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View Full Version : TurboLan freezes my Tvio and tivoweb inaccessible (timing=16)



NoSignal
27-09-2007, 08:17 PM
This issue started to be discussed in Use nzTivo Image (based on 1.5) or OzTivo 1.6.2 ?? (http://forums.oztivo.net/showthread.php?t=1596&page=3) but is sufficiently different to warrant starting a new thread.

In summary, I have had trouble that when my TurboNet card is connected to a network, the tivo starts to freeze. I am using OzTivo 1.6.2, with NZ Freeview and originally set internal modem to do the daily connect (which it did successfully).

After extensive testing, I have have discovered that running nic_config_tivo from a bash shell will reliably screw up my modem daily connections and require a re-image to get it working again (so I can only do manual edits, or run nic_config_tivo from the install CD).

I was also instructed that there is another bug in nic_config_tivo that does not save "timing" properly, so I manually edited /etc/oztivo.conf file from timing=3 to timing=16

I was unable to establish LAN connection (telnet, ftp or http) so even though I'm using the modem for daily calls, I've temporarily edited /etc/oztivo.conf to change nic=Modem to nic=TurboNet

Detailed results are below, but in summary, TurboNet is still (almost always)freezing the Tivo after a few minutes, often provoked by something connecting to the tivo via LAN.

As code to retain formatting:

- I tried manually editing oztivo.conf so "nic=Modem" becomes "nic=TurboNet".
- Also has "netmask=255.255.255.0"
- First reboot, Tivo got stuck at "Starting Up".
- Next time, booted ok. DHCP server gave it "10.1.13". I tried putty for telnet. Tivo froze.
- Next time, booted ok. Putty, ttermpro and ftp all work. BUT http://10.1.1.3 fails. TivoWeb(Plus) (http://10.1.1.3) has never worked for me.
- ifconfig reports an "eth0", which means the ethernet device is enabled (this was not the case back when "nic=Modem").
- With putty running, tried to access ftp simultaneously. Tivo froze.
- Next time, booted ok. Only used ftp. Ok for a while (under 10mins). Then Tivo froze.
- Got a good session, installing tserver and timezone file and copying off 5gb of video. But a few hours later, when I went to get another video via TyTool 10r4, tivo froze.
- Rebooted. Was playing a recording. Re-ran TyTool 10r4, started tserver and refreshed ok. First 'get' failed. Second 'get' froze tivo.
The log:
[TiVo [p0] ~]# /var/hack/tserver
Doing the Lowest PriorityFix...
Waiting for an incoming connection!
SERVER: We got a message! buf = 'SHOWING'
Waiting for an incoming connection!
SERVER: We got a message! buf = 'TYSTRM2 0.12.0.5 2883 12602/12604/12630'
ERROR: Could not connect the socket!
ERROR: Could not connect to client to send data!
Waiting for an incoming connection!
- Rebooted. Left tivo in the "Tivo Central" screen. Ran TyTool 10r4, started tserver and refreshed ok. First 'get' failed. Second 'get' froze tivo. Same error log as above. Tried a few times.
- I sometimes notice that after it freezes, the tivo's HDD starts 'thrashing' busily for about 1 minute, then stops. I wait for it to stop before pulling the plug. I tried telnetting in via serial, but no response.
- Rebooted. Waited a few minutes. Then tried an ftp connection. Tivo freezes.
- Rebooted. Ran TyTool 10r4, started tserver. Tivo freezes.
- Tivo freezing is getting more frequent/intolerant, so maybe a 'buildup' effect? I'll test that theory:
- I unplugged the LAN and turned off the tivo for a few hours. When I plugged both back in, I could get a few more minutes (even some short connections) before tivo freezes.
- So giving it a rest did seem to reduce freezing (but not enough to be usable).
- The modem's daily connections have now failed for the last couple of days.


So in summary, it is possibly better with timing=16, but it is still freezing a lot (though it had one good session?!), and tivoweb is still inaccessible. Dang.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

petestrash
27-09-2007, 08:52 PM
Have you tried using a fixed IP? Try that post your ifconfig here.

Peter.

NoSignal
01-10-2007, 08:56 AM
Hi. Thanks Peter, I'll try that. Before I read this post, I noticed a couple of things:

Firstly, when the tivo freezes, it is not completely dead. Often, if I unplug the ethernet cable, after >10 minutes the tivo will unfreeze. I can no longer connect with tytools unless I start tserver again, making me suspect it killed the tserver task.

Secondly, when the tivo was freezing almost immediately, I tried rebooting my laptop (that I was running tytools on). Then I could connect for awhile without tivo freezing! Just closing tytool didn't help. Not running tytool at all doesn't help either, so maybe my laptop is sending out packets that confuse the tivo? Weird.

Anyway, I'll try a static IP.

Darren King
01-10-2007, 10:54 AM
It does indeed sound like the TiVo is receiving a flood of packets and taking some time to clear them. That would explain both your noted points.

NoSignal
08-10-2007, 06:15 AM
Ok, interesting. I am not sure what would be creating that flood of packets - it is just my laptop and the tivo on the router - the router is not even connected to the internet...

Peter, I've tried your suggestions, and thought I'd include my oztivo.conf settings. I should probably explain that I am editing the file manually (despite what it says in the second line) because running nic_config_tivo from the bash shell makes daily calls permanently fail, which I can only fix by doing a complete reinstall (which I would rather not do, as I have shows and settings I want to backup first ... via the LAN connection. Yes, kind of circular).

Firstly, the settings before I started playing. It is successfully doing its daily call by modem:

# OzTiVo menu configuration settings file
# Please do not edit this file
# Run the nic_config_tivo tool to reconfigure
nic=Modem
ip=DHCP
mac=00:0B:AD:71:91:16
timing=16
hostname=oztivo
emulator=210.48.107.133
emulatorport=8000
netmask=255.255.255.0
gateway=
ssid=
wep=
wepkey=
Then, before I started this post, I simply changed:

#nic=Modem
nic=TurboNet
And after reading Peter's suggestions (static IP), I modified the settings to:

# OzTiVo menu configuration settings file
# Please do not edit this file
# Run the nic_config_tivo tool to reconfigure
nic=TurboNet
#nic=Modem
#ip=DHCP
ip=10.1.1.3
mac=00:0B:AD:71:91:16
timing=16
hostname=oztivo
emulator=210.48.107.133
emulatorport=8000
netmask=255.255.255.0
#gateway=
gateway=10.1.1.1
ssid=
wep=
wepkey=
After a reboot, this is the ifconfig output:

[TiVo [S3] ~]# ifconfig
lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Bcast:127.255.255.255 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP BROADCAST LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:3584 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 coll:0

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:0B:AD:71:91:16
inet addr:10.1.1.3 Bcast:10.255.255.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 coll:0
Interrupt:29
And the results of this last change: received a static IP fine. Can putty in (only tested for a short time). I run TyTool on laptop and start server - connect always fails and freezes tivo. I try rebooting router and laptop, but tivo still freezes - often as soon as laptop is plugged into router!

So a static IP has not helped - may have actually made freezing worse. Laptop is still on DHCP - is that a problem? Should I disable DHCP on the router and give the laptop a static IP too?

I guess either the laptop or the router could be sending out floods of packets. But I've tried rebooting both, and still the same problem. Tivo seems to freeze more when laptop plugged in, so that is more likely the culprit. No noticable pattern of software use causing freezing (sometimes no tivo-related software is run). So I could try killing any processes that could possibly use LAN (including apps that "check online for update" - even Windows Update).

NoSignal
13-10-2007, 03:08 AM
Ok, I tried killing any processes that could possibly use LAN (including apps that "check online for update" - including Windows Update).
Tivo can be plugged into router alone all day - no freeze.
But as soon as I plug laptop into router, tivo freezes. Switching the tivo back to DHCP makes no difference.

Looking at laptop LAN status, it does appear to be sending over 100 packets in the first minute. I'm not sure if that is bad or not. Maybe because I'm on a domain (with offline files enabled?).
But then I found another WinXP PC (not on a domain. Not using offline files) and connected its ethernet to the router. Same symptoms as above (so probably not the domain or Offline Files).

So I am a bit stuck - not sure what else to try. Its weird that LAN used to work a bit (though tivoweb never worked) but it doesn't seem to work at all now. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Wibble
13-10-2007, 01:28 PM
You could try using Wireshark on your XP box to see what traffic it generates.

See:
http://www.wireshark.org/
You'll also need WinPcap.

BurnieM
13-10-2007, 02:55 PM
Is the TiVo actually 'frozen' ? Can you connect via the serial port ?

Is it something as simple as either the IP or mac address on the TiVo and Laptop being the same ?