Last Updated September 18, 2002 1:30PM CST
This is a new abbreviated how-to for relative newbies using Mfs Tools 2.0 as the predominant TiVo upgrade utility. These
instructions and the new utility have not been widely tested so those wishing to use the original How-To featuring the more
familiar Mfs Tools 1.1, TiVoMad and BlessTiVo should see the original How-To. This document is geared for users of
common IDE Bus PC's running Windows 95b, 98, or Me (see note at end for Windows NT/2000/XP users).
I Want a Large TiVo with Lots of Recording Time:
Following this guide you should wind up with a large TiVo (85 - 340 hrs) in about 1-3 hours.
This instruction should function for all U.S. and U.K. makes/models/series of standalone TiVo's
and DirecTV/TiVo combo units (referred to as DirecTiVo's for this document) and is an 11 step
upgrade program from purchase to celebration. Remember, you are hacking your TiVo and there
are no guarantees of the utilities or instruction provided. If you run into problems or don't
understand something you will need to reference the Hack FAQ or Avs TiVo Underground
Forum.
1) For those that haven't yet, purchase a TiVo.
TiVo is offered in Standalone (can record over-the-air broadcasts, cable, digital cable, satellite, and any analog source) as
well as DirecTiVo models (which will only record DTV satellite). All TiVos can be upgraded and the differences between
manufacturers are mostly cosmetic. Purchasing the least expensive model and upgrading yourself is generally the most
economical solution to obtaining large recording capacities. The new TiVo Series 2 DVR and Series 2 AT&TiVo
Standalone models do offer more RAM and a 4x faster processor than their predecessors along with USB ethernet ports for
future compatibility with other home entertainment services (MP3's, digital photos, etc), so you may wish to consider this in
your purchasing decision. You can check ebay, ubid.com, price comparison sites, and Avs TiVo Forum for deals. If you
already have a TiVo, don't worry as all TiVos and DirecTiVos can be upgraded now. Feel free to use your TiVo as much as
you like before upgrading, setting up season passes, thumbs, and making recordings - as all this information will be saved
and preserved during the upgrade (including your recordings in some upgrade configurations). A virgin image is no longer
necessary for small backups and in fact; the further along you are in entering your season passes, thumbs, etc the more current
your backup image will be if ever you need to restore.
2) Acquire large IDE hard drive(s). Planning your upgrade.
**Special Note [September 2002]: For those uncomfortable using the How-To or not wishing to do the
upgrade themselves: Upgrade Service and Kits are available pre-configured for drop-in install to
increase your recording capacity within minutes.
The truth is almost all new large IDE hard drives will work fine. 5400rpm drives are probably your best bet (generally less
heat, noise and vibration) and with dropping drive prices the 80GB, 100GB, and 120GB drives are often the most cost
effective. Search Avs forum, price comparison engines, and etailers for best prices. You can run long diagnostics on your
hard drive for peace of mind (better than 98% are error free) but personally I wouldn't bother - skipping this step saves you
lots of time and TiVo drives may fail even after successfully passing diagnostics. TiVo will uncover any defects (often
before diagnostic software will find them) and restoring now only takes a few minutes with Mfs Tools. Remember that with
Mfs Tools available to make very small backups, it is no longer necessary to purchase/shelve a hard drive for use as backup.
You do not need to run a low level format or zero out any new or previously used hard drives as the upgrade utilities will
overwrite and claim all the space for the expanded TiVo. If you find that head seeks on your new drive are distractingly loud
there may be acoustic management utilities for your new drive that may reduce the noise level (search for "acoustic" in the
AVS TiVo Underground). ATA and TiVo kernel confinements limit using at most 137GB (128GiB) of any drives installed in
your TiVo. Larger drives may function but you are currently limited to a maximum of 2 drives x 137GB (128GiB) or 274GB
(256GiB) of usable space.
Factory configurations: In order to plan your upgrade you will need to determine whether your unit has a single or dual
drive configuration. The following table will assist:
Philips 14hr HDR112 Standalone Single 13.6GB A drive
Philips 20hr HDR212 Standalone Single 22GB A drive
Philips 30hr HDR312 Standalone
Model #HDR312 Dual 13.6GB A + 13.6GB B drive *
Model #HDR31201 Single 30GB A drive *
Model #HDR31202 Single 30GB A drive *
#HDR312XX and higher Single 30GB A drive *
Philips 60hr HDR612 Standalone Dual 30GB A + 30GB B drive
Philips 35hr DSR6000 DirecTiVo
# 4702XXXX and lower Dual 30GB A + 15GB B drive*
Serial #4703XXX Dual 30GB A + 15GB B drive*
Serial #4704XXX Single 40GB A drive*
# 4705XXXX and higher Single 40GB A drive*
Sony 30hr SVR2000 Standalone Single 30GB or 40GB A drive
Sony 35hr Sat-T60 DirecTiVo
# 800XXXX and lower Dual 30GB A + 15GB B drive*
Serial #801XXXX Single 40GB A drive*
# 802XXXX and higher Single 40GB A drive*
Hughes 35hr GXCEBOT DirecTiVo Single 40GB A drive
TiVo 60hr Series 2 DVR Standalone Single 60GB A drive
AT&TiVo 40hr Series 2 Standalone Single 40GB A drive
* Model and serial number identifications are presented as a general rule. There are exceptions to these rules and the best
method to verify the number of drives is to remove the cover using a Torx T-10 driver and visually inspect
Upgrading any Single Drive TiVo: The easiest and most cost efficient combination would be to use your existing TiVo A
drive and simply add a new large B drive after creating a backup image. However, you can use a single larger A drive or
combine any two drive sizes you wish as long as your A drive is at least as large as your original A drive image.
Upgrading any Dual Drive TiVo: Factory dual drive units or those with previously upgraded dual drive units can use Mfs
Tools to revert your TiVo back to a single drive unit or expand recording capacity even further using larger drives. You are
able to use a single large A drive, or replace either your A or B drives with a larger upgrade drive, or combine any two
drive sizes you wish as long as your A drive is at least as large as your original A drive image.
**Special Note [September 2002]: For those uncomfortable using the How-To or not wishing to do the upgrade
themselves: Upgrade Service and Kits are available pre-configured for drop-in install to increase your recording capacity
within minutes.
3) Acquire Torx screwdriver or bit - size 10 (and maybe size 15). Hard drive bracket.
You can find Torx bits/driver at your local Walmart, HomeDepot, or hardware store. Size 10 will be required, however, you
may not need the size 15 depending upon your setup (random so get both if purchasing before cracking open your TiVo). If
you are adding a second drive to a single drive standalone unit, you may also wish to order a hard drive bracket to hold your
new B drive from 9th Tee (you can get the Torx drivers from them also) although many have used plastic ties, rubber feet,
duct tape and other riggings to secure the new drive in place with success - search the AVS TiVo Underground forum for
more details. All DirecTiVo's and Series 2 standalone's (including AT&T) drives are not held in brackets but are screwed
directly to a metal frame so will not require a seperate mounting bracket.
The Hughes DirecTiVo units, the new TiVo Series 2 DVRs, and the AT&TiVos will require the purchase of a "Y" adapter
for the power connector (available at Radio Shack and most computer stores) and an 80 wire ATA 66/100 IDE cable
(DirecTiVos can use ATA 33 40 wire) with master and slave connectors (may be supplied with retail hard drive or can be
purchased at any computer store) - some units and cables require that the A Drive be connected to the end Master connector
with the B drive connected to the middle Slave connector of the IDE cable. If necessary, some IDE cables can be reversed
(blue motherboard connector used for Master drive) for better fit, although not all cables will function properly connected in
this manner.
4) Download latest upgrade utilities.
Mfs Tools Boot CD (If you have a CD-R Burner)
For most common upgrades you should download Tiger’s Mfs Tools Boot Cd (10.3MB) containing all necessary utilities.
Use your CD burning software (Nero, Adaptec, CDRWin, etc) to burn as an iso image (not a file) using the default burn
image option in the file pulldown menu (uses Data Mode 1, Block size 2048 see readme for more detailed burning
instructions). You may need to adjust your PC's Bios boot options to 'boot from CD' if not configured (most computers are
already configured for cd-rom boot). For the following instructions you will be designated as a Boot Cd user.
OR
Mfs Tools Boot Floppy
For most common recording capacity upgrades, you should download Tiger’s Mfs Tools Boot Floppy (1.4MB) containing all
necessary utilities. Unzip this file to it's own folder and place a blank disk in your floppy drive. Double click to execute the
makedisk.bat file and the batch file will automatically create a Mfs Tools boot floppy for you (label Mfs Tools Boot
Floppy).
Additional possibly required utilities:
If you run into a locked drive (total size reports as 9-10MB) for any reason during this upgrade process then use the qunlock
utility to unlock. If required, first download the qunlock (7k) program. This file should then be copied to a dos boot floppy.
To create a dos boot disk, place a blank disk in your floppy then exit windows to an msdos prompt and type "sys a:" at the c:\
prompt. Windows ME users should go to Control Panel-->add/remove programs-->Startup Disk to create the dos boot disk
(Windows 2000/NT/XP users should see note at end of document). Return to Windows and then copy the qunlock program to
your new dos boot floppy (label qunlock boot disk).
If you are going to be restoring a backup image running TiVo software version 2.0 or below (does not apply to 2.0.1 or
above) to a non-Quantum A drive you will also need to download TiVoMad v3.2 (1.4MB - requires a single floppy disk).
Unzip this file to it's own folder and place a blank formatted disk in your floppy drive. Double click to execute the
makedisk.bat file and the batch file will automatically create a TiVoMad boot floppy for you (label TiVoMad).
RAM - The Boot disks will require a minimum of 32MB of RAM installed on your PC to function.
PS/2 Keyboard - Because there is not currently general support for USB keyboards on any of the Boot disks, or for
manufacturer "enhanced" keyboards, a standard PS/2 keyboard may be required.
Disable GoBack (if applicable) - The GoBack program, used by some, may cause corruption of any Mfs Tools backup file
created and should not be used when booting with a Linux disk.
5) Remove drive(s) from TiVo.
Running guided setup (for new units) prior to starting your upgrade will reduce potential backup problems, significantly
reduce backup file size, and will verify you have a working unit prior to upgrade. If it's a new TiVo, and you have subscribed
to TiVo service, you may also wish to wait a day (or manually force 1-2 call-ins) until the unit has upgraded to the most
current software. Furthermore, it may be beneficial to play with your TiVo awhile prior to backing up/upgrading so as to
have a more complete current backup image (season passes etc). Maintaining a virgin TiVo for smaller backup image is no
longer necessary or even desirable if using Mfs Tools. Also remember that upgrading your TiVo will void your warranty so
you may want to use it unmodified for 90 days.
When ready to upgrade, check the system administration menu and make note of the software version (3.0, 2.5, 2.0.1, 2.0,
1.5.2, 1.3, etc) and then unplug the unit. Remove the 3-4 Torx screws (Torx 10 required) on the back of the TiVo. The top
lid should slide backwards approximately one inch then can be lifted off but it is generally on very tight. This may be the
most difficult part of your upgrade. Some people have used a flat head screwdriver to pry under the top of the case where the
screws in the back were removed but make sure to take your time with the cover removal.
Most important remember not to touch the power supply - even unplugged it can give a dangerous shock or damage
hardware. Once the cover is off, disconnect the IDE and power connectors from your TiVo hard drive(s). Those with
standalone units (except Series 2) will unscrew (you may need Torx size 10 or 15) the two screws holding the individual
drive bracket(s) to the TiVo frame (behind the hard drive and close to the front of the TiVo) - and slide the drive(s) out with
bracket connected.
Those with DirecTiVo and Series 2 standalone units will need to remove the entire support bracket holding the TiVo
drive(s). First temporarily unplug the fan connector and unscrew the two screws (torx 10 or 15), often with blue grommets, to
the right (if facing the unit from the rear) of the drives. You may be able to slide the drive bracket out at this point. However,
some SAT-T60 units may need to remove a third screw, often with blue grommet, on the reverse side of a metal divider
behind the power supply (be VERY careful not to touch the power supply as may damage your hardware or cause dangerous
shock) - this screw can be difficult and may require a swiveling or right angle torx bit or perhaps vise grips or pliers - others
have had success covering the capacitors with folded paper and using the regular torx driver. If you are unsure as to how to
remove the drive bracket then see the Avs TiVo Underground Forum for assistance. Once you have the bracket removed, you
may be able to leave the bracket attached for the upgrade or may need to unscrew the drive(s) from the bracket (depending
upon the length of your PC's IDE cables and power connectors).
If you are removing two drives make sure to label which is the A drive and which is the B drive. Configurations vary,
however, the A drive is often connected at the end of the IDE cable with the B drive connected in the middle. If they are
already labeled with colored stickers, you should rely on the labels. You may also be able to determine which is the A drive
by examining the jumper settings; A drive is jumpered as Master/or Cable Select with the B drive as Slave/or having no
jumpers.
6) Placing drives into your PC:
You will need to locate/understand where your primary and secondary IDE cables are in your computer in order to connect
your drives properly. Configurations vary but in most circumstances, the middle connector on each IDE cable is used as the
Slave port and the end connector on each cable is used as Master. Your primary Windows boot "C:" drive is usually
connected to your Primary Master IDE connector if that is helpful for reference in determining which is your Primary and
which is your Secondary IDE cable.
For general ease of instruction and to minimize jumper changes and drive swaps - I have selected particular IDE hard drive
connections to use for the following upgrade steps leaving the secondary slave port available for a cd-rom/cd-rw disk drive
(if applicable). However, your TiVo drives and cd-rom/cd-rw can be connected to any IDE port you wish - just make sure to
adjust the drive jumpers and all the utility script's command options to follow in accordance. If you are using Mfs Tools to
create a small backup file then your DOS/Windows fat32 C: drive or partition can be left jumpered as master and connected
to the Primary Master IDE port. Here is a table of the linux IDE drive designations so that you can make changes to the utility
commands if you are using a different drive configuration than I have outlined:
hda - Primary Master (dos/windows fat32 C: drive or partition)
hdb - Primary Slave
hdc - Secondary Master
hdd - Secondary Slave
7) Backup up your TiVo drive(s) with Mfs Tools
Regardless of the upgrade configuration, you should first create and test a backup image before attempting any upgrade. We
will use Tiger's Mfs Tools to generate a very small (usually 110-500MB), very fast (few minutes) backup file onto your
windows C: drive. This small backup will contain your current software version, channel lineup, guide data, season passes,
thumbs, preferences, etc for easy restore in case of future problems or upgrades (see readme for more detailed information
on all of Mfs Tools’ uses). Mfs Tools opens your source TiVo drive(s) in read only so your original data/recordings should
be unaffected.
OPTION #1: BACKING UP A SINGLE DRIVE TiVo
Note: Those with a two-drive configuration cannot backup only the A drive of an A+B pair and must use Option #2: Backing
Up a Two-Drive TiVo below in order to create a functioning backup image.
Assuming your regular windows C: drive is connected as Primary Master with at least 1.5 gigabytes of free space to be safe
(it may work with as little as 120MB free). Place your newly burned Boot Cd into your cd-rom drive (or Boot Floppy in
your floppy drive) and power down your PC. Jumper your existing TiVo A drive to master (see drive diagram or
manufacturer website) and connect to the Secondary Master IDE connector on your PC making sure the red/black edge stripe
on the IDE cable is closest to the power connector and that the power connector is inserted fully. Then take your/(one of
your) newly acquired large hard drive and configure the jumpers to Slave (see diagram on drive or drive documentation) and
connect this drive to the Primary Slave IDE connector in your PC.
Power up your PC with the Boot Cd in your cd-rom (or Boot Floppy in your floppy drive). Boot Cd users should hit <enter>
to initiate the default boot option. You will then see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before you are presented
with a linux # prompt. Make sure to review the output and confirm that your hard drives are being recognized at their full size
(you can hold down the shift + page-up to review the output if necessary - Boot Cd users page-up approximately 6 times to
view drive reports).
If you have connected your drives as described above then:
hda Primary Master - should report the size of your Windows C: drive.
hdb Primary Slave -should report the full size of your new large upgrade drive.
hdc Secondary Master -should report the full size of your TiVo A drive (example 13.6GB for a 14hr)
hdd Secondary Slave - reports your cd-rom/cd-rw drive (if applicable)
If the drive sizes are not reported correctly, you may either have a locked drive (will report size as 9-10MB - see following
instructions to unlock) or you may need to turn off your computers Bios IDE detection - search Avs TiVo Underground forum
if you need assistance accessing your computer's CMOS.
Locked Drive: If your Quantum/Maxtor drive (some drives labeled as Maxtor may actually have Quantum firmware) is
locked (reporting as 9-10MB on boot up) then you should unlock it now using your qunlock dos boot floppy (see step 4).
Press Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' to exit and power down your PC. Place the qunlock dos boot disk
in your floppy drive and then power up your PC.
At the A:\ prompt type the following command:
(This command assumes you have your TiVo drive connected as Secondary Master)
qunlock 2
If your drive is connected differently, or you have more than one locked drive then re-run the command using the following as
reference:
0 for IDE Primary Master
1 for IDE Primary Slave
2 for IDE Secondary Master
3 for IDE Secondary Slave
This will only take a few seconds. When completed you can turn off your PC. Now power up your PC with the Boot Cd in
your cd-rom (or Boot Floppy in your floppy drive). Boot Cd users should hit <enter> to initiate default boot option. You will
then see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before presenting you with a linux # prompt. Make sure to review the
output and confirm that your hard drive(s) are being recognized at their full size.
At # prompt both Boot CD and Floppy users type the following commands to mount your C: drive:
mkdir /mnt/dos
mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/dos
Then type ONE of the following commands to actually perform the single drive backup:
(This is assuming you have connected your drives as described above: If you have used different IDE drive connections then
make sure to adjust the following commands accordingly)
mfsbackup -6so /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdc (Boot Cd and Floppy command)
or
mfsbackup -l 32 -6so /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdc (UK TiVo with v2.5.5 command)
This will generally take from 5-25 minutes and you will get a progress report and results (if screen goes blank before
finishing simply hit the shift key to restore screen). Be aware that Mfs Tools will report the uncompressed file size, however,
the actual compressed backup file written to your C: drive will be significantly smaller. When finished you will have a small
backup file (tivo.bak in your C: drive root directory) containing a usable single drive image (effectively unexpanding if
previously expanded) that can now be restored to any size drive - although the drive must be at least as large as the original
A drive image. (example: An expanded 80GB A drive, that used a 14hr image to create the original upgrade, would result in
a 14hr image outcome that can be restored/expanded to any drive size of 13.6GB or larger). You are now ready to restore
this image for testing and should advance to step 8 of the instruction.
Note: If you are not planning on immediately restoring this image, or are powering down your PC to change drives, then make
sure to unmount your drives prior to powering down (see step 8 for unmount command).
OPTION #2: BACKING UP A Two-Drive TiVo
Note: This option will create a small divorced single drive image (containing your season passes, setup, etc. – not
recordings) from your dual drives that can be used as backup and to quickly upgrade after testing. There are backup
commands/procedures described later in Step 10 that will allow you to also preserve your recordings while upgrading (more
time consuming), but you should still create the small single drive image outlined in the following option to have on hand in
case of upgrade problems.
Assuming your regular Windows C: drive is connected as Primary Master with at least 1.5 gigabytes of free space to be safe
(it may work with as little as 120MB free). Place your newly burned Boot Cd into your cd-rom drive (or Boot Floppy in
your floppy drive) and power down your PC. Connect your original TiVo A drive to the Secondary Master IDE connector on
your PC making sure that the red/black edge stripe on the IDE cable is closest to the power connector and that the power
connector is inserted fully. Connect your original TiVo B drive to the Primary Slave IDE connector on your PC. You will
hook up your/(one of your) newly acquired large drives later when you get to the Restore instructions further down.
Power up your PC with the Boot Cd in your cd-rom (or Boot Floppy in your floppy drive). Boot Cd users should hit <enter>
to initiate the default boot option. You will then see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before presenting you with
a linux # prompt. Make sure to review the output and confirm that your hard drives are being recognized at their full size (you
can hold down the shift + page-up to review the output if necessary - Boot Cd users page-up approximately 6 times to view
drive reports).
If you have connected your drives as described above then:
hda Primary Master - should report the size of your dos/windows C: drive.
hdb Primary Slave -should report the full size of original TiVo B drive
hdc Secondary Master -should report the full size of your TiVo A drive (example 13.6GB for a 14hr)
hdd Secondary Slave - reports your cd-rom/cd-rw drive (if applicable)
If the drive sizes are not reported correctly, you may either have a locked drive (will report size as 9-10MB - see the
following instructions to unlock) or you may need to turn off your computers Bios IDE detection - search Avs TiVo
Underground forum if you need assistance accessing your computer's CMOS.
Locked Drive: If your Quantum/Maxtor drive (some drives labeled as Maxtor may actually have Quantum firmware) is
locked (reporting as 9-10MB on boot up) then you should unlock it now using your qunlock dos boot floppy (see step 4).
Press Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' to exit and power down your PC. Place the qunlock dos boot disk
in your floppy drive and then power up your PC.
At the A:\ prompt type the following command:
(This command assumes you have your TiVo drive connected as Secondary Master)
qunlock 2
If your drive is connected differently, or you have more than one locked drive then re-run the command using the following as
reference:
0 for IDE Primary Master
1 for IDE Primary Slave
2 for IDE Secondary Master
3 for IDE Secondary Slave
This will only take a few seconds. When completed you can turn off your PC. Now power up your PC with the Boot Cd in
your cd-rom (or Boot Floppy in your floppy drive). Boot Cd users should hit <enter> to initiate the default boot option. You
will then see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before presenting you with a linux # prompt. Make sure to review
the output and confirm that your hard drive(s) are being recognized at their full size.
At # prompt both Boot Cd and Floppy users type the following commands to mount your C: drive:
mkdir /mnt/dos
mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/dos
Then issue ONE of the following commands to actually perform the two-drive backup:
(This is assuming you have connected your drives as described above: If you have used different IDE drive connections then
make sure to adjust the following commands accordingly)
mfsbackup -6so /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdc /dev/hdb (Boot Cd and Floppy users command)
or
mfsbackup -l 32 -6so /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdc /dev/hdb (UK TiVo with v2.5.5 command)
This will generally take from 5-25 minutes and you will get a progress report and results (if screen goes blank before
finishing simply hit the shift key to restore screen). Be aware that Mfs Tools will report the uncompressed file size, however,
the actual compressed backup file written to your C: drive will be significantly smaller. When finished you will have a small
backup file (tivo.bak in your C: drive root directory) containing a usable single drive image (effectively divorcing the
drives) that can now be restored to any size drive - although it must be at least as large as the original A drive image.
(example: an upgraded 80+80GB two-drive unit that used a 14hr image to create the original upgrade would revert to a 14hr
image that can be restored to any drive size of 13.6GB or larger). You are now ready to restore this image for testing and
should advance to step 8 of the instruction. Those with factory dual drive units should first see the notes following:
Note for those backing up a factory dual drive standalone unit: There are a few dual drive standalones that were
configured across both drives in an unusual manner. If you have a true combined dual drive unit (rare), the -s option in the
previous mfstool backup command will have no effect and your drives will not be divorced and will need to be combined
into a single drive image. I recommend first using the -s option in your command line anyway because some factory
two-drive units, that you may think are true combined dual drive units, are in reality simply a single drive unit with a factory
added/blessed B. Mfs Tools will first report the original source image size and the resulting image size created (in recording
hours) so that you can compare to determine whether you have a true factory combined dual drive or simply a factory married
TiVo A with added/blessed B drive:
If Mfs Tools reports the original Source Image and Backup Image sizes are equal (reported as hours), and does not provide
an "Upgraded to" size, then you have a true combined dual drive unit (rare) and will need to re-run your backup command
eliminating the -s in the command line (-6o instead of -6so) to combine the drives otherwise the image will not function. True
factory dual drive backups will need to be restored to a drive at least as large as the combination of the original A+B drives
(example: A true dual drive standalone 312 with 13.6+13.6GB drives will need to be restored to at least an approximately
30GB hard drive).
If Mfs Tools reports the Result Image as smaller than the "Upgraded to" image (reported as hours), then you have a married
two-drive unit that will actually have been divorced by the backup options specified in the command line (-6so). The
resulting image can be restored to any size A drive at least as large as the original A drive (example: A married dual drive
standalone 312 with 13.6+13.6GB drives will result in a 14hr divorced image that can be restore to any drive of 13.6GB or
larger).
NOTE: If you are not planning on immediately restoring this image, or are powering down your PC to change drives, then
make sure to unmount your drives prior to powering down (see step 8 for unmount command).
OPTION #3 (limited use): COPYING TiVo DRIVE TO
NEW UPGRADE DRIVE
This time consuming option does not create a small backup file but simply copies your complete TiVo original drive image
to a new upgrade drive (destination drive must be at least as large as the source drive). This option is especially useful for
single drive Standalone or DirecTiVo upgraders who are replacing their original A drive with a new upgrade A drive (or
new A and new B) and are determined to preserve their recordings. Although this can be accomplished using Mfs Tools
(preferable - see Step 10), I am including the linux dd copy option for this task because Mfs Tools will not be substantially
faster and dd copying will provide a more complete image for those that want it (includes all partitions – exact duplicate).
Swap File: When increasing your total recording capacity (A+B drives) to over ~140GB (actual threshold number is likely
just over 150GB for Series 1 Standalones and over 180GB for DirecTiVos and Series 2 units) the preferable method for
upgrade should include a means to increase the swap file so that the built-in TiVo repair utility (GSOD) can complete if ever
triggered (rare). Those upgrading, or planning on upgrading in the future, to these larger capacities should consider using the
Mfs Tools backup/restore options (-s 127 command line parameter increases the swap) outlined in Step 10 in preference to
using this dd copy method.
For safety and for those wishing to subsequently utilize their original TiVo A drive in a PC or another TiVo, instead of
shelving for backup purposes, you will want to first use Mfs Tools to make a small usable backup image on their Windows
C: drive and test this image prior to dd copying their drive (see OPTION #1: BACKING UP A SINGLE DRIVE TiVo
above).
Connect your original TiVo A drive to the Secondary Master IDE connector on your PC making sure that the red/black edge
stripe on the IDE cable is closest to the power connector and that the power connector is inserted fully. Connect your new
upgrade drive to the Primary Slave IDE connector on your PC. You may also wish to remove any other hard drives on your
system (including your primary dos C: drive) for extra security.
Power up your PC with the Boot Cd in your cd-rom (or Boot Floppy in your floppy drive). Boot Cd users should hit <enter>
to initiate the default boot option. You will then see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before presenting you with
a linux # prompt. Make sure to review the output and confirm that your hard drives are being recognized at their full size (you
can hold down the shift + page-up to review the output if necessary - Boot Cd users page-up approximately 6 times to view
drive reports).
If the drive sizes are not reported correctly, you may either have a locked drive (will report size as 9-10MB - see the
following instructions to unlock) or you may need to turn off your computers Bios IDE detection - search Avs TiVo
Underground forum if you need assistance accessing your computer's CMOS.
Locked Drive: If your Quantum/Maxtor drive (some drives labeled as Maxtor may actually have Quantum firmware) is
locked (reporting as 9-10MB on boot up) then you should unlock it now using your qunlock dos boot floppy (see step 4).
Press Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' to exit and power down your PC. Place the qunlock dos boot disk
in your floppy drive and then power up your PC.
At the A:\ prompt type the following command:
(This command assumes you have your TiVo drive connected as Secondary Master)
qunlock 2
If your drive is connected differently, or you have more than one locked drive then re-run the command using the following as
reference:
0 for IDE Primary Master
1 for IDE Primary Slave
2 for IDE Secondary Master
3 for IDE Secondary Slave
This will only take a few seconds. When completed you can turn off your PC. Now power up your PC with the Boot Cd in
your cd-rom (or Boot Floppy in your floppy drive). Boot Cd users should hit <enter> to initiate the default boot option. You
will then see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before presenting you with a linux # prompt. Make sure to review
the output and confirm that your hard drive(s) are being recognized at their full size and that they are showing up on the
correct port designation. Linux dd copying is very destructive and it is very easy to make a mistake. Double check that your
TiVo A drive is reported at it's full size and connected at port designation hdc, and that your new upgrade drive is reported at
it's full size and connected at port designation hdb (or applicable designation if using different IDE ports).
Boot CD and Boot Floppy users: Issue the following command to actually perform the dd drive copy:
(These commands assume original TiVo drive on Secondary Master and destination upgrade drive on Primary Slave. If you
have used different IDE drive connections then make sure to adjust the following commands accordingly)
dd if=/dev/hdc of=/dev/hdb bs=1024k
(If that command eventually returns an error, try using the following command instead:)
dd conv=noerror,sync if=/dev/hdc of=/dev/hdb bs=1024k
This will generally take from 1-4 hours depending upon the boot option selected, drive size, CPU speed etc. In some
circumstances this can take as long as 8 hours or more. You will not receive a progress report but your hard drive activity
light should show activity through out the whole process (if screen goes blank before finishing simply hit the shift key to
restore screen). Make sure when the command is finished that no errors were reported. The program should report X number
of blocks in and X numbers of blocks out. These numbers should be equal .
Note for those who are copying to non-Quantum A drives: If you have copied an image running TiVo software version
2.0 or below (does not apply to 2.0.1 or above) to a non-Quantum A drive you will need to now run TiVoMad’s
edit_bootparms program at the end of Step 8 before continuing.
When finished, power down your PC and jumper your new upgrade drive (to be used as your new TiVo A drive) to master
and place in your TiVo to test. If your new upgrade A drive is functioning properly, and you have already made and tested
your small Mfs Tools backup image (if applicable), then you can remove the drive from the TiVo and skip to Step 10:
Upgrade Configuration #2 to quickly expand/complete your upgrade.
8) Restoring Mfs Tools backup image
You should now verify your new small Mfs Tools backup image by restoring to a new upgrade drive and placing in your
TiVo to test. The restore command for either the two-drive or single drive backup above will be the same.
If you have just completed your Mfs Tools backup commands, and your new large upgrade drive is not yet currently
connected to your PC, then first unmount your drives using the following command at the linux # prompt:
umount -f -a -r (umount not unmount)
Then power down your PC (press Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' message or the system starts to
reboot, then power down.) and remove the original TiVo A (and B if applicable) drive(s) and connect your/(one of your)
new large upgrade drive to the Primary Slave IDE connector. Then power up the PC and get back to the linux # prompt and
re-mount your dos C: drive using the same commands as previously outlined in backup section 7 above.
Those who backed up single drives will already have their new large upgrade drive attached to the Primary Slave IDE
connector if following the instructions above.
Restore Mfs Tools backup image to your new large upgrade drive using ONE of the following commands:
(This is assuming you have connected your new large upgrade drive as Primary Slave)
mfsrestore -s 127 -zpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdb (Standard Boot Cd or Floppy users command)
or
mfsrestore -s 127 -bzpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdb (Series 2 units - Boot CD or Floppy users command)
This will take even less time than the backup and will report drive progress and results.
Note for those with already tested image: If you are restoring a previously tested backup image and are not concerned
about preserving recordings, you can use Mfs Tools to restore the image and expand your drives at the same time – saving
the mfsadd at Step 10 (this will overwrite any image/recordings existing on the destination drives).
With your new upgrade TiVo A drive as Secondary Master and new upgrade TiVo B drive (if any) as Primary Slave, you
can use the following command to restore your Mfs Tools backup image to your new large upgrade drive(s) and expand them
at the same time:
Restore and expand in a single step using ONE of the following commands:
Note: Series 2 units restoring a previously created backup image should also include the -b option in either command line
used below (-xzbpi instead of -xzpi).
mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdc (restore/expand to single new larger A drive)
or
mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi /mnt/dos/tivo.bak /dev/hdc /dev/hdb (restore/expand to new A and new B)
Mfs Tools will report drive progress and results. Once completed you can unmount and power down (see below) and then
skip to Step 11 and install your new TiVo upgrade drives.
Finally you can unmount your drives using the following command:
umount -f -a -r (umount not unmount)
When finished, press Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' or it reboots then power down.
Note for those who are restoring to non-Quantum A drives: If you are restoring an Mfs Tools backup image running TiVo
software version 2.0 or below (does not apply to 2.0.1 or above) to a non-Quantum A drive you will need to add
runideturbo=false to your rc.sysinit file in order for the drive to boot in your TiVo. After unmounting and powering down
(see instructions above), you will need to reboot with the TiVoMad floppy in your floppy drive (see Step 4 for instructions
on creating the TiVoMad floppy) – remember not to boot into Windows XP/2000/NT with your TiVo drives attached. Once
the TiVoMad floppy disk boots up and asks the first question (do NOT answer these questions) simply hold down the Ctrl +
C keys on your keyboard. This will exit the script and bring up the linux # prompt (you can hit <enter> to left justify your
prompt). At the TiVoMad floppy linux # prompt, you can simply type the following command to automatically make the
runideturbo adjustment (this assumes your upgrade drive with test A image is connected as Primary Slave):
mad/edit_bootparms hdb -i
(This program is silent when successful and returns to the shell prompt without any output.)
9) Pull your new large upgrade drive and place in TiVo to test Backup.
After restoring your Mfs Tools backup image and powering down your PC, remove your new large upgrade hard drive (now
containing your restored Mfs Tools backup image) connected to your primary slave and change the jumper settings on the
drive to Master (see diagram on drive or drive documentation). Place this drive in your TiVo (make sure not to touch the
power supply) and reconnect the IDE connector (red/black stripe closest to power connector) and power cable that you had
previously disconnected from your TiVo drive. Then plug in your TiVo and wait for it to boot up. If it sticks on the Powering
Up screen, first verify that the IDE and power cables are connected fully and your drive is jumpered properly (this is by far
the most common error and can be tricky sometimes as the drive diagram often needs to be read upside down, check the
manufacturer website for more detailed diagrams). Another reason you will stick at Powering Up is if you are using a
non-Quantum drive running v.2.0 or below and have not made the necessary runideturbo=false adjustment (see end of Step
8). If your TiVo screen goes black or shuts down after getting to the gray "Almost there.." screen, try hitting the power button
or TiVo button to exit standby mode.
You should now briefly utilize your TiVo to verify that it's working properly. If you check your system information screen, do
not expect the TiVo to recognize the full capacity of the drive. You will find that your recording capacity is identical to the
recording capacity of your original TiVo A drive. This is normal. Also note that although listed in now showing, your
recordings are not actually present on the drive and will not play. If your TiVo is functioning properly then you have now
verified that your small Mfs Tools backup image on your C: drive is functional. The backup file will serve as insurance if
you ever run into drive problems or want to upgrade again in the future. Now power down your TiVo and remove the drive.
10) Return drive(s) to your PC and perform the recording capacity upgrade:
Now that you have created and tested your backup image you are ready to expand your recording capacity. Regardless of
which upgrade configuration you choose below, you can at any time (using Mfs Tools) revert your TiVo back to a single
drive unit or expand recording capacity in the future using larger A or B drives. IDE and TiVo kernel confinements limit
using at most 137GB (128GiB) of any drives installed in your TiVo. Larger drives may function but you are currently limited
to a maximum of 2 drives x 137GB (128GiB) or 274GB (256GiB) of usable space. The term TiVo applies to all
makes/models/series TiVo or DirecTiVos, factory configured or previously upgraded, for the following upgrade
configurations:
UPGRADE CONFIGURATION #1:
From: Any Single Drive TiVo
To: Adding a New B Drive
(Fast option – preserves setup, season passes, etc. and recordings)
If you are simply adding a new large B drive to your existing (unmodified or expanded) TiVo A drive from your single drive
unit, then your season passes, setup, and recordings will be preserved. After creating and testing your Mfs Tools backup
image, all that is remaining to do for this upgrade configuration is to run Mfsadd to make your existing A drive aware of the
added space provided by your new large upgrade B drive
Swap File: When increasing your total recording capacity (A+B drives) to over ~140GB (actual threshold number is likely
just over 150GB for Series 1 Standalones and over 180GB for DirecTiVos and Series 2 units) the preferable method for
upgrade should include a means to increase the swap file so that the built-in TiVo repair utility (GSOD) can complete if ever
triggered (rare). Those upgrading to these larger capacities should consider using the Mfs Tools restore option (-s 127
command line parameter increases the swap) outlined in Upgrade Configuration #2 (test image has increased swap already -
does not preserve recordings) or Upgrade Configuration #3 (preserves recordings - time consuming) in preference to simply
using mfsadd described below to increase recording capacity.
First make sure your existing TiVo A drive is still jumpered to Master and connected to the Secondary Master IDE connector
on your PC. Then you should reset the drive jumpers on your new large Upgrade drive back to Slave (see diagram on drive
or drive documentation) and place back into your PC connected to the Primary Slave IDE connector (the restored test image
on your upgrade drive will be overwritten).
Power up your PC with the Boot Cd in your cd-rom (or Boot Floppy in your floppy drive). Boot Cd users should then hit
<enter> to initiate default boot option. You will then see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before presenting you
with a linux # prompt. Make sure to review the text output and confirm that your hard drive is being recognized at its full size
(you can hold down the shift + page-up to review the output - Boot Cd users page-up approximately 6 times to view drive
reports).
If the drive sizes are not reported correctly, you may either have a locked drive (will report size as 9-10MB - see section 7
for instructions to unlock) or you may need to turn off your computers Bios IDE detection - search Avs TiVo Underground
forum if you need assistance accessing your computer's CMOS.
At the # prompt both Boot Cd and Floppy users type the following command:
(The following command assumes your existing TiVo A drive is connected as Secondary Master and your new large upgrade
B drive is connected to the Primary Slave)
mfsadd -x /dev/hdc /dev/hdb (Boot CD and Floppy users command)
This will only take a few seconds and will report the results and size of your drives. When complete you can press
Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' message or the system starts to reboot, then power down. You are now
ready to install your drives in your TiVo and can skip to step 11.
UPGRADE CONFIGURATION #2:
From: Any Single or Dual Drive TiVo
To: New A with B Drive |or| New Single Larger A Drive
(Fast option – preserves setup, season passes, etc but not recordings)
For those not concerned about preserving their recordings (to preserve your recordings see alternate Upgrade Configurations
below – time consuming) this will be the speedy option used by most to complete their upgrade. After creating and testing
your Mfs Tools backup image, all that is remaining to do for this upgrade configuration is to expand your verified test image
(still on your upgrade drive) to recognize the full capacity of your new upgrade A drive and B drive (if any). We will be
using your new upgrade drive, with test image already restored, as your new A drive. Your B drive (if any) in your new
upgrade configuration can be a new large upgrade drive or you can use one of your original TiVo drives (will automatically
be overwritten) as a new B drive now that you have a verified backup image:
Example: After creating a backup image from your single drive 30GB Series 1 standalone and restoring this image to your
new 160GB upgrade drive to test, you can now expand your new 160GB upgrade A drive with your original 30GB drive
attached as your new B drive (using the commands below) to provide you with an new 160+30GB standalone configuration
(includes the swapfile increase preferable for this large capacity).
Example: After creating a backup image from your factory dual drive 30+15GB DirecTiVo and restoring this image to your
new 120GB upgrade drive to test, you can now expand your new 120GB upgrade A drive with your original 30GB drive
attached as your new B drive using the commands below to provide you with an new 120+30GB DirecTiVo configuration.
Example: After creating a backup image from your previously upgraded dual drive 14+80GB standalone and restoring this
image to your new 120GB upgrade drive to test, you can now expand your new 120GB upgrade A drive with your original
80GB drive attached as your new B drive using the commands below.
Example: After creating a backup image from your single drive 60GB Series 2 standalone and restoring this image to your
new 120GB upgrade drive to test, you can now expand your new 120GB upgrade A drive with a second new 120GB drive
attached as your new B drive using the commands below.
Note: If you do not currently have an Mfs Tools backup image on your upgrade drive, you should see Step 8 above to restore
your backup image to the upgrade drive to be used as your new TiVo A drive.
Verify that your large upgrade drive, for use as your new TiVo A drive, is still jumpered to Master (see diagram on drive or
drive documentation) and attach it to the Secondary Master IDE connector in your PC. If this is the drive that you just used to
test your Mfs Tools backup image then the restored image is still present and can simply be expanded using Mfsadd to claim
the extra space on this drive and also any space of a new B drive (if any).
If you are also adding a B drive (can be a new large drive or you can use one of your original TiVo drives –will
automatically be overwritten - as a new B drive now that you have a verified backup image) then now is the time to place it
in your PC. Make sure that it is jumpered as Slave (see diagram on drive or drive documentation) and connect to your
Primary Slave IDE connector.
Power up your PC with the Boot Cd in your cd-rom (or Boot Floppy in your floppy drive). Boot Cd users should then hit
<enter> to initiate default boot option. You will then see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before presenting you
with a linux # prompt. Make sure to review the text output and confirm that your hard drive is being recognized at its full size
(you can hold down the shift + page-up to review the output - Boot Cd users page-up approximately 6 times to view drive
reports).
If the drive sizes are not reported correctly, you may either have a locked drive (will report size as 9-10MB - see section 7
for instructions to unlock) or you may need to turn off your computers Bios IDE detection - search Avs TiVo Underground
forum if you need assistance accessing your computer's CMOS.
With a backup image already on your new upgrade drive then use ONE of the following to expand:
(The following command assumes your new larger upgrade A drive – with image - is connected as Secondary Master and
your new B drive - if any - is connected as Primary Slave)
mfsadd -x /dev/hdc (expanding single larger A drive)
or
mfsadd -x /dev/hdc /dev/hdb (expanding new A drive and new B drive)
This will only take a few seconds and will report the results and size of your drives. When complete you can press
Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' message or the system starts to reboot, then power down. You are now
ready to install your drives in your TiVo and can skip to Step 11.
UPGRADE CONFIGURATION #3:
From: Any Single Drive TiVo
To: New A and New B Drive |or| New Single Larger A Drive
(Slow option – preserves setup, season passes, etc. and recordings)
Those wishing to replace their single drive TiVo with a new single larger A drive, or new A and a new B drive, while
preserving their recordings will need to copy their complete existing TiVo A drive to the new larger upgrade A drive. This
can be time consuming so if you are not concerned about preserving your recordings then you should see Upgrade
Configuration #2 above for a much quicker procedure.
This option will not require your dos/windows C: drive and can now be removed from your PC to free up available IDE
ports (remember you can use any available IDE ports you wish – just make sure to adjust the command line parameters to
reflect your particular IDE connections).
Verify that your existing TiVo A drive is still jumpered to Master and connected to the Secondary Master IDE port in your
PC. Then verify that your large upgrade drive, for use as your new TiVo A drive, is still jumpered to Master and attach it to
the Primary Master IDE connector in your PC. If this is the drive that you just used to test your Mfs Tools backup image, then
the restored image is still present and will be overwritten during the copy/expansion procedure below.
If you are also adding a new B drive then now is the time to place it in your PC. Make sure that it is jumpered as Slave (see
diagram on drive or drive documentation) and connect to your Primary Slave IDE connector.
Power up your PC with the Boot Cd in your cd-rom (or Boot Floppy in your floppy drive). Boot Cd users should then hit
<enter> to initiate default boot option. You will then see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before presenting you
with a linux # prompt. Make sure to review the text output and confirm that your hard drive is being recognized at its full size
(you can hold down the shift + page-up to review the output - Boot Cd users page-up approximately 6 times to view drive
reports).
If the drive sizes are not reported correctly, you may either have a locked drive (will report size as 9-10MB - see section 7
for instructions to unlock) or you may need to turn off your computers Bios IDE detection - search Avs TiVo Underground
forum if you need assistance accessing your computer's CMOS.
Command to copy/expand from single drive to new single larger A drive:
(Assumes existing TiVo A drive as Secondary Master and new larger upgrade A drive as Primary Master)
mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hdc | mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi - /dev/hda
OR
Command to copy/expand from single drive to new larger A drive and new B drive:
(Assumes existing TiVo A drive as Secondary Master and new larger upgrade A drive as Primary Master and new B drive
as Primary Slave)
mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hdc | mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi - /dev/hda /dev/hdb
This will generally take from 1-4 hours depending upon drive size, ATA, CPU speed etc. In some circumstances this can take
as long as 8 hours or more. Mfs Tools will provide progress readouts and results when completed (if screen goes blank
before finishing simply hit the shift key to restore screen). Make sure when the command is finished that no errors were
reported. When complete you can press Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' message or the system starts to
reboot, then power down. You are now ready to install your drives in your TiVo and can skip to Step 11.
Note for those who are copying to non-Quantum A drives: If you have copied an image running TiVo software version
2.0 or below (does not apply to 2.0.1 or above) to a non-Quantum A drive you will need to now run TiVoMad’s
edit_bootparms program at the end of Step 8 before continuing.
UPGRADE CONFIGURATION #4:
From: Any Dual Drive TiVo
To: New A or New B Drive (replacing only one or the other)
(Slow option – preserves setup, season passes, etc. and recordings)
Those wishing to replace one of the drives in their dual drive TiVo with a new larger upgrade drive, while preserving their
recordings, will need to copy their complete existing TiVo A or B drive (whichever is being upgraded) to the new larger
upgrade drive first. This can be time consuming and because Mfs Tools cannot copy one drive at a time, we will be using the
linux dd program to perform the copy (for quicker upgrade method without preserving recordings see Upgrade Configuration
#2).
Swap File: If you are upgrading an unmodifed dual drive unit or a previously upgraded dual drive unit in which you did not
increase your swapfile (if you previously increased swap using TiVoMad or Mfs Tools 2.0 this does not apply) and your
total recording capacity (A+B drives) is going to exceed ~140GB (actual threshold number is likely just over 150GB for
Series 1 Standalones and over 180GB for DirecTiVos and Series 2 units) the preferable method for upgrade should include a
means to increase the swap file so that the built-in TiVo repair utility (GSOD) can complete if ever triggered (rare). Those
upgrading to these larger capacities should consider using the Mfs Tools restore option (-s 127 command line parameter
increases the swap) outlined in Upgrade Configuration #2 (test image has increased swap already - does not preserve
recordings) in preference to the dd copy method outlined below. There is no simple method to replace one drive of a dual
drive unit with a new larger upgrade drive and preserve recordings if wishing to also increase your swap file.
This option will not require your dos/windows C: drive and so it can now be removed from your PC to free up available
IDE ports (remember you can use any available IDE ports you wish – just make sure to adjust the command line parameters
to reflect your particular IDE connections).
Verify that your existing TiVo A drive is jumpered to Master and connected to the Primary Master IDE port in your PC. Also
verify that your existing TiVo B drive is jumpered to Slave and connected to the Primary Slave IDE port in your PC. Lastly
verify that your large upgrade drive, to be used as a replacement for either your exiting TiVo A or TiVo B drive, is still
jumpered to Master and attach it to the Secondary Master IDE connector in your PC. If this is the drive that you just used to
test your Mfs Tools backup image, then the restored image is still present and will be overwritten during the copy/expansion
procedure below.
Power up your PC with the Boot Cd in your cd-rom (or Boot Floppy in your floppy drive). Boot Cd users should then hit
<enter> to initiate default boot option. You will then see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before presenting you
with a linux # prompt. Make sure to review the text output and confirm that your hard drive is being recognized at its full size
(you can hold down the shift + page-up to review the output - Boot Cd users page-up approximately 6 times to view drive
reports).
If the drive sizes are not reported correctly, you may either have a locked drive (will report size as 9-10MB - see section 7
for instructions to unlock) or you may need to turn off your computers Bios IDE detection - search Avs TiVo Underground
forum if you need assistance accessing your computer's CMOS.
Linux dd copying is very destructive and it is very easy to make a mistake. Double check that your existing TiVo A drive is
reported at it's full size and connected at port designation hda, and your existing TiVo B drive is showing at port designation
hdb, and that your new upgrade drive is reported at it's full size and connected at port designation hdc (or applicable
designation if using different IDE ports).
If you are REPLACING YOUR EXISTING “A” DRIVE with the new larger upgrade drive:
(Assumes existing TiVo A drive as Primary Master, existing TiVo B drive as Primary Slave, and new larger upgrade drive
as Secondary Master)
Use the following command to copy the existing A drive to your new upgrade drive at the # prompt:
dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/hdc bs=1024k
This will generally take from 1-4 hours depending upon drive size, ATA, CPU speed etc. In some circumstances this can take
as long as 8 hours or more. You will not receive a progress report but your hard drive activity light should show activity
through out the whole process (if screen goes blank before finishing simply hit the shift key to restore screen). Make sure
when the command is finished that no errors were reported. The program should report X number of blocks in and X numbers
of blocks out. These numbers should be equal.
Note: You may wish to now power down and remove your new upgrade A drive and existing B drive and place this new
drive set into your TiVo to test. This will verify your dd copy was successful and that you have a functioning drive set (will
report same hours as original drive set) before permanently marrying/expanding the drives in the next step. Once verified,
then simply return the drives to your PC, placing them in the same IDE locations.
Then issue the following command to expand/marry the new upgrade A drive and existing TiVo B:
mfsadd –x /dev/hdc /dev/hdb
This will only take a few seconds and will report the results and size of your drives. When complete you can press
Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' message or the system starts to reboot, then power down. You are now
ready to install your new larger A drive and existing B drive into your TiVo and can skip to Step 11.
Note for those who are copying to non-Quantum A drives: If you were replacing your A drive and have copied an image
running TiVo software version 2.0 or below (does not apply to 2.0.1 or above) to a non-Quantum A drive you will need to
now run TiVoMad’s edit_bootparms program at the end of Step 8 before continuing.
OR
If you are REPLACING YOUR EXISTING “B” DRIVE with the new larger upgrade drive:
(Assumes existing TiVo A drive as Primary Master, existing TiVo B drive as Primary Slave, and new larger upgrade drive
as Secondary Master)
Issue the following command at the # prompt to copy the existing B drive to your new upgrade drive:
dd if=/dev/hdb of=/dev/hdc bs=1024k
This will generally take from 1-4 hours depending upon drive size, ATA, CPU speed etc. In some circumstances this can take
as long as 8 hours or more. You will not receive a progress report but your hard drive activity light should show activity
through out the whole process (if screen goes blank before finishing simply hit the shift key to restore screen). Make sure
when the command is finished that no errors were reported. The program should report X number of blocks in and X numbers
of blocks out. These numbers should be equal.
.
Note: You may wish to now power down and remove your existing A drive and new upgrade B drive and place this new
drive set into your TiVo to test. This will verify your dd copy was successful and that you have a functioning drive set (will
report same hours as original drive set) before permanently marrying/expanding the drives in the next step. Once verified,
then simply return the drives to your PC, placing them in the same IDE locations.
Then issue the following command to expand/marry the existing A drive and the new upgrade B:
mfsadd –x /dev/hda /dev/hdc
This will only take a few seconds and will report the results and size of your drives. When complete you can press
Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' message or the system starts to reboot, then power down. You are now
ready to install your existing A drive and new larger B drive into your TiVo and can move on to Step 11.
UPGRADE CONFIGURATION #5:
From: Any Dual Drive TiVo
To: New A and New B Drive (replacing both drives)
(Slow option – preserves setup, season passes, etc. and recordings)
Those wishing to replace their dual drive TiVo with a new larger A and B drive while preserving their recordings will need
to copy their complete existing TiVo A and B drives to the new larger upgrade A and B drives. This can be time consuming
and can be accomplished in several ways depending upon the number of available IDE ports in your PC (for quick method
without preserving recordings see Upgrade Configuration #2).
Option #1) Mfs Tools single step method (requires 4 available IDE ports):
To use Mfs Tools to accomplish this copy/upgrade in a single step you will need all four available IDE ports. You will
therefore need to use the Boot Floppy (see Step 4 for download/creation) instead of the Boot CD and will also need to
remove your dos/windows C: drive and disconnect your cd-rom (if applicable).
First connect all four drives to your PC. Verify that your existing TiVo A drive is jumpered to Master and connected to the
Primary Master IDE port in your PC. Also verify that your existing TiVo B drive is jumpered to Slave and connected to the
Primary Slave IDE port in your PC. Next verify that your large upgrade drive, for use as your new TiVo A drive, is still
jumpered to Master and attach it to the Secondary Master IDE connector in your PC. If this is the drive that you just used to
test your Mfs Tools backup image, then the restored image is still present and will be overwritten during the copy/expansion
procedure below. Lastly verify that your second large upgrade drive, for use as your new TiVo B drive, is jumpered to
Slave and attach it to the Secondary Slave IDE connector in your PC.
Power up your PC with Boot Floppy in your floppy drive. You will see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before
presenting you with a linux # prompt. Make sure to review the text output and confirm that your hard drive is being
recognized at its full size (you can hold down the shift + page-up to review the output).
If the drive sizes are not reported correctly, you may either have a locked drive (will report size as 9-10MB - see section 7
for instructions to unlock) or you may need to turn off your computers Bios IDE detection - search Avs TiVo Underground
forum if you need assistance accessing your computer's CMOS.
Command to copy/expand from dual drive to new larger A and B drives:
(Assumes existing TiVo A drive as Primary Master, existing TiVo B drive as Primary Slave, new larger upgrade A drive as
Secondary Master, and new larger upgrade B drive as Secondary Slave)
mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hda /dev/hdb | mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi - /dev/hdc /dev/hdd
This will generally take from 1-4 hours depending upon drive size, ATA, CPU speed etc. In some circumstances this can take
as long as 8 hours or more. Mfs Tools will provide progress readouts and results when completed (if screen goes blank
before finishing simply hit the shift key to restore screen). Make sure when the command is finished that no errors were
reported. When complete you can press Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' message or the system starts to
reboot, then power down. You are now ready to install your drives into your TiVo and can skip to Step 11.
Note for those who are copying to non-Quantum A drives: If you have copied an image running TiVo software version
2.0 or below (does not apply to 2.0.1 or above) to a non-Quantum A drive you will need to now run TiVoMad’s
edit_bootparms program at the end of Step 8 before continuing.
Option #2) DD Copy / Mfsadd method (requires only 2 available IDE ports):
Swap File: If you are upgrading an unmodifed dual drive unit or a previously upgraded dual drive unit in which you did not
increase your swapfile (if you previously increased swap using TiVoMad or Mfs Tools 2.0 this does not apply) and your
total recording capacity (A+B drives) is going to exceed ~140GB (actual threshold number is likely just over 150GB for
Series 1 Standalones and over 180GB for DirecTiVos and Series 2 units) the preferable method for upgrade should include a
means to increase the swap file so that the built-in TiVo repair utility (GSOD) can complete if ever triggered (rare). Those
upgrading to these larger capacities should consider using the Mfs Tools restore option (-s 127 command line parameter
increases the swap) outlined in Upgrade Configuration #5 Option #1 above.
If you do not have four available IDE ports in your PC, or want to stick with the Boot Cd, or prefer not to disconnect existing
drives, then you can also perform this upgrade preserving recordings using linux dd copy program (already on the Boot CD
and Floppy) to copy the original TiVo A and B drives individually to the new larger upgrade A and B drives (Mfs Tools
cannot copy one drive at a time) and then can use Mfsadd to expand after copying.
1) See Step 7 Option #3 for instructions on copying your existing TiVo A drive to your new larger upgrade A drive.
2) Once completed then use the same instructions (Step 7 Option #3) to copy your existing TiVo B drive to your new larger
upgrade B drive.
3) When completed, place your new upgrade A+B drives in your TiVo to test (verify working – will only show same hours
as original A+B drives).
4) Finally connect your new large upgrade A drive and new large upgrade B drive to your PC following the instructions at
Step 10 Upgrade Configuration #2 for expanding your new A drive and new B drive using mfsadd (this will not overwrite
your existing image and recordings - will simply expand)
Note for those who are copying to non-Quantum A drives: If you have copied an image running TiVo software version
2.0 or below (does not apply to 2.0.1 or above) to a non-Quantum A drive you will need to now run TiVoMad’s
edit_bootparms program at the end of Step 8 before continuing.
UPGRADE CONFIGURATION #6:
From: Any Dual Drive TiVo (limited)
To: New Single Large A Drive
(Slow option – preserves setup, season passes, etc. and recordings)
Those wishing to replace their standalone dual drive TiVo with a new single larger A drive while preserving their
recordings will need to copy/combine their complete existing TiVo A+B drives to the new larger single upgrade A drive
(must be atleast as large as the combined A+B drive). This can be time consuming and is only possible for series 1 dual
drive standalone TiVo models:
Those with dual drive DirecTiVos, dual drive Series 2 units (with user added B drive), the rare factory combined dual drive
standalones (see Step 7 Option #2 for description), or dual drive UK Thompson TiVo will not be able to combine their
existing drives onto a single larger A drive and expand to use any remaining space (although they can be combined and
restored to a single drive – just not further expanded). For further upgrade possibilities of these units see Upgrade
Configuration #2 (will not preserve recordings) or Upgrade Configuration #4 or #5 (preserves recordings).
This option will not require your dos/windows C: drive and so this can now be removed from your PC to free up available
IDE ports (remember you can use any available IDE ports you wish – just make sure to adjust the command line parameters
to reflect your particular IDE connections).
Verify that your existing TiVo A drive is jumpered to Master and connected to the Primary Master IDE port in your PC. Also
verify that your existing TiVo B drive is jumpered to Slave and connected to the Primary Slave IDE port in your PC. Lastly
verify that your large upgrade drive, for use as your new TiVo A drive, is still jumpered to Master and attach it to the
Secondary Master IDE connector in your PC. If this is the drive that you just used to test your Mfs Tools backup image, then
the restored image is still present and will be overwritten during the copy/expansion procedure below.
Power up your PC with the Boot Cd in your cd-rom (or Boot Floppy in your floppy drive). Boot Cd users should then hit
<enter> to initiate default boot option. You will then see displayed on your screen a series of readouts before presenting you
with a linux # prompt. Make sure to review the text output and confirm that your hard drive is being recognized at its full size
(you can hold down the shift + page-up to review the output - Boot Cd users page-up approximately 6 times to view drive
reports).
If the drive sizes are not reported correctly, you may either have a locked drive (will report size as 9-10MB - see section 7
for instructions to unlock) or you may need to turn off your computers Bios IDE detection - search Avs TiVo Underground
forum if you need assistance accessing your computer's CMOS.
Command to copy/expand from dual drive to new single larger A drive:
(Assumes existing TiVo A drive as Primary Master, existing TiVo B drive as Primary Slave, and new larger upgrade A
drive as Secondary Master)
mfsbackup -Tao - /dev/hda /dev/hdb | mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi - /dev/hdc
This will generally take from 1-4 hours depending upon drive size, ATA, CPU speed etc. In some circumstances this can take
as long as 8 hours or more. Mfs Tools will provide progress readouts and results when completed (if screen goes blank
before finishing simply hit the shift key to restore screen if needed). Make sure when the command is finished that no errors
were reported. When complete you can press Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the 'No more processes ... ' message or the system
starts to reboot, then power down. You are now ready to install your drives in your TiVo and can skip to Step 11.
Note for those who are copying to non-Quantum A drives: If you have copied an image running TiVo software version
2.0 or below (does not apply to 2.0.1 or above) to a non-Quantum A drive you will need to now run TiVoMad’s
edit_bootparms program at the end of Step 8 before continuing.
11) Remove drive(s) from PC and place back into TiVo.
Remove all TiVo drives from your PC - making sure to keep track (label) which is going to be your TiVo A drive and which
will be the B drive (if using a B drive) in your new upgrade configuration. You should now make sure the jumper settings
are configured correctly - with your TiVo A drive jumpered to Master and your new B drive jumpered to Slave (see
diagrams on drives or drive documentation). Those with series 1 standalones will then attach the new TiVo drive(s) to their
drive bracket(s) and bring your new drive(s) to your open TiVo.
DirecTiVo and Series 2 upgraders can screw their drive(s) onto the drive tray (you can use 2 of the 4 screws securing your
A drive, to attach your new B drive) attaching the A drive farthest from the drive tray fan and your new B drive in the bay
closest to the drive tray fan.
Remember to steer clear of the power supply. Those with single drive series 1 standalones may need to carefully use a
small knife or clippers to remove the plastic tie securing the second drive power connector (tucked beneath the
motherboard). Then slip the slave IDE cable from underneath the other plastic clip holding it to the base of the TiVo.
Place your drive(s) into the TiVo. In a series 1 standalone the A drive should be placed in the bay farthest to the right (if
facing from front) with the B drive (if any) in the bay closest to the center. Connect your A drive to the master IDE connector
(end of the IDE cable) making sure that the red/black edge stripe on the IDE cable is closest to the power connector and the
power cord is connected properly. The new large upgrade B drive will be in the empty bay next to the A drive and connect it
to the slave IDE connector (middle of the IDE cable) and second power cable (Hughes and Series 2 units should see step 3 if
not an available power or IDE connector). Even when simply adding an upgrade B drive (jumpered to slave), make sure that
the original A drive is jumpered to Master (will usually come factory cable-select). Reattach the fan if necessary and plug in
your TiVo. After it boots (it will do a quick reboot after initializing.. be patient for a few minutes) you should go to the
system information menu and verify your new expanded hours. If it sticks on the Powering Up screen, first verify that the IDE
and power cables are connected fully and your drive is jumpered properly (this is by far the most common error and can be
tricky sometimes as the drive diagram often needs to be read upside down, check the manufacturer website for more detailed
diagrams). Another reason you will stick at Powering Up is if you are using a non-Quantum drive running v.2.0 or below and
have not made the necessary runideturbo=false adjustment (see end of Step 8). If your TiVo screen goes black or shuts down
without rebooting after getting to the gray "Almost there.." screen, try hitting the power button or TiVo button to exit standby
mode. Now is time for a quick celebration of your new huge TiVo.
Also note for those who upgraded using the Step 10) Upgrade Configuration #2 quick method, that although listed in now
showing, your recordings are not actually present on the drive and will not play. These recorded program listings can simply
be deleted (if running TiVo software version 1.3 or earlier these program listings may not be able to be deleted and will
require a factory reset or software upgrade).
Finally, after verifying everything is functioning, you can power down your TiVo and secure your hard drive(s) and
bracket(s). Series 1 Standalones should secure their new large upgrade B drive so that it doesn't move around (use the 9th
Tee bracket or other options as described in step 3 if you do not have an existing B drive bracket). DirecTiVo and Series 2
upgraders can simply screw their drive(s) onto the bracket and secure the bracket back in place (you can use 2 of the 4
screws securing your A drive to attach your new B drive). Finally screw the cover back on your TiVo and start enjoying it. It
is also a good idea to burn a copy of the small backup file tivo.bak left on your C: drive to a cdr as added protection in case
your C drive were to ever crash.
After celebrating make sure to give thanks to Tiger for Mfs Tools.
The How-To is offered at no charge (please do not send donations). Those wishing to give back or say thanks can contribute
to the Elf Foundation who bring home theatre to patients in children's hospitals. Questions, comments, or suggestions
regarding the How-To can be posted in the TiVo Underground How-To thread.
I have Windows NT/2000/XP:
Do not boot into Windows NT/2000/XP with your original TiVo drives attached as a signature can be attached to the drive
that will create problems. You will need to have/create a primary or extended fat32 partition on your primary boot drive
connected as primary master and know the partition table (run fdisk -l to display partitions). Then you can follow these
upgrade instructions replacing (if applicable) the /dev/hda1 with the appropriate fat32 partition designation (example
/dev/hda5 if first extended partition, /dev/hda6 if second extended partition, etc). Programs like Partition Magic or the free
trial of Bootit should allow for simple creation of the necessary fat32 partition. However, the easiest method is to simply
use/purchase a small 1-2GB (or even smaller) hard drive and format it as fat32.
You may also need to have/create a DOS boot disk in order to run the qunlock.exe program to unlock some Quantum or
Maxtor TiVo drives. You can download a DOS boot disk at Bootdisk.com. Depending upon your version of
Win2000/NT/XP, you may be able to create a DOS boot disk: Place a blank floppy disk in the drive A. Select File, choose
Run from Program Manager's menu, type c:\dos\command.com, then choose OK. This will start a virtual ms-dos machine
(VDM). The copy of command.com in the ms-dos directory must be used. From the ms-dos directory (c:\dos), type FORMAT
A: /S. Use File Manager or VDM to copy command.com from the c:\dos directory to the floppy disk. Also copy the
qunlock.exe program (see step 4) to the floppy disk. The floppy disk should now be able to boot as expected in order to run
the qunlock program.
**Special Note [September 2002]: For those uncomfortable using the How-To, having difficulty, or not wishing to do the
upgrade themselves: Upgrade Service and Kits are available pre-configured for drop-in install as well as recovery/repair
for failing units or failed upgrades.
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