Problems and Solutions

Alternative numbering mode

Are you confronted with channellist (bouquet) that don't start with the number 1, then enable this and it will. Goto Main Menu -> Setup -> System -> GUI Settings -> User Interface and enable "Alternative numbering mode"

Brand\Vendor related

Vu⁺ related

Cable Scan issue's?

There is bug with the VU+ drivers so that a scan can not be completed if tuner D is used.

This is the issue: input3 and input2 have no input3_choices or input4_choices so the Enigma2 doesn't try to initialize them.

/proc/stb/tsmux/input1_choices:CI0 CI1 A B
/proc/stb/tsmux/input0_choices:CI0 CI1 A B
/proc/stb/tsmux/input3:A
/proc/stb/tsmux/input2:A
/proc/stb/tsmux/input1:B
/proc/stb/tsmux/input0:AA simple solution is to initialize them manually.

Temporary solution until reboot

echo -n C >  /proc/stb/tsmux/input2
echo -n D >  /proc/stb/tsmux/input3

Note: VU+ should add input2_choices and input3_choices nodes.

Temporary Solution, that still works after a reboot: Install the IPK files that are posted at: https://forums.openpli.org/topic/49214-vuplus-duo2-dvb-t2-tuner-nim-tt3l10-stopped-working/page-3#entry701207 Reboot the receiver, and the scan problems are solved.

Restore Splash screen for - Factory bootlogo

The file that can be found at the forum (see below) will place the original factory bootlogo back on your receiver. The content of the file needs to be placed on a USB pen drive. The file contains splash screens for the models:

duo2, solo2, solo4k, solose, ultimo, ultimo4k, vuduo4k, uno, uno4k, uno4kse, zero and the zero4k.

You do not have to pick one of the bootlogo's.. Your receiver selects only the file that must be needed. .

So the following steps must be taken:

1. place the content of the zip file on the USB pendrive
2. reboot your receiver
3. flash the 'image' (this wil take a few seconds)
4. when the flash is completed, remove the USB pendrive
5. restart your receiver

Source: https://forums.openpli.org/topic/48876-herstel-splash-screens-van-vu-modellen/page-3?p=975297

Zgemma related

Restore Splash screen for Zgemma

Source: https://forums.openpli.org/topic/41521-boot-screen/#entry549387

Edision related

Restore Splash screen for Edision

Source: https://forums.openpli.org/topic/47499-splash-for-edision-os-mega/#entry652041

CI module with softcam (eg. OScam), so using both and making them work together

If for some reason you want to use a CI module and OScam, you will probably run into error messages. The problem or better the errors are there because CI modules are designed to work standalone. So if you want to make them working together, best practice is using the "Commoninterfaceassignment plugin”. So to let a CI work together with a softcam download and install "Commoninterfaceassignment plugin" which is located in the system section of the Plugin browser. After installing the plugin goto Menu-> Setup -> SoftCam/CI -> Common Interface Assignment and define every channel for this CI module, that you have a subscription for. Enigma2 (OpenPLi) will then send all the other channels to the Softcam (OScam) and not to the CI module.

Crash logs

Crash logs are generated during a system crash, also known as a GSOD (green screen of death). The log can give insight to the probable cause of the crash. If you want help with the content of the file, you can post it on our forum. The crash log file is named like in the example below:

enigma2_crash_3891289128.log

The location of the crash log file when there is a HDD (Harddisk) present

Normally the crash.log file is stored in the root of the HDD so in

/media/hdd

The location of the crash.log file without any HDD (Harddisk) present

Normally the crash log file is stored in the

/home/root

Debugging Enigma

Debugging from the menu

As of OpenPLi 7.1 you can start debug mode from the menu, if you press the on/off key on the remote control there is now the option to Restart enigma in debug mode.

Now you can start or test anything you think is not right or for some reason what to know what is happening in the background. Once you have tested what you wanted to test press the on/off button on your receiver again and select Restart enigma in normal mode.

Don't forget to do this, as debugging uses CPU power and it creates a debug file that keeps on growing as long as your debugging. The debug file that is created during debug is in:

/home/root/enigma.20190901.debuglog

Debugging from the command line

If you want to debug and want to know what is happening in Enigma, you can start your receiver in debug mode with the following command:

root@<receiver>: init 4
root@<receiver>: ENIGMA_DEBUG_LVL=4 enigma2

To stop: Press CRTL-C. Enigma will halt. Then start enigma with:

root@<receiver>: init 3

Or reboot the receiver with:

root@<receiver>: reboot

Note: For debugging gstreamer with read actions stuff use: ENIGMA_DEBUG_LVL=4 GST_DEBUG=*soup*:6,*dvb*:6 enigma2

For easier reading (Less logging) use:

ENIGMA_DEBUG_LVL=4 GST_DEBUG=*soup*:4,*dvb*:4 enigma2

Writing debug log to a USB stick

If for some reason your receiver reboots your debug log might be gone. Then plugin a USB stick in your receiver and use the command below, which writes the debug log to and USB stick

ENIGMA_DEBUG_LVL=4 enigma2 | tee /media/usb/enigma.log

Flickering dashed line in screen

When you see a dashed flickering line on the "top" of the screen, you can cover this by pressing the menu when you are in the bouquetlist and select "cover dashed flickering line for this service".

Harddisk Check

Harddrives will fail, that's just a question of time, so a check from time to time is prudent,certainly when you have switched it off using the power switch or pulled the plug, as this will mess-up the filesystem. (btw it can also be a USB stick but it has to be formated ext3 or 4). When a internal drive is present you can check it using the menu. Main menu -> Setup -> System -> Expert Settings -> Harddisk -> Filesystem check.

I cannot record with my receiver or recording with a Zapper (eg. Vu Zero / Vu Solo Se)

By default some Vu⁺ boxes are a zapper, meaning you can not record with it. If you want to record with it, you can install the "pau" plugin/extension. It is located in the extensions section of the plugin browser.

Missing menu items or changing the access level of the configuration menu

As of OpenPLi 7.0 during a fresh flash (so no backup used) during the Installation you will be asked which suer mode you want to use. Here you can choose between 3 different user modes; Normal, Advanced or Expert. Each mode will reveal more options in the Menu, so if you are missing menu items, then you can change the user mode in the menu go to Main Menu > Setup > System > Expert settings > User Mode.

Movies or media files not playing

To play a certain movie or media file a codec (COder/DECoder) is needed. When a movie file won't play in OpenPLi this codec might be "missing" and sadly there is no way to add this missing codec, because opposite to a personal computer which can install missing codecs, a STB/receiver uses codecs from within the chip, so if the codec needed for a certain movie file is not in the chip of the receiver you are using, it cannot play it and you cannot add this missing codec, as you cannot add anything to silicon chip.

So if you have a movie can't be played, the only thing you can try is to re-code it. For this you can use programs like Handbrake. A good choice would be h264 or h265 as a video codec and mp2, mp3 or ac3 as an audio codec.

Mountmanager Problems

Here are some solutions when you run into problems with mounting\sharing a medium (HDD) in your network.

Older vs newer Kernel

When your box uses a kernel 3.x (Menu-Information-About) and you want to mount something that has a kernel 4.x your CIFS share might fail, even though you entered the data carefully, but there is a solution.

The solution is simple, you can try the following; If you make a mount with Mountmanager, change the "mount options" from "rw" to "rw, sec=ntlm", this will lower the security standard from ntlmv2 (default with kernel 4.x and up) to ntlm.

Now exit and re-mount or Reboot your box and if this was the cause, you can now access your share.

Older vs newer SMB Protocol

There is a similar issue regarding the version of the SMB protocol used.

There are several versions of the SMB protocol, v1, v2.0, v2.1 and v3. (see https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/josebda/2013/10/02/windows-server-2012-r2-which-version-of-the-smb-protocol-smb-1-0-smb-2-0-smb-2-1-smb-3-0-or-smb-3-02-are-you-using/ for more in-depth information).

Recently, due to several security issues, an action has been ongoing to disable the unsafe SMBv1, not only in Windows, but also in NAS systems like Synology for example. Windows has the option to cycle through all available and allowed protocols when you want to connect to a share, so you as a user don't notice anything and don't know which protocol is used. But the Linux kernel driver doesn't. It connects using the version it has been programmed with, and if you as a user need a different version, you need to specify this in the mount options.

Up to kernel v4.13 (at the moment of writing all supported receivers), the default was SMBv1, after that, the default has been upgraded to SMBv3. So if your box has a kernel older than 4.13, and your "server" doesn't support SMBv1, you need to specify the version on the mount. Likewise, if your box runs 4.13 or higher, and your "server" doesn't support SMBv3, you also need to specify the version on the mount.

The solution is to change the SMB version used to mount, to do this in Mountmanager change the "mount options" from "rw" to "rw, vers=3.0" (or whatever version you want to mount). You might have to try a few, if you don't know which one your server supports, but always start with the highest version.

This is a good overview on this subject: https://www.happyassassin.net/2017/11/03/linux-kernel-4-13-and-smb-protocol-version-fun/

The same is true for the authentication mechanism. This used to be NTLM, but in Kernel 3.8 the default has changed to NTLMv2, as Windows no longer supports NTLM (also because of security issues). But depending on the version and configuration of Windows (especially Windows Server), you might need to specify an alternative mechanism on the commandline too.

Reset lost password

In case you have lost your box password or someone else has been so 'funny' to create a password without having informed you, there are several ways to solve this issue.

Install the "setpasswd" plugin

Easiest way is to install a plugin and reset or delete your password. Goto Main menu -> Plugin browser and press the green button "download plugins" goto systemplugins and goto setpasswd and press ok on your remote to install it. After you installed goto Main menu -> Setup -> System -> Change Root Password and press the red button to delete it.

Using the command line method 1

I assume that you still have access via Explorer with \\boxname or \\ipaddressbox. If not, then the only 'solution' to get access again is to flash your box which is actually not a solution.

1. Go to the map /etc where you find the file shadow.
2. If you owe another Enigma2 box then go to the map \etc and copy there that file 'shadow'.
3. Go to the box with the unknown password and paste the just copied file from the other box over your present version of shadow.

Using the command line: method 2

There is a second scenario to solve this.

1. Go to the map /etc where you also find the file passwd.
2. Select and edit the file passwd with right mouse button and select a proper editer. I use Notepad ++
3. In this file the line: root: x: 0: 0: root: / root: / bin / sh or something as root: EIfidfjeSAEFKEOlasdf5ewr3rWEW: 0: 0: root: / root: / bin / sh is the actual PW. The Password field is x or the encrypted string EIfidfjeSAEFKEOlasdf5ewr3rWEW
4. Delete the x or the string The line is now following: root :: 0: 0: root: / root: / bin / sh
5. Save / overwrite this file and exit Notepad ++.

Splash screen replacement

The splashscreen is written in a limited reserved space of flash. We believe that the splash screen is not intended to be image specific, it should just show the manufacturer and/or box type information. The dimensions and type of splash file supported by the bootloader, differ per brand, and possibly even per box. We advice to stay away from that, leave the splash screen to the bootloader, and the manufacturer.

If by some reason, let's say another image, has changed it, you can restore it to the one from the manufacturer. Do a search on the OpenPLi site using Google and type:

splash screen site:openpli.org

Time, if you have problems getting the correct time

There are 2 solutions, if somehow you don't have the right time on you receiver, using the internet or use the transponder of a satellite.

Internet

Here you install a plugin called Systemtime, it is in Main menu > Pluginbrowser > Download plugins > Systemplugins and uses NTP, just like your desktop PC, to get the time from an internet time server, so after installing it, it will be in Main menu > Setup > Sytem and there are various settings.

Satellite

OpenPLi will, at startup retrieve the time from a transponder, so if you have a satellite setup, it is wise to make use of the Startup service. By doing so and choosing a reliable transponder (=channel) you will always have the right time. For the Dutch, choosing an NPO channel will be a good choice.

USB memory sticks working or not

When you want to use an USB memory stick, lets say for flashing your box with OpenPLi, there is no way of telling your stick might work, it's trial and error! Because the USB detection system in the bootloader of your receiver is very simple, there are 2 things to consider:

1. It has a short device detection time, which is as it should be, because a long device detection time could result in an annoying long booting procedure. This (short device detection) causes devices whose detection takes (too) long (usb3 devices, large sticks) not to be seen in time.
2. It takes the first device that is found and if you've connected multiple devices, chances are that it's not the device you want to use.

Generally speaking, small old USB sticks with less than 1Gb have a bigger change to work.