[mythtv-users] Help with ivtv & sbp2 mass storage on bootup

[Joseph A. Caputo]

On Thursday 07 October 2004 02:39, Jarod Wilson wrote:
> On Oct 6, 2004, at 21:31, Joseph A. Caputo wrote:
> > I'm having 2 separate (well, maybe 3?) problems with my boot
> > sequence, and I'm hoping someone here can help.
> >
> > Problem #1:
> > I have to periodically power off my backend and reboot.  This is
> > due to the picture quality from one or both of my 2 M-179 cards
> > getting really crappy over time.  I understand that this is
> > something that currently can't be resolved by unloading/loading the
> > ivtv module; only a power-off
> > resets the cards properly.
>
> My M179 stopped being so problematic when I moved it around on the
> mobo, so it gets picked up as /dev/video1 after my 250. Of course,
> that doesn't help w/a dual M179 setup... I've found a few other
> annoyances w/my M179s that are prompting me to look into the ivtv
> code to see if I can maybe fix them...
>
> > Problems #2 & #3 are annoyances made more annoying because of
> > Problem #1.
> >
> > Problem #2:
> > When I reboot (using a FC1 setup from Jarod's guide; mythbackend
> > started
> > from /etc/init.d/mythbackend; I think it's the last thing to run),
> > I don't get a 'good' ivtv initialization.  I don't have the
> > mythbackend log messages or the /var/log/messages output right now,
> > but basically every time I reboot I immediately have to:
> >    - modprobe -r ivtv
> >    - modprobe ivtv
> >    - /etc/init.d/mythbackend restart
> >
> > It's gotten to the point where I made a button in the Myth menus to
> > do this for me, but I'd really like to be able to use the
> > auto-wakeup feature, which means I need a fully working backend
> > from an unattended boot sequence.
>
> How about just putting that sequence in /etc/rc.local?

Yeah... I was actually thinking about putting it right into the /etc/
init.d/mythbackend script, so that if unloads/loads ivtv every time it 
starts up.  Since the only time I restart mythbackend is for a reboot, 
it should work.  I was just hoping to address the problem more 
directly, rather than just addressing the symptom.

> Going back to 
> my last ph, I haven't seen a bad load since moving my M179 to be the
> second card to init.

Interesting... I *have* noticed that it's usually my first card that 
degrades the most... makes me wonder if popping my old bt878 card back 
in as a dummy would help (would love to have a 3-tuner system, but my 
Athlon 1600+ XP just won't handle it).  Of course, I'd need a free PCI 
slot, and for that I'm out of luck...

> Oh, and what ivtv version are you running? If 
> you're still using 0.1.9, you might try bumping to ck100zz from
> ATrpms...

Yep, still using 0.1.9.  I've actually been thinking about upgrading, 
just waiting for the right moment.

>
> > Problem #3:
> > Not really Myth-related, but... I have an external FireWire hard
> > drive that I use for mythmusic & mythvideo content.  This drive
> > does not get auto-mounted.  I have a script that rescans the SCSI
> > bus every time the sbp2 module is loaded/unloaded; the script runs
> > during the boot sequence
> > but doesn't detect the drive; if I unload/reload the sbp2 module
> > after the system is completely booted, the drive is automatically
> > recognized and I can easily mount it.  Any suggestions?
>
> Mount the drive from /etc/rc.local, or hack your initrd to include
> the sbp2 module (and dependencies) and load it right off the bat, so
> the drive can get mounted at the same time as the rest of your
> mounts. The problem is that FC tries to mount all partitions before
> loading modules besides the ones in initrd.

Yes, again, I was hoping to get more to the root of it.  I've already 
got some stuff in /etc/rc.local (specifically, 'rescan_scsi_bus ; mount 
-a' ) that was meant to eliminate this problem, but I suppose I'll just 
have to bite the bullet there, too and unload/load the sbp2 module.

Thanks for your suggestions; I think I'll give the ivtv-ck100zz a try; 
it certainly seems like folks have been seeing good stability with that 
version.

-JAC