Does SageTV / Hauppauge PVR-150 work with Win2000?

[cte]

I have some serious problems ... not sure what is going on. I purchased a PCAlchemy bundle: Hauppauge PVR-150 + SageTV 6 + Nvidia Decoder.

This past Saturday morning I installed a new Win2000 operating system (reformated the hard disk). For the SageTV installation:

1. installed the Hauppauge card.
2. installed the drivers from the Sage Bundle (PCAlchemy).
3. installed the Nvidia decoder.
4. installed Windows Media Player 9.
5. installed DirectX 9 from the Windows update site ... required that I install the Windows validator first.

I re-booted. The system went into an endless reboot. It would power-up, run Win2000, abort and reboot ... over and over again. I thought that perhaps the Windows validator was unhappy about something, even though I have a valid copy of Win2000.

On Saturday afternoon I re-installed the Win2000 operating system (reformated the hard disk). For the SageTV installation:

1. installed Windows Media Player 9.
2. installed DirectX 9 from http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/...ibutable.shtml
to avoid the Windows validator program.
3. realized that I forgot to remove the Hauppauge card. Someone on the SageTV forum recommended I run hwclear.exe to remove / reinstall the driver ... which I did.
4. tried to reinstall the drivers from the Sage Bundle (PCAlchemy).

During the install, the installer asked for a Hauppauge CD Driver A2 and file ... I think it was hcwPP2.sys. I found two versions of this on the Sage Bundle (PCAlchemy). Selecting either of these files caused the computer to abort and reboot.

On Sunday afternoon I re-installed, again, the Win2000 operating system (reformated the hard disk) ... removed the Hauppauge card before the install. For the SageTV installation:

1. installed the Hauppauge card.
2. installed the drivers from the Sage Bundle (PCAlchemy).
4. installed Windows Media Player 9.
5. installed DirectX 9 from the softpedia site.

I re-booted. The system went into an endless reboot again.

Note that I don't have many programs installed beyond the typical ... such as Firefox, Office 97, WinZip, and Adobe Reader 8.

Does anyone know if this configuration of hardware and software is supposed to work with Win2000?

[SafetyBob]

What version of Win2000 are you using. I believe you may have to be running service pack 3 or quite possibly 4 inorder to have a chance to make this work.

Is there anyway you can get/find any version of XP? Even the Home version will work nicely with Sage although XP Pro is preferred because of the easier time with networking issues and the user's guide is very, very well written to cover changing settings for windows XP.

Finally, I don't recall it being mentioned here, you will need to ensure you have a license for that extender. I promise once you get this up and running you will love it and will be adding more and more extenders all around everywhere. Just way to convienent.

Bob E.

[cte]

1. I have installed Win2000 Service Pack 4.

2. I do not have any version of WinXP.

3. I have a license. However, I have not even made it to the point where I install the SageTV software.

[SafetyBob]

Forgot one thing, what motherboard are you using? I'll bet it is not an intel chipset (ie-945, 850, 975). If you have a Via Chipset. Start looking for a cheap intel setup. I had two different Asus mobo's with different via chipsets and no luck on either. Some here have got it working but most of us have just went out and got the intel setup and have not looked back since.

You can look at my setup below and it is not a power house and has onboard video because I knew I wanted to put this thing in a closet and forget it. That hasn't happened yet, but will soon.

I would consider a mobo with 2 or 3 PCI slots with a couple of PCI-E slots too. Get yourself a PVR-500 to go with what you have, I promise you will want to record at least two or three different programs at the same time. The newer slots will let you purchase the newer tuner cards with a HDTV tuner in it.

If you do have a non intel chipset. Don't get to upset. I promise you it will be worth it and you will be very, very pleased with your setup. I will further predict within 5 hours of having your system up and running you will be thinking about adding another MVP....promise.

Bob E.

[Conejo]

Take a look at this post: Hauppauge UK <-- some people having Win2000 reboot issues.

Device drivers can cause this issues. Hauppauge is constantly tweaking their drivers. The trick is to find a driver for the PVR-150 that *will* work with Win2000 on your motherboard.

If possible, I'd just test the setup using Win2000, the PVR-150 with a driver that allows a complete boot, and the Hauppauge WinTV software - for testing purposes. Once you find a driver that works, then install SageTV.

The current driver is located here: Hauppauce_cd_3.4d1.zip

Special Instructions from Hauppauge for installing on a Win2000 system can be found here: WinTV under Windows 2000
These instruction include installing the driver and their PVR software. I'd suggest you do both and test to see if this driver works for you.

[Conejo]

A little caution on the PVR-500. Even though I have one and use it as my main capture device, it doesn't play well with all motherboards, especially those with certain VIA southbridge chips.

Take a look at this Sage Forum thread for compatible motherboards for the PVR-150 and PVR-500 Hauppauge boards: List of bad motherboard chipsets for hauppauge 150/500

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by cte

2. installed the drivers from the Sage Bundle (PCAlchemy).

My rule of thumb when installing new hardware is to ignore any driver disc that comes in the box, and instead go out to the manufacturer's website and download drivers from there. That's generally a better way to make sure you're using the correct driver version for your OS. This goes double for OEM hardware where the driver disc isn't in the box but is provided separately by the reseller.

It's true that there are some known issues with Hauppauge cards and Via chipsets. However before you run out and buy a new motherboard, I'd suggest swapping the card around to various PCI slots to see if you can minimize interrupt sharing. You might be able to find a permutation of PCI devices that runs stably in your existing mobo.

[cte]

I have an Epox NVidia NForce2 EP-8RDA motherboard with an AMD processor.

I read the Hauppauge Special Instructions for installing WinTV under Win2000. Then I downloaded Hauppauge_cd_3.4d1.zip ... it does not have the HCW848NT.EXE executable mentioned in the Special Instructions.

I then decided to run HcwDriverInstall.exe (is in Hauppauge_cd_3.4d1.zip) per the instructions found at http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/suppo...rt_pvr150.html. I get a message the "HcwDriverInstall.exe is not a valid Win32 application". I re-downloaded Hauppauge_cd_3.4d1.zip, and re-ran HcwDriverInstall.exe ... same msg.

Perhaps I need to invest in WinXP. I see a variety of choices. Any recommendations for which variation and where to purchase?

[Conejo]

If you want to give win2000 another change to redeem itself, here's yet another hauppauge download page to try:

WinTV pci and ImpactVCB support under WindowsNT and Windows2000


This is for the 878 based PCI boards.