Upgrading to v6.6.2 and SageTV as a service

[gilded07]

Well - the upgrade that was supposed to take 10 or 15 minutes is approaching 5 hrs now.

My own ineptitude to blame.

My dedicated SageTV server has never had a password. It has worked fine for two years with SageTV v6.3.5. I have media files mapped to sage from across my network using UNC file paths.

Sage is working but won't start as a service. What am I doing wrong?

I could go into user accounts and for the first time, set up a pass word and then go to computer admin, services, and tell SageTV to login using my name and <new> password but I'd perfer to do it the way its been set up for two years, I just forgot to look at how the service was starting before I upgraded and it appears the upgrade reset something.

Can anyone tell me how to get sage service to start up w/out using a password log in? I have a username login.

Does "Allow service to interact with desktop" have anything to do with it?

Thanks.

[mayamaniac]

I think it needs a password to start. Just create a new account and give it a password and use it for SageTV. You can keep your user account without a password.

[Savage1701]

I'm not saying this will work with sage, but it will work with Remote Desktop. Google something like "Use Remote Desktop Without A Password". It can be done, and I have done it. You are leaving your system blowing in the wind security wise, but it can be done for Remote Desktop.

I am in your camp - I don't use a password for login to my Sage server and I don't care to. Call me a jerk, but that's just how I want things.

Proves nothing for Sage, but it might work. Worst case, it's very easy to undo the changes you will make. You don't have to go into the registry or anything like that.

[gilded07]

Originally Posted by mayamaniac

I think it needs a password to start. Just create a new account and give it a password and use it for SageTV. You can keep your user account without a password.

thanks for the suggestion. I'm still doing some testing on it and I may end up having to add an acct like this. What I'm really hung up on though is I'm certain it worked before w/out a password. In fact, when I log off and log back in, there is no password prompt - I just click on the acct name and I go right to the desktop. when I click on control panel, user accts, and I click on my user acct (which obviously is administrator), one of the options is 'create a password'. I'm no XP expert but doesn't this mean that the account currently does not have a password?

I'm like Savage1701 - I don't want a password with it if I can help it. I want to get it back to the way it was where the sagetv service started up automatically w/ no password on the administator acct.

[gplasky]

You don't need an userID and password to log onto your SageTV. But you do need an user ID with a password and that user ID also needs to be in the Administrator's group to run the SageTV service. There are 2 ways to run the service. As a local service account or as a user account. If the SageTV service needs access to shares that exist on another machine then you need to use a user ID and password that also exists on that other machine. Example: user ID: Sage. password: frey This user exists on Machine A and is used for the service. SameID and password exists on Machine B where you have shared a directory for ripped DVDs. If all the media exists on the local machine then you can use the local system account. Some plugins also need you to check the interact with desktop checkbox as a local system account. (which you can't do running the service as a user ID.)

Gerry

[Opus4]

You don't have to use a username & password to use SageTV in service mode, but you do if you want it to be able to access network (UNC) paths -- see "Accessing Network Drives with the SageTV Service" on p. 16 of the PDF manual.

- Andy

[gilded07]

Originally Posted by gplasky

You don't need an userID and password to log onto your SageTV. But you do need an user ID with a password and that user ID also needs to be in the Administrator's group to run the SageTV service. There are 2 ways to run the service. As a local service account or as a user account. If the SageTV service needs access to shares that exist on another machine then you need to use a user ID and password that also exists on that other machine. Example: user ID: Sage. password: frey This user exists on Machine A and is used for the service. SameID and password exists on Machine B where you have shared a directory for ripped DVDs. If all the media exists on the local machine then you can use the local system account. Some plugins also need you to check the interact with desktop checkbox as a local system account. (which you can't do running the service as a user ID.)

Gerry

Gplasky - Its been two years since I set up SageTV so I don't remember the exact steps I took to configure it to run as a service. I do have .jpg's and .avi's on another computer in my home that is mapped to the SageTV server via UNC paths so I must have setup Sage to use a username and password.

What I can't figure out is when I go into control panel, user accounts, the only account available, which is mine as the administrator, doesn't and has never had a password. Is it possible to setup an account password in the computer admin / services part of XP w/out setting one up through control panel, user accounts?

If there is then that explains it: when I initially configured SageTV to run as a service (so Bill Gates' monthly 'phone home' reboots don't cause SageTV to miss scheduled recordings), I added the password in the services section for SageTV to log in with and left the user accounts section with no password. If I truly did have the password entered correctly so the Sage service could start up automatically and connect to another machine to get to media files across the network AND I've never entered a user account password to log in, then I must be able to enter the password info at the services section of XP w/out having to set it up in user accounts...

Sorry to get so bogged down on this but its really tripping me up. Thanks for all the replies!

[gilded07]

Originally Posted by Opus4

You don't have to use a username & password to use SageTV in service mode, but you do if you want it to be able to access network (UNC) paths -- see "Accessing Network Drives with the SageTV Service" on p. 16 of the PDF manual.

- Andy

Hi Andy - this time I actually did read the manual first!

I saw where Sage needs to connect to a non-local services account if I want it to access my photos, songs, and vids. I just never used a password with my user acct on this dedicated server. Whenever I used RealVNC to reboot it from another machine, it went straight into desktop with no prompting for a password.

[nyplayer]

gilded07

You can still auto logon with a password see below.

1. Go to the "Start" button and choose "Run"
2. Hence, copy and paste the command CONTROL USERPASSWORDS2. When done, click "OK"
3. From the given list, select the user that you want to allow automatic login on
4. Disable the option "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" and click "OK"
5. When done, enter the password for the user account to allow this option

[Savage1701]

nyplayer - that's it - that's what I was talking about when using Remote Desktop without a password.

But again, no clue if this works with Sage when in Service mode.

[nyplayer]

It works you just have to enter the password that one time... it will automatically log on with password.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

gilded07

You can still auto logon with a password see below.

1. Go to the "Start" button and choose "Run"
2. Hence, copy and paste the command CONTROL USERPASSWORDS2. When done, click "OK"
3. From the given list, select the user that you want to allow automatic login on
4. Disable the option "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" and click "OK"
5. When done, enter the password for the user account to allow this option

I was going to post the same thing. IMO you should always configure a user name and password for your computer. My desire from that probably came from using public networks in college, and thus not wanting everyone to have free reign over my stuff.

I understand the desire to not have to log in every time, but IMO the above is the "right" way to do that, it retains the benefits of having stuff password protected, but doesn't get in the way of daily use.

[gilded07]

Originally Posted by gplasky

You don't need an userID and password to log onto your SageTV. But you do need an user ID with a password and that user ID also needs to be in the Administrator's group to run the SageTV service. There are 2 ways to run the service. As a local service account or as a user account. If the SageTV service needs access to shares that exist on another machine then you need to use a user ID and password that also exists on that other machine. Example: user ID: Sage. password: frey This user exists on Machine A and is used for the service. SameID and password exists on Machine B where you have shared a directory for ripped DVDs. If all the media exists on the local machine then you can use the local system account. Some plugins also need you to check the interact with desktop checkbox as a local system account. (which you can't do running the service as a user ID.)

Gerry

Gerry - I just re-read your post and something stood out that I missed the first time...

I've been under the impression that I need to have the sage service log in on the sage server with the SAME USER ID AND PW AS THE SERVER ADMIN ACCOUNT USES AND I DON'T HAVE A PW FOR THE ADMIN ACCT - NEVER SET ONE UP WHEN I INSTALLED XP HOME. What I think you're saying is when the sage service logs into the sage server I need the sage service to use the log in ID and PW that are on the OTHER COMPUTER ACROSS THE HOUSE WHERE THE SHARED VIDEOS AND JPG's ARE AT!!!

If this is the case, then I don't have to worry about setting up a PW on the sage server, right?

Again, thanks for the assistance.

[GKusnick]

The account that the Sage service logs in as must actually exist on the machine where the service is running. But it doesn't have to be the same account you use to log in to Windows. What Gerry is saying is that that Sage service account must have the appropriate permissions to access the network shares it needs, which usually means setting up an identical account on the file server where those shares reside.

[gilded07]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

The account that the Sage service logs in as must actually exist on the machine where the service is running. But it doesn't have to be the same account you use to log in to Windows. What Gerry is saying is that that Sage service account must have the appropriate permissions to access the network shares it needs, which usually means setting up an identical account on the file server where those shares reside.

Yes, I tried using the login ID and PW from the fileserver containing the media files for the sage service login and it didn't work...didn't recognize the acct.

I took mayamaniac's advice and setup a second administrator acct with login ID and PW and used that for the sagetv service login and...it worked. I didn't doubt this would work...I was just trying to recreate the setup I had before the upgrade. I swear I had one administrator login on the sage server and it didn't have a PW. For two years SageTV has accessed media files on a file server on a separate PC on my network just fine. I just don't remember how I had it configured to do it. That's why I asked in a previous post if it was possible to not have a PW set up via the control panel, user accts routine but have it set up in the services part of XP.

In summary, I have SageTV accessing the media files across the network just like it used to but now I have a separate administrator account and sagetv logs in using the ID and PW for that account. Its not what I wanted, but it works.

I appreciate all the replies. This has really been helpful.