WMC freezes after stopping channel

[JohnG]

I am having a problem with a custom system I built I hope you guys can help with. I like using XBMC for my media center but I also like using my xbox 360's as my media extenders on my network with my Ceton infinitv 4. I have had my Ceton card since 2011 and it has been working fine for me but I wanted to combine my media extender and XBMC into one box.

I know about serverWMC and XBMC etc but I can't use that because I am on Time Warner and they copy protect every channel. So my solution was use a HP thin client model GT7720 http://www.cnet.com/products/hp-compaq- ... ies/specs/ which specs out more than enough to work using WMC and a Ceton network tuner as well as use XBMC on the same box.

Well I set it all up with a Samsung 1.8" SSD with windows 7 pro and it works fantastic but I am having a problem with WMC freezing. I can tune to a channel and watch it for hours on end (the longest I tested was 6 hours straight) but when I stop it or I tune to another channel it will tune to the other channel and play for about 20 seconds and then the entire system will freeze. It will do the exact same thing if I just stop the channel and go back to the WMC home screen. I thought it might be a heat issue because I do not have these problems when I start the thin client up from being off over night and it is completely cool. I can operate it in WMC and change all the channels I want and use this program to switch from WMC to XBMC and back with zero problems for around half a hour or so.http://www.teknowebworks.com/xbmc-Windo ... ntegration but after that if I stop a channel or tune to another it will freeze and I have to hard restart. My Windows event viewer shows no errors so I just don't know what the problem is? I guess it could be heat but I took the top off and pointed a 4" fan right at it on high and my CPU never got over 54* C under load and the little on board HD 3200 video card doesn't have a temp sensor so I don't know how hot it is. It still doesn't make sense that I can play HD tv on it for hours on end with no problems and it only freezes after I stop that channel or change to another channel.

Any insight into this problem you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated.

[Scallica]

I would start by changing the default recorded TV location to a different hard drive and see if the issue continues to occur.

[JohnG]

I would start by changing the default recorded TV location to a different hard drive and see if the issue continues to occur.

Do you think that would make a difference on a client pc using a network tuner? I didn't even know you could do that on a pc that was just being used as a client. I will have to plug in a USB HD to the thin client and point it towards that. I just always assumed that if I told it to record something on the client pc that it would record on the main HTPC that actually had the ceton card in it.

[Scallica]

I just always assumed that if I told it to record something on the client PC that it would record on the main HTPC that actually had the ceton card in it.

If you are using a WMC extender, such as an XBOX, Echo, or Linksys, recording is done on the system that you are connecting to. If you are using a WMC system with a shared network tuner, such as the HDHR Prime or the Ceton ETH or PCIe in bridge mode, then recording is done locally.

[JohnG]

Ok I plugged in a old 5400 rpm 320gb laptop hard drive via a cheap USB to SATA adapter and told it to record content to that drive. I guess it could have been a problem with the buffer downloading to the little 64gb that the OS and XBMC was on. I will run it for a few hours and see what happens when I try to change the channel. Thanks for the advice.

[JohnG]

Well that suggestion seems to have helped immensely I still got one freeze today when going back and forth between XBMC and WMC but so far it has been on for 5 hours and I have been able to change channels just fine with no freezing with the external drive being the record destination. I would like it to be able to stay on 24/7 but if I have to do one hard restart a day I guess I can live with that. Now I just have to find the correct DVI to HDMI adapter for this HD3200 that will carry the sound over from the DVI to the HDMI cable.

[JohnG]

It has been on two days straight and I have not had a single problem. Thanks for all of the help. It is nice to be able to watch my HDTV and simply be able to switch over to XBMC with such a small box. I also setup Steam in home streaming on it and it works awesome with a wireless XBOX 360 controller. So I have a cable box, XBMC HTPC and a defacto Steam console box all in one for only $65!

[Scallica]

That's good news. I would suggest installing HDSentinel (http://www.hdsentinel.com/) to monitor your drives health.

[JohnG]

That's good news. I would suggest installing HDSentinel (http://www.hdsentinel.com/) to monitor your drives health.

Thanks I downloaded it and have it running.