Setting SageTV Service for Dummies

[sunray]

I've been running SageTV 5.04 as a regular program for awhile. Now I want to run Sage as a service so I can use drives on my media server for storage as I'm running out of space on my HTPC. I enabled and and started the service with a username and password as the manual states but Sage seems to have lost all my settings and recording info. I cant even get it to load the program guide for my cable company. Could someone give step by step instructions on how to get Sage running as a service.

[Opus4]

For the drives: how are you accessing the recording directories? The service can use UNC paths if it has permission to read/write those locations, but services can't use mapped drives at all.

For EPG data: If you previously allowed sagetv.exe through your firewall, you'll now have to do the same thing for sagetvservice.exe.

- Andy

[GKusnick]

It should just be a matter of running the SageTVServiceControl app and setting the appropriate options. Did you use the same username and password you normally log in to Windows with? Did you enter the username and password before starting the service?

That said, you shouldn't need the service to record to network drives. You can do that in standalone mode, without using the service. If you do decide to use the service, you can't use drive letters to access network drives; you must use UNC paths instead. But you should be able to use network drives without using the service.

[sunray]

Originally Posted by Opus4

For the drives: how are you accessing the recording directories? The service can use UNC paths if it has permission to read/write those locations, but services can't use mapped drives at all.

For EPG data: If you previously allowed sagetv.exe through your firewall, you'll now have to do the same thing for sagetvservice.exe.

- Andy

I am using UNC paths to access the drives on the media server. I have the firewall turned off on both my HTPC and my media server. Since I'm using a router to connect to the Internet I decided not to turn the firewalls on.

[sunray]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

It should just be a matter of running the SageTVServiceControl app and setting the appropriate options. Did you use the same username and password you normally log in to Windows with? Did you enter the username and password before starting the service?

That said, you shouldn't need the service to record to network drives. You can do that in standalone mode, without using the service. If you do decide to use the service, you can't use drive letters to access network drives; you must use UNC paths instead. But you should be able to use network drives without using the service.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the steps needed to setup the SageTV service so I'll outline the steps I took when I attempted to setup the service. First I clicked on the icon to start Sage on my HTPC and did the configuration and detailed setup while I was an Adminstrator but with no password required. I then created a second Limited User password protected account on my HTPC for the Sage service and created an Limited User account on my media server for the Sage service with the same username and password.

I then ran the SageService program and entered the username and password I used to create the accounts for Sage on my HTPC and media server. I left the SageService Disabled and Stopped. I then started Sage by clicking on its icon so I could set Sage's video directory to use the shared folder on my media server to store videos. After doing this I quit Sage and then Enabled and Started the SageService program. I logged out as Admin and relogged in under the username and password I had setup for the SageService. I then found that my Sage settings were gone.

I thought that once you run SageService it would take the information from Sage.properties. And if you clicked on the icon for Sage that you just bring up the GUI which will now store its data in SageClient.properties. So how do you make changes for SageService using the GUI?

[gplasky]

I think you're going to have issues if you use a limited account for the service. It needs to be an admin or equivilant. (It's a Microsoft thing.) Once the service is running you would makes changes from the GUI such as adding video directories, etc. There may be some plugins that will tell you what to add to sage.properties if it is required. And always stop the service if you're making changes to that file.

Gerry

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by sunray

So how do you make changes for SageService using the GUI?

You can configure the server from any instance of SageTV or SageTVClient. Changes that affect the backend are automatically forwarded to the service and stored in Sage.properties. Front-end changes that affect the UI or rendering are stored locally in SageClient.properties, so you can configure those separately on each client.

[sunray]

Thanks to everyone for your help. I did indeed have to use a administrator account not a limited account to get my HTPC to see the shares on the media server. Also it seems when you set up Sage Service and then click on the Sage icon to start the GUI, Sage runs the configuration editor again and some of the info from the old config is lost. This caused me trouble as I was using the NVidea MPEG codecs instead of Sage's built in MPEG codecs. When the configuration ran again under Sage's account it reset the MPEG codecs to use the built in ones. And when I tried to test the preview, Sage locked up.

[gplasky]

If you have the service running, starting the GUI is actually starting it for the first time and it creates the Sageclient.properties file, I believe. That's why you are basically setting client-specific details for the first time.

Gerry

[stevech]

Originally Posted by sunray

I've been running SageTV 5.04 as a regular program for awhile. Now I want to run Sage as a service so I can use drives on my media server for storage as I'm running out of space on my HTPC. .

Can you just setup shares on the media server and tell Sage to use these UNC paths? I didn't think Sage has to be in service configuration to do so. Maybe I misunderstood you.

[cenwesi]

Originally Posted by gplasky

If you have the service running, starting the GUI is actually starting it for the first time and it creates the Sageclient.properties file, I believe. That's why you are basically setting client-specific details for the first time.

Gerry

Yep, i ran into this same problem yesterday when i first tried to setup SageTVServiceControl for the first time.

What will happen if i copy ALL my settings in Sage.properties and paste it into the the SageClient.properties file. Reason i ask is because i have configured my remote control and i just don't want to go through all the hassle of reprogramming all the buttons

[Polypro]

The IR codes are easy to find in the property file. Just cut & paste them to the new one.

P

[jryan15]

Originally Posted by cenwesi

What will happen if i copy ALL my settings in Sage.properties and paste it into the the SageClient.properties file. Reason i ask is because i have configured my remote control and i just don't want to go through all the hassle of reprogramming all the buttons

that's what i did the other day and it's been working fine (although i have been having problems with imported media and playing mp3's, but i think they were issues before)...