TiVo loses internet access after reboot!

[Packmule2005]

Hello, sorry for the long post, I wanted to put in as much info as possible in one post. :o

I certainly hope that someone can help with this problem. I purchased the Instantcake TWP TiVo image, a Seagate hard drive, and a CacheCard w/512mb memory stick from DVRUpgrade which I installed on a Phillips HDR112 standalone Series 1 TiVo with lifetime service agreement.

I installed the software on disk as per instructions. NO PROBLEMS. Installed new hard drive in TiVo and booted up system. NO PROBLEM. I have a link light on the CacheCard. At this point I can use Telnet & FTP to reach TiVo and TiVoWeb Plus works just fine. I make NO CHANGES to anything on TiVo, just verified connectivity. TiVo is plugged directly into my Linksys wireless router by ethernet cable. On the first boot up of TiVo the router recognizes it and assigns it an IP address.

I run through the guided setup (used the ,#401 dialing code) on the television and TiVo makes all of it's test, account setup, and program download calls successfully over the internet.

I unplug TiVo and plug it back in again (power recycle) and after reboot I have no link light on the CacheCard, I have lost all ability to Telnet or FTP, and TiVo cannot complete any of it's calls.

I have reloaded the image on the hard drive at least three times now, all with the same result as above. One successful setup/call and then reboot and nothing works. I have changed nothing in the configuration or any files on the hard drive. This happens every time I reload the image and TiVo recycles power.

This morning I reloaded the image again and plugged the TiVo into a brand new router with no changes to factory settings. Verified that my PC could access the internet and all was well with the DHCP, etc. No problems.

Plugged TiVo in and got the link light, router assigned a new IP, and access, successful calls over internet , etc. Recycled power and same symptoms as above. Now I know it's not my network causing problems.


I have found nothing on any of the TiVo forums, including the SiliconDust site that deals with this problem. I don't want to load any of their drivers or reconfigure the /etc/rc.d/rc.net files since it may overwrite or conflict with the InstantCake image install and cause more problems.

The fact that it can connect to the internet one time and all communications are successful should indicate the install (hardware/software) is correct. However something is being corrupted or changed upon power recycle. I know that Instantcake sets up a dynamic IP address as part of install. Could this problem be caused by this arrangement instead of a static IP? I’m currently at a loss and would appreciate any insight or advise from the experts or from someone who may have seen this before.

Thank You!

[Packmule2005]

This thread can also be found at TiVo Community website under "TiVo Help Center". The thread title is "TiVo loses internet access after reboot" I have had a couple of replies at that site but would always welcome more! :D Problem is still ongoing...

Thanks,

Doug

[Packmule2005]

No one has any suggestons or ideas??? Certainly one of the TiVo gurus has a simple fix for this... HELP! I'm going through TiVo withdrawals! :(

[Lou Jacob]

This does not sound like a problem with the drive or the software.

Its sounds like it could be a problem with the TiVo unit itself; perhaps a bad connection (dirty edge connectors) or perhaps even a bad network cable, router port etc. So you should do as much as possible to eliminate as many variables as possible. Perhaps there is another device on your network that is interfering with your DHCP scheme.

Good chance its one of those things, or something else in your environment that is affecting things - that is why you are not finding anyone else with this particular problem on TiVo forums - its probably more of a general networking issue...

[Packmule2005]

Lou,

Thanks so much for the reply!

Alright...

1) I have swapped to a brand new Netgear wireless router with no changes made to factory settings and no security set up. Nothing else is connected to this router.

2) I used a different network cable than the one I was using.

3) TiVo is plugged directly into the router. Using port 1 of 4. But, I have tried all of the ports anyway.

4) Removed the cachecard from the motherboard and cleaned the edge connector with isopropyl alcohol and a pencil eraser. Reseated the memory module. Reinstalled the cachecard back onto the motherboard.

5) Reloaded the Instantcake TWP image just to be safe.


The same problem happens after reboot... :confused:

On the first boot up after install everything worked perfectly and the router is seeing the TiVo and issuing an IP with DHCP. Only one time... This should indicate that the configuration/network is correct on initial install and everything is working properly.

1) What is changing after power recyle of the TiVo??? ONLY the TiVo power is recyled.

2)What could change in the network or cachecard that would cause the link light not to illuminate??

3) Upon the second power up of the TiVo I don't see any activity from the TiVo indicating that it is looking for an IP. No communication on the router config page. The router has DHCP enabled and has a block of 100 IP addresses to issue.

4) Am I wrong to assume that the core of this problem is that I don't have a link light on the cachecard basically indicating that the card is not able to communicate with the network? If the card cannot communicate with the router even if the TiVo is attempting to get an IP from the router it cannot because the card isn't talking over the network.

5) Does the link light indicate a problem at the cachecard/TiVo or just a general connection problem that could be external to the card.

6) If it sounds like I have done everything that could be reasonably expected to resolve a network issue I will need to send the TiVo to you for checkout so I can eliminate that as a cause.

Thank You again for your time and expertise!

Doug

[Lou Jacob]

As I said before, "Perhaps there is another device on your network that is interfering with your DHCP scheme" - what have you done to eliminate those variables?

[Packmule2005]

Lou,

Good Evening! Thanks for your time!

This evening was DHCP troubleshooting...

1) I didn't take the hard drive out of the TiVo and reload the image this time since we are looking at a possible DHCP problem. It is in the exact same cofguration as the last time it failed to connect/no link light and was shut down.

2) I disconnected everything- all devices from both of my routers and turned off all devices that were connecting over wireless means. I used the reset button on both routers to return them to factory settings and erase any DHCP router tables and security configurations that may have been loaded. I then powereed them down.

3) Nothing is connected to the router, not even my PC for this troubleshooting session.

4) The TiVo is connected to the router with a Cat 5e ethernet cable.

5) I powered up the router and let it get through its self test.

6) I connected the TV to the TiVo and powered up the TiVo.

7) TiVo went through its usual power up screens and then to the SiliconDust Cachecard screen to load the database into cache memory. The drivers were listed as 20050218/20050218. TiVo then proceeded to the "Guided Setup" screen.

8) A quick check of the Cachecard showed the power light iluminated and no link light.

9) Of course TiVo failed all of its test, account setup, and program download calls.

10) I disconnected the TiVo from the Netgear router used in this attempt and powered down TiVo. Powered down the Netgear router and powered up the Linksys. Plugged TiVo into the Linksys router and then powered up TiVo. Same results.

11) Just to make sure that this configuration works, I unplugged the TiVo ethernet cable and the pluged in my PC as the only device. As soon as I powered up the PC the router immediately recognized the MAC address of the PC and issued an IP address.

Lou, I have nothing else connected to the router, all WiFi/Wireless devices in the house are turned off, I have reset the routers, tried two different routers, and no success. :(

I'm really not trying to be difficult, and at this point I really wish I could find something with my network or DHCP. I can say with 99.9% certainty that if I were to reload the image on the hard drive and try this again it would work flawlessly. It has every other time.

It just seems that after the first power recycle that the Cachecard isn't available for LAN access. For whatever reason I don't know.

I even downloaded AngryIP Scanner and attempted to scan for the TiVo on every possible IP from 192.168.1.1 though 192.168.1.255. The only live IP it found was for 192.168.1.1 which was the router itself. It found no MAC addresses either. I know that this is a simple PING utility but if the Cachecard were live I thought it would find it.

I appreciate all of your suggestions. I am truly at a loss...

Thank you and have a great evening!

Doug

[Lou Jacob]

8) A quick check of the Cachecard showed the power light iluminated and no link light.


Earlier, you said you had a link light. Now you are saying you are not.

Not having a link light suggests that you have a PHYSICAL connectivity problem and that is fundamental.

Check your cables again, and every physical point of connectivity between your TiVo and your router.

And check to ensure that your CacheCard is installed properly (if you want, take a photo of your installation and post it) because if it is not, you may have found the problem.

[Packmule2005]

Lou,

In my first post I stated that I did have a link light ONLY on the first power up of the TiVo after install of the hard disk with Instantcake TWP. ONLY on that first boot up do I have a link light and all aspects of the TiVo & CacheCard work correctly.

Pull the plug on the TiVo...Plug the TiVo back in to power, reboot and NO link light. Nothing I have tried will get a link light. As you can see from my posts, I have tried everything to correct this problem from an external network standpoint.

As I type this, my TiVo is connected to my router with a 3 foot ethernet cable and nothing else is connected to the router. I have pulled and reinstalled the CacheCard at least 4 times now. It is definitely not a difficult installation. I have cleaned the edge connector twice. I've switched to 3 different ethernet cables and 2 different routers.

In fact I can unplug the ethernet cable from the Cachecard and with no other changes, plug it into my PC and it will happily access the router and the internet.

I understand that the link light is fundamental to this problem. Without the link light there is no communication over the cable to the router. My problem is that I have done everything possible to find an external problem with my network.

My setup works as it is supposed to for the first power up of the TiVo. THIS DEMONSTRATES THAT THE BASIC NETWORK CONFIGURATION IS WORKING. I don't change anything in the external network configuration by unplugging the TiVo and powering it up again. However, I lose my link light and there is nothing that will get it to illuminate again after the first reboot.

The ONLY thing that will reliably and consistently correct this problem and enable all functions of the cachecard including the link light is to reimage the hard drive with the Instantcake image. I have done this at least a dozen times now and it corrects the problem every time. That is not a network problem.

I know that from what you have seen in the past that this is usually resolved as a network issue. But I can't do anything else to my network that hasn't been done already.

I'm thinking that the "recertification" service that you offer may be the next step to either confirm or eliminate the TiVo as a cause if this problem. If I send it to you and you can duplicate it at your location at least you will be better able to troubleshoot with the unit in front of you.

Thanks,

Doug

[Lou Jacob]

Sending your unit to us is always an option; it is the only way that we can confirm that the card is installed properly and that the software is installed properly, as well; plain and simple.

Clearly, if there is a hardware problem, we can identify that as well, but until we eliminate the variables of your environment and your installation, it really is all guess work.

Lou

[Packmule2005]

Lou,

If you have any other suggestions that we haven't tried yet, I'll continue with them.

If not I'd like to send the TiVo to you and have you go through the TiVo as well as the installation and make sure that the TiVo itself is working correctly.

Please let me know what I'd need to send you or how I would go about doing it.

Best Regards,

Doug

[Packmule2005]

Lou,

I just wanted you to know that I finally fixed this problem!:D

After bashing my head against the wall (and the TiVo and the computer) and troubleshooting this as a network problem I had reached the point that I had eliminated EVERYTHING in the network.

Since the ONLY thing that ever fixes this is to reload the image on the hard drive I went about it from that angle...

I put the hard drive back in te PC and for the 57th time reloaded InstantCake TWP. But this time instead of taking it back out and putting it in the TiVo as before I went to the SiliconDust website and downloaded their CacheCard drivers ISO image. Burned the disk, popped it in the PC, loaded up the drivers and THEN put the hard drive in the TiVo.

Long story short.... I HAVE A LINK LIGHT AND NETWORK CONNECTIVITY, AND TIVO MAKES ALL OF IT'S CALLS SUCCESSFULLY! I have recycled power several times to verify that the link light returns each time and it does!

Somehow the drivers were corrupted during download or burning the image to the CD. I don't know. But new drivers and no more problems.

Now, on to setting up the wireless bridge so I can use all of the CacheCard features.

Later,

Doug