Placeshifter lost settings and now Broken, WHS

[Peter_h]

So yesterday, I come home to do some work on the Server. I am running SageTV on WHS. I load up the placeshifter from the task bar and all the settings were gone.

I had to reconfigure the placeshifter settings on the WHS server. After that I restarted and now I get nothing but a black screen.

I have an HDP-200 extender and it was fine, everthing works and no settings were lost. Luckily the extender has been trucking along without issue.

I haven't made any settings to Sagetv since 02/07/09 when I swapped out a cable box and had to change the unique ID for firewire channel changing. I have not had any issues until yesterday.

How do I get placeshifter working again? I did a search and it was mentioned to delete the contents of the sagetv\client folder. I did not want to break the extender so I deleted the contents and copied in the backup I have from 02/07/09 and the issue persists.

Please help.

[gplasky]

Turn off 3d in the placshifter settings. And make sure you're logged in as the same user when you originally setup Placeshifter. My guess is you're now logged in as another user.

Gerry

[Peter_h]

Thanks for the reply.

There is only 1 user account on the server. I am logged in as the administrator account.

How do I turn off 3d in settings? I can't get to the gui, it is just black.

[gplasky]

There should be a settings button in the bottom left before you actually connect to a Sage server.

Gerry

[Peter_h]

I don't think your talking about the same thing.

The WHS version of SageTV comes with a Placeshifter license. This is installed with the server. I have never had to connect to anything. It loads in the task bar. You either double click it or start it in windows and it will load the UI and you are good.

It does not give the same screen as say the extender where it says "searching for server" or "connecting to server".

So, it's broken on the server, if I try to load it, i get the initial SageTV logo and at the bottom "User interface is initializing.." After that it is just black.

[gplasky]

Placeshifter doesn't load in the taskbar, the SageTV in client mode will load if the service is running and you execute the sagetv.exe in the SageTV directory. Placeshifter is another client program that is installed seperately. It is started by executing SageTVPlaceshifter.exe. You may want to reconsult the manual and figure out exactly what you are running on your server. The Placeshifter license is installed with the WHS installation but not the Placshifter client. Because that client can be installed and run from anywhere. Here's the startup of Placeshifter:



Gerry

[Peter_h]

I definately do not see the screen you have attached. So what you are saying is,

SageTV for WHS comes with a Placeshifter license but not the placeshifter client.

SageTV for WHS does not come with a client license.

So what is loading?

What is sagetv in client mode?

I'm confused now. This entire time I thought that the WHS did not have a client and that I was using placeshifter on the server.

[S_M_E]

Evidently you're trying to use the server gui, on the server. To do that you have to install dx9, java, etc. That or you can install a placeshifter or client on another PC but the WHS version only comes with the placeshifter license so use that unless you already have another client license too...

[gplasky]

The question is what are you executing on the server to give you the Sage GUI? If you run Sage as a service (as it is done on WHS) then if you are running sagetv.exe from the SageTV directory the the SageTV GUI comes up just like a client. It will create a Sageclient.properties and acts just like a client. Do you have it set in the detailed setup in Advanced to Load at Windows Startup? You don't need that so disable that.

So technically if you DIDN'T run SageTV as a service (but you do) and you just ran sagetv.exe it would start and run as the server but with a GUI. (In service mode SageTV does not have a gui)It would use the Sage.properties files and take on all of your server settings.

You are running WHS so you don't HAVE to (for most instances) get on the server at all. Just install SageTV Placeshifter on a PC (download it from Sage) or fire up your HD200 and make your settings changes from there. The whole purpose of WHS is to run it as a headless server and just have it run in the background with SageTV and serve up your media to your clients. Unless I'm upgrading I'm almost never on the server. I just run the clients and make any changes (add another import directory, configure a new tuner card, reconfigure my HDHR after upgrading the drivers)all from any client I want.

Gerry

[Peter_h]

Originally Posted by S_M_E

Evidently you're trying to use the server gui, on the server. To do that you have to install dx9, java, etc. That or you can install a placeshifter or client on another PC but the WHS version only comes with the placeshifter license so use that unless you already have another client license too...

I think this is the case. However, it was already working. It was working for about 2 months and just stopped.

[Peter_h]

Originally Posted by gplasky

The question is what are you executing on the server to give you the Sage GUI? If you run Sage as a service (as it is done on WHS) then if you are running sagetv.exe from the SageTV directory the the SageTV GUI comes up just like a client. It will create a Sageclient.properties and acts just like a client. Do you have it set in the detailed setup in Advanced to Load at Windows Startup? You don't need that so disable that.

So technically if you DIDN'T run SageTV as a service (but you do) and you just ran sagetv.exe it would start and run as the server but with a GUI. (In service mode SageTV does not have a gui)It would use the Sage.properties files and take on all of your server settings.

You are running WHS so you don't HAVE to (for most instances) get on the server at all. Just install SageTV Placeshifter on a PC (download it from Sage) or fire up your HD200 and make your settings changes from there. The whole purpose of WHS is to run it as a headless server and just have it run in the background with SageTV and serve up your media to your clients. Unless I'm upgrading I'm almost never on the server. I just run the clients and make any changes (add another import directory, configure a new tuner card, reconfigure my HDHR after upgrading the drivers)all from any client I want.

Gerry

Yes, it looks like I'm using the sagetv gui. I am also running it as a service. It had been working since 12/15/08. So it was working for 2 months and just stopped a couple of days ago.

The reason I have been using it on the server is I have been working on the server. I've been making changes with the server. I've been cleaning up the file structure, installed an HD Homerun, setup firewire tuning, and am about to install another HDPVR.

The intent is to have it headless in the closet but with all the changes i have been making lately, it was a lot easier to work at the machine.

So my question is, how do i get the gui back? Everything else is still working, ie the extender, sage job queue, neilms web interface.

Do I need to drop the sage.properties file i have backed up from 02/07/09 into the sage folder? What will I lose since it is 10 days old? I have not made any changes in that timespan.

[gplasky]

Leave the sage.properties alone. That is for the server. (The service uses those settings.) Blow away (or rename) the Sageclient.properties file. When you start the gui again it should recreate it. It may walk you through the setup wizard again but most of the settings it will get from the server.

Gerry

[Peter_h]

Originally Posted by gplasky

Leave the sage.properties alone. That is for the server. (The service uses those settings.) Blow away (or rename) the Sageclient.properties file. When you start the gui again it should recreate it. It may walk you through the setup wizard again but most of the settings it will get from the server.

Gerry

Will this also blow away the settings for the extender?

Also, thanks so much for helping me out with this.

[gplasky]

No it won't. Those settings for extenders are in the clients directory.

Gerry

[Peter_h]

Can I use the backup i have from 02/07/09?

I made a full backup of the sage directory on the 7th. Can I just overwrite the sageclient.properties file and it will work like before or should I redo it from scratch as you are suggesting.

-Peter

[gplasky]

You can try it and see if it works. If not do as I suggest. And when you get it working disable it from starting with Windows startup as I mentioned above in another post. There is no reason when you are running the service to start up the gui. You can also set the setting for that property to false in the sageclient.properties file.

Gerry

[Peter_h]

Originally Posted by gplasky

You can try it and see if it works. If not do as I suggest. And when you get it working disable it from starting with Windows startup as I mentioned above in another post. There is no reason when you are running the service to start up the gui. You can also set the setting for that property to false in the sageclient.properties file.

Gerry

It worked! I copied the backup from 02-07 and now it is working again. Thanks for all your help.

Now I need to script an automatic nightly backup of the sage directory.

[The Truth]

uh, I use sage as a service and also use the gui.... what is wrong with that???

[S_M_E]

Originally Posted by The Truth

uh, I use sage as a service and also use the gui.... what is wrong with that???

Are you running WHS?