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newbie dork with Win2000 needs help...
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Posted by: cboone

OK, here's my predicament...

I want to replace my T60's 40GB with two new 120's... (I don't care about recordings or season passes, etc...)

I'm running Windows 2000, so am having nightmarish probs getting jumpstarted on the backup... I am about to turn to the experts, and send them my 120s to format ... But I'd REALLY REALLY like to be able to do it myself. (I don't have a problem with the $90 to do it, but it's become a point of pride! I don't want to be defeated by this machine!)

So, here's my question:

Since I don't care about the recordings, do I even need my existing 40GB (and the backup from it) to do the formatting/upgrade? Can I just beg/borrow/steal/buy a CD with a T60 image/backup from someone else? If so, how are the steps different, or which Hinsdale configuration do I need to use?

If I had the backup cd (which is apparently sent with the drives if I'd have the experts do it for me), do I just boot up my computer with the cd in the drive, and the two 120's installed, and my existing computer's Win2000 harddrives unhooked?

Forgive my ignorance, or if this is a completely unintelligible request!

Thanks in advance!

Chris

Posted by: cclaunch

Hi Chris

Although I used a hard disk for my original backup of my image, I have since burned that file onto a CD. I have also burned a "standard" image from another system (I will PM you with the location of some standard images) on another CD.

In this configuration, you can reimage and upgrade a Tivo without requiring any hard drive other than the Tivo ones.

I am assuming you have created the MFSTOOLS 2.0 CD image as described in the instructions. Boot using this, installing the CD drive on your secondary slave position, the Tivo drives as primary slave and secondary master, and NOTHING on the primary master position (e.g. disconnect your W2K disk entirely).

Once Linux is up and running, you can remove that CD from the drive and place the CD with your backup image inside. Instead of mounting your C drive as the instruction shows, you issue:

mkdir /mnt/dos
mount /dev/hdd /mnt/dos

The device /dev/hdd is the drive on the secondary slave position (your CD drive).

Now, the backup image is on /mnt/dos and you can issue the restore command. For example, to restore a standard image to a single large drive, expanding to use all the space:

mfsrestore -s 127 -xzpi /mnt/dos/xxxxx.bak /dev/hdc

This assumes that your standard image file is named xxxxx.bak, replace with actual name. Do a "ls /mnt/dos" to see what the actual file name is on the CD.

Also the name /dev/hdc assumes your Tivo A drive is on the secondary master position.

Then, if you have a two drive TiVo or are adding a second drive, you can add it with a command such as mfsadd (see instructions).

It is VERY VERY important to keep straight what drive is where -- write down each one so you can refer and double check each command. The disk put in the slave position on your primary IDE cable is /dev/hdb. The disk put on the master position of your secondary IDE cable is /dev/hdc. Your CD drive is on the secondary IDE slave position and is /dev/hdd. There is no disk attached as primary master so there is NO /dev/hda.

When going through instructions, make sure you use the right names. If a command has the A and B tivo drives as parameters, where the A drive is always first, then be sure you put the names that correspond.