new version of USB Creator works on Apple TV 2.3

[avneron]

http://blog.boxee.tv/2008/11/23/boxee-on-apple-tv-23/


we posted instructions on how to get boxee running on Apple TV 2.3 manually, but it was a bit hackish (you had to open a Terminal, ssh into your Apple TV and run a few commands), which means fun for some of us, and a serious no-go for most of us.

so it was great to see Scott Davilla and Stephan Diederich to act quickly and come up with a new version of the USB Creator. now it is as easy as before to get boxee/xbmc on the Apple TV. ~ 35,000 people have already done it! (maybe more). Scott and Stephan deserve all the credit for making it happen. and making it so easy.

a quick reminder, once you download the latest version of the USB Creator follow these steps:

1. insert a bootable USB key (1GB) to one of your USB slots and run the USB Creator (disconnect any external USB drives connected to your laptop to avoid crying once you discovered you just formatted a 1TB drive with all your media..). see a video how-to guide.
2. plug the patchstick into your Apple TV and reboot it (i.e. disconnect and reconnect power cord), you’ll see a penguin. this is good. now wait till it finishes the install.
3. take out the patchstick and reboot
4. you’ll see a new option in the Apple TV menu ‘xbmc/boxee’, go to Update and choose ‘Boxee’. let it do its thing.

that’s it. you’re done. now you can run boxee and start playing MKVs, streaming from last.fm, Hulu, etc.

known bug: sometimes when launching boxee you’ll see a blackscreen (instead of boxee’s login screen). click Menu (back) on your Apple Remote, and try again. Scott & Stephan are working on a new launcher that will eliminate this bug once and for all.

[ObeyTheFist]

Just installed this update using a 2GB Sandisk Cruzer. Flawless and simple and it even found and kept my previous settings.

Thanks for the quick response!

[Apek]

After updating to ATV 2.3 and re-patching with the USB Creator will the XBMC user configuration be wiped? I mean what I have in:

/Users/frontrow/Library/Application Support/XBMC/userdata

[marcel]

should still be there..

[lickapop]

Genius much:D

[bhasty]

Hi all... I'm sure I'm doing something wrong but I'm not sure what.... I have now tried with 3 different jump drives and still can't get it the USB creator to work on my mac. Here is the error message:

Unable to partition device: Started partitioning on disk disk1
Creating partition map

Partitioning encountered error on disk disk1: Could not unmount disk (-10000)
Could not unmount disk for zeroing
partition_disk failed
Failed! (0:00:53)

I have tried version 8, 9, and now 10 for the USB creator. Does anyone have a clue what I'm doing wrong? Thanks a bunch!

[marcel]

which version of mac are you using ? is your usb key formatted correctly ?

[bhasty]

Mac is powerbook G4 v.10.5.5, my sandisk cruzer micro 4g worked just fine before.... but not now... the other two I'm flip flopped between my mac and a pc.... guess that might be a problem?

[broux2]

If updating to ATV 2.3 and using the new bootloader, will this remove all my boxee settings? If so, Is there a certain file that settings are stored that i could back up and restore once i am udated? THX.

[bobpenn]

Patch worked, got to Boxee menu, but the remote stopped working when I tried to select my name to login to boxee.
Update: deleted the User Data and now the remote works fine. But when I select anything from Hulu, nothing plays. Just goes black after telling me that the video is loading.
Also, my Flip HD videos play very slow. I just got the HD Flip, so I have never tried it with Boxee, so this may not be an new issue.

[bhasty]

Thanks Marcel... got it the patch working and on atv.... now I'm stuck at the black screen where the login is suppose to be... keep backing out and going back in to a black screen....

update:
Just restarted atv and we are good to go now... thank you boxee

[Draal]

I updated the atv to 2.3 and ran the new patchstick. Happy to report everything is running smoothly. Another satisfied user!

[djc3618]

I now have Boxee on ATV 2.3. I decided to perform a factory restore and then updated to ATV 2.3. Once this was complete, I created a patchstick using the latest version atvusb-creator-1.0.b10.zip and performed the install. This worked fine and I updated to latest XMBC loader and Boxee versions available. The first launch into Boxee stuck at a blank screen. I pressed and held Menu on the remote to return to the Apple TV menus and reran the XBMC loader update again. This time Boxee launched just fine albeit all of my previous settings are gone, of course.

Here's hoping that future ATV updates won't be as disruptive as this one was!

Thx,
Darren

[kelaa1]

I just updated ATV 2.3 and the new usb creator. Result > black screen when trying to launch boxee, xbmc or update boxee. Can anuone help ?

[TravisR100]

Same black screen here.

[djc3618]

Same black screen here.

Guys, the black screen at launch is a known bug. Hit the menu key and try again. Watch for a new launcher update that resolves this bug.

Darren

[clmgostate]

...after you choose the option? I am getting black screen, too. I will retry as suggest, but how long should it normally take for menu to appear?

[janngobble]

Black screen (as expected) ...just waiting for a new launcher. :)

[TravisR100]

I just downloaded the b11 win version of the patchstick creator. This time after updating i was able to go to the update menu and update boxee, xmbc, and the launcher without a black screen. I could also launch boxee with no black screen. Launching xmbc still gives me the black screen however.

[I_K]

Hi, just installed the new patch using Windows Patchstick creator. Created the patch fine. Ran it on ATV after installyn 2.3. Before that I had ATV 2.2 with the previous version of the patch. After the new patch I can't run XBMC or Boxee updates (the screen just goes to blank when I do it). I also can't run neither XBMC or Boxee it just goes to a blank screen no matter how much I go back to manu and try again. I think this patch is just not ready yet.

[kakadudreamer]

I updated with the new b11 patch using the Win XP/Vista patch creator. I got the blank/black screen when selecting Boxee on the menu but after I rebooted everything worked fine. I can get into Boxee without any problems now...

[schininis]

How did you delete User Data? I got to the same spot you did with the same result.

<Patch worked, got to Boxee menu, but the remote stopped working when I tried to select my name to login to boxee.
Update: deleted the User Data and now the remote works fine. But when I select anything from Hulu, nothing plays. Just goes black after telling me that the video is loading. >

[skidog326]

Hi all... I'm sure I'm doing something wrong but I'm not sure what.... I have now tried with 3 different jump drives and still can't get it the USB creator to work on my mac. Here is the error message:

Unable to partition device: Started partitioning on disk disk1
Creating partition map

Partitioning encountered error on disk disk1: Could not unmount disk (-10000)
Could not unmount disk for zeroing
partition_disk failed
Failed! (0:00:53)

I have tried version 8, 9, and now 10 for the USB creator. Does anyone have a clue what I'm doing wrong? Thanks a bunch!

I'm having the same issue. I've tried a number different USB drives... I know how this is supost to work-- I did it correctly the first time around before the 2.3 update. I creating the drive on a MacMini... Any ideas?

[heu]

I have the same problem. I tried 6 different usb sticks and still getting this error. Who can help?



Hi all... I'm sure I'm doing something wrong but I'm not sure what.... I have now tried with 3 different jump drives and still can't get it the USB creator to work on my mac. Here is the error message:

Unable to partition device: Started partitioning on disk disk1
Creating partition map

Partitioning encountered error on disk disk1: Could not unmount disk (-10000)
Could not unmount disk for zeroing
partition_disk failed
Failed! (0:00:53)

I have tried version 8, 9, and now 10 for the USB creator. Does anyone have a clue what I'm doing wrong? Thanks a bunch!

[bhasty]

I have the same problem. I tried 6 different usb sticks and still getting this error. Who can help?

Hey heu, I had to completely wipe/reformat the the usb stick and then put the newest patchstick on.... I also reset the atv to factory settings and then everything worked.... hope this helps....

Brian

[duncanc]

Using latest .10 patchstick for Mac, but getting the black screen crashes that everyone seems to be getting now.

Any ideas when an update to fix this might be available?

[longterm]

Hi all... I'm sure I'm doing something wrong but I'm not sure what.... I have now tried with 3 different jump drives and still can't get it the USB creator to work on my mac. Here is the error message:

Unable to partition device: Started partitioning on disk disk1
Creating partition map

Partitioning encountered error on disk disk1: Could not unmount disk (-10000)
Could not unmount disk for zeroing
partition_disk failed
Failed! (0:00:53)

I have tried version 8, 9, and now 10 for the USB creator. Does anyone have a clue what I'm doing wrong? Thanks a bunch!

It was a little confusing to me, but I kept selecting the Boxee DMG that I'd downloaded, and you aren't supposed to do that.

Instead, just do this to create your patchstick:

Select XBMC/Boxee for Mac from the pulldown.
Put a USB flash drive into a USB port.
Click Create Using ->

That's it; don't click CHOOSE A DMG--that's what I kept doing wrong.

Hope this helps,

Bob

[dbkguy]

Thanks for the info. I used a 1 GB SD card with a memory reader and used the ATV USB Creator and if worked perfectly. I then turned off automatic updates for ATV. It's working great and I really look forward to seeing all this content on my HD TV.

Keep up the good work.

[devo1986]

I have had an Apple TV for a long time. I would love to test out Boxee.
Could someone send me a Boxee User ID?

Send to:

aribraun AT gmail.com

Thanks,
Ari

[djc3618]

I have had an Apple TV for a long time. I would love to test out Boxee.
Could someone send me a Boxee User ID?

Send to:

aribraun AT gmail.com

Thanks,
Ari

Done.

Thx,
Darren

[devo1986]

Thanks. I will install it when I get my USB drive later this week. Thanks.

By the way would patching work with a USB card reader and memory card?

[Spaceman]

I installed Boxee for the first time a couple of weeks ago (about 3 days before version 2.3 for Apple TV came out). I waited to update my AppleTV until I saw that Boxee had a fix. I saw that the beta 10 installer was working for some so I tried it. I updated to version 2.3, created a new patch stick and installed the latest XBMC and Boxee. All I ever got for the Boxee app was a black screen. XBMC would work. So, what I finally had to do was to reset the AppleTV to factory settings, update it to version 2.3, and then to install the latest Boxee.

This finally worked. Not nearly as smooth as my original install of Boxee but it finally worked.

Just wanted people to know what worked for me.

[hdmyg8586]

I found that connector you were looking for
Cindy, is this the thing you were looking for?
www.liangdianup.com/computeraccessories_1.htm
It's on the list of computer accessories and parts. They have the DVI video thing to convert that jap monitor to work with your other computer. Just about any other kind of wire adaptor, usb connectors, monitor extension wires, ps2 extention wires, and all kinds of female and male swap connectors and things that I think would help your shop. If that above link don't work then goto www.lducompany.com and click on computer accessories. Let me know if that is what you need and give me your email address again.

[Stigmata]

I have had an Apple TV for a long time. I would love to test out Boxee.
Could someone send me a Boxee User ID?

Send to:

aribraun AT gmail.com

Thanks,
Ari

I'd like to have one, too.

my email is francesco DOT villa AT hwupgrade DOT it

Thank you

[marcel]

please use this thread for requesting invites http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=144

[McFarlandClan]

Guys, the black screen at launch is a known bug. Hit the menu key and try again. Watch for a new launcher update that resolves this bug.

Darren

In my case, hitting the menu key does nothing. I get a black screen, and I'm stuck. Have to reboot.

[marcel]

try to hit the menu button twice...

[torifile]

try to hit the menu button twice...
Any progress on this black screen thing? The only way Boxee will ever launch is by restarting and that's sort of a pain. ;)

[davilla]

manual update to launcher 2.0.

[voboxee]

http://blog.boxee.tv/2008/11/23/boxee-on-apple-tv-23/

Hi, looked all over the forum for an answer but not seeing it.

I have a new ATV (purchased last week) has 2.3 preinstalled. using patchstick win.b11 I can't get the install to fully complete. From the video, I see that the last message should be something like "your password is frontrow frontrow" but my install never gets that far.

using Vista to create the patchstick, but I don't think vista is the issue. Anyone else see something similar?

[theosh]

Worked flawlessly!!! I love Boxee!

[wowurrcool]

hi,

I am trying to install boxee on my ATV 2.3... but when I insert my patchstick the ATV runs as normal, without any sign of the penguin:(

I am using USB creator 1.0.b10, I followed all the instructions from online guides but it does not seem to work still

:confused:Do I have to have boxee for mac installed on my macbook, or what else am I doing wrong?:confused:

Any and all help is appreciated:o


EDIT:
This is what the USB creator text reads, I notice it is hard to see

Creating USB Flash Disk...
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
partition the target disk
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
install recovery onto target disk
copy files to target disk
remove recovery hfsplus GUID
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
change recovery to real GUID
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
install patchstick onto target disk
copy files to target disk
Complete! (0:01:44)

[bscooper]

I used a USB drive formatted for MAC and installed the USB creator to make a patchstick. I used a MACBOOK PRO 10.5.6. It is a TUMI 12G thumb drive. Install was "successful" When I get back to the Apple TV I see a black screen. Hit the menu again as suggested and select "Boxee". Black screen. Any ideas?

[sgordon]

I have APT 2.3
I dowloaded and installed the latest ATV Creator on a scandisk cruzer 2 Gig. After installation, I have a Boxee and a XBMC/Boxee option on my ATV menu.
I selected XBMC/Boxee update and selected the Boxee alpha upgrade. After upgrading, I selected XBMC/Boxee>Boxee and all i get is a black screen.

MacBook Pro 10.5.6
2.33 GHz

[davilla]

I have APT 2.3
I dowloaded and installed the latest ATV Creator on a scandisk cruzer 2 Gig. After installation, I have a Boxee and a XBMC/Boxee option on my ATV menu.
I selected XBMC/Boxee update and selected the Boxee alpha upgrade. After upgrading, I selected XBMC/Boxee>Boxee and all i get is a black screen.

MacBook Pro 10.5.6
2.33 GHz

update Launcher to 2.2

[jlt50]

Have tried everything shows the Penguin and says is fine but when click on boxee it goes black and nothing happens till the screen saver comes up.

[TSullivan]

I must be stupid because I cannot find it

[TSullivan]

I must be stupid because I cannot find it

Installed it and I get an error that ends with the ethernet interface info on the screen. Restart the unit and I have nothing but the regular apple TV stuff.

This sucks!!!

[vandalayindustries]

The exact thing happened to me....any suggestions?

[vandalayindustries]

hi,

I am trying to install boxee on my ATV 2.3... but when I insert my patchstick the ATV runs as normal, without any sign of the penguin:(

I am using USB creator 1.0.b10, I followed all the instructions from online guides but it does not seem to work still

:confused:Do I have to have boxee for mac installed on my macbook, or what else am I doing wrong?:confused:

Any and all help is appreciated:o


EDIT:
This is what the USB creator text reads, I notice it is hard to see

Creating USB Flash Disk...
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
partition the target disk
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
install recovery onto target disk
copy files to target disk
remove recovery hfsplus GUID
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
change recovery to real GUID
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
install patchstick onto target disk
copy files to target disk
Complete! (0:01:44)


sorry for my duplicate post, but ive had the same problem and can't figure this out either. any help would be appreciated.

[goettel]

ok, my ATV is upgraded to 2.3 and i keep trying to install boxee onto it. i have made the patch-stick for windows using atv-win-1.0.b11 containing ssh, i then plug it into ATV after turning it off, when i turn it on, TUX is there (good sign), but when script starts rolling thru the page, it says there was an error and the last line of text says "panic..." followed by a bunch of failed files that didnt run, i have wiped the patchstick numerous times and tried reinstalling the software, everytime with the same outcome...help me!!

[specializeddanger]

Hi There;

I tried about 20 times with 5 different USB flash drives to get the b10 version working, but to no avail. I went back to b9.zip and it worked 1st try. Just thought I'd let you know.

[dandyp]

Hi,

I'm having trouble getting boxee installed on my apple tv. I've successfully created the patchstick. I can browse the files and it looks like everything is there.

I plug it into the apple tv and turn off and on again. However I don't get the penguin, tux or anything. The version of apple tv is 2.3.

Does anyone have any ideas about where i might be going wrong. Is this a symptom of a patchstick that isn't working?

thanks, Ed

[kriswilson]

I have a non Intel based Mac and when I download the patchstick for intalling Boxtee onto my Apple TV, what I get is a file which looks a if it will only run on a PC. Is there a Mac version of the patch? Thanks

[tkwsglover]

Hi sorry to go off topic slightly, but I'm thinking about getting an Apple TV & putting Boxee on it... But I'd like to use a VPN (PPTP) to get access to UK programming on it.
Anyone had luck using a VPN??

Thanks

[baiaz]

I found out how to make it bootable...

but how long will it take until the Apple TV is finished....

Now it is telling me at the end of the screen... Hotsnam appleTV.local Hostnam: frontrow password Frontrow.

and that is it... the apple tv is blinking. is it safe to remove the usb and turn the apple tv off????

[rlyon72]

I can't do the atv creator, I get the following error-


umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
install recovery onto target disk
Unable to mount image: 2009-04-11 20:59:46.263 hdiutil[3918:10b] Error loading /Users/ricklyon/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin: dlopen(/Users/ricklyon/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin, 262): no suitable image found. Did find:
/Users/ricklyon/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin: mach-o, but wrong architecture
2009-04-11 20:59:46.265 hdiutil[3918:10b] Cannot find function pointer MacDiskImagePluginFactory for factory 4D08F98C-8968-11D6-8667-0003933E9206 in CFBundle/CFPlugIn 0x419ea0 </Users/ricklyon/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle> (bundle, not loaded)
2009-04-11 20:59:46.410 diskimages-helper[3920:1603] Error loading /Users/ricklyon/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin: dlopen(/Users/ricklyon/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin, 262): no suitable image found. Did find:
/Users/ricklyon/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle/Contents/MacOS/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin: mach-o, but wrong architecture
2009-04-11 20:59:46.411 diskimages-helper[3920:1603] Cannot find function pointer MacDiskImagePluginFactory for factory 4D08F98C-8968-11D6-8667-0003933E9206 in CFBundle/CFPlugIn 0x522fb0 </Users/ricklyon/Library/Plug-ins/DiskImages/VirtualPCDiskImagePlugin.bundle> (bundle, not loaded)
hdiutil: attach failed - Resource busy
install_recovery failed
Failed! (0:01:02)


Any ideas? I'm using a 2gb cruzer, I've tried 2 different ones.

[davilla]

This is so wrong, I can't begin to guess what you are doing.


I can only guess that you pointed atvusb-creator at some random dmg instead of letting it auto-download what it needs.

[rlyon72]

This is so wrong, I can't begin to guess what you are doing.


I can only guess that you pointed atvusb-creator at some random dmg instead of letting it auto-download what it needs.

I read that you are not to point to any dmg, so I tried that and same issue. Then I read that someone restarted their computer and it worked for them. So I restarted and it went through without fail. I think the walkthrough needs to be updated.

I have boxee up and running on my ATV now :)

[tDotTo]

hi,

I am trying to install boxee on my ATV 2.3... but when I insert my patchstick the ATV runs as normal, without any sign of the penguin:(

I am using USB creator 1.0.b10, I followed all the instructions from online guides but it does not seem to work still

:confused:Do I have to have boxee for mac installed on my macbook, or what else am I doing wrong?:confused:

Any and all help is appreciated:o


EDIT:
This is what the USB creator text reads, I notice it is hard to see

Creating USB Flash Disk...
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
partition the target disk
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
install recovery onto target disk
copy files to target disk
remove recovery hfsplus GUID
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
change recovery to real GUID
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
install patchstick onto target disk
copy files to target disk
Complete! (0:01:44)

Sorry again for dupe, seem to have the same problem, wonder why no help is offered?

[marcel]

have you tried another usb ...

[michaelconnors72]

Yesterday Hulu worked great through Boxee on my Apple TV. Today, however, I can log in, pick a show, hear sound on the show that I have hosen to watch but I get no picture - it stays on the intro screen. Any thoughts on why this is happening?

[boxeewanabee]

Hi,
I have an Apple TV and a DELL PC laptop. Will this patch work for me?
Thanks!

[marcel]

yep ..go to this thread and follow the instructions http://code.google.com/p/atvusb-creator/

[ninbobafett]

What is up with this , plug in USB just works like nothing is plugged in:(

[Fordy]

Hi, I am using a SanDisk cruzer 4gb micro to build the ATV usb but it stops at around 50% - it appears to be working ok with no errors, just hangs at around 50%. Any help appreciated.

[p2rjade]

I had this error:
Creating USB Flash Disk...
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
partition the target disk
umount_disk settling delay (10 seconds)
install recovery onto target disk
Unable to mount image: hdiutil:
attach failed - Resource busy
install_recovery failed Failed! (0:01:02)

This was my problem:
When downloading the atvusb-creator I left it in the "Downloads" folder.
Once I copied the ATV app to the "Applications" folder it completed the creation just fine.

Also so you know.... I used the Apple TV DMG listed on this page http://support.boxee.tv/forums/49598/entries/42684 as the "Choose DMG" inside the ATV app. I've heard that the ATV App can dynamically pull the DMG over the internet as its installing, but I did not choose to do that.

Also make sure to choose from the drop-down box "XBMC/Boxee for Mac". The default is "ssh tools" which wont get you anywhere.... Several instructions sets that I have read, say, the default settings are ok to use in the ATV App. Thats incorrect. (At least for me)