Installation guide

ReplayTV and/or ShowStopper, however the extract_rtv documentation makes reference to models earlier than the 5XXX
series. It does work with 50XX and 55XX series ReplayTVs). Using extract_rtv5 is a manual recovery process and retrieves the
raw files without show information. Recovered shows can then be imported into DVArchive and streamed back to a
ReplayTV or they may be burned to a DVD.
If there is software corruption on the drive, (possibly the cause of the inability to boot in the ReplayTV,) there is no point in
running DOS, Windows or Linux based partition recovery tools on the drive. Those types of tools are unable to see the OS or
file system used in a ReplayTV (regardless of whether the ReplayTV drive is functional or not). The underlying OS in a
ReplayTV is based on VxWorks and there are no commonly available software tools to recover partitions or data. However if
the problem with the drive is bad sectors, you may be able to run a low level utility (like HDD Regenerator) that doesn't rely
on the drive's operating system or file system to repair the drive using your computer. In some cases, using one of these low
level utilities to flag the bad sectors will then allow the drive to boot up in the ReplayTV, but if it won't boot up, may still
allow you to recover recorded shows using extract_rtv.
Here is Jim Barr's web site with a ReplayTV 5XXX to DVD How-to. A useful collection of software for manipulating
ReplayTV mpegs is rtvtools. Here's one link to rtvtools info, and here's a link to Lee Thompson's rtvtools web
page. (If Lee's site is down, click here for a backup location.) Re-imaging only the system partition will not recover
recorded shows, as the record of what shows exist on a drive is kept in the system partition. Re-imaging the system partition
wipes out the record of what recorded shows exist so there is no way for the OS to then access those shows.
In the case of a two drive system that won't boot, you can try patching the first drive as a single drive system, do not choose
reset the mpeg partition, and then see if the ReplayTV will boot. If it does, any recorded shows that existed on the first drive
should be intact. Any shows that existed on the second drive will still be listed in the Replay Guide but do not actually exist on
the drive. If the second drive is not completely dead, you can use extract_rtv to recover shows to your computer and then
burn them to DVD or, with 4XXX and 5XXX series ReplayTVs, import them into DVArchive for streaming back to your ReplayTV.
If your ReplayTV boots past the "Please wait ..." and "One moment please ..." screens, but then appears hung at the swirl
screen, see: ReplayTV stuck at swirl screen (past "Please wait...")
If a ReplayTV has developed a problem with the drive, before re-imaging, it would be a good idea to run the manufacturer
diagnostics on the drive. (If the drive itself has developed a problem, running diagnostics or attempting to retrieve any data
from the drive may not be possible). The following links to diagnostic tools are provided as a convenience:
Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostics
www.maxtor.com - go to Support, Software Downloads, Desktop Storage, DiamondMax Family or Maxtor Other, Diagnostics,
Powermax.
Powermax (to make a bootable diskette) is also available here, or a bootable ISO image is available here.
Seagate Sea Tools Diagnostics
Other Maxtor Utilities:
Acoustic Management Utility (amset)
Write Verification Utility (wvset)
Some of these may require the creation of a boot diskette to run. If you have another brand of drive, the manufacturer
diagnostic software is usually available from the manufacturer site, under support and then downloads or software.