Series recording automatically appears

[scalpel4hire]

Hi All

Over the past several years, I've rebuilt my Win7 Media Center a few times, due to hardware failures/changes.
I've just done so again (upgrading the motherboard/CPU/RAM), & all is working smoothly, but the system insists on recording PBS NewsHour even though I haven't set it up to do so.

I did once set this up (via title keyword I think) & since then, whenever I rebuild the system, there it is, ready to record NewsHour, even before I begin to set up series recordings (or any recordings at all, for that matter).

This Series does NOT appear in the list under "Recorded TV -> View Scheduled -> Series".
...and it never does. This means I can't cancel it by the usual means.

So my question is; where is the 'series recording' data stored?
If I knew where to look, maybe I could delete this setting.

Thanks in advance.

[CyberSimian]

but the system insists on recording PBS NewsHour even though I haven't set it up to do so. I did once set this up (via title keyword I think)

On Vista, this happens when I schedule a single recording from the EPG, but the recording fails for some reason (e.g. a power failure or total loss of signal). This results in an unsatisfied recording request. If the programme is repeated within the next two weeks, WMC will schedule the repeat to record, and you can see this in the recording schedule. But if the programme is not repeated within the next two weeks, WMC remembers that the recording request was unsatisfied, and will schedule the programme to record when it next appears in the EPG (which may be months or years later). Because it was a single recording request, there is no entry in the list of series recording requests.

Complicating factors in your case are that you believe that the errant recording was a series, and that you scheduled it using a keyword. I don't know what happens in those cases.

In Vista, the recordings database is an XML file, which it is possible to edit to make corrections. Win 7 uses some form of encoded database, which (as far as I know) cannot be edited. If true, your only solution is to delete your entire recordings database, and thereby lose all of the history of the programmes that you have recorded in the past. Someone else will have to tell you which files to delete if you want to do this.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

[holidayboy]

I think you could probably fix this by editing the recordings backup files located in the C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\mcepg*-*\backup\recordings folder.

1. Open the file with the most recent modified date in notepad and edit out the show(s) that you don't want to automatically record, then save in the original folder.

2. Delete (or move) the .db file located in the C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome folder (this will completely wipe your TV setup in Media Center!). You need to stop all eh* services, and possibly mcglidhost as well in order to do this - or do it in safe mode).

3. Open Media Center, you might get a message saying that there was a problem with the guide and MC will fix it, this may well get you up and running automatically. If not then do step 4.

4. Run through TV setup and then import the edited recordings file by using the loadmxf command detailed here (I generally make a copy of the file with an obvious name and give it a .mxf extension):
http://www.hack7mc.com/2009/03/backup-a ... edule.html

Obviously, you need to create a full system backup / system image before you do these steps, just in case!

[adam1991]

Let it record.

Then select it. Do you have the normal "play/delete/cancel series" listed above the description? Or is it just "play/delete"?

[Mike88]

I think you could probably fix this by editing the recordings backup files located in the C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\mcepg*-*\backup\recordings folder.

1. Open the file with the most recent modified date in notepad and edit out the show(s) that you don't want to automatically record, then save in the original folder.

I was just curious & opened the folder as mentioned & there were 3 files in it. The filenames were numerical & appeared to be the date & time. I looked at each one in notepad & they all contained the same following 2 lines.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
<MXF />

Any ideas what step I might be missing?

[Crash2009]

Over the past several years, I've rebuilt my Win7 Media Center a few times, due to hardware failures/changes.
I've just done so again (upgrading the motherboard/CPU/RAM), & all is working smoothly, but the system insists on recording PBS NewsHour even though I haven't set it up to do so.

Are you re-building using an image?

[scalpel4hire]

Let it record.

Then select it. Do you have the normal "play/delete/cancel series" listed above the description? Or is it just "play/delete"?

I just get play/delete. This seems to be all I get with any episode of a Series Recording, BTW.

[scalpel4hire]

Are you re-building using an image?

No, I re-installed Win7 Home Premium from the original DVD.

This time, I actually installed Win7 onto a new SSD as C: drive.
Formerly, C: drive was a partition within the 1.5TB HDD used for local storage of recorded TV shows etc.

[Crash2009]

So much for my hunch. I thought that recording PBS NewsHour was maybe in the image. Wonder where it comes from?