Can't Read Some Files from All Disks
#1
I am running Ubuntu 10.04 32-bit and I have the XBMC binaries installed from the PPA. I recently upgraded from 9.x to the 10.0 SVN packages because I was previously having problems with disks being mounted properly when I inserted them. Even when mounted, they wouldn't show on the sources list without some tweaks. Eventually, a reboot was needed to proceed.

The new beta packages read, mount, and unmount optical disks MUCH better so I am happy about that. However, now I have the following problems that I'm hoping someone can help with:
  • XBMC refuses to read/play some files on every disk I try. For example, if I insert a data CD with 6 movies on it, only 3 can perhaps be played. The others do nothing when selected. They are the same format and all disks are known to be working. XBMC 9 had no trouble.
  • Thumbnail previews for movies don't work consistently. Sometimes they are not generated all and other times they are just a blank image. This may be related to the above issue.
  • XBMC seems to crash often now. I read another post about this related to mono audio, but all of my files use 2-channel stereo at a minimum.

Are the above items known issues? This is my first HTPC. What should I be running for the most stable, functional version of XBMC. As I mentioned, I tried 9.x stable and the disk reading/mounting issue is a show stopper.

Thanks for your help!
Reply
#2
*bump*

Is there a functional (meaning reads disks and files on disks consistently - see above) version of XBMC for Linux that I can run? I just want something that works. Thanks.
Reply
#3
No one else has these issues? Currently darma is unworkable for me using Ubuntu (xfce) because it refuses to play or stops part way through with most files from disks. Thumbnails are not created. XBMC 9 stable is crippled because it doesn't mount/unmount disks properly. Sometimes I can browse files after inserting a disk and sometimes I can't. This results in endless reboots to try to get it to work.

Any insight is appreciated. What should I be running that works?
Reply
#4
Start Here!
Reply
#5
I am running:
Linux (Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS, 2.6.35-19-generic x86_64). Built on Aug 30 2010 (SVN:33324)
the problem also occurs on my 32-bit HTPC running kernel 2.6.32 with the same SVN and no desktop manager running

XBMC was installed via Ubuntu PPA.

Description:
To reproduce the problem, insert any data disk containing video files into your drive WHILE xbmc is running. Browse to them and attempt to play. Some will play and generate thumbnails correctly. Others cannot be accessed. After exiting XBMC, I cannot read those same files from the disk using nautilus or any other player. However, if I remove and re-insert the disk, all files are again accessible using any application. If I insert the disk before opening XBMC and allow gnome or xfce to mount the device, I can access all the files in XBMC as well.

Perhaps this is a problem when XBMC mounts disks or a race condition? The issue occurs on my 64-bit Ubuntu system and my 32-bit Xfce HTPC. It happens whether or not a desktop manager is running at the time. However, it seems limited to only when disks are inserted while running XBMC.

In this example, I am trying to play videos encoded by DivX MS-MPEG-4 Version 3 in an AVI container. However, the problem exists for all formats. It seems like some sort of mounting issue. XBMC 9 does not have this problem. However, XBMC doesn't seem to mount disks well at all and I relied on browsing to where the desktop manager auto-mounted them when available.

Debug Log:
http://pastebin.com/cRQg7Y9K
Reply
#6
UPDATE: This now appears not 100% consistent. In addition, when running with a desktop manager, an error is sometimes displayed that the disk cannot be mounted by the desktop manager because it is already in use. In those cases, XBMC seems to be able to read all files normally. If I didn't know better, I'd think this was some sort of race condition when multiple apps are trying to mount the same disk to the same place simultaneously.
Reply
#7
You talk about problems when you insert a disc while XBMC is running. However, your debug log shows the disc is already inserted when XBMC starts.

Did you provide the correct log file?
Reply
#8
Yes, this log does provide a correct example. However, I may have restarted XBMC after initially inserting the disc while XBMC was first running before making this log. It is a reproducible problem on multiple systems and drives with different architectures. The issue only occurs with XBMC.
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
Can't Read Some Files from All Disks0