New to MediaPortal - Windows Server 2008 R2 (1 Viewer)

[mm1352000]

Does the XL server actually have a DirectX compatible GPU?
Perhaps you could post the result of running the dxdiag utility?

 

[pballai]

Well I really appreciate your help and guess the best path forward is to install a fresh disk I have and relaod the O/S from scratch and then retry MP. If that fails, I'm out.

PB

 

[mm1352000]

Reloading the OS is very likely a waste of time. How about taking 2 minutes to post the dxdiag log as requested?

 

[pballai]

I did load a log earlier in the thread,. Was that not the correct one?

 

[mm1352000]

I did load a log earlier in the thread,. Was that not the correct one?

Nope.
The log you posted is the MediaPortal log. dxdiag is a completely separate Microsoft/Windows tool that gathers information about the DirectX (graphics/video, sound etc.) capabilities of the system. It comes with Windows (at least it does with non-server versions; hopefully the same with server versions), so all you should have to do is run it and attach the log.
start -> run/search -> type "dxdiag" -> right click, run as admin -> click "save all information" to save to file -> post/attach the saved file

 

[pballai]

Oh I see your point.
Ran that:
Got this error:

This computer cannot play audio because the Windows Audio service is not enabled. Enable this service using the Service Management Console.
No sound card was found. If one is expected, you should install a sound driver provided by the hardware manufacturer

Posted text output. Thinking an audio driver is not installed or is corrupted.

Thoughts?

 

[mm1352000]

Thanks

Unfortunately your current hardware seems to be incompatible with MP.

This computer cannot play audio because the Windows Audio service is not enabled. Enable this service using the Service Management Console.

No sound card was found. If one is expected, you should install a sound driver provided by the hardware manufacturer

Posted text output. Thinking an audio driver is not installed or is corrupted.

That's probably a deal breaker for MP2. It certainly is for MP1.

Thoughts?

You have a worse problem than the audio problem, which is the direct reason that you can't load MP: your GPU (video/graphics processor).
DxDiag reports the following:

[collapse] Card name: Standard VGA Graphics Adapter
Manufacturer: (Standard display types)
Chip type: ATI ES1000
DAC type: 8 bit
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_515E&SUBSYS_023C1028&REV_02
Display Memory: n/a
Dedicated Memory: n/a
Shared Memory: n/a
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (1Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model:
Monitor Id:
Native Mode:
Output Type:
Driver Name: vga
Driver File Version: 6.01.7600.16385 (English)
Driver Version: 6.1.7600.16385
DDI Version: unknown
Driver Model: unknown[/collapse]

DDI Version unknown means zero (or broken) DirectX support. DirectX is an absolutely non-negotiable for MP compatibility. You won't be able to run MP 1 or 2 on such a system unless you can resolve this.
I guess there is an outside chance that your hardware (ATI ES1000) is DirectX compatible and that you just need to update the driver. However, my gut says that even if that were the case, MP performance with such hardware could be quite terrible.

Sorry to say it, but if it were me I'd be giving up at this point unless there were prospects of upgrading the GPU...

 

[pballai]

Ouch that hurts. It is a 1U chassis but there is 1 slot open. Perhaps I can install another adapter. I am really only after whole house music, controlling a multizone amp over serial and then just weather. I am not thinking video at all for this application.

Thoughts?

 

[mm1352000]

Sorry, I don't think I'm the best guy to advise about music stuff. In other words, I don't even know if MP is capable of controlling amps/receivers via serial. Maybe with MP1 + IRSS... but with MP2 I really have absolutely no idea. I can only reiterate the comment from my previous post that running MP1 or MP2 requires a DX compatible GPU. That's regardless of whether you're intending to use MP for video or not. We're talking baseline/core requirements here. DX is a requirement to display/use the MP user interface...

 

[pballai]

Ok, I appreciate your insights. I have seen detail on how to use MP to send serial commands so I will give that a try after installing some extra video card I have lying around.