TV Recording Experiences? (1 Viewer)

[alexeix]

Hi,

I'm just wondering if anybody has left their PC hibernated while they went away on holiday, with Media Portal set to record a number of TV programmes?

How did it go...any problems?

I'm due to go away soon and I was considering experimenting, but I sometimes have problems closing down/hibernating my PC, so I didn't want to come back to a burnt-out machine which didn't switch off!

I think the problems are related to my Netgear wifi USB key and possibly my AV software.

So what are your experiences with leaving Media Portal for a time?
Thanks.

 

[Lyxalig]

I haven't tried going away with hibernationg turned on, but I left it for two weeks on 24/7 that worked ok for me.

 

[alexeix]

I don't think I could do that. I have a Shuttle SN95G5 and it gets hot.

Aside from that, my Netgear WPN111 wifi adapter cuts out and sometimes runs the CPU up to 100% when the PC is left on but unused. I think that would damage the CPU if left for days.

Hardware problems! I suppose I need to do some testing for shorter periods at first.

 

[jawbroken]

If your computer cannot run continuously without overheating then I would look into that first. If you are worried about the wifi adapter, could you remove it while on holidays or do you need it in there while you are away?

 

[alexeix]

I could download the latest program guide, set Media Portal to record, then disconnect the wifi adapter and shut down the PC.

That'd work.

I'd still like to hibernate it though.

 

[jawbroken]

Yeah, hibernation would be good, but if you can't trust your hardware not to overheat or have problems hibernating and shutting down in general then I don't think you will be able to have much faith in MediaPortal to hibernate and wake up your computer when it wants to record.

I was pretty much saying, if you can't even hibernate reliably outside of MediaPortal then you will need to address that first, I think. What are the symptoms of your issues with hibernating? Have you tried new wifi drivers?

 

[alexeix]

I'm 99% sure that the problem is down to the wifi adapter, so I think unplugging it should do the trick.

To be extra sure, I could then stop all AV and spyware software too, because I won't need it if I'm not connected to the internet. That way, I think my system should work correctly.

I'll run some tests.

As for the actual hibernation problem, it doesn't affect the administrator account - yet. I was just thinking 'what if?'. Currently, when in a limited user account and I hibernate, the PC intermittantly black screens, but the PC remains on.

I updated the Netgear drivers recently, but I also installed F-Secure AV around the same time, so I don't know for sure which is causing the problem.

Prior to updating the Netgear drivers, I had a MUCH more frequent problem whereby the adapter would cause the CPU to run up to 100% and stay there. My original issue was definitely caused by the adapter. Netgear eventually replaced my WG111T with the WPN111, resulting in less frequent problems.

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

alexeix

Just ditched my Netgear WPN111 wifi adapter as totally unreliable after 1 months use, and have gone back to D-Link unit that's been working flawlessly for the last 18 months, would not have changed had not the D-Link router-modem had not packed up and a new wireless unit came "free" with the new router.

That does not sort out your recording problem, but mine has been recording and hibernating for last three days, through seven shows with no problem with last Sundays svn installed, using powerscheduler, with option restart devices ticked.

Regards

 

[generator]

One time I left my PC in standby, only to discover a week later when I came back that my PC has been awoken by powerscheduler, then put into standby 3 minutes later before waking up again. So my PC has been doing this for nearly 1 week...

 

[patrickza]

I do that

I go away often for a week or two. My system hibernates whenever it's not used, and hasn't missed a show while I've been away.

I have set the tvguide to update at times when there is a show recording so it is awake to do that.