# Please dont hate me - How to hack my tivo S2?



## marksimons (Oct 12, 2006)

I am sure this has been asked an answered somehow or some way.. I have googled my eyes out.. I have tried a million things.. I have spent $ 20.00 bucks on the PTVupgrade Universal boot disk.. and now I am at your mercy for help.

I have sucessfully made a backup of a 40gb Series 2 TCD540040. I have then followed the instructions on how to copy the kernel (tried 7.2.2 & 4.0.1a) and setup the rc.sysint.author file to turn on FTP and telnet.

When I boot up it goes to a solid white background.

I want to be able to install TivoWebPlus, but everything assues you already are able to either FTP or Telnet. When I do google searches for enable telnet I get old stuff or incorrect stuff, the one article that talked about the copy kernel stuff said to use partition 4 of the tivo which didnt work so I found another that said parition 7.

Then I see things like killhdinitrd but not sure if I am suppose to use that or not.

I would be happy to create a new how to guide to update to to currect tivo tech if I could only figure it out.

I just bought a dual tuner Tivo, almost afraid to even try messing with that one.

Again if I missed some here is how you do it stupid page that gives all the insights I am sorry.. Just confused and frustrated.

Thanks!


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

The 540040 will require a PROM mod in order to hack it. This involves unsoldering the chip from the board and installing it with a socketed version that has been programmed to enable hacking. This is a job best left to experts as you can turn your Tivo into a doorstop in the blink of an eye. If you want a Tivo you can hack then I would suggest you look for an older model. This also applies to your new dual tuner Tivo.


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## marksimons (Oct 12, 2006)

Atleast I am not going crazy, so is there anyplace that has an updated list as to which ones can be hacked and so forth? How about somplace with better or more up to date how to files? Seems endless searching will drive people insane.

Thanks again.


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## vMAC (Aug 5, 2006)

Uhmm it says this right on the top of the Hacking your Series 2 Tivo thread:

" WORKS ON THE FOLLOWING TIVOS
Hughes HDVR2, SD-DVR40/80/120
Phillips DSR7000, DSR704, DSR708
RCA DVR39, DVR40, DVR80, DVR120
Samsung SIR-S4040R, SIR-S4080R,
SIR-S4120R
Phillips HR10-250 (see note below"

Your tivo isn't on that list and therefore isn't hackable. Searching is a part of everyday life, all th einfo is here on this site. So you don't need google, I've found an answer to everything that I have asked on this site. Just use the search this forum button.


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## marksimons (Oct 12, 2006)

Yeah and if you google how to hack a tivo you get sites like the one that states clearly at the top :

How to hack your Tivo Series 2 (AT&T/Tivo/Comcast model) w/HMO to stream content to your computer.


Which I have, a Series 2 TIVO version, does not go into the different models of the Series 2.

No need to be a smart ass, I am not a novice by any means but again there is no clear site as to what can and can not be hacked. A lot of the posts are dated by months or longer.

Also, if I seem to be in a haze, and I have spent hours trying to figure this out, others I am sure are having issues as well, maybe some help instead of critisim would be nice.


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

vMAC said:


> Your tivo isn't on that list and therefore isn't hackable.


False. Those are all dtivo's. Many SA Series 2's are hackable without a PROM mod, just not with that particular tool.

I'd suggest the OP look for a 240 model. Actually, any model that starts with 2 rather than 5 is hackable without replacing the PROM. The 5xx models are considered "Series 2.5" and have extra security measures that make them harder to hack.


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## ttodd1 (Nov 6, 2003)

vMAC said:


> Uhmm it says this right on the top of the Hacking your Series 2 Tivo thread:
> 
> " WORKS ON THE FOLLOWING TIVOS
> Hughes HDVR2, SD-DVR40/80/120
> ...


His Tivo is not on that list because it is a SA Tivo not a DTivo. The list you are referring to is for DTivo hacking.


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## Finnstang (Sep 11, 2003)

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=254550&


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## ttodd1 (Nov 6, 2003)

Forgot about that thread.


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

Finnstang said:


> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=254550&


Hey, the S3 (648) isn't on that list, so it must be software hackable, right?


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## Finnstang (Sep 11, 2003)




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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

marksimons said:


> No need to be a smart ass, I am not a novice by any means but again there is no clear site as to what can and can not be hacked. A lot of the posts are dated by months or longer.


Age does not change the accuracy, unless it is not updated. Although that list is just missing the S3, the rest of the entries still require a PROM mod aslo.

In a nutshell though, anything beginning with a 5 or higher requires a PROM hack to work.

Right now though, IMO, there isn't a big drive to hack S2 Standalones, as they do quite a bit unhacked.


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