WMC crashes on attempting new recording

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SpamHammer

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WMC crashes on attempting new recording

#1

Post by SpamHammer » Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:14 pm

I have an issue that is very similar to this thread:
http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... rashes+wmc
Everything worked fine for several months but as of Feb 9th:
Rebooting system sometimes allows adding a show, but trying to add a second crashes the client.
Recordings are scheduled but do not start.
Rebooting system just before the start of the recording will SOMETIMES start everything working again...for the rest of the day.
A reboot in the morning does not work to get the prime time shows recorded.
Attempting to search for a show in add recordings will also crash the client.

I think I need some hand-holding to get it working again. The previous thread mentioned above never got it working so I'm lost.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

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Crash2009

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#2

Post by Crash2009 » Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:40 am

I sent you a Private Message

SpamHammer

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#3

Post by SpamHammer » Sat Mar 03, 2018 3:20 pm

Update:
Rebooting no longer repairs the issue for a day.
The search function works fine but when you try to add a recording of the show searched for, it crashes to desktop and restarts.

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garyan2

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#4

Post by garyan2 » Sat Mar 03, 2018 3:59 pm

I didn't have this capability last year but am hoping it might help out. Could you perform a [Backup] of your WMC configurations from the clinet and send it to me? The backup file will be located in the [epg123]\backup folder.

I'll first try to recreate. If I cannot recreate, then the problem is probably your system/WMC install. If I can, then it going to part of the recordings configuration and I should be able to find a fix.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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Crash2009

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#5

Post by Crash2009 » Sat Mar 03, 2018 4:02 pm

Here is the link to Factory Reset WMC

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... 19#p125019

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Crash2009

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#6

Post by Crash2009 » Sat Mar 03, 2018 4:09 pm

Here is the link to the Task

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... 21#p109121

Extract it and import into yours

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garyan2

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#7

Post by garyan2 » Sat Mar 03, 2018 4:10 pm

What OS are you running? I ask because I know Win10, with the last update, disabled Indexing (Windows Search) ... every time a scheduled recording is added/changed, WMC will do an indexing task on specifically the recordings. This may be the initiator of the crash.

Of course, if you are on Win7 or Win8.x, the above is not relevant.

EDIT: NVM. You stated above that your searches worked which implies so does your indexing.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#8

Post by SpamHammer » Sat Mar 03, 2018 4:38 pm

Thanks for the help! I'm running Win 7 64. Im afraid to upgrade anything for fear of my Ceton internal 6 tuner cablecard needing to be re-paired with comcast. That took 4 days and required ceton intervention which we no longer have.

Ill get the info to you this afternoon or ASAP! Thanks again.

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#9

Post by garyan2 » Sat Mar 03, 2018 9:05 pm

SpamHammer wrote:Thanks for the help! I'm running Win 7 64. Im afraid to upgrade anything for fear of my Ceton internal 6 tuner cablecard needing to be re-paired with comcast. That took 4 days and required ceton intervention which we no longer have.

Ill get the info to you this afternoon or ASAP! Thanks again.
Okay, I'm all set up on a virtual machine here. Can you give me a specific example of a series or program to add that causes a crash or are you confident that any add/change will cause the crash?
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#10

Post by garyan2 » Sat Mar 03, 2018 9:41 pm

I added a new series recording without issue (Saturday Night Live). I think we still have a few things to try.

The timing of your crashes are just too coincidental to me. I think you can try something fairly benign to see if you have a corrupted search index. Go to Control Panel->Indexing Options, select Windows Media Center and click the [Advanced] button and then click the [Rebuild] button. You can monitor the task in the Task Manager; process 'SearchIndexer.exe'. After it is complete, try again.

An uninstall/reinstall of WMC might be warranted, but I believe that was tried in the previous issue that you linked in the first post and did not work.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#11

Post by SpamHammer » Sat Mar 03, 2018 11:34 pm

How long should the rebuild take? I clicked on rebuild and started up task manager but never saw a task that looked likely. Nothing over 3% cpu. Whats the task name?

Edit nevermind I saw the name in your post.

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#12

Post by SpamHammer » Sat Mar 03, 2018 11:47 pm

Strange. After starting the rebuild, There is no SearchIndexer.exe running in the process list, but when I attempt to search in WMC (I used Saturday to look for Saturday night live) I get no results and the warning at the bottom that the index is being rebuilt.

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#13

Post by SpamHammer » Sun Mar 04, 2018 12:16 am

Ok, I determined it was complete when the warning disappeared from the bottom of the page. Searching for Saturday revealed plenty of choices, I chose "Saturday night live" and the page opened fine. Choosing "record series" results in CTD and restart of the client. This behavior results from all attempts at scheduling recordings including choosing from the guide and pressing record button from live tv.

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#14

Post by garyan2 » Sun Mar 04, 2018 12:47 am

Not looking good.

If there is database corruption, you could try...
1. Use the client to [Rebuild WMC Database] configurations.
2. Use the client to [Manual Import] the guide listings.
3. Wait for the reindexing to complete (Task Scheduler 'Task Scheduler Library\Microsoft\Windows\Media Center\' ReindexSearchRoot).
4. Try again.

If it still fails, you can...
1. Uninstall WMC.
2. Delete the c:\ProgramData\Microsoft\ehome folder.
3. Reinstall WMC.
4. Open WMC and do the OOBE WMC setup and TV Setup.
5. Use the client to [Manual Import] the guide listings and match your listings (Match by: [# Number] button).
7. Wait for the reindexing to complete (Task Scheduler 'Task Scheduler Library\Microsoft\Windows\Media Center\' ReindexSearchRoot).
8. Use the Transfer Tool and [Open recordings backup file] which is the backup file you created for me and use the [>>>] button to import your recordings back into WMC.
9. Open WMC and try again.

Note the second option wipes out all recording history so your shows that are setup for New & Repeat will re-record those Repeats you have already recorded in the past.

If it still fails, well damn there is something wrong with your Win7.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#15

Post by SpamHammer » Sun Mar 04, 2018 12:55 am

All right, I knew i was in for an all-nighter when I got home from DisneyWorld with no new recordings to watch... I just delayed it for as long as possible. Thanks for all your help!

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#16

Post by stuartm » Sun Mar 04, 2018 2:02 am

Note that rebuilding the database and/or reinstalling WMC does not mean you need to re-pair your cable card with your tuner. That won't be affected by any software changes on your PC. That is strictly between your tuner and the cable card. I believe it would even keep the pairing if you were to move the Tuner/cablecard into a different machine. Re-setting up WMC will bring up a screen telling you to call your cable Co. but you can ignore it and continue on if already done in the past.

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#17

Post by Space » Sun Mar 04, 2018 3:35 am

Perhaps try running "SFC /scannow" just for the heck of it?

This will detect and repair any system files that may have become corrupted.

https://malwaretips.com/threads/how-to- ... ista.3444/

Be sure to read the whole thing (including the WARNING) before proceeding.

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#18

Post by SpamHammer » Sun Mar 04, 2018 4:06 am

I noticed while using the client to rebuild the database that both epg123 and epg123client say in red font that no task is scheduled to run. Shouldn't one or both of these say the time of the next EPG update? I do know that the update IS indeed running every morning at 3 am as the guide always says 19days of listings are available and the listings are indeed correct. Have I broken it by incorrectly updating the epg123 software to 1.19?

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#19

Post by SpamHammer » Sun Mar 04, 2018 4:14 am

stuartm wrote:Note that rebuilding the database and/or reinstalling WMC does not mean you need to re-pair your cable card with your tuner. That won't be affected by any software changes on your PC. That is strictly between your tuner and the cable card. I believe it would even keep the pairing if you were to move the Tuner/cablecard into a different machine. Re-setting up WMC will bring up a screen telling you to call your cable Co. but you can ignore it and continue on if already done in the past.
That's good to know that its only between the tuner and CableCARD. In 2015 I upgraded from a ceton infinitv4 to an infinitv6 in this system and tried to use the same cablecard. Nightmares with comcast ensued. 3 years later I am still gun-shy of changing anything on the system other than replacing hard drives as they fail. I feel fortunate that the system is still rock solid after 8 years... well except for the current difficulties. But I do feel better about future upgrades now that you told me this, so thanks.

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#20

Post by SpamHammer » Sun Mar 04, 2018 5:14 am

Space wrote:Perhaps try running "SFC /scannow" just for the heck of it?

This will detect and repair any system files that may have become corrupted.

https://malwaretips.com/threads/how-to- ... ista.3444/

Be sure to read the whole thing (including the WARNING) before proceeding.
I ran a verification scan... but when I try to view the log, I get access denied. I'm definitely logged in as admin so I'm curious about that and will have to do some research before I can see what the violations were. I know one of them is an installed theme, but perhaps this will catch something if I run a repair.

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