Can't load tv_guide? No local nvram? Build your own custom channel map!

NVRAM related issues.
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freefreddy
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Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:48 am

Can't load tv_guide? No local nvram? Build your own custom channel map!

Post by freefreddy »

Awhile back I found a nonph dct2244 with a non local nvram that received some premiums. I took a backup of the firmware and nvram and plugged it into the stream... the tv_guide program quickly deleted and I've never been able to restore it since. I followed everything I could find on this forum but up to this point my box has been pretty useless. I have 900+ channels in my nvram channel map but only about 150 of them actually tune to video and sound. Here is what I did to zero out the remaining 750 channels on my box so that I can actually move up and down through the channels I do receive and not see empty channels:

1. Connect your cable box to your tv flip through all of the channels. Keep a list of all the channels you receive. In my case I received analog versions of channels between 1-90 and then digital channels were scattered between 100-900. If an analog version of your channel appears on 70 and a digital version appears on 500 then make note of this.

2. Download usbbdm's Nvtool. Make a copy of your nvram file and then open it in both frames of nvtool. Nvtool will open your nvram's on it's mem screen. Click the Ch button at the top and then click on the Out tab on the bottom. This will show you your channels.

3. If you want to move the digital version of your channel from channel 500 to channel 70 then click the Cp button at the top of Nvtool. Enter 500 in the top box and 70 in the bottom box. Then click ok. If you are done then save your new nvram and you're all set!.

4. If you want to delete certain channels from appearing on your box then it get's a little more messy. Click on the Mem tab on the bottom and then jump down to 00005AA0. In my case my channel 1's hex string is this:

80 00 00 00 2B 9C BE 04 00 37

You should be able to find your channel 1's hex string at 00005AA0 as well unless your nvram is different than mine. If for some reason yours is different than mine then try opening your nvram in a hex editor. Then use the search tool in your hex editor and try searching for your channel 1's hex string.

5. You now know where your channel listings appear in a hex editor. Now it's time to delete channel 600. Go to your Ch screen again and find the hex string for channel 600. Let's say that your channel 600 hex string looks like this:

80 00 00 00 27 51 5D 04 00 0A

Go back to your favorite hex editor and search for this string. In my case this string begins at 00006D1B. Channel 600 is probably in the same location for you. Go back to nvtool and find this locaction in the Mem screen. If you want to delete this channel so your box no longer tunes do it then just change it to all 0's. In this case you change in Nvtool:

80 00 00 00 27 51 5D 04 00 0A

to

00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

6. Repeat this as necessary for all your blank channels. Then set your firmware to not update channel list and not upgrade.

I don't know how realistic this approach is to your particular box but it's helped me quite a bit. I've given up hope of getting the tv_guide channel back on my box and even then I would still get blank channels in my nvram. If somebody has a better approach to this problem then I'm all ears.
sphinx
Junior Member
Posts: 121
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:42 am

Post by sphinx »

You said that you took a backup of the nvram and code files. The nvram contains the tv_guide application, so restoring the nvram you backed up will restore the tv_guide application as well. If it doesn't then you either didn't have the application in the first place, or you aren't blocking application upgrades. For some reason blocking application upgrades doesn't work for me, so the only way to do it is to change the emmid.

You can also try to get a hold of someone else's nvram with the same tuner, CC, and has the tv_guide application. Then you can copy your channel map over.
freefreddy
Junior Member
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:48 am

Post by freefreddy »

It's interesting that tv_guide is in the nvram. I've got a nonphp box in my hands right now that has the tv_guide app so hopefully I can take the nvram from this and apply it to another nonph. I assume backing up the nvram is as so:

reset 1
init
getram nvram
save nvram
tAoS
Junior Member
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:44 pm

Post by tAoS »

How to convert this:

80 00 00 00 2B 9C BE 04 00 37

in this:
00005AA0
dreamss
Junior Member
Posts: 76
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:40 pm

Post by dreamss »

where is the emmid and app located?
justsomeguy
Junior Member
Posts: 1417
Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2009 4:01 pm

Post by justsomeguy »

[quote="freefreddy"]Awhile back I found a nonph dct2244 with a non local nvram that received some premiums. I took a backup of the firmware and nvram and plugged it into the stream... the tv_guide program quickly deleted and I've never been able to restore it since. I followed everything I could find on this forum but up to this point my box has been pretty useless. I have 900+ channels in my nvram channel map but only about 150 of them actually tune to video and sound. QUOTE]

if you plugged it into the stream without changing the uid and blocking everything the box probably got desubed and you've probably lost your premiums..the first thing you should do is what you did...MAKE A BACKUP...but the second thing you should do is change the UID and program that sucker before you put it in the stream...hopefully someone here will be able to at least help ya get that guide back...but as for the premiums...well cross your fingers there buddy !!!!


justsomeguy
RobertW
Junior Member
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:40 pm

Post by RobertW »

[How to convert this:

80 00 00 00 2B 9C BE 04 00 37

in this:
00005AA0 ]

tAoS,

0x00005AA0 is the beginning address of his channel list.

Each area has different beginning address. That is the reason you can't use nvram from different area.

freefredy,

Did you ever try to copy data of one channel and use for other channel? For example:
original like this:

channel 4 80 00 00 00 12 34 56 78
channel 35 80 00 00 00 87 65 43 21


change them to this

channel 4 80 00 00 00 12 34 56 78
channel 35 80 00 00 00 12 34 56 78

I believe when you tune to channel 35 you will see contents of channel 4.
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