Changing out drives and WMC

[mmurley]

This is a Win7 WMC question (really!).

I'm getting ready to change out my C:\ drive on my HPTC from a 500 GB 3.5" to a 500 GB SSD. And then I was thinking of swapping out the 2TB 3.5" D:\ drive (where my TV recordings are) with a 2TB 2.5" drive just to open space up in my case (I have a dual 2.3" to 3.5" converter bracket coming).

I my plan is to clone both drives. I assume I will lose the recordings on the D:\ drives as they are encrypted. Am I going to have issues with WMC itself?

[adam1991]

I can't speak to any DRM that may or may not be affected by your swap, but I've done the clone thing on the C: drive without a problem. I moved from a spinner to a Samsung SSD, using the Samsung clone utility, and it worked perfectly.

I then put in a replacement D: drive and simply drag-copied everything from the old (failing) drive to the new one. Voila--it was like nothing changed.

[Space]

If you clone all the partitions needed to have a bootable system drive (I have two small partitions and the main system partition (C: drive) on my Win7 system, so 3 total) then it should be OK, and your DRM recordings should also not be affected, they should be playable.

[Alan G]

I've done this same thing. Cloning the OS drive causes no issues at all assuming you have a separate data drive where TV programs are. If you are cloning the data drive to a larger one (e.g., 500GB -> 2TB) this is not an issue either. The ONLY issues are with DRM programs as these are linked to your system's motherboard. If you swap the drives to a PC with a new motherboard, these programs will not play. All non-DRM recordings will play with out any issues.

[Springsteen76]

The same. I have had multiple hard drive crashes and been able to restore data and play even copy-protected recordings (HBO, Cinemax, etc.).

However, this thread made me wonder whether, with the EOL for Win7, one could upgrade to Windows 10 on the same system and, assuming WMC was installed correctly, play DRM recordings. Has anyone heard of whether that works?

[technodevotee]

DRM is a no go on Windows 10. One of a few major bug-bears for users in North America that is preventing them from switching.

[mmurley]

I did it, and so far no bueno.

At first it seemed to be okay. I tried a recorded show and it played. Live TV worked on ABC. Then FNC said "Copying Prohibited" - on Live TV. Reset DRM and updated PlayReady (what a hassle). FNC is telling me the PlayReady update is incomplete.

[Space]

Were you sure to clone ALL the partitions needed, not just the "C:" drive partition? There should be no need to mess with PlayReady or anything else if you clone it properly.

Macrium Reflect (free) has an option that will select the partitions needed to backup a windows installation.

https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/displ ... Partitions

There is always a small chance that if you change the hardware in your system enough it will need to create a new signature for PlayReady and then old recordings will be unplayable.

[mmurley]

Except it's Live TV (SDV channels) that's saying "copying prohibited". Live TV.

[adam1991]

We've seen that happen before. It's a problem with your provider.

[mmurley]

We've seen that happen before. It's a problem with your provider.

And the solution? To clarify, it's at this time, since I put the computer back together, it's happening on a channel I need the TA for (SDV).*

*I went out and haven't gone through at 1000+ Spectrum channel listings.

[Space]

Did you try rebooting? I've seen where people has this problem and a reboot solved it.

Are you able to play back copy protected recordings that were made prior to installing the new boot drive?

If not, resetting PlayReady may have messed that up, so you should re-clone the drive and try again. If you are able to play back the old DRMed recordings, then PlayReady is working and does not need to be reset, and your live TV issue may be something else.

Also, please let me know the answer to my previous question about the cloning of multiple partitions.

[mmurley]

Did you try rebooting? I've seen where people has this problem and a reboot solved it.

Are you able to play back copy protected recordings that were made prior to installing the new boot drive?

If not, resetting PlayReady may have messed that up, so you should re-clone the drive and try again. If you are able to play back the old DRMed recordings, then PlayReady is working and does not need to be reset, and your live TV issue may be something else.

Also, please let me know the answer to my previous question about the cloning of multiple partitions.

I just completely re-cloned the old C:\ drive using Macrium Reflect exactly (all partitions). Live TV - local ABC (1200 on Spectrum) played. Then FNC says "copying prohibited". Recorded TV on the D:\ plays.

And I restarted. Several times.

Random checking of SDV channels has the same issue.

[adam1991]

https://tinyurl.com/s4ennvj

[Space]

OK, so now that you have re-cloned, are you able to play back old recordings that are copy protected when booted from the new drive? This is important because it tells if your PlayReady is working or not and that the ID of your system has not changed. If you are unable to play them back, then there is probably a PlayReady issue. If they all play back fine then it may be a problem with the cable company (although could still be PlayReady related).

There is also a chance it is related to the HDMI connection, but I think you would get a different error message if that was the case, but I am not completely sure.

[mmurley]

https://tinyurl.com/s4ennvj

I looked at those links (most of them yesterday) and none really fit my situation.

UPDATE: Thinking it might be my cable card / TA I reached out to Spectrum's cable card tech who verified with me that the cable card and TA were still authorized / receiving signals.

Now WMC says "The PlayReady update was not completed" - wait - I didn't update PlayReady (this time).

[Space]

What does the CableCard tab in the Ceton Diagnostics tool indicate under "Card Authorization"?
viewtopic.php?p=132647#p132647

Very few techs handle CableCards correctly. Just because you are authorized does not mean the CableCard and device are paired correctly.

[mmurley]

What does the CableCard tab in the Ceton Diagnostics tool indicate under "Card Authorization"?
viewtopic.php?p=132647#p132647

Very few techs handle CableCards correctly. Just because you are authorized does not mean the CableCard and device are paired correctly.

Actually I got a super tech who actually had had Ceton equipment and knew his stuff.

And it says "Validated, validation message is received, authenticated, and the IDs match those in the current binding" under Card Authorization. The Card Host screen matched his screen (host ID).

And I'm back to the "PlayReady update was not completed" - and of course DRMReset tool won't work but I found the Microsoft EasyFix 50765.msi so I'm trying that and then setting my TV signal / cablecard up again (and then EPG123). UPDATE: And that's not working.

[mmurley]

I'm back to re-cloning the original drive.

[mmurley]

There is also a chance it is related to the HDMI connection, but I think you would get a different error message if that was the case, but I am not completely sure.

Just to circle back, When I've had display issues (like trying to use a DisplayPort toHDMI cable), I get a error that the along the lines of "content can't be displayed on this device" not "copying prohibited".