RC3: MP window empty on Windows 2003 Server (RC2 is fine)

midiboy · 2006-04-09, 09:31

rea: Media Portal Program
MediaPortal Version: 0.2 RC3
MediaPortal Skin: BlueTwo
Windows Version: Windows Server 2003
.NET CLR Version: 2.0.50727
DirectX Version: 4.09.00.0904 (9.0c)
Audio Codec: DScaler Audio Decoder
Video Codec: DScaler Mpeg2 Video Decoder
CPU Type: P4 3 Ghz
Memory: 2GB
Motherboard: P4GPL-X Asus
TV Card Model: PVR500
TV Card Type: Hardware
TV Card Driver: 2.0.43.24054
Video Card Model: Nvidia Geforce 7300
Video Card Driver: 84.21
Video Card Resolution: 1280x1024
Video Render Type: VMR9
Audio Card Model: Realtek AC880 onboard
Audio Card Driver: latest
Synopsis: Please see thread posted below !

I originally posted this in the General Support section. See this thread:

http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/vi...908&highlight=

But since this is a bug and I am not sure if it will be "caught" in that section I added this topic here.

Hope this can be fixed in 0.2 final !
Thanks,
Alex

zombiepig · 2006-04-10, 00:54

i just installed rc3 on server 2003 and got the same result you did. solution i found was to enable directx video acceleration - if you run dxdiag, on the display tab there's a button to enable directdraw acceleration. i think by default on server 2003 it's disabled.

midiboy · 2006-04-10, 08:33

Hi !

Please take a look at the link I posted above. As you can see I already enabled directx video acceleration ! :-) It did not help at all. Only copying those three files over from the RC installation helped.

Bye,
Alex

zombiepig · 2006-04-10, 08:52

haha.. sorry... for some reason i totally missed that link when i first read your post! those missing files (the packedgfx ones) should be rebuilt automatically. if you try deleting all files with a packedgfx type name and relaunching mp does it load then?

also... have you tried using mofux's skin? cos i noticed a similar thing in that if you enable the plugins he's provided it breaks every skin but nonafo. just an idea!

midiboy · 2006-04-12, 09:43

Hi again,

sorry for the late answer!

No I never tried any other skin but Bluetwo except for just now. The thing is: those 3 files packedgfx20.png, packedgfx21.png and packedgfx2.xml are NOT recreated. I tried a few times now.

If I delete those files, they are not recreated on startup and the skin is empty (see picture in the thread posted above).

If I copy those files into the skin dir again, MP starts up normal. Thats it, I can recreate this every time and completely reinstalling MP did not help either. I also tried a few CVS snapshots since RC3 and the problem is still there.

I just now tried a few other skins that came with the MP setup program and they all have this problem.

Mhh, strange that I am the only one with this problem ? Mhh ... ?

Thanks for your help,
Alex

midiboy · 2006-04-12, 10:00

Mhh ...

:cry:

I just tried the latest CVS from today (04.12) and here this trick does not work anymore (copying those files over from the RC2 release).

Any ideas ?

Thanks,
Alex

midiboy · 2006-04-12, 12:31

Hi again,

ok, I tried each and every CVS release from today back to RC3. The last CVS release that works with my "workaround" (copying those 3 files to the skin dir) is the mediaportal-svn-04-05-2006--12-21.rar release. The next one from 04-06 does not work anymore (shows empty screen like RC3 without copying the files over)

But I am wondering why RC3 does not create those files in the first place contrary to RC2 ? Must be a bug, no ?

Thanks,
Alex

midiboy · 2006-04-19, 21:20

Ok !

Since RC4 also had this problem I started from scratch and found the real solution or problem:

I had always installed Mediaportal silently through a script that also copies some TV station logos in gif or png format to the thumbs\TV directory:

Code:

xcopy /S /E /H /Y .\logos\*.* "%PROGRAMFILES%\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\thumbs\tv\logos\"

Somehow THIS is the reason why the MP screen was empty. When I installed MP without copying those files, everything was fine.

Is this logical in any way ? I mean I am happy I found the solution but it does not sound logical to me :lol:

Any explanation would be appreciated !
Thanks,
Alex

wortelsoft · 2006-04-19, 22:45

I would have a look at the ntfs file permissions of the copied files as a start point.

Second thing you can try is to copy them one by one to see if there is a particulair logo caussing the error.

midiboy · 2006-04-19, 23:46

Hi wortelsoft,

thanks for your answer.

Well, I checked for the file permissions: they seem normal:

Administrators and System has full control, users can read and execute.

But this still does not make sense because MP Versions up to RC2 had no problems with the same files. Starting with RC3 those problems started while the file permissions never changed.

Also what do those logos have to do with the MP skin ? They only appear in the EPG where they work fine ...

Bye,
Alex

2006-04-09, 09:31	#1 (permalink)
midiboy Portal Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 50 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	RC3: MP window empty on Windows 2003 Server (RC2 is fine) rea: Media Portal Program MediaPortal Version: 0.2 RC3 MediaPortal Skin: BlueTwo Windows Version: Windows Server 2003 .NET CLR Version: 2.0.50727 DirectX Version: 4.09.00.0904 (9.0c) Audio Codec: DScaler Audio Decoder Video Codec: DScaler Mpeg2 Video Decoder CPU Type: P4 3 Ghz Memory: 2GB Motherboard: P4GPL-X Asus TV Card Model: PVR500 TV Card Type: Hardware TV Card Driver: 2.0.43.24054 Video Card Model: Nvidia Geforce 7300 Video Card Driver: 84.21 Video Card Resolution: 1280x1024 Video Render Type: VMR9 Audio Card Model: Realtek AC880 onboard Audio Card Driver: latest Synopsis: Please see thread posted below ! I originally posted this in the General Support section. See this thread: http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/vi...908&highlight= But since this is a bug and I am not sure if it will be "caught" in that section I added this topic here. Hope this can be fixed in 0.2 final ! Thanks, Alex

2006-04-19, 21:20	#8 (permalink)
midiboy Portal Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 50 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Ok ! Since RC4 also had this problem I started from scratch and found the real solution or problem: I had always installed Mediaportal silently through a script that also copies some TV station logos in gif or png format to the thumbs\TV directory: Code: xcopy /S /E /H /Y .\logos\. "%PROGRAMFILES%\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\thumbs\tv\logos\" Somehow THIS is the reason why the MP screen was empty. When I installed MP without copying those files, everything was fine. Is this logical in any way ? I mean I am happy I found the solution but it does not sound logical to me :lol: Any explanation would be appreciated ! Thanks, Alex

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Testing with Windows 2003 Server?	chrispi	General Talk	1	2007-01-15 06:59
Help with TVServer and client	rick78	Get Support	8	2006-12-12 19:48
RC3: MP window empty on Windows 2003 Server (RC2 is fine)	midiboy	General Support	4	2006-03-21 22:29
Mediaportal crashing when power scheduler is activated	Adrian2M	General Support	0	2005-12-30 17:07
xml Action definitions	KnightAzul	Skins	1	2004-12-24 13:37

2006-04-10, 00:54	#2 (permalink)
zombiepig Portal Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Melb, Aus Age: 27 Posts: 408 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	i just installed rc3 on server 2003 and got the same result you did. solution i found was to enable directx video acceleration - if you run dxdiag, on the display tab there's a button to enable directdraw acceleration. i think by default on server 2003 it's disabled.

2006-04-10, 08:33	#3 (permalink)
midiboy Portal Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 50 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hi ! Please take a look at the link I posted above. As you can see I already enabled directx video acceleration ! :-) It did not help at all. Only copying those three files over from the RC installation helped. Bye, Alex

2006-04-10, 08:52	#4 (permalink)
zombiepig Portal Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Melb, Aus Age: 27 Posts: 408 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	haha.. sorry... for some reason i totally missed that link when i first read your post! those missing files (the packedgfx ones) should be rebuilt automatically. if you try deleting all files with a packedgfx type name and relaunching mp does it load then? also... have you tried using mofux's skin? cos i noticed a similar thing in that if you enable the plugins he's provided it breaks every skin but nonafo. just an idea!

2006-04-12, 09:43	#5 (permalink)
midiboy Portal Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 50 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hi again, sorry for the late answer! No I never tried any other skin but Bluetwo except for just now. The thing is: those 3 files packedgfx20.png, packedgfx21.png and packedgfx2.xml are NOT recreated. I tried a few times now. If I delete those files, they are not recreated on startup and the skin is empty (see picture in the thread posted above). If I copy those files into the skin dir again, MP starts up normal. Thats it, I can recreate this every time and completely reinstalling MP did not help either. I also tried a few CVS snapshots since RC3 and the problem is still there. I just now tried a few other skins that came with the MP setup program and they all have this problem. Mhh, strange that I am the only one with this problem ? Mhh ... ? Thanks for your help, Alex

2006-04-12, 10:00	#6 (permalink)
midiboy Portal Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 50 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Mhh ... :cry: I just tried the latest CVS from today (04.12) and here this trick does not work anymore (copying those files over from the RC2 release). Any ideas ? Thanks, Alex

2006-04-12, 12:31	#7 (permalink)
midiboy Portal Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 50 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hi again, ok, I tried each and every CVS release from today back to RC3. The last CVS release that works with my "workaround" (copying those 3 files to the skin dir) is the mediaportal-svn-04-05-2006--12-21.rar release. The next one from 04-06 does not work anymore (shows empty screen like RC3 without copying the files over) But I am wondering why RC3 does not create those files in the first place contrary to RC2 ? Must be a bug, no ? Thanks, Alex

2006-04-19, 22:45	#9 (permalink)
wortelsoft Portal Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands Age: 32 Posts: 374 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I would have a look at the ntfs file permissions of the copied files as a start point. Second thing you can try is to copy them one by one to see if there is a particulair logo caussing the error.

2006-04-19, 23:46	#10 (permalink)
midiboy Portal Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 50 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hi wortelsoft, thanks for your answer. Well, I checked for the file permissions: they seem normal: Administrators and System has full control, users can read and execute. But this still does not make sense because MP Versions up to RC2 had no problems with the same files. Starting with RC3 those problems started while the file permissions never changed. Also what do those logos have to do with the MP skin ? They only appear in the EPG where they work fine ... Bye, Alex