Windows Version 1903 Issues

Discussion of getting WMC to work on Windows 10 (unsupported)
mja492

Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2019 8:37 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#21

Post by mja492 » Sat Jun 15, 2019 10:45 pm

technodevotee wrote: Sat Jun 15, 2019 9:39 pm
I guess you missed the bit about unzipping fix_thumbnails and replace_dlls in to the folder containing whichever WMC installer you used.

They are intended as add-ons to the installer rather than stand-alone utilities and are included in WMC-V13.

I'm glad they worked for you though.
I did see that, but I apparently did it wrong because I ended up with fix_thumbnails and replace_dlls folders alongside the installer's bin folder. I guess I should've unzipped them one level up! :crazy:

Thanks for pointing that out. I have fixed my folder structure.

technodevotee

Posts: 963
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

HTPC Specs: Show details

#22

Post by technodevotee » Sun Jun 16, 2019 7:16 am

You are welcome.

Perhaps I should have said 'unzip it into the root of the folder containing whichever installer you are using'.

Perhaps I should been clearer about which of my add-ons I had included in WMC-V13 and why they were needed.

technodevotee

Posts: 963
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

HTPC Specs: Show details

#23

Post by technodevotee » Wed Jun 19, 2019 5:35 pm

I've recently noticed a few users here and on MDL having an issue where they are unable to complete TV setup or download guide data after uninstalling WMC and installing a different version.

When this happened to me the other day, I found an error in event viewer stating that there was an incorrect security token and started searching the web.

It seems this is actually a long standing problem but if you think about it, people are more likely to encounter the problem nowadays because WMC was part of Windows and no-one ever expected anyone but Microsoft to be changing parts of it, let alone replacing the installed version.

Anyway, using information I found on the web, I developed a simple way to clear the token cache so that Windows creates new ones when it is restarted.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you that doing this may cause other unrelated problems so I would definitely recommend making a backup first to be safe.

I've written an script to do the job, which I've incorporated into the latest installer for WMC-V13 and made available as an add-on for use with other versions here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s79cuxkr1eo3z ... s.zip?dl=1

Just unzip it into the root of the folder containing whichever WMC installer you are using, run reset_security_tokens.cmd and reboot when prompted.

If you prefer to do it manually, go into the folder containing whichever WMC installer you are using, run _testrights.cmd to get a trustedinstaller command prompt (as always, I'll remind you to be very careful in there as it is easy to really mess things up) and type in:

Code: Select all

 robocopy /copyall /move %programdata%\Microsoft\crypto\rsa\MachineKeys %programdata%\Microsoft\crypto\rsa\MachineKeysOld * 
and hit enter.

Reboot.​

scott750

Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Nov 01, 2013 12:19 am
Location: Austin, TX

HTPC Specs: Show details

#24

Post by scott750 » Fri Jul 05, 2019 9:29 pm

technodevotee wrote: Sun Jun 16, 2019 7:16 am You are welcome.

Perhaps I should have said 'unzip it into the root of the folder containing whichever installer you are using'.

Perhaps I should been clearer about which of my add-ons I had included in WMC-V13 and why they were needed.
When you say the root folder, do you mean the folder that contains all of the 8.8.3 install folder?
I have unzipped the 8.8.3 folder on my PC like this: C:\Downloads\8.8.3\8.8.3\(all of the install files)
So would I unzip in the Downloads folder or the 8.8.3 folder just above where all of the install files reside?

technodevotee

Posts: 963
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

HTPC Specs: Show details

#25

Post by technodevotee » Fri Jul 05, 2019 10:12 pm

You should end up with all the cmd files in the same folder and all the bat files in the bin folder below that.

I knew it was going to messy because of the way people can put the installer folder wherever they want.

Personally, I don't like the default settings of 7zip when unzipping and would never have used it myself but I tried to follow the same methodology as had been used before.

scott750

Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Nov 01, 2013 12:19 am
Location: Austin, TX

HTPC Specs: Show details

#26

Post by scott750 » Sat Jul 06, 2019 12:12 am

Thanks Technodevotee for explaining. I'll move those files around like you mention.

scott750

Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Nov 01, 2013 12:19 am
Location: Austin, TX

HTPC Specs: Show details

#27

Post by scott750 » Sat Jul 06, 2019 3:42 am

Technodevotee, I moved the files like you mentioned and WMC is running without an issue. Thanks again for your help! Sorry for all of the newb questions.

technodevotee

Posts: 963
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

HTPC Specs: Show details

#28

Post by technodevotee » Sat Jul 06, 2019 7:32 am

You are welcome.

Thank you for taking the trouble to update us with your results (here and in your other posts). Everyone benefits from reading what works and what doesn't but unfortunately, a lot of people seem to go to forums and get help but don't report back on the outcome.

scott750

Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Nov 01, 2013 12:19 am
Location: Austin, TX

HTPC Specs: Show details

#29

Post by scott750 » Sat Jul 06, 2019 10:48 am

Absolutely! You never realize how much it helps until you're the one looking for the answers.

purpleb

Posts: 48
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2019 6:52 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#30

Post by purpleb » Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:15 pm

ok, I waited and finally updated win10 to 1903.

I installed 8.8.3 and MCE starts. when I start live TV, the apps ends and a few seconds MCE starts again. I have tried the DLL replacement, no difference.

I uninstalled readyplay. When I did that, I started live TV and just a blue MCE screen.

Any other ideas to get live TV working? I only use that. I have an Hauppauge 950Q USB tuner.

Thanks in advance,
PurpleB

technodevotee

Posts: 963
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

HTPC Specs: Show details

#31

Post by technodevotee » Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:36 pm

purpleb wrote: Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:15 pm ok, I waited and finally updated win10 to 1903.

I installed 8.8.3 and MCE starts. when I start live TV, the apps ends and a few seconds MCE starts again. I have tried the DLL replacement, no difference.

I uninstalled readyplay. When I did that, I started live TV and just a blue MCE screen.

Any other ideas to get live TV working? I only use that. I have an Hauppauge 950Q USB tuner.

Thanks in advance,
PurpleB
not sure from this which DLLs you replaced but it might be worth installing V8.8.4 as it has all the DLL fixes built in.

https://forums.mydigitallife.net/thread ... st-1538359

purpleb

Posts: 48
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2019 6:52 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#32

Post by purpleb » Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:45 pm

That did it. Works great.

Thanks again. I did not see that had came out.

PurpleB

purpleb

Posts: 48
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2019 6:52 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#33

Post by purpleb » Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:02 pm

The only items not working are the extra features with My Channel Logos. I could change the logos but the view of 10 channels, 3 channel subview, and 3 hour show view did not work. I can live without them but nice to have. I changed those around but still did not work. Live TV working so that is best of all.

PurpleB

technodevotee

Posts: 963
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

HTPC Specs: Show details

#34

Post by technodevotee » Wed Sep 11, 2019 1:11 pm

People are reporting that WMC restarts when trying to watch TV after the latest Patch Tuesday.

The easiest thing is to do if you just want to get your system working quickly without uninstalling and upgrading WMC is to use one of my utilities to workaround it until next time.

Roll_Back_DLLs is a one shot fix for almost everything that breaks WMC and can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6y5h6a9zwo8yq ... s.zip?dl=1

If you would prefer to use a scalpel rather than a broad sword, you could use WMC_Multi_Tool which brings together all of my add-ons and utilities in one menu driven package.

It can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3qrtknqhjg7pc ... l.zip?dl=1

If you use WMC_multi_tool option 0 to find out which DLLs have been changed you can roll them back as required.​

Basically, WMC requires DLLs from 1709 (build 16299) or earlier to work perfectly but where the DLLs WMC actually uses are located depends on which version you are using.

In my case, it was only CPFilters in system32 that needed rolling back but it obviously depends on which version of WMC you have.

Except for V13, which effectively predates even V8.8.1 - in theory, the newer the version, the less it should be affected by changes to DLLs in system32 because the required DLLs are in ehome but we are seeing exceptions to the rule so it would be very helpful if you guys could let us know which version of WMC you are using and which DLL(s) needed to be changed.
Last edited by technodevotee on Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
aquadextrous

Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:09 pm
Location: Bristol, UK

HTPC Specs: Show details

#35

Post by aquadextrous » Wed Sep 11, 2019 1:41 pm

technodevotee wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2019 1:11 pm People are reporting that WMC restarts when trying to watch TV after the latest Patch Tuesday.

The easiest thing is to do if you just want to get your system working quickly without uninstalling and reinstalling WMC is to use one of my utilities to workaround it until next time.

Roll_Back_DLLs is a one shot fix for almost everything that breaks WMC and can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6y5h6a9zwo8yq ... s.zip?dl=1

If you would prefer to use a scalpel rather than a broad sword, you could use WMC_Multi_Tool which brings together all of my add-ons and utilities in one menu driven package.

It can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3qrtknqhjg7pc ... l.zip?dl=1

If you use WMC_multi_tool option 0 to find out which DLLs have been changed you can roll them back as required.​

Basically, WMC requires DLLs from 1709 (build 16299) or earlier to work perfectly but where the DLLs WMC actually uses are located depends on which version you are using.

In my case, it was only CPFilters in system32 that needed rolling back but it obviously depends on which version of WMC you have.

Except for V13, which effectively predates even V8.8.1 - in theory, the newer the version, the less it should be affected by changes to DLLs in system32 because the required DLLs are in ehome but we are seeing exceptions to the rule so it would be very helpful if you guys could let us know which version of WMC you are using and which DLL(s) needed to be changed.
I panicked this morning when TV caused WMC to crash to the desktop and thought i was going to have to uninstall/reinstall WMC or roll back windows updates. However, I used the tool to replace all the files in all the folders, i rebooted the PC and it all worked again! I didn't check which versions were which, so I can't help there sorry, but just wanted anyone with the same problem to know that it's a 2 minute fix to get TV working again :)

technodevotee

Posts: 963
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

HTPC Specs: Show details

#36

Post by technodevotee » Wed Sep 11, 2019 1:47 pm

No problem, we've all been there. As I said though, Kevin Chalet and I have been trying to understand why the workarounds that he has implemented in recent versions don't seem to work for everyone.

To that end, I created WMC Multi Tool which can be used more as a diagnostic/repair tool rather than the sledgehammer approach that Roll Back DLLs used. It also allows the DLLs in ehome to be replaced which that didn't.

I was intending doing a write up here and on MDL when I found out about the problem but I had other things to attend to and you beat me to it.

technodevotee

Posts: 963
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

HTPC Specs: Show details

#37

Post by technodevotee » Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:31 pm

Actually, you can still help because wmc multi tool renames existing dlls before copying new ones in to take their place. So, if you have a look in windows\system32 for msvidctl, cpfilters and encdec and find one with a current build number in the name and a very recent date, that has been changed out.

User avatar
aquadextrous

Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:09 pm
Location: Bristol, UK

HTPC Specs: Show details

#38

Post by aquadextrous » Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:41 pm

technodevotee wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:31 pm Actually, you can still help because WMC multi tool renames existing dlls before copying new ones in to take their place. So, if you have a look in windows\system32 for msvidctl, cpfilters and encdec and find one with a current build number in the name and a very recent date, that has been changed out.
The old files in system 32 are:
msvidctl.6.5.16299.309 (16/05/19)
cpfilters.10.0.18362.356 (11/09/19)
encdec.6.6.6001.18571 (16/05/19)

All the current working un-renamed versions end in 16299.15 and have today's date as the modified date from when i used the tool this morning.

So it looks like it was indeed only the cpfilters file that was changed on yesterday's Windows Update.

technodevotee

Posts: 963
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

HTPC Specs: Show details

#39

Post by technodevotee » Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:51 pm

Thanks very much.

That is the same as mine - I'm running V13.

technodevotee

Posts: 963
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

HTPC Specs: Show details

#40

Post by technodevotee » Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:46 pm

As many of you will know, WMC won't start in builds of Windows 10 after 18958. The resolution is to reinstate the functionality of MSSQLLite.

I have just included an add-on to WMC V13, which can be used to do that per Kévin Chalet's instructions on MDL.

It is also available in WMC Multi Tool.

Post Reply