Version 12 not working

[n4mwd]

I noticed Schedules Direct was no longer working and their site said that a new EPG123 is required. I downloaded the latest today , version 1.7.1.12, and it isn't working. It comes up and demands that a new DontNet be downloaded and then points the browser to the wrong version to be downloaded. I re-pointed it to 4.6.2 which downloads a downloader program that gets the actual program. After about two dozen attempts to download the actual file, the downloader program gives up and says there is a signature problem. So it doesn't look like dontnet 4.6.2 is going to work on Windows 7. The old version of EPG123 v1.3.4.0 didn't give me any problems until Schedules Direct messed everything up. Is there another version of EPG123 that works with the new Schedules Direct and doesn't require a new dontNet?

[garyan2]

I had tested that out just fine before releasing, but another way to do is just to go through Windows Update to download/install .NET 4.8. The 4.6.2 is the minimum framework needed... 4.8 will work. Once you have the framework installed you can run the setup for epg123 again.

[n4mwd]

I just tried 4.8 and its doing the same thing. Windows update is not an option. The issue is that a file that was just downloaded doesn't match a signature from their own file.

I am downloading from dotnet.microsoft.com and I get an invalid SSL certificate warning on top of everything else.

Did version v1.3.4.0 use dontnet and if so, can you make a version that still uses that system for people with windows 7?

[garyan2]

Yes, all versions of epg123 use .NET, but prior to 1.7.1.8 it targeted .NET 4.0 which is part of Win7 already.

I just installed 4.6.2 on a virtual machine here using the epg123 setup file without a problem. I believe whatever is going on with your install is your OS or some firewall/AV software.

[n4mwd]

Which of the installed files get the actual data from SD? Is it possible to use the old client and server windows programs in conjunction with the new SD fetcher program?

Also, is there any previous version of EPG123 that still uses the native dontnet4.0? I didn't see any links on your web page.

Is there another site with a hacked version of dontnet 4.8 that doesn't complain about the signatures that I can use?

[garyan2]

I would be more interested in finding the problem with your system that you can't install any .NET Framework versions on it. Suspecting the cause of that issue, I would certainly not entertain any idea to find a hacked version of 4.8.

[n4mwd]

The install creates a log file, but I have no clue where it is located or what it is called. I can tell it is several MB in size. The error box gives a link to it but doesn't say where it is. I scrolled to the end and it says everything downloaded and checked OK, but the install window says it did not install. If you can tell me where to look, I can post that here. Or email it to you. Cut and paste might be an option.

I appreciate all your help, but if there is an older version that will work with the new SD, then I would like to go that route. The problem is obviously that M$ is giving me bad files or bad signatures. I'm not going to have much time to figure out microsoft's bug. I doubt they would fix it anyway since they are trying to bully people into windows 10 or 11.

[garyan2]

Microsoft isn't giving you bad files, I just successfully used the epg123 setup file, which in turn downloaded .NET 4.6.2 and installed without issue.

Unfortunately, the only versions of epg123 targeting .NET 4.0 (prior to 1.7.1.8) will not completely work with the SD API. You can try 1.7.1.7, but it may not work because it didn't fully support TLS 1.2. Version 1.7.1.8 target .NET 4.5 and then 1.7.1.12 targets 4.6.2. Of course, anything prior to 1.7.1.8 means no image downloads for your programs.

I haven't got a clue about a log file for the framework install. It simply works on a clean Win7 build with all updates.

[n4mwd]

I downloaded the offline installer, over 100MB, and tried that, but it was the same. Both types of installers will decompress CAB files which, in theory, should detect a corrupt file. No errors prior to the one shown below.

Is there any way to use a different service on the older EPG123 versions other than SD?

If not, it looks like this is the end of the road for WMC. I'm wondering if Myth TV is good enough to replace WMC. I tried it about 20 years ago and back then it was so buggy that just having it on the hard drive was hazardous. I have looked at several others and I haven't found an acceptable substitute for WMC as of yet. I am open to the possibility of purchasing dedicated hardware if its reasonable.

I'm wondering if you are testing your win7 installs on a real win 7 machine, or a virtual box. The latter tends to stack the deck in favor of an error free operation.

[n4mwd]

UPDATE: I did a little searching online and this is a common problem with Win 7. It turns out that the dontNet install programs are sent with Win10 certificates and not win7 ones. So if you are installing on a win10 machine running win 7 on a virtualbox, then you have the Win 10 certificates so the install works fine. So finding a hacked version of the dontNet installer is the only way this is going to work.

[d00zah]

All good here... NOT on a VM. Over-aggressive AV, maybe?

edit: missed previous post. dotNet 4.8 installed many moons ago, so may have avoided the problem?

===============================================================================
Beginning epg123 update execution. version 1.7.1.12
===============================================================================
*** Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit [Version: 6.1.7601.24535] ***
*** Windows Media Center [Version: 6.1.7600.16385] is installed. ***

[garyan2]

Did you download the standalone for 4.8 in Win10, or within the Win7 VM? When you go to MS to download the package, it will detect what OS you are on and download the package for that OS. If it detected Win10, then the package probably won't install on Win7. If you downloaded within the VM, then I don't have any idea why it won't install.

[stuartm]

FWIW I keep a complete backup win 7 HTPC machine (metal not VM) That I had not powered on in a couple of years. I downloaded Gary's 1.7.1.12 installer on it and it properly loaded/installed .NET 4.6.2 with out any problems, then installed 1.7.1.12 and it ran fine and updated my guide.

[n4mwd]

The online versions that I tried to install last night were all downloaded directly to the WMC Win7 machine that is not a VM. I used chrome and got an SSL error saying the web site certificate was not valid. I clicked ignore and went ahead and downloaded the installers.

The only offline version I downloaded was actually on my XP laptop which was then copied to the WMC machine via samba file share. I used Firefox to download it with no SSL errors from the web site.

Windows 10 is not allowed here. There are no copies running anywhere. Windows update is blocked. There are currently no VM's running anywhere on my local network.

I did notice that the installer creates a temporary folder "C:\23857574383\" for its unziped files. I don't know if the signature is used for decryption or just for validation. If the latter, it might be possible to just copy the files where they belong from the temp folder.

Is EPG123 open source? It might be possible to run it through another compiler that doesn't require darNet.

[n4mwd]

UPDATE: I figured out what the problem was and a way to trick windows into working properly.

Windows 7 uses SHA1 to do its signature validation. Win 10 uses SHA2. The net 4.8 install uses SHA2. It turns out that a lot of people have already been complaining to Microsoft which has put out a stand alone hotfix that enables SHA2 on Win7 machines. This hot fix is : kb4474419 . Make sure you download the correct one for your operating system (32 vs 64 bit).

One thing that I also discovered is that when you first start the 4.8 install, the computer will ask if its OK to run the file. On that dialog it will say "Verified Publisher:" and either "Microsoft Corporation" or "unknown publisher". If it says the latter, it means you don't have the SHA2 hotfix and the install wont work.

I ran the hotfix and so far I haven't noticed anything it might have broken. The darNET 4.8 offline installer also worked without any obvious damage. Both take an unreasonable length of time and cause a lot of anxiety, nail biting and hair pulling.

The EPG123 client and server programs now start up without any error dialogs. However, I still don't know if its actually doing its task because WMC still says it hasn't updated.

Is there a way to force it to update on demand before 1AM?

[garyan2]

So really the problems boil down to you preventing updates which would have installed that SHA2 KB package for you, and also MS short-sidedness in not anticipating this scenario.

Sorry, somewhere I started thinking you said your Win7 was in a VM on a Win10 machine, my bad.

Just installing EPG123 doesn't make your guide appear. Open the client and take a look at the Scheduled Task. Make sure "Full Mode' is selected and the mxf file to import is pointing to <location>\output\epg123.mxf. If it is pointing to location that is not in a \output subfolder, then you will have to delete the task and create a new one. You can then close the client. In the notification tray there should be a new icon with 'EPG'. Right-click that and select 'Update Guide Now'.

To a previous question: Yes, EPG123 is open source on Github, written in C# which is .NET based. If you want to port the code to something else, have at it. Just a warning that there is in excess of 43,000 lines of code for the entire project.

[n4mwd]

Allowing updates in the past has slowly ripped out functionality of WMC so its prudent to disallow them. Remember all the streaming channels, youtube, netflix? They got updated...right off my computer.

Whenever automatic updates are allowed or mandated, you are giving root access to your computer to a total stranger. The stranger may have all good intentions, but invariably, they wont pay to fix the damage they accidentally do. I am told that if you update from win7 to win10, WMC gets deleted all together.

So the people like me who disallow automatic updates will need to manually download and install the hotfix before installing 4.8.net.

Its good that you have the code on GitHub. That way if changes are necessary and you aren't available to fix them, then someone else can step in. And I definitely appreciate your writing all 43K lines of code which has extended the life of WMC.

I ran the EPG123 client as you said, but I'm not seeing what you described. The Full Mode is checked, but grayed. The EPG123.exe file path is correct. There is no output or input files showing. I clicked delete task and then create task and it just put the same task right back in there. The version is listed as .12 in the top bar so its likely the correct version running. I did not click on any of the other buttons because I have a rather extensive lineup and don't want to mess something up by doing something I shouldn't.

[garyan2]

Oh, sorry. That is correct, the text box will show the epg123.exe file when in full mode. Since you deleted your task and created a new one, there's really nothing to stop an update from running correctly.

Use the EPG notification tray icon to run the 'Update Guide Now' option. The icon will turn blue while it is running and the green if everything is successful... of course it will be red if not.

[n4mwd]

I am not seeing an EPG tray icon. Is it possible this was not installed by the original version? The instructions for .12 said just to unzip on top of the old files which is what I did. I did not run any setup this upgrade.

[garyan2]

So you installed the portable version........

The portable version does not include the tray icon, nor the proxy/cache service that will allow you to download images.

With the portable version, open the configuration GUI and click [Save & Execute] to run a guide update.

EDIT: Your initial post now makes more sense. If you had used the setup package, it includes the bootstrap program to download the proper .NET framework and require a reboot afterwards to avoid that Windows, in its so unhelpful way, give you a link to download the framework from, that I don't think I've ever been able to get to work correctly.