[mythtv-users] Can't start backend on Debian 9 (Stretch)

[Mike Perkins]

Help! Have migrated my myth systems, as mentioned previously, to a brand-new install on new hardware 
and Debian Stretch. Setting up was... interesting, but relatively painless though long-winded. I 
might mention some of my gotchas in another post once I'm up and running.

So, I decided that I hadn't copied my database over correctly. This was partly because I discovered 
that the backend on the new server was using one name (jade) and the frontend was using another 
(jade.example.com). I /think/ this is because one used etc/config.xml and the other used 
/home/mythtv/.mythtv/config.xml - and I hadn't at that point symlinked them.

Whatever, I took the backend down, rebuilt the database (correctly), run mythtv-setup and fixed the 
tuners, sources and storage directories, etc. Then... the backend refuses to start, even though I 
had it running previously.

This is systemd, so I have no idea where the logs might be and no idea how to read them even if I 
did. There's no .service file or anything, it's using some kind of compatibility mode. I installed 
the software from deb-multimedia, I assumed that there should have been a .service file to go with it.

mythtv at jade:~$ /usr/bin/mythbackend --version
Please attach all output as a file in bug reports.
MythTV Version : 03f4403
MythTV Branch : fixes/0.28
Network Protocol : 88
Library API : 0.28.20161120-1
QT Version : 5.7.1
Options compiled in:
  linux profile use_hidesyms using_alsa using_oss using_pulse using_pulseoutput using_backend 
using_bindings_perl using_bindings_python using_bindings_php using_crystalhd using_dvb 
using_firewire using_frontend using_hdhomerun using_vbox using_ceton using_hdpvr using_ivtv 
using_joystick_menu using_libcec using_libcrypto using_libdns_sd using_libfftw3 using_libxml2 
using_lirc using_mheg using_opengl using_opengl_video using_opengl_themepainter using_qtwebkit 
using_qtscript using_qtdbus using_taglib using_v4l2 using_x11 using_xrandr using_xv 
using_profiletype using_bindings_perl using_bindings_python using_bindings_php using_freetype2 
using_mythtranscode using_opengl using_vaapi using_vdpau using_ffmpeg_threads using_mheg 
using_libass using_libxml2
mythtv at jade:~$

Any ideas? (Apart from using Devuan, please.)

-- 

Mike Perkins