I just started having trouble with MythArchive. I'm not sure what has happened because it has been working fine in R5F1.

The symptoms are:
I select recorded files to archive to a DVD and then choose the MAKE DVD option. I have been burning 2 files per single layer dvd. Each file is a 1 hour tv show with a file size of 4GB. I choose that Mytharchive does NOT reencode the mpeg files, so TCREQUANT is used to shirnk the 8GB of total file size down to 4GB for the dvd-r disc. This setup has worked fine for months. All looks fine when the video file processing starts.
The computer works on the 2 files and then creates the DVD file structure.
Then the dvd-r drive starts to burn a dvd. The burn process only goes halfway and then stops and ejects the dvd-r disc. The log files show that the process completed fine. When I look at the dvd-r disc I can see it is only 1/2 written. I don't know how to troubleshoot this or what files or settings to fix. This bad behavior just started within the last 7 days.

Here are the 2 relavant log files from the /myth/tmp/logs folder:
www.geocities.com/neutron68/mythburn.log
www.geocities.com/neutron68/progress.log

In an attempt to fix any corrupted program files in Mythtv and MythArchive, I did an auto-upgrade of R5F1 - with the thought that any missing or corrupted files would be replaced. It has not worked.

I have been able to take the DVD files from the /myth/tmp/work/dvd folder and copy them over to one of my other pcs and burn the dvd. Since the burned dvd turns out fine, I am sure that the dvd creation process is working in MythArchive, it's just the burn part that is having a problem.

I do see an error message during the burn part of the process.
Does this seem like a software problem or a hardware problem?

Help and advice needed!
Eric

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KnoppMyth R5.5, Asus A8N-VM CSM (nvidia 6150 onboard video), AMD Athlon 64 dual-core 4200+, two 1GB sticks DDR 400, HD-3000 HDTV card, PVR-150 card, Iguanaworks RS-232 IR receiver/transmitter, Pioneer DVR-110 DVD burner

I think this bit just points to it being a hardware problem. From the logfiles, all the disk creation stuff is happened and it's in the middle of writing to disk.
The obvious things to check out is your IDE cable/connections and for dust in the drive. Though it does appear it's going to be a DVD drive replacement.

Bruce S.

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Updated 2019/10/26: AthlonII X2 265 Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P
16Gb PC 1866 DDR3, 500GB+2TB+4TB SATA HDD,
SATA DVD-RW Asus DRW-24D5MT , NVIDIA GeForce GT1080
Hauppauage Nova-T 500, Nova-T LinHes R8.6.1

I swapped dvd-r drives with the same symptoms/results.

I just tried a cd burn of an ISO image and got the following feedback.


I'll try swapping the IDE cable next.

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KnoppMyth R5.5, Asus A8N-VM CSM (nvidia 6150 onboard video), AMD Athlon 64 dual-core 4200+, two 1GB sticks DDR 400, HD-3000 HDTV card, PVR-150 card, Iguanaworks RS-232 IR receiver/transmitter, Pioneer DVR-110 DVD burner

Well that either points to an OS problem, or a motherboard/cable problem.
Have you checked or swapped the IDE cable as well?

Bruce S.

_________________
Updated 2019/10/26: AthlonII X2 265 Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P
16Gb PC 1866 DDR3, 500GB+2TB+4TB SATA HDD,
SATA DVD-RW Asus DRW-24D5MT , NVIDIA GeForce GT1080
Hauppauage Nova-T 500, Nova-T LinHes R8.6.1

I just changed the ribbon cable for the dvd-r drive - same symptoms.

Here are the parameters of the dvd-r drive (/dev/hdc):

See any problems here?
I just checked my motherboard settings and I have all the parameters for this drive set to AUTO in the bios - including DMA mode.

_________________
KnoppMyth R5.5, Asus A8N-VM CSM (nvidia 6150 onboard video), AMD Athlon 64 dual-core 4200+, two 1GB sticks DDR 400, HD-3000 HDTV card, PVR-150 card, Iguanaworks RS-232 IR receiver/transmitter, Pioneer DVR-110 DVD burner

Hi

If I recall correctly, just a few days ago a gent was experiencing a very similar issue. I think the solution was to delete something the /myth/tmp/config? stuff and then re do the process.

I usually make the iso then check it to see if I got it right then burn it. Simply make a link to the /myth/tmp/work/mythburn.iso into your video folder then your last dvd creation is available without getting off the couch
link is something like: ln -s /myth/tmp/work/mythburn.iso /myth/video

I also made a button in my archivemenu.xml menu
<button>
<type>ARCHIVE_EXPORT_VIDEO</type>
<text>Burn Latest DVD ISO</text>
<action>EXEC /usr/bin/run-reburn-iso</action>
</button>

that calls this script:


so that way I can burn the iso when happy with the edits and make an extra burn later. I do need to start putting in credits from the pieces of code I borrow... some is from ver.sh. It may not be pretty but does seem to work.

Mike

That sounds like a nice tweak to the system after I get the disc burn problem solved. Thanks for the idea.

Note that disc burn problem extends outside the boundaries of the Mytharchive software. If you look at a message or 2 back, you can see that I have a cd-r burn of an ISO running from a script and it bombs out, too.

Thus far, I've reinstalled R5F1 (using auto upgrade so it kept my system settings and database), replaced the DVD-R drive and replaced the IDE cable going to the DVD-R drive.

I think my next diagnostic step is to swap motherboards, unfortunately...

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KnoppMyth R5.5, Asus A8N-VM CSM (nvidia 6150 onboard video), AMD Athlon 64 dual-core 4200+, two 1GB sticks DDR 400, HD-3000 HDTV card, PVR-150 card, Iguanaworks RS-232 IR receiver/transmitter, Pioneer DVR-110 DVD burner

I would try re-burning that iso that burns ok on the other box.
First use hdparm to turn unmask irq off and keep settings on.
Something like:


Then burn at a lower speed (from memory):

I didn't think to mention it before, but one of the events that occurred around the time of the failed dvd burns was the swap of my original motherboard with motherboard #2 (same brand and model) in an attempt to isolate and eliminate another problem I was having with the system locking up randomly. The swap from #1 to #2 didn't fix the lockups. But, around that time, I found that dvd burns would not work any more - with all hardware the same except the motherboard.

Is there some file in Knoppmyth that records and retains chip id numbers for the IDE controller chips? That's about the only guess I have to explain why Knoppmyth would stop burning dvds as a result of changing the motherboard.

I have just swapped out motherboard #2 and put back motherboard #1. I have started Mytharchive and will see if it can complete a dvd burn...

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KnoppMyth R5.5, Asus A8N-VM CSM (nvidia 6150 onboard video), AMD Athlon 64 dual-core 4200+, two 1GB sticks DDR 400, HD-3000 HDTV card, PVR-150 card, Iguanaworks RS-232 IR receiver/transmitter, Pioneer DVR-110 DVD burner

That would have been useful to know. Just because the MB is the same make and model, doesn't mean it's the same, often manufacturers change chips.


Most, if not all distros can be shifted between completely different motherboards, without much of a problem.

It could be that there is a problem with the IDE controller on the 2nd motherboard, or there is a problem with the connector.

Bruce S.

_________________
Updated 2019/10/26: AthlonII X2 265 Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P
16Gb PC 1866 DDR3, 500GB+2TB+4TB SATA HDD,
SATA DVD-RW Asus DRW-24D5MT , NVIDIA GeForce GT1080
Hauppauage Nova-T 500, Nova-T LinHes R8.6.1

Well, that was it. The swap back to motherboard #1 fixed the dvd burn problem. It looks like motherboard #2 has a problem with it's IDE controller.

It's amazing the troubles that I've been chasing for the last year. Most have been caused by hardware problems which have not been obvious to find without spending a lot of time swapping parts.

At this point, I'm running with a very stable Knoppmyth box. All the hardware bugs and snakes have been shaken out. It's just a little depressing that it has taken a year to find all the bad pieces.

Thanks for all your input and feedback!

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KnoppMyth R5.5, Asus A8N-VM CSM (nvidia 6150 onboard video), AMD Athlon 64 dual-core 4200+, two 1GB sticks DDR 400, HD-3000 HDTV card, PVR-150 card, Iguanaworks RS-232 IR receiver/transmitter, Pioneer DVR-110 DVD burner