EPG123Client hanging not getting past "Clean Start" - Performing a manual database update

[Zahtan]

Good morning,
I've been trying to setup EPG123 on an old WMC. I've been trying to run through the client setup steps. I was originally running an older version 1.2.1 and Step 1 - Clean start ran for about 6 hours (overnight) and never completed.

I looked for an newer version and installed 1.2.5. I'm trying to run the Clean start step again and it still seems to be getting stuck. I 've only left it about 30minutes (which I would expect to be long enough) and it still seems to be hung up. This time there is a little more detail on the status bar of the window and it reads "Performing and Manual Database Update".


Any ideas how long this should take?
Any suggestions on if this is an actual problem and what I could do to help get past this part?


Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
- Steve

[garyan2]

Sorry, it's been nearly impossible for me to get some time to respond to this....

Prior to deleting the eHome folder for a "clean start", EPG123 initiates what should be a short update to WMC that ensures the backup files are the latest. This is done by executing "mcupdate.exe -uf -manual". Once mcupdate completes, then EPG123 will archive those backups. Depending on how large/messed up your WMC database is, this can take some time but should not take anywhere near what you are seeing.

My suggestion:
Prior to performing the Clean Start, use task manager to end any "mcupdate.exe" tasks running at that time.
Start the clean start which will start a new mcupdate.exe task.
If after 5 minutes it hasn't completed, end that task in task manager... this will allow the setup to proceed. The client is just waiting for mcupdate to complete/close.

Possible side effect is the backups may not be the most current, but this is a small chance. You should be fine if you need to manually end the task.

I'll look at my code again to make sure I have a timeout on this operation. It should timeout and then prompt the user whether they want to proceed without completing the update.

[garyan2]

Just looked at the code and need to make some corrections:

The spot you are getting stuck at, "Performing a manual database update ...", is after the ehome folder has been deleted and the task is "mcupdate.exe -u -manual -nogc". Again, this should be fairly quick especially since the database is empty. This was needed to make sure the database was primed to accept the changes required to allow more than 4 tuners per tuner type. Canceling the mcupdate task in order to proceed with the setup means it may not accept the increased limits. If you don't have more than 4 tuners per type, then it is not an issue.

[Zahtan]

Thanks for the feedback. I had seen the mcupdate command with those switches in another thread and tried them in an elevated command prompt. It hung in the exact same way.

I'll try your suggestion and let you know how it goes. I do have a 6 tuner card, but if I can at least get it back up and running that will be a step in the right direction.

Thanks!

- Steve

[Zahtan]

So killing the mcupdate task worked for getting me through step 1. Now WMC won't go past Downloading TV setup. I've tried cancelling, backing up and trying again (every time I do it spawns a new mcupdate process. I've tried using zip code 00000, I've tried MC update with the mediacenterrecoverytask switch. no matter what I do, the mcupdate process never completes.

I tried removing WMC from the Windows features, rebooting it, clearing any ehome folders (they appeared to be gone already), reinstalling and rebooting again. Same deal. This machine has worked like a charm for multiple years, and functioned perfectly after switching to EPG123 earlier this year. I'm starting to get frustrated...

Sorry for venting, any additional ideas would be more than welcomed.

- Steve

[garyan2]

So killing the mcupdate task worked for getting me through step 1. Now WMC won't go past Downloading TV setup. I've tried cancelling, backing up and trying again (every time I do it spawns a new mcupdate process. I've tried using zip code 00000, I've tried MC update with the mediacenterrecoverytask switch. no matter what I do, the mcupdate process never completes.

I tried removing WMC from the Windows features, rebooting it, clearing any ehome folders (they appeared to be gone already), reinstalling and rebooting again. Same deal. This machine has worked like a charm for multiple years, and functioned perfectly after switching to EPG123 earlier this year. I'm starting to get frustrated...

Sorry for venting, any additional ideas would be more than welcomed.

- Steve

You've got the perfect storm going on. For the "Downloading TV" setup portion...

Right before you click 'OK'' to confirm declining the Program Guide ToS, disconnect your network (either your physical cable, or disable your NIC). Click the 'OK' button and wait for it to timeout and give you a prompt. Before proceeding, reconnect/reenable your NIC and continue on. I have found no rhyme or reason when this happens, but it is reaching out to MS for any updates defining the types of transmissions for your geographic location. This is not related to anything you are doing, it is just WMC and MS don't talk well with each other at this point.

[Zahtan]

I will try that next. I did some more digging and discovered that I am deleting the wrong ehome folder when I removed/reinstalled. When I cleared the right one, EPG went through step 1 without any issues. I need to reinstall my ceton drivers, but things are looking a little more positive. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me troubleshoot this. Will keep you posted.

- Steve

[Zahtan]

I will preface this with the fact that I'm wondering is one of the tuners on my Ceton is going bad, but I'll put the steps down here that got me up and running with 4/6 tuners. Gary, thank you for your feedback and help. hopefully this might help someone else moving forward.
Bear in mind, my goal here was to get WMC back up and running, I was not concerned with retaining any recording schedules

1. uninstall WMC. Go to Add/Remove windows features and uncheck Windows Media Center. Restart Computer
2. Delete all ehome folders. C:\windows\ehome and C:\programdata\micor\\roosoft\ehome
3. Uninstall EPG123 and cleanup any folders in C:\programfiles(x86) (all were cleaned up my the uninstall) and C:|programdata\garyan (I think that was the correct name). Restart again
4. Reinstall WMC. Go to add/remove windows features and check Windows Media Center. Restart computer
5. When PC reboots, WMC will start up. In my case, it complained of a severe error and that the user would need to go through setup again. I went through the express setup, enough to get me to the main menu, then closed out of WMC
6. Run a repair from the Ceton InfiniTV setup.
6. reinstall EPG123. Once complete, open up EPG123Client and run step 1 - Clean Start. In my case, I was having an issue with this getting hung up. After completing the previous steps this progressed without problem.
7. Complete step 2 - WMC Setup. I entered 00000 for the zip code and, per Gary's suggestion, unplugged the network connection before proceeding. This helped to speed through the "Downloading TV Setup Data" step
8. From here on out, the steps I followed were in the EPG123 install guide.

Here is where I had some issues.
EPG123 Client setup did not say anything about allowing more than 4 tuners. If I proceeded and kept moving with only the 4 tuners, everything seemed to work without issue.
In an attempt to get all 6 tuners functioning, I tried to use the Digital Cable Advisor in the extras menu of WMC. This appeared to work, but as soon as I tried to run the TV setup, it would once again hang at the "Downloading TV Setup Data" step, even if the network was disconnected.
This leads me to the possibility of once of the 6 tuners having a problem.

Gary, thank you again for the help. I'll continue to look into getting the 5th and 6th tuners up and running in the near future.

- Steve

[garyan2]

When you're ready to try and get the 5th and 6th tuner back, you just need to run the client, click on the [Tweak WMC] button and then the [Increase] button on the top right. You will still need to run TV Setup again to "activate" them in WMC.

During the client setup, there will be a very quick flash in the status bar that declares it is increasing the tuner limit. It is so quick, you will be lucky to see it. Earlier versions it was optional to apply, but I learned it is quick, very minor, and is limited to the WMC database. I also learned it can easily be removed by running an "mcupdate.exe -uf" command.

The Digital Cable Advisor does nothing for the tuner limit. You either need to use the client Tweak WMC or the ceton tool by running:
"C:\Program Files\Ceton\Ceton InfiniTV\InfiniTVSvc.exe" /tweakmediacenter

I think your tuners are just fine... you just went in a swirl and everything has imploded.