MVP Stuck During Startup

[gsee]

I just bought a new wired MVP (version 2.05) and am running Sage 5.0.4.92. I connected the MVP via wired ethernet to the same network as the Sage PC which is running Win XP and has a static IP address. Their is a DHCP server on the network (a class C network). The MVP finds the Sage Server and begins it's download (loading application screen)for about 5 seconds but then hangs, drops the ethernet link, and displays the flashing Sage Logo with "plase wait ...". Placeshifter works great on my laptop with this Sage Server. Per other posts, I have deleted the Sage Clients directory, insured it's only wired ethernet, checked licenses, unplugged the MVP for hours, restarted Sage, etc but the symptoms never change.

I have seen lots of old posts regarding this but no clear solution. What should I do next and how do I fix it? Thanks.

[Conejo]

Having the SageTV logo appear on the MVP tell us it's successfully loading the application from the server. But then it's unable to communicate with the main GUI app.

Have you tried disabling your XP firewall?

[gsee]

Thanks for the additional insight into it's progress.

Yes -- the firewall is OFF.

Do you think I should check or change any of the settings in the Sage.properties or SageClient.properties files?

[Conejo]

When the Hauppauge MVP is first powered up it has no software except for an ethernet boot loader. It requests the software from the server on the local LAN and caches it in memory. (This is why it sometimes requires the MVP be unplugged for an hour or so to completely clear the memory for a new program load.)

The SageTV GUI software for the MVP is written in JAVA. You might want to download and install the latest version on the server, do a server reboot, and try the MVP again.

[gsee]

Here is some additional info on my problem --- I've done a packet sniff. There are about 11400 UDP packets of 558 bytes each transfered from the Sage Server to the MVP before the MVP just drops link all of a sudden and that's the end. The Sage Server then keeps sending the same response packet back to the MVP about 10 times before giving up.

A few seconds later, the MVP stops displaying the "loading application" page and starts flashing (about half second every 5 seconds) the Sage Logo and the "please wait .. " message.



Any ideas, comments, suggestions, crazy thoughts, etc are welcome.

[Conejo]

There are so many things that can cause the communication issue you're seeing. Try these.

1) Update to the latest version of Sun JAVA, reboot server, unplug MVP 1 Hour and retry.

2) Test the MVP with the Hauppauge Software (SageTV off). (Disable or uninstall Hauppauge after testing)

3) SageTV install might be damaged. Stop SageTV all services, rename the SageTV directory and reinstall a new version and test. (the renamed version can be moved back or key portions moved into the new directory).

4) Try installing SageTV on a different computer (desktop or laptop) and testing with the MVP

5) Check all your Ethernet cables, how many 'hops' through equipment.

Like I said, it could be anything. I'd try it with short Ethernet cables, close to the SageTV server, Antivirus, firewalls, 3rd party apps all turned OFF, and all the above.

[gsee]

Conejo -- Given that Placeshifter works great on my laptop does that rule out any of the above ideas.

Also the MVP works great with the Hauppauge software using both a crossover cable (simple first test) and my laptop using DHCP on my network. After turning off the Hauppauge Server software and leaving the MVP unplugged for about 30 minutes, the same MVP to Sage problem returns.

[Conejo]

Placeshifter and MVP are really two different animals. They both use some of the same TCP ports for communication and control. My understanding of placeshifter is that it's a mini remote player that receives 'always transcoded' streams from the server and doesn't download ANY application components.

The MVP has to download the full Java application before it can operate. That's why I recommended updating your Java or installing a new SageTV for testing.

Have you put in a request with SageTV support?

[polen]

I recall having the flashing SageTV logo with version 5 when my SageTV server was multi-homed Ethernet cards or multiple IP addresses. I run Windows Routing and Remote Service on my server and it sets up another IP on the server. Version 6 fixes all that.

-Polen