Archive for category Linux

Locking your screen using a MetaWatch

Posted by grymoire in Hacking, Linux, Security on January 31, 2012

This is a simple way to control access to your Linux computer if you happen to own a MetaWatch.
You walk away, and screenlock is activated. You come back into the room, and (optionally) the screen unlocks.

It’s also an amusing way to drive someone crazy if they are using your computer with your permission.
Or if you can trick a friend to execute the script on his computer, when you are nearby. You just disable BlueTooth your MetaWatch, and the computer screenlocks.

How to use your MetaWatch for a proximity-detector and user authentication device

I wrote a perl script that would lock my Linux computer if I walked away. You need to enable BlueTooth on the MetaWatch, so it’s discoverable. This script could be used with any BlueTooth device, theoretically. Except that the device has to be discoverable. And most devices have to be put into discover mode. Also note that this script does not pair with the device. Here is another approach where the device is paired to the Linux system. One of these days I’d like to modify this script into a more versatile script. But I thought this script might be useful. Some of the perl code might be useful. I used the Perl Net::Bluetooth package. Since this package might not be installed, I added an error message that gives the user a clue how to fix this problem. The script can also unlock the screen if you get closer. So you can use this to both lock and unlock the screen. Adding an unlock feature is not secure, as anyone who can clone the BlueTooth address can unlock your screen.

 The perl code to screenlock your computer when a BlueTooth device moves away

#!/usr/bin/perl -w
#
# KeepNear - this program wants to keep a BlueTooth device near the Linux system.
# If the BlueTooth device leaves the vicinity, the system screenlocks.
# If the device comes back, the system unlocks the screen
# Written by Grymoire - Tue Jan 17 21:29:03 EST 2012
#
#
use strict;
#User modifiable configuration parameters
my $verbose=0; # set to 1 for more detail/debug
my $address = "D0:37:61:3F:F0:0A"; # bluetooth address the system is looking for
my $name = "MetaWatch";       # name of bluetooth device the system is looking for
 my $interval_between_samples = 10; # interval in seconds
my $maximum_interval_before_
locking = 60*5; # 5 minutes; If device is gone for this time, exit with status=1;
my $starting_delay = 60*3; # 3 minutes - wait this amount of time to start the timer. If no device is found, exit with status=2;
 my $unsafe = 0; # true if you want the bluetooth device to unlock the screen.
# naturally - any device that can spoof the BlueTooth address and name can unlock the computer.
# Use the unsafe mode at your own risk.

# Pick command to lock the screen
my $lock_command = "gnome-screensaver-command -l";
#my $lock_command = "xscreensaver-command -activate";
#my $lock_command = "dcop kdesktop KScreensaverIface lock";

# Is there a command to unlock the screen? - Warning - spoofing BT address can unlock the computer
my $unlock_command = "gnome-screensaver-command -d";

# other variables used

my $timestamp_last_time_device_was_seen;
 my $timestamp_last_time_device_was_missing;

# Load the Bluetooth module - with friendly error
eval   'use Net::Bluetooth;';
if ($@) {
  $verbose && print $@; # print the error message
  print "Hmm. I cannot find the perl library for Bluetooth.\n";
   print "If you do not mind, I have some suggestions that might help...\n";
  print "\n";
  print "If you have Ubuntu, try 'apt-get install libnet-bluetooth-perl'\n";
  print "Otherwise, try installing Net::Bluetooth in one of the following directories: " . join(", ", @INC) . "\n";
   print "If it's installed elsewhere, try adding the following line to the perl file: 'unshift \@INC \"/home/local\"'\n";
  die "Sorry - I cannnot go any further. Aborting";

}

sub am_i_near() {
  #### look at all of the remote bluetooth devices in the area
  #### return 1 (found) or 0 (not found)

  my $addr; # address of BT device we found
  my $device_ref = get_remote_devices();
   foreach $addr (keys %$device_ref) {
    $verbose && printf("Name: %s, Address: %s\n",  $addr, $device_ref->{$addr});
    if (($addr =~ /$address/i) && (($device_ref->{$addr}) =~ /$name/i)) {
       # Both the name and the BlueTooth address matches
      return 1; # I found the device
    } else {
      $verbose && printf( "Device %s != %s, and/or BlueTooth Address %s != %s\n",
                          $addr, $address, $name, $device_ref->{$addr});
     }
  }
  return 0; #device was not found
}

sub main() {

# the first time I start up, make sure I find the device
  my $start=time();
  my $interval = 0;
  while ($interval<=$starting_delay && !defined($timestamp_last_time_device_was_seen)) {
     $interval=time()-$start; # how long have I been waiting?
    $verbose && print "I've been waiting $interval seconds so far\n";
    if (&am_i_near()) {
      $timestamp_last_time_device_was_seen = time();
     } else {
      printf(STDERR "Warning - Cannot find BlueTooth device with address $address, let me try again\n");
      sleep($interval_between_samples);
    }
  }

  if (defined($timestamp_last_time_device_was_seen)) {
     $verbose && printf("I found the device after %f seconds\n", ($timestamp_last_time_device_was_seen-$start))
  } else {
    $verbose && printf("I waited $interval seconds, which is greater that %d, and I did not see BlueTooth address $address, so I am quiting\n", $starting_delay);
     exit(2);
  }

  # I found it. Now we enter the main loop
  printf(STDERR "Entering screenlock mode\n");
  sleep($interval_between_samples); # once
# now start the main loop.
  while (1) {
     # is the device nearby?
    if (&am_i_near()) {
      $timestamp_last_time_device_was_seen = time(); # yes.
      # perhaps unlock the screen - if the unsafe option is on
      $unsafe && system($unlock_command);
     }
    $interval=time()-$timestamp_last_time_device_was_seen; # how long is the device missing?
    if ($interval > $maximum_interval_before_locking) { # too long.
      system($lock_command);
    } else {
       $verbose && printf(" %f < %f, wait again\n", $interval, $maximum_interval_before_locking);
    }
    sleep($interval_between_samples);
  }
}

&main();
1; #exit properly

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MetaWatch Hacking Part 1

Posted by grymoire in Hacking, Linux, Technology on December 25, 2011

I just received an Analog MetaWatch. Cool.  Let’s hack it.

This page discusses updating the firmware on both Linux and Windows-based Operating Systems. I also talk about installing  the toolchain for Linux,

First step: Upgrade the Firmware to 0.8.0

Hmm. After reading the notes on the wiki  and the PDF from the developer site, I downloaded the updated firmware and firmware updated, and FET-Pro430 Lite. I tried to reflash my watch. I was not able to select the box that said “Verify Security Fuse” or “Auto Prog.”

Aha! I was fooled by the diagram in the reflashing manual. You cannot check those boxes. Instead, you have to press the “Verify Security Fuse” and then press “Auto Prog”.

I also tried to reflash the watch using Linux. See below.

I was reading some documents, and it suggested installing the MSP430 toolchain. This is not needed if you just want to reflash the watch because you can use apt-get to install msdebug.

However, see below, I had problems flashing with Linux. See below.

 Install the Linux toolchain

I typed

 sudo apt-get install subversion gcc-4.4 texinfo patch libncurses5-dev zlibc zlib1g-dev libx11-dev libusb-dev libreadline6-dev

Since I am in the “admin” group, I did the following so I don;t have to be root to update the software. So I typed

sudo mkdir /opt; sudo chgrp admin /opt; sudo chmod 775 /opt
This way I do not have to compile the toolchain using sudo. In a new directory, I typed

svn checkout https://mspgcc4.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/mspgcc4cd mspgcZsh buildgcc.sh
This took a while to run. It failed when it tried to downloadhttp://gd.tuwien.ac.at/gnu/sourceware/insight/releases/insight-6.8-1.tar.bz2This file did not exist. So I searched for this file and found it herehttp://pkgs.fedoraproject.org/repo/pkgs/insight/insight-6.8-1.tar.bz2/4ee9824c1e8d6108d886c6c09b24f0ac/insight-6.8-1.tar.bz2So I downloaded and unpacked it into a new directory with

tar xvfj insight-6.8-1.tar.bz2cd insight-6.8-1./configuremake

This failed at the following
gcc -c -g -O2   -I. -I.././gdb -I.././gdb/config -DLOCALEDIR="\"/usr/local/share/locale\"" -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I.././gdb/../include/opcode -I.././gdb/../readline/.. -I../bfd -I.././gdb/../bfd -I.././gdb/../include -I../libdecnumber -I.././gdb/../libdecnumber   -DMI_OUT=1 -DGDBTK -DTUI=1  -Wall -Wdeclaration-after-statement -Wpointer-arith -Wformat-nonliteral -Wno-pointer-sign -Wno-unused -Wno-switch -Wno-char-subscripts -Werror linux-nat.ccc1: warnings being treated as errorslinux-nat.c: In function ‘linux_nat_info_proc_cmd’:linux-nat.c:2879: error: ignoring return value of ‘fgets’, declared with attribute warn_unused_result

There were several errors. Gcc was configured to give an error for any warning. Rather than chnage the compile option, I just fixed the code. In most cases error returns were ignored.

Example - I  changed
      fgets (buffer, sizeof (buffer), procfile);to    if (fgets (buffer, sizeof (buffer), procfile)) {    printf_filtered ("cmdline = '%s'\n", buffer);      }

Here is the patch file I used for the changes to insight

———————–

*** ./eval.c    2011-12-25 14:09:58.000000000 -0500--- ./eval.c.~1~    2008-02-03 19:23:04.000000000 -0500****************** 1647,1656 ****      struct type *tmp_type;      int offset_item;    /* The array offset where the item lives */ -     i=0;-     while (i<=MAX_FORTRAN_DIMS) {-       subscript_array[i++]=0;-     }      if (nargs > MAX_FORTRAN_DIMS)        error (_("Too many subscripts for F77 (%d Max)"), MAX_FORTRAN_DIMS); --- 1647,1652 ----*** ./utils.c    2011-12-25 14:07:47.000000000 -0500--- ./utils.c.~1~    2008-01-01 17:53:13.000000000 -0500****************** 704,712 ****      abort ();    /* NOTE: GDB has only three calls to abort().  */        default:      dejavu = 3;!     if (write (STDERR_FILENO, msg, sizeof (msg))==-1) {!       error( ("write failed."));!     }      exit (1);        }    }--- 704,710 ----      abort ();    /* NOTE: GDB has only three calls to abort().  */        default:      dejavu = 3;!     write (STDERR_FILENO, msg, sizeof (msg));      exit (1);        }    }*** ./mi/mi-cmd-env.c    2011-12-25 14:03:43.000000000 -0500--- ./mi/mi-cmd-env.c.~1~    2008-01-01 17:53:14.000000000 -0500****************** 78,86 ****           /* Otherwise the mi level is 2 or higher.  */ !   if (!getcwd (gdb_dirbuf, sizeof (gdb_dirbuf))) {!     error( ("getcwd failed."));!   };    ui_out_field_string (uiout, "cwd", gdb_dirbuf);     return MI_CMD_DONE;--- 78,84 ----           /* Otherwise the mi level is 2 or higher.  */ !   getcwd (gdb_dirbuf, sizeof (gdb_dirbuf));    ui_out_field_string (uiout, "cwd", gdb_dirbuf);     return MI_CMD_DONE;*** ./linux-nat.c    2011-12-25 13:52:59.000000000 -0500--- ./linux-nat.c.~1~    2008-01-29 17:47:20.000000000 -0500****************** 2876,2884 ****        sprintf (fname1, "/proc/%lld/cmdline", pid);        if ((procfile = fopen (fname1, "r")) != NULL)      {!       if (fgets (buffer, sizeof (buffer), procfile)) {!         printf_filtered ("cmdline = '%s'\n", buffer);!       }        fclose (procfile);      }        else--- 2876,2883 ----        sprintf (fname1, "/proc/%lld/cmdline", pid);        if ((procfile = fopen (fname1, "r")) != NULL)      {!       fgets (buffer, sizeof (buffer), procfile);!       printf_filtered ("cmdline = '%s'\n", buffer);        fclose (procfile);      }        else*** ./main.c    2011-12-25 14:03:43.000000000 -0500--- ./main.c.~1~    2008-01-05 11:49:53.000000000 -0500****************** 188,196 ****    line[0] = '';        /* Terminate saved (now empty) cmd line */    instream = stdin; !   if (!getcwd (gdb_dirbuf, sizeof (gdb_dirbuf))) {!     error( ("getcwd failed."));!   };    current_directory = gdb_dirbuf;     gdb_stdout = stdio_fileopen (stdout);--- 188,194 ----    line[0] = '';        /* Terminate saved (now empty) cmd line */    instream = stdin; !   getcwd (gdb_dirbuf, sizeof (gdb_dirbuf));    current_directory = gdb_dirbuf;     gdb_stdout = stdio_fileopen (stdout);*** ./cli/cli-cmds.c    2011-12-25 14:03:44.000000000 -0500--- ./cli/cli-cmds.c.~1~    2008-01-01 17:53:14.000000000 -0500****************** 320,328 ****  {    if (args)      error (_("The \"pwd\" command does not take an argument: %s"), args);!   if (!getcwd (gdb_dirbuf, sizeof (gdb_dirbuf))) {!     error( ("getcwd failed."));!   }     if (strcmp (gdb_dirbuf, current_directory) != 0)      printf_unfiltered (_("Working directory %s\n (canonically %s).\n"),--- 320,326 ----  {    if (args)      error (_("The \"pwd\" command does not take an argument: %s"), args);!   getcwd (gdb_dirbuf, sizeof (gdb_dirbuf));     if (strcmp (gdb_dirbuf, current_directory) != 0)      printf_unfiltered (_("Working directory %s\n (canonically %s).\n"),*** ./inflow.c    2011-12-25 14:06:53.000000000 -0500--- ./inflow.c.~1~    2008-01-01 17:53:11.000000000 -0500****************** 545,567 ****    if (tty != 0)      {        close (0);!       if (dup (tty)==-1) {!         error(("dup(tty) failed."));!       }      }    if (tty != 1)      {        close (1);!       if (dup (tty)==-1) {!         error(("dup(tty) failed."));!       }      }    if (tty != 2)      {        close (2);!       if (dup (tty)==-1) {!         error(("dup(tty) failed."));!       }      }    if (tty > 2)      close (tty);--- 545,561 ----    if (tty != 0)      {        close (0);!       dup (tty);      }    if (tty != 1)      {        close (1);!       dup (tty);      }    if (tty != 2)      {        close (2);!       dup (tty);      }    if (tty > 2)      close (tty);*** ./top.c    2011-12-25 14:03:42.000000000 -0500--- ./top.c.~1~    2008-01-01 17:53:13.000000000 -0500****************** 1628,1636 ****     /* Run the init function of each source file */ !   if (!getcwd (gdb_dirbuf, sizeof (gdb_dirbuf))) {!     error( ("getcwd failed."));!   };    current_directory = gdb_dirbuf;   #ifdef __MSDOS__--- 1628,1634 ----     /* Run the init function of each source file */ !   getcwd (gdb_dirbuf, sizeof (gdb_dirbuf));    current_directory = gdb_dirbuf;   #ifdef __MSDOS__

———

I then installed the gdbserver software (which apparently insight does this).

Next I went back to the previous step, and told it to not install insight (as it was already installed).

I used

perl buildgcc.pl

as the previous step said this was preferred.

I added the compiler to the searchpath by executing the following as root

echo ‘export PATH=${PATH}:/opt/msp430-gcc-4.4.3/bin;’ >/etc/profile.d/msp430.sh

Next I downloaded Next I downloaded the tar file for mspdebug from sourceforge.

And did the following

  1. tar xvfz mspdebug-version.tar.gzhttp://getsatisfaction.com/thingm/topics/fatory_settings_for_blinkm
  2. cd mspdebug-version
  3. make
  4. sudo make install

This worked.  However,m I also read that I could have just installed this program using apt-get.

So I downloaded the firmware and typed

unzip MetaWatch_Analog_FW_WDS111_V0_8_0.zip

ANd then to reprogram the firmware, I typed

sudo mspdebug rf2500

and it responded

MSPDebug version 0.18 – debugging tool for MSP430 MCUs
Copyright (C) 2009-2011 Daniel Beer <dlbeer@gmail.com>
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Trying to open interface 1 on 002
Initializing FET…
FET protocol version is 30263144
Configured for Spy-Bi-Wire
Set Vcc: 3000 mV
Device ID: 0×0580
Device: MSP430F5438A
Code memory starts at 0x5c00
Number of breakpoints: 8

I next typed

prog AnalogWatchV0_8_0.txt

This took a while, and the system printed severla lines like

Erasing…
Programming…
Writing 4096 bytes to 5c00…
Writing 4096 bytes to 6c00…
Writing 4096 bytes to 7c00…
[snip]]]
Writing 4096 bytes to 29ff0…
Writing 4096 bytes to 2aff0…
Writing 4096 bytes to 2bff0…
Writing 4096 bytes to 2cff0…
Writing 2138 bytes to 2dff0…

And then I got the prompt again. I tried pressing the buttons with the USB connector attached, and I saw nothing. I was worried I bricked the device at first. But when I disconnected and reconnected the clip, the watch returned to normal, and when I pressed the status button, It reported it was using the 0.8.0 firmware version…

I reread the forum, and I did not update all of the flash. The text files goes up to @2E800 and beyond. But according to Daniel Beer, this is normal. 2138 bytes past
0x2dff0 is 0x2e84a, which appears to be the upper limit of the firmware.

So both Linux and Windows were successfully able to upload the firmware.

References

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Building a Linux-based HTPC Part 4

Posted by grymoire in Linux on March 16, 2011

Continued from part 3.

Linux Customization

Here’s a guide for debugging sound card problems. There seems to be hope for the Realtek AlC889 hardware. And there’s this post. Here’s a note on PulseAudio.this part

Well, this part went very smoothly. Everything worked fine.

SilverStone Rebate – great news!

I just received my $20 rebate check from SilverStone. The process is a little more complicated than it was for similar rebates years ago. You need to “pre-register” which I did. But they were suppose to send me e-mail to get the form. Instead, I “registered” again, and a web page appeared and wanted to know the manufacturer, the invoice number, date of purchase, etc. This was similar to the memory rebate.

Well, since it took weeks for me to get all of the parts, I noticed when I filled out the rebate for the SilverStone case, that I had waited too long. It was 2 days past the date that the rebate form had to be postmarked. I said “what the heck” and I sent it in anyway.

Well – the rebate check came yesterday. And the check was hand signed. SilverStone – you are great!

I just got the Crucial rebate. Finally. 2 months later

How do I fix Bent Sata pins?

I was inserting a new disk drive, and the metal case holding the drives fell down, and the sata plug broke. The black plastic piece broke off, and the pins were bent.

After swearing loudly, I looked into solutions. This is how I fixed the problem.

I found this discussion of combing.

I straightened the pins, and kept the black plastic piece. I did a dry fit practice run of holding the black plastic to the pins. I used some business cards to create a gentle wedge that would hold the pins against the black plastic piece. I took my time.

When I was ready, I placed some superglue on the black plastic and used the wedge to hold the plastic against the metal pins. When that was drying, I put a long sata cable into the plug hole to make sure everything was sitting correctly.

Then I put some 5-minute clear epoxy where the sata cable pluged into the disk. I let this drive. The sata cable is now permanently fastened to the disk, but it will let me recover the data and use the disk for a while. I might be able to remove and insert it, and still keep the sata pins from breaking.

Mythtv issues

Because I installed munin, I notices my mysql innodb table was critical. I probably have too much in the database. I need to resolve this issue.

It turned out I had hardware issues as well. I tried to install a new OS. Mythtv still did not work. It ended up being a mess.

Dead Video – Beginning of the MythTV Woes

Selecting a new tuner

My old PVR-150 card died. Actually, I snapped off the coax cable connector while struggling to get the chassis in place.

I found out that the pvr-150 isn’t supported if you have more that 4GB. So it’s just as well I got a new tuner.

I bought a Haugppauge HVP-1250. And I had some problems. I also bought a Hauppauge PVR-950Q. I planned to return the one that did not work.

The lines that helped the most was This one which told me I had a HVP-1255 card, not a 1250 card. This is card=20, not card=3. Haugppage says the card in unsupported in Linux. Hmm.

Anyhow,  I created a file /etc/modprobe.conf and it had

options cx23885 card=20

options CORE_cx23885[0]_dvb adapter_nr=0

I had problems.

Getting frustrated, I ordered a different TV tuner from Amazon – the Hauppauge HVR-950Q.

First thing, according to the mythtv wiki, I created the file /etc/modprobe.d/xc5000.cf that contained

options xc5000 no_poweroff=1

I also see that w_scan was buggy. I used in information from KernelLabs to get the proper source of w_scan. I downloaded both versions. Neither worked. But perhaps the no_poweroff option didn’t get installed. I tried to rmmod, but the driver was busy. So I (sigh) rebooted (Linux gurus hate to reboot).  This time I had to use the new version. But it worked!

Finding the channels

w_scan doesn’t work. I get

I also installed w-scan mplayer dvbstream dvb-apps.
ERROR: Sorry - i couldn't get any working frequency/transponder

Trying this link.

But the status looks okay. This link looks promising. That didn’t work.

Let me document what I see.

% lspci -d 14f1:8880 -v
03:00.0 Multimedia video controller: Conexant Systems, Inc. Hauppauge Inc. HDPVR-1250 model 1196 (rev 04)
Subsystem: Hauppauge computer works Inc. Device 2259
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17
Memory at f7a00000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=2M]
Capabilities: [40] Express Endpoint, MSI 00
Capabilities: [80] Power Management version 3
Capabilities: [90] Vital Product Data <?>
Capabilities: [a0] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit+ Queue=0/0 Enable-
Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting <?>
Capabilities: [200] Virtual Channel <?>
Kernel driver in use: cx23885
Kernel modules: cx23885

This does not look like this results. But it is similar.  My driver might be newer. dmesg | grep cx23885 says:

[    7.689374] cx23885 driver version 0.0.2 loaded
[    7.689409] cx23885 0000:03:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[    7.689477] CORE cx23885[0]: subsystem: 0070:2259, board: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1255 [card=20,insmod option]
[    7.836815] cx23885[0]: hauppauge eeprom: model=22111
[    7.836817] cx23885_dvb_register() allocating 1 frontend(s)
[    7.836819] cx23885[0]: cx23885 based dvb card
[    8.275454] DVB: registering new adapter (cx23885[0])
[    8.275705] cx23885_dev_checkrevision() Hardware revision = 0xd0
[    8.275712] cx23885[0]/0: found at 0000:03:00.0, rev: 4, irq: 17, latency: 0, mmio: 0xf7a00000
[    8.275719] cx23885 0000:03:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
[    8.275724] IRQ 17/cx23885[0]: IRQF_DISABLED is not guaranteed on shared IRQs

% dmesg | grep DVB
[    7.836809] tveeprom 5-0050: TV standards NTSC(M) ATSC/DVB Digital (eeprom 0×88)
[    8.275454] DVB: registering new adapter (cx23885[0])
[    8.275458] DVB: registering adapter 0 frontend 0 (Samsung S5H1411 QAM/8VSB Frontend)…

Looking at this link and this link suggest I need custom source code. Sigh.

Right now I am trying

dvbscan -out channels - -frontend /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend0 /usr/share/dvb/atsc/us-Cable-Standard-center-frequencies-QAM256

and I’m still waiting for an output. It’s been 12 hours, and nothing yet. I saw this link about making sure you have the latest firmware. That didn’t help.

I grabbed the sources of w_scan. There were errors in the w_scan_start.sh file which I had to fix.

So following the steps on the w_scan site for English speakers, I typed

sudo mkdir /etc/vdr

w_scan -ft -c US >> /etc/vdr/channels.conf

While doing that, I was getting some errors

(time: 15:14) Info: PAT filter timeout
Info: VCT(terrestrial) filter timeout
tune to: 8VSB     f=183000 kHz
(time: 15:32) Info: PAT filter timeout

mkdir -p ~/.mplayer/
w_scan-X -cUS >~/.mplayer/channels.conf

Scanning for channels.

I was having problems getting channel scanning to work properly.

This link about adding digital cable channels was useful. I also found this link comparing dvbscan, scan, w_scan to be useful.

I did a dmesg|grep adapter

then once I got the proper numberof the adapter, I did

dvbscan -filter tv -adapter 1 /usr/share/dvb/atsc/us-NTSC-center-frequencies-8VSB

and got

Unable to query frontend status

I found a note from kernellabs and this message from Mark Lord

http://www.kernellabs.com/blog/?p=1388 – this is good

I also found out that the old PVR-150 card that I had would not work on my new computer because I have more than 4GB of RAM.

I am able to get tvtime to work (no sound yet). But mplayer shows green

I got errors when using “mplayer tv://”, i.e.

inputs: 0 = Television; 1=Composite; 2= S-VIdeo:

Current input: 1

rename_tuners.sh

I saw Mark Lord’s post here, where he mentioned rename_tuners.sh

This is a handy tool, because having names that change depending on what is plugged in crerates instability. Its much better to have a consistent name.

I downloaded it, but it did not work for me at first.

I tried rename_tuners.sh –test and it reported:

logger: rename_tuners.sh: # started
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # waiting for pctv800i: to show up
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # pctv800i v4l device not found
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # pctv800i dvb device not found
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # hvr950q v4l device not found
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # hvr950q dvb device not found
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # pvr250 v4l device not found
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # waited 10 seconds for all required tuners to show up
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # making new V4l links
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # /bin/ln -sf dsp? /dev/pctv800i_dsp
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # /bin/ln -sf mixer? /dev/pctv800i_mixer
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # making new dvb links
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # all done.

It only found two links. Note that the v4l and the dvb link is missing. Looking at the source code, I found that it was executing the command

readlink  /sys/class/dvb/dvb0.dvr0

which returned

../../devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/dvb/dvb0.dvr0

so I changed

tuners["hvr950q"]='dvb+v4l pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.7/usb1/1-3/1-3.4'

to

tuners["hvr950q"]='dvb+v4l pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.3'

Note that the script has the -list option:

./rename_tuners.sh --list

it provides the data you need. Now when I execute the script, I get:

logger: rename_tuners.sh: # started
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # hvr950q v4l device ok
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # hvr950q dvb device ok
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # waited 0 seconds for all required tuners to show up
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # making new V4l links
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # /bin/ln -sf video0 /dev/hvr950q_video
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # /bin/ln -sf vbi0 /dev/hvr950q_vbi
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # /bin/ln -sf dsp? /dev/hvr950q_dsp
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # /bin/ln -sf mixer? /dev/hvr950q_mixer
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # making new dvb links
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # /bin/ln -sf adapter0 /dev/dvb/adapter_hvr950q
 logger: rename_tuners.sh: # all done.

Much better. AFter running it with the –test option, I ran it as root to create the links.

Anyhow I was getting frustrated. I looked into other cards.

HVR-1600 Card

There is a conflict with the NVIDIA driver and thecx18 driver.

This link explains how to modify grub to allocate more virtual memory to prevent this problem.

Hauppauge HVR-2250 Card

However, one person said the HVR-2250 card is the one to get. It has two twin tuners, so I can record two channels at the same time.

It also has a MPEG-2 hardware, so it can receive analog without sweating.

I plugged it in, using the top coax connector (for TV – The bottom one is for FM Radio) and it didn’t work.

dmesg|grep saa

returned nothing, so the driver wasn’t working.

I used this page for the for the driver. That is, I did

wget http://www.steventoth.net/linux/hvr22xx/22xxdrv_27086.zip
wget http://www.steventoth.net/linux/hvr22xx/HVR-12x0-14x0-17x0_1_25_25271_WHQL.zip
wget http://www.steventoth.net/linux/hvr22xx/extract.sh
sh extract.sh
cp *fw /lib/firmware.2.6.38-6-server

apt-get install mercurial libncurses5-dev

hg clone http://kernellabs.com/hg/saa7164-stable/
cd saa7164-stable

And then I tried to make the new kernel as instructed. It failed. kfree was undefined.

Next I found a blog link that said the sources were merged into the linux-tv code base.
I followed the directions here

I followed the directions.  I build the modules, and installed them. I rebooted. I got the following error

[   17.894009] saa7164 driver loaded
[   17.894063] saa7164 0000:04:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[   17.895004] CORE saa7164[0]: subsystem: 0070:8851, board: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR2250 [card=7,autodetected]
[   17.895008] saa7164[0]/0: found at 0000:04:00.0, rev: 129, irq: 17, latency: 0, mmio: 0xf7800000
[   17.895013] saa7164 0000:04:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
[   18.092111] saa7164_downloadfirmware() no first image
[   18.092130] saa7164_downloadfirmware() Waiting for firmware upload (NXP7164-2010-03-10.1.fw)
[   18.109432] saa7164_downloadfirmware() Upload failed. (file not found?)

While researching the problem, I found this link h and did

wget http://www.steventoth.net/linux/hvr22xx/firmwares/4019072/NXP7164-2010-03-10.1.fw
sudo cp NXP7164-2010-03-10.1.fw /lib/firmware/

rmmod saa7164
modprobe saa7164
 and now I get
2801.682471] saa7164 0000:04:00.0: PCI INT A disabled
[ 2809.705227] saa7164 driver loaded
[ 2809.705304] saa7164 0000:04:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[ 2809.707882] CORE saa7164[0]: subsystem: 0070:8851, board: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR2250 [card=7,autodetected]
[ 2809.707890] saa7164[0]/0: found at 0000:04:00.0, rev: 129, irq: 17, latency: 0, mmio: 0xf7800000
[ 2809.707901] saa7164 0000:04:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
[ 2809.905702] saa7164_downloadfirmware() no first image
[ 2809.905713] saa7164_downloadfirmware() Waiting for firmware upload (NXP7164-2010-03-10.1.fw)
[ 2809.916824] saa7164_downloadfirmware() firmware read 4019072 bytes.
[ 2809.916830] saa7164_downloadfirmware() firmware loaded.
[ 2809.916847] saa7164_downloadfirmware() SecBootLoader.FileSize = 4019072
[ 2809.916855] saa7164_downloadfirmware() FirmwareSize = 0x1fd6
[ 2809.916859] saa7164_downloadfirmware() BSLSize = 0x0
[ 2809.916863] saa7164_downloadfirmware() Reserved = 0x0
[ 2809.916867] saa7164_downloadfirmware() Version = 0x1661c00
[ 2817.122736] saa7164_downloadimage() Image downloaded, booting...
[ 2817.232395] saa7164_downloadimage() Image booted successfully.
[ 2819.564972] saa7164_downloadimage() Image downloaded, booting...
[ 2821.100087] saa7164_downloadimage() Image booted successfully.
[ 2821.150397] saa7164[0]: Hauppauge eeprom: model=88061
[ 2821.883609] DVB: registering new adapter (saa7164)
[ 2825.524966] DVB: registering new adapter (saa7164)
[ 2825.525557] saa7164[0]: registered device video0 [mpeg]
[ 2825.755692] saa7164[0]: registered device video1 [mpeg]
[ 2825.966034] saa7164[0]: registered device vbi0 [vbi]
[ 2825.966104] saa7164[0]: registered device vbi1 [vbi]


Success!


Next - I ran mythtv-setup

I created four capture cards

The first two were card type ITTV (MPEG-2)

and named /dev/video0 and /dev/video1

The next two capture cards are DVB type and named /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend0  and /dev/dvb/adapter1/frontend0


I connected them to SchedulesDirect.


There still is some tweaking to do, but analog is working!

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Building a Linux-based HTPC Part 3

Posted by grymoire in Linux, Technology on January 30, 2011

Continued from part 2

Assembling the P7H57D-M EVO with the SilverStone LC17

First question – do I need a fan installed in front of the disk drives? This is an option, so for now I am not installing a fan. I should have one on hand just in case.

The Asus documentation says that I need to use DVI-D cable for the BIOS. The VGA cannot be used.

First step – remove the center brace.

How to install the SeaSonic power supply

The box was impressive to open. The PSU came in a black cloth drawn-string bag. The cables came in their own carry-along – with velcro straps.

The power supply installed in the case. The documentation said the fan should face the motherboard, but some chassis don’t allow this. The LC17 is one of those – the fan faces out.

How to install the ASUS Q-Shield into the Silverstone LC17

The Asus Q-shield must be snapped into place before the motherboard is fastened to the chassis.

How to install the ASUS P7H57D-M EVO Motherboard

I put Threadlocker fluid on the threads for the stand-off posts that came with the LC17. I tightened the posts with a small Crescent wrench. If I have to remove the motherboard, I didn’t want the the posts to loosen.

Make sure the pins under the the Q connector are straight.

How to install the chassis fans with 3-pin and 4-pin connectors.

There are two connectors for chassis fans. One is 4 pin, and one is 3-pin. The chassis fans only has 3-pin connectors. So I connected the other chassis fan to the 4-pin connector as suggested. I suppose I could get a 4-pin. variable speed fan, and replace one of the chassis fans. This way, the system can control the speed of the fan.

How to install the Firewire 1394 connector onto the  P7H57D-M EVO

This installed with no problem.

Installing the Audio card.

The LC17 front port has an audio connector with two headers, I picked the one I wanted, and plugged it into the audio connector. I do have to set the BIOS to the proper audio controller.

The Asus P7H57D-M EVO Motherboard has 8-pin ports for the USB, but the LC17 had 4+1 pins.

Here’s how to handle this issue. Just make sure the red wire is closest to the back panel, and the 4-pin plug is closest to the back. The unused connector is closest to the front panel.

The front panel has 4 USB ports. So that’s USB7/8 and USB9/10.  I need the 4-port USB panel for the back panel for USB11/12 and USB 13/14. As these are the 10-pin (one unused) standard, they installed easily.

I’m not sure why Asus included a 2-port USB panel with an eSATA port. I don;t see any place to plug in the  extra eSATA connector.

Attaching the SeaSonic X650W Power Supply to the Asus P7H57D-M EVO

For my first PC, this is complex. There are some how-tos that help a little.

The EATX12V connector on the Asus motherboard has 4 of the pins covered by a cap. The solution is to remove the cap and use a 8-pin CPU connector.

I  connected the 24-pin EATXPWR to the 20-pin PSU connector in the lower right of the panel. The other 10-pin connector plugs in the upper left, right above the 20-pin.

Installing the 5″ optical bay

Make sure the blue wires from the front panel (USB) are underneath, and around, so the wires can be dressed nicely. The 24-pin EATXPWX connector makes this a little tight, as the wires press up against the bay.

I installed the SATA cables before I installed the 3.5″ disk drive bay.

CPU Installation

The Asus documentation stresses how imnportant you push in the fan pins on a diagonal. Then push them in on the other diagonal.

Do not turn the plastic pegs. This is only done when you wish to remove the fan.

What should I worry about concerning the SATA2 vs SATA3 connectors.

I have to make sure I use the SATA2 ports for my Linux system, instead of the SATA3. So I am limited to 4 SATA drives until Linux catches up in technology.

Dressing the wires/cables

The Silverstone comes with an EMI ring that the front panel wires go though. These wires are blue. It also helps keep the wires neat.

The other wires i dressed in two sections. The power cables were dressed in one bundle. I fastened them to the middle chassis brace with a Velcro strap. The data cables were dressed in another bundle. It’s always a good idea to have power cables and data cables separate.

Boot issues

Here is some help.

The CPU and cooler come with thermal paste, but it’s a good idea to check instructions if you want to re-apply Arctic Paste.

I booted up without any memory. The green poweron led was lit as soon as I flicked on the PSU. When I pressed the Power switch on the front panel, a red LED near the CPU blinked, and then the fan started to spin. Then this repeated  again.

BIOS

I have to make sure I select the right Audio option. There are two audio plugs from the front panel. I choose the AA97 because I think the older standard will work better with Linux. I also have to set the BIOS the same way.

I’m not using a RAID setup.

Next step – Linux

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Building a Linux-based HTPC Part 2

Posted by grymoire in Hacking, Linux, Technology on January 29, 2011

Ordering my P7H57D-M EVO HTPC

This is a continuation of Part 1 of my adventures in building an Open Source HTPC.

I did a lot of price comparison, and purchased parts from Amazon (for the chassis), ExcaliberPC (for the power supply), and SuperWarehouse for the motherboard, CPU and memory. Amazon also sold the power supply at a good price, but they wanted $50 shipping!

SuperWarehouse review – not good

Well, I am not pleased with SuperWarehouse. . I used them because they had free shipping if the order was over $300. When I ordered the motherboard, the web site said they had one board in stock. Then I get an email saying it’s backordered. So I said I wanted the CPU and memory anyway. They didn’t ship the order for 8 days, or even let me know when they planned to ship it.  Everything else I ordered, even after all of the changes, and still nothing from SuperWarehouse. I canceled the order by email. The email reply was that “Sorry. The order is submitted. We can’t cancel it.” So I called them in person, and talked to someone, who canceled it. And to top it all off, they charged my credit card! Yes, they never shipped me anything, yet I find a charge on my credit card. I send an email, and they quickly responded, but charging credit cards before the parts are in stock is just wrong.

The rest of the vendors

I had to find another vendor for the mobo. I next went to FuturePowerPC. I ordered the mobo which was in stock. Get an email – out of stock. I next tried NextDayPC, and they said they had 24 units in stock. I placed the order, and they did not have any in stock! What type of !#@% inventory system do they use that has 24 missings motherboards!!! Their website lies.

Sigh… I looked around some more. I called one vendor, who said the mobo was obsolete. He wanted to sell me the -PRO version. I checked the Asus web site, and looked some more, to see that they have a Asus p7h57d EVO as well as Asus p7h55d EVO. Unlike the P7H55D boards, of which there are 10 variations,  the P7H57D board only has the -EVO version. It looked like this verison “had a few more months of tweaking” according to bit-tech. When I started looking for the P7H57D-EVO, Amazon had it for the lowest price, and quick delivery, so I used them.

I looked for another vendor for the CPU, and decided on buy.com. I’d normally pick Amazon, but sometimes Amazon delays shipping for a week, and the CPU and memory became critical because I had all of the other parts. Despite the delays that Amazon has in shipping, and despite the fact that I don;t have a Prime membership, Amazon has been very dependable. I placed all orders in one day, and after several days of waiting, anc cancelling, and choosing Amazon to ship a second order, the stuff from Amazon came faster that many of the other vendors shipping FexEx (8 days for the PSU).

I also decided to order the memory directly from Crucial, because of the good experience I had returning the old memory. This was not a pleasant experience. I used the same credit card for a dozen purchases. When I tried to use the same card on Crucial, they insisted on getting a SecureCode number from MasterCard. I did not sign up for this with MasterCard, and frankly, I don’t want the service. If I did, then the other 10 orders I placed would have been rejected.  What good is a service that prevents you from doing business with 95% of the vendors out there? As far as I know, Crucial is the only vendor that requests this. To add to the frustration, this extra requirement poped up in a new tab on my browser. I typically have 20 tabs open at once, and I didn’t notice the new tab. I repeated the entire purchase process several times, worrying that by reloading the page, I’d be charged twice.

So I finally completed my purchase using PayPal, which I did not want to do.

Additionally, when I used Crucial to suggest a memory board for my system, none of the parts seemed to match the list of parts on Asus’s Qualified Vendor List. But Crucial had a guaranty, so I will try the one they recommend. Well, it didn’t work, even though I used their oin-line tool to select a memory card. I contacted them, and they gave me a RMA. However, I the package has to arrive within 10 business days.

I ordered a Dual Channel DVI-D cable from J&R. They also wanted MasterCard SecureCode. I used PayPal instead. Grrr.

After placing the order for the Motherboard, I started looking at the P8H67-EVO. Perhaps this would have been a better choice. Here’s a tip. Always look at Amazon’s rankings of products. The P8P67d is a LGA1155 mobo. But the parts are already ordered. Oh well.

During the assembly/diagnosis process, I needed to get replacement parts. This is a real pain in the butt. Asus tells me to swap out the CPU and memory first. So how do I do that? Do I wait 2 weeks to get a replacement CPU?

And then wait another two weeks to get a replacement memory?

Some advice on buying components

Method #1 -Build with a buddy

You may want to find someone who wants to do the same thing as you. This may be near impossible, but if you have two of everything, diagnosing a problem is much easier.

Method #2 – Buy 2, and return one

You can order duplicates of every part, and then return the parts that you don’t need. Some vendors might be nicer than others. It’s a crap-shoot.

Method #3 – Buy from Amazon

FuturePowerPC.com sucks

I ordered the CPU from them because of the price.  I waited 10 days, to discover the CPU had not shipped, and I would not have discovered that unless I contacted them to find out the status.

NextDayPC.com sucks

They said they had 24 in stock. I orderd the product to find out they are out of stock.

buy.com sucks

Delivery was fast. Returns was easy. What was the problem? After returning the CPU, their web site says it takes 7-10 days to process the return. I contacted them to get the status, and then I found out that the CPU is out of stock. I got a refund. But if I had not contacted them, I don;t know when I would have found out.

Amazon.com rocks!

After dealing with a dozen vendors, Amazon is the best.  When I returned the Motherboard, Amazon sent me a replacement before I returned the original motherboard. They also gave me a month to return the second motherboard.

The reasons I didn’t first choose Amazon:

  • Other stores offered faster delivery. I don’t have Amazon prime, and I didn’t want to wait 10 days for my parts.
  • Other stores had cheaper prices. One dealer offered free shipping if I spent $300.
  • Other stores do not change state tax.

Advantages to using Amazon

  • Returns are easy and free
  • They will send you replacements before you ship the broken part back. Therefore you may be able to diagnose problems by having two units of each kind.
  • The popularity of the device is very useful. If you are buying some part that is rare, or unpopular, then you might be in trouble. It might be obsolete. Amazon can help you make sure you are using mainstream technology.
  • Amazon provides comparisons to similar products, and to related products. 99% of the time the “some people buy this instead of this” is useless to me because it rarely gives you unbiased views. It’s usually the same vendor that is suggested, but just a variation of the same product. But this is useful at times. For instance, when you buy a CPU, it reminds you of faster/slower versions of the same CPU.

If I had ordered from Amazo initially, I would have had all of the parts, and the replacement parts by now. But it’s been a month, and I still do not able to successfully boot.

Here’s how I assembled the PC. Continued.

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