# batch delete new messages?



## noctilux (Nov 12, 2006)

I didn't have one of my DirecTV Tivos hooked up to phone line for over a year. I went to hook it up today and realized that I had been sent a "make daily call soon" message every day for the past 400 days. Is there a way to delete all my messages without clearing each one individually?
Thank you!!!!


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## OLdDog (Dec 15, 2001)

No. I do not think even a clear and delete everything clears the messages but I have never tried that and it "could" work.


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

Clear and delete everything should clear the messages. If you do go into messages with that many in the list, the TiVo will probably lock up requiring a reboot.


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## Dkerr24 (Oct 29, 2004)

I won't bother deleting them. 

When's the last time they actually sent us a useful message?


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## noctilux (Nov 12, 2006)

I've noticed that over the last year, my Tivo has gotten slower and slower to bring up the main menu. For instance, I'm watching TV and I click the Tivo button. I hear the chime sound instantly, but the Tivo menu doesn't come up for over a minute (the TV continues to play during this period). Since the delay seems to be getting longer and longer, I had a thought that the delay was somehow connected to my ever growing list of messages - I'm talking about several HUNDRED messages, not just ten or twenty.

How do you do a Clear and Delete everything?


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

Is bringing up the main menu the only place you see slow response to the remote? Slow response to the remote is typical of hard disk problems starting to occur. However, you should see slow response to many remote commands.

One additional thing to check for is IR interference from another IR source (usually a remote, but can be any remote). This can cause delays in response as well as no response at all.

Clear and delete everything sets the box back to factory new state. You will then have to do guided setup again and all season passes and programming on the TiVo are erased. This can be found in the setup menus. If your disk is starting to fail, there is a chance that the clear and delete may not be able to complete.


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## noctilux (Nov 12, 2006)

I rebuilt the TIVO and it successfully erased all my messages and now the menus are quick again. I have a new problem:

Since I wiped it out, it needs to dial in to TIVO to activate the DVR. I can see channels fine, but no record functionality works. I tried to have it dial in and it hangs on the "Negotiating" point. I listened in on the phone line and it is connected to a modem, but it never gets past Negotiating. This "Negotiating" behavior is happenning on two different Direct Tivo units in my house (both have not dialed in for over a year).

Is there a way to activate the DVR without dialing in? Or, does anyone know a workaround for the Negotiating problem I'm experiencing?

Thanks!!!


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## wscannell (Dec 7, 2003)

Do you have a normal land line or do you have VOIP like Vonage? There may be problems with VOIP services. You might be better off taking the unit to a place where there is a landline. You do not need a sat connection. Just press the Directv (TiVo) button when it starts searching for satellite, then force a connection.


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## noctilux (Nov 12, 2006)

I don't have VOIP, just a regular old land line. When I reformatted the Tivo, it locked out all Tivo services (basic record, season pass, now playing, etc). I can watch channels, but no recording at all. Is there a way to disable the dial-up altogether?


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## noctilux (Nov 12, 2006)

P.S. I tried calling DirecTV as well. They haven't been very helpful since they can't imagine that the modem can't dial in. I'm trying to escalate my situation with their tech support, but it isn't going anywhere fast...


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## shredhead (Oct 15, 2003)

Here's what I did to remove all my nag messages (300!)...

I used wget for windows (wget -i urls.txt)

The contents of urls.txt are single lines that read: http://ip_of_tivo/dodeletemail/message#

The message numbers are 7 digits and the way I got them is to use Tivoweb and list the mail there, then view the source code (html) of the page and do a little search and replace, modifying the list in Excel and forming the list of 300 urls which were pasted into the text file urls.txt. It took about 20 minutes to get it done without much hand editing. I used Excel to truncate, concantenate, etc.

For me it was worth the 20 minutes since it would take hours to delete them all manually.

I don't think there's a way to do this method without Tivoweb because you won't be able to get the message numbers otherwise... unless someone can figure out where mail is stored in the filesystem in which case "rm filename" or, in the right directory, "rm *" might work (as long as there's no index of all the messages in another file).

good luck!

it's easier to leave a phone line connected!


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## fiber0pti (Dec 4, 2008)

I have the same problem. I was wondering if there's any new developments on deleting this messages for a Directivo? 

Thanks!


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## unclemoosh (Sep 11, 2004)

I run this from cron everyday. You could run it manually, or execute the commands from bash prompt.


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## fiber0pti (Dec 4, 2008)

unclemoosh said:


> I run this from cron everyday. You could run it manually, or execute the commands from bash prompt.


So this brings up a whole new can of worms. How can I get to the CLI on my Directivo?


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## unclemoosh (Sep 11, 2004)

fiber0pti said:


> So this brings up a whole new can of worms. How can I get to the CLI on my Directivo?


If you have a DirecTiVo, you can hack it. Go to the underground forum. Lots of info and tools to do this.


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