Backup does not complete

[12noon]

I opened the client-guide tool and clicked the Backup button. It created the Config ZIP, but is hung on creating the Backup ZIP. It's been 12 hours, and it still displays the hourglass cursor. Nothing interesting in the log file. Can I give you any additional information?

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[4/13/2020 7:36:15 PM] ===============================================================================
[4/13/2020 7:36:15 PM]  Activating the epg123 configuration GUI. version 1.3.6.20
[4/13/2020 7:36:15 PM] ===============================================================================
[4/13/2020 7:36:16 PM] [ INFO] Token request successful. serverID: 20141201.web.1
[4/13/2020 7:36:16 PM] [ INFO] Status request successful. account expires: 2020-06-19T22:21:51Z , lineups: 2/4 , lastDataUpdate: 2020-04-13T21:01:09Z
[4/13/2020 7:36:16 PM] [ INFO] system status: Online , message: No known issues.
[4/13/2020 7:36:16 PM] [ INFO] Successfully requested listing of client lineups from Schedules Direct.
[4/13/2020 7:36:17 PM] [ INFO] Successfully retrieved the station mapping for lineup USA-IL58819-X.
[4/13/2020 7:36:17 PM] [ INFO] Successfully retrieved the station mapping for lineup USA-OTA-60005.
[4/13/2020 7:36:17 PM] [ INFO] Successfully queried the Task Scheduler for status. ERROR: Access is denied.  
[4/13/2020 7:37:48 PM] ===============================================================================
[4/13/2020 7:37:48 PM]  Activating the epg123 client GUI. version 1.3.6.20
[4/13/2020 7:37:48 PM] ===============================================================================
[4/13/2020 7:37:49 PM]

[garyan2]

It certainly shouldn't take that long. The backup button only creates the Backup zip file. The configuration GUI creates the Config file if you make a change.

The backup button runs the following command to force a refresh of WMC's backups:

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%WINDIR%\ehome\mcupdate.exe -b

EPG123 will wait for that process to complete and then grab the 3 backup files and create the zip file. Not sure where you could be stuck at, but I would look for any mcupdate processes running and kill them... see if that brings the client back.

The backup process should take less than 30 seconds, but older versions would not use the -b switch and instead do a manual mcupdate which could take a really long time depending on how big your database was, how long it had been since last mcupdate run, ...? If you running an older version, this is probably the problem with disappearing MS servers that support WMC.

[12noon]

I installed EPG123 1.3.6.20, and the trace.log confirms that's what's running, so it's not one of those older versions. If you mean, am I running an older version of WMC, yes, I'm running it on Windows 7 Home.

The last config ZIP I have is about a month old. Given what you said, I assume EPG123 is hung up waiting for mcupdate to complete.

Are you saying that, now MS's EPG servers are dead, mcupdate.exe (and, therefore, EPG123's Backup feature), no longer work? Can I manually copy the relevant files from eHome and use them in case I need to restore my WMC database and transfer scheduled recordings?

[garyan2]

No, the backup will still work. I was saying that if you were running an older version of EPG123 that does not use the -b switch for mcupdate, there may be a problem with creating the backup due to the servers being offline. I actually think that will still work, but may take even longer to complete.

If you see an mcupdate.exe process running, just terminate it and try the backup again.

Yes, you can manually archive the backup files and still use them for a restore. In order to use the [Restore] button with them, you would have to rename each to "lineup.mxf", "recordings.mxf", and "subscriptions.mxf" to save in a zip file.

[12noon]

I rebooted because that solves most problems. Sure enough, this time the backup completed within a reasonable amount of time. Thanks, Gary!

IDK if it's worth it, but maybe EPG123 should limit the time it waits for the mcupdate.exe process. If it fails to complete in that time limit, EPG123 can tell the user why and what to do.