LM Remote KeyMap Blaster Svc Will Not Start

[RussEdwards]

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LM Remote KeyMap Blaster Service Will Not Start


Hello All –

Using:

SageTV
LM Remote KeyMap
MCE Remote / IR Receiver / Blaster
AVerMedia M780 Tuner
Motorola DCH70 STB

After years of flawless (and awesome) behavior, my MCE Blaster stopped blasting.

Everything else works; that is, when I use the remote:

1. I can see the receiver’s red light blink (not the blaster, but the receive indicator)

2. The remote’s volume control works

3. In SageTV live TV, the remote changes the channels on screen. That is, the indicator shows acceptance of the new channel and a few seconds later the displayed program info changes to reflect the channel change (except the channel does not actually change, since the blaster did not blast the set top box, but SageTV doesn't know that)

4. In SageTV > Detailed Setup > Commands >Show SageTV Commands linked to Infrared/Keystroke, remote button presses are properly displayed

So I can conclude the LM Remote KeyMap / SageTV are still properly configured, since obviously the remote commands are reaching SageTV.

But it dead-ends there and the Blaster itself never gets the command.

I thought it might be a USB problem, since the last time this happened the cure was to move the MCE Receiver to another USB port, but that didn’t help this time.

Thinking it might be USB related I reinstalled Vista using an in-place, non-destructive reinstall (which, by the way, is not entirely non-destructive, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.) Subsequently a System File Check and a CheckDisk verified all system files are in order. Two anti-malware scans came up clean.

I even reinstalled LM KeyMap, keeping the prior settings, which had been working perfectly.

Everything still works as it should, except the blaster.

I think I have found two clues, and this is where y’all come in, because I do not know what to do with them.

1. In LM KeyMap > Learn IR Codes, it reports the MCE IR Blaster is Not Available. Trying to choose it under “Choose another IR blaster” also reports Not Available.

2. In Services, the LM Remote KeyMap Blaster Service is set to Automatic, but stopped. When I click Start, it tries to start for a second or so, then reports “The LM Remote KeyMap Blaster service on Local Computer started and then stopped. Some services stop automatically if they are not used by other services or programs.”

Note, that in the tray the LM Remote KeyMap icon is showing the “Ready” state.

Help! I don’t wanna have to get up at 3:30 am Sunday morning to manually change the STB channel (using its own remote) to record an F1 race!

By the way, I am certain the Microsoft MCE IR Receiver and Blaster are physically OK and working, and even a test with a second working SMK MCE IR Receiver and Blaster also does everything but the blasting part.

I have spent 2 days on this thus far, and am out of ideas.

Remember, it was working as it should for quite some time and no changes to the system were made. It simply stopped working. Evidently something blipped, and messed up something, but what?

How do I get the blaster part blasting again?

I sincerely appreciate any guidance on this.

Thanks!

Russ . . .

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[RussEdwards]

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Hello All –

I’ve fixed this myself, based upon prior correspondence with StephaneM as well as digging around the forums here and on the LMGestion.net website.

Aside: Is StephaneM OK? When an active and helpful Forum Member just drops out of sight, it is cause for concern. If anyone knows how StephaneM is doing, or can clarify why the sudden disappearance, please advise! Yes, there are many LM Remote KeyMap users left without support, but the well-being of StephaneM is way more important. Let’s make sure all is well, OK?

As to my problem of the MCE Blaster not blasting, but everything else working OK, I’ve traced it to a bad XML file, specifically settings_svc.xml .

This file is located in

Program Data > LM Gestion > LM Remote KeyMap

How I fixed it is as follows, and this may be a bit off as I am doing this from memory.

To first determine which xml file has become corrupt, open each of the few xml files in that folder with notepad. If you encounter an empty one, or one that is obviously corrupt, delete it. There may be a useful replacement in one of the three back up folders under the LM Remote KeyMap folder, but if not a new one will be created after you shut down everything and reboot.

Reboot and check if the new xml file has been created.

LM Remote KeyMap also had to relearn the 0-9 and enter buttons from the original Motorola/Comcast remote, but that is easy and instructions for that are available on the LMGestion website.

Again, I may be off on the specifics here, but replacing that xml file and re-learning the remote codes seemed to do the trick.

I probably deleted and reinstalled LM Remote KeyMap in SageTV, and you might wanna do that as well.

But those are the only items involved that need tending to, assuming your hardware is working OK.

If this doesn’t help you, let me know and I’ll try to remember if I did anything else to re-enable the blaster.

Again, the gist of it was an xml file in the LM Gestion Remote KeyMap folder that had become corrupt. Fix that file and all should be well.

Later…

Russ . . .

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[bdonald]

Hey Russ
Just wanted to say thanks for following up on your problem. This thread goes back over a year, but the info definitely came in handy! I had to do a mobo swap and suprisingly everything went smooth EXCEPT LM Remote. Your trick of deleting the xml file worked like a champ. Just deleted it, rebooted, and viola! I'm changing channels again

Bob