Another re-install problem: what if wiz.bin file wasn't saved?

[t4uecker]

hi there -

so i just did a reinstall but overlooked the (apparently important) step of backing up the wiz.bin file. as a result, my "recorded tv" menu shows no tv programs, even though the directory it's using has a bunch of tv programs in it. (and strangely, the "media" menu shows all of those tv programs in it, even though i haven't set that directory as one of the imported ones).

so i was wondering if there was a way to have sage re-create the index/list of tv shows that are in the directory specified for recording shows?

also, for future reference, what is the best way to backup the system and later to reinstall if needed? i thought i'd read somewhere that i should copy the entire sagetv/sagetv directory to some other place as a backup; and then copy that back to the sagetv/sagetv directory to "restore" that older version. (that's what i did this time but that apparently restores the old wiz.bin file as well). and i read here a different approach here, which seems to be for a fresh reinstall (not a "restore"): http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...4903#post44903

thanks.

[ke6guj]

Originally Posted by t4uecker

hi there -

so i just did a reinstall but overlooked the (apparently important) step of backing up the wiz.bin file. as a result, my "recorded tv" menu shows no tv programs, even though the directory it's using has a bunch of tv programs in it. (and strangely, the "media" menu shows all of those tv programs in it, even though i haven't set that directory as one of the imported ones).

if you didn't back up your wiz.bin, then your new Sage install has no idea what those video files that are in your recording folder. Instead of deleting them or something, it displays them in your imported video folder.

so i was wondering if there was a way to have sage re-create the index/list of tv shows that are in the directory specified for recording shows?

Not really. If you only have a couple recordings, you could use the webserver to manually import it back into the wiz.bin. It won't be perfect, and the watched status won't be correct (even though you mark that re-imported show as watched, it'll probably re-record since the EPG data won't be exactly the same), but it is better than nothing.

also, for future reference, what is the best way to backup the system and later to reinstall if needed? i thought i'd read somewhere that i should copy the entire sagetv/sagetv directory to some other place as a backup; and then copy that back to the sagetv/sagetv directory to "restore" that older version. (that's what i did this time but that apparently restores the old wiz.bin file as well). and i read here a different approach here, which seems to be for a fresh reinstall (not a "restore"): http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...4903#post44903

thanks.

many of us back up our wiz.bin and *.properties files. I keep a rolling 10-day backup of those files kept on multiple computers. I also use nielm's XML generator which makes an .xml file for each recording with all the EPG data so in the unlikely event that I lost ALL my backups and still had the recordings, I could repopulate the EPG with the .xml files through the webserver.

[heffneil]

I know this is an old topic but I have a similar problem. I reinstalled and I am afraid to move my Wiz.bin file back in to the clean install because the old install was running so poorly. What does the wiz.bin contain and could I corrupt the install by replacing it? I have all my programs and I want to reimport them so when I go in SageMC I can say watch recorded TV and they show up properly. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,

Neil

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by heffneil

What does the wiz.bin contain and could I corrupt the install by replacing it?

It contains all the metadata for recordings, watched/don't like history, Favorites/Manual Recordings (IIRC), guide data, etc.

I have all my programs and I want to reimport them so when I go in SageMC I can say watch recorded TV and they show up properly. Any thoughts on this?

If you weren't running V7, about the only way to get your recordings back as recordings is to restore your wiz.bin.

[robogeek]

To expand a bit on Stangers post... there may still be hope to save your recordings from the imported video list.

Have you tried performing the steps listed in the FAQ sticky post regarding the recovery of recordings? If the steps in that post don't work, I think your only option is to try it manually using the web server addon for SageTV. I've never done it manually, so I can't help you with that part, but one method is briefly covered at the bottom of the FAQ post I linked to above.

To have any chance of these steps from the FAQ working, you'll need to shutdown SageTV and move your old wiz.bin back into the SageTV directory. SageTV will need the old database since the new wiz.bin won't have any old airing IDs or media file IDs stored in it to match with the recordings in the recording directory. Now here's the bad news...restoring the old wiz.bin may lead to additional recordings being moved to the import video list if you've been actively using SageTV with the new wiz.bin instead of using the old one. If you have new recordings you don't want to lose to the imported video list, with SageTV still using your existing fresh wiz.bin, you should be able to export the metadata as xml files for each new recording using the web server addon and then reimport the xml files using the web server after copying your old wiz.bin back. Best bet is to backup your current fresh wiz.bin to someplace safe (outside of the SageTV directory) and if restoring the old wiz.bin and using the recovery methods from the FAQ make an even bigger mess than you already have, you can always restore it.

The wiz.bin contains all of the media file names, and the disk/network locations and metadata associated with them. It contains your guide data, all of your TV viewing history (used for Intelligent Recording), all of your favorites and their settings, and probably some other stuff. If you copy your old wiz.bin back, all of your favorites from the old wiz.bin will still be configured when you copy it back, but any new favorites you set up using the fresh wiz.bin will be lost and need to be added again. Any TV viewing/recording history that was saved to the fresh wiz.bin will be lost, so you may have some favorites that were recorded with the fresh wiz.bin that may be scheduled to record again because the old wiz.bin won't know that you have watched them already.

[heffneil]

I have an older 6.x wiz.bin I think I am going to try importing just to see how that works. I will copy the old one. Do I risk any harm going back and forth between them?

Thanks,

Neli

[robogeek]

Originally Posted by heffneil

I have an older 6.x wiz.bin I think I am going to try importing just to see how that works. I will copy the old one. Do I risk any harm going back and forth between them?

Thanks,

Neli

The only real harm would be if you have any recordings going on while doing the flip-flopping. Any recordings that are made with one wiz.bin obviously won't be stored in the other one. So you may end up with additional recordings in the imported video list if you switch wiz.bin files after SageTV has recorded any additional favorites.

Just to be safe, I would keep a copy of your current fresh wiz.bin and an additional copy of your old wiz.bin in a safe place outside of the SageTV directory. That way if you do work on the old wiz.bin and things don't work out, you can revert back to the original old wiz.bin to try again. And if things still don't work out, you'll be able to restore the newer fresh wiz.bin.

[heffneil]

Ok put the wiz.bin file back and see all my recordings. So that is good. I need to clean up old favorites. If you delete a series in favorites it doesn't remove the actual recordings correct?

Thanks!

Neil

[robogeek]

Originally Posted by heffneil

If you delete a series in favorites it doesn't remove the actual recordings correct?

In earlier versions of SageTV I think it did delete recordings if a favorite was removed, but I don't think it does this anymore. It might be stated somewhere in the manual what it does by default, or hopefully someone else can confirm this...its been a while since I've removed a favorite from the list. If you want to be safe, you can change the status from Favorite to Manual Recording for the favorites you want to remove and they won't be deleted. The easiest way you can do this is from the Sage Recordings page of the web server addon by checkmarking the shows and groups of shows you want to save and selecting Set Manual Record Status from the drop down at the bottom of the list.

[heffneil]

Thanks for the info. I have another kinda lame question that you might be able to help me with but I uninstalled sage entirely and then I reinstalled a fresh copy. I don't recall any place that asked for a code. How do I confirm my license info carried over?

Thanks!

Neil

[robogeek]

Uninstalling SageTV won't remove the registration code. Short of reinstalling the OS or restoring a hard drive backup from a time before SageTV was first registered, I don't think there is anything you can do to remove the registration code since its location seems to be a highly guarded secret. I haven't run a trial mode of SageTV since v1.4 so I'm not certain how to tell if it is registered or not...I don't think registration status is printed in the System Information page. You can always re-register your code or register a new one if you think your SageTV is running in trial mode. You may have a shortcut in the SageTV folder in the Windows Start Menu to register the software (not the register extender or placeshifter shortcut) or you can open a command prompt and go to the SageTV folder where sagetv.exe is and I think the command is:

sagetv.exe REGISTER

should bring up a popup box where you can enter your name and registration code.