WMC 8.8.4 for win 10 1903 released

Discussion of getting WMC to work on Windows 10 (unsupported)
jachin99

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WMC 8.8.4 for win 10 1903 released

#1

Post by jachin99 » Sun Jul 28, 2019 5:58 pm

A new version of wmc 10 has been released by Kevin chalet. This is the announcement on mdl.

Here's the download link for 8.8.4: https://mega.nz/#!eHh10AyC!rACoUNaJYMqm ... dx5Hp6nNkc
Please let me know if you find any bug/regression.

Changelog:

The package now embeds a local copy of CPFilters.dll (extracted from Windows 10 1809) and a custom assembly manifest to work around breaking changes introduced in Windows 10 1903. Existing application manifests have all been updated to reference the new Microsoft.Windows.CPFilters assembly manifest.
The uninstaller was updated to automatically delete Windows Media Center Systray.lnk file from ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp.

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

the stranger

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#2

Post by the stranger » Sat Aug 03, 2019 2:35 am

Thanks for posting this! Working perfectly for me so far.

KarterJK

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#3

Post by KarterJK » Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:06 am

Well, I tried this and it wouldn't work, at least not the TV portion (it's all I tried)
I have never once gotten any of these to function properly in windows 10.

I have 2 HD HomeRun Prime Tuners and it didn't detect them. unless there is some miracle cure, I don't think this will ever work

pbcopter

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#4

Post by pbcopter » Wed Aug 14, 2019 3:08 pm

KarterJK wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:06 am Well, I tried this and it wouldn't work, at least not the TV portion (it's all I tried)
I have never once gotten any of these to function properly in windows 10.

I have 2 HD HomeRun Prime Tuners and it didn't detect them. unless there is some miracle cure, I don't think this will ever work
Have you installed the HDHomerun software?
I have no issues with Windows 10 and the Prime tuners

technodevotee

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#5

Post by technodevotee » Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:32 pm

A few people have found that even WMC V8.8.4 doesn't work properly on 1903.

Other people have been having problems using DVBLink.

So it seems that despite Kevin's valiant efforts, work arounds are sometimes still required.

To make life easier, I created a standalone utility called roll_back_dlls that combines my WMC installer add-ons replace_dlls and fix_thumbnails.

It is available here:https://www.dropbox.com/s/6y5h6a9zwo8yq ... s.zip?dl=1

Here is the readme:

Code: Select all

Description.

This is a utility for 64 bit Windows 10 (only) that rolls back Windows system DLLs to versions Windows Media Center requires to properly function. It also restores the registry settings for the bda/cp/ca filter and XDS codec (encdec to you and me), which Microsoft modified and ultimately entirely removed.

Although it should no longer be required with WMC itself since V8.8.4, it may be used for any version and could be useful for PCs running certain Third Party applications e.g., DVBLink.

It is a combination of my add-ons for WMC installers, replace_dlls and fix_thumbnails in standalone form.

In theory, it can be used with any version of WMC installer on any version of Windows 10 as long as it is 64bit.

As I write, it has had limited testing and as always, I would highly recommend making a system backup before using it in any case.

We are modifying registry settings and replacing core Windows DLLs. Since there is no way for me to know what you have installed on your PC, I can't know what collateral damage would occur by using this utilty.


What it does.

It tests three DLLs namely, MSVidCtl, CPFilters and EncDec in the windows\system32 folder. It compares the version number of the existing DLL with the desired version number. If it is different, it renames it and copies in the required version of DLL to take its place.

Finally, it imports registry files containing the entries required for the bda/cp/ca filter and XDS codec.


Using it.

Unzip the file to somewhere on a local drive so that it is in a folder with a short path containing no spaces.

Run roll_back_dlls.cmd and reboot when requested.

You can safely ignore one message about not finding a file. This will occur if encdec.dll doesn't exist.

SpencerC

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#6

Post by SpencerC » Sat Aug 17, 2019 4:28 am

pbcopter wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2019 3:08 pm
KarterJK wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:06 am Well, I tried this and it wouldn't work, at least not the TV portion (it's all I tried)
I have never once gotten any of these to function properly in windows 10.

I have 2 HD HomeRun Prime Tuners and it didn't detect them. unless there is some miracle cure, I don't think this will ever work
Have you installed the HDHomerun software?
I have no issues with Windows 10 and the Prime tuners
SAY WHAT?!?!!? What version of Win10 are you running where you have the Prime tuners being detected?

mwpeterson

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#7

Post by mwpeterson » Sat Aug 17, 2019 5:25 am

SpencerC wrote: Sat Aug 17, 2019 4:28 am
pbcopter wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2019 3:08 pm
KarterJK wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:06 am Well, I tried this and it wouldn't work, at least not the TV portion (it's all I tried)
I have never once gotten any of these to function properly in windows 10.

I have 2 HD HomeRun Prime Tuners and it didn't detect them. unless there is some miracle cure, I don't think this will ever work
Have you installed the HDHomerun software?
I have no issues with Windows 10 and the Prime tuners
SAY WHAT?!?!!? What version of Win10 are you running where you have the Prime tuners being detected?
I would guess they are talking about just using the HDHomerun software, not with WMC.

1ST1

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#8

Post by 1ST1 » Sun Aug 18, 2019 11:24 am

For me 8.8.4 is working, but it has issues. Fullscreen does not work im RDP session, then only black screen. It also does not start, when restoring my settings from time before updating to 1903. So I have to set again everything manually. This is a lot of work, scanning satelite, setting channel favourites, setting TV recordings, etc...

technodevotee

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#9

Post by technodevotee » Sun Aug 18, 2019 4:19 pm

1ST1 wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 11:24 am For me 8.8.4 is working, but it has issues. Fullscreen does not work im RDP session, then only black screen. It also does not start, when restoring my settings from time before updating to 1903. So I have to set again everything manually. This is a lot of work, scanning satelite, setting channel favourites, setting TV recordings, etc...
Not being able to run full screen in an RDP session in V8.x is an issue for me as well. That's one of the reasons I was reluctant to switch from V12 and created V13 to get it working in newer versions of Windows 10 and the add-ons to keep it working.

The other was that some of my PCs wouldn't work with V8 after restoring settings from V12 but they would with V13.

If your setup is like mine (two Hauppauge WinTV HD tuners and DiSEqC switches to get Hotbird, Astra 19.2 and Astra 28.8) it might be worth a try. I can certainly put up with having to run my add-ons occasionally to get it working again when MS break it to avoid the pain of setting up 3 satellites from scratch.

technodevotee

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#10

Post by technodevotee » Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:08 pm

technodevotee wrote: Thu Aug 15, 2019 1:32 pm A few people have found that even WMC V8.8.4 doesn't work properly on 1903.

Other people have been having problems using DVBLink.

So it seems that despite Kevin's valiant efforts, work arounds are sometimes still required.

To make life easier, I created a standalone utility called roll_back_dlls that combines my WMC installer add-ons replace_dlls and fix_thumbnails.

It is available here:[url]https://www.dropbox.com/s/6y5h6a9zwo8yq ... s.zip?dl=1[/url
I've spent a few days looking into the issues with Live TV in DVBLink and can confirm that even with all the workarounds (including my add-ons/utility) it doesn't work with any version of WMC other than V13 (32bit or 64bit) or 8.8.1 (64bit only). However, I found that it works if you replace ehshell.exe in 8.8.2, 8.8.3 or 8.8.4 with the one from V13 or V8.8.1.

This could be a temporary fix that would save uninstalling /reinstalling WMC although you obviously need to use the known workarounds to get it running.

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#11

Post by 1ST1 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 6:55 pm

technodevotee wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 4:19 pm Not being able to run full screen in an RDP session in V8.x is an issue for me as well. That's one of the reasons I was reluctant to switch from V12 and created V13 to get it working in newer versions of Windows 10 and the add-ons to keep it working.
What is difference between 8.8.4 and V13 to fix the RDP fullscreen issue? other eshell.exe ? I would prefer to replace that file instead of reinstalling.

technodevotee

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#12

Post by technodevotee » Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:00 pm

The short answer is, I don't know.

There are a lot of files that are different but I'm not a programmer and wouldn't know where to start looking.

The two forks were modified by different people and I think they have all moved onto things now and some of the information about what was done isn't available any more.

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#13

Post by TBSH » Wed Aug 21, 2019 11:18 pm

Hi
been transitioning to win 10 this year and have had all sorts of probs with one machine with ver 1903 and previous and both WMC 8.8.3 and 8.8.4
BUT - I came across a post somewhere - would like to attribute but can't recall - which solved all of these problems for me anyway.
1. Copy the whole ehome folder in c /windows
2. Paste into c/ programs ( just not not under windows)
3. create a new shortcut on desktop to ehshell in the new folder
4. delete old shortcut
Bam - all works again!!! - seems ehome folder just doesn't work properly under c/windows in win 10
Hope this helps - wasted hours on this

technodevotee

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#14

Post by technodevotee » Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:27 am

I believe the first post about this was: https://forums.mydigitallife.net/thread ... st-1507001.

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#15

Post by TBSH » Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:45 am

:D yes that's the post

technodevotee

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#16

Post by technodevotee » Fri Aug 23, 2019 4:51 pm

Kévin Chalet (MDL) & I have been collaborating on trying to understand why WMC still doesn't work properly for everyone. The problem we are is facing is that we can't replicate some of the problems that people are experiencing.

So, I have created a new utility that effectively replaces roll_back_dlls by combining and enhancing the functionality of replace_dlls and fix_thumbnails through a new menu.

It gives the user the ability to choose whether to replace the troublesome DLLs in Windows\ehome or in Windows\system32 or to restore the functionallity of EncDec.

The idea is this: in order to eliminate the DLLs supplied with 8.8.4 as the cause of the problem, first replace the DLLs in ehome and test WMC. If that doesn't help, restore the functionality of EncDec and test WMC. Finally, replace the DLLs in system32.

I would be most grateful if users could give feedback about their experience with the utility as hopefully, it will help to improve matters for everyone.

The new utility is available here https://www.dropbox.com/s/3qrtknqhjg7pc ... l.zip?dl=1

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#17

Post by 1ST1 » Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:54 pm

How to test with your new tool if roll_back_dlls already has been applied?

technodevotee

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#18

Post by technodevotee » Fri Aug 23, 2019 10:13 pm

@1ST1, I expect that 1909 will break a lot of people's systems the way that 1903 has so I would just wait and see what happens.

If your system is working, I would leave well alone at the moment - especially given all the work it is for you to fix it.

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#19

Post by 1ST1 » Fri Aug 23, 2019 10:26 pm

As far as I have read, 1909 will come like a normal monthly update. That means, it will not install a new Windows and then copy all settings and installed apps/drivers/... over, but it will be like just replace many system files in the existing Windows installation, the same way the monthly patchdays do. Just more files to replace. That means, the ehome folder will not get lost like on the previous half year feature upgrades. So I think the chances that WMC will survive the 1909 upgrade are bigger than before. The only danger thing is that new system files get incompatible to WMC. Shitty that M§ dropped support for WMC and doesn't release it to Open Source.

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#20

Post by technodevotee » Fri Aug 23, 2019 10:36 pm

Someone on MDL is reporting that WMC won't even start on build 18963.

https://forums.mydigitallife.net/thread ... st-1543261

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