eSata AppleTV Mod

[dynaflash]

Dynaflash, I have the external drive working - it's fast with the WD 1TB 7200 RPM external drive.

yep, I suspect the larger cache could have something to do with it as well.

[Stork]

I received both cables and used them both to "no joy". The cross over cable seems to let the ATV start the boot process, but now just keeps the orange light blinking w/o seeing an Apple or question mark on the HDTV. The straight through extender cable results in the ATV light alternating between orange and white after ~30 seconds. I give up. I've spent a lot of time comparing the pictures in your original post so I know that at least one of the cables should have worked.

So, I've gone back to having the IDE to SATA converter directly plugged into the ATV's motherboard in a vertical configuration. It works fine, but I'm stumped as to why your configuration would work and the my same configuration won't work. Until I can solved this issue - it must be something simple - I've hidden it behind my HDTV to keep it safe.

[Stork]

dynaflash, I went back and completely re-read both this thread and the thread at MacRumors forum where you & Cave Man initially described your experiment. I blew up the pictures both here and at http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.ph ... stcount=96 and confirmed that I've got the ribbon cable (the crossover) and the IDE to SATA adapter connected correctly.

In my re-reading, I noticed Cave Man had issues with the same setup at first. He kept rebooting it, and it finally worked. So, I tried his approach. The external drive's light would flash like it was booting the Apple TV, but nothing appeared on the HDTV, and, eventually, the Apple TV would again quit try to boot with the orange light flashing.

So, after rebooting four or five times and still no joy, I gave up. I reattached the adapter directly to the Apple TV's IDE plug on the motherboard and reboot the unit. Much to my surprise, I booted into the screen that gave me the choice of continuing with the boot or run the diagnostics. Never saw that before. So, I choose to load the Apple TV app and press on.

The only difference between my setup and yours & Cave Man's is that I'm not using a WD external drive. However, since I'm running fine with the interface plugged directly into the motherboard w/o any issues, I'm at a loss for an explanation by the crossover cable isn't working for me.

Any suggestions? I'm jealous that you've both got your configurations to work.

[dynaflash]

hmm, I am perplexed as to why some have issues with the same cable I am using tbh.
I really have no idea. Let me look at some other references and get back to you. I understand your frustration as its awesome once its done. I almost want to say that there are some cables that do not work though are advertised to be the same as what I am using ( now on two atv's ). I would initially suspect the drive formatting but it does not make sense if it works sans the cable (ie. plugged right into the adapter) as a bad drive clone would exhibit issues either way.

Let me chew on this a bit....

[dynaflash]

The only difference between my setup and yours & Cave Man's is that I'm not using a WD external drive. However, since I'm running fine with the interface plugged directly into the motherboard w/o any issues, I'm at a loss for an explanation by the crossover cable isn't working for me.

My thought exactly, hard to believe its the drive if it works fine w/out the cable ...

[kim_sv]

Hello!

I'm new to this forum and first of all I must say - Thank you! - to all in the dev. team. Great work!

At this moment I haven't got an ATV but I'm researching the field of getting one. Too expensive here in sweden though, better to buy it from USA.

My question to you Dyna is how the ATV handles the WD HDD going into "power saving mode" when it's not beeing used?
I've got a WD 1TB Home Edition (NB. USB only) and it takes a few seconds for it to start every time it "gone to sleep".. No biggie on hooked up to a computer but might be a disturbing issue on the ATV..

Plus, do you ever turn of everything or is it always running?

//Kim

[Stork]

dynaflash, I got it working with the crossover ribbon cable! I enlisted the help of my neighbor, who is a Electrical Engineer, and his bother-in-law who is also a double E. Bottom-line up front: they shortened the crossover ribbon cable by half to reduce signal wire cross talk.

Now for the story. First, we checked the continuity of each line in the ribbon cable - continuity check out fine. So, the cable was manufactured correctly. Then, upon examining the Apple IDE ribbon cable, Phil & Dean discovered that, except for the 4 power wires, each signal wire in the Apple IDE cable had a corresponding ground wire. Bingo! With a long IDE cable in the Apple TV's confined area, the signal wires were subject to cross talk and interference. Upon researching this phenomenon, they discovered that Apple had this cable specifically designed for the Apple TV. They then decided to shorten the cable in half to see if that would correct the problem. It did!

The good news is that the cross over cable doesn't have to be long - just long enough to come off the motherboard and orient the IDE to SATA converter to fit in the Apple TV. In this case, three inches will do nicely. All of us will have to look for a shorter crossover ribbon cable to make this mod work for everybody.

So, my Apple TV is now working with a crossover ribbon cable that will allow closing the unit back up. (I'll do that tomorrow.) Phil has some thick, flexible plastic to sandwich the converter board to prevent shorts. The bad news is that you have to be knowledgeable to find and understand the root cause of the problem. It also helps to have the right shop tools, like Phil & Dean, to shorten the ribbon cable and re-seat the lines to the connector's pins - they're pressure fitted. Guess you got to have the right neighbors. I'm glad I do.

Additionally, this mod should work with any good external enclosure as I've tried two to see if it was an enclosure circuitry problem.

As the old joke goes, "Hooray for our side!"

[dynaflash]

Most excellent job of sussing out the problem. Thank your neighbors for me. That explains why sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't for various people. Yes, a short crossover cable is the answer. Glad you are finally able to complete your mod! Enjoy it.

[dynaflash]

My question to you Dyna is how the ATV handles the WD HDD going into "power saving mode" when it's not beeing used?
I've got a WD 1TB Home Edition (NB. USB only) and it takes a few seconds for it to start every time it "gone to sleep".. No biggie on hooked up to a computer but might be a disturbing issue on the ATV..

Plus, do you ever turn of everything or is it always running?

To be honest I really do not notice it much. Can be a very slight delay after it sits for a while but I really do not pay much attention to it.

Mine is on unless the power goes out. 24/7.

[Stork]

Most excellent job of sussing out the problem. Thank your neighbors for me. That explains why sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't for various people. Yes, a short crossover cable is the answer. Glad you are finally able to complete your mod! Enjoy it.

Dyanflash, do you or Cave Man have any other sources for shorter crossover ribbon cables? Or, better yet, grounded crossover ribbon cables?

I tried searching with the "usual suspects", but gave up after 1/2 hour w/o yielding a successful result.

[iMEX]

First, Thanks all for the contributions on this forum. I finally was able to implement eSATA on my AppleTV, using an external eSATA enclosed 2.5" HDD @ 500 GB 7200 RPM for starters.

Regarding Stork's question on shorter crossover ribbon cable: I first used the one from Dynaflash, but run into problems, could never get past the '?' and if I moved the ribbon cable around to find a way to reduce crosstalk, behavior would be erratic. Tried to make the ribbon cable shorter myself, but it turned out to be a nasty idea. Searching more, I found a shorter crossed ribbon cable: The 2.5" HArd Drive IDE Adapter, p/n: PA-HD25, from LinITX.com, see http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=10219. eSATA and ribbon cables as well as the IDE to SATA drive converter board were able to fit nicely. I would post an image but don't have a publicly accessible server yet.

Thanks
iMEX

[Stork]

iMEX, good for you. Thanks for the link. You should be able to post the pictures unless you have to post a certain number of times as some forums require. You can send me the pic's and I can post for you.

I haven't close my ATV up yet. I'm interested in how you got the cable out the the ATV. Pic's are best and a description can't hurt. Share man, share!

[iMEX]

Seems like I need administrator clearance to post pixs, I only have the http option to upload images. I will certainly check on that.
Meanwhile, I'll send the pictures of what I did on a separate email. Don't hesitate to ask if you have questions.
Best Regards!

[Stork]

iMEX, thanks for the pictures. Folks, below are iMax's pictures of his ATV eSata mod.

Dynaflash & Cave Man, Looks like this ribbon cable may be short enough to eliminate the cross talk problem with the longer ribbon cable.


Good Job!


Ahhh, just the view I needed.


If you have a hard time reading them, I've included the link to the pictures in a PowerPoint file.
http://dwight.dnsalias.org/ATVeSATA_ATV_051210.pptx

[dynaflash]

Most excellent tip on a very good cable! Pictures show up great. Will likely use this on my next one .. Oh, of yes there will be "next one" I am most sure of that!

[Stork]

Finally got my ATV buttoned up. Works like a champ so far. I'm going put it thru it's paces this weekend with rentals, then try to update from 3.02 to 3.03.

Thanks to iMEX for the pictures, and the tip about the UK cable maker. I've ordered the cables, and the USPS and I are playing tag on delivering the package. No wonder those guys get bad press.

[iMEX]

USPS is weird, they never showed updated info on my tracking number, I could never know where my shipment was. Good thing is I received all at the end.
Good luck with your ATV, I'm glad you were able to order those cables. Let us know how all turned out.
Regads

[Stork]

Finally, got good olde Uncle Sam to cough up the cables - had to stand in line for 15 minutes at the Post Office. What a treat.

These cables should work great (I got 2). My two electrical engineering friends think the cables will work like a champ. I'm checking eBay for a inexpensive, 40GB Apple TV to test out the cables. Since I've got my original Apple TV buttoned up, I'm letting sleeping dogs lie, as the saying goes. (Dynaflash, if this cable works out OK, I think this cable should be listed as an alternate. Let you know soon.)

Thanks again, iMEX, for the pictures. I routed my eSata cable out of the unit in the same manner that you did.

I had to do a Factory Reset as my Apple TV wouldn't update from 3.01 to 3.02, the latest version. I, then, updated to 3.02 w/o a problem. I think the update wouldn't happen because I had it mod'd with XBMC, Boxee, et al. I may install the other stuff later. BTW, all my music and photos sync'd just fine after the update.

I've got the Apple TV placed by the Panny Plasma HDTV with the external hard drive in my audio cabinet near buy. It's out of sight and noiseless. This mod was fun.

[iMEX]

Congratulations on your progress!.
By the way, I didn't show on my pictures that the rubber pad sits just fine on the aluminum bottom cover, making the ATV look almost normal except for the eSATA cable coming out from the bottom.

Best Regards

[Stork]

I rearranged my home theater (HT) setup to accommodate a new HDTV. After hooking everything back up, the ATV couldn't find the hard drive upon boot-up - the dreaded flashing question mark. Since it worked before my rearranging, I was at first panicked that I damaged something in rearranging my HT devices.

However, after thinking about it for 120 billion nanoseconds, I opened the ATV to check on the ATA to eSata connection. Bingo! There it was! The eSata cable had worked itself loose at the ATA/eSata card connector. Sure enough, the cable can slide off and on the connector pins w/o much effort. So, using electrical tape, I wrapped the cable to the board connector, put the bottom back on and booted it up. Wal-la! The ATV booted up w/o a problem.

Lesson learned: As part of the mod, make sure the eSata cable fits snug on the board connector. if eSata cable can easily move on and off the connector, tape the cable to the connector. (There's probably a better sol'n, but tape worked in this case.)

[aggiegeek]

Guys,

I am trying this mod, and I thought I was doing ok. I ordered all the equipment you laid out. The only difference is that Nanosys did not have the specific IDE to eSATA connector you mentioned. They sent me one from vantec. To get past all the cable issues I have been reading about I simply plugged the connector into the AppleTV. However the appletv never sees the drive. I am using a 160gb AppleTV and I have tried both a 2TB and 500GB drive with no luck. Is there anything I am missing? The drives seem imaged correctly, but when I use a flash drive to start up the appleTV, it can't see the HDs. Any tools, diagnostics, or tips?

[dynaflash]

They sent me one from vantec.

There are some pata to eSata bridges that do not seem to work properly on the atv. Its possible this is one of them.

To get past all the cable issues I have been reading about I simply plugged the connector into the AppleTV. However the appletv never sees the drive. I am using a 160gb AppleTV and I have tried both a 2TB and 500GB drive with no luck.

Which connector ? You mean you turned it upside down and plugged the eSata Bridge directly into the logic board ? If so yes that gets away from the issue of the wrong ribbon cable.

The drives seem imaged correctly, ...

As far as proper drive formatting what method are you using to image your drives ?

when I use a flash drive to start up the appleTV, it can't see the HDs.

Er, what do you mean by using a flash drive to start up the appleTV ?

[iMEX]

aggiegeek
By flash drive did you mean the ATV flash or patchstick that involve software to enable additional features on the Apple TV (i.e.: couchsurfer, NitoTV, etc)?
Also, on the bridge, make sure that the card is for going from the external HDD connected to eSATA to IDE. The issue I experienced was that bridges I had did not have indication as to if it was eSATA HDD to IDE or IDE HDD to eSATA. Make sure your card is for going from eSATA HDD to IDE. What is the Vantec card you received (Vantec p/n)?

[rcjordin]

Hey Stork! Thank you for the find on the cable from the UK. After having a ATV up on a makeshift platform to accommodate the eSate adapter for over a year now, I happened across your previous post and the pictures. Bought the ribbon cable, made slot in the back of my ATV, insulated everything like you recommended. Now have a 2 TB drive hanging off of a buttoned up ATV. Thanks again

[Stork]

Rcjordin, you're welcome. Enjoy! I've still have ATVs 1gen running although I've now build a HacHTPC to augment my Mac Mini HTPC, both running Plex. Cave Man put me onto the tonymacx86 web site.

Stork's HTPC Old School P55M-UD2 But Cool HTPC