TiVo Not Getting IP Address

[vmancini]

Hi,

I've been trying to set up my first TiVo but things aren't going according to plan. The TiVo was sent to me as a gift, already mod to work in Australia. I've been trying all different types of network set ups with it and have gone to a basic set up consisting of a router connected directly to the TiVo and a MacBook. The Web interface of the router shows the MacBook connected and has given it the IP address of 192.168.1.3. I have tried multiple restarts of the Tivo and router and still can't get the TiVo to ask for a IP address. The link lights are displayed on the router and I have tried swapping cables.

Any Ideas? I can't do the option of pulling out the HDD and booting up in a PC as I only have a MacBook

Thank you,

Vito

[jamesljm]

I had this problem also when I first got mine. I did not have a DHCP server on my Network. See if your Router has a DHCP facility on it. Define the DHCP Scope and then reboot your Tivo.

It should pick up an IP address and you will get a message in the "Messages and Setup" section on the main meny. The message will tell you what Tivo's IP and MAC address are.

You should then be able to FTP, Telnet and HTTP to the Tivo.

[vmancini]

Thanks jamesljm, I've tried two different routers and made sure they were serving IP addresses via DHCP. About 2 minutes after restarting the TiVo I get a message telling me the IP address is http://0.0.0.0

I tried a different approach, I directly connected the MacBook to the TiVo and ran the web server as mentioned in one of the posts on this forum, the TiVo hung on the starting TiVo splash page.

The Tivo is running 1.4. What would happen if theres a static IP address programmed in thats out of my scope?

Thanks,

Vito

[Darren King]

I get a message telling me the IP address is http://0.0.0.0
The Tivo is running 1.4.

That's your problem. r1.4 is very out of date software (latest is r1.6.2) and had a known bug of not reporting the IP address properly.

I suggest getting the hard disk reimaged with r1.6.2 which is available on www.oztivo.com

[LenMancini]

Hi All,

Im the person who sent Vito the tivo as a xmas pressie for him and his family. I got it from Ron in Canberra.

Darren I dont think the problem Vito is referring to is just the 0.0.0.0 reporting issue from the earlier images.

The version vito has I am told is 1.4, but this unit came from Ron in Canberra so may have had an intermediate version of the software installed before the later releases were finalised. So truth be told I cant be 100% certain what version of the software is in there until guided setup starts.

Anyway, if it was just the reporting issue, the router administration software/webpage would report the Tivo as an attached device and give its IP address even though its reported 0.0.0.0. Thats how we would obtain the IP to TivoWeb in with our Tivo at home.

He has also tried two different routers. Same thing. No picking up of IP by DHCP.

Im wondering whether it was set up with a static IP which is on a different subnet or range to the those IP addresses being served up by the router.

Is there any way of checking outside of tivoweb and without an IP Address?

Thanks
Len

[petestrash]

As Darren said, the upgrade from 1.4 to 1.6.2 has been fairly painless for most people.

The fault in 1.4 was with the reporting of the IP address on boot. The reporting doesn't work correctly, but this didn't stop the tivo from obtaining an address. The updated file is available HERE (http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/viewfile/Uploads/WebHome?rev=1.1;filename=report_ipaddress) copy it into /hack/bin.

Even without this file, if you check your router a couple of minutes after the TiVo has completed booting up you should see what IP it has given it.

Also you could use an IP scanning program like IPscan (http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/viewfile/Uploads/WebHome?rev=1.1;filename=ipscan14.exe) to find where it is on your network.

Peter

[LenMancini]

Hi Peter,

Unfortunately vito cant FTP in to add any files until he obtains an IP address first.

In respect of the router, when he waits a few minutes and checks with the router, no IP address has been assigned. So I really dont think this is just an issue of the Tivo not reporting the IP address on startup.

It might be that reimaging is the best bet. Unfortunately Vito and our whole family are Mac users. We dont have any desktops with spare drive bays. Has anyone been able to reimage using a mac and an external hard disk in a firewire400/usb2.0 enclosure?

Regards and Many Thanks
Len

[segger]

Hi Guys

The software on the machine is the version which was current before the most recent (beta still?) release. It incorporates the delay before sending the IP address message so I'm pretty confident that it's *not* getting an IP address via DHCP. It should not have been assigned a Static IP, and I'm pretty sure it hasn't because (as far as I recall) a static address is always reported correctly in the TiVo message, even in the older version with the reporting problem... As the IP didn't come from DHCP it was not affected by DHCP delays...

I'm totally clueless on Mac stuff, so I'm not sure how to proceed with debugging this issue, can anybody offer any further cues?

Cheers
Ron

[LenMancini]

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the reply. I think the best bet would be for Vito to borrow a mates PC tower and reimage the tivo disc with 1.6 unless someone knows how to do this with a mac externally.

Thanks again
Len

[segger]

It can't hurt to re-image, it's desirable really anyway, but not actually likely to solve the root cause of the problem I think. I think there's something else wrong, probably on the network...

(Len, is this the TiVo which was swapped due to the sound issues? You did request that one of the TiVos back in August be supplied with a Static address, but you did tell me that you had already set that one up. I'm sure that the one that you returned to me just before xmas had dynamic addressing).

Cheers
Ron

[LenMancini]

Hi ROn,

Yes thats right. Only one was set up static, and that one is sitting happily on a mates home network.

This one should have been dynamic.

I wonder whether it could come back to the ADSL connection as two seperate and independant routers refused to serve an IP address to the tivo but happily to other network appliances and computers hooked up to the network.

I will try and get Vito to try putting the tivo on my Dad's home network where the other Tivo I got off you is sitting happily. If that network doesn't serve up an IP address to the tivo then I would suggest its a problem with the box that might be fixed up by a re-image.

One step at a time:)

Thanks again
Len

[Darren King]

I'm with Ron on this one. The image Ron would have used would be in fact r1.5 - not r1.4 as originally stated - with the IP reporting delay fixed. The splash screen still says r1.4 as it was not rolled over to r1.5 on release due to an oversight by the software guys.

Network options can be read from the serial port if an appropriate Mac terminal program is used set to 9600 baud and the TiVo serial cable used (if one was purchased). This way a linux bash prompt can be brought up and the command nic_config_tivo issued. This will resolve if it is a static IP or DHCP assigned and changes can be made without the need for a working network connection.

[LenMancini]

Network options can be read from the serial port if an appropriate Mac terminal program is used set to 9600 baud and the TiVo serial cable used (if one was purchased). This way a linux bash prompt can be brought up and the command nic_config_tivo issued. This will resolve if it is a static IP or DHCP assigned and changes can be made without the need for a working network connection.

Hi Darren,

This sounds promising. We have the serial cable that came with the box but I think thats only a cable for the IR blaster.

Would Vito need an RS232 type cable that goes to USB (macs no longer sport serial ports).

Mac OS X has a terminal program that you can basically access its command line FreeBSD underpinnings. Maybe it could be done through this or just a regular telnet type application.

Thanks for your suggestions.
Regards
Len

[vmancini]

So are these the steps you would like me to take:

Try my TiVo on Lens Dad's network by removing his TiVo and replacing with my one.

If that is successful then I have an issue with my network

If it doesn't work, I should some how reimage the TiVo with 1.6.2

Can these RS-232 cables be purchased from a electronics store?

Vito

[petestrash]

Unfortunately vito cant FTP in to add any files until he obtains an IP address first.

TiVo supports Zmodem protocol, so software can be downloaded over a serial connection.

But in this case I agree that it is not an issue with the reporting software.

Have you confirmed the network card is still fully seated on the motherboard connector. I have seen some come slightly ajar after shipping.


It might be that reimaging is the best bet. Unfortunately Vito and our whole family are Mac users. We dont have any desktops with spare drive bays. Has anyone been able to reimage using a mac and an external hard disk in a firewire400/usb2.0 enclosure?

There have been some steps in this direction using USB on a PC. It's still a Alpha release but may work, see HowtoRestoreOntoaUSBdrive (http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Howto/ALPHAtestHowtoRestoreOntoaUSBdrive).


I wonder whether it could come back to the ADSL connection as two seperate and independant routers refused to serve an IP address to the tivo but happily to other network appliances and computers hooked up to the network.

Not an issue, the routers should still serve IP addresses even without ADSL connected.


Would Vito need an RS232 type cable that goes to USB (macs no longer sport serial ports).

Yes, though I am not aware of anyone who has tried this method.


So are these the steps you would like me to take:

Try my TiVo on Lens Dad's network by removing his TiVo and replacing with my one.

If that is successful then I have an issue with my network

If it doesn't work, I should some how reimage the TiVo with 1.6.2

Can these RS-232 cables be purchased from a electronics store?

If it didn't work at Len's dad's place, then assuming he is a PC user it would be best to try the serial cable option Darren suggested at his place (As we don't know if USB-Serial adapters work with Mac-TiVo connections).

The serial cable is not available from Dick Smiths. Darren should have them available for sale, also check MakingSerialCable (http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Hardware/MakingSerialCable) for info on how to make your own and which cables you can buy.

Failing all that, maybe you could send your hard drive to Len to install a new image onto assuming he's a PC user.

Worse comes to worse I could do it for you.

Peter.

[Darren King]

The serial cable is not available from Dick Smiths. Darren should have them available for sale

Yes I have them. I also have USB-RS232 adaptors which I know work fine under Windows and I can't see why not under Mac.


Failing all that, maybe you could send your hard drive to Len to install a new image onto assuming he's a PC user.

Worse comes to worse I could do it for you.

I'm also willing to volunteer here to if need be.

Whoever gets the job it might be an idea to set a static IP in the range the router can work with while at it too.

[LenMancini]

Guys you are all true blue legends.

Thanks for your help.

Sounds like a weekend of trial and error on its way. Glad im 600kms away from Vito and his tivo!!!

Good luck Veet.

[LenMancini]

Hey guys

Veet took it over to Dads where it didnt work.

He opened the case and it would appear that either the turbonet car or adapter were slightly loose.

He jammed it back in and bingo - tivoweb access.

Thanks for all your help, on behalf of Vito and me.

Thanks again
Len

[segger]

Hi Gents

Glad to hear of the encouraging signs.

FYI, All the TiVo's I sold were supplied with both a Standard TiVo Serial Cable and also the necessary null modem cable (the null modem cable was supplied in an after market plastic pack) so that we could still get into the TiVo if network problems materialised. (It's well worth holding onto those two cables for emergencies.)

Anyway, let me know how it goes, and naturally I'll be more than happy to reimage the disk, if it comes to that, but as I say, I do not expect that to be helpful. Sounds like it was just a loose card! Darn it! :)

Cheers
Ron

[vmancini]

Thanks guys for helping me out, I can't believe how responsive this community is. Hopefully I'll get to a level where I can be of some use to some newbie in the future.

So the TiVo is working, now i'm onto getting the network happy with having the TiVo on a wireless set up.

Just while I was looking at the web interface, is there a function to make the TiVo look for program guide data manually?

Thanks again, I really appreciated it

Vito

[Darren King]

So the TiVo is working, now i'm onto getting the network happy with having the TiVo on a wireless set up.

Good stuff! One step closer!


Just while I was looking at the web interface, is there a function to make the TiVo look for program guide data manually?

If you mean to instruct the TiVo to get guide data when you want it to then yes. Under the phone tab you should see an option to make a daily call now. But this is not really used for day to day operation as a TiVo that will be set up on a permanent broadband connection will go ahead and make it's own calls to get new data.