Zipper - SApper - Enhancement Script

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Contents

Overview

The Zipper, SApper, and Rbautch's Enhancement Script are three programs that automate the hacking process for TiVos. A stock TiVo will check for files that are not allowed when it boots and deletes them.

The Zipper/SApper are tools that modify the software on your TiVo. They are run while your drive is mounted in a PC, and install a hacked kernel onto the hard drive of your TiVo that doesn't check for unauthorized files on your TiVo. They also give you bash access to the drive once it's back in the Tivo. The Zipper is used with the Series 2 DirecTiVo, while the SApper is used with Series 2, 2.5, 3 or dual tuner standalone TiVos. Rbautch's Enhancement Script is included in the Zipper/SApper download.

After running the Zipper/SApper, you must run the Enhancement Script via telnet. This script will allow you to disable encryption, set up your DirecTiVo to transfer shows between multiple SD DirecTiVos, stream music and photos from your PC to your DirecTiVo, install TiVoWebPlus, channel logos, CallerID, EndPadPlus, and more onto your TiVo. With a little extra work, you can also move shows between your TiVo and your PC.

References: (Installation & Official Support Threads)

The most recent version of the installation instructions are available here:

If you don't find an answer on DVRpedia, you may want to ask a question in the official TCF support threads:

Differences Between Zipper, SApper, and Enhancement Script

The Zipper is for Series 2 DirecTiVos. It patches the TiVo kernel to allow unsigned third-party programs to be run. It also installs the Enhancement Script info into the /enhancements folder on your TiVo. It works on the following models:

  • Hughes HDVR2, SD-DVR40, SD-DVR80, SD-DVR120
  • Phillips DSR7000, DSR704, DSR708
  • RCA DVR39, DVR40, DVR80, DVR120
  • Samsung SIR-S4040R, SIR-S4080R, SIR-S4120R
  • Hughes HR10-250 (HD TiVo) (note: it CANNOT enable HMO or MRV for this model. These features are not available.)
  • PROM Modification is required prior to installation on an R10


The SApper is similar to The Zipper but is for Series 2, 2.5, 3 or dual tuner standalone TiVos. It patches the TiVo kernel to allow unsigned third-party programs to be run. It also installs the Enhancement Script info into the /enhancements folder on your TiVo.


The Enhancement Script is a part of The Zipper and The SApper install. It is installs the most popular & easiest TiVo hacks and is designed to run on TiVos that have already been modified/hacked.

  • NOTE: To avoid problems, it is critically important to run this script as soon as you complete the Zipper/SApper.


Troubleshooting

My TiVo is stuck in "Welcome, Powering Up"

  • Chances are you are not using the correct kernel. You MUST use the 3.1.5 kernel and put it on your zipper "tools" disk. OR, the jumpers are incorrectly set on your TiVo hard drive. Entering an incorrect service code will also cause this problem.

Blank entries in the "Now Playing List"

A blank/delayed Now Playing List occurs when DNS is not properly setup. DNS is used to translate web addresses like www.yahoo.com into an IP address. The etc/nsswitch.conf file determines what services are used to handle different tasks, including DNS. The default entry for resolving names is

  • hosts: files dns

To resolve a web address, your tivo will look to the /etc/hosts file, and if that fails, it will then try the DNS settings in MFS. If you delete the DNS entry in nsswitch.conf, then it will only use the hosts file, and will never use DNS. This means that you will not be able to resolve names other than your other tivos, so you won't be able to use wget to download files for the latest enhancement script for. That should be fine for most DTiVo users, since there is little/no need to resolve web addresses. What causes the slow now playing list is when DNS doesn't work, it keeps trying to resolve the names of your other tivos until it fails after approximately 30 seconds. When it does fail, your NPL shows up again.

There are three options to resolve the slow Now Playing list.

1. (Preferred) Set a valid DNS that will resolve names quickly. This requires your router to be connected to the Internet, and will allow you to use wget for downloads. This requires no mods to /etc/hosts or /etc/nsswitch.conf.
There are 2 ways to set up a valid DNS:
Option 1: Change settings via TivoWebPlus:
  1. Enter your router IP in the DNS field of the netconfig module in TWP. If you used the Zipper, it sets this DNS value automatically.
  2. To see if this value works, at the bash prompt, type wget www.mastersav.com. If it works, great. If it fails, continue on.
  3. On your PC, open a dos command prompt, and type ipconfig /all. Note the two IP addresses shown next to the "DNS Servers" parameter, and enter one of them in the DNS field of the net config module in TWP.
  4. Test it using step 2 above.
Option 2: Modify Tivoapp file, and change settings via phone settings on TiVo (for more advanced users)
  1. See this post at DDB: Network Menu Patch to modify the tivoapp file.
  2. On your TiVo, go to Messages & Setup -> Settings -> Phone Settings -> set proper network settings.
2. Set a valid DNS, and also add your other tivo IP addresses to /etc/hosts. This eliminates the need to have your router connected to the Internet, since it will look to the hosts file first before it tries to resolve names with DNS. This will keep the Now Playing List from getting slow, but if you want to use wget downloads, you'll need to connect your router to the Internet. To see how to setup the etc/hosts file, see this post: setup hosts
3. Set your DNS to 0.0.0.0 so DNS requests fail quickly within /etc/resolv.conf. This will keep your NPL from being slow, but will prevent wget and other downloads. This also requires no mods to /etc/hosts or /etc/nsswitch.conf.

[original material]

Missing channels lower than 100 (your local channels)

  • Call 1800directv (1-800-347-3288) and access extension 721 which will reenable the channels.
  • Or go to: DIRECTV "Refresh Your Services". Enter your Username and Password; then select the last four (4) digits of the affected receiver's access card. The affected receiver will then "reaquire data" including your Local Channels. :)

Cant find 72.5 Satellite via Guided Setup (used for local channels)

  • Go to "Messages & Setup" > "Settings" > "Satellite" > "Auto-Detect....." and follow the prompts. It will take about 5 min. or so to process, but the satellite will appear correctly now.

The "Standby" option is gone...

  • This is one of the things changed by the superpatch-67all-NutKase-1.1.tcl script. For those of you that like to place the Dtivo in standby when not in use, you can either go to "Messages & Setup" > "Standby", or you can use this hack to restore the option to Directv Central. Or you can say yes to "Do you want to customize your Tivo menus? [y/n]:" when running the Zipper hack. This will ask you whether or not you want the "standby" option on the main DTV Central page. Remember that you can rerun the Zipper hack at anytime just by telneting back into your TIVO.

"Could not open file X for writing"

  • Type rw at the bash prompt to make the filesystem read-write vs. read-only.
  • Type ro at the bash prompt to make the filesystem back to read-only vs. read-write.

Fakecall is not resetting the date of the next scheduled call

  • See troubleshooting posts starting here.

Can't connect using wireless adapter

  1. Check to see if your adapter is compatible. See here.
  2. Make sure you turned off WEP security on your router.
  3. Is the link light on your adapter lit up? If so, make sure you are telnetting to the correct IP address.
  4. Make sure no firewalls are preventing a connection.

Can't connect using wired adapter

  1. Confirm you are using the correct IP address.
  2. Confirm the IP address is in the same subnet as your router.
  3. Check if your adapter is compatible.
  4. Make sure no firewalls are preventing a connection.
  5. Make sure no other device on your network is using same IP address.
  6. Try rebooting.
  7. Try switching to the other USB port.
  8. Try using a different IP address that is out of your DHCP range.

Network adapter not working - Lights are on but no ones home

A common reason for not being able to connect via a network even though you have lights on your adapter is the IP address got changed somehow. To check this via a serial connection type:

cd /enhancements
tivosh net-status.tcl

If the parameters are not what you expected you can then type

sh net-launch.sh

And follow the instructions. Then restart your tivo.

If you still cannot connect do this again and see if the address changed again. If it did change the IP is being changed during startup sometime. A likely candidate is the /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit.author file. Check this file for a line starting tivosh /hacks/network.tcl. If you have a line that starts that way comment it out of the script by putting a # at the beginning of the line.

Do yourself a favor and use static IP addresses and be sure to use one outside the range that your router uses for DHCP.

rw and ro don't work, what do I do?

For some reason you've lost the aliases set by zipper and you are probably using a serial connection to edit a file and rw does not work. At bash type the following command:

mount -o remount,rw /

read/write is now enabled. to re enable Read Only replace rw with ro.

Bash Commands

Here is a site to show you different commands you can use from the Bash Prompt: link.

Edit files on Tivo using vi

See vi

Update the enhancement script (tweak.sh) failed

You ran tweak.sh and it failed because it could not get the latest script from the internet. Most likely your network is not configured exactly right. This is another effect that causes a blank or slow Now Playing List.

In simple terms your TiVo does not know where to get DNS information and could not find the address to download the required file. Usually your router automatically forwards DNS request to your ISP but sometimes it doesn't. First check your network settings as described in the "Network Adapter Not Working, The Lights are ons home." description above. Your router IP should be the DNS IP. This could also be a precursor to having a SLOW/EMPTY Now Playing List. Just follow the instructions for fixing the Slow NPL using the preferred method and the problem will be fixed.

If for some reason you still cannot download directly from the internet to your tivo, just get the latest zipper scripts from the zipper page. Unzip it and ftp the rbautch_files.tgz file to the /hacks directory on you tivo and run tweak. This will bypass the file download.

Why can't do a search to find programs I want to record?

After zippering (or actually any new tivo) your tivo needs to download all of the guide data. The guide data comes down in chunks and ALL the data (I don't know technically if the index is downloaded or if tivo makes the index) needs to be there for searches to work. even if you can see the program in the guide. The solution is to wait a day or so for the data to get there and all will be fine.


Setting up your network - use the same subnet

Most consumer routers use an address of 192.168.yyy.1 for the default of their router. The yyy is the subnet and different manufacturers use different values it can be anything from 0 - 254. When setting up you tivo network the router and Tivo must be on the same subnet. What that means is if the router IP address is 192.168.20.1 your tivo MUST have an address that is 192.168.20.xxx. If you have a problem with where you lose network connectivity, the first thging you should check is the network settings on your tivo and ensure that they are what you thought the should be. You can use the procedure outlined earlier here.

Important things to remember when setting up your Tivo network.

As stated above use the same subnet and just as important, when setting a static IP for your tivo, YES USE A STATIC IP, make sure that the IP you select is not in the range used by your router for DHCP. Most (I want to say all, but never say never and always) consumer routers allow you to specify what range of IP addresses use DHCP so check this setting also.


Error #32 when selecting "More Info" in the "Now Playing List

If you are running 6.3c and TivoWebPlus you probably have ran into the "Error #32" issue when you select "More Information" from the "Now Playing" list or when trying to set up a Season Pass from the Tivo GUI. This may have been caused if you setup a SP via TWP 1.3.1 and older versions. A couple of things to do. First, delete the Season Passes and the recorded programs that were created by TWP through the TWP web interface. It should clear up the problem. Second, download the latest version of TWP. You can find it here http://thomson.tivo.googlepages.com/TivoWebPlus along with instructions on how to load it depending on which version you currently have. Note: It may not be necessary to uninstall the older version, read the instructions first before causing yourself extra work. Last, follow the instructions on how the "Temporary Fix" works when setting up future SP's from TWP.

Showcases and Yellow Stars are still in Main Menu

The showcases and yellow stars option does not immediately remove or add them to your Tivo, but rather populates your MFS database with tokens that signal Tivo download showcases to your machine. Removing the tokens will gradually cause showcases to stop showing up after a period of time, and adding the tokens should cause showcases to start showing up in a day or two. One wrinkle in this is that the tokens may change over time, or may have already changed, which would make this not work right.

Edit: The script that removes showcase tokens was updated to remove them immediately.

Compatible Network Adapters

See Supported Network Adapters.

Missing Net Config tab in TWP

Some may have noticed that TivoWebPlus 2 included in older versions of the Zipper (3.2)does not have the "Net Config" tab included. This can be corrected by downloading the file "netconfig.itcl". This file can be found here: [1] (you'll need to sign up for a free account here to access the file) and save to the /TivoWebPlus/modules directory. This has been fixed in the latest enhancement script

Serial Cable Connection Overview

When you lose network connectivity, the only tool to keep you from pulling the hard drive is a serial cable. Having one available can can save you an invaluable amount of time. It not only keeps you from pulling the drive, it also allows you to read logs so you will be able to troubleshoot much easier. They can be bought from DVRupgrade or weaKnees (called a "Stereo to Serial Cable" at weaKnees) among other places for appx $10. If you want to save some money, you can also make your own. Do a search at Tivo Community Forum or DealDataBase if interested.

How to connect to your TiVo with a Serial Cable

Connect to TiVo telnet prompt via Serial Cable

Don't have a serial cable?

Lost Telnet and don't have a serial cable? Don't have time to buy/build your own cable? You can still access the TiVo drive while connected to your PC. Once the drive is mounted, all of the commands that you would normally use during a telnet or serial session can be executed. If you do not have telnet or a serial cable connection, mount the drive as described in this post by Da Goon at TCF: LINK

FAQ

How Can I Further Customize or Change My Bash Prompt?

The bash prompt settings made by The Enhancement script are stored in a file called .profile in the root directory. Note that you cannot see this file with a simple ls command. You'll have to use ls -a. More info on bash prompt customization is here.

How Long Has the Zipper Been Around?

A Zipper is born: link First use of "Zipper" as a verb: link

Does The Zipper enable TiVoToGo? How about extraction?

TiVoToGo (TTG) is TiVo, Inc.'s "sanctioned" extraction method with TiVo Desktop. The Zipper does not enable TiVoToGo on DirecTiVos.

You will be able to extract unencrypted recordings with much better alternatives to TiVo Desktop. These alternatives will also extract recordings faster than TiVo Desktop because they won't apply any DRM (unlike TiVo Desktop). Alternatives to the official TiVo Desktop software are the third party packages TyTool and mfs_ftp.

Will my recordings be deleted if I use The Zipper?

No. You can use the Zipper and keep the recordings intact.

If there is a TiVo drive image (the file named 000001) on the Zipper "tools" CD, the Zipper will ask you if you want to restore that image. If you answer yes, the Zipper will overwrite the drive with that image and all your settings, recordings, etc. will be lost. If you answer no, the Zipper will skip the image restore.

Do I REALLY need the "$5 DVRupgrade lba48 Boot CD"?

Yes and No. What you really need is the "hacked killhdinitrd kernel" that is on the DVRupgrade lba48 boot CD. The kernel image is copyrighted and DVRupgrade is the only company allowed to redistribute it intact. Thus, purchasing the CD from PTVUpgrade is the quickest and easiest solution for most people.

However, you can create your own copy of the kernel image for free, by obtaining an appropriate unhacked kernel image from the original 3.1.5 software release and running killhdinitrd on it. This will allow you to use any boot CD that has lba48 awareness, including the formerly available DVRupgrade free boot CD and mfslive. For more information on this procedure, check your favorite internet search engine. Since the Zipper expects for the kernel to be in a particular location, you'll have to replicate the directory tree of the DVRupgrade boot CD so that it finds it. The killhdinitrd kernel should be placed in a directory called /s2_kernels/3.1.5.

Do Gunnyman and RBautch make money from the Zipper? Can I send a donation?

Indirectly, Yes. They are paid a small commission on every PTV Boot CD and Instant Cake CD sale referred through the Zipper website.

What is my service number?

The service number is the first 3 digits of your tivo "DVR Service" number (NOT serial). It identifies the model of your tivo. Look for the "DVR Service number number (NOT serial) on the back of your tivo unit - use the first 3 digits.

Tips, Tricks, and Hidden Features

Backup/Restore Feature (aka "Save your fubared tivo" feature)

Starting with versions 3.8 (Zipper) and 1.9 (SApper), by default the script will back up root and kernel partitions to alternates. This means you can restore your original unhacked kernel and root partitions at any time without losing your recordings. If you don’t wish to back up active partitions, use the “nobackup” argument when running the Zipper or Sapper (e.g. #./sapper nobackup). If you hose your tivo, use the restore argument (e.g. #./zipper restore) to restore alternate partitions to active partitions. Keep this in mind if you plan to run the Zipper or SApper on a drive more than once.

Debug Mode

If you run the Zipper or SApper with the 'debug' argument (e.g. #./zipper debug), you'll see more verbose output that may help you diagnose a problem.

WRT54GS and Airport Express as Wireless Bridge

I have been able to hack a WRT54GS vesion 4 NOT version 5 with Thibor's HyperWRT and AE as a bridge. Here are the instructions.

  1. Obtain hacked firmware for the linksys from:link title. Your may also use the Sveasoft firm upgrade for $20
  2. Caveat #1 Be sure to use the correct Linksys MAC address when configuring WDE on the AE-you need to use the wireless MAC, not the router MAC. (On the Linksys, go to Status>Wireless to get the correct MAC address)
  3. Caveat #2 Be sure to use the correct AE MAC address-or, if in doubt use both the addresses on the AE
  4. Basics on the Linksys

Fetch the HyperWRT firmware upgrade and using the WRT54GS's Administration>Firmware Upgrade panel, upload it to the Linksys. Under Wireless>WDE, add two LAN entries (one for each listed AE MAC address, so you don't need to bother deciding which one is the right one), disable Lazy WDE, I just added both AE MAC addresses under the Wireless> Access Point +WDS Make note of the channel used under Wireless> Basic Settings Make note of the wireless MAC listed in Status> Wireless

  1. Basics on the AE (or more precisely, using Airport Admin Utility) On Airport tab: -Set Base station name, contact, and location ot anything you want. -Set wireless mode to "Create a Wireless Network (Home Router)" -Name the network anything you want-same or different as WRT54GS's SSID -Set the channel to the one used by the WRT54GS On the Internet Tab: -Connect using Airport (WDS) -Set the MAC address to the WRT54GS's wireless MAC -Configure using DHCP On the Network Tab-disable everything On the WDS Tab -Enable as a WDS remote base station -Select "allow wireless clients on this base station" -Enter (or verify - it should be there by now) the Linksys wireless MAC

You can now use the AE as a wireless extender and plug and ethernet cable into it (not crossover/patch, just a standard cable) and plug non-wireless devices (like an XBox) directly into it. If you have any trouble try rebooting your router and AE

XP Telnet Issues

XP users having telnet troubles: Windows XP Telnet sends Windows Style line feeds instead of Unix style Carriage returns. Fix this with the command "unset crlf" from a telnet prompt (before you connect to tivo)

XP users and text editors:Get a copy of a unix friendly text editor like metapad. Wordpad and Notepad add Linux unfriendly line feeds when you press enter. This can cause hacks to fail or your Author file to not execute. Filezilla and other decent ftp clients can "edit in place" files on the tivo with metapad. Hyperterminal, that comes with Windows XP works very well.

For more info, see this page: Telnet

Update the enhancment script

Want the latest version of the zipper enhancements? Its easy, provided you have you network setup properly to access the internet (see the blank NPL issue [here]). Use your favorite telnet program and type the following at bash:

cd /hacks
sh tweak.sh

If you have a recent version, it will automatically uninstall the old enhancements, download the new enhancements from the web, and install the latest enhancements. Some common problems are if you have an older version you need to uninstall the old version manually by typing at bash

sh tweak_uninstall.sh
sh tweak.sh.

If for some reason you cannot download directly from the internet to your tivo, just get the latest zipper scripts from the zipper page. Unzip it and ftp the rbautch_files.tgz file to the /hacks directory on you tivo and run tweak. This will bypass the file download.

Add new Hack, and keep it out of the /var directory

The /var directory gets wiped from time to time, so keep your hacks out of there. Instead put them /enhancements/varhacks directory and run the /enhancements/var-symlinks.sh script to put symlinks in the /var directory. For example, if you want to install mfs_ftp instead of installing it in the /var/mfs_ftp directory install it in the /enhancements/varhacks/mfs_ftp directory. Then at bash type sh /enhancements/var-symlinks.sh. Now you will have a symlink for mfs_ftp in the /var pointing at /enhancements/varhacks/mfs_ftp.

General Networking Suggestions for novice TiVo Hackers

1. Choosing a Network Adapter

When choosing a USB network adapter, which adapter should I choose? Besides making sure that it is on the supported list (INCLUDING VERSION NUMBERS IF INCLUDED (V2 does not mean V2+, V2.1 won't work)), remember KISS - Keep It Simple Silly. The single most common problem encountered on the zipper support thread are networking problems keep in mind that you are making your Dtivo do something that DirecTv doesn't want you to do. Network your DTivo. To this end the part of the menu software that allows a Stand Alone Tivo to enter its network settings was not included. This is important because that means that the only ways to setup the network is by removing the drive from your tivo and putting it into a linux machine to run the utilities to do that, via ethernet using telnet (meaning you have to already have a network up and running), or via a serial cable. Why do I mention this? Because The simplest setup is a wired device not wireless. Wireless while generally reliable just adds one more layer of issues when troubleshooting problems. Adding wireless later is easier than using it to start off. So make sure you have at least 1 wired adapter that works to do the initial hack.

2. Get a serial cable

Read suggestion #1 again carefully. If you have a network problem and can't connect via the telnet and your normal network (network issues are by far the most common issue, meaning can't connect via the network) you have 2 options, Serial cable or pulling the drive. Which would you rather do? Spend $10 up front just in case, or get a linux pc to fix the problem (windows wont work).

3. Use a static IP

The software that Tivo uses (as opposed to the stuff we are using, e.g. TivoWebPlus) is custom built to find Tivos on your network and work with them. The Hacks that you will be using are web applications that run over standard networking programs (Web Browser, FTP and Telnet). These applications do not look for your tivo but instead rely on you to tell them where to look. While most modern routers allow you to set the IP addresses DHCP assigns to not expire, this only holds true until you restart your router. This means that every time you either reset your router or the power gets shut off to it. As your networked devices start accessing the network the router will start assigning the IP addresses from the 1st available one that you have. So unless every networked device you own starts up in exactly the same order Every time the odds are that your tivos will get new IP's every time. So now you have to scramble to find the IP's that they are now using. Just take the time to decide on an IP address and statically assign it. You should only have to do this once, See suggestions 1 and 2 for caveats. EXCEPTION: If your router has an option for "Static DHCP" (also called DHCP Reservations), where you assign an IP to a specific MAC, this works reliably in most cases --BTUx9

4. Assign valid static IP addresses

When assigning IP's follow 3 simple rules. 1. Each device needs a unique IP address. 2. All of your network has to be on the same subnet. 3. Don't assign static IP's that are in the range used by your router for DHCP.

The first, 'Each device needs a unique IP address', is self explanatory.

The second rule - 'All of your network has to be on the same subnet.' The most common range of IP's used for home networks is 192.168.yyy.xxx. where yyy is the subnet and must be the same on all of your network devices, and xxx is the unique identifier. xxx and yyy can be any number from 0 - 244.

Finally - When assigning a static IP address, 'Don't assign static IP's that are in the range used by your router for DHCP.' Most consumer routers allow the user to tell it what identifiers (xxx from above) it can use for DHCP. The rest are used for Static addresses. Even if you do not have a device using an IP in the range used by DHCP. For example (I will only use the last 3 digits of the IP for clarity) If your router reserves 2 - 49 for DHCP and you only have 2 devices using DHCP at 2 and 3 respectively. The first address that you can assign a static address to is 50. Assigning even a 49 to a static device will cause problems.

5. When at all possible use a wired adapter.

See suggestion #1 and KISS. All of the wireless adapters that are compatible are 802.11B, there are NO compatible G adapters. So wireless will be slow, you should be able to watch a show in real time if nothing slows you up like other wireless traffic. But you won't get much faster, plus the usb wireless are underpowered so the range will also be less than your notebook PC or router. If you have to have wireless for Spousal Approval Factor (SAF) use either a wireless access point or a wireless bridge. This will have the advantages over straight wireless in that you will have the ease of wired networking into the tivo meaning easier to set up in the tivo. combined with faster 802.11G speeds from the Bridge. Meaning a 1 hour show can transfer in less than 10 minutes. The downside is to use a bridge you have to be sure your Router and bridge are compatible. and can be more difficult to set up than standard wireless networking. But the bridges and access points are designed for this so it won't be as difficult as setting up wireless on the tivo.

See what your network settings are

Do you use DHCP? Forgot what you set your IP address to? Want to know what your TiVo's IP address, Broadcast, and Mask are?

You can see it on-screen when you boot if you do the following:

create a script in the /hacks directory called "displaynet.sh" with the following 4 lines:

echo
/sbin/ifconfig | head -2 | tail -1 | cut -d ' ' -f 12
/sbin/ifconfig | head -2 | tail -1 | cut -d ' ' -f 14
/sbin/ifconfig | head -2 | tail -1 | cut -d ' ' -f 16

If you're not good with vi you can download it here : [2]

Make sure the file is executable with the command:

chmod 775 displaynet.sh

Test it by issuing this command:

/hacks/displaynet.sh | /enhancements/varhacks/hack/bin/out2osd

In 5-10 seconds you should see the info on your TV. Add the above line to the bottom of your /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit.author file and when you boot you will see this info displayed on the screen just about the time TiVo starts searching for the satellite signal.

Start Serial Access early as possible

I got this Tip from Da Goon in TCF; read this post for more details.

Create a file called test.conf in the / directory containing the following:

#!/bin/bash
#
export PATH=./:.:/bin:/sbin:/tvbin:/hacks:/busybox:/devbin
# start serial bash as early as possible
/bin/bash </dev/ttyS2&> /dev/ttyS2&