MP just hangs on startup - D3D problem? (1 Viewer)

[ranageman]

MediaPortal Version: 0.2.2.0
MediaPortal Skin: Blue Two
Windows Version: XP Pro SP2
CPU Type: VIA C7 1.2 GHz
HDD: Seagate 160Gb
Memory: 1Gb DDR2 533
Motherboard: VIA EN12000G
Motherboard Chipset: VIA CN700
Motherboard Bios: Award BIOS
Video Card: VIA S3G Unichrome Pro IGP
Video Card Driver: 6.14.10.262
Sound Card: VIA VT1618 6 channel AC'97 Codec
1. TV Card: Hauppauge Nova-USB2-T
1. TV Card Type: DVB-T
1. TV Card Driver: 1.0.12.23346
Remote: MCE
TV:
TV - HTPC Connection: S-video

I used to have MediaPortal working..honest! And my system is otherwise fully working, DirectX 9.0c, passes DXDIAG.EXE and runs WinDVD perfectly.

But MediaPortal now will not start, in spite of a full re-install. It draws the first window but without contents, and the error.log says:

20:22.937500 [ERROR][MPMain]: D3D: InitializeDeviceObjects - Exception: System.Runtime.Serialization.SerializationException: Binary stream '0' does not contain a valid BinaryHeader. Possible causes are invalid stream or object version change between serialization and deserialization.
at System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary.__BinaryParser.Run()
at System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary.ObjectReader.Deserialize(HeaderHandler handler, __BinaryParser serParser, Boolean fCheck, Boolean isCrossAppDomain, IMethodCallMessage methodCallMessage)
at System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary.BinaryFormatter.Deserialize(Stream serializationStream, HeaderHandler handler, Boolean fCheck, Boolean isCrossAppDomain, IMethodCallMessage methodCallMessage)
at MediaPortal.GUI.Library.GUIFont.InitializeDeviceObjects()
at MediaPortal.GUI.Library.GUIFontManager.InitializeDeviceObjects()
at MediaPortalApp.InitializeDeviceObjects()
at MediaPortal.D3DApp.InitializeEnvironment()

Guessing wildly, I have run the Direct 3D tests in dxdiags but without problems.

What is is complaining about? Any ideas gratefully received...

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

At a guess, Graphics are not upto it, literally MP is freezing with the VIA chip.

Any FX5200 will prove this to be the case, see if you can borrow one to try.

 

[ranageman]

Good guess and the CN700 has had a pretty bad press..

But :

a) it has been working earlier fine, watching TV full screen no problems
b) it has no problems running WinDVD which as far as I can see has roughly the same requirements of the hardware.

Why should MP want more than WinDVD?

Plus it is freezing even before drawing the skin.

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

MediaPortal is more like playing a 3D game.

AFAIK the S3G Unichrome Pro IGP is capable of 2D, with the new fade in, fade out menu's, it will up the requirements of the graphics.

Now when you say you had a working version of MP, could you be a bit more specific, ie 0.2.0.0

One of the tips I found to get the most out of this processor, was to assign its own IRQ.

Why should MP want more than WinDVD

Because WINDVD is not a DirectX apllication.

 

[ranageman]

Hi Ray,

I was testing with 0.2.2.0 - menus fading and all that jazz. It can also do the "spinning cube" in dxdiag's test buttons. So the hardware is up to the job.

But even if it wasn't, IMHO, it would be a shame if a good application like Media Portal loaded its menus with so many effects that a small, low power, silent box like the VIA could no longer execute it. Appliances for the living room should focus on delivering immediate responses to remote button clicks, this should not require a 2GHz CPU and a power-hungry 3D card.

I'll look into the IRQ suggestion, thanks!

 

[Havoc]

Ranageman,
Yesterday I faced something familiar, I think. I was just zapping along in MP, testing codecs I changed for MyTV (some Nero audio and video codecs) and, out of the blue, MP made my PC reboot (!), the second and third time it halted as soon as I was trying to start up MP.. the latter is pretty much the same as what you are describing. I changed the codecs back to MPA and MPV and voilá: MP worked again! Is the codecs? I don't think so. Perhaps something went corrupt in the settings when it crashed the first time? I don't know, but hé: It works!!

Hope this helps!!

 

[ranageman]

Hmm - now I have completely re-installed from scratch, all the way back to XP SP2. It is now working fine. I'm running with the default MPV/MPA codecs and the unit is doing audio/video/GUI fine. Sluggish response time occasionally on the GUI, but thats the same on my 2.8GHz machine I also have MP installed on as a reference.

Bad news is a "blue-screen" crash and reboot every 10 minutes or so. Apparently unconnected to any particular user action. Unfortunately the message is only up for a few seconds, not long enough to read it!

Still some fun to be had I can see....still this time I have remembered to take a full system backup between every step