You need an LBA48 boot CD like the ptvupgrade you mention or the weaknees that you downloaded. Once you boot the CD with the two TiVo drives connected to your PC, all you should need to do is run

mfsadd -x /dev/hdX /dev/hdY

You will have to substitute the X and Y for the correct letters associated with where your drives are connected.


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## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

you wnat the ptvupgrade image. I had used the wekness image first but it did not have tpip and so I could not make a swap larger than 127 meg.


So get the ptvupgrade iso. It had everything I needed. 
I have DVD decrypter on my PC (open source stuff) and right clicking on the ISO showed it was ready to burn the CD.


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

Ok...sorry to be thick -- but which one do I get:

PTVupgrade Universal Boot CD 11c 
PTVupgrade LBA48 CD v4.04 
PTVupgrade LBA48 CD v4.04 Enhancements 

Jim


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

The middle one.

Of note, the boot floppy is limited because of the kernel on it, not because it is a floppy.


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

Hi guys.

Worked great. Put the system back together and powered up.
It is going through so type cycle where it goes to the
1. "Welcome, powering up..." screen.
2. Goes then to the orange "almost there" screen.
3. Then it goes to a green screen that says there is a "serious problem which Tivo is trying to fix." The message says that it will take about three hours and if it doesn't restart that we are to call Customer Support.

Is this normal?

Jim


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

Do you mean that it is in a loop repeating 1,2, and 3? This is not normal. Not sure what could have happened, but there are probably a lot of possibilities at this point. At this point, the programs that are stored on the TiVo are probably not recoverable. I would put the drives into the PC, make a backup of the TiVo drives. If you have another drive to try, use that drive. You can use the single 300GB drive, but once you split the pair, the single drive will no longer be useable.

Look at these instructions for detailed help: http://tivo.upgrade-instructions.com/index.php

You can continue to use the ptvupgrade boot CD with these instructions.


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

Hi folks.

Been a very long day. Ok here is what is going on.

First, re-ran through the boot disk and set everything up appropriately. After running the mfsadd -x /dev/hdb /dev/hdd it come up with a total of 441 hours (the B drive was an 80GB and the D drive is a 300GB). For this I am very happy.

The last time I did this the same way and the system was caught in a loop (as described above). I put it all back together again and it has the same loop resulting.

I wonder if the XP system overwrote the TIVO boot sector and now TiVo does not have information on the B drive (as per the "makeTiVobootable" note on Weaknees). If that is the case, how would I go about reloading the TiVobootable disk?

Thoughts anyone?


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## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

jj5484 said:


> Hi folks.
> 
> Been a very long day. Ok here is what is going on.
> 
> ...


did you get that part from Weakness that powers up the hard drives one after the other ? It could be a power supply issue for two harddrives. That is not definite but it is a possibility.

Try the 300gig by itself if you still get the Green Screen of Death (GSOD)


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

Yes...I did use the part from weaknees.

I also tried the following:
1. Tried only the 300 GB drive. Got to the "Welcome. Powering Up" screen...no further.
2. Replaced the 80 GB drive and disconnected the 300GB. Got to the "Welcome. Powering Up" screen...and then to the Orange TiVo screen...then back again. no further beyond that.

I am pretty sure there is no boot sector on either drive. Is there any way to restore to factory fresh. How would I go about using the "MakeTiVoBootable" program?

Jim


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

MakeTiVoBootable will not help you in this case. You would not get past the Welcome...powering up screen if this were the problem.

The TiVo will not run with the 80GB drive as it has been married to the 300GB drive. You would need to reload from a backup to get it to work.

If you have reloaded from a backup, and added the 300GB drive again, the booting problem is probably related to the partition size. When you expanded to the 300GB drive the first time, you created a 137Gb partition. So you should have been able to create another partition set on that drive. There is a 270GB or so single partition size limit with the default block size. If you have reloaded the 300GB drive, you would need to use the -r 4 switch with mfsadd to change the block size to get around the 270GB limit. This may be the reason that your TiVo is not booting.

If you have a backup, you would need to start again. Use the weaknees instructions that I referenced.


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

No backup. What are my options?


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

You could get Instantcake from ptvupgrade.com (about $20). You need the correct version for your model TiVo.

However, you might be able to back up your existing two drives and then restore them to another drive or just to the 300 GB. You will need a Fat32 formatted drive.

mount /dev/hda1 /mnt
mfsbackup -f 9999 -1so /mnt/backup.bak /dev/hdb /dev/hdd

mfsrestore -s 127 -r 4 -zxpi /mnt/backup.bak /dev/hdd

This assumes you keep the drives in the same locations as you had them in one of your previous posts.


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

Last evening I purchased InstantCake and went to work. Fantastic tool as it worked straight away. The only issue is that the total number of hours went from 441 down to 246. I reran the PTVupgrade cd checking out each drive using <shift><pageup>. Both were properly represented (81963 MB and 300069 MG respectively). When I ran the mfsadd -x /dev/hdc /dev/hdd (utilizing new drive positions to match what was needed for InstantCake) it came back confirming the 246.

Is there anyway to recoup the remaining drive space?

Sorry to be such a neophite. I can testify that you can read all the threads in the world but until you are into it, you don't really understand (barring an engineering degree in which case you might be able to conceptualize without all the pain).


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

Did you try it in the TiVo and check the number of hours?

From the mfstools boot disk you could try running 
mfsinfo /dev/hdc /dev/hdd
(I think that is the correct syntax, I don't use it much)
This will give you the sizes of all the TiVo partitions. They should add up to approximately the size of the drives.


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

Yes...it too came up with 246. Just seems low to me, especially when it earlier said 441.

Thoughts?


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

I ran the mfsinfo query as suggested. Here is what I found:

**********************************
The MFS Volume set contains 8 partitions.
/dev/hdc10
MFS Partition Size: 256MiB

/dev/hdc11
MFS Partition Size: 33375MiB

/dev/hdc12
MFS Partition Size: 256MiB

/dev/hdc13
MFS Partition Size: 41975MiB

/dev/hdc14
MFS Partition Size: 0MiB

/dev/hdc15
MFS Partition Size: 1784MiB

/dev/hdd2
MFS Partition Size: 0MiB

/dev/hdd3
MFS Partition Size: 131068MiB

Total MFS Volume Size: 208715MiB
Estimated hours in a standalone TiVo: 246
This volume may be expanded two more times.

************************************

The hdc is the standard 80GB HDD that came with the unit.
The hdd is the upgraded 300GB HDD.

Is there something I need to do here with all the partitions?
Is there something I can do to expand the 131 to the 300? FYI -- mfsadd -r 4 -x /dev/hdc /dev/hdd does not work.


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

It appears that you are not using an LBA48 boot disk. Are you sure that you are using the ptvupgrade LBA48 disk? Does Linux recognize the drive as 300GB or just 137GB?

If you are using an LBA48 boot disk, the mfsadd should add another partition set to fill the drive.


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

Ok...I just was tinkering withthe Hinsdale guide and ran the BlessTiVo utility. It came up with the full number but it didn't change the 246 at all.

Now the mfsinfo reads:
**********************************
The MFS Volume set contains 8 partitions.
/dev/hdc10
MFS Partition Size: 256MiB

/dev/hdc11
MFS Partition Size: 33375MiB

/dev/hdc12
MFS Partition Size: 256MiB

/dev/hdc13
MFS Partition Size: 41975MiB

/dev/hdc14
MFS Partition Size: 0MiB

/dev/hdc15
MFS Partition Size: 1784MiB

/dev/hdd2
MFS Partition Size: *4*MiB

/dev/hdd3
MFS Partition Size: *286164*MiB

Total MFS Volume Size: *363815*MiB
Estimated hours in a standalone TiVo: 246
This volume may be expanded two more times.
*************************************

I am struggling for my next step as mfsadd did not work to increase the hours.

Thoughts?


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

Did you try putting the drives in the TiVo? I think BlessTiVo needs the drives to be put into the TiVo to complete the operation, but I am not sure. I have not used BlessTiVo as mfsadd has always worked for me.


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

Installed it in the TiVo -- comes up as 248 hours.

The disk that I have been using is the PTVupgrade with LBA48 (the free one). I thought it would do the trick by running:
mfsadd -r 4 -x /dev/hdc /dev/hdd

No such luck.

In reading some older threads I came across one that said there were not enough partition pairs to allow for the expansion. Could this be the case?

I am totally stumped.


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

Very few Instantcake images support LBA48. The 4.0.x version does not. The 7.1x versions do. Which one did you buy?


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

ICAKE-S2SA
InstantCake for Series2 Standalone Units (the one that is for sale now).

I ran this first and ended up with 246 hours. I thought I would run the PTVupgrade LBA48 CD v4.04 CD to expand to the full drive. This did not work.

Do you think I need to $5.00 PTVupgrade LBA48 4.04 with Enhancements CD?


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

No, that's just a boot CD. It does not contain an image. 

I'm guessing you got the 4.0x Instantcake image. Here is what you need to do. I have done it several times and it works for me:

1. Rebake the 300 GB hard drive using Instantcake.
2. Put it back into Tivo, and perform a "clear and delete everything".
3. Keep forcing daily calls until Tivo downloads the 7.3.x software (it will be a long download, you should also get a new message indicating new OS is available).
4. Reboot the Tivo so it is now running the 7.3.x software. Using the Tivo menus, check to make sure it is definitely running the 7.3.x software (if not, repeat step #3).
5. Pull the hard drive out of Tivo and put it back into the PC.
6. Using the free PTVUpgrade CD you already have, perform an "mfsadd -r 4 -x /dev/hdX" on the 300 GB hard drive where "X" is a,b,c, or d (depends on how you connected the hard drive to the PC).
7. Put the hard drive back into Tivo. You should now have all of the hours.

This should work. Let us know if it doesn't. Good luck!


Note that you prbably won't be able to add another hard drive in the future, but with 300 GB who cares?


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

OK...

With regard to the rebake the 300 GB hard drive using Instantcake -- do you want me to rebake both the 80GB and the 300GB at the same time (2 drive setup...or just the 300 alone and hence a 1 drive setup)?

The rest of it looks like it is pretty straight-forward.


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

It will really work either way. If you want both drives, rebake the 80GB. Put it in the TiVo and verify the software version. As said above, wait for 7.3.x to download and install. Then pull the drive and use the ptv LBA48 CD and run mfsadd to add the second drive.


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

Hi guys...

First off, I want to thank everyone for the help that you have given me thus far. I was able to rebake the 80GB drive, clear and delete everything, and then got stuck because, I found out the TiVo will not allow a digital phone line to connect. After using a neighbor's phone and TV for a couple hours and forcing the connection, the drive did in fact download 7.3x OS.

This morning it loaded up and I was again in business. After work I came home and ran the PTV Upgrade CD as prescribed. Again everything worked on the first try...so thank you...441 hours seen straight away.

I put it back in the system and turned on my new HUGE TiVo. After a studder step where I didn't connect everything up the first time thru, I rechecked my connections. All is working great. Thank you so much for all the help!

Jim


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

Did you use the -r 4 in mfsadd? It is needed. If not you will need to start again. However, I think you will be able to avoid the process of rebaking and going to the neighbors.

Use mfsbackup to make a backup of the current two drive set.

Restore that to the 80GB drive and verify that it works.

If that works, then used mfsadd with the -r 4 to add the 300GB and verify that it works.


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## jj5484 (Aug 27, 2006)

Yeah...just made a stupid mistake on my part. After connecting everything up, I missed one of the HDD power lines. After snapping it in place, it all worked as prescribed.

You folks have been awesome with all the answers.

Thanks again.


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