Upgrade from Sage V6 to V9 because of EPG shutdown

[wayner]

Originally Posted by photon

I fear that installing WHS 2011 that was previously installed will result in a licensing issue. Unfortunately I can't get a new copy of WHS 2011 at this point.

Couldn't you transfer your existing license to the VM? It might be technically illegal if you have an OEM version but as long as you are only running it on one server is it really an issue? And can you really be stealing something that has no value, which is arguably the case for a WHS2011 license in 2017.

[KarylFStein]

Originally Posted by wayner

Couldn't you transfer your existing license to the VM? It might be technically illegal if you have an OEM version but as long as you are only running it on one server is it really an issue? And can you really be stealing something that has no value, which is arguably the case for a WHS2011 license in 2017.

I transferred my WHS2011 install from a physical to a VM a while back and still use it for local backups. I don't think they care anymore. I use Carbonite for cloud backups. They have a more expensive plan that does images, but that never excited me enough to try. I also have Acronis, but these days mostly use it just for "Try and Decide". There's another thread in these forums about backups which had some free options for images that I was going to try at some point. The ease of WHS2011 would be hard to beat, though...

[graywolf]

OK. Seems the actual upgrade from V6 to V7 seems pretty straight forward but have a few questions before I do it.

I plan on doing so testing in a VM testbed to get some timings, how long it takes. And for testing of backout procedures for "just in case"

I plan on making a backup of the current SageTV install directory prior to upgrading. Do I need to backup the Windows registry?

Does the V7 upgrade process update any Windows registry settings?

I know it upgrades the wiz.bin file, does this process take long?
Is duration based upon wiz.bin size? (approx 135 MB)

Does it make any modifications to the V6 recordings themselves?
If so, would it cause any issues if had to revert back?

This is what I think would be needed to "back out" of V7 to V6. Please let me know of easier way or if I'm missing something.

1. Uninstall V7
2. Install V6
3. Stop V6
4. Copy from Backup the SageTV install directory
5. Start V6
Anything have to be done for Registry entries?

[Narflex]

The registry settings should more or less be the same...I don't think we made anything incompatible there. Recordings will be the same. DEFINITELY make a backup of your Wiz.bin/Wiz.bak files...those will NOT be backwards compatible. It's also possible the Sage.properties file won't be backwards compatible...but I don't recall (so backup that too).

[photon]

I finally made a full day available so I could be certain to get this upgrade done and working. It did take me a full day with getting back up to speed, downloading the latest installer, troubleshooting trial and error, then getting all 4 media extenders reconfigured etc.

I upgraded pretty much as described in my first post.
Made a copy of my current v6 sageTV folder.
Installed v7.1.9 and watched as the installer uninstalled v6 and installed v7 without any errors.
Launched v7 tried to install the SageMC plugin UI from the plugin menu. It errored out with path errors for the install files. Crossed fingers that v9 would resolve that.
Installed current newest windows version v9.1.2.662 and watched it install without any errors.
Launched v9 Installed the SageMC plugin UI from the plugin menu.
In detailed setup > Advanced > Full UI package I navigated to and selected the SageMC_169.xml file.

Almost everything worked at this point.
In v6 I had some SageMC UI modification files installed:
"Guide Day Plus/Minus for SageMC"
and an one that modified the transparency of the options menu which I can't find on the forums now because I don't now the name it has in a forum post.
Both have a filename extension of .xml and they did not show up to import under import UI Modification (,stvi file) like they did in sage6 under Import stvi. I tried making a copy of these files with the extension changed to .stvi but it still did not appear so I could not import these via this method.

After a lot of fooling around I discovered that if I stayed in the SageMC UI under settings I saw an option I don't remember seeing before called "Manage Plugins". When I selected that I saw that this had options which would take me directly to the v9 plugins menus plus it had an option called "Install Legacy (v6) plugins" That sounded like what I needed so I tried it. The original files with a .xml extension still did now show up but the files that I had renamed with a .stvi extension were visible and imported fine. Both are working just like they did before I upgraded!

I believe I have resolved every issue that is critical but I have 2 bugs I now of at this time.
1) A USB drive that is one of my import folders as f:\ has a single folder on it named USB. Prior to upgrading this appeared on my videos menu under file system as USB. Now it displays as SB. The U is missing. I played around with the import setting but am unable to resolve this.
2) When a downloaded mp4 video file is played it plays fine to the end at which point the screen goes black and nothing further happens. I have to hit the back button to get anything on the screen. This may not be a new issue. Not sure because I don't do this very often.

I can live with both of these glitches.

I'll see how it goes this week and if no other significant issues arise Ill try changing my guide to schedules direct.

Thanks to the wonderful developers who make all this possible and who guided me past my fear that arose from a bad experience with v7 into a good v9 experience!

[waynedunham]

The first glitch with the USB drive missing a character. Have you tried adding a new import folder and selecting that USB drive again? If it now shows properly then you should be able to delete the incorrect one. If it still will only show "SB" instead of "USB" when you try to enter it as a new import directory then ??

[photon]

Originally Posted by waynedunham

The first glitch with the USB drive missing a character. Have you tried adding a new import folder and selecting that USB drive again? If it now shows properly then you should be able to delete the incorrect one. If it still will only show "SB" instead of "USB" when you try to enter it as a new import directory then ??

Thanks. Yes I did try that. I also tried removing the drive as an import source, ran import so the drive was completely removed then added the drive back in and imported again. Same result. This seems to be an issue with the v9 SageMC UI plugin. In the standard v9 UI the drive appears as USB like it should.

It took 4 days on the trial before I received new EPG data which had me worried a bit but I wasn't getting any errors. I now have 20 days of data.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by photon

Thanks. Yes I did try that. I also tried removing the drive as an import source, ran import so the drive was completely removed then added the drive back in and imported again. Same result. This seems to be an issue with the v9 SageMC UI plugin. In the standard v9 UI the drive appears as USB like it should.

It took 4 days on the trial before I received new EPG data which had me worried a bit but I wasn't getting any errors. I now have 20 days of data.

Bear in mind, that SageMC was never updated to properly work on v9, so I'm sure there are quite a few quirks in there.

[RobJ]

Another holdover here, still running 6.6.2, and still loving 6.6.2. I don't care for fancier screens with large slow graphics (reminds me of the Windows 8 and Metro screens), and I have to agree with the other v6 users. I customized the v6 text screens to add more lines, and get 18 to 20 lines of shows and movies per page. Anyway it's time to upgrade, and I was happy to see you could still use a v6 UI on v9.

My question is -
The one big issue I still face from time to time is the Airing ID rollover, just happened the third time, and so everything is now renamed with new ID's. I understand that was fixed (max number raised) in v7. Is the code for that problem a part of the v6 UI, and would I still be stuck rolling over all ID's periodically if I continue using the v6 UI in v9?

At the same time, I really really appreciate all the work so many volunteers have done on v9, especially the main devs, and especially Jeff.


Tentative procedure:
- shut down SageTV completely
- backup SageTV software folders (program and data, wiz.bin&sage.properties)
- locate v7 installers and licenses?
- run v7 installer, insert licenses
- run v7, make sure it works
- shut down completely again
- run v9 installer
- run v9, make sure it works
- configure as needed
- setup Schedules Direct sources

?- update Java7 to Java8

[graywolf]

Tentative procedure:
- shut down SageTV completely
- backup SageTV software folders (program and data, wiz.bin&sage.properties)
- locate v7 installers and licenses?
- run v7 installer, insert licenses
- run v7, make sure it works
- shut down completely again
- run v9 installer
- run v9, make sure it works
- configure as needed
- setup Schedules Direct sources

?- update Java7 to Java8

I would set the v6 to the default STVi in case you have any custom STVi used. Anything there you can probably get from the V7/V9 Plugin system afterwards.

When you start V7 it will take awhile depending upon your wiz.bin size and number of recordings you have. It will convert the wiz.bin and also touch each of your recordings to add metadata. Since I had tons of recordings, it took a couple hours for me. You will know it is done when you start a UI and it finally ends up at the main menu (will wait until all is done)

When you do V9 Installer, FIRST choose the Options button to set the path to where you have V6 installed (in case it is not the default location), then choose the Install button.

V7.1.9 Installer https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56137

[RobJ]

Originally Posted by graywolf

I would set the v6 to the default STVi in case you have any custom STVi used. Anything there you can probably get from the V7/V9 Plugin system afterwards.

When you start V7 it will take awhile depending upon your wiz.bin size and number of recordings you have. It will convert the wiz.bin and also touch each of your recordings to add metadata. Since I had tons of recordings, it took a couple hours for me. You will know it is done when you start a UI and it finally ends up at the main menu (will wait until all is done)

When you do V9 Installer, FIRST choose the Options button to set the path to where you have V6 installed (in case it is not the default location), then choose the Install button.

Just wanted to say, thank you very much! I also read your own documenting of your steps, although I won't be doing nearly as much as you have done. I really appreciate users helping users, taking the time to document what worked for them, and how they solved problems along the way.

I had already jumped ahead, backed up everything and installed v7, surprisingly quick and easy. Then backed up the v7 stuff, and decided to jump straight to v9, figuring I could revert back if needed. Didn't work, quickly errors out. So I updated Java to the latest and tried again, same response. I thought I had set SageTV to not auto-start, but missed something somewhere, because after rebooting, SageTV v7 started and ran, and did not take very long at all getting started. I cannot tell if it has done the metadata conversions, should have taken MUCH longer, I have many thousands of recordings, in 15-18 recording folders.

I discovered most of my customizations were still there in v7, and apart from all the screen hyperactivity and enormous font sizes, it's not bad! Faster too, as I had been living with some v6 issues and slowdowns for so many years I had forgotten them. I tamed it somewhat, resized some fonts, and discovered much more taming I could do if I was staying with v7. Sad to find that out so late in the v7 life cycle!

Today, I downloaded a fresh copy of the v9 installer, verified it's the same, and tried again to install, with the same issues. In each of my attempts, in less than a minute into the installation, it reports "error 2738" and displays a log with "error 0x80070643", an issue with the MSI installer. I've attached a zip with the 2 logs produced. The issue appears to start after a log entry "DEBUG: Error 2738: Could not access VBScript runtime for custom action", with the previous line mentioning "KeepMPEGDecoder.vbs_CAmove". I'm not sure I have ever in my life knowingly run a VBscript, so I may not have it installed. Apparently it's expected though?

I'm hoping the wise sage jusjoken (or any other sage person) will have a chance to look at it, will have the right fix for me ...

[jusjoken]

If the installer detects v7 in the same location as you are installing v9 then it runs a vb script to copy the mpeg decoders to another location so they do not get uninstalled. For some reason it cannot run the vb script on your system. The script comes with the installer so that's not the issue. I suspect either permissions, your win7 is not current with updates or scripts are blocked...not sure why.

If your windows is not updated to the latest SP then do so and try again.

If its current then try running the installer as admin.

k

[RobJ]

Thank you for responding so quickly!

Apart from SageTV, I keep things up to date, and the only thing Windows Update is bothering me about is an nVidia graphics driver update, which should be irrelevant. My user is admin equivalent, but I ran the installer with "Run as administrator", no change. Your mention of "scripts are blocked" did ring a small bell, and it's conceivable that way back I ran a security tool that intercepts and blocks all scripting. Unfortunately I have not been able to locate or identify what tool that might have been. MalwareBytes has some slightly relevant settings, but changing them did nothing. I've hunted through any other tool I could think of, and found nothing, or nothing has helped. I searched the registry, traced CLSID's, and .vbs is associated with query.dll, a 'Plain text filter' and 'Content Indexer', all associated with Microsoft. It does not appear to me to be an interception. I'm out of ideas so far.

I have the v7 stuff backed up. Is there a way to bypass this script?

[wnjj]

If you can get by without the V7 decoders, just uninstall V7 but keep your wiz.bin and sage.properties files for later use.

Before you do that, did you already run V7 long enough for it to add the metadata to all of your files? I've read that when it finishes launching to the GUI, it's done.

Then you should be able to remove it completely, install V9 fresh, then re-copy your V7 wiz.bin and sage.properties back in. Jusjoken says 'if' it detects V7 so it looks like maybe there's no VB code to run on a clean install?

[jusjoken]

Correct. A clean install will not run the vb script.

I googled a similar issue with VBScript not executing... and found a kb that Microsoft recommended

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...f-4d399ac70d9a

k

[RobJ]

Originally Posted by wnjj

If you can get by without the V7 decoders, just uninstall V7 but keep your wiz.bin and sage.properties files for later use.

Before you do that, did you already run V7 long enough for it to add the metadata to all of your files? I've read that when it finishes launching to the GUI, it's done.

Then you should be able to remove it completely, install V9 fresh, then re-copy your V7 wiz.bin and sage.properties back in. Jusjoken says 'if' it detects V7 so it looks like maybe there's no VB code to run on a clean install?

Sorry, work and life interfered. Thank you for the ideas. I thought about doing that, but I'd lose so many settings, plus still have to deal with the auxiliary files needed, like HDHomerun support files, etc. But it's a last resort option if nothing else works.

[RobJ]

Originally Posted by jusjoken

Correct. A clean install will not run the vb script.

I googled a similar issue with VBScript not executing... and found a kb that Microsoft recommended

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...f-4d399ac70d9a

And we have a winner! Thank you so much!

Your link points to a Microsoft Fix It, and it looked completely appropriate, but they have retired all Fix It's, probably another heavy handed way of getting people to move to Windows 10. But there was an older link to registry fixes, and they worked!!! For future reference, the page with the registry fixes is:

http://www.jakeludington.com/windows...om_action.html

I then tried the v9 installer and it worked, very quickly too!

Next problem - data paths are different apparently. At first startup, the window is small and it wants to set up video sources, obviously doesn't see the existing sage.properties. In the past, it used the program directory for many data things, but used the VirtualStore data path for other things, including the main data stuff like sage.properties and wiz.bin. This time, it did not look at the VirtualStore at all, so no properties. It created a brand new sage.properties and wiz.bin in the program folder. Before I move the Virtual Store files here, is there a better or easier fix?

Edit: I've now merged all current data into the program folder, which doesn't seem right, but is apparently where SageTV v9 wants to find it. Obviously it would be better in a separate folder, will watch for a procedure to safely do that, in the future. Next problem is an error about needing a license key plugged in, to get EPG data, which I have less than a day left. I expected to find info about that in a FAQ, but my searching so far has not turned up how to put it in for an existing source. I do not get a prompt for the license, no matter what I do. So I've begun playing with SchedulesDirect, turning off so many channels I don't get, and already have quite a bit of scheduling data in the guide appearing now. Feels like I'm getting close. Really tired of all the giant fonts everywhere. Will have to edit sage.properties directly I guess, to make them all smaller. I watch on my computer, not a far away TV screen, which is what they are apparently set up for.