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TiVo Backup Help (Mount error)
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Posted by: CharAznable

Hey Everyone,

My first post. I've been trying to follow the Hinsdale Howto FAQ (updated for MFSTOOL 2.0) and was fine until it got to the Linux commands to make the directory /mnt/dos and I did this then entered the command /dev/hda1 /mnt/dos and I got the following response back:

/dev/hda1: Success
mount: you must specify the filestem type

I began the backup anyway it reports a 15 hour drive (I have one of the old 13.6 Quantum CXs) and begins to backup and after about 20-30 megs it dies with a failure, but says Tivo.bak created. when I later check the FAT32 Drive (3.2GB, one FAT32 part, primary with nothing on it except a SYS transfer.) the Tivo.bak file doesn't exist. my TiVo A drive is Primary slave, and I did adjust the backup command to dev/hdb/ instead of the hdc/ listed in the HowTo. What am I doing wrong? Help would be appriciated. Thanks in advance.

Rob

Posted by: Robert S

There's no point in doing the backup if mount fails - you're just backing up to the RAM disk that Linux is running from.

You should see the partition table for your FAT drive printed at boot (use dmesg | more to review the boot log if necessary, the TiVo drives will report as having invalid partition tables, this is normal). If there's more than hda1 listed you probably have a hidden utilities partition (Compaq and Dell etc do this) and your C: drive is actually hda2 or one of the other listed partitions.

Are you sure you didn't type mount /dev/hda?

Posted by: CharAznable

Robert,

I'm sure I didn't type /dev/hda/ and it shouldn't have any hidden partitions as it was freshly re-zeroed and fat32d by PartitionMagic 7.0 (DOS boot) the entire drive is on the one partition. I will however review the bootlogs when I get home (I'm currently at work). Perhaps I've done something wrong.

Rob

Posted by: Robert S

If you formatted with PM your FAT partition will be hda5.

Posted by: CharAznable

Robert,

DOH...I just assumed it'd be HDA1...PM sucks...apparently...maybe I shoulda just FDISKed. Needless to say, you're likely right...I'll have to check the bootlog when I get home. If you're curious, my ultimate plan is to get a Maxtor DiamondMAX 120GB 5400 (120+ on Pricewatch) and use it. I'll be testing my backup on an IBM Deskstar 75GXP 7200RPM 30GB (just to see that it works) Then I'm sending my Tivo Off to ElectricLegs in TX to have it's modem repaired (it was fried a long time ago). I'll probably leave the A drive lying around, and add a second 120GB sometime in the future. I use an IBM Deskstar 120GXP 120GB in my PC right now and use IBM drives almost exclusively, but I recognize they're a bit loud, hot, and too fast for a TiVo.

Rob

Posted by: Robert S

I wanted the florish of a one-line reply - I'm not certain that that's the case, but we did have a similar case a couple of weeks ago where a PM formatted drive was hda5 (I think it's boot loader goes into hda1). It should be obvious from the boot log.

Any ATA drive is suitable for a TiVo - I think people mostly like the D540X's because they're cheap. DTiVoes seem to overheat rather too readily, but you should be fine with a SA.

Don't 75GXP's meltdown if you run them continuously?

Posted by: CharAznable

Rob,

The 75GXPs that were 40, 60, and 75GB did indeed have serious problems and were recalled. The 30GB drives though never exhibited those issues, thankfully for me. the 60GXPs are also safe. As are the new 120GXPs, so IBM assures me.

Rob

Posted by: schaltegger

Hey, Robert S. - Thanks for the (*ahem*) help with the backup image I needed to repair my DTiVo! I ran into the same problem as the original poster tonight when I did my repair/upgrade. I solved it by booting into Partition Magic and examining my partition scheme for my FAT32 drive; I had been using an old 20Gig drive as an E: drive in WinXP that I could also access when I boot into Linux on that box; I discovered that that partition was NOT a primary partition and that it was not active. I reset both parameters, rebooted with the MSFTools2 boot CD and the rest of the procedure went without a hitch.

At least until I called DirecTV to reactivate my unit. Apparently my access card is too old and has been out of service too long (Mar - Apr or so) to reactivate and they "can't" (translate - "won't") reactivate it. So I have to wait until next week to turn it back on. However, the new drive booted up fine and the buffers worked great on the barker channels - pause, slow play, rewinding, fast forwarding were all perfect. No more stuttering and continual reboots!

Posted by: CharAznable

Robert,

Hey man. You were totally right. As soon as I got home, I examined the Linux bootlogs more closely and found that my "supposed" only primary FAT32 partition was /dev/hda4 not the "common sense" /dev/hda1. I did a backup, restored to the IBM 75GXP 30GB as a test, and my TiVo booted fine (of course with a fried modem, and no program data, there wasn't much to do, but the unit works. Now I've expanded it out, and will test it again to see what hours it reports. The only last chore is sending it off to Tim "ElectricLegs" in TX to have it's modem hopefully fixed, and getting a new service subscription. It was my own neglegence, but now all I need to do is burn the Backup file to a CD and keep it safe, as I know it works. Now just need to remember to disable XP's "Go Back" so it doesn't kill my image. Or perhaps rename it to TiVo.tivo (would it load like that, or need to be renamed to .bak?) my impression is the filename.ext itself is completely inconsequential as long as you know what it is, and enter it in your commands. Am I correct?

Rob

Posted by: Robert S

schaltegger: The Active flag simply tells the BIOS which partition to boot from, it has no implications for storing data. I love the way changing a hard drive can take your TiVo from a heap of junk to a perfect machine in just a few minutes.

Rob: hda4? Weirder still! hda5 makes sense because it's the first logical partition, and you can have an unlimited number of those.

I would probably take the hard drive out if you're going to ship it to Texas (save you money on the weight and it's by far the most fragile component). You could also try an external modem - see Dan203's External modem Success! thread in the Underground.

Unix programs don't care what files are called. Most Windows programs don't either, actually, but changing the extention can make it harder to locate the file. As long as you change /mnt/dos/tivo.bak to point to the actual location and name of the file, all is well.

Posted by: CharAznable

Robert,

The partition I used was a primary partition, and the first on the disk, perhaps PM used 4 as the first primary (5 as the extended for that Primary) and so on. Or perhaps 5 would become whatever the next Primary Partition was. I don't know. Yeah I was going to tell him that the active flag doesn't mean a thing for the actual USE of a partition. External modem huh...Mike also said I could just ship the mainboard, but I'm not sure how it comes out, and also I don't know if I have anything to pack it securely enough, though it would save me a lot in shipping. No, I don't plan on sending the drive along, I'm not even going to be using this drive in the TiVo (maybe for a bit until I get a bigger one) I'm just testing with it.

Rob