More Ethernet Ports via USB??
Suppose you want another Ethernet port. Maybe you want to turn your laptop or iMac into a router or Internet Gateway and you need an extra Ethernet port. Or maybe you blew your Ethernet port and you dont want to pay for a motherboard replacement. What then? One option might be to use an USB to Ethernet Adapter. Until recently, due to lack of drivers this was not an option for Mac users. However thanks to Daniel Sumorok, there are now drivers available for many units under the GPL license. (GPL is one of the many so-called Open Source licenses.) Instructions and download links for the necessary drivers can be found at the following URLs made available by Peter Sichel, with Sustainable Softworks, a Mac networking software company: http://www.sustworks.com/site/news_usb_ethernet.html http://www.sustworks.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Sustworks/USBTo-EthernetAdaptors Warning: While this worked for me, there are some warnings on the above links. Read them. Neither NWOU, nor Passages, nor I assume responsibility if you screw something up. If you already have an existing USB to Ethernet adapter, give it a try and see if it works. Otherwise, if you plan to buy one, Id strongly suggest a model from the list of compatible devices, which currently is as follows: USB Network Adaptor Brand 3COM Belkin D-Link D-Link D-Link D-Link Farallon Kingston LinkSys LinkSys LinkSys NetGear Driver Model 3C460B F5D5050 DSB-650 DSB-650TX DUB-E100 DUN-E100 Netline PN796-650 KNU101TX USB10TX USB100TX USB200M FA120 USB 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 2.0 2.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 2.0 2.0 x x x x x x x Pegasus x x x x AX8817X x x

Tips and Tidbits

by Paul Cook
If you order from CDW or another online supplier, you can probably have your choice. However, USB adapters are not so widely stocked that you are likely to have a large variety at most retail stores. The Linksys unit seems to be the most widely available. (Be careful, not all Linksys models work.)
Installation was pretty straightforward. Download and install the software. Connect the Ethernet cable to the adapter and plug it in. Restart. When you open the Network Preference pane, you should get a New Port Detected alert. This is a good thing. Click OK and proceed. Once inside the network port configuration pane, you should see the new adapter. (In the illustration, Ethernet Adapter (en2) was my USB network adapter. Yours may have a different name. You also may want to turn off the ports that you are not using.
SMC 2209USB/ETH 2.0 The article suggests that most of the popular low cost adapters fall into one of the categories of chip sets supported by the two basic drivers. However, my personal experience was the exception. The first two units I tried were not on the list and they did not work. So unless you are feeling lucky, I wouldnt buy one not already on the working list. The LinkSys USB200M was the first unit I tried on the list and it did seem to work.

6 July/August2006

NorthWest Passages a passages@nwou.org
If you are on a network with DHCP, a quick check should give you the warm and fuzzies about everything working.
the appropriate driver package as described in the directions in the links. In fact, there are already quite a bit more devices in the plist than on the above table. However, my experience leads me to suspect that most of the compatible devices, that you are likely to encounter, have already been added. Still, if you have one sitting around and you want to try ita

Editors note Thank you to Paul Cook. We can count on him to turn in interesting TidBits for Passages. This is one he gave to us back in April.
Network Preference Pane DHCP check
If you were going to set up a mission critical network, Id strongly recommend more testing before deployment. I didnt do days of testing, but the web surfing and email downloading that I did do worked just fine. (Far as I can tell I got all the spam that was intended for me. ;-). So the drivers and the adapter seem to work. If things dont work, you might try looking in your Apple System Profiler to see if the device shows up in the list of USB devices. The product description may change, depending on what the manufacturers chose to call it, but you should see something that claims to be a network adapter, Ethernet, 10/100, etc. connected to the USB port. If not, recheck your connections. If you do and it still doesnt work, verify that you have a supported device and try a restart. If that still doesnt work, try the old stand-by, Read the Instructions ;-) Note: Assuming the adapter uses one of the supported chips, support for additional devices can be added by editing the plist inside

Apple System Profiler

July/August 2006
The NorthWest of Us a www.nwou.org

Step 4 Remove the two screws on the right side of the drive - they are attaching the drive and bracket to the TiVo chassis. Remove the drive assembly from the chassis.
DVRupgrade Kit Installation Instructions
PTVnet Single Drive Replacement Kit

Series2 DirecTV Units

Step 8 Connect your unit to your home network using a supported USB 2.0 Ethernet adapter. If you did not order one from DVRupgrade, we recommend the Netgear FA120 adapter, or Linksys USB200M. If you are going to connect to a wireless network, we recommend you first test your unit in a "wired" environment. It is important to note that if you are planning on a wireless configuration, you cannot connect a USB wireless Ethernet adapter directly to your unit. You will need to use a wired adapter in conjunction with a wireless bridge, or game adapter (these are available from DVRupgrade). Note: Your PTVnet kit is designed so that you do not need to connect your DirecTV unit to your phone line for completion of the daily call, however you will still need to make a test call when going through guided setup to complete your satellite dish configuration. If you do not have a phone line, and still need to complete a test call (or would prefer to make a daily call over the Internet instead of a phone line, your system can be configured to do this, however extra steps will need to be taken. To do this, you can either use the resources at http://www.dvrupgrade.com/forums/ or head to our knowledgebase at http://www.dvrupgrade. com/support/ and search for "call using internet" in our knowledgebase. Step 9 Reconnect your unit to your entertainment center, ensuring all networking, video, and satellite connections are properly made, and start your unit. Please be patient as the unit will reboot a few times as part of the initialization. Once the unit is fully booted, you may want to repeat your satellite dish setup to ensure that the unit is configured for your particular type of satellite dish. Step 10 Your unit should now be up and running on your network as a DHCP client. Check your router's DHCP client table or use a tool, such as "angryip" to discover your client on your network. Please consult the tech support notes you were emailed (reposted at http://www. dvrupgrade.com/forums/) for more details and discussion. If you encounter any problems with your kit, please contact us http://www.dvrupgrade.com/contactus.cfm Latest instructions and other resources are available on our web site: http://www.dvrupgrade.com/support/ All technical support for questions related to the use of your PTVnet kit are handled at http://www.dvrupgrade. com/forums/; please stop by and let us know how you are doing.
2006, 2007, DVRupgrade, Inc. v2.3
Note: Read all instructions first! Do not place your unit or its components on a carpeted floor while open. The internals of your unit contain sensitive electronic components that can be damaged by static electricity. Under no circumstances should you touch any component of the units power supply, even if the unit is unplugged; it has the potential to shock you. The drives included with your kit are pre-configured and jumpers are already set appropriately. DO NOT CHANGE JUMPER SETTINGS ON ANY DRIVE WE SUPPLY WITHOUT CONTACTING PTVUPGRADE FIRST!
Step 5 Remove the two screws from the right side of the original TiVo drive.

Step 1 Using the Torx driver included with your kit, remove the four cover screws on the rear of the unit.
Step 2 Remove the cover by sliding towards the rear, and lifting the back edge. The internals of your unit are shown below.
Step 6 Remove the two screws from the left side of the drive. Re-attach bracket to replacement drive in a similar fashion, reconnect disk drive and power connectors, and re-attach drive to TiVo chassis as shown in step 4.
Step 3 Remove both connectors on the bottom of the drive (disk drive cable [left] - power connector [right]). Step 7 (optional) If you wish to replace the disk drive cable with the one we've supplied, you may do so, however ensure that the BLUE connector is attached to the motherboard; either of the black connectors may be used to attach the cable to the disk drive.