Weaknees hard drive upgrade kit fiasco. (Long)
 

I have a 140 hour Series2 Tivo unit that I wanted to upgrade. It's out
of warranty so there was no problem opening the box. I ordered the 160
hour upgrade kit from Weaknees last Saturday. I received the kit
yesterday and proceeded to install the kit today. This morning I
followed the supplied instructions and was ready to plug 'er in.
That's where the fun begins. I plugged the unit in and the "Welcome,
Powering-up" screen came on and then the Tivo "Almost there, just a
few more minutes" screen. Then it went back to the first screen and
keep cycling back and forth between these two screens.

I tried a few things such as removing the Weaknees "Power-Trip" module
that allows one drive to spin up before the other. I tried setting
both drives to cable select instead of using Master/Slave. Nothing
worked. I took the additional drive out of the mix and the Tivo booted
up fine.

I looked online and found out the Tivo software v7.2 broke some
software that's used to expand drives. I wrote to Weaknees and they
confirmed that this is my problem. I wish they would have stated this
on their web site prior to purchase. I also found out that I have
v7.2.2 was the software I needed to use this upgrade kit. I went to
Tivo's site and they said the v7.2.2 to all Series2 Tivos was
complete.

More fun part. Apparently there are some USB network devices that were
recommended by Tivo that do not work with v7.2.2. Such as the Linksys
I have and so they blocked those units from getting the software
instead of notifying us of the situation. I went out and bought
another recommended Linksys USB device. (USB200M) My Tivo won't
recognize it. Apparently it needs the new software - v7.2.2. I
disconnected the USB nic and tried using the phone to force a
connection and hopefully get the new software. No luck.

I called Tivo support and they told me all the units that were blocked
from the new software are in a "holding tank" (Whatever the F that
means.) and they can't take it out. There's nothing they can do and
won't be working on those units until summer. WTF??

So now I'm stuck with the $168 upgrade kit (they said I could send it
back but I'll have to pay shipping and I'm still going to want to
upgrade eventually.) and a $30 USB nic that I can't use without the
new software.

I think Tivo, instead of sending me those goofy newsletters about
who's watching what and that stupid Tivo Ambassador crap, should send
me useful information like my nic may not work with the next version
of their software.

Weaknees.com should state something about needing the correct version
of software for their kits to work before you purchase.

I'm so ****ed off I just wanted to vent.

Thanks for reading - Dennis

Weaknees hard drive upgrade kit fiasco. (Long)
 

"Gad Zoox" wrote in message
...
I have a 140 hour Series2 Tivo unit that I wanted to upgrade. It's out
of warranty so there was no problem opening the box. I ordered the 160
hour upgrade kit from Weaknees last Saturday. I received the kit
yesterday and proceeded to install the kit today. This morning I
followed the supplied instructions and was ready to plug 'er in.
That's where the fun begins. I plugged the unit in and the "Welcome,
Powering-up" screen came on and then the Tivo "Almost there, just a
few more minutes" screen. Then it went back to the first screen and
keep cycling back and forth between these two screens.

I tried a few things such as removing the Weaknees "Power-Trip" module
that allows one drive to spin up before the other. I tried setting
both drives to cable select instead of using Master/Slave. Nothing
worked. I took the additional drive out of the mix and the Tivo booted
up fine.

I looked online and found out the Tivo software v7.2 broke some
software that's used to expand drives. I wrote to Weaknees and they
confirmed that this is my problem. I wish they would have stated this
on their web site prior to purchase. I also found out that I have
v7.2.2 was the software I needed to use this upgrade kit. I went to
Tivo's site and they said the v7.2.2 to all Series2 Tivos was
complete.

More fun part. Apparently there are some USB network devices that were
recommended by Tivo that do not work with v7.2.2. Such as the Linksys
I have and so they blocked those units from getting the software
instead of notifying us of the situation. I went out and bought
another recommended Linksys USB device. (USB200M) My Tivo won't
recognize it. Apparently it needs the new software - v7.2.2. I
disconnected the USB nic and tried using the phone to force a
connection and hopefully get the new software. No luck.

I called Tivo support and they told me all the units that were blocked
from the new software are in a "holding tank" (Whatever the F that
means.) and they can't take it out. There's nothing they can do and
won't be working on those units until summer. WTF??

So now I'm stuck with the $168 upgrade kit (they said I could send it
back but I'll have to pay shipping and I'm still going to want to
upgrade eventually.) and a $30 USB nic that I can't use without the
new software.

I think Tivo, instead of sending me those goofy newsletters about
who's watching what and that stupid Tivo Ambassador crap, should send
me useful information like my nic may not work with the next version
of their software.

Weaknees.com should state something about needing the correct version
of software for their kits to work before you purchase.

I'm so ****ed off I just wanted to vent.

Thanks for reading - Dennis

I agree with you. TiVo has made no effort to explain to us why certain USB
NIC adapters that they formerly supported and recommended are no longer
functional with their updated (damaged?) software, or any kind of commitment
about when we can expect that to be resolved. Summer is vague. June 21st?
September 20th? Or will this, like everything, slip to the right. All they
do is send email about the pointless crap you mentioned. Who gives a rat's
backside? And the whole 'holding tank' business is completely irresponsible.
I too connected a different but still-working NIC hat I already had on hand
but they refused to let my machine to update.

This is a major software screw-up that needs to be fixed immediately. Well,
maybe not immediately, they might want to TEST it a little first.

Is this the beginning of the end of life cycle support for Series 2, a
harbinger of things to come?

It may be prudent to rethink exchanging my cable company's HD DVR for a
Series 3 if and when those materialize, even if they have the familiar TiVo
interface and capabilities...it too is already planned for obsolescence!

TiVo, where is your brain?

Weaknees hard drive upgrade kit fiasco. (Long)
 

I agree with you. TiVo has made no effort to explain to us why certain USB
NIC adapters that they formerly supported and recommended are no longer
functional with their updated (damaged?) software, or any kind of commitment
about when we can expect that to be resolved. Summer is vague. June 21st?
September 20th? Or will this, like everything, slip to the right. All they
do is send email about the pointless crap you mentioned. Who gives a rat's
backside? And the whole 'holding tank' business is completely irresponsible.
I too connected a different but still-working NIC hat I already had on hand
but they refused to let my machine to update.

You're complaining because Tivo witheld an update from you because they
knew it would break your setup? You'd prefer they'd release it to you
so your NIC wouldn't work at all? Or would you rather they hold the
update back from everyone because a few people are affected?

The "holding tank" solution their using is not perfect, but it's better
than breaking people's setups. The updates you are missing aren't
groundbreaking, just some suggestion improvements and a deleted items
folder.

The OP's main complaint is with Weaknees who didn't adequately warn him
that 7.2.2 was needed. It's not Tivo's job to support Weaknees.


This is a major software screw-up that needs to be fixed immediately. Well,
maybe not immediately, they might want to TEST it a little first.

The upgrades are minor. They probably feel that there's far less of an
impact by holding a few people back, rather then holding back the vast
majority.

Is this the beginning of the end of life cycle support for Series 2, a
harbinger of things to come?

Jeez, extrapolating a bit on one small perceived slight, are you?

It may be prudent to rethink exchanging my cable company's HD DVR for a
Series 3 if and when those materialize, even if they have the familiar TiVo
interface and capabilities...it too is already planned for obsolescence!

TiVo, where is your brain?

Because of a small software glitch that didn't cause anybody any real
problems, only delayed an update for a small subset of users, you are
now concluding that Tivo's next model release is planned for
obsolesence? If you tried to stretch that any further it'd reach to the
moon!

Randy S.

Weaknees hard drive upgrade kit fiasco. (Long)
 

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 21:57:26 -0400, "Randy S."
wrote:


I agree with you. TiVo has made no effort to explain to us why certain USB
NIC adapters that they formerly supported and recommended are no longer
functional with their updated (damaged?) software, or any kind of commitment
about when we can expect that to be resolved. Summer is vague. June 21st?
September 20th? Or will this, like everything, slip to the right. All they
do is send email about the pointless crap you mentioned. Who gives a rat's
backside? And the whole 'holding tank' business is completely irresponsible.
I too connected a different but still-working NIC hat I already had on hand
but they refused to let my machine to update.

You're complaining because Tivo witheld an update from you because they
knew it would break your setup? You'd prefer they'd release it to you
so your NIC wouldn't work at all? Or would you rather they hold the
update back from everyone because a few people are affected?

The "holding tank" solution their using is not perfect, but it's better
than breaking people's setups. The updates you are missing aren't
groundbreaking, just some suggestion improvements and a deleted items
folder.

The OP's main complaint is with Weaknees who didn't adequately warn him
that 7.2.2 was needed. It's not Tivo's job to support Weaknees.


This is a major software screw-up that needs to be fixed immediately. Well,
maybe not immediately, they might want to TEST it a little first.

The upgrades are minor. They probably feel that there's far less of an
impact by holding a few people back, rather then holding back the vast
majority.

Is this the beginning of the end of life cycle support for Series 2, a
harbinger of things to come?

Jeez, extrapolating a bit on one small perceived slight, are you?

It may be prudent to rethink exchanging my cable company's HD DVR for a
Series 3 if and when those materialize, even if they have the familiar TiVo
interface and capabilities...it too is already planned for obsolescence!

TiVo, where is your brain?

Because of a small software glitch that didn't cause anybody any real
problems, only delayed an update for a small subset of users, you are
now concluding that Tivo's next model release is planned for
obsolesence? If you tried to stretch that any further it'd reach to the
moon!

Randy S.

I think you missed the point. All I'm asking is that Tivo notify me
when my current setup (they recommended) is not going to work with new
software releases. This could all have been avoided if they notified
me and I went out and bought a compatible device. I'm in a place now
where I have no idea when they will upgrade my unit.

I agree that Tivo shouldn't have to support Weaknees, but I pay the
same monthly fee as everyone else and I'm entitled to the latest
software release no matter how minor.

Dennis

Weaknees hard drive upgrade kit fiasco. (Long)
 

"User-in-law" writes:
I agree with you. TiVo has made no effort to explain to us why certain USB
NIC adapters that they formerly supported and recommended are no longer
functional with their updated (damaged?) software..


You're blaming TiVo when Linksys goes out of their way to break things?
Linksys changes out the hardware of the NIC with a totally different
chip, while leaving the same packaging and model # attached all over.
The only difference between the working old one and the non-working
new one is that one has a tiny orange CD-ROM icon on the box in one
specific spot, and one doesn't. For all other purposes, its the same
on the outside of the box.

Of course, with Windows, they just ship a new driver disc. TiVo
doesn't have that luxury since the code has to be built into the
linux kernel directly before, and since there's a dozen vendors doing
the same thing, changing out the chip flavor of the day, they'd have
to start shipping new kernels out monthly to try to keep up.

Weaknees hard drive upgrade kit fiasco. (Long)
 

"Randy S." wrote in message
...
I think you missed the point. All I'm asking is that Tivo notify me
when my current setup (they recommended) is not going to work with new
software releases. This could all have been avoided if they notified
me and I went out and bought a compatible device. I'm in a place now
where I have no idea when they will upgrade my unit. I agree that Tivo
shouldn't have to support Weaknees, but I pay the
same monthly fee as everyone else and I'm entitled to the latest
software release no matter how minor. Dennis

I would say they probably didn't *know*, so they couldn't tell you until a
few cases came up when they started a beta rollout.

The "holding tank" isn't the best idea, but it's probably more due to
support issues then due to technical ones. I would bet it won't be too
long until they get it fixed, and the whole problem goes away.

Randy S.

So I guess you got yours updated, didn't you? Not one of the small
minority?

I've participated in TiVo's beta test groups and anything this significant
wouldn't have passed. It appears they didn't beta test this. It certainly
would have appeared and would have been handled. If they did beta test this
and decided to ignore the problem, they no longer deserve our support and to
me they've lost all credibility.

I would bet it won't be too
long until they get it fixed, and the whole problem goes away.

TiVO claims that it will be fixed in the next release, in 3-6 months,
however long that really turns out to be. If they had said that they screwed
up and are working on an interim release to fix it, THAT would make the
whole problem go away. But they choose to effectively say "screw 'um" to the
subscribers affected. Not good business, not where I practice anyway.

Weaknees hard drive upgrade kit fiasco. (Long)
 

Once upon a time, Doug McIntyre said:
You're blaming TiVo when Linksys goes out of their way to break things?

That's not the problem in this case. TiVo updated their drivers and
broke the _old_ devices (that were previously working). The quick and
dirty solution is to just not send the software update to TiVos with
devices known to be broken by the updated drivers.

TiVo
doesn't have that luxury since the code has to be built into the
linux kernel directly

Well, TiVo uses kernel modules for the drivers, so it would be feasible
for them to have an update method that just adds new modules to support
additional devices. However, that adds to support issues (because the
version doesn't tell you everything).
--
Chris Adams
Systems and Network Administrator - HiWAAY Internet Services
I don't speak for anybody but myself - that's enough trouble.

Weaknees hard drive upgrade kit fiasco. (Long)
 

You're blaming TiVo when Linksys goes out of their way to break things?
Linksys changes out the hardware of the NIC with a totally different
chip, while leaving the same packaging and model # attached all over.

Linksys is not the only vendor to do this, Netgear has done it as well.

The state of linux USB ethernet is pretty lame. There aren't many reliable
drivers for when x86 chips are used. The MIPS chip in the Tivo units
requires a different driver (sometimes just a recompile but not always).

So yeah, it's annoying but that's the breaks for being on the bleeding edge.

Weaknees hard drive upgrade kit fiasco. (Long)
 

Hi, I'm curious about this. Will not having version 7.2.2 prevent
someone from upgrading from scratch from a new clean, unformatted IDE
drive, or does this apply only to upgrade drives that have already been
specially pre configured?

Weaknees hard drive upgrade kit fiasco. (Long)
 

On 2006-04-16, Doug McIntyre wrote:
"User-in-law" writes:
I agree with you. TiVo has made no effort to explain to us why certain USB
NIC adapters that they formerly supported and recommended are no longer
functional with their updated (damaged?) software..


You're blaming TiVo when Linksys goes out of their way to break things?

If it's a model that Tivo Corp lists as supported then they
should be expected to ensure that it remains supported. If this means
they have to do some driver development, then so be it. This is what
should be expected of this sort of device vendor.

The fact that the NIC vendors make things more difficult
really isn't relevant. Tivo is selling a complete solution.

Linksys changes out the hardware of the NIC with a totally different
chip, while leaving the same packaging and model # attached all over.
The only difference between the working old one and the non-working
new one is that one has a tiny orange CD-ROM icon on the box in one
specific spot, and one doesn't. For all other purposes, its the same
on the outside of the box.

Of course, with Windows, they just ship a new driver disc. TiVo
doesn't have that luxury since the code has to be built into the
linux kernel directly before, and since there's a dozen vendors doing

This is a great illustration of why Tivo needs to be the
one to make sure this works since you clearly don't understand how
Linux or system updates work.

Tivo can ship whatever updates it wants to the end users.
This includes new kernels, modular kernels, kernel drivers and
all the fiddly bits of their application. This can all be automated
and given the limited selection of Tivo hardware should be easy
enough to test so that it's reliable and seamless for everyone.

the same thing, changing out the chip flavor of the day, they'd have
to start shipping new kernels out monthly to try to keep up.

If they wanted to avoid a monthly 700K download, they
could simply add suitable detection logic and allow for downloading
a new kernel upon detection of the offending NIC. This is assuming
that kernels that Tivo use are monolitic to begin with.

--
Sophocles wants his cut. |||
/ | \