Official InstantCake Discussion Thread (Series3 and TiVo HD Units Only)

[Lou Jacob]

Official InstantCake Discussion Thread (Series3 and TiVo HD Units)

Although InstantCake is a DIY product and is offered without warranty or support directly from DVRupgrade, we've created this thread as a way to consolidate common support issues. We'll respond here and there and we hope other users of the software will as well. I think you'll find that most common problems are easily solved and there are only a few problems that people have. Remember, InstantCake is widely used by thousands of people, so if you are having a problem, be rest assured that it can be solved by following the advice in the subsequent pages.
In the spririt of minimizing the often repeated questions asked here, please take a moment to do a few things before posting your InstantCake questions in the official support thread, or elsewhere on the forum:

• Please read the InstantCake Instructions and Release Notes for your specific InstantCake product. InstantCake is similar on all products, however there are differences depending upon the type of TiVo you have. Even if you have a general product question, the answer may very well be here; its only one page, and there are even screen shots of the program in operation.

• Please use the search feature of the forums. Believe it or not, InstantCake has been available now for almost four years. That means there is a very good chance that your question has already been asked, and answered in this forum. Try the search feature before posting your question, you may be happy with what you find!

• Don't be afraid to post your questions, but please provide enough detail so that they can be answered!

• It should go without saying that many people have different perspectives, and are at different levels of computer knowledge and skill. Nonetheless, try not to make too many assumptions when posting your questions. Sometimes, what you consider to be an unimportant detail is a key one -- so if you don't have the time to document the actual problem you are having, please don't expect anyone to spend much more time trying to solve that problem.

• Share your newly-found knowledge! If you figure something out that you think others may benefit from, please post it here!

• Please write a testimonial. We always appreciate your testimonials and if you post one here, we'll be forever grateful.

Note that this is a technical support thread designated for the support and usage of InstantCake products. This is not a product information thread, nor is it a technical support thread for upgrade issues which have nothing to do with InstantCake; if you have a different question, please create a new thread and hopefully, a member of the community will respond!

[Lou Jacob]

Reserved for future use.

[StanSimmons]

I booted from the IC CD on my HP laptop and was able to install to a SATA drive connected to a USB/SATA adapter. I haven't installed the drive into my TiVoHD yet, but will do so tonight.

The boot speed was good and the system found the 750GB Seagate SATA drive with no problems. After answering the questions, it installed the image fairly quickly, even over the USB adapter

I noticed that when the script asked for PATA or SATA that it required the response to be CAPPED. A minor annoyance.

I'll post more when I've installed the drive in the TiVoHD.

The Laptop: HP nc6120

The USB/SATA adapter: Nippon Labs USB-SATA USB to IDE/SATA Adapter w/ power - Retail $15

The Drive: Seagate 750GB Serial ATA/300 16MB Buffer ST3750640AS-RK

[StanSimmons]

How did it go?

Lou

I finally got some time and installed the drive. Everything went smoothly and I am in the process of running a normal guided setup on the TiVoHD now.

As soon as it finishes, I'll update here with the info.

[StanSimmons]

Ok, it finally finished the Guided Setup. I had an error with the CableCard, but I expected it and it will go away once I call TWC.

The software is v9.2a-01-2-652 and show 98 HD hours and 924 SD hours out of a 750GB drive. Is that right?

[Lou Jacob]

Ok, it finally finished the Guided Setup. I had an error with the CableCard, but I expected it and it will go away once I call TWC.

The software is v9.2a-01-2-652 and show 98 HD hours and 924 SD hours out of a 750GB drive. Is that right?

That sounds right!

When your unit booted for the first time, it should have just taken a few minutes with the "Almost there..." screen and then thrown you right into guided setup, correct? You did not receive any errors or anything after it booted (other than the problem you mentioned with the CableCard)?

[StanSimmons]

It looked like a normal first boot to me. It went through the normal powering up and almost there screens, then went immediately to the Guided Setup screen. After the guided setup was complete, I was able to get to the System Information screen and my Account and other information was normal. It worked as easily as the normal InstantCake process.

The three things I would suggest are:

1. You might want to consider advertising the feature that you can use a USB/SATA/PATA adapter with this version of IC. This is a HUGE step forward and will let people upgrade/repair their TiVo without pulling apart their desktop computer to get to the drive cables. You might even want to carry an adapter similar to the one I used. I would recommend you think about upgrading all of your IC disks to the new version.

2. During the start of the IC process, it would be nice to let the user know that if they have CableCards in the TiVo, that they will need to call the cable company and re-authorize the CableCard(s) after finishing the Guided Setup.

3. It is a minor thing, but it would be nice if the IC process would take either lower or upper case for the PATA/SATA questions. Alternately, have the CD default to PATA and the HD default to SATA for this version of IC.

[Lou Jacob]

It looked like a normal first boot to me. It went through the normal powering up and almost there screens, then went immediately to the Guided Setup screen. After the guided setup was complete, I was able to get to the System Information screen and my Account and other information was normal. It worked as easily as the normal InstantCake process.

Ok, good to know. All good points you made; I'll comment on each of them below...

The three things I would suggest are:

1. You might want to consider advertising the feature that you can use a USB/SATA/PATA adapter with this version of IC. This is a HUGE step forward and will let people upgrade/repair their TiVo without pulling apart their desktop computer to get to the drive cables. You might even want to carry an adapter similar to the one I used. I would recommend you think about upgrading all of your IC disks to the new version.

Good point. Very good point. I'll definitely work that into the story every where I can. If you can please provide more detail on the adapter, I'll look into it and at least provide a link to a few sources.

2. During the start of the IC process, it would be nice to let the user know that if they have CableCards in the TiVo, that they will need to call the cable company and re-authorize the CableCard(s) after finishing the Guided Setup.

Yes, I will do that, as well. I'll also mention that a 'truck roll' is not something that should be expected, either.

3. It is a minor thing, but it would be nice if the IC process would take either lower or upper case for the PATA/SATA questions. Alternately, have the CD default to PATA and the HD default to SATA for this version of IC.

I'll give that some thought. The scripts are all case-sensitive but I actually did the PATA/SATA thing on purpose because I really wanted people to think about it before entering it. Also, the input routines don't work with 'defaults' but I prefer not to use them for the same reason, I really want people to read the questions and type the answers vs just hit <enter> <enter> <enter>... etc.

[StanSimmons]

I'll give that some thought. The scripts are all case-sensitive but I actually did the PATA/SATA thing on purpose because I really wanted people to think about it before entering it. Also, the input routines don't work with 'defaults' but I prefer not to use them for the same reason, I really want people to read the questions and type the answers vs just hit <enter> <enter> <enter>... etc.

Excellent point. I withdraw #3.

I started a "Connect to the TiVo service now" before I left for work this morning, and upon getting home, v9.3a-01-2-652 was pending restart. The upgrade went as expected with no errors or problems.

[Lou Jacob]

We now have a limited supply (and will be ordering more) of USB 2.0 SATA CONVERTER KITS.

These kits consists of a cable/adapter and power supply which will allow you to connect a SATA drive, 3.5" or 2.5" IDE/PATA drive to the USB port of most any PC or laptop. This will enable you to connect and power a SATA device without opening your PC, or with a laptop.

Since the device uses the USB port, it will appear to the InstantCake boot CD as a SATA device. This device works fine with the Series3 and TiVo HD versions of InstantCake, however it will not work with versions of InstantCake for the Series1 and Series2 as those boot CD's do not support SATA devices. We are looking into that for the future, however.

USB 2.0 SATA/IDE CONVERTER