1.27.0 Supported SQL Server version(s) / TV Service dependency on SQL Server / Wait for TV Server startup (1 Viewer)

[rsbrux]

1. When installing MP1, the TV DB configuration dialog specifies SQL Server 2005 (see attached file "Setup database connection - v1.27.png"). Since MP1 TV Server has been successfully tested with versions up to and including SQL Server 2017 Express, the text "2005" should be removed from this dialog (see attached file "Setup database connection - proposed.png").
2. The dependency created for the TV Service on installation appears to be incorrect. Instead of:
   

   sc config TVService depend= SQLBrowser/Netman

   it should be :
   

   sc config TVService depend= MSSQL$SQLEXPRESS/Netman

   for SQL Server Express. I'm not sure of the syntax for SQL Server; perhaps the use of "SQL Browser" was an attempt to be independent of whether the Express version was used. Unfortunately, this doesn't work because SQLBrowser has no dependencies, i.e., it does not wait for the DB server to be ready. Post-installation changes using "sc" do nort survive reboot. As a workaround I have changed the TVservice startup from "Automatic" to "Automatic (Delayed Start)" (see this thread), but this doesn't appear to be adequate (see 3 below). I am now trying to edit the value "DependOnService" in the registry key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\TVService" directly (see attached .reg file, renamed to "TVService.txt") and will report back.
3. Despite the setting "Wait until TV Server has started" (autodetected and greyed out in my installation) under "General" - "Startup/Resume Settings" in MP Configuration, it appears that MP will still start before TV Server is available (see attached MediaPortal.log around 5 AM this morning).

 

[rsbrux]

It looks as though TV Server itself is responsible for resetting the service dependencies. Procmon found no attempts to set the key value during boot, but the value had already been reset to the installation values when it was read to start the service. Procmon shows that SetupTV resets the service dependencies each time it is started. The dependency values do not change when I start or stop the TVService from services.msc. Reviewing the screenshots I posted above, I see that I could have changed the database dependency during installation. It would be nice if there were a way to change it without requiring a fresh install.

 

[rsbrux]

Meanwhile I have found that I can change the dependency from "SQLBrowser" to " MSSQL$SQLEXPRESS" by running:

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal TV Server\SetupTV" /configure-db

as described in this wiki article.
This change survives reboot and start and stop of the TV Service, as long as the TV Service is not started by SetupTV.
However, it does not appear adequate to solve the problems reported:

1. MediaPortal still starts before the TV Service is ready.
2. SetupTV still resets the dependency to SQLBrowser when run normally (even when exiting with "Cancel", not "OK")

Logs attached.

 

[rsbrux]

Meanwhile I have performed a "Fresh install" of MP 1.27, in which I changed the DB service dependency from "SQLBrowser" to "MSSQL$SQLEXPRESS" (see screenshot). The TV service was then installed with the correct dependency. However, when I ran the TV configuration (TVsetup.exe), the TV service dependency was again set to "SQLBrowser". It looks to me like a bug in TVsetup.exe.

 

[rsbrux]

FWIW, please see SQL Server 2017 Express for a workaround.
Adding the scheduled task on startup seems to resolve the problem, at least in my installation.

 

[rsbrux]

This problem still exists with MP 1.29.