TiVo Goes After Sites Hosting Image Backups

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TiVo Goes After Sites Hosting Image Backups

There have always been a couple of public FTP servers you could get backups of someone's original TiVo hard drive files. Typically, you'd go to it if your TiVo hard drive died. You could buy a new drive, restore the original files from the backups, plop it in your TiVo, and use it.

It's always been kind of shady -- while you couldn't steal service or anything, it was hosting a copy of the complete TiVo software for anyone to grab. People have been pretty hush-hush about it for the most part, but according to Slashdot, people hosting backups are now being sent cease and desist letters (here's a copy of the letter's text).

I've watched the TiVo hacking community for a while, and I think the real tipping point on TiVo suddenly caring about backups might be the recent hacking work done to get the 4.0 OS on series 2 DirecTiVos. Thanks to these freely available backups, people could grab the 4.0 OS from a standalone TiVo, and restore it on a DirecTiVo system. People have also been trading hacked backups of series 2 DirecTiVo OSes with the USB ports and networking added. This is my best guess, but I'm betting DirecTV raised a stink about it and forced TiVo to do something about these previously innocuous backups. [thanks Mary and Andy]

by Matt Haughey December 10, 2003 in News

Comments

I had to download a said image a few months ago to resurrect a dead TiVo I had bought used and then died about 6 months later. Too me it's a bit outrageous that they don't give you a restore CD or some kind of backup plan. That is the whole reason I bought a Series 1 instead of a newer one when they first came out. Existing backup images should it fail. The last thing I wanted was a lifetime subscription and then have the thing fail and be out of luck.

Posted by: Brian at Dec 10, 2003 11:13:20 AM

Brian, if you have a lifetime subscription and the drive fails, you could have the tivo serviced by the manufacturer to get the drive replaced. It won't be free if it's out of warrenty, but you aren't completely stuck.

Get your images before they are gone, they aren't all gone yet.

Posted by: Jeff Bearer at Dec 12, 2003 1:36:13 PM

I am in need of one of those backup images for a Philips HDR112 If anyone knows where I might be able to find one please let me know. Purchased this off eBay would like to get it going again. Thanks

Posted by: justtesting at Dec 24, 2003 10:59:04 AM

I have a series 1 that I need an image 4. Can anybody help?

Posted by: Michael at Jan 21, 2004 6:44:52 PM

someone plese email me where I can get an image for my tivo series 1 hdr212.. my drive died and I didn't have a back up..this sucks. Tivo should offer some type of restore capabilities.

Posted by: need image at Feb 8, 2004 7:52:29 PM

Can someone PLEASE email me some place I can find an original
image for my Phillips DSR6000 with a dead drive. I'll be indebted forever. Thanks

Posted by: uwanna at Mar 16, 2004 9:18:55 AM

In need of a RCA DVR40 image file to resurrect my 2mos old Directivo that No one seems to want to honor the warranty on.

Please email me

Posted by: Image Please at Mar 16, 2004 6:05:49 PM

I also need an image for my Philips DSR6000 - help?

Posted by: Gary at Apr 17, 2004 12:40:16 AM

I need an image for a dead HDR212

Posted by: need image 2 at May 7, 2004 12:29:02 PM

I recently backup up a tivo series 1 drive with MFSTools V2.0 and then restored the backup onto a larger western digital 120mb drive. I reinstalled the drive and now my tivo sounds like the kernal boots and then just spins the drive and seems to be moving the head(s) but I never get any video display. Worse, when I replaced my original factory drive it now does the same thing :( Any clues? If my backup was flawed where can I get a working one?

Thanks in advance, David.

Posted by: David at Jun 1, 2004 12:23:59 AM

I am looking for something that will work in a HDR112 on. Please email me Blueice888 at aol.com. I can trade an image for a series 2 Philips DTV

Posted by: pete at Aug 16, 2004 1:36:08 PM

My Tivo died but since I smelled something burning, I'm not convinced it was a hard drive failure. I'd like to be able to get programs off the drive but don't know the best way to do that. If anyone has any advice please email me at mizzoug15 at cox.net.
Thanks,

Posted by: M Goldberg at Oct 3, 2004 3:30:05 PM

I need an image for phillips 704 plz.. pluz info on what the hell i am doing for noob loll

Posted by: redeagle at Oct 22, 2004 7:13:03 PM

I also need an image for a phillips HDR112. I purchased a tivo that was missing a hard drive. Funny because the warranty sticker was still intact. Screws didn't seem tampered with but no hard drive was inside.

Posted by: yb at Nov 3, 2004 6:02:32 PM

read above post

If anyone has one please let me know
y_b (at) bellsouth.net

Posted by: yb at Nov 3, 2004 6:04:12 PM

Hi, looking for an image for a Phillips Series 1 HDR312... anyone?

Posted by: Shaown Nandi at Nov 12, 2004 8:41:11 AM

does anyone have an image for a hughes hdvr2 directivo image?

Posted by: michael at Dec 21, 2004 10:25:16 PM

Just go to http://www.ptvupgrade.com/products/instantcake/ for about $20.00 you can get the instant cake cd that has a image on it. Looks like TiVo don't cair if you sell a image. I guess as long as they know who you are by buying it. I think they have any image you need. Plue they have some hacks bult in to the image. The image file name on mine is "000001"

-Raymond Day

Posted by: Raymond Day at Jan 31, 2005 8:39:40 PM

DAVID.....Most likely if you think you did everything right on the instructions then you probably need to change your jumper settings back on the hard drives

Posted by: djbryandj at Aug 8, 2006 10:41:58 PM

Amazing, hijacking at it's worst.

Posted by: ??? at Aug 23, 2006 5:54:29 AM

tivo is just selling the subscription to the tv guide get your images here
(\\http://www.freeimages.co.uk/\\) hah

Posted by: Satan at Jan 12, 2007 11:36:49 PM