reboot loop/cannot boot kernel (unhacked T60)

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

I have a Sony SAT-T60 which I upgraded to dual 160 MB drives a while
ago, but otherwise I have not modified it in any other way.

Up until yesterday everything was working fine and no oddities or
artifacts or anything.

I came home today and it cycles between

Welcome. Powering up...
Almost there. A few more seconds please...
then a quick flash of some pixellated noise folloewd by
a quick flash of an entirely yellow screen
Welcome. Powering up..

etc.

I've tried pulling the plug and putting it back in. On some
iterations it says Cannot Boot Kernel.

I've done a quick pass through Google but most of the hits seem to
involve people installing modified kernels or other upgrades.

Does this mean I've fried a drive? Any chance of salvaging the
recordings? Nothing important although there were some movies I
hadn't gotten around to watching yet.

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

In article <3gb387Fbipc4U1@individual.net>, George Eberhardt
<geberhardt@comcast.net> wrote:

> "Lone Locust of the Apocalypse" <zorak@ninthbit.com> wrote in message
> news:zHVne.79895$NC6.55757@newsread1.mlpsca01.us.to.verio.net...
> > I have a Sony SAT-T60 which I upgraded to dual 160 MB drives a while
> > ago, but otherwise I have not modified it in any other way.
> >
> > I came home today and it cycles between
> >
> > Welcome. Powering up...
> > Almost there. A few more seconds please...
> > then a quick flash of some pixellated noise folloewd by
> > a quick flash of an entirely yellow screen
> > Welcome. Powering up..
> >
> > Does this mean I've fried a drive? Any chance of salvaging the
> > recordings?
>
> Yes, you probably have a bad drive, and therefore have lost your recordings.
> If you think you can handle it, try using instantcake from
> www.ptvupgrade.com to reinstall the operating system on your remaining good
> drive.
>
> Good luck


The recordings may not be lost. I have had some luck copying the
contents of bad drives to new ones, using dd or dd_rescue. I once had
a bad drive report only three bad sectors, and the copied drive worked
fine.

Google on "knoppix CD" for starters, and let me add my own wishes for
good luck.