How set up a cron job for everyday TIVO reboot

**arvesolland** · 03-03-2006, 11:48 AM

Hi,

I've just got my TIVO running closer to normal now, that is if I reboot it every day...otherwise it will freeze or the sound will cut off...

So I was wondering if anyone know how i could set up a cron job for the tivo to reboot say 4 am every morning ?

Thanks, have a good day !

Regards

Arve

**petestrash** · 03-03-2006, 03:53 PM

Hi,

Cron entry: Add the following to /hack/etc/crontab to execute the script every day @ 4am. Ensure a blank line remains at the end of the file.

00 04 * * * root reboot

Peter.

**argo** · 08-05-2006, 06:23 PM

Originally Posted by petestrash

Hi,

Cron entry: Add the following to /hack/etc/crontab to execute the script every day @ 4am. Ensure a blank line remains at the end of the file.

00 04 * * * root reboot

Peter.

'root reboot' - how is this command different from 'reboot'

Adding 'root reboot' to crontab as above does not seem to carry out a reboot on my system (V1.5)?

**thomson** · 08-05-2006, 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by argo

'root reboot' - how is this command different from 'reboot'

Cron varies between systems... in the above example (usually reserved for system crontab files) it means execute the reboot command as the 'root' user.

This is not expected for the crontab files on the TiVo, so just '05 03 * * * reboot' should reboot the system at 03:05am each day.

**bigmal** · 24-06-2006, 11:17 AM

I read this thread a while ago and decided to load a cron job reboot at 4am every day as well. The Tivo has been running flawlessly ever since.

However, sometimes my guide data isn't fully indexed and programs aren't being found by my wishlists. Forcing an index fixes this problem. Thus I'm wondering if my Tivo decides to do a daily call at say 3:45am and then the cron job reboots it (while it's still indexing) then does the indexing ever get completed? (ie. after rebooting)

Is it possible to load a cron job that will only reboot the tivo if it's not indexing?

Thanks in advance, Jeremy.

P.S. I got my first tivo a few months ago and love it so much I have two more on the way from the States :-) Keep up the great work fellas!

**petestrash** · 24-06-2006, 12:18 PM

I haven't heard of reboots causing indexing problems, it should restart the indexing after the reboot.

But if you want to be sure, you could always add an indexing line to cron like:

00 04 * * * /var/hack/bin/force_index.tcl > /var/log/force index 2>&1 &

Peter.

**thomson** · 03-03-2006, 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by arvesolland

I've just got my TIVO running closer to normal now, that is if I reboot it every day...otherwise it will freeze or the sound will cut off...

It is better to resolve the issue rather rather than try work around it via reboots. The freezing is likely caused by TivoWeb... in which case you should seriously consider either removing the phone.itcl module, or replace it with TivoWebPlus. The sound cutting out is possibly a software issue, if you could provide some information on the setup of your Tivo as well as a dump of the PALMOD messages ("grep PALMOD /var/log/kernel") then that too could be looked into.

This is the third posting I have replied to from a user concerning sound loss... but it seems that nobody is prepared to provide the log entries that would help determine if the issue can be resolved with a software update. If anyone is getting this regularly then I am happy to work through the the issue with them and provide software updates for them to try and resolve or determine what the issue is.

**arvesolland** · 06-03-2006, 09:03 AM

Originally Posted by thomson

It is better to resolve the issue rather rather than try work around it via reboots. The freezing is likely caused by TivoWeb... in which case you should seriously consider either removing the phone.itcl module, or replace it with TivoWebPlus. The sound cutting out is possibly a software issue, if you could provide some information on the setup of your Tivo as well as a dump of the PALMOD messages ("grep PALMOD /var/log/kernel") then that too could be looked into.

This is the third posting I have replied to from a user concerning sound loss... but it seems that nobody is prepared to provide the log entries that would help determine if the issue can be resolved with a software update. If anyone is getting this regularly then I am happy to work through the the issue with them and provide software updates for them to try and resolve or determine what the issue is.

Hi Thomson,

Thanks for your reply.
the sound cutting out is my major problem at the moment, hasn't happened for a couple of days now, but the other day, 80% of recorded shows on that day were without sound

I tried doing a grep PALMOD /var/log/kernel but i dont get anything at the moment, its just a few hours since the morning reboot though....
Im only using a austar STB (QLD) at the moment, no FTA so will any PALMOD errors still show up even though Darren has not modded my box ?

Guess I could set up a cron to dump the grep PALMOD /var/log/kernel into a file just before each reboot to catch it all.....

I really appreciate your help thompson, as I would love to resolve the issues as well, not just work around them

Thanks,

Have a good day !
Regards

Arve

**thomson** · 06-03-2006, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by arvesolland

Im only using a austar STB (QLD) at the moment, no FTA so will any PALMOD errors still show up...

Hmm... that's a little more interesting... my understanding is that there should be very little "processing" being performed on the left/right audio from a STB connection.

I have attached a version of palmod that includes some debugging output. This may help us determine if some software tweaking is possible. I would strongly suggest implementing the failsafe mechanism outlined in this post to ensure that you will never get stuck in a reboot loop when running development palmod modules.

**thomson** · 06-03-2006, 07:31 PM

Originally Posted by arvesolland

the sound cutting out is my major problem at the moment

Are you running a CacheCard? If you are then you might like to check the firmware revision of the card. More information can be found here.

It is also handy to know if changing the channel solved the sound issue. For instance, if there is no sound does changing the channel reset it? Have you ever had the sound disappear while watching a show... does it sometimes disappear partway into a show, or always at the beginning? These questions will also help determine if it is a software versus hardware issue.