SageTV keeps forgetting its settings

[null_pointer_us]

I did a clean installation of Vista Home Premium x86 a few weeks ago due to this very problem in the 64-bit edition of the same OS. What a lot of help that was! SageTV now prompts me for my country everytime I reboot. Perhaps coincidentally, Vista is now in one of its I'm-going-to-take-five-minutes-to-do-anything-that-normally-takes-5-seconds moods.

BTW, I'm not running SageTV in service mode due to UAC/folder problems.

Anyone know how to fix this issue?

[MeInMaui]

Turn off UAC.

[null_pointer_us]

Oh...actually, I wasn't asking about the UAC/folder problems.

As to why Sage keeps losing its settings, it seems that dual-booting Ubuntu and Vista on this machine leads to minor filesystem corruption of both operating systems. They're stored on separate physical drives, so I have no idea how this is happening, but it seems that warm-booting (after using sleep mode?) from one OS to the other appears to leave the PC unstable. Maybe it's a BIOS bug with the Intel ICH9 controller and ACPI modes.

I'm trying cold-boots when switching operating systems, and this seems to have fixed the problems.

[null_pointer_us]

Nope, SageTV just asked me which country it's in...again.

I'll start a support request and see what happens.

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by null_pointer_us

Nope, SageTV just asked me which country it's in...again.

I'll start a support request and see what happens.

Seriously. Turn off UAC.

The properties file is probably being written to your data store and SageTV is looking for it in the ...\SageTV directory. Since the copy SageTV is looking for never gets updated with your configuration info, it makes you go through the setup again each time.

Aloha,
Mike

[null_pointer_us]

Sometimes it works fine for several boots.

I've sent this message into the official support request:

Sometimes, when I boot into Vista, I find that SageTV has lost its settings.

Specifically, SageTV loads in a window (instead of the system tray) and asks me for my country, as if I have to go through the setup wizard all over again.

SageTV is not configured to start as a service on this PC.

System Restore fixes the problem...for a few boots, but then the problem returns.

What is happening?

I may end up adding a UAC exception (if possible) for SageTV. But disabling it completely is out of the question. Third-party software should be updated to work with OS improvements instead of making users do this:

[gplasky]

Then either try running Sage as Administrator and set those settings or copy the sage.properties file from the Program Files\SageTV\SageTV directory and copy it to the same place under the VirtualStore.

Gerry

[null_pointer_us]

I can't run Sage as Administrator because I want Sage to automatically load at startup. Copying the sage.properties file over is a bad idea because, if this problem persists, then I'll randomly lose any settings I've adjusted over time.

My solution:

1. Use official support's directions for clean uninstall:

Try this. First close SageTV and the service if running. Next make a backup
of your Sage.properties and Wiz.bin files in the Frey Technologies or SageTV
folder or the entire folder if you wish. Put it somewhere where you will
remember. Then uninstall SageTV and delete the Frey Technologies or SageTV
folder. Then delete this registry key and all it's subkeys and values:

HKLM\Software\Frey Technologies

Instructions. Go to start, run and type in regedit and navigate to
HKLM\SOFTWARE\ then delete the Frey Technologies folder.

2. Install to C:\PVR\SageTV (to avoid UAC) and use the wizard to re-configure everything.

3. Copy and paste the old wiz.bin file into the SageTV folder so Sage sees my existing shows.

However, the problem resurfaced 1-2 weeks later. So I did this:

4. Configure SageTV (via its own setup menus) to NOT load at startup.

5. Open the Windows Services applet and make sure SageTV service is set to load at startup.

6. Reboot.

Now it works 100% of the time.

[Rurik]

IIRC, the issue is that Windows will not automatically let any program write to "Program Files" anymore without UAC confirmation. The only solutions are to disable UAC so it just does it without confirmation, or put the files somewhere else, which you've done with "C:\PVR"

[null_pointer_us]

Originally Posted by Rurik

IIRC, the issue is that Windows will not automatically let any program write to "Program Files" anymore without UAC confirmation. The only solutions are to disable UAC so it just does it without confirmation, or put the files somewhere else, which you've done with "C:\PVR"

Actually, the bolded part (above), by itself, did not fix the problem.

Look at the order of the bolded parts (below):

2. Install to C:\PVR\SageTV (to avoid UAC) and use the wizard to re-configure everything.

3. Copy and paste the old wiz.bin file into the SageTV folder so Sage sees my existing shows.

However, the problem resurfaced 1-2 weeks later. So I did this:

4. Configure SageTV (via its own setup menus) to NOT load at startup.

5. Open the Windows Services applet and make sure SageTV service is set to load at startup.

6. Reboot.

Now it works 100% of the time.

So the problem was really caused by configuring Sage to start in app mode in the System Tray. Making it run in service mode has apparently eliminated the problem. I've done a lot of rebooting to test this, and I've put the computer in sleep mode (in both operating systems) for other reasons, too.