# Fixing a Philips Series 1 PTV100 (HDR112)



## neonpachyderm (Nov 12, 2010)

I recently purchased a Series 1 PTV100/HDR112 TiVo unit with a lifetime subscription but a dead modem. In setting it up to use with my system, I foolishly got stuck in Guided Setup. (I was trying to get rid of the nag screens. I don't use cable or satellite...all my TV watching is OTA programming on a digital converter box. I just want to set the TiVo up as a digital recorder to capture from the line in. It doesn't appear I'll be able to timer record, though, as the TiVo clock doesn't seem to hold without something to sync to.)

I know also that the built-in hard drive on that unit is tiny. I have the image software to "build" a new drive for it; thinking I'll put about a 120GB drive in there. [I have an old backup computer that I can set up the drive or drives with. I considered putting a couple of 200GB drives in there, but if I can't timer record, this might be overkill.]

The problem I have is that I have no land line, and a dead modem. I've read about several ways around this, but while I do consider myself a bit of a computer nerd, my skills don't extend to Linux. I'd like to be able to image a new drive and put in fakecall and setupcomplete all "at once"...meaning before I put the new drive into the TiVo unit. I'm fairly handy with the hardware side of things...changing out a hard drive is going to be no problem if I can successfully image a new drive for it.

I've searched for a step-by-step tutorial for the Linux newbie, but no luck. I'd appreciate any and all assistance you could provide.

For what I'm doing, all I need is a basic TiVo box with a larger drive and NOT stuck in Guided Setup. (And yes, I admit I was foolish to get stuck in GS, but I also think it's rather foolish to set the machine up where "once it's started, it MUST complete." I've tried kickstart codes and all manner of hoop-jumping. If I could get back out of GS, the unit would be usable temporarily as is.)


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## switch998 (Mar 21, 2009)

Oh my god, so you're the one who outbid me 

Anyway, you have 2 options to connect. Fix the modem, or use PPP.

Fixing the modem would probably be an easy task. It's probably a cold solder or bad component. I do electronics repair, so I'd be able to fix this in no time. If you'd like to go through with this option, send me a high res picture of both sides of the main PCB.

Anyway, option 2 is PPP.
There's a great guide here that I looked at when I was bidding on that tivo. xxx://dullroar.org/blog/2004/06/networkenable_a_series_1_tivo.html


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## neonpachyderm (Nov 12, 2010)

if i'd known it was going to be as much work as it is, I'd have let you win. 

Still, since i have a big HD I can put in it...I might have a pretty decent deal if I can get it fixed up.


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## neonpachyderm (Nov 12, 2010)

Also, note my original statements...programming guide will NEVER work with what I've got (getting programming from a stand-alone digital converter box), so I really don't care if I ever really set the thing up. I just want it out of GS and into dumb-VCR mode. 

I'm digging around for some sort of step-by-step walkthrough, hopefully one that will show me how to incorporate setupcomplete.tcl and/or fakecall.tcl to keep the box happy, so-to-speak.

In addition, I don't really need network access to this box. I have a DVD recorder, and when I have several things I want to keep, I'll dump them off to it. So if I can fake the call, I don't ever need network/phone access to this machine. Getting out of GS is the biggest roadblock right now though.


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

If linux is not your forte, I recommend Serial PPP. No Linux hacking is needed, just some minor Windows modification and configuration.


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## neonpachyderm (Nov 12, 2010)

Thanks! I baked a new drive with InstantCake, and it's ready to roll as soon as I can get through the setup. I have a serial cable (the TiVo serial cable is the same as ones that came with a couple of old digital cameras I had years ago). If I'm understanding the Serial PPP article correctly, all I need is a USB-to-serial cable, a null modem adapter, and perhaps a gender changer (depending on what serial cable I buy), and I should be able to run GS through the PC's Internet connection?

I know I'm repeating myself, but this is totally new territory for me, and it seems a lot of the articles around assume a bit more knowledge than I have.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

Set aside the original drive!!!!

Which version of the software did it come with when you got it?

I think there are some people who'd like to have a pre-3.0 image.

Whichever version it is, get the MFS Live CD and make a .bak and save it in a FAT32 or Ext2 partition on a computer or NAS hard drive where you can get to it in the future.

Then get another hard drive at least as big as the original and do a restore from that .bak file and test it in the TiVo to make sure you got a good backup.

Recomended reading includes the readme's from the MFS Live CD, the older MFS Tools, the Dylan's Boot Disk, the Kazymr(sp?), and Steve Jenkin's TiVo networking site.

Read it all, then read it all again.

Also, read up on the Apple Partition Map.


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## neonpachyderm (Nov 12, 2010)

I have no clue what version of the software is on the old drive. It is set aside. I got the InstantCake image for my Philips HDR112, ran the PTV upgrades and everything, and put the new drive in the TiVo. It's sitting at the same spot the old one was, though; still stuck in Guided Setup. That's where the Serial PPP will come into play. I'm going out to my storage trailer later today to see if I can find that serial cable. Unfortunately, I don't have a null modem cable, and only my (by computing standards) ancient HP Celeron 1.2GHz has a serial port, so if I want to use the newer computer, I'll still have to buy a USB-to-serial cable.

I'll see what version of the software is on the old drive; it had not been updated for several years, so there's a good possibility of it having the older image.

For Serial PPP, does it matter what our Internet connection is? We use a wireless (3G) cell modem, that plugs into the computer on USB and connects by "dialing" into the network, though at far higher speeds than 56K dial-up.

*Update, 2AM Monday morning (Oklahoma time):* With some help from Steve Jenkins' Series 1 TiVo hacking guide, I managed to run setupcomplete.tcl on my drive and break it out of GS. I seem to have lost my "Recorder and Phone Settings" options (at least some of them). Trying to get the input back to the line-in.

(Just a thought, but a lot of systems, such as my projector, scan all the inputs and select the active one...TiVo's failure to do so seems like an oversight in my book. It may just be the limitations of Series1 though.)


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

Actually for "dumb VCR" mode, I think you don't need lifetime, you just need one manufactured (or sold, or something like that) before a certain date back around the turn of the century.

In your situation, that lifetime sub is going to waste.


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## neonpachyderm (Nov 12, 2010)

unitron said:


> Actually for "dumb VCR" mode, I think you don't need lifetime, you just need one manufactured (or sold, or something like that) before a certain date back around the turn of the century.
> 
> In your situation, that lifetime sub is going to waste.


That's true. Right now my unit isn't even showing the lifetime subscription. I've got a feeling that's because it's not the original image, it's the InstantCaked one. I've got a feeling this would/will correct if I successfully connect with TiVo. I'm working on getting the cables and what-not to connect via serial.

For now, though, "Daily Call Required" nags aside, the box is up and running. Got the input switched over to the A/V (composite) line-ins, as that's all my OTA set-top box supports, and I can record and playback manually. That's good enough for now.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

neonpachyderm said:


> That's true. Right now my unit isn't even showing the lifetime subscription. I've got a feeling that's because it's not the original image, it's the InstantCaked one. I've got a feeling this would/will correct if I successfully connect with TiVo. I'm working on getting the cables and what-not to connect via serial.
> 
> For now, though, "Daily Call Required" nags aside, the box is up and running. Got the input switched over to the A/V (composite) line-ins, as that's all my OTA set-top box supports, and I can record and playback manually. That's good enough for now.


The box finds out what its account status is everytime it connects to TiVo to download listings and the right time and stuff.

Which means that if it isn't lifetime and you don't keep up the payments there will come a day (or overnight) when it connects and finds out it's not supposed to work anymore (although apparently true "Instant 
Boat Anchor Mode" didn't come along until Series 2).


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

This probably won't help the OP unless he knows a way to make his broadband pretend to be an internal telephone-type modem, but for the benefit of others who may find this thread---

If you have a Series 1 with a fried internal modem, and version 3 of the software, and you have a landline, and you don't have an external modem, but you do have a computer with a serial port and an internal modem, you can use a program called PilotNet

http://www.palmblvd.com/software/pc/PilotNet-1999-03-10-palm-pc.html

{EDIT: The above link isn't good anymore. As of January 20, 2012, this one works.

http://www.geocities.ws/daveinfopage/pnet2.zip

}

which was written by a clever gentleman to let his Palm Pilot use his computer's modem via a serial port connection.

You hook up the Tivo via its serial port and the kind of 3 conductor mini-phoneplug to DB-9 plug cable that is used to let you telnet into your Tivo, and you adjust your Tivo's phone settings the same way as if you were going to use it with an external modem. Then Pilot Net lets you software-ly jumper from your serial port to your internal modem, and it also has a text window that let's you see the box and the mothership talk to each other, which is kind of interesting.


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## neonpachyderm (Nov 12, 2010)

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Before I did any of the upgrades, I checked the Sys Info, and it did indeed show a lifetime sub. When I can, I'll eventually get connected. For now, the system seems to be working fine.

Watching TV tonight has been fun. My wife missed the first 20 minutes of the Criminal Minds episode on ION TV, so we backed up and watched it from the beginning. I like the way this thing works!


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

The camera cable and the TiVo serial cable are different. 

The TiVo one has a male "DCE" plug. 

The camera one has a female "DTE" plug. The one I have (from an old Polaroid brand Joycam) is wired such as it directly compatible with the TiVo, with no modification or adapters

A PC (or USB serial adapter) has a male "DCE" plug.


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## neonpachyderm (Nov 12, 2010)

classicsat said:


> The camera cable and the TiVo serial cable are different.
> 
> The TiVo one has a male "DCE" plug.
> 
> ...


Cool. I have a couple of those old Polaroid camera serial cables running around. I went out to my storage building a couple of days ago looking for them and couldn't find them, though. Once I get a connection established with my network, I'll do a lot of other little hacks that have been posted around the net, such as the 30-second "commercial skip" hack.

Once we get settled in our house (we're in a borrowed living space while we prepare our land and trailer), I'll probably subscribe to DirecTV again, if they still offer a non-HD package. (I have a 75" projected image, but the projector isn't an HD unit, and with my eyesight, I don't really care whether I have HD or not. OTOH, it may be sort of like the Tivo was when I first got it set up. Once I experience it, I may think, "How did I ever live without this?")


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## hugo?r1 (Nov 20, 2010)

Hello, I have problems with my HDR112, it will be great if somebody help me with an image with the GS already done.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

hugo?r1 said:


> Hello, I have problems with my HDR112, it will be great if somebody help me with an image with the GS already done.


You do know that guided setup is basically telling the TiVo where it's going to be living, right? (which means it's best done at that location)

Exactly what sort of problems are you having?

Do you need to avoid using the internal modem and/or a local phone line?

Or is your hard drive dying, or what?


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## hugo?r1 (Nov 20, 2010)

The problem is because I don't have a normal phone connection right now at home, I was using it as a normal PVR and I did a mistake entering in the guided setup and I am now in a trap because i can not get out of this GS. Unfortunately I don't have the image I was using previous to this mistake. I just don't want to do something complex like the PPP connection.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

hugo?r1 said:


> The problem is because I don't have a normal phone connection right now at home, I was using it as a normal PVR and I did a mistake entering in the guided setup and I am now in a trap because i can not get out of this GS. Unfortunately I don't have the image I was using previous to this mistake. I just don't want to do something complex like the PPP connection.


Can your series 1 talk to the internet in any way?

Do you have shows recorded that you want to save?


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## hugo?r1 (Nov 20, 2010)

I think i can modify the series 1 to talk to internet but it could be complex, i don't care about the shows saved in the machine.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

hugo?r1 said:


> I think i can modify the series 1 to talk to internet but it could be complex, i don't care about the shows saved in the machine.


I'm getting the impression that you don't have a TiVo subscription or lifetime service, in which case you should never have gone into guided setup in the first place and you may be well and truly screwed, but let's see what we can do.

Do you happen to know what version of the software you had on there?


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## section128drunk (May 6, 2007)

turbonet card is the way to go when your modem is dead, I haven't had a phone line in my home in years


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## chaaarlie (Sep 27, 2009)

switch998 said:


> Fixing the modem would probably be an easy task. It's probably a cold solder or bad component. I do electronics repair, so I'd be able to fix this in no time. If you'd like to go through with this option, send me a high res picture of both sides of the main PCB.
> 
> OMG, one can fix the modem?? Please tell me how! I now have TWO Series 1 boxes stuck in Guided Setup because the modems don't work.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

chaaarlie said:


> switch998 said:
> 
> 
> > Fixing the modem would probably be an easy task. It's probably a cold solder or bad component. I do electronics repair, so I'd be able to fix this in no time. If you'd like to go through with this option, send me a high res picture of both sides of the main PCB.
> ...


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## chaaarlie (Sep 27, 2009)

unitron said:


> chaaarlie said:
> 
> 
> > Do these S1s have the original hard drives still? How long has it been since they've been used? Any particular reason to use them instead of finding a couple of cheap S2s on Craigslist?
> ...


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

chaaarlie said:


> unitron said:
> 
> 
> > My reason for resurrecting these old units is that it drives me crazy that they're perfectly functional except for the modem, and the boneheaded GS menu won't let you back out of it! It's personal at this point.
> ...


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## chaaarlie (Sep 27, 2009)

unitron said:


> chaaarlie said:
> 
> 
> > If these were working not that long ago, how did you wind up in Guided Setup?
> ...


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

chaaarlie said:


> unitron said:
> 
> 
> > Really? You HAD to ask the embarrassing question? Ok, the first time, I was using my already modemless TiVo as a dumb DVR, when my mom called asking for help with her (identical) TiVo. So I went into GS to see what the screens said, in order to talk her thru the process over the phone. Didn't know I'd end up stuck there for life.
> ...


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## lillevig (Dec 7, 2010)

chaaarlie said:


> unitron said:
> 
> 
> > Really? You HAD to ask the embarrassing question? Ok, the first time, I was using my already modemless TiVo as a dumb DVR, when my mom called asking for help with her (identical) TiVo. So I went into GS to see what the screens said, in order to talk her thru the process over the phone. Didn't know I'd end up stuck there for life.
> ...


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

lillevig said:


> chaaarlie said:
> 
> 
> > unitron said:
> ...


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

Back in the day when the HDR112 was the only Tivo in town and the modems died (a very common occurrence), a workaround was employed that allowed the Tivo to dial out using an external modem. 9th Tee sells an adapter kit that allows you to connect an external modem via serial connection. It's basically a Tivo serial cable and a DB9 to DB25 serial adapter. Here's the link to the kit:

http://www.9thtee.com/tivomodemrepair.htm

I believe the most popular modem that worked with the Tivo was a U.S. Robotics 56k modem. I forget the exact model that was compatible but it shouldn't be too difficult to search the archives and find out which one worked.

They also used to sell modem repair kits but I no longer see them on their website. If you're interested you can probably contact them and see if they're still available.


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## lillevig (Dec 7, 2010)

Ok, I don't have an S1 box anymore but I did pull out an S2 from the closet and was able to use my old PPP setup to run Guided Setup. Previously I had only tried daily updates with PPP so I wasn't sure if Guided Setup disallowed that method.. The setup is with a netbook running WinXP and a USB to 9-pin male adapter cable. The cable to the Tivo is a stereo plug to a female 9-pin serial connector. The Tivo cable did NOT require modification to turn it into a "NULL" cable. Most of the Tivo serial cables I've collected over the years have the male 9-pin. Not sure if the female one was ever a standard cable but it came with some used Tivo box I bought.


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