Issues with 0710 RC

[coley]

I tried a 2CD based upgrade from RC1 to RC2 last night. The install seemed to hang on generating mdadm.conf (I don't have any sort of a raid set-up), I started it last night and it was still stuck on that this morning. I ran dmesg to see if anything had died during the night and it reported too many open files and the system was very sluggish. I've shut it down now but I'll try the install again later.
Anyone any clue what could cause the hang?

btw - should the core and md services be stopped before running the install script? or does it detect them running and handle it itself?

thanks
-Coley.

[Marper]

Downloaded and installed LinuxMCE 0710 RC2 and configured MD

System Config (Core)

Mobo:  ASUS P5N-D
CPU:    Intel 775 Chip 2.4 G
Mem:   2 Gb
H/D:    5 @ 500 Gb
Optical:  Phillips DVD Lightscribe
Networ:  2 Gb Etho
DHCP - Enabled  (192.168.0.2 Eth0; 192.168.80.2 Eth1)

System Cofig (MD)

ASUS P-5945G Barebones
CPU:  Intel 775 (same as aboove)
Graphics:  Geoforce 6200 XFX
Mem:  2 Gb
Optical:  Phillips DVD Lightscribe
Mouse/
Keyboard:  Go Gyration
Sound:  Digital Output

    MD WebAdmin Config:  OS/ Windows - Video - Geoforce -

Any help would be appreciated.


Router:  DLink Wireless - connected to Cable Modem (no dhcp)

Switch:  14 Port Gb - Cat5 throughout home (Eth0 connected)

Problems solved: 

    Black Screen at MD Startup - Took a while to get MD configured with the black screen, but discovered through reading lots of forum posts that the initial screen goes black and all I had to do was select the correct output and then screen displayed:

    Dolby & DTS output MD - Also discovered that althought I could hear all the sound when configuring the AV wizard, when I tried to play any DVD file (other than the demo that is installed to the system) I could not hear the movie, instead I got the Modem or Static type noise as if a blackberry was too close to the phone (if you know what I mean).    FIX:  Changed the Audio output on the LinuxMCE Launch Manager in KDE to Manual (can't believe it was that simple, another post similar gave this fix).

Problems persist:

    Core - System locks up multiple time a day.  No changes made to the core install other than MD setup and a couple of DVD's and the system locks up (today it did about 4 times).  Very troublesome.  I've looked at the logs in KDE - however there is no boot log created and I don't know how to do that or if I should. 


        Q.  Any sugesstions on how to troubleshoot these issues ?
        Q.  Do I need to have a boot log ?  If, how do I do that or is there a location with instructions on how to do that ?  It would really help.  I'll keep searching the Net until I find something.

[Marper]

Just to followup my last post.

I changed the DHCP from Static to DHCP receive from the router and the system appears to stabilize for about an hour or two.  still investigating.   When changed to be the DHCP serrver it crashes within 15 mins.

[cirion]

----Quote------------
And that has relevance, why?
--End Quote--------

Mythbackend on another computer(using protocol version 40)  has 1100GB (not MB) of media files that I would like view, but the mythtv frontend in LinuxMCE can only speak version 31.

What version of Mythtv is LinuxMCE 0710RC2 using?

All I can find in the release notes, is:
"Latest mythtv packages and fixes for lmce mythtv stuff"

I tried Mythbuntu 8.04 just for fun, and found a few things that made Mythtv a whole lot better for my use...More specifically multi channels from single DVB card and Channel logo scanner.  After finding those options I reinstalled my LinuxMCE server to have a fresh setup for installing the Mythtv route instead of VDR, only to find that those options are not there...

I then tried to find out if those options where spesific addons for Mythbuntu or a beta release of Mythtv and found that these options are from the latest stable release of Mythtv v0.21. This was released March 8. 2008.

This is from the 0.21 changelog:
Released 8th March 2008

These are the changes in the 0.21 release of MythTV. Some of these changes, most notably the fixes, have been backported to the 0.20.2 release.

Release notes updated through revision [16468]

Major changes

    * Added Storage Groups. This allows multiple recording directories, where each storage group is a list of directories.
    * Added Watch List feature to Watch Recordings listing programs most useful to watch in order to catch up on series and shows you have fallen behind in watching.
    * Added support for QAM recording using HDHomeRun device. Requires firmware 21-09-2006 or newer (Note this was also back ported to 0.20.2).
    * New official plugins:
          o MythMovies: provides show times and cinema listings based on Zip/Post code and a given radius.
          o MythZoneMinder: ZoneMinder is a system for monitoring CCTV cameras. It uses a web interface which doesn't work very well on a MythTV only system so the plugin provides a remote friendly interface to some of the functions provided by ZM.
    * Added auto discovery of MythTV servers/frontends
    * Reduced mythfrontend memory consumption by upto 75% depending on theme and resolution.
    * requires MySQL 5.0
    * Allows multiple recordings with one DVB/ATSC card if the channels are in the same multiplex (Multirec)
    * Enhancements for multi channel audio (up-converting stereo, re-encoding to AC3 in time stretch mode)
    * Added the ability to continue playing music in the background.
    * Added a channel icon download facility to mythtv-setup. 

[Zaerc]

...
How about sending the tones through all available audio channels? I know the audio still needs to be set up at that point, but I am sure some basic audio channels are already available.
...

And how about if you want to hear the beeps you just hook up an internal speaker to your mainboard?

[Zaerc]

I have yet to see a motherboard that doesn't have a connector for an internal speaker, so I'm very curious to know what make and model that is.

And I for one prefer my systems without the annoying beeping at boot.

[albal]

It could be useful to flash or scan the Keyboard lights at this point.

[totallymaxed]

I have yet to see a motherboard that doesn't have a connector for an internal speaker, so I'm very curious to know what make and model that is.

And I for one prefer my systems without the annoying beeping at boot.

They are out there believe me... especially those motherboards that use mobile chipsets... leaving the motherboard speaker connector off seems to be in vogue on those currently!

Andrew

[freymann]

I have yet to see a motherboard that doesn't have a connector for an internal speaker, so I'm very curious to know what make and model that is.

And I for one prefer my systems without the annoying beeping at boot.

They are out there believe me... especially those motherboards that use mobile chipsets... leaving the motherboard speaker connector off seems to be in vogue on those currently!

 I have a motherboard with no speaker connector...

 EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard

http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=122-CK-NF66-T1

 It's the motherboard I tried in my core a few months ago. It's now sitting on my desk in my office. When I grabbed the PVR-150-MCE and 500GB HD out of it to put in the new core, I had another look for the speaker connector. The only "manual" I received with the motherboard was a small folding cardboard thing. I looked over it too, as it had all the pin-outs on it. No mention of the speaker connectors.

 That's the first MB I have had experience with no speaker connector.

 Strangely enough, I did locate the serial port pins, but the board didn't come with a serial port connector.

 I'm trying to run the "old core" as a MD. In UI2 with blending it crashes. Tonight I have some free time so I rebooted and ran the video setup wizard and selectee UI2 without overlay (medium) and I'll play with that for a few hours to see what happens, just for my own amusement.

[pero]

I'm trying to install 0710 RC2 on a Dell D410 to try it out.

At first, it seems to work, but after a reboot, the "Photo Screen Saver" kicks in, and the UI hangs. I cannot access any menu items, and a reboot does not help.

Does anyone have any input on this issue?

[colinjones]

pero - for what its worth, I have tried installing (as core and MD) on Dell D410/20/30 with 0704, 0710b2/3/4/RC2 and have had the exact same issue of hanging every time. Especially when you actually try to play media. Sometimes it seems to work fine for a couple of mins other times it crashes before you get to play something. Never worked out what it was, but I know in the past the Intel945 video chip set has caused problems with linux and LMCE, seems to handle it much better now (RC2), but I assumed it was still something to do with that.... very annoying!

[eric404]

I'm joining a little late, I know. 

I've built 2 systems and had completely different experiences installing RC2 on each.  My test system just worked - little bit of tinkering with the TV card but that was minor.   My new system is just not happening at all - I've had loads of attempts to install and it's just not getting there.  I'd love to be able to give specifics about the error, but each time it stops in a different location, sometimes with an error (occasionally a kernel panic), sometimes just hanging - I give it at least 30 minutes each time just to be sure it's hung and not just thinking about it.

The frustrating thing for me is that whilst it installed beautifully on my test HTPC this hardware is just that bit too noisy and so is due for reassignment once the new, quieter system is up & running.  The spec's of each are below:

System Spec - New, Not Installing System:

Case	SilverStone	LC16M
Motherboard	GigaByte	GA-P31-DS3L
CPU	Intel	E6750, Core Duo, 2.66GHz (not o/c)
RAM	Corsair	2GB DDR2 1066MHz (o/c by Corsair) Twin2x2048-8500 2 x 1GB cards
Graphics	GigaByte	Nvidia 9600GT, 512 MB DDR3, Fanless
TV	Hauppauge	Nova-T-500
DVD	Pioneer	215 / BK, SATA, 1.5 Gbps
HDD	Seagate	500GB, ST3500320AS, SATA II, 3.0 Gbps

System Spec - Test, Working System:

Case	WinX	mid-tower, nothing special
Motherboard	ASUS	P5B
CPU	Intel	E2160, Core Duo, 1.80GHz (not o/c)
RAM	Kingston	2GB, 667MHz (not o/c)
Graphics	generic	Nvidia 7300GS, 128MB
TV	Leadtek	WinFast DTV1000 T
DVD	LG	?
HDD	Seagate	160GB, ST3160815AS, SATA II, 3.0 Gbps

Things I've tried - in various combinations:

• burned a second 7.10 RC2 DVD at 4x
• underclock CPU to 2GHz
• underclock RAM to 800MHz
• swap graphics card from test system into new system
• restrict HDD to SATA, 1.5 Gbps
• change SATA connections so HDD & DVD on same / different PATA IDE-equivalent channels
• disconnect all case-specific things, incl. iMON display, card readers, front audio, front audio buttons
• add an extra NIC, an old 10/100 Netgear
• install kubuntu 7.04 - failed, I generally try this & linuxmce 7.10 RC2 with each of the above
• install ubuntu 7.10 - failed
• install WinXP - worked

NB: When installing kubuntu 7.04, it starts & runs from the CD but hangs during install - generally, but not always, during file copy and rarely at the same % complete.  Could it be I need to solve this first ??

Any suggestions ?

Eric

[nite_man]

Not sure that you have the same case as me. When I installed LMCE a few times I had following problem. Installation hanged up on the network configuration stage. It was just black screen with blinking cursor in the top left corner of the screen. I solved that by installing plain Kubuntu 7.10 on the HDD. And then installation from DVD was successful.

Also, sometimes my K3b burns DVD not correctly. There are no any errors during burning but DVD is corrupted (there is a few empty areas). So, check it as well.

[royw]

Howdy,

It sounds like you've done most of the basics, but there are a few more things to try.  What I don't like is that kubuntu live doesn't boot.  Do you get to the grub menu?  If so, try running memtest for a few hours.  Maybe try another liveCD/DVD linux distro, preferable a current release (the MB looks about a generate back from bleeding edge so should have good support in current releases).  What we are wanting is some warm fuzzy the the basics are working (power, cpu, memory, video, dvd) under linux.

Maybe pull out the MB manual and go over the bios step by step.  Disable frills, be conservative.

Visually inspect all connections again (MB 4- & 24- pin power connectors in particular) for full seating. 

Remove TV card to give you a minimal system (case, power supply, MB, CPU, memory, HDD, DVD) and try the liveCD/DVD.

Shotgun steps are: upgrade BIOS, replace DVD drive.

I suggest keeping with the nvidia 7300 video card until you have good hardware.  I don't think Kubuntu 0710 supports the 9xxx series without a driver update.

HTH,
Roy

[eric404]

Hi Guys,

Feisty kubuntu live CD does boot up - I may not have made that quite clear.  It's when I run the actual install from the live desktop that kubuntu CD install fails.

If so, try running memtest for a few hours.

Running now using the memtest that comes with the LinuxMCE DVD.

Maybe try another liveCD/DVD linux distro, preferable a current release (the MB looks about a generate back from bleeding edge so should have good support in current releases).  What we are wanting is some warm fuzzy the the basics are working (power, cpu, memory, video, dvd) under linux.

I'm downloading kubuntu Gutsy and Hardy.  I figure that if (say) Gutsy doesn't work but Hardy does then we'll have a better pointer - and my download limit resets tomorrow 

You've given me a few other good pointers - thanks - with only limited evening hours it'll take me a couple of days to work through this lot, I'll post an update as soon as I have something conclusive or I'm at the end of this list.

Cheers,
Eric