# Foolproof way to hack AppleTV



## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

Hey guys, I found this on the web this morning. Patchstick was easy to create. Going to try it this afternoon and post my results. Cheers!

boxee blog


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

Excellent, I'm going to try this as well.


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## pangolin (Jun 22, 2008)

Cool! Will try this later. I already have SSH installed in my AppleTV. I'll just select the other applications.


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## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

Missed on my first attempt. The USB Creator wouldn't retrieve the DMG file so I downloaded it myself and chose it to create the Patchstick. Everything ran fine on the ATV but no menu whatsoever. But I could restore it so no brick. The USB Creator is now downloading the right DMG file (which is different than the one I had) so I will post results later on.


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## spitfire1945 (May 17, 2008)

If anyone has installed this can someone let me know if it supports the Russian .mkv format?

Thanks Cheers!


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## Andrew Pratt (Feb 16, 2007)

I finally got it installed after trying with one USB key that seemed to work but wouldn't boot. Tried another of the same brand but newer and that worked fine. Justing waiting for an invite now.


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## pangolin (Jun 22, 2008)

I saw in the website that I can not run patchstick twice? Was this solved already?

I already installed ssh in my apple tv using a different patchstick. Now, I want to install the other files but not ssh. Then I need to run patchstick again. Can I run patchstick again with the beta 3 version?

Additionally, what is the difference between ATV-bootloader and ATV-patchstick?


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## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

Got it to work finally. First USB drive caused me problems. Second worked fine. I don't know how to SSH into the ATV though. And is there a way to install Nito and all those other frapps.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

mikeinmontreal said:


> First USB drive caused me problems. Second worked fine. I don't know how to SSH into the ATV though. And is there a way to install Nito and all those other frapps.


So... was this a "foolproof way to hack the AppleTV" or not?


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## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

The method works. It is foolproof. I just wanted to know if someone knew how to install Nito on it. Are you here to help or not?


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

mikeinmontreal said:


> Are you here to help or not?


Neither. Since I'm a wimp when it comes to soft-modding, I'm here to learn if finally, there really is an easy, safe way to hack the ATV. So far, I'm unconvinced this hack (or any other) will work the first time. Guess I'll still have to wait...


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## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

It took me a few tries to get it right, and that could have been a combination of the flash drive I was using, the 1st beta of the Creator being a little bit wonky, being on firmware 1.1, etc. When I tried a new flash drive, restored the ATV and udpated to 2.1 and re-downloaded the Creator file and basically started from scratch, it worked fine. As cool as the two new apps are, I doubt I will ever use them in depth. The whole cool thing about this was there was finally a Patchstick creator available that came with its own restore file in case you screwed up. That was the foolproof part for me. It would be great if they could add Nito as part of the file structure when creating the Patchstick because I believe Nito istelf has all the installers for Perian, Couch Surfer, AFP, etc. I will try to install it using Fugu or Cyberduck and report back.


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

Worked right off the bat with me. I used my Lacie USB2 external drive. Not a hitch. 

They say on the site that some USB keys will not format correctly, maybe this is the issue with some of the other folks. 

That said, I'm interested in finding out how to install Nito as well, I'll be looking into it deeper when I get some free time today.


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## digitalrhino (Aug 13, 2007)

I'm pretty sure I saw that it needs your atv to be running 2.1. If you haven't upgrading and are having problems that might be a potential source of problems.


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## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

ATV firmware 2.1 to match the patchstick creator. Plus download the DMG from within.


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

Well, I flubbed it up.. Had to factory restore. I'll try again once I figure out how to install NitoTV after using the USBATV Creator.


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## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

Vexel, Use Cyberduck to ssh into your ATV. It worked with AppleTV.local. Download NitoTV package and copy that into the frontrow folder; I think it is users/frontrow, then you will have some terminal commands to perform. These are:

ssh -1 [email protected]l
cd "nitoTV Take Two"
sudo ./installme

Once successful, you should have Nito on your ATV. I am now working on AFPing into the ATV. If I get some time, I will try to post a onetime guide.


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

Yeah, I was using YummyFTP.. but, I think something got hung up and fubar. 

I'll play with it again tomorrow.


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## spitfire1945 (May 17, 2008)

I think Tivx is much more versitile. 

Home > Products > TVIX for North America


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

spitfire1945 said:


> I think Tivx is much more versitile.
> 
> Home > Products > TVIX for North America


As Bjornbro would put it:

No iTunes = FAIL!


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## Andrew Pratt (Feb 16, 2007)

FYI


> Apple has also released the Apple TV 2.2 update tonight. Apple TV owners can download the new updates from their Apple TV's by accessing the "Update Software" menu option in their Apple TV's settings.
> 
> Aside from addressing some security issues, Apple has also included support for features introduced in iTunes 8.0, including Genius playlists. Features discovered by our forum members include:
> 
> ...


Will applying 2.2 screw up Boxee etc?


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

Yes, but all you have to do is run Patchstick again.  I read the forums before updating. I installed Boxee this morning, and then had to download 2.2.  But, at least it's not broken.


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## Rukus (Aug 10, 2007)

well I''m ot having any luck getting this to install. I run the patchstick creator and it says its successful but it fails when I try and get the apple TV to load it. can someone please post a step by step How to on how you got this to work??

There is no information on how to properly create the patchstick on the forums and there is a bunch of options in the creator program. The first question is when it asks you to pick a .DMG to create it from what are you supposed you use?

Thanks.


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

I kind of like TV just the way it is. Not sure why one needs to mess with it using this "foolproof" approach. And no I'm not here to help--just asking a question.


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

I think the reason we're hacking it is because it's nice to have options. For me, I have fun when I'm tinkering with things. It's the reason I've started dabbling in Ubuntu Linux and the OSx86 project. Sure, things are great the way they are, but it sure is fun tinkering.


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## pangolin (Jun 22, 2008)

fjnmusic said:


> I kind of like TV just the way it is. Not sure why one needs to mess with it using this "foolproof" approach. And no I'm not here to help--just asking a question.


For the sheer fun of doing it.


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