# How to force a software update



## csp122

I've got a DSR7000 that I haven't used since March 2005... Earlier this weekend, I got it running again, and called DirecTV to re-enable it on my account, but... It's been a few days and the software version is still listed as 3.1.1e-01-2-101 version from early 2005. Unfortunately, this version does not include the DST patch, so all of my "manual" recordings appear to be off by an hour. Is there any way to force a DirecTiVo to update it's software?


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## JimSpence

You may need to give it more time as it will most likely need to get the latest software from the phone line. It is plugged into a phone, right?


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## rbtravis

Software update may not work with the Philips DSR7000/17, Mine has been plugged into the phone line for four months with no update (tried to force many times). Directv stated it has been having trouble with that model. Good Luck


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## Dkerr24

Change your time zone to one further east to fix your problem until the next DST change. If you're already on EST, that won't work, either.


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## rbtravis

If all you want is to fix your time zone you can purchase Instantcake from www.DVRupgrade.com, Warning it will destroy all saved items. It will install 6.2a image on the disk. Suggest you use your current disk as a backup and install it on a new drive as hard disks are currently inexpensive. The larger the drive, the more you can save. Good Luck whatever you decide.


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## csp122

It's essentially a stock DSR7000 (the power supply has been replaced) with a wired phone connection, and two satellite coax cables... I'm getting program guide data (including locals), but no software updates yet.

I was under the impression that software updates were delivered via the modem, and that all of the TiVos (Standalone as well as DirecTV) phone home (to TiVo) for these updates... Is TiVo aware that people with DSR7000s are not able to obtain updates? What do us DirecTiVo customers do now that the two companies are in direct competition with eachother?


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## JimSpence

I don't remember which software did this. But, one of them enabled future updates to come from the satellite. The versions were only available for a certain amount of time, at which point the version would be downloaded in pieces from phone calls. Once all pieces were downloaded then the next phone call would install the latest version. 

Although this probably would be an exercise in frustration, you should call DirecTV (not TiVo) and ask if the software version is still available from the sat (probably not) or from the phone.

And there is the InstantCake option.

Good luck.


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## John T Smith

I don't know about the DSR7000 (don't have one, so didn't look) but at least for the HR10-250 InstantCake how has a download ISO with 6.4a

http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/store...ategory_ID=5&page=prod&type=Model&ModelID=101


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## rbtravis

Instantcake does not currently support 6.4a for the DSR7000, I know because I have 2 and DVRupgrade as a policy refuses to discuss future plans.


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## tmenss

RBTRAVIS, one of your posts suggest using instantcake to get 6.4a image onto a hard drive then later you stae that Instant cake doesn't work. 

I'm buying an older but working DSR700 and just need to have a current working image. Can I just buy a new imaged drive rather than use Instant cake? Can I image and prepare a raw drive on my PC using other tools and then replace the older DSR700 drive?

thanks


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## rbtravis

I'm about to try winMFS from MFSlive.org. I have a Hughes HDVR2 that has 6.4a and I am going to attempt to back it up and then restore it to the DSR7000/17 both are non RID machines and see if that works. That is because DVRupgrade does not see doing it in the immediate future and I am tired of waiting. PM me your email and I will tell you if it works.


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## wedgecon

rbtravis said:


> Instantcake not currently supported for the DSR7000, I know because I have 2 and DVRupgrade refuses to discuss future plans.


That does not appear to be true, Instantcake is still available for the DSR7000 and the DSR7000R. Of course they are for version 6.2a, but version 6.4 appears to only be available for the HR10-250.

Is the DSR7000/17 different than the other two models?


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## rbtravis

wedgecon said:


> That does not appear to be true, Instantcake is still available for the DSR7000 and the DSR7000R. Of course they are for version 6.2a, but version 6.4 appears to only be available for the HR10-250.
> 
> Is the DSR7000/17 different than the other two models?


The thread topic is how to force an update to 6.4a which is not currently supported by Instantcake, only 6.2a is, which is many versions back, but the last version which would support MRV if you wanted to hack the unit with Zipper. which I do not. If you look on the back of the unit left of the fan you will see the manufacturers tag where it says Philips Model Number and you will see which unit you have.


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## tivoupgrade

wedgecon said:


> That does not appear to be true, Instantcake is still available for the DSR7000 and the DSR7000R. Of course they are for version 6.2a, but version 6.4 appears to only be available for the HR10-250.
> 
> Is the DSR7000/17 different than the other two models?


This is correct. InstantCake is definitely offered for the DSR7000 product, as well as all of the SD DirecTiVo boxes. We've not released a 6.4 version of the product, however as we've not received those updates on our units.

Using the 6.2a version on your system should work fine and your unit should automatically update to 6.4 provided its authorized to do so by DIRECTV. Apparently, some units never receive the updates (I know ours didn't) so its not looking like 6.4 was never fully released for all of the platforms.

The DSR7000/17 is exactly the same as the DSR7000 / DSR7000R from a software perspective - use the first three digits of your service ID as an indication of what software you need (ie as long as the first three digits are the same, then the software required is the same)...

Lou


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## rock_doctor

Personally, i prefer the instant cake to stay with 6.2a as that is (imho) the last stable version of the software. Plus since 6.4a is still available from D* those who want to convert up to 6.4a can just let the TiVo auto update and those who want to stay with 6.2a can just bake it and leave it unplugged. 6.4 is still in the mix as i allowed (unfortunately) a redone hard drive to update less then two weeks ago. It did it over the phone line and first call after turning on the unit.


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## rbtravis

How to do a forced upgrade to 6.4a
This method requires two series II Directv Tivo's one of which has received the upgrade. Remove the power cables to each unit
Remove the hard drives from both units. Place the hard drive that received the upgrade aside. There will be no changes to that unit. Place the hard drive from the unit that failed to receive the upgrade into the unit that had received the upgrade. connect the cables to that unit, power and data. Make sure the phone line is connected to the unit that received the upgrade. Apply the power cord to that unit. Connect to DVR service and force upgrade, it should happen automatically. Be Patience, my download took 2 hours. keep checking system information. first it will show phone in use, followed by pending restart. Disconnect the power cord. place the hard drives in the original machines. When the previously bad restarts it will restart twice on its own and load and configure 6.4a. It is during the configuration that it will first read your access card and tie it to your machine. It will also determine what model you are running and put that into system information. That is why you only let it restart in the old box. good luck and happy viewing.


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## innocentfreak

rock_doctor said:


> Personally, i prefer the instant cake to stay with 6.2a as that is (imho) the last stable version of the software. Plus since 6.4a is still available from D* those who want to convert up to 6.4a can just let the TiVo auto update and those who want to stay with 6.2a can just bake it and leave it unplugged. 6.4 is still in the mix as i allowed (unfortunately) a redone hard drive to update less then two weeks ago. It did it over the phone line and first call after turning on the unit.


The problem is that many people on 6.2 and 6.2a are now having issues with season passes such as myself. My one Tivo for example thinks Bones this week is no longer a series but knows next week it is part of a season. I also set a season pass for Saturday Night Live which didn't record because I now have the option of two different season passes for the same channel and the one I picked the season premiere didn't fall under even though I picked it from the actual guide.


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## tmenss

rbtravis said:


> How to do a forced upgrade to 6.4a
> This method requires two series II Directv Tivo's one of which has received the upgrade.


How similar do the two units need to be? I have a situation where the working unit is an R10 and the non working is a DSR 7000. Or would I need to use a DSR 704 (updated) in order to force update the DSR 7000?


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## rbtravis

tmenss said:


> How similar do the two units need to be? I have a situation where the working unit is an R10 and the non working is a DSR 7000. Or would I need to use a DSR 704 (updated) in order to force update the DSR 7000?


You would use the DSR704 ( that is the one I used) as long as you don't restart the system until the drive is in the destination box you will be ok. Do not use the R10, it has a different motherboard and software package ( I know the same number number, that is met to confuse you ) Good Luck


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## rbtravis

Remember as a policy to clear the recently deleted folder once a month. If you don't you may have Audio problems.


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## tivoupgrade

I've been looking into this some more... there is no way to "force" the update by using traditional methods like forcing a daily call. Even if you have a unit which has previously updated to 6.4a and you retrograde it to 6.2a (or put a drive from another unit in it, as suggested by rbtravis) there is no guarantee that the forced call will download 6.4a. We've verified this using our own units.

With that said, if you have a networked unit, there are some options.

Firstly, if you have the 6.4a slices on your unit already you can force an update by manually running installSw.itcl.

To see if you have the slices, you must telnet to your unit and type:



Code:


echo mls /SwSystem | tivosh

and you should see something like this, if they are there:



Code:


Name                      Type        FsId      Date  Time   Size    
    ----                      ----        ----      ----  ----   ----    
    6.2a-01-2-301             tyDb        4808  09/17/08 03:44    700    
    6.4a-01-2-101             tyDb       57916  09/17/08 04:29    780    
    6.4a-01-2-121             tyDb       59454  09/17/08 04:33    780    
    6.4a-01-2-151             tyDb       60911  09/17/08 04:53    804    
    6.4a-01-2-381             tyDb       55725  09/17/08 04:53    780    
    6.4a-01-2-521             tyDb       64304  09/17/08 04:46    780    
    ACTIVE                    tyDb       60911  09/17/08 04:53    804

What you are seeing are ALL the slices on my own unit which have been dbloaded. Also note that in the aforementioned snippet, the unit has already been updated to 6.4a (you can see this by seeing which software version is 'active.'

If you DON'T have the slices, I've made them available with some easy to use scripts (thanks to an anonymous donor) which can be run as follows from the telnet prompt:

In this example, the unit in question has a service ID that beings with a *351*.



Code:


wget -O /var/packages/getslice http://www.dvrupgrade.com/software/update_tool/getslice-6.4a-01-2-351

and after the file is downloaded, do the following:



Code:


cd /var/packages
sh ./getslice

This will grab the slices specific to your unit and when they are done loaded, you will see them listed (similar to above).

Note that there has been some consolidation of the slices associated with different platforms, so even though we have a script written for each different unit, some of the slices are the same.

Specifically,

DSR/7000 and DSR/704 (101 / 3010)
DVR39 / DVR40 (121 / 321)
HDVR2 / SDDVR (151 / 351)

and they will be listed as such.

Another method of doing this with an already networked unit, and that will preserve your network settings and most of your hacks, is by using a product you must purchase, called "the slicer" -- once you've ftp'ed the binary onto your unit, you can simply type:



Code:


./slicer 6.4a-01-2-151 -d

if the slices are NOT on your unit, or don't use the -d option if they are already there. Pretty straightforward.

Lastly, we are working on new InstantCake versions and an analogous PTVnet version for folks who want to start over from scratch. Not available yet, however.

Lou


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## innocentfreak

Are the drives you currently offering as upgrade drives running 6.4a now then?


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## rock_doctor

innocentfreak said:


> Are the drives you currently offering as upgrade drives running 6.4a now then?


I wonder if something is wrong with your account? I wonder if you call and have them remove and then re-add back the tivo as if it were a new addition; if the system would start to recognize your tivo. I bet this is why they have no record of it calling in. I also wonder if you can have somebody make you a hard drive from their tivo??? Can you swap an image from one tivo to another if they are the same model? If so then see if you have a friend with the same tivo and do a standard hard drive upgrade (using mfstools) and their image.


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## innocentfreak

rock_doctor said:


> I wonder if something is wrong with your account? I wonder if you call and have them remove and then re-add back the tivo as if it were a new addition; if the system would start to recognize your tivo. I bet this is why they have no record of it calling in. I also wonder if you can have somebody make you a hard drive from their tivo??? Can you swap an image from one tivo to another if they are the same model? If so then see if you have a friend with the same tivo and do a standard hard drive upgrade (using mfstools) and their image.


I have the working original drive with 6.4a so I may attempt this. Looking at the list posted above one thing that may also be is the upgraded drive is for a DVR40 while I have the Rca DVR120. Obviously the drive works but I am wondering if the RCA DVR40 didn't get the upgrades especially since tivoupgrade mentions it in his post.

Has anyone compiled a list of models that never got the update to 6.4a?


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## rbtravis

Yes, and used them in an RCA Tivo. The reason this works is the download copies all the slices and Directv's software determines which slice to use for your machine. It also saves all shows on the target machine provided they were there in the first place. Instant cake is for a new hard drive, while this works for an existing drive. Good Luck, either will work well for you, although I have noticed that some drives fail to load that is why I tell you to do it on one that has successfully upgraded via phone to 6.4a


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## tivoupgrade

innocentfreak said:


> Are the drives you currently offering as upgrade drives running 6.4a now then?


No, they are all using 6.2a. Up until recently, the presumption is that units will automatically update to 6.4a as they should for non-PTVnet kits. And PTVnet kits require 6.2a, since that is the only version of PTVnet for these units.

Ultimately, we'll probably shift to 6.4a for standard kits, and give people a choice with PTVnet kits.

s/w rev information is (and will continue to be...) documented in the product description for the kits on our own site. (and in the release notes for DIY software, as well...

Lou


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## innocentfreak

rbtravis said:


> You would use the DSR704 ( that is the one I used) as long as you don't restart the system until the drive is in the destination box you will be ok. Do not use the R10, it has a different motherboard and software package ( I know the same number number, that is met to confuse you ) Good Luck


Were you able to do this without losing shows/season passes or will this result in lost recordings since when the Directivo does the initial boot the drive won't be paired with that machine?


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## rbtravis

innocentfreak said:


> Were you able to do this without losing shows/season passes or will this result in lost recordings since when the Directivo does the initial boot the drive won't be paired with that machine?


No loss of recordings. When the drive does the initial Boot it is not yet paired with the machine. The initial boot does the pairing as well as choosing which slices match the hardware. As long as you are using the same motherboard the recordings will match.


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## innocentfreak

rbtravis said:


> No loss of recordings. When the drive does the initial Boot it is not yet paired with the machine. The initial boot does the pairing as well as choosing which slices match the hardware. As long as you are using the same motherboard the recordings will match.


Cool I will try this tonight to see if I get the same results since I have two of the same machine and only one, the one with the upgraded drive, that didn't update.


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## Da Goon

tivoupgrade said:


> If you DON'T have the slices, I've made them available with some easy to use scripts (thanks to an anonymous donor) which can be run as follows from the telnet prompt:...


I've got a swsystem-127009177-2.slice.bnd (357) slice file if your anonymous donor would like to decrypt it and let you add it to the collection.


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## dmurphy

tivoupgrade said:


> If you DON'T have the slices, I've made them available with some easy to use scripts (thanks to an anonymous donor) which can be run as follows from the telnet prompt:


Lou -

I just wanted to say thank you SO VERY MUCH for hosting these slices - that was the 'missing key' for me!

I just replaced a bad drive in one of my DTiVo units (an HDVR2) and wanted to get it on the latest-n-greatest software.... I don't particularly care about 'hacking' this box, so what I did was this:

1) Used my trusty InstantCake CD to restore a 6.2 image (not 6.2a - it's an older disc)
2) Booted with my PTVBoot LBA48 boot CD;
3) Inserted my Zipper CD and ran the Zipper Script to enable networking; (didn't bother with any of the enhancement scripts, etc. Just wanted to turn on networking)
4) Used a Linksys USB100M USB-to-Ethernet adapter;
5) Logged into the DTiVo, downloaded the slices via wget;
6) Edited & ran installSw.itcl to install it.

LIFE IS GOOD - we're up and going. Thanks again so much for your wonderful tools - they really make all the difference in the world!!

Now, if only we had some nifty new software for the Series1 boxes - I've got a Series1 box that feels awfully lonely 

Thanks again!

--Dennis


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## innocentfreak

rbtravis said:


> No loss of recordings. When the drive does the initial Boot it is not yet paired with the machine. The initial boot does the pairing as well as choosing which slices match the hardware. As long as you are using the same motherboard the recordings will match.


Didn't work for me. I tried multiple numbers even and still no update by putting the drive in another machine that got the update.


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## rbtravis

Sorry, I did it eight times straight with a Philips DSR708 motherboard. It downloaded each time.


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## innocentfreak

rbtravis said:


> Sorry, I did it eight times straight with a Philips DSR708 motherboard. It downloaded each time.


Maybe my local connections are just bad. I even tried connecting with an old DSR704 with the original drive on 6.2 and it didn't download. I also tried with an old Hughes unit also with no success. Oh well glad to hear it worked for you. I will keep trying with my old machines.


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## rbtravis

innocentfreak said:


> Maybe my local connections are just bad. I even tried connecting with an old DSR704 with the original drive on 6.2 and it didn't download. I also tried with an old Hughes unit also with no success. Oh well glad to hear it worked for you. I will keep trying with my old machines.


I heard from TiVoupgrade that they have also experienced like problems. check your PM


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## tivoupgrade

dmurphy said:


> Lou -
> 
> I just wanted to say thank you SO VERY MUCH for hosting these slices - that was the 'missing key' for me!
> 
> I just replaced a bad drive in one of my DTiVo units (an HDVR2) and wanted to get it on the latest-n-greatest software.... I don't particularly care about 'hacking' this box, so what I did was this:
> 
> 1) Used my trusty InstantCake CD to restore a 6.2 image (not 6.2a - it's an older disc)
> 2) Booted with my PTVBoot LBA48 boot CD;
> 3) Inserted my Zipper CD and ran the Zipper Script to enable networking; (didn't bother with any of the enhancement scripts, etc. Just wanted to turn on networking)
> 4) Used a Linksys USB100M USB-to-Ethernet adapter;
> 5) Logged into the DTiVo, downloaded the slices via wget;
> 6) Edited & ran installSw.itcl to install it.
> 
> LIFE IS GOOD - we're up and going. Thanks again so much for your wonderful tools - they really make all the difference in the world!!
> 
> Now, if only we had some nifty new software for the Series1 boxes - I've got a Series1 box that feels awfully lonely
> 
> Thanks again!
> 
> --Dennis


Dennis,

Glad that worked for you! Thx!

innocentfreak, et al; please review this post if you haven't seen it already. there is just no way to 'force' the download to happen if its no longer being sent to your unit (either by satellite or through telephone/network download). some units are getting the updates, and not others...

Lou


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## webdeck

tivoupgrade,

Do you have a script for an HR10-250 (01-2-357)? I got a 500 error trying to download that one. Thanks!


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## tivoupgrade

webdeck said:


> tivoupgrade,
> 
> Do you have a script for an HR10-250 (01-2-357)? I got a 500 error trying to download that one. Thanks!


Should work fine with _slicer -d 6.4a-01-2-357_.

Just put this up as well, but it is untested:



Code:


wget -O /var/packages/getslice http://www.dvrupgrade.com/software/update_tool/getslice-6.4a-01-2-357
cd /var/packages
sh ./getslice

Please reply to let us know whether or not it works for you (and what errors you get if it doesn't...)

Cheers,
Lou


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## webdeck

tivoupgrade said:


> Should work fine with _slicer -d 6.4a-01-2-357_.
> 
> Just put this up as well, but it is untested:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> wget -O /var/packages/getslice http://www.dvrupgrade.com/software/update_tool/getslice-6.4a-01-2-357
> cd /var/packages
> sh ./getslice
> 
> Please reply to let us know whether or not it works for you (and what errors you get if it doesn't...)
> 
> Cheers,
> Lou


Thanks - that was fast! I'm still getting error 500 from wget:



Code:


# wget -O /var/packages/getslice http://www.dvrupgrade.com/software/update_tool/getslice-6.4a-01-2-357
Connecting to www.dvrupgrade.com[68.178.174.174]:80
wget: server returned error 500: HTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error


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## tivoupgrade

webdeck said:


> Thanks - that was fast! I'm still getting error 500 from wget:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> # wget -O /var/packages/getslice http://www.dvrupgrade.com/software/update_tool/getslice-6.4a-01-2-357
> Connecting to www.dvrupgrade.com[68.178.174.174]:80
> wget: server returned error 500: HTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error


I forgot to update one file. Sorry.

It should work now.

Lou


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## dcstager

When you finalize your 6.4a Instant Cake product, can you please include MFS_FTP as an installed and running by default process? I ask because there is no MRV in 6.4a, but there is HME. The HME application MovieLoader replaces and even improves on the MRV processes. It should not be harmful to those who don't use or need it.


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## Da Goon

dcstager said:


> When you finalize your 6.4a Instant Cake product, can you please include MFS_FTP as an installed and running by default process? I ask because there is no MRV in 6.4a, but there is HME. The HME application MovieLoader replaces and even improves on the MRV processes. It should not be harmful to those who don't use or need it.




the author of mfs_ftp doesn't even provide an updated version. read the mfs_ftp thread and README for reasons he doesn't want anyone selling his program. besides, Instantcake is a virgin image, so any extra files will get nuked once you boot up after using it.

Lou (and your anonymous donor), thanks for the 357 slice.


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## texster

dcstager-

If you are having trouble installing mfs_ftp on on your, try following these instructions:

http://dvrpedia.com/MFS_FTP


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## webdeck

tivoupgrade said:


> I forgot to update one file. Sorry.
> 
> It should work now.
> 
> Lou


Worked like a charm! Thank you so much!

-Mike


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## tivoupgrade

dcstager said:


> When you finalize your 6.4a InstantCake product, can you please include MFS_FTP as an installed and running by default process? I ask because there is no MRV in 6.4a, but there is HME. The HME application MovieLoader replaces and even improves on the MRV processes. It should not be harmful to those who don't use or need it.


Nope. InstantCake is just for building a new replacement hard drive, plain and simple. We'd never bundle anything like that with something like InstantCake.

If what you meant was to include it with something like PTVnet, which is the tool for turning on USB ports, installing telnet, ftp and TiVoWebPlus, then the answer would still have to be "nope." MFS_FTP is not redistributable in that way (unless Riley has changed the rules with respect to his code) and since MFS_FTP is an extraction tool, it also muddies the waters when it comes to DRM issues. BTW, for MFS_FTP to be useful, you'd need to turn off encryption on your unit anyway, and that is also something we cannot do.

Sorry...

Lou

PS Webdeck - glad all is well.


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## dcstager

Yes, I'm obviously confusing the PTVnet product -- which I purchased long ago when your company started up. The procedure you posted for forcing an upgrade is much appreciated and much needed - thank you for that effort!

At least the DIY set will have something to keep us busy.


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## sk33t3r

Ok im a little confused here, if you do the wget to download the slices to /var/packages and then run ./getslice. What exactly happens, does the system get upgraded to 6.4 or are just the slices loaded into the db? I dont want to loose my enhancements so I guess it would be wise to download the slicer, Is the slicer to the same for dsr7000 and hdvr2, i have several units all different models.


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## rbtravis

Its the same for the HDVR2 and DSR7000  Make sure you load the correct slices.
http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/comparison_chart.cfm
The process of enabling the slices may erase your hacks.


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## tivoupgrade

sk33t3r said:


> Ok im a little confused here, if you do the wget to download the slices to /var/packages and then run ./getslice. What exactly happens, does the system get upgraded to 6.4 or are just the slices loaded into the db? I dont want to loose my enhancements so I guess it would be wise to download the slicer, Is the slicer to the same for dsr7000 and hdvr2, i have several units all different models.


Take a look at post #21 of this thread for the full information; short answer is it just loads the slices if you don't have them (the equivalent of the -d option in slicer).

You would still have to manually install them, once loaded, and copy/preserve your hacks - and that is what slicer does.

Same version of slicer for all models....


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## sk33t3r

Thank you



tivoupgrade said:


> Take a look at post #21 of this thread for the full information; short answer is it just loads the slices if you don't have them (the equivalent of the -d option in slicer).
> 
> You would still have to manually install them, once loaded, and copy/preserve your hacks - and that is what slicer does.
> 
> Same version of slicer for all models....


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## sk33t3r

im at 6.4a, via wget and slice. The only thing that doesnt start thus far is TivoWeb, but i can start it manually.

Thanks DVRUPGRADE


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## dcstager

Rerun the tweak.sh script again. It will install Tivoweb but not the latest. You have to upgrade to the latest from the version the script will install. Also, you need to change your fakecall.tcl to an older version available on DDB and put the DDB version of fakecall.tcl into /busybox. Look for Alphawolf's utilities and extract the working fakecall.tcl from that collection.


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## sk33t3r

I went back to 6.2a, with the latest zipper, I did downlaod teh slices jsut for any future needs


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## dcstager

sk33t3r said:


> I went back to 6.2a, with the latest zipper, I did downlaod teh slices jsut for any future needs


If you download the slices with the upgrade method here, they will only remain in the MFS for a day or so and then get wiped and you have to do it again. It's better to wait until you are ready to do the upgrade, download the slices and install them immediately. They won't persist on your machine. Just FYI for those who think once they have them they'll be able to keep them until needed.


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## tivoupgrade

dcstager said:


> If you download the slices with the upgrade method here, they will only remain in the MFS for a day or so and then get wiped and you have to do it again. It's better to wait until you are ready to do the upgrade, download the slices and install them immediately. They won't persist on your machine. Just FYI for those who think once they have them they'll be able to keep them until needed.


Either that, or download them and keep them in a safe place. The issue is whether or not you dbload them or not, unless I'm mistaken...

Lou


----------



## sk33t3r

tivoupgrade said:


> Either that, or download them and keep them in a safe place. The issue is whether or not you dbload them or not, unless I'm mistaken...
> 
> Lou


I have them up on the web, so that I or anyone else can get them or you could put them in /hacks or /enhancements


----------



## tivoupgrade

sk33t3r said:


> I have them up on the web, so that I or anyone else can get them or you could put them in /hacks or /enhancements


That is good that they are in more the one place. I have no intentions of taking them down, but then again, you never know.

For those just tuning in, please see this post for instructions.


----------



## dcstager

tivoupgrade said:


> Either that, or download them and keep them in a safe place. The issue is whether or not you dbload them or not, unless I'm mistaken...
> 
> Lou


Lou, I wanted to have the slices in the MFS as if they'd come over the satellite normally, so I went through your entire procedure in post 21. It worked perfectly and checking SwSystem in MFS they were there. But the next day, they did not appear in MFS. I tried again and went through the whole procedure and sure enough, the 6.4a was there in the MFS in SwSystem as expected. But a day later it was completely gone as if nothing had been done.

So, using your procedure, the MFS entries for SwSystem do not persist from day to day. You can keep dbloading them daily, but they won't stay there.

Eventually I went through it all and ran slicer immediately and my machine updated properly to 6.4a. So, you have to do your procedure and update fairly soon or you have to start all over.


----------



## tivoupgrade

dcstager said:


> Lou, I wanted to have the slices in the MFS as if they'd come over the satellite normally, so I went through your entire procedure in post 21. It worked perfectly and checking SwSystem in MFS they were there. But the next day, they did not appear in MFS. I tried again and went through the whole procedure and sure enough, the 6.4a was there in the MFS in SwSystem as expected. But a day later it was completely gone as if nothing had been done.
> 
> So, using your procedure, the MFS entries for SwSystem do not persist from day to day. You can keep dbloading them daily, but they won't stay there.
> 
> Eventually I went through it all and ran slicer immediately and my machine updated properly to 6.4a. So, you have to do your procedure and update fairly soon or you have to start all over.


Yes, I understand that, and unless I'm mistaken, that was what you meant in your previous post - ie after dbloading the slices into MFS, they will 'vanish' after a day or two.

That is why I suggested that you simply copy the slices off to a safe place rather than dbloading them.

One way to do this would be to edit the _getslice_ script I have you downloading with wget and just commenting out the _dbload_ statements. Then you can just go into /var/packages and copy them somewhere safe (ie, somewhere other than /var)

Lou


----------



## sk33t3r

tivoupgrade said:


> Yes, I understand that, and unless I'm mistaken, that was what you meant in your previous post - ie after dbloading the slices into MFS, they will 'vanish' after a day or two.
> 
> That is why I suggested that you simply copy the slices off to a safe place rather than dbloading them.
> 
> One way to do this would be to edit the _getslice_ script I have you downloading with wget and just commenting out the _dbload_ statements. Then you can just go into /var/packages and copy them somewhere safe (ie, somewhere other than /var)
> 
> Lou


Or just wget /hacks FILENAME the files to the /hack directory or any other directory

and PS, I have a lot of DTV S1 files that I had saved there


----------



## modiphier

Hi Guys,

I have a hughes SD-DVR40 with instantcake and pvnet with 6.2a. It has been running great for years. I recently noticed I am not getting the correct local channels. I did as instructed in this post and would just like to verify that I should continue.



Code:


bash-2.02# cd /var/packages/
bash-2.02# sh ./getslice 
You currently have   86 MB of available space on your var partition,
which is enough free space to unpack slices, proceeding...
Downloading files to your TiVo. This will take a several minutes...
Connecting to www.dvrupgrade.com[68.178.174.174]:80
slices.tgz           100% |*****************************************************************************| 17112 KB 00:00:00 ETA
Download successful!
Unpacking archive...

dbload
GZcore-127004584-2.slice.gz
GZhpk-Series2-127004588-2.slice.gz
GZkernel-Series2-127004586-2.slice.gz
swsystem-127008031-2.slice.gz
utils-127004582-2.slice.gz
Uncompressing /var/packages/GZcore-127004584-2.slice.gz...
Uncompressing /var/packages/GZhpk-Series2-127004588-2.slice.gz...
Uncompressing /var/packages/GZkernel-Series2-127004586-2.slice.gz...
Uncompressing /var/packages/swsystem-127008031-2.slice.gz...
Uncompressing /var/packages/utils-127004582-2.slice.gz...

Now lets see if there are slices loaded...
Directory of /SwSystem starting at ''

    Name                      Type        FsId      Date  Time   Size    
    ----                      ----        ----      ----  ----   ----    
    6.2a-01-2-351             tyDb       62162  03/13/07 23:48    724    
    6.4a-01-2-151             tyDb     2606289  11/01/08 02:06    780    
    ACTIVE                    tyDb       62162  03/13/07 23:48    724    

Presumably, your 6.4a slices are now listed above and if that
is the case, you can go ahead and run The Slicer by typing this
in the directory that contains the program:

  ./slicer 6.4a-01-2-151

Bye!
bash-2.02#

I am curious as to whether or not the -351 and the -151 are one in the same and if I am going to have problems once I run the command ./slicer 6.4a-01-2-151. I do have the slicer program may just have to upload it to my unit.

Thanks,


----------



## tivoupgrade

modiphier said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I have a hughes SD-DVR40 with instantcake and pvnet with 6.2a. It has been running great for years. I recently noticed I am not getting the correct local channels. I did as instructed in this post and would just like to verify that I should continue.
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> bash-2.02# cd /var/packages/
> bash-2.02# sh ./getslice
> You currently have   86 MB of available space on your var partition,
> which is enough free space to unpack slices, proceeding...
> Downloading files to your TiVo. This will take a several minutes...
> Connecting to www.dvrupgrade.com[68.178.174.174]:80
> slices.tgz           100% |*****************************************************************************| 17112 KB 00:00:00 ETA
> Download successful!
> Unpacking archive...
> 
> dbload
> GZcore-127004584-2.slice.gz
> GZhpk-Series2-127004588-2.slice.gz
> GZkernel-Series2-127004586-2.slice.gz
> swsystem-127008031-2.slice.gz
> utils-127004582-2.slice.gz
> Uncompressing /var/packages/GZcore-127004584-2.slice.gz...
> Uncompressing /var/packages/GZhpk-Series2-127004588-2.slice.gz...
> Uncompressing /var/packages/GZkernel-Series2-127004586-2.slice.gz...
> Uncompressing /var/packages/swsystem-127008031-2.slice.gz...
> Uncompressing /var/packages/utils-127004582-2.slice.gz...
> 
> Now lets see if there are slices loaded...
> Directory of /SwSystem starting at ''
> 
> Name                      Type        FsId      Date  Time   Size
> ----                      ----        ----      ----  ----   ----
> 6.2a-01-2-351             tyDb       62162  03/13/07 23:48    724
> 6.4a-01-2-151             tyDb     2606289  11/01/08 02:06    780
> ACTIVE                    tyDb       62162  03/13/07 23:48    724
> 
> Presumably, your 6.4a slices are now listed above and if that
> is the case, you can go ahead and run The Slicer by typing this
> in the directory that contains the program:
> 
> ./slicer 6.4a-01-2-151
> 
> Bye!
> bash-2.02#
> 
> I am curious as to whether or not the -351 and the -151 are one in the same and if I am going to have problems once I run the command ./slicer 6.4a-01-2-151. I do have the slicer program may just have to upload it to my unit.
> 
> Thanks,


You are fine to run the command as:



Code:


./slicer 6.4a-01-2-151

As the software for the 351 and 151 systems merged with 6.4a.

Not sure if that will help you with your local channel issue, though or why you would be having a problem with that.

You might try logging into DIRECTV's website and 'refreshing' your services to see if that fixes your local channel problem, first...

Lou


----------



## modiphier

Hi Lou,
Yea, my local channels 12 (cbs) and 10 (nbc) show up as 12 discovery kids and 10 as mtv2 yet the info menu is displaying the correct program info for the local channels. I am not sure what else may be wrong but these I notice right away. I do have an additional hd box and an hd dvr connect next to the sd-dvr40 and I am using a splitter to provide signal to all but the hd units get the correct channels.

What do you mean by logging in and refreshing??

Thanks


----------



## ForrestB

An RF splitter will NOT work with a satellite signal. Remove the splitter and connect the cable directly to the DVR.


----------



## JimSpence

To expand on what ForrestB said. Each tuner needs a direct connection to either the dish or a multiswitch. Since you have 2 DVRs and a regular HD receiver you need 5 connections, thus the need of the multiswitch.

What dish do you have?


----------



## tivoupgrade

modiphier said:


> What do you mean by logging in and refreshing??
> 
> Thanks


When newly upgraded/repaired DirecTiVo units are initially setup, it can take about a day for the local channels to show up in the guide. One way to expedite the process is to log into the directv web site (directv.com) and "refresh" your services. It basically has their server send a signal to your unit via satellite to reset it and the locals will come in much quicker that way.

I'm not suggesting that its a solution to your problem, though as what you've described is different anything I've heard about. Trying it wouldn't hurt though. Just a thought.

Lou


----------



## modiphier

Hi Guys,

Sorry I wasn't more specific. Did I say splitter. Well I just didn't feel like walking in to the back room to see exactly what it was called. I do have a 4 way multi switch. I believe I have a 5lnb dish it is oval with three heads. I have two wires going to two room upstairs with regular receivers and I have three wires coming down into the basement/apartment. Two go to the multiswitch one goes directly to my regular hd unit. From the multi switch I have two going to my old school instant caked sd-dvr40 and two go to the newie new hd dvr which is a HR21-100. Now the HR21-100 has two wires coming from the multiswitch and it gets both channel 12 regular and in HD. On the other hand the other two wires coming out of the same multiswitch going to the SD-DVR40 get what I said above, discovery kids or something. My locals are channels 12, 10 and 6 for the most part and none of them seem to be coming in as they should be or as the guide displays. Yet the HR21-100 gets them all fine. This is why I figured I needed to upgrade which I really would have no need to unless you guys tell me it is definitely the thing to do. I basically just use the unit at this point to record stuff that I want to burn to disk with tytools. I do not think the capability exists yet to hack the HR21-100 but I am under the impression that I can buy an esata drive and expand the record space although I will not be able to pull the programs off to record.

PS: The SD-DVR40 is not newly upgraded. I initially put the instantcake 6.2 on it and then I may have manually upgraded to 6.2a and even that was a while ago. I just noticed this channel issue within the past few weeks. Just out of the blue... Haven't done a thing to the unit except use it in many months.


----------



## sbursik

I downloaded the slices as described in this thread. I am at 6.2a fully hacked on 2 SD-DVR40 units and I want to just let one go back to original unhacked so I can play with it and then I will instantcake it later on.

Is there a way to just let her rip and go to standard setup using the slices?

I have been out of the loop on this for a couple of years since my 6.2a was playing so nice but its time for a change. 

Thanks in advance!


----------



## sbursik

Found what I needed here. Thanks!

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=317471


----------



## cutt

I take the technique described by tivoupgrade in this thread is the preferred technique to get to back to 6.4a (other than instantcake)?

I've got an hr10 that was at 6.4a, but had to drop back to a 6.3e disk when it croaked, thus it doesn't appear it will upgrade on it's own.

Seems irrational on the provider's part to block the auto upgrade but whatever.


----------



## rbtravis

Upgrades are being done over the Phone Lines. You have to force a telephone call and it does no happen instantly. It may take a few weeks. It will take about 1 hr of phone time. That is the penalty for not backing up.  You can purchase Instantcake from DVRupgrade if you don't want to wait.


----------



## tivoupgrade

cutt said:


> I take the technique described by tivoupgrade in this thread is the preferred technique to get to back to 6.4a (other than instantcake)?
> 
> I've got an hr10 that was at 6.4a, but had to drop back to a 6.3e disk when it croaked, thus it doesn't appear it will upgrade on it's own.
> 
> Seems irrational on the provider's part to block the auto upgrade but whatever.


If you have telnet access to your unit then you can use the step-by-step in this post, in lieu of using the slicer, to get the slices and manually upgrade your unit to 6.4a. Just use a *357* instead of the *351* used in the example.

Lou


----------



## cutt

yes, Lou, that's exactly what I was looking to do after reading completely thru this thread. just wanted to make sure that was still the best option.

I've been making the calls daily for 3 weeks and it appears it's not gonna update since that ird has upgraded to 6.4a previously.

thx


----------



## tivoupgrade

cutt said:


> yes, Lou, that's exactly what I was looking to do after reading completely thru this thread. just wanted to make sure that was still the best option.
> 
> I've been making the calls daily for 3 weeks and it appears it's not gonna update since that ird has upgraded to 6.4a previously.
> 
> thx


'best' is really subjective. For some, wiping the drive clean and starting over with a fresh install is a better option (after running thorough diagnostics on the drive, of course), but if you do have a networked unit, then this way is likely to work for those who are more technical, and without losing your recordings and most of your hacks... sounds like you are on the right track, though.

Lou


----------



## sk33t3r

Old thread but I need some info, on a hr10-250 can it be upgraded from 63c, directly to 64a??


----------



## cutt

first, I'll recap my situation from earlier in thread, I upgraded the hdd on my hr10 when back on 6.3e. the new hdd took the upgrade to 6.4a when it came out. subsequently more than a year later, the new hdd failed.

I get a new hdd, clone the old 6.3e, put it in the machine, and for the life of me, can't get it to upgrade to 6.4a even by dialing in more than once a day for a couple of months. (yes I know, slices not in sat stream, has to pull them in via dial-up, yada yada yada).

anyway, planned to do the manual upgrade as posted earlier by telnet-ing in this summer when things were slower just in case I was to blow it up.

last night, looking thru recorded shows, my deleted folder is back! , i.e., it did take the upgrade automatically after more than three months of uptime.

anyway, if you're in this oddball situation, have hope, it might come to you on it's own someday.


----------



## tivoupgrade

...the information in this thread should give you exactly what you need to update it yourself if its NOT happening automatically!


----------



## sk33t3r

All I did was, run zipper to get network access.

mount -o remount,rw /

wget -O /var/packages/getslice http://www.dvrupgrade.com/software/update_tool/getslice-6.4a-01-2-357

installSw.itcl 6.4a-01-2-101

reboot


----------



## tivoupgrade

Here is a link to my previous post (on page 1) which has complete instructions and more details. Its important to ensure you are grabbing the correct slices for your unit if they've not already been downloaded.

Lou


----------



## magnus

Thanks Lou, I've been wanting to upgrade my sisters DTivo for a while (no phone). 

Can anyone give the advantages of 6.4a over 6.2a? Any reason not to upgrade? Thanks


----------



## halfempty

magnus said:


> Can anyone give the advantages of 6.4a over 6.2a?


The addition of a "Recently Deleted" folder with a handy "Recover" option. Since deleted programs don't really disappear immediately, you don't have to confirm each deletion any more.


magnus said:


> Any reason not to upgrade?


No more MRV, if that's important to you.


----------



## magnus

Thanks for the response. That's it? Does it not at least add play folder or delete folder like the SA Tivo?


----------



## halfempty

The only new folder is Recently Deleted. Losing MRV is not an issue unless you have a hacked DTivo and are using the option. IIRC the main reason for the update was to change the database a little to prevent the season pass issues that sometimes affects 6.2.


----------



## tward_biteme1

I downloaded 6.4a-01-2-301.slices.tgz since -301 is the current active 6.2a, but now -101 for 6.4a is showing, does it matter if I use that one with the slicer?

Directory of /SwSystem starting at ''

Name Type FsId Date Time Size
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
6.2a-01-2-101 tyDb 196612 02/17/07 08:41 700
6.2a-01-2-121 tyDb 196616 02/17/07 08:41 700
6.2a-01-2-151 tyDb 196617 02/17/07 08:41 700
6.2a-01-2-301 tyDb 196618 03/09/07 23:12 724
6.2a-01-2-321 tyDb 196619 02/17/07 08:41 700
6.2a-01-2-351 tyDb 196620 02/17/07 08:41 700
6.2a-01-2-381 tyDb 196621 02/17/07 08:41 700
6.2a-01-2-3F1 tyDb 196622 02/17/07 08:41 700
6.4a-01-2-101 tyDb 8567752 04/20/12 20:34 780
ACTIVE tyDb 196618 03/09/07 23:12 724


----------



## 55tbird

I have been trying to force a 6.4a download but haven't had any success, ie, I'm using 6.2a currently with mods for MRV. I've tried to connect via "network" but it keeps failing....the DTivo fails after trying to negotiate. I've already changed the flag to "network_call on" and rebooted but still not doing it.

Any suggestions what I should be trying next? Or is it even possible to download via "network"?


----------



## litzdog911

55tbird said:


> I have been trying to force a 6.4a download but haven't had any success, ie, I'm using 6.2a currently with mods for MRV. I've tried to connect via "network" but it keeps failing....the DTivo fails after trying to negotiate. I've already changed the flag to "network_call on" and rebooted but still not doing it.
> 
> Any suggestions what I should be trying next? Or is it even possible to download via "network"?


Review this thread ....
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=485486


----------



## sk33t3r

did you edit your bootpage? Search for that on here.


----------



## hawkeye1991

tivoupgrade said:


> I've been looking into this some more... there is no way to "force" the update by using traditional methods like forcing a daily call. Even if you have a unit which has previously updated to 6.4a and you retrograde it to 6.2a (or put a drive from another unit in it, as suggested by rbtravis) there is no guarantee that the forced call will download 6.4a. We've verified this using our own units.
> 
> With that said, if you have a networked unit, there are some options.
> 
> Firstly, if you have the 6.4a slices on your unit already you can force an update by manually running installSw.itcl.
> 
> To see if you have the slices, you must telnet to your unit and type:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> echo mls /SwSystem | tivosh
> 
> and you should see something like this, if they are there:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> Name                      Type        FsId      Date  Time   Size
> ----                      ----        ----      ----  ----   ----
> 6.2a-01-2-301             tyDb        4808  09/17/08 03:44    700
> 6.4a-01-2-101             tyDb       57916  09/17/08 04:29    780
> 6.4a-01-2-121             tyDb       59454  09/17/08 04:33    780
> 6.4a-01-2-151             tyDb       60911  09/17/08 04:53    804
> 6.4a-01-2-381             tyDb       55725  09/17/08 04:53    780
> 6.4a-01-2-521             tyDb       64304  09/17/08 04:46    780
> ACTIVE                    tyDb       60911  09/17/08 04:53    804
> 
> What you are seeing are ALL the slices on my own unit which have been dbloaded. Also note that in the aforementioned snippet, the unit has already been updated to 6.4a (you can see this by seeing which software version is 'active.'
> 
> If you DON'T have the slices, I've made them available with some easy to use scripts (thanks to an anonymous donor) which can be run as follows from the telnet prompt:
> 
> In this example, the unit in question has a service ID that beings with a *351*.
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> wget -O /var/packages/getslice http://www.dvrupgrade.com/software/update_tool/getslice-6.4a-01-2-351
> 
> and after the file is downloaded, do the following:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> cd /var/packages
> sh ./getslice
> 
> This will grab the slices specific to your unit and when they are done loaded, you will see them listed (similar to above).
> 
> Note that there has been some consolidation of the slices associated with different platforms, so even though we have a script written for each different unit, some of the slices are the same.
> 
> Specifically,
> 
> DSR/7000 and DSR/704 (101 / 3010)
> DVR39 / DVR40 (121 / 321)
> HDVR2 / SDDVR (151 / 351)
> 
> and they will be listed as such.
> 
> Another method of doing this with an already networked unit, and that will preserve your network settings and most of your hacks, is by using a product you must purchase, called "the slicer" -- once you've ftp'ed the binary onto your unit, you can simply type:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> ./slicer 6.4a-01-2-151 -d
> 
> if the slices are NOT on your unit, or don't use the -d option if they are already there. Pretty straightforward.
> 
> Lastly, we are working on new InstantCake versions and an analogous PTVnet version for folks who want to start over from scratch. Not available yet, however.
> 
> Lou


I'm having to upgrade my HDVR2. Is the information about the slices being available still good?

I have changed routers since I modified my Tivo. and I set it to specific IP with the old router.

Is there anyway to fix this w/o pulling the hard drive out of the unit?

Thanks


----------



## hawkeye1991

Lou,

I got the slices and bought the slicer. when I try to use the slicer, I get this error message

*
TIVO1-bash# ./slicer 6.4a-01-2-151
Inconsistency detected by ld.so: dynamic-link.h: 62: elf_get_dynamic_info: Assertion `! "bad dynamic tag"' failed!*

Do you know what to make of it?

Thanks


----------



## hawkeye1991

Moved it over as binary first. That solved the problem. Locals are back



hawkeye1991 said:


> Lou,
> 
> I got the slices and bought the slicer. when I try to use the slicer, I get this error message
> 
> *
> TIVO1-bash# ./slicer 6.4a-01-2-151
> Inconsistency detected by ld.so: dynamic-link.h: 62: elf_get_dynamic_info: Assertion `! "bad dynamic tag"' failed!*
> 
> Do you know what to make of it?
> 
> Thanks


----------

