Stop / Skip / Replay Keys Not Working

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millerbrad

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Stop / Skip / Replay Keys Not Working

#1

Post by millerbrad » Thu Jun 12, 2014 6:24 pm

I'm at my wit's end trying to figure this out.

Fresh install of Windows 7 SP1 on a machine that I just replaced the hard drive on. On my Media Center remote (using MS remote or through Harmony), wired keyboard, and Lenovo wireless trackball/keypad, the stop / skip / replay buttons do not work. The other keys work fine. Prior to replacing the HD, the remote worked perfectly.

I've tried:
  • * Setting the Human Interface Device service to Automatic Start and rebooting. Also restarting the service after booting.
    * Uninstalling the eHome & Consumer IR drivers in Device Manager, in combination with moving the IR receiver to several different USB ports
    * Same as above, but also plugging the IR receiver into a USB hub
    * Same as above, but also plugging 3.5mm devices into the IR extender ports on the receiver before plugging back into the PC
    * Editing the registry per this KB: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932875/en-us
I do not have a Microsoft keyboard/mouse, so no Intellipoint software has ever been installed.

EDIT: Also, iTunes is not installed. The CTRL-F, CTRL-B, etc hotkeys for these functions work fine.

Anyone have any other ideas? Help! :(

millerbrad

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#2

Post by millerbrad » Thu Jun 12, 2014 6:46 pm

AHA! Apparently all I had to do was post here, and I figured it out 5 minutes later.

The culprit was Google Chrome background apps. I right-clicked on the little Chrome icon in the system tray, and unchecked "Let Google Chrome run in the background". Then I immediately went into Media Center (with Chrome closed), and the keys worked again.

Then I tried using the keys with a Chrome window open in the background. The keys didn't work. Closed Chrome, and they worked again. So the problem was definitely Chrome.

For what it's worth, my installed extensions are AdBlock Plus, Feedly, Google Play Music, Google Voice, LastPass, Logitech Smooth Scrolling, Reddit Enhancement Suite, Send to Kindle, Shield for Chrome, The Camelizer, and VNC Viewer. I haven't tried narrowing it down to a specific extension, but I have my suspicions that Google Play Music might be hijacking those keys.

choliscott

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#3

Post by choliscott » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:31 pm

Are you using this machine for gaming &/or normal computer usage also? Most people would recommend having the WMC machine dedicated to just that.

mdavej

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#4

Post by mdavej » Thu Jun 12, 2014 10:39 pm

Great find. Like you, I have to use Chrome pretty extensively for content outside of WMC (BBC, HBO-GO, SHO, Youtube, Hulu, Spotify, NASA, Pandora, etc.). While some of these could be integrated into WMC, it's clunky at best. Chrome does a much better job (when it isn't hijacking your remote).

millerbrad

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#5

Post by millerbrad » Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:27 am

This machine is 90% for Media Center only. I have a wireless Xbox360 controller installed, and occasionally play some games via Steam Big Picture. Chrome is on there for streaming TV shows that don't record as I'd like them to (power outage, preempted by a presidential speech, or maybe I'm annoyed by all the weather warnings scrolling on the bottom of the screen)

stangdaman

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#6

Post by stangdaman » Sun Jun 15, 2014 12:02 am

Thank you for this post. I was having the same issue and was really banging my head against the wall trying to figure out why so many features on my remote just stopped working.

deanhatescoffee

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#7

Post by deanhatescoffee » Fri Jun 27, 2014 6:45 am

I'm so glad I found this. I tried reprogramming Skip, Replay, and Stop to other buttons that were working and it still didn't help. Chrome running in the background was to blame. I don't think I would've thought to try disabling Chrome in the background without this post, so, thanks!

skinsfan05

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#8

Post by skinsfan05 » Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:30 am

stangdaman wrote:Thank you for this post. I was having the same issue and was really banging my head against the wall trying to figure out why so many features on my remote just stopped working.
+1

I spend all night trying to figure this out. Unchecked let Chrome Run In Background and everything works again.

My computer is 95 % WMC. I occasionally look at web pages with chrome but I hadn't changed any settings when the remote stopped working.

Thanks to the OP and the Green Button.

crawfish

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#9

Post by crawfish » Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:50 am

If you don't want to close everything but your multimedia program, it is possible to fix this so that Chrome, iTunes, and possibly other programs don't interfere, set the remote up for WMC, XBMC, and other such programs, and make the remote active only for those programs, so there's no danger of accidentally sending a keypress like Ctrl+S to a random program that has the focus:

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... f=7&t=7555

wmctheonlysolution

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#10

Post by wmctheonlysolution » Sun Aug 10, 2014 12:21 pm

Genius !!! That fixed it.

For future searches sake: Stop Skip Buttons Not Working Windows Media Center MediaCenter Windows7

BTW, This is a 2014+ problem. Nothing to do with drivers and services.

darengibo

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#11

Post by darengibo » Wed Aug 13, 2014 1:55 pm

thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!
This issue had been driving me bonkers!! Never suspected it would be Chrome as the culprit!

sandchar99

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#12

Post by sandchar99 » Wed Aug 27, 2014 5:57 am

Thanks.

The same problem began for me 2 days ago and the Chrome sys tray fix worked for me, too.

Anyone have any idea why this problem began? I wonder what it is within Chrome that causes it. For the record, I've added just a few apps to the Chrome App launcher: Play Music, Keep, and Remote Desktop. I'll play around with these to see if it pinpoints the problem.

Again, the solution worked like a charm.

millerbrad

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#13

Post by millerbrad » Wed Aug 27, 2014 1:30 pm

sandchar99 wrote:
Anyone have any idea why this problem began? I wonder what it is within Chrome that causes it. For the record, I've added just a few apps to the Chrome App launcher: Play Music, Keep, and Remote Desktop. I'll play around with these to see if it pinpoints the problem.
Play Music intercepts the keypresses. I've heard that simply uninstalling that add-in also fixes the problem.

suttonb1

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#14

Post by suttonb1 » Wed May 10, 2017 11:35 pm

Oh thank god! This was driving me nuts for the last 2 days! I recently added the Google Music extension to Chrome. That must have been when it started. I unchecked "let run in the background" from the Chrome tray icon. Immediately Skip/Back/Stop start working again. :)

resarfekim

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#15

Post by resarfekim » Tue Aug 29, 2017 6:44 am

millerbrad wrote:AHA! Apparently all I had to do was post here, and I figured it out 5 minutes later.

The culprit was Google Chrome background apps. I right-clicked on the little Chrome icon in the system tray, and unchecked "Let Google Chrome run in the background". Then I immediately went into Media Center (with Chrome closed), and the keys worked again.
....
Dude, I could kiss you. Thanks!!!

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