# TiVo Desktop 2.5 - Vista and more



## TiVoPony

Hey everyone -

Look for a new version of TiVo Desktop to be released soon (most likely tomorrow). There are a number of new features & improvements you've asked for:

* Support for Windows Vista

* Support for DixV and Xvid formats for Web Video Conversions (wrapped in .avi or .divx containers).

* Convert individual shows from Desktops Now Playing list at any time, to any profile, by right-clicking.

Don't know exactly when it'll go up on tivo.com, but it won't be long. 

Pony


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## Soapm

Good news, espacially for the Vista users...


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## rubikskube

Awesome, can't wait to set up my vista box with my TiVo come september!


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## stevereis

That's great, and just in time! I just ordered a new PC after 6 years and thought I was going to have to do this: http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2007/05/how_to_run_tivo.html to install TiVo Desktop.


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## raianoat

nice! thanks for keeping us informed.


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## TokyoShoe

raianoat said:


> nice! thanks for keeping us informed.


Fab, but will it also accompany an S3 Upgrade that enables TTG? Otherwise there's not much to get excited about for us S3 owners.


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## rileyrd

2.5 is up at Tivo.com. Too bad I'm at work and can't test it now. Everyone have fun and let the rest of us know how it goes.


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## minckster

The page says 2.5, but the download link still goes to 2.4a.

http://www.tivo.com/assets/exe/tivotogo/TiVoDesktop2.4a.exe

I tried substituting 2.5 for 2.4a in the URL to no avail.


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## rileyrd

The tivo page is back to 2.4a again. Sorry for the false alarm. At least it coming.


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## davezatz

I just rolled back to XP last week.  Is the Divx/Xvid transcoding in both directions? Are we still limited to 320x240?


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## miller890

TiVoPony said:


> * Support for DixV and Xvid formats for Web Video Conversions (wrapped in .avi or .divx containers).


How will aspect ratios will be handled for this new feature? Either 4:3 or widescreen original content converted and displayed on either 4:3 or 16:9.


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## jon01

divx support is AWESOME!!!! 

- Jon


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## cwoody222

TiVo,

Thanks for not leaving Mac users out of the loop this time... er, wait...

At least we got Series3 support... uh, er, dammit...


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## lament

That's what Intel Macs and Bootcamp are for.


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## kido

actually, has anyone tried running TiVo Desktop on intel macs using Parallels Desktop, or another Windows emulator?


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## nhaigh

I know we won't get S3 TTG from this but will we at least see TTCB? I hate having to switch to my PS3 to watch video content on my PC !!!! The PS3 is a games console - TiVo's meant to me my Media Server!!!!


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## secabeen

TiVoPony said:


> Hey everyone -
> 
> Look for a new version of TiVo Desktop to be released soon (most likely tomorrow). There are a number of new features & improvements you've asked for:
> 
> * Support for Windows Vista


Will you be supporting Vista 64-bit, or just 32-bit?

--Ted


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## classicsat

TTCB is incumbent upon the software on the Series 3 supporting that feature, and currently it does not.


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## dylanemcgregor

kido said:


> actually, has anyone tried running TiVo Desktop on intel macs using Parallels Desktop, or another Windows emulator?


I did briefly and it seemed to work fine. All I really use TiVo Desktop for is the ComeBack feature, so the Mac version with the video sharing turned on works fine for me. (Thanks Dennis!)


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## Dan203

davezatz said:


> Is the Divx/Xvid transcoding in both directions?


It's one way, PC to TiVo.

Dan


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## bedelman

dylanemcgregor said:


> I did briefly and it seemed to work fine. All I really use TiVo Desktop for is the ComeBack feature, so the Mac version with the video sharing turned on works fine for me. (Thanks Dennis!)


And with TiVo.NET running on Mac OSX, I can get most of the other video formats going back to the TiVo.

In regard to retrieving video from the TiVo, I use Toast 8 (along with the "expert mode" enabled) which gives me more options than what TiVo Desktop for Windows provides.

But, if you really want to do so, TiVo Desktop for Windows does work under Parallels with Windows XP as well as it does on a dedicated Windows box.


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## wigleyd

Did i miss the update being posted? Are there plans to post it up again soon. I have been waiting for this.... patiently.


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## TiVoPony

Hey guys, some last minute logistics have come up, and it doesn't look like it'll be posted today. I said soon, and 'most likely', didn't I? It'll be soon. 

Pony


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## wigleyd

ok i will calm down now. I will concentrate while i wait on World of Warcraft and not meeting girls!!


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## lament

wigleyd said:


> ok i will calm down now. I will concentrate while i wait on World of Warcraft and not meeting girls!!


I wouldn't admit that openly.


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## wigleyd

Fortunately not true. never touched the game and i do ok in the other department.


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## DVReveler

TiVoPony said:


> Hey guys, some last minute logistics have come up, and it doesn't look like it'll be posted today. I said soon, and 'most likely', didn't I? It'll be soon.
> 
> Pony


Why oh why. I need me some Tivo Desktop on me Vista. What I really need to do is get rid of Vista. Clearly more trouble than it's worth.


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## dylanemcgregor

TiVoPony said:


> Hey guys, some last minute logistics have come up, and it doesn't look like it'll be posted today. I said soon, and 'most likely', didn't I? It'll be soon.
> 
> Pony


I've got a flight tomorrow at 4PM ET, and I'd love to use the opportunity to catch up on Burn Notice. See what you can do, OK?


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## bilbo

dylanemcgregor said:


> I've got a flight tomorrow at 4PM ET, and I'd love to use the opportunity to catch up on Burn Notice. See what you can do, OK?


who do you think tivopony is, jack bauer?

glad to see the .avi/.divx support. i want to watch damages on my tivo now that yahoo! plastered it on their front page earlier today.

is it just me, or could fx do a little better job of letting people know that their shows are coming on?

it's always sunny in philadelphia comes back to fx next month.


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## ttam

I don't really care about vista, but I would love it when I can finally use tivo to go with my series 3.

That's great that it supports avi. I have great plans for that. But how about on the series 3?

For 800 (ok we got it for 600 with a rebate) you think we would get a little more support from tivo.


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## TokyoShoe

bilbo said:


> tivopony is, jack bauer


Holy guacamole! TIVOPONY is actually *JACK BAUER!*


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## windracer

Dammit!


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## Lenonn

TiVoPony said:


> Hey everyone -
> 
> Look for a new version of TiVo Desktop to be released soon (most likely tomorrow). There are a number of new features & improvements you've asked for:
> 
> * Support for Windows Vista
> 
> * Support for DixV and Xvid formats for Web Video Conversions (wrapped in .avi or .divx containers).
> 
> * Convert individual shows from Desktops Now Playing list at any time, to any profile, by right-clicking.
> 
> Don't know exactly when it'll go up on tivo.com, but it won't be long.
> 
> Pony


Thank you for letting us know, TivoPony.


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## client

*chants* release! release! release!


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## davezatz

Get more bang for your buck by launching on any other day than Apple announcements.


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## riddick21

Mac Support!


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## hvelez

The suspense is killing me. I am dying to get Tivo in my Vista machine.

clues? clues? time?


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## davezatz

A PR contact just confirmed a TiVo Desktop 2.5 release _today_.  (Web page hasn't been updated yet, he didn't mention timeframe.)


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## DaddyBC

Site says 2.4a still, but just click here. You can be one of the first. 

http://www.tivo.com/assets/exe/tivotogo/TiVoDesktop2.5.exe


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## dcollens

In one of the support pages I read that if you are moving from one release to another, you should run a windows script called zaptivodesktop.

I have not been able to find this script/program.

anyone know of it's whereabouts?

Thanks,


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## DawnGP143

Well, I've downloaded 2.5, and tried to install it on my Windows Vista machine, and I get an error that says the program was prematurely ended. I also ran the zapper. When I run the zapper I get an error that says "This application has failed to start because BORLNDMM.DLL was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."

The problem with that is, I cannot reinstall 2.4 on my Vista machine. So how do I get this new program running???

Thanks in advance to any who can offer me a solution.


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## TokyoShoe

I see in 2.5 that there is a "Share Videos to your Tivo" feature. This is going to be dependent upon TivoToGo service , correct? So it will not work yet with Series 3 units?

I just want to know before I waste any time trying to get it to work.


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## davezatz

FYI I have successfully installed on both Vista and XP.


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## wizzy

DaddyBC said:


> Site says 2.4a still, but just click here. You can be one of the first.
> 
> http://www.tivo.com/assets/exe/tivotogo/TiVoDesktop2.5.exe


I get an install error when using that .exe on Vista Ultimate (running it normally or as Admin): InstallHelper failed for message "getfp:0x001c" Error description: <there is no description>

I had removed 2.4 (which never really worked on Vista) and rebooted prior to trying the install.


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## Solver

DawnGP143 said:


> Well, I've downloaded 2.5, and tried to install it on my Windows Vista machine, and I get an error that says the program was prematurely ended. I also ran the zapper. When I run the zapper I get an error that says "This application has failed to start because BORLNDMM.DLL was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."
> 
> The problem with that is, I cannot reinstall 2.4 on my Vista machine. So how do I get this new program running???
> 
> Thanks in advance to any who can offer me a solution.


 I get that as a final message if I try to install the software on my XP system without admin rights. There is however another message before that that says, "Sorry, TIVO desktop requires adminstrator rights to run the installation."

Was there another message before the one you describe?


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## DawnGP143

Solver said:


> I get that as a final message if I try to install the software on my XP system without admin rights. There is however another message before that that says, "Sorry, TIVO desktop requires adminstrator rights to run the installation."
> 
> Was there another message before the one you describe?


No, there sure wasn't. Only the message I spoke about.


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## wizzy

DawnGP143 said:


> I also ran the zapper. When I run the zapper I get an error that says "This application has failed to start because BORLNDMM.DLL was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."


Where'd you find the zapper?


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## TokyoShoe

I now have it successfully installed on both my Vista Home Premium Machines.
Of course I have a Series 3 unit, so I've still got some features not showing up (which I figure are tied to TTG , hence them not working).

Just as a note for reference, I've got UAC disabled (so everything installs with Admin Rights). I also did NOT run any zapper, nor uninstall version 2.3 prior to install. 2.5 actually prompted for removal of 2.3 and performed this task fine. Install went without a hitch.


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## DawnGP143

TokyoShoe said:


> I now have it successfully installed on both my Vista Home Premium Machines.
> Of course I have a Series 3 unit, so I've still got some features not showing up (which I figure are tied to TTG , hence them not working).
> 
> Just as a note for reference, I've got UAC disabled (so everything installs with Admin Rights). I also did NOT run any zapper, nor uninstall version 2.3 prior to install. 2.5 actually prompted for removal of 2.3 and performed this task fine. Install went without a hitch.


Well I think that's part of my problem. I had uninstalled 2.4a when I upgraded to Vista Home Premium because it wasn't working. I didn't see much point in keeping it if it wasn't compatible. Now apparently, I have a mess.


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## MichaelMI

TokyoShoe said:


> I now have it successfully installed on both my Vista Home Premium Machines.
> Of course I have a Series 3 unit, so I've still got some features not showing up (which I figure are tied to TTG , hence them not working).
> 
> Just as a note for reference, I've got UAC disabled (so everything installs with Admin Rights). I also did NOT run any zapper, nor uninstall version 2.3 prior to install. 2.5 actually prompted for removal of 2.3 and performed this task fine. Install went without a hitch.


What options do you have for TivoDesktop to use with a series 3?


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## TokyoShoe

MichaelMI said:


> What options do you have for TivoDesktop to use with a series 3?


Well that's the hitch I'm trying to figure out. I've got all the normal features that a Series 2 user would have listed. I just get "access denied" when trying to get to my TiVo Recordings on my TiVo. (I know this is TTG, and it's disabled, so I expected that.)

I do, however have a "Share videos" feature that's new from 2.3. It says I can place movies in my "Tivo Recordings" folder and they can be downloaded to the Tivo itself. Unfortunately I can't actually get my TivoHD to recognize this feature so that I CAN download movies from my Computer. Still checking on this option, to see if it's going to work or not. I fully expect it is a TTG-related feature so I just can't get it to work yet. However, it's listed in the "Music & Photos Sharing" section which actually DOES work on the Series 3's.

I'm still fiddling , will get back with what I discover.


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## zeke009

wizzy said:


> Where'd you find the zapper?


The utility can be found at the bottom of the download page over at Tivo's site.
https://www3.tivo.com/mytivo/domore/tivotogo/windows.html


> If you have already upgraded from Windows XP To Vista with TiVo Desktop 2.4 installed, you must run this utility before installing Desktop 2.5.
> 
> https://www3.tivo.com/assets/exe/tivotogo/Fix24Setup.exe


_at the time of this post and this edit, the page was up and available for the 2.5 download. Unless TiVo folks are sitting and laughing at us having fun changing the page from 2.4a to 2.5 randomly!  _


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## wizzy

wizzy said:


> I get an install error when using that .exe on Vista Ultimate (running it normally or as Admin): InstallHelper failed for message "getfp:0x001c" Error description: <there is no description>
> 
> I had removed 2.4 (which never really worked on Vista) and rebooted prior to trying the install.


Ran the tivo zapper script, and still getting the same problem. On hold waiting for tech support now.


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## mtuckman

ttam said:


> I don't really care about vista, but I would love it when I can finally use tivo to go with my series 3.
> 
> That's great that it supports avi. I have great plans for that. But how about on the series 3?
> 
> For 800 (ok we got it for 600 with a rebate) you think we would get a little more support from tivo.


I am right there with you... I understand the issue with TTG and CableLabs, but I am not sure from a technical standpoint why TTCB is such an issue.

I can't believe that the S3 isn't capable of playing AVI's, and now that the Desktop software supports it this is just painful. It is a little hard to explain to the wife that this great and all powerful machine can't play our saved movies for the kids and that she has to jump through hoops to go back to the old Media PC to play them.

Alright... Patience... We are a little closer now... I hope...


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## dannydp

I'm getting the need xp sp2 when the installer tries to remove the old version of the tivo desktop. I've tried Orca but I'm unable to find the uninstall msi being created anywhere. Anyone have any ideas?

This is after running that patch


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## wizzy

wizzy said:


> Ran the tivo zapper script, and still getting the same problem. On hold waiting for tech support now.


The tech had no clue, just read through scripts and the same things I could see in the support portion of tivo.com. Said that if they saw a trend, they'd report to engineering, so I'm not optimistic that my issue will get anywhere any time soon.


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## riddick21

How come nobody cares about mac support? Is tivo even working on this? I assume there are more mac users than vista users.


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## pdbreen

I'm also getting a failure during install. Sometimes a dialog appears with "Error 1722" other times, just a "Installation ended prematurely" message. 

Install attempted on Vista Ultimate 64-bit. Had never tried to install 2.4 prior to this, so I didn't use the zapper.


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## TokyoShoe

riddick21 said:


> How come nobody cares about mac support? Is tivo even working on this? I assume there are more mac users than vista users.


Ever since the launch of Vista (back in what, January?).. 95% of all new PC's with any version of Windows installed on it have Windows Vista of some version installed as the only option. Based upon this, and the average steady rate of PC purchases ongoing... there is already probably a larger user base of VISTA than there is of MAC.

Of course I could just be pulling numbers out of my a$$, but that logic seems to make sense to me in my head.


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## wizzy

pdbreen said:


> I'm also getting a failure during install. Sometimes a dialog appears with "Error 1722" other times, just a "Installation ended prematurely" message.


I also have seen the two different errors. Log files show the following:

Action start 14:18:26: InstallHelper.
MSI (c) (B8:80) [14:18:26:583]: Note: 1: 1722 2: InstallHelper 3: C:\Users\wizzy\AppData\Local\Temp\MSIF387.tmp 4: /stop /remove /install /start 
DEBUG: Error 2835: The control ErrorIcon was not found on dialog ErrorDialog
Internal Error 2835. ErrorIcon, ErrorDialog
MSI (c) (B8:80) [14:18:32:140]: Product: TiVo Desktop 2.5 -- Error 1722. There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected. Contact your support personnel or package vendor. Action InstallHelper, location: C:\Users\wizzy\AppData\Local\Temp\MSIF387.tmp, command: /stop /remove /install /start

Action ended 14:18:32: InstallHelper. Return value 3.
MSI (c) (B8:80) [14:18:32:150]: Doing action: Fatal_Error
--------------------------------------------

MSI (c) (8C!F0) [13:46:02:034]: Product: TiVo Desktop 2.5 -- InstallHelper message processing failed for message "getfp:0x001c" Error description:

Action ended 13:46:02: GetLocalAppDataPathCmd2. Return value 3.
MSI (c) (8C:6C) [13:46:02:045]: Doing action: Fatal_Error


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## zoma4

When running TivoDesktop2.5.exe:



> InstallHelper message processing failed for message "getfp:0x001c" Error Description:


Wow! Good thing you guys didn't release yesterday. It would be terrible to put out the new software with any major issues. Seriously, does anyone even test stuff over there?

I'm a professional software developer and I'd be EMBARRASSED to work at TiVo.

For what it's worth, I'm installing on Vista Business 32-bit. Never installed prior version of TD (it's a clean install from about a week ago).


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## TeemMoe

Hey Wizzy,
Sounds like Im in the exact same boat as you are on this one.
I havent had much time to tinker around but have tried the install and the zapper and have tried repeatedly installing under different scenarios.
I too also uninstalled 2.4a which wasnt working.

Currently now all I get in attempting to install 2.5 are the errors you speak of.
Please do let us know if you are able to get around them!

Thanks,
Jeff


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## pdbreen

This looks relevant:

[1484] MSI (a) (CC:10) [15:39:11:368]: *Per-User registration of script engine found. Rejecting unsecure script implementation.*
[4136] MSI (c) (28:1C) [15:39:11:368]: Closing MSIHANDLE (43) of type 0 for thread 4124
[4136] MSI (c) (28:1C) [15:39:11:368]: Closing MSIHANDLE (42) of type 790542 for thread 1332
[4136] MSI (c) (28:10) [15:39:11:370]: Doing action: Fatal_Error


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## Solver

Check out the webpage:

http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/domore/tivotogo/windows.html

Specifically check out the section that says: 
"If you have already upgraded from Windows XP To Vista with TiVo Desktop 2.4 installed, you must run this utility before installing Desktop 2.5."


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## TeemMoe

Solver said:


> Specifically check out the section that says:
> "If you have already upgraded from Windows XP To Vista with TiVo Desktop 2.4 installed, you must run this utility before installing Desktop 2.5."


Well I for one used the mentioned utility and it didnt appear to do anything. I received no confirmation or indicator that it did anything.

Afterwards I continued to get errors installing. Sounds also like others have had the same issue.


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## DUDE_NJX

WinXP Pro SP2, upgrading form 2.3 - same issue.


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## DawnGP143

TeemMoe said:


> Well I for one used the mentioned utility and it didnt appear to do anything. I received no confirmation or indicator that it did anything.
> 
> Afterwards I continued to get errors installing. Sounds also like others have had the same issue.


Add me to that list. I've used that utility, saw nothing remotely resembling anything running on my computer, no confirmation that anything was done. Still getting the same error I had previously gotten. Installation ended prematurely.


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## Solver

TeemMoe said:


> Well I for one used the mentioned utility and it didnt appear to do anything. *I received no confirmation or indicator that it did anything.*
> 
> Afterwards I continued to get errors installing. Sounds also like others have had the same issue.


 I really was hoping but it looks like bad programming on TiVo's part.


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## windracer

TokyoShoe said:


> I do, however have a "Share videos" feature that's new from 2.3. It says I can place movies in my "Tivo Recordings" folder and they can be downloaded to the Tivo itself. Unfortunately I can't actually get my TivoHD to recognize this feature so that I CAN download movies from my Computer.


That would be TTCB (TiVoToComeback), which is part of TTG, so that won't work with the S3 or THD boxes yet either.


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## TeemMoe

Does anyone know if Tivo's Development Team monitors this board?


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## cashspot

I am running Vista Ultimate. I just installed TGT 2.5 Plus. It works great. The conversion works like a charm.
I am very pleased...


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## lament

zoma4 said:


> When running TivoDesktop2.5.exe:
> 
> Wow! Good thing you guys didn't release yesterday. It would be terrible to put out the new software with any major issues. Seriously, does anyone even test stuff over there?
> 
> I'm a professional software developer and I'd be EMBARRASSED to work at TiVo.
> 
> For what it's worth, I'm installing on Vista Business 32-bit. Never installed prior version of TD (it's a clean install from about a week ago).


If you're a software developer, then you realize that you can't catch every bug. And asking if they test their software is pretty retarded.


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## zoma4

lament said:


> If you're a software developer, then you realize that you can't catch every bug. And asking if they test their software is pretty retarded.


Are you kidding me? It's been 12 months since Vista was released to developers. A monkey could write this software in a year!

And "every little bug" is not what we are talking about here. Nobody can install the thing! So it's time to own up to that fact that this software is one tremendous clusterf*ck, and TiVo needs to be responsible to their customer base.


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## TokyoShoe

zoma4 said:


> Nobody can install the thing!


Speak for yourself , buddy. I've now successfully installed it on no less than 3 Vista Home Premium machines.. and have 2 coworkers that have each installed it on 2 Vista Home Premium machines of their own. That's 7 computer installs I know of personally that it's worked flawless on.

Last time I checked, 7 is higher than zero... so yeah. "Nobody can install the thing!" is overblowing it just a tad. 

And FYI, I think this thread would be growing exponentially in posts if nobody really COULD install it.

_By the way, everyone has seen the "Fix24Install" program that is now being referenced on the actual program download page, right? Is anyone actually trying to use that?_


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## dannydp

TokyoShoe said:


> Speak for yourself , buddy. I've now successfully installed it on no less than 3 Vista Home Premium machines.. and have 2 coworkers that have each installed it on 2 Vista Home Premium machines of their own. That's 7 computer installs I know of personally that it's worked flawless on.
> 
> Last time I checked, 7 is higher than zero... so yeah. "Nobody can install the thing!" is overblowing it just a tad.
> 
> And FYI, I think this thread would be growing exponentially in posts if nobody really COULD install it.
> 
> _By the way, everyone has seen the "Fix24Install" program that is now being referenced on the actual program download page, right? Is anyone actually trying to use that?_


Yes. Per a few of our messages, most of us have tried that.

I get "succesfully patched" and then it closes out. Still get a error on install that it can't remove it because I'm not running Windows XP Sp 2 or better. I've even launched the installer and uninstaller in XP compatiability mode.


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## TokyoShoe

dannydp said:


> Yes. Per a few of our messages, most of us have tried that.
> 
> I get "succesfully patched" and then it closes out. Still get a error on install that it can't remove it because I'm not running Windows XP Sp 2 or better. I've even launched the installer and uninstaller in XP compatiability mode.


This is a longshot here but.. have you tried downloading 2.3 from Bittorrent, and upgrading from that? I upgraded from 2.3 to 2.5 on three Vista machines now. Works just fine.
*shrug* Just a notion.


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## Dan203

For Vista I ended up running the Zapper program 3 times before it worked. The first time I just ran it and it gave me some sort of access error. So I right clicked and ran it as administrator. That appeared to work, but still gave me an error when uninstalling. Finally I ran it again normally and it worked.

I think the problem is that you have to run it as an administrator to allow it to kill the TiVo services. However you have to run it normally for it to actually remove all the files.

FYI I also installed it on my XP machine and it worked fine the first time without needing the zapper program.

Dan


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## Durfman

I'm getting the error:
InstallHelper message processing failed for message "getfp:0x001c"

This is on a Vista Ultimate x86 install that was a clean install that never had TiVo Desktop installed.

The Fix24Setup does nothing... as expected since I never had 2.4 installed.

Rob


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## Dan203

For those of you having trouble... Have you tried turning of UAC? I know it's not an ideal solution, but I've run across other software which refused to install with UAC enabled but worked fine when I turned it off. You might also try disabling your antivirus/firewall software just to be sure that's not causing an issue.

Dan


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## audiocrawford

Can anyone tell me what the addition of Divx support means? Does that mean I can just drop Divx files into my TiVo folder and watch them on my TV? That would be great if it saves me the conversion step. (And what does it do to widescreen?)

Thanks!

AC


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## Dan203

Yes it transcodes the DivX video to TiVo compatible MPEG2 on the fly just like pyTiVo or TiVo.net

For widescreen videos, and HD videos, it converts the output to letterbox.

Dan


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## rileyrd

Count my blessings - Install went fine on Vista. I have UAC turned off all the time anyway. Downloading show now.

By the way, the plus edition accepted my previous key with out a problem.

Will report back.


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## cskena

Only the .tivo files that I transfered from the tivo to the pc are showing up in my now playing list. Any thoughts? I have both .avi and .mov files in the folder.


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## Dan203

You must have TiVo Desktop Plus for the transcoding feature to work.

Dan


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## nirisahn

Will this version work with XP Home Media Edition? I haven't been able to get either 2.3 or 2.4 to work. 2.3 allows me to play the .tivo files already on my hard drive, but I can't get the beacon working to copy anything new from my TiVo to my hard drive.


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## TiVoPony

Dan is right once again.

Our developers here are making the same suggestions Dan has made:

* Try turning off UAC temporarily when uninstalling a previous version of TiVo Desktop
* Ensure that you're logged on as the administrator

You should also run the utility on our download page if you had previously installed an earlier version of desktop on your Vista machine. Once that's been done, then try to uninstall from the control panel (Go to Control Panel->Uninstall a program).

Also note that Remote Desktop is not supported for installation.

If while uninstalling you see a message saying that TiVo Server and two other programs are running...ignore it. It'll still uninstall.

Here's how to check for UAC:

1. Open Control Panel
2. Under User Accounts click on the "Add or remove user account".
3. On the "Choose the account you would like to change" page, click on the "Go to the Main User Account page" link.
4. Under "Make changes to your user account" click on the "Turn User Account Control on or off" link.
5. In the "Turn on User Account Control (UAC) to make your computer more secure" click to select or unselect the check box next to "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer". 
6. Click on the Ok button. 
7. You will be prompted to reboot your computer. Do so when ready.

Pony

[edit: clarified that changing UAC is to address uninstall issues of previous versions]


----------



## moopcow

So, by transcoding, you mean any transfer from PC to Tivo, aside from Tivo-recorded files, wont work without Desktop Plus? I still have to buy Desktop Plus.


----------



## wizzy

TokyoShoe said:


> This is a longshot here but.. have you tried downloading 2.3 from Bittorrent, and upgrading from that? I upgraded from 2.3 to 2.5 on three Vista machines now. Works just fine.
> *shrug* Just a notion.


I have the 2.3 (and 2.3a) setup.exe still, and did try installing that earlier. The 2.5 install recognizes that it is installed, triggers the 2.3 uninstall, and then bombs with the same error.


----------



## drnoi

I'm running windows xp sp2. I was using 2.4a and decided to upgrade to 2.5. guess what? it doesn't work! throws the same error everytime. Please fix the problem tivo. so far, this installation isn't very user friendly at all, and this doesn't look good for Tivo considering their record for user friendliness.

People are just starting to get off work and they will come home, see version 2.5, attempt to install it, and will be very dissapointed. They will flood this board! if i were Tivo, i would pull version 2.5 out of public right now to avoid any further fiasco. I can see this story being slashdotted now...


----------



## lament

drnoi said:


> I'm running windows xp sp2. I was using 2.4a and decided to upgrade to 2.5. guess what? it doesn't work! throws the same error everytime. Please fix the problem tivo. so far, this installation isn't very user friendly at all, and this doesn't look good for Tivo considering their record for user friendliness.
> 
> People are just starting to get off work and they will come home, see version 2.5, attempt to install it, and will be very dissapointed. They will flood this board! if i were Tivo, i would pull version 2.5 out of public right now to avoid any further fiasco. I can see this story being slashdotted now...


wow that's not dramatic at all. 

instead of *****ing, why don't you try being helpful and listing out the steps you took to get this working so they can recreate the problem.

"throws some error" isn't helpful either. be specific.

Did you uninstall 2.4a first?


----------



## Dan203

moopcow said:


> So, by transcoding, you mean any transfer from PC to Tivo, aside from Tivo-recorded files, wont work without Desktop Plus? I still have to buy Desktop Plus.


Correct. The MPEG2 video encoder, and MP2 audio encoder, TiVo uses for the transcoding DivX/MP4 video to a TiVo compatible format is part of the MainConcept codec pack which is what you're paying for when you buy a TiVo Desktop Plus key.

The open source projects like pyTiVo and TiVo.net use an open source encoder called ffmpeg which is technically illegal as it subverts the MPEG-LA licensing fees. Private developers like those can get away with using it because the MPEG-LA has bigger fish to fry, but for a big company like TiVo they have to pay the licensing fees or they risk getting sued.

Dan


----------



## drnoi

InstallHelper message processing failed for message "getfp:0x001c" Error Description: 

What the heck does this mean? And yes. 2.4a was uninstalled. 2.3 was reinstalled, and then uninstalled again. This doesn't look good. Trust me, this will be a huge story tomorrow morning.


----------



## moopcow

Or they could just remove the part about it being "Vista compatible." And thanks Dan, gonna try and purchase that tonight... I didn't even realize PC-to-Tivo video transfers were possible till today...


----------



## rileyrd

Download complete. Completed Iod conversion without issue. Trying longer movie now.

Will try on my XP desktop next. Its currently running 2.4 for my auto transfers.


----------



## TeemMoe

TiVoPony said:


> Our developers here are making the same suggestions Dan has made:
> 
> * Try turning off UAC
> * Ensure that you're logged on as the administrator


I have just went through the suggested motions of disabling my UAC, rebooting and re-trying the install exactly as your steps describe... Yet I am getting no change in behavior in the install.

The utility still appears to do nothing. It gives no messages/confirmations and I still have Tivo Services listed after it runs.

Also the install STILL fails with "The installation ended prematurely because an error occurred."


----------



## wendy394

Hello! I just installed 2.5. I run Windows XP and have a wireless connection. I've used Desktop in the past and it's done a great job of transferring files from the TiVo to my computer so I can watch them.

But now I want to watch some files from my computer on my TV, as promised. However, my TiVo NPL doesn't recognize My Computer. It is showing My Photos and My Music, so there is connectivity going on. But it won't show my video files, which I did place in the My Tivo Recordings folder. 

I turned my Windows firewall off, too. My TiVo software is at least version 7.1. 

Help?


----------



## aus1ander

Dan203 said:


> Correct. The MPEG2 video encoder, and MP2 audio encoder, TiVo uses for the transcoding DivX/MP4 video to a TiVo compatible format is part of the MainConcept codec pack which is what you're paying for when you buy a TiVo Desktop Plus key.
> 
> The open source projects like pyTiVo and TiVo.net use an open source encoder called ffmpeg which is technically illegal as it subverts the MPEG-LA licensing fees. Private developers like those can get away with using it because the MPEG-LA has bigger fish to fry, but for a big company like TiVo they have to pay the licensing fees or they risk getting sued.
> 
> Dan


You don't have to pay for Plus everytime a new software version comes out, right? Just use the same key that you bought?


----------



## sbressler

Dan203 said:


> Correct. The MPEG2 video encoder, and MP2 audio encoder, TiVo uses for the transcoding DivX/MP4 video to a TiVo compatible format is part of the MainConcept codec pack which is what you're paying for when you buy a TiVo Desktop Plus key.


So then if you don't have Plus, what exactly does 2.5 give you in terms of DivX compatibility? Without plus, can you do anything with DivX or xvid?


----------



## pdbreen

Still no luck here (Vista x64 Ultimate, no prior version of Tivo Desktop ever installed).

I tried disabling UAC - using the method posted here as well as trying direct manipulation using local policy editor. Also tried using the group policy editor to relax the security on windows installer, but no luck. Still get the following (when using DebugView and setting the appropriate Debug value of the Windows installer):

[3180] MSI (a) (6C:64) [21:10:14:071]: *Per-User registration of script engine found. Rejecting unsecure script implementation.*

Here's some additional context:

[3180] MSI (a) (6C:88) [21:10:11:733]: Passing to service: MsiSetPropertyA(41, "DetectedQuickTimeVersion", "**********")
[4840] MSI (c) (E8!88) [21:10:11:733]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding DetectedQuickTimeVersion property. Its value is '0'.
[3180] MSI (a) (6C:88) [21:10:11:733]: Custom action server's custom action is returning 0. (C:\Users\PATRIC~1\AppData\Local\Temp\MSIFDF6.tmp, f9)
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:734]: Doing action: SetQuickTimeText
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:753]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding ADDITIONAL_QT_TEXT property. Its value is 'In order to view certain types of video on your TiVo DVR, you will need Apple QuickTime 7.1.3 or later.'.
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:753]: Doing action: SetBothAdditional
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:769]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding ADDITIONAL_TEXT property. Its value is 'In order to view certain types of video on your TiVo DVR, you will need Apple QuickTime 7.1.3 or later. 
[4840] To download the latest version, go to .... 
[4840] In order to use Photos 2.0 (with HD Support), you will need Sun Java Runtime Environment Version 1.6 or later 
[4840] To download the latest version, go to ...'.
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:769]: Doing action: SetAddons
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:795]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding ADDONS_NOTE property. Its value is 'You can continue the installation and download the required add-ons later.'.
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:795]: Skipping action: SetOnlyQtAdditional (condition is false)
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:795]: Skipping action: SetAddon (condition is false)
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:795]: Skipping action: SetOnlyJavaAdditional (condition is false)
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:795]: Doing action: SetWizardProperty1
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:811]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding WiseCurrentWizard property. Its value is 'Welcome_Dialog'.
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:11:811]: Doing action: Welcome_Dialog
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:849]: Note: 1: 2262 2: ReserveCost 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:855]: Note: 1: 2205 2: 3: _RemoveFilePath 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:876]: Note: 1: 2756 2: Beacon 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:877]: Note: 1: 2756 2: Transfer 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:877]: Note: 1: 2756 2: Logs1 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:877]: Note: 1: 2262 2: TypeLib 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:877]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Class 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:877]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Extension 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:878]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Class 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:878]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Extension 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:879]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Class 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:879]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Extension 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:879]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Class 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:879]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Extension 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:880]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying CostingComplete property. Its current value is '0'. Its new value: '1'.
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:882]: Note: 1: 2262 2: BindImage 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:882]: Note: 1: 2262 2: ProgId 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:882]: Note: 1: 2262 2: PublishComponent 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:882]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Extension 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:882]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Font 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:882]: Note: 1: 2262 2: Class 3: -2147287038 
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:883]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying PrimaryVolumeSpaceAvailable property. Its current value is '0'. Its new value: '205829720'.
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:883]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying PrimaryVolumeSpaceRequired property. Its current value is '0'. Its new value: '144120'.
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:883]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying PrimaryVolumeSpaceRemaining property. Its current value is '0'. Its new value: '205685600'.
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:8C) [21:10:11:884]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding PrimaryVolumePath property. Its value is 'C:'.
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:F8) [21:10:14:028]: Doing action: WiseNextDlg
[3180] MSI (a) (6C:64) [21:10:14:071]: *Per-User registration of script engine found. Rejecting unsecure script implementation.*
[4840] MSI (c) (E8:38) [21:10:14:073]: Doing action: Fatal_Error

And, here's a relevant excerpt from an MSI log:

Action 17:56:36: WiseNextDlg. 
Action start 17:56:36: WiseNextDlg.
MSI (c) (18:54) [17:56:36:063]: Creating MSIHANDLE (42) of type 790542 for thread 340
MSI (c) (18:E4) [17:56:36:063]: Creating MSIHANDLE (43) of type 0 for thread 3812
MSI (c) (18:E4) [17:56:36:063]: Closing MSIHANDLE (43) of type 0 for thread 3812
MSI (c) (18:E4) [17:56:36:063]: Closing MSIHANDLE (42) of type 790542 for thread 340
Action ended 17:56:36: WiseNextDlg. Return value 3.
DEBUG: Error 2896: Executing action WiseNextDlg failed.
Internal Error 2896. WiseNextDlg
Action ended 17:56:36: Welcome_Dialog. Return value 3.
MSI (c) (18:F4) [17:56:36:063]: Doing action: Fatal_Error


----------



## ellinj

I was able to get 2.4 uninstalled. Now when I install 2.5 I get the following message

"Windows could not start the TiVo Beacon service on Local Computer"

Error 1359: An internal error occured

Any ideas?


----------



## smbaker

Whenever I run the 2.5 install program, it's locks up at "Updating System", "The software is being installed". The bar graph does not move. The system is completely idle. Nothing happens.

I've tried the fix24setup.exe utility which does nothing. 

I'm not usually one to complain easily, but I feel like I've been dealing with BETA hardware and firmware for the last week (the pixelation-ridden Tivo HD), and now I'm beta-testing Tivo's BETA windows software. If you guys at Tivo are listening, can't you test these things first????? Please Tivo hire some QA people!!!! 

Can someone tell me how to get this installer log file that everyone is talking about, so I can see where the installer is wedged up? 

I'm running Vista Business 32-bit.


----------



## dylanemcgregor

wendy394 said:


> Hello! I just installed 2.5. I run Windows XP and have a wireless connection. I've used Desktop in the past and it's done a great job of transferring files from the TiVo to my computer so I can watch them.
> 
> But now I want to watch some files from my computer on my TV, as promised. However, my TiVo NPL doesn't recognize My Computer. It is showing My Photos and My Music, so there is connectivity going on. But it won't show my video files, which I did place in the My Tivo Recordings folder.
> 
> I turned my Windows firewall off, too. My TiVo software is at least version 7.1.
> 
> Help?


Your video files have to be in a very specific MPEG2 format for them to be recognized by the TiVo, so you can't just put any video file in the folder and have it show up. Tivo Desktop Plus and pyTiVo will auto convert video from another format into the correct TiVo format.


----------



## Boredmonkey

I cannot get TiVo Desktop 2.5 to install in Vista. I get an installation error 1722 There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected. Contact your support personnel or package vendor.
Is anyone getting this?


----------



## DawnGP143

TeemMoe said:


> I have just went through the suggested motions of disabling my UAC, rebooting and re-trying the install exactly as your steps describe... Yet I am getting no change in behavior in the install.
> 
> The utility still appears to do nothing. It gives no messages/confirmations and I still have Tivo Services listed after it runs.
> 
> Also the install STILL fails with "The installation ended prematurely because an error occurred."


Same problem here.


----------



## pdbreen

smbaker said:


> Can someone tell me how to get this installer log file that everyone is talking about, so I can see where the installer is wedged up?


Here's how:

1 - run regedt32
2 - Navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer
3 - Create REG_SZ with name "Logging" and value of "iwearucmpvox" (turns all logging on)
4 - Create REG_DWORD with name "Debug" and value of 2
5 - Download and run DebugView from Microsoft Sysinternals site
6 - Rerun the install

The debug view window will capture all MSI debugging information as it happens. The log file itself will be created in the temp directory (ie, C:\Users\<account>\AppData\Local\Temp) and will have a name like "MSIe9359.LOG".

Note that you can also change installer logging using the group policy editor (gpedit.msc). The installer settings can be found at Computer Configuration - Administrative Templates - Windows Components - Windows Installer.


----------



## wendy394

*dylanemcgregor*, I have TiVo Desktop Plus, but there's nothing telling me I have to encode anything. What's the process to do this?


----------



## smbaker

pdbreen said:


> Here's how:


Thanks for the info. Here's a snippet of what happened up until the point where it locks up. I don't see anything really helpful, but maybe someone else might...

(the references to M:\ are a bit suspicious. I do have an M: drive, and I don't see what Tivo desktop would want to be doing with it)



> Switching to server: INSTALLDIR="C:\Program Files\TiVo\Desktop\" ALLUSERS="1" SOURCEDIR="C:\Program Files\Common Files\Wise Installation Wizard\" TARGETDIR="M:\" INSTALLDIR1="C:\Program Files\TiVo\" BEACON="C:\Program Files\Common Files\TiVo Shared\Beacon\" GAC="M:\" TRANSFER="C:\Program Files\Common Files\TiVo Shared\Transfer\" INSTALLDIR2="M:\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\" WWWROOT="M:\" LOGS1="C:\Users\smbaker\AppData\Local\Logs\" VIDEOSDIR="C:\Users\smbaker\Documents\My TiVo Recordings\" USERNAME="xxxxx" COMPANYNAME="xxxxx" MEDIA_ACCESS_KEY_VALUE="xxxxxxx" ADDITIONAL_TEXT="In order to use Photos 2.0 (with HD Support), you will need Sun Java Runtime Environment Version 1.6 or later
> 
> To download the latest version, go to http://www.java.com." PLUS_UPGRADE_KEY="NotUpgraded" LOCAL_ROOT_PATH="C:\Users\smbaker\Documents\My TiVo Recordings" VALIDCODEC="1" JAVA_TEXT="In order to use Photos 2.0 (with HD Support), you will need Sun Java Runtime Environment Version 1.6 or later" ADDONS_NOTE="You can continue the installation and download the required add-on
> 
> Custom action server running custom action: DLL: C:\Windows\Installer\MSI12B5.tmp, Entrypoint: f42
> 
> Passing to service: MsiGetPropertyA(5, "ProductCode")
> 
> Passing to service: MsiGetMode(5, 16)
> 
> Custom action server's custom action is returning 0. (C:\Windows\Installer\MSI12B5.tmp, f42)
> 
> Custom action server running custom action: DLL: C:\Windows\Installer\MSI15B4.tmp, Entrypoint: f36
> 
> Passing to service: MsiGetPropertyA(6, "ProductCode")
> 
> Passing to service: MsiGetMode(6, 16)
> 
> Passing to service: MsiGetPropertyA(6, "INSTALLDIR")
> 
> (installer is locked up at this point)


----------



## 70stingray

I installed 2.5 on my vista computer with no problems. I only have one glitch that maybe someone can help me with.

When I play a transfered show it shows up on the screen narrow and tall. It reminds me as if it is widescreen only sideways. How do I change this?


----------



## jfh3

aus1ander said:


> You don't have to pay for Plus everytime a new software version comes out, right? Just use the same key that you bought?


Correct.


----------



## cashspot

70stingray said:


> I installed 2.5 on my vista computer with no problems. I only have one glitch that maybe someone can help me with.
> 
> When I play a transfered show it shows up on the screen narrow and tall. It reminds me as if it is widescreen only sideways. How do I change this?


Are you converting with TTG 2.5 Plus? When that happened to me, I changed over to H.64 and it shows on my IPod perfectly.


----------



## 70stingray

cashspot said:


> Are you converting with TTG 2.5 Plus? When that happened to me, I changed over to H.64 and it shows on my IPod perfectly.


No, this is regular 2.5.


----------



## gchance

dylanemcgregor said:


> Your video files have to be in a very specific MPEG2 format for them to be recognized by the TiVo, so you can't just put any video file in the folder and have it show up. Tivo Desktop Plus and pyTiVo will auto convert video from another format into the correct TiVo format.


New to this thread, but THANKS for the new version! Finally, 100% compatibility in Vista. I was able to transfer .tivo files just fine.

I really am curious about something, though.

If I have to have TiVo Desktop Plus, why doesn't the standard TiVo Desktop say so? If I click Publish Media and then the Video tab, it specifically says:



> *Supported video formats include:*
> * Windows Media Video (.wmv)
> * QuickTime Movie (.mov)
> * MPEG-4/H.264 (.mp4,.m4v,.mp4v)
> * MPEG-2 (.mpg,.mpeg,.mpe,.mp2,.mp2v,.mpv2)
> * DivX or Xvid: (.avi, .divx)


What I'm finding and what you're telling me is that no, it doesn't support those formats, not unless I buy Desktop Plus. It should at least say so on the Video tab.

Greg


----------



## Dan203

aus1ander said:


> You don't have to pay for Plus everytime a new software version comes out, right? Just use the same key that you bought?


No. Your old key will work. In fact if you're upgrading from a previous version then it should automatically recognize your old key and unlocak all the new features automatically.



sbressler said:


> So then if you don't have Plus, what exactly does 2.5 give you in terms of DivX compatibility? Without plus, can you do anything with DivX or xvid?


Nothing. Without Plus 2.5 does nothing that 2.4 didn't do except support Vista.

Dan


----------



## linuxrlz

I am running Windows XP Pro SP2 and was running TiVo Desktop 2.4a just fine. I heard about 2.5 being available, so I uninstalled 2.4 and tried to install 2.5 and get an installHandler error.

Wow. I'm not even running Vista. XP is 32bit and updated religiously.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.


----------



## seattlewendell

ttam said:


> I don't really care about vista, but I would love it when I can finally use tivo to go with my series 3.
> 
> That's great that it supports avi. I have great plans for that. But how about on the series 3?
> 
> For 800 (ok we got it for 600 with a rebate) you think we would get a little more support from tivo.


Seriously this BS of the series doing less than the series 2 is starting to get old. i can't remember a company being this inept and still maintain a loyal customer base. We're all a bunch of idiots.


----------



## prtivoguy

On an older XP box from 2.4 to 2.5.
The upgrade was flawless.

I clicked on Help, Upgrade to Tivo Desktop Plus, and it found my license key somewhere on my system.

No Issues whatsoever.

I have an S2-DT, an S2-DVD and a 40Hour S2


----------



## aus1ander

Has anyone actually successfully transfered a DiVx movie back to TiVo with Plus? My computer keeps crashing after 5-10 minutes into the transcoding/transfering process, and normally, my computer rarely crashes...


----------



## TokyoShoe

aus1ander said:


> Has anyone actually successfully transfered a DiVx movie back to TiVo with Plus? My computer keeps crashing after 5-10 minutes into the transcoding/transfering process, and normally, my computer rarely crashes...


Ok when reading the *Publish Videos* tab in Desktop 2.5 , it does NOT give me the understanding that _Desktop Plus_ is required to publish videos back. It specifically states a list of video formats that are compatible for it to publish BACK to the TiVo.


----------



## kmaximus

Has anyone solved the issues with getting the "InstallHelper message processing failed for message "getfp:0x001c" Error Description:" error? 

Why hasn't tivo addressed this yet? It certainly seems like a bad package was compiled.


----------



## jdion81

kmaximus said:


> Has anyone solved the issues with getting the "InstallHelper message processing failed for message "getfp:0x001c" Error Description:" error?
> 
> Why hasn't tivo addressed this yet? It certainly seems like a bad package was compiled.


I had the same issue in windows xp sp2 and in Vista. I was trying to install Tivo Desktop 2.5 on both OS's over RDP. I got home and tried it again while logged onto the console and it worked flawlessly.

The only advice I can offer is if you are trying to install remotely then see if installing locally will work.


----------



## coldtoes

aus1ander said:


> Has anyone actually successfully transfered a DiVx movie back to TiVo with Plus? My computer keeps crashing after 5-10 minutes into the transcoding/transfering process, and normally, my computer rarely crashes...


Is anyone else using 2.5 Plus? I'm interested in hearing the reviews. How does it compare to the, um, alternatives? I have used Videora quite a bit (limited formats, not on-the-fly, but otherwise serves my purposes) but haven't tried pyTiVo. Is Desktop Plus worth the $25 just for the auto-transcoding? (I don't have any portable video players so don't need that functionality.)


----------



## Solver

smbaker said:


> Whenever I run the 2.5 install program, it's locks up at "Updating System", "The software is being installed". The bar graph does not move. The system is completely idle. Nothing happens.
> 
> I've tried the fix24setup.exe utility which does nothing.
> 
> I'm not usually one to complain easily, but I feel like I've been dealing with BETA hardware and firmware for the last week (the pixelation-ridden Tivo HD), and now I'm beta-testing Tivo's BETA windows software. If you guys at Tivo are listening, can't you test these things first????? Please Tivo hire some QA people!!!!
> 
> Can someone tell me how to get this installer log file that everyone is talking about, so I can see where the installer is wedged up?
> 
> I'm running Vista Business 32-bit.


Sometimes when I see this kind of thing happen I'll look for a hidden dialog box. Try minimizing open windows or use Alt-Tab to see if one is there.


----------



## gardavis

Add me to one getting this error: "InstallHelper message processing failed for message "getfp:0x001c".

I am upgrading from 2.4 to 2.5 and it seemed to remove 2.4 OK. I am running on Windows Server 2003, not Vista so the UAC issues do not apply to me.

However, I am at work and installing on my home server via Remote Desktop and that was mention by TivoPony not to do. So I will retry directly when I get home tonite. I have never seen a case where RD would be an issue like this.

Gary Davis


----------



## smbaker

Solver said:


> Sometimes when I see this kind of thing happen I'll look for a hidden dialog box. Try minimizing open windows or use Alt-Tab to see if one is there.


I've experienced that before too.... but not this time. I tried minimizing everything, alt-tab, alt-esc, etc. No luck. There are no other windows showing up in the taskbar either.


----------



## Dan203

Are you using Window OneCare? If so hit Ctrl+Alt+Del and look at the processes tab. I bet there is a process called MsMpEng.exe eating up 25-100% of your processing power. I had this same problem, not just with TiVo Desktop install but several other programs, so I finally just got fed up and uninstalled it.

Alternatively you can simply disable the virus scanner portion before installing. Or you can simply wait and eventually it will stop and allow the program to install.

Dan


----------



## smbaker

Dan203 said:


> Are you using Window OneCare? If so hit Ctrl+Alt+Del and look at the processes tab. I bet there is a process called MsMpEng.exe eating up 25-100% of your processing power. I had this same problem, not just with TiVo Desktop install but several other programs, so I finally just got fed up and uninstalled it.


No OneCare installed here. Nothing in the process list is consuming any CPU, other than the occasional dwm or searchindexer that grabs 1 or 2%.

Yesterday I let the Tivo Desktop installer run for about half the day; it never did accomplish anything. It's either blocked on something, or it popped up an invisible dialog box somewhere.


----------



## TokyoShoe

smbaker said:


> No OneCare installed here. Nothing in the process list is consuming any CPU, other than the occasional dwm or searchindexer that grabs 1 or 2%.
> 
> Yesterday I let the Tivo Desktop installer run for about half the day; it never did accomplish anything. It's either blocked on something, or it popped up an invisible dialog box somewhere.


I've personally always thought it was retarded that programmers making stuff in Windows could actually create a popup window that neither shows up on Task Manager .. NOR on the Task Bar at the bottom.

Kinda makes it hard to get to that stupid little box if it accidentally gets popped offscreen.


----------



## smbaker

TokyoShoe said:


> I've personally always thought it was retarded that programmers making stuff in Windows could actually create a popup window that neither shows up on Task Manager .. NOR on the Task Bar at the bottom.
> 
> Kinda makes it hard to get to that stupid little box if it accidentally gets popped offscreen.


I agree. Often times I've had the problem when I was running in multi-monitor mode, used some piece of software with it's window on the second monitor, removed the second monitor at a later date, and the particular program's window is forevermore stuck at off-screen coordinates. But that case always left the window title bar down there in the task manager, so I at least knew what had happened.

If I can find a Windows Vista 'window handle browser' (if such a thing exists), then I might give it a shot to see if there is a hidden window. I know these tools used to exist for 98/XP, but I don't know if they still exist.

Can anyone tells me what, if anything, pops up during Tivo Desktop 2.5 installation? I'm talking about the period when the progress bar is showing no progress. IIRC the log I posted yesterday showed some griping about needing a newer version of Java or something like that -- does anyone actually get that dialog box?


----------



## davezatz

Dan203 said:


> Are you using Window OneCare? I had this same problem, not just with TiVo Desktop install but several other programs, so I finally just got fed up and uninstalled it. Alternatively you can simply disable the virus scanner portion before installing. Or you can simply wait and eventually it will stop and allow the program to install.


I installed without incident on XP with OneCare. I can't remember if we also have it installed on Vista, but that machine installed fine too.


----------



## peteypete

I'm a total newb with portable gadgets, but i just got an iPhone. How does the 2.5 plus work with the iPhone? Would be totally cool to watch tivo on my iPhone, though the battery sucks!

May be worth the $25 bucks. Oh I'm on a PC BTW


----------



## TokyoShoe

smbaker said:


> I agree. Often times I've had the problem when I was running in multi-monitor mode, used some piece of software with it's window on the second monitor, removed the second monitor at a later date, and the particular program's window is forevermore stuck at off-screen coordinates. But that case always left the window title bar down there in the task manager, so I at least knew what had happened.
> 
> If I can find a Windows Vista 'window handle browser' (if such a thing exists), then I might give it a shot to see if there is a hidden window. I know these tools used to exist for 98/XP, but I don't know if they still exist.
> 
> Can anyone tells me what, if anything, pops up during Tivo Desktop 2.5 installation? I'm talking about the period when the progress bar is showing no progress. IIRC the log I posted yesterday showed some griping about needing a newer version of Java or something like that -- does anyone actually get that dialog box?


On my first Vista install of 2.5 I recall it popping up a blurb regarding my needing to upgrade my version of Java after the client finished installing. The progress bar popped up in the background just after that and started copying stuff.

Mind you it still installed just fine. I just couldn't start up the Desktop client until I upgraded my apparently old version of Java.


----------



## DawnGP143

I am STILL not having any luck installing TTG 2.5 on my Vista machine. I have contacted customer support, they had me delete every TiVo file in my computer, I have deleted all the registry keys containing TiVo, and the program STILL won't run. I still get the "The installation has ended prematurely because an error has occurred."

Does ANYONE have a solution to this?


----------



## Dan203

coldtoes said:


> Is anyone else using 2.5 Plus? I'm interested in hearing the reviews. How does it compare to the, um, alternatives? I have used Videora quite a bit (limited formats, not on-the-fly, but otherwise serves my purposes) but haven't tried pyTiVo. Is Desktop Plus worth the $25 just for the auto-transcoding? (I don't have any portable video players so don't need that functionality.)


I've been playing with it and it seems to work pretty good. Although I do have a few gripes...

1) The resolution and bitrate are kind of low. By default they are set to 480x480 and 2Mbps respectively. This is probably OK for smaller TVs, and helps people with wireless networks get decent performance, but on my 50" HDTV it looks pretty rough. Unfortunately TiVo moved the XML profiles you could edit to mess with the settings from a standalone file into a DLL resource. So the only way to change it is to open the DLL in a resource editor like MS Visual Studio and make the changes in there. I personally bumped mine to 640x480 and 5Mbps and it looks a lot better.

2) All wide screen content is converted to letterbox. By default all widescreen content is converted to letterbox, which means I lose resolution because I have to zoom it to fill my screen. Although when I messed with the resolution of the profile (as mentioned above) it somehow removed this "feature" and made everything go to full screen mode like an anamorphic DVD.

3) It converts AC3 audio to MP2. One big complaint I have which I can't fix on my own is that it converts DivX videos with AC3 audio into MPEGs with MP2 audio. Which means I lose surround sound on some of the movies I have. The system should be smarter then that and just leave audio in it's original format if that format is something the TiVo can handle. (I have a DVD/TiVo unit so I have optical output)

Other then that it works well on my high end quad core PC running XP. The new right click convert is also nice, as it makes it easy to convert already downloaded files without having to use a 3rd party app. It also has a new feature which causes iPod conversions to be automatically added to your iTunes library which saves a step as well.

Dan


----------



## dannydp

Figured out a way the can't uninstall (no thanks to tivo).

Install the program until you get to the prompt comes up telling you you need to remove the previous version. It'll tell you what version number that previous version is.

Go into regedit and search for that version number (include all the .'s and everything) it'll come up with the install script location for that install in your registry. Delete that entire thing from the registry.

Restart the installer, it should let you thru.


----------



## TokyoShoe

dannydp said:


> Figured out a way the can't uninstall (no thanks to tivo).
> 
> Install the program until you get to the prompt comes up telling you you need to remove the previous version. It'll tell you what version number that previous version is.
> 
> Go into regedit and search for that version number (include all the .'s and everything) it'll come up with the install script location for that install in your registry. Delete that entire thing from the registry.
> 
> Restart the installer, it should let you thru.


God, I'm quite impressed that you have the patience to figure that out. Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us so we don't have to!  Hopefully this will help some folks.


----------



## gardavis

gardavis said:


> Add me to one getting this error: "InstallHelper message processing failed for message "getfp:0x001c".
> 
> I am upgrading from 2.4 to 2.5 and it seemed to remove 2.4 OK. I am running on Windows Server 2003, not Vista so the UAC issues do not apply to me.
> 
> However, I am at work and installing on my home server via Remote Desktop and that was mention by TivoPony not to do. So I will retry directly when I get home tonite. I have never seen a case where RD would be an issue like this.
> 
> Gary Davis


Well, surprise, surprise!

The install worked fine when done directly on the server's monitor instead of via Remote Desktop.

Gary Davis


----------



## ellinj

Despite installing/reinstalling a few times I still can't get Tivo Beacon to start. Get Error 1359 Internal Error


----------



## wigleyd

did anyone's Areo and Glass features shut down when they installed or upgraded to 2.5? Mine shut off when i upgraded to Plus?


----------



## jmpage2

TiVoPony said:


> Dan is right once again.
> 
> Our developers here are making the same suggestions Dan has made:
> 
> * Try turning off UAC
> * Ensure that you're logged on as the administrator
> 
> You should also run the utility on our download page if you had previously installed an earlier version of desktop on your Vista machine. Once that's been done, then try to uninstall from the control panel (Go to Control Panel->Uninstall a program).
> 
> Also note that Remote Desktop is not supported for installation.
> 
> If while uninstalling you see a message saying that TiVo Server and two other programs are running...ignore it. It'll still uninstall.
> 
> Here's how to check for UAC:
> 
> 1. Open Control Panel
> 2. Under User Accounts click on the "Add or remove user account".
> 3. On the "Choose the account you would like to change" page, click on the "Go to the Main User Account page" link.
> 4. Under "Make changes to your user account" click on the "Turn User Account Control on or off" link.
> 5. In the "Turn on User Account Control (UAC) to make your computer more secure" click to select or unselect the check box next to "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer".
> 6. Click on the Ok button.
> 7. You will be prompted to reboot your computer. Do so when ready.
> 
> Pony


I can't believe you are actually making this suggestion. Turning off UAC causes problems of its own and can definitely put a PC at risk for less savvy users (which is the whole purpose of UAC in the first place).

I have been running Vista for months now and I've never seen a single peice of software that required turning off user access control to get it to work properly.


----------



## ellinj

So I am not sure what I did, but I turned of UAC, turned off the firewall and Uninstalled Galleon. I was able to get the tivo beacon to start and I life was good. I turned everything back on and now I am dead again. I disabled the firewall with no luck so it looks like it has to be UAC.


----------



## itchyban

Got real excited when I heard the Vista compatible version came out. Not so excited anymore.

I had the installer lockup problem and had to turn off UAC to get it to install. Ugh.
I purchased the Plus upgrade as I want to load video to my iPhone.
The key installed fine, but later I tried turning UAC back on. After the reboot, I could browse pictures, etc from the TiVo, but when I actually launched TiVo Desktop is said it had a licensing problem and DOWNGRADED me from Plus to regular. Tried reloading the license key and it gave 'Unspecified Error'. 

So I lamentably turned UAC back off and the 'Plus' license key was recognized again.

Final insult is when I copied over a new program, the conversion bombs.

The whole reason to pay $25 extra doesn't even work!

I click 'Convert For...', choose iPod and I get a popup, "TiVo Video Conversion Task has stopped working".

Any suggestions?


----------



## ellinj

I turned off the firewall, no luck, turned off uac and rebooted again and it works. Not sure if it's the reboot or the uac. I'll have to turn the firewall back on and restart. UAC really should be on.


----------



## jmpage2

No software for Vista should require that UAC be disabled to make it work.

Complain to Tivo technical support about this and do not turn off UAC to make software work. UAC is an integral part of Vista and should not need to be disabled to make 3rd party apps function properly.


----------



## Shawn

I am getting the same error in Vista, Error 1722: blah blah. I have also tried turning off UAC and Windows Oncecare with no luck.

Would a call to tech support do anything?


----------



## ellinj

jmpage2 said:


> No software for Vista should require that UAC be disabled to make it work.
> 
> Complain to Tivo technical support about this and do not turn off UAC to make software work. UAC is an integral part of Vista and should not need to be disabled to make 3rd party apps function properly.


Agreed, but I got better things to do then call up Tivo and waste my time. I'll probably just have to poke Jerry a few times when I see him next month if this isn't fixed by then.


----------



## Dajad

pdbreen said:


> Still no luck here (Vista x64 Ultimate, no prior version of Tivo Desktop ever installed).


I"ve installed successfully on x64 Ultimate. I had to disable/uninstall my avast! Anti Virus first because the TiVo Destkop installer was incompatible with it. But, after TiVo Desktop 2.5 was installed and I reinstalled aVast, everything is working fine now.

...DAle


----------



## Dajad

coldtoes said:


> Is anyone else using 2.5 Plus? I'm interested in hearing the reviews. How does it compare to the, um, alternatives? I have used Videora quite a bit (limited formats, not on-the-fly, but otherwise serves my purposes) but haven't tried pyTiVo. Is Desktop Plus worth the $25 just for the auto-transcoding? (I don't have any portable video players so don't need that functionality.)


I could never get TiVo.Net to run reliably. PyTiVo was pretty good. It supports a whole lot more formats than 2.5 does. But, 2.5 is slicker, and faster and produces MUCH better quality video than either TiVo.Net or PyTiVo did in the formats that TiVo supports.

Aside from video quality there are 2 things 2.5 does that NEITHER pyTiVo or TiVo.Net did well:

*1. It supports pause accurately: *Push pause and it actually pauses, unlike the alternatives that pause a couple seconds later.

*2. It supports Slow Mo:* None of the videos I transfered with TiVoNet or PyTiVo would actually work in slow motion. Pressing Slow Motion actually made them go faster.

Bottom line, videos transferred with 2.5 work on your TiVo EXACTLY like TV shows recorded on TiVo.

A couple drawbacks I've noted is that the DivX/Xvid support is not universal. Some of the older Divx/Xvid video I have does not transcode at all. But the stuff that is less than a year or so old all works fine.

Also, TiVo will serve up the titles to every file you have in your video directory (or in video directories that you use shortcuts to) to the TiVo. When accessing from the TiVo, there is no indication as to what will work or what won't.

I would have MUCH preferred if the TiVo Desktop would scan each file to see if it CAN transcode it and then ONLY present those files in Now Playing on the TiVo that can actually transcode.

As it stands, I point TiVo to my video directories on my PC and hundreds of vidoes show up on my TiVo, yet only half (at best) will transcode/transfer properly. So, its a bit of a crap shoot as to what I can and can't transfer.

Short of TiVo automating this, it would be nice if there was some kind of utility I could point to my video directories that would tell me which will work and which won't. This would be very helpful given how many video files I have on my server.

But, all that said, I'm extremely happy with TiVo 2.5 and would never to back to TiVo.net or PyTiVo. It's worth the upgrade price for me.

...Dale


----------



## Dajad

jmpage2 said:


> No software for Vista should require that UAC be disabled to make it work.
> 
> Complain to Tivo technical support about this and do not turn off UAC to make software work. UAC is an integral part of Vista and should not need to be disabled to make 3rd party apps function properly.


I installed with UAC on. I had no problems with UAC being on. I did have problems installing with aVast installed though. See post above.

...Dale


----------



## DigitalAnarchist

2.5 installed fine on my Vista Ultimate, runs great in Admin account - won't start at all in standard user accounts. Tivo server doesn't start and trying to open the Tivo desktop results in errors.

Need to run the Tivo services as Admin? Other ideas?

Also, with multiple user accounts, is each account supposed to have its own "now playing" list and set of recordings? Not sure how that would look to one of the Tivos - would it see recordings from all accounts? I noticed that in the install, 2.5 created My TiVo Recordings folder in the Admin user folders - not visible to other accounts.


----------



## TiVoPony

jmpage2 said:


> I can't believe you are actually making this suggestion. Turning off UAC causes problems of its own and can definitely put a PC at risk for less savvy users (which is the whole purpose of UAC in the first place).
> 
> I have been running Vista for months now and I've never seen a single peice of software that required turning off user access control to get it to work properly.


We're not recommending turning off UAC to run desktop. Only to try turning it off temporarily when uninstalling a previous version of TiVo Desktop.

I'll clarify my post.

Thanks,
Pony


----------



## Abneo

When ever I have UAC on I get a error message "SharingKeyLib error:5" when I try to set my media access key. I have both a series 3 and series 2 on my network. I know I can do any video on the S3 but I would like to on the S2, however when I click on transfer video for the S2 I get a message that there was a error because the media access key does not match. However if I turn off UAC everything works fine. 

Anyone know a way around this?


----------



## MikeTerryP

I was having trouble with 2.5, getting the Beacon Service not running message. I finally traced it to Zone Alarm security which I had been having trouble with all along. I got fed up and uninstalled it and went back to AVG Antivirus. 2.5 then installed without a hitch and runs just fine. I don't know if others are having trouble related to security settings and programs but that's what was causing me grief. Hope this helps someone out there.


----------



## DarienA

gardavis said:


> Well, surprise, surprise!
> 
> The install worked fine when done directly on the server's monitor instead of via Remote Desktop.
> 
> Gary Davis


I had been getting that error while remote desktoping in to my vista pc to install it. After I saw this post I went upstairs and was able to install it no problem directly from the desktop.


----------



## TeemMoe

I was unaware when I downloaded and 'attempted' to install that this software was not tested. 
When can we expect a version that actually works?
(at least one that works without hacking up my home pc OS to make it work!)


----------



## wizzy

I was finally able to hook up a monitor and keyboard to my vista pc, and was able to sucessfully install. However, I did get an odd error about "not enough storage" as the installation was completing.

When rebooting, both TivoServer and TivoTransfer are showing up in "blocked programs". I must manually approve them in order to launch desktop.

Any way to get these always approved? I already set the .exes to run as administrator in the file properties.


----------



## lappylaz

Dan203 - Which DLL did you edit? I am having the same problem with the lower resolution and the 4:3 format.


----------



## lappylaz

TivoTrans.dll - took me a while to find. Wow what an improvement on quality. It's really a shame that this is not a configuration option from within the Tivo Desktop.


----------



## dumbdiety

Found it to...BIG difference. My only gripe is the whole 4x3 thing. Can't Desktop see which setting (16:9 or 4:3) is selected on the TiVo and encode properly? I know that the highest it can encode for playback is 640x480, but it can encode in a funky letterbox so that when it stretches on the 16:9 tvs it's in the correct ratio...


----------



## itchyban

itchyban said:


> Got real excited when I heard the Vista compatible version came out. Not so excited anymore.
> 
> I had the installer lockup problem and had to turn off UAC to get it to install. Ugh.
> I purchased the Plus upgrade as I want to load video to my iPhone.
> The key installed fine, but later I tried turning UAC back on. After the reboot, I could browse pictures, etc from the TiVo, but when I actually launched TiVo Desktop is said it had a licensing problem and DOWNGRADED me from Plus to regular. Tried reloading the license key and it gave 'Unspecified Error'.
> 
> So I lamentably turned UAC back off and the 'Plus' license key was recognized again.
> 
> Final insult is when I copied over a new program, the conversion bombs.
> 
> The whole reason to pay $25 extra doesn't even work!
> 
> I click 'Convert For...', choose iPod and I get a popup, "TiVo Video Conversion Task has stopped working".
> 
> Any suggestions?


I made some progress and am now able to use the Plus features to convert videos.

I uninstalled and reran the 2.4 removal program _with UAC turned off_, that was the trick for me. I had run that uninstall several times, but with UAC on.

After the reinstall, everything works provided I leave UAC off.

I tried turning it back on and the beacon service didn't start and the Plus conversion features didn't show.

So I am entertained that I can now watch Robot Chicken on my phone, but still annoyed at the install experience and that I am less protected because UAC is off.

It seems very very wrong (if my experience is common) to actually call this version Vista compatible.

Does anyone else who is running this successfully run with UAC turned on? 
Do you have to do anything special like 'Run as Administrator' when launching the TiVo Desktop?

Thanks, 
-Steve


----------



## pshawncongo

I tried the 2.4 fix b/c I updated to Vista with Tivo Desktop still installed. The fix acted like it did something but when I went to install 2.5, it said sorry 2.4 is still installed then it wouldn't let me uninstall it. This is driving me nuts. How do I install 2.5 with a 2.4 version installed previously on xp, now on vista?


----------



## wizzy

wizzy said:


> When rebooting, both TivoServer and TivoTransfer are showing up in "blocked programs". I must manually approve them in order to launch desktop.
> 
> Any way to get these always approved? I already set the .exes to run as administrator in the file properties.


Figured out the problem. The "run as admin" was screwing it up. Removed that flag from the .exe, and they start up automatically now.


----------



## vagabum

I tried with Firewall off and UAC off. I have never had 2.4 installed but I still tried the fix24 util. I tried to run the 2.5 installer as Admin or with double click. I am logged in as Admin. I also tried downloading the installer multiple times.

All this and I still get the "installation was prematurely ended because an error occurred" or other times I get "Error 1722. There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected.", both right after I click next to install. There does not seem to be a predictable pattern between the messages. I can run several time and will see both roughly equal but not in any pattern. 

I do not see any obvious tivo processes running in Task Manager.

My vista is up to date and is actually a fresh installation (1 month old).

Any suggestions?

Thanks.


----------



## Soapm

I am running WinXP SP2 and get the error "Tivo Server Error. The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion".

I get this starting the application normally and trying to start the server in services.msc.

Thoughts?


----------



## Soapm

Also, does anyone know why this software takes so long to do anything? Starting up seems to take about 10 minutes and after all that I get an error. I have a 2.5 gig with 2 gigs of ram. I have never seen software run this slow since I had a DX 4/100...


----------



## buffalova

I just installed TTG version 2.5. I made 2 shortcuts to 2 different folders but when I check the tivo all the files from both folders are in one long list. Is there a setting so that they appear in folder in the "tivo folder" on the pc? If not then is there an easy way to scroll without having to page down the list? Can you jump to a specific letter? Thanks.


----------



## Dan203

Soapm said:


> Also, does anyone know why this software takes so long to do anything? Starting up seems to take about 10 minutes and after all that I get an error. I have a 2.5 gig with 2 gigs of ram. I have never seen software run this slow since I had a DX 4/100...


Do you have a lot of DivX files in your My TiVo Recordings folder? After experimenting with it yesterday I discovered that both TiVo Desktop and TiVo Server can be extremely slow when trying to access large collections of DivX files.

Dan


----------



## hkancyr

I'm having a problem sending DivX and videora files to my TiVo using TDT 2.5/ Vista Ulti x64. I can send a few minutes only then the transfer stalls. I have another computer running XP Pro x86 and TDT 2.4, it has no problem transferring the same files. I am guessing that it must be some sort of security deal with Vista, but why does it even send 3-5 minutes at all if it's that.
That is the only problem I have encountered. I have sent TiVo files to and from the computer and transferred to and from different TiVo's to each other.


----------



## hkancyr

Oh and I have 2.5 plus.
Just tried to send videora files to a different TiVo and they went. This one has the TiVo wireless G hooked up to it and it is a 240 S2. The one that doesn't allow the transfers has a Linksys wireless WGA54G connected to it and it is a 140 S2. Hmm. I have restarted everything and still cannot transfer to the 140.


----------



## Soapm

Dan203 said:


> Do you have a lot of DivX files in your My TiVo Recordings folder? After experimenting with it yesterday I discovered that both TiVo Desktop and TiVo Server can be extremely slow when trying to access large collections of DivX files.
> 
> Dan


Naw, I don't have any yet. Tivo desktop has always taken forever to load on my system. The slowness didn't begin with this version.


----------



## DawnGP143

vagabum said:


> I tried with Firewall off and UAC off. I have never had 2.4 installed but I still tried the fix24 util. I tried to run the 2.5 installer as Admin or with double click. I am logged in as Admin. I also tried downloading the installer multiple times.
> 
> All this and I still get the "installation was prematurely ended because an error occurred" or other times I get "Error 1722. There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected.", both right after I click next to install. There does not seem to be a predictable pattern between the messages. I can run several time and will see both roughly equal but not in any pattern.
> 
> I do not see any obvious tivo processes running in Task Manager.
> 
> My vista is up to date and is actually a fresh installation (1 month old).
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
> Thanks.


Good luck with that. I've been having the same problem since the release, called Tivo support and was on the phone with them fo several hours. They could not find a solution to the problem, and further stated that since I was the "only one having this trouble" they would not elevate it because it was obvious it wasn't a Tivo software problem.


----------



## Soapm

TiVoPony said:


> * Support for DixV and Xvid formats for Web Video Conversions (wrapped in .avi or .divx containers).


Was there something special we had to do to make this part work? I put some XVID files in my Tivo folder, went to the Tivo and in the now playing list clicked on my PC. I can see the Tivo files that I transfered to my PC but I don't see any of my XVID files.

Am I using this wrong?
Did I miss a step?


----------



## sandycityscott

I don't have any problems at install time with 2.5 on Vista... but I'm still getting the classic "Tivo Beacon Can't Start" error message after install/reboot/after I hit retry a million times/no matter what I do... which pretty much means I can't use Tivo Desktop for anything.


----------



## raianoat

Soapm said:


> Was there something special we had to do to make this part work? I put some XVID files in my Tivo folder, went to the Tivo and in the now playing list clicked on my PC. I can see the Tivo files that I transfered to my PC but I don't see any of my XVID files.
> 
> Am I using this wrong?
> Did I miss a step?


Do you have TiVo Desktop *Plus*?

http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/domore/tivotogo/windows.html


----------



## Soapm

raianoat said:


> Do you have TiVo Desktop *Plus*?
> 
> http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/domore/tivotogo/windows.html


Plus what? Did I need something else also?

J/K, I guess that be the problem... RTFM~


----------



## sandycityscott

MikeTerryP said:


> I was having trouble with 2.5, getting the Beacon Service not running message. I finally traced it to Zone Alarm security which I had been having trouble with all along. I got fed up and uninstalled it and went back to AVG Antivirus. 2.5 then installed without a hitch and runs just fine. I don't know if others are having trouble related to security settings and programs but that's what was causing me grief. Hope this helps someone out there.


Just disabled Zone Alarm and Symantec Anti-Virus... still getting the "Tivo Beacon Not Running" error, even though it shows up in the task list.


----------



## hkancyr

Well it looks like my previous hi-speed TiVo network which was hooked up via gaming wireless G adapters doesn't like 2.5. I just went to Radio Shack and got another TiVo wireless G adapter and hooked up the S2 140 and viola it is accepting transfers of videora and Divx files now.
PS you have to convert the XVID files to use them. I use Videora or DiVx converter for them.


----------



## C_A_Jones

vagabum said:


> I tried with Firewall off and UAC off. I have never had 2.4 installed but I still tried the fix24 util. I tried to run the 2.5 installer as Admin or with double click. I am logged in as Admin. I also tried downloading the installer multiple times.
> 
> All this and I still get the "installation was prematurely ended because an error occurred" or other times I get "Error 1722. There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected.", both right after I click next to install. There does not seem to be a predictable pattern between the messages. I can run several time and will see both roughly equal but not in any pattern.


I'm in exactly the same boat. Hope they get a handle on this soon!


----------



## C_A_Jones

DawnGP143 said:


> Good luck with that. I've been having the same problem since the release, called Tivo support and was on the phone with them fo several hours. They could not find a solution to the problem, and further stated that since I was the "only one having this trouble" they would not elevate it because it was obvious it wasn't a Tivo software problem.


What's obvious is that they're liars. I just got off the phone and got the same song and dance from them.


----------



## drosoph

TivoServer.exe is taking up 100% of my CPU -- XP System 2.3 uninstalled before installing.


----------



## markandjenn

drosoph said:


> TivoServer.exe is taking up 100% of my CPU -- XP System 2.3 uninstalled before installing.


My problem is with extremely high memory usage. Usually 350MB for tivoserver.exe. I have even seen it as high is 500 MB. Is anyone else seeing this or maybe know the reason as to why this could occur?


----------



## drosoph

Is there any other audio coding filter than AAC? My ZEN Vision:W doesn't support AAC? I can edit the DLL file, but what is the proper formatting and what is supported? How would I say 128 kbit/s MP3 CBR ???

PS: Does anyone find it odd that the only reference to FIX this in the .dll file "http://www.tivo.com/developer/encode-profiles/" is an invalid link? THANKS TIVO!


----------



## MikeTerryP

sandycityscott said:


> Just disabled Zone Alarm and Symantec Anti-Virus... still getting the "Tivo Beacon Not Running" error, even though it shows up in the task list.


I did the same thing, disabling the programs yet the problem persisted. I finally uninstalled them completely and the problem disappeared. This was Zone Alarm. It never really worked very smoothly on my Vista machine anyway. So I got rid of it until they can iron out some of the bugs.


----------



## Soapm

Wow, that's why it was taking 12 to 15 minutes to load Tivo Desktop. My virus scanner was running. I disable it and Desktop is still no jack rabbit but it does load a lot faster.


----------



## zman100

Any assistance will be very much appreciated. I am a newbie to this forum. 

I recently uploaded a home video to my laptop and had the file converted to avi via the Windows Movie Maker software that was preinstalled on my laptop.

I downloaded the Videora Tivo Converter and have Tivo Desktop 2.5 installed on my Windows Vista laptop. I am having problems converting the avi file which is approximately 11.9 gigs in size to that of the Tivo MPEG file. Everytime, I do the conversion, the MPEG file is 0 megabytes in size. The conversion is not working for some reason. 

1) Does the Videora Tivo Converter work with Vista? 
2) Where is detailed information on making a conversion work?

Thanks, Zoran


----------



## MychaelP

i've tried everything on this thread and it simply will not install. It still states it is trying to uninstall v2.3xxxxx and hangs.
Now 2.3 won't work so i'm out of luck with any transfer service at all.
any suggestions to where I can at least get my old program to work?
running xp.

Tivo customer service told me they don't do technical service over the phone. I tried their support site but it only has posts similar to here.

suggestions?


----------



## Rose4uKY

I don't know what to do now. I have version 2.3a and it works fine on my Vista Home Premium. So If I am working ok should I try to get 2.5? And I am curious to know more about the plus also. Like if I have a downloaded movie on my desktop and it's an AVI does it mean that plus can convert it and I can transfer it to my Tivo and watch it on my TV? 

And also my last questions. I own a Dell DJ MP3 player does not do video. My cell phone will play a movie and I have a 1 gig card but I don't know the format it takes. Will plus transform it to Mpeg or whatever I file I need it to be so I can watch it on my phone it's like 780 mb file. Someone mentioned transfering a file and watching it on there I-Pod. I am in the process of buying a video player just for movies. My Dell DJ has all my music and don't do videos. I want one for videos and movies only. Everyone says get the ipod but I am looking in to another brand Archos it has wi fi on it and is a bit bigger and has a bigger screen but I don't want it for music I want it for video. I hate taking my laptop everywhere it's too big. So as long as I have plus does that mean I can take a Tivo recorded show and convert it to play on a portable player and be able to download a movie off the net and convert it to play also. Cause now I am wanting to buy the plus. I am just afraid to upgrade to 2.5.. And I want a portable video player and don't know which one to get I have to read more reviews.

Oh and I have a Laptop wtih XP and my desktop has Vista Home Premium and they both have 2.3a. I had spoken to Tivo the other day about something and mentioned how 2.3a works on my vista but she said oh get 2.5 but now after reading lots of you having problems I don't know what to do. Should I try to install it. I do want the plus even though I don't have a portable player yet. Cause it will be worth it if I can convert my AVI movie and transfer it to Tivo to watch on my TV. Rose


----------



## jwkilgore

can't get 2.5 to install on my machine either...have turned off uac, every program i can shut off i have...tried running the 2.4 uninstaller normally and as administrator to no noticeable effect, tried running the 2.5 installer both normally and as administrator and it hangs with the error 1722 notice also tried running both programs in xp compatibality mode, did not work there either

running vista business


----------



## Rose4uKY

I checked and I have 32 bit on my Vista not 64 so I am just keeping the 2.3a even on my laptop. As long as it works I am ok. I did a search on Tivo Desktop Plus tonight cause I am getting next week or so this Archos 605 Wi Fi portable video player. I was told it used Mpeg4 and Tivo said with plus I can convert Tivo shows to Mpeg 4. If I have an AVI movie can I transfer it to my Tivo and watch it on my TV? I went to do a search for the plus on Google and I found an article that said Auto Pilot is free and does the same thing as plus with Tivo shows? Has anyoen heard of that? I wasn't sure If I was allowed to mentioned that since this is a Tivo forum sorry but I wanted to know. But Tivo tech spport acted like he didn't know about the 32 bit and 64 bit he just said the 2.5 from 2.3 supports Vista and something else I think. I could try it onmy laptop with XP but everything works so I'll let it go for now. [

Thanks, Rose


----------



## namkcuR

I want to watch a .mp4 file on my Tivo. Tivo Desktop 2.5, when you go to 'Publish Media'\'Video', says that all you have to do to watch a .mp4 file on Tivo is to put the file in the 'My Tivo Recordings' folder, find your computer in the 'Now Playing' list on the Tivo, navigate to the file, and tell the Tivo to start the transfer. I put the .mp4 file in the 'My Tivo Recordings' folder, but when I go to said folder on the Tivo, the file doesn't show up. I stopped and restarted the Tivo server on my PC, but the file still didn't show up.

What am I doing wrong?


----------



## Rose4uKY

Do you have Desktop Plus don't you need Plus to do stuff like that? Maybe you do have plus and it still wont work. I just opened my desktop and saw where it said I can make it Mpeg 4 which is what my device is going to take but it said I needed plus which I knew that. I am getting the Archos 605 WiFi but it doesn't come out till 9/1. Rose


----------



## gardavis

I tried converting my video to several formats. avi, wmv and mpg. Only the mpg shows up on the Tivo. So maybe it is that I need to get Plus.


----------



## NewYorkLaw

Since upgrading to 2.5, I have a red x over the tivo icon and trying to open the server yields this message: 

"The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion."

I have uninstalled and deleted EVERY trace of tivo from my system & registry, but when I re-install, and even try to reinstall and repair, nothing seems to get it up and running again. There's another thread posted elswhere on this forum, on which I noted my issue, but it's not as active as this thread, which I found by searching by that error message. (Sorry for any duplication).

Any suggestions? I miss my tivo desktop. 
Pete


----------



## bob_b

Did you ever find this zaptivodesktop script?


----------



## NewYorkLaw

the link to that script does not work. The page says this:

This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.

And is followed by unreadable "html" type text.

Pete


----------



## NewYorkLaw

Does anyone know if this problem is being addressed by Tivo? I'm surprised that there's not much being said...

Pete


----------



## jkalnin

I am going to try and reinstall 2.3a because 2.5 and 2.4a will not install on my machine no matter what I try. My wife is going to kill me, I just had to upgrade didn't I....

Come on Tivo pros, lets get some answers on why so many people are unable to install this new software!!!


----------



## C_A_Jones

jkalnin said:


> I am going to try and reinstall 2.3a because 2.5 and 2.4a will not install on my machine no matter what I try. My wife is going to kill me, I just had to upgrade didn't I....
> 
> Come on Tivo pros, lets get some answers on why so many people are unable to install this new software!!!


Evidently they only tested 2.5 with Vista 64 bit and not with the 32 bit versions.

You may find this link interesting.

http://forums.tivo.com/pe/action/forums/displaypost?postID=10335428


----------



## jkalnin

C_A_Jones said:


> Evidently they only tested 2.5 with Vista 64 bit and not with the 32 bit versions.
> 
> You may find this link interesting.
> 
> http://forums.tivo.com/pe/action/forums/displaypost?postID=10335428


I am on Windows XP SP2 - not vista .... but thanks!

Where is the Tivo Zapper script? I am unable to install any version of Tivo Dektop now. I am not happy


----------



## jkalnin

Not that this is going to help anyone, but the only version I was able to install is 2.0.
That works fine. Then if I try to go to any higher version I get the same error as before about it ending prematurely. 

Being on hold with tech support for 45+ minutes only to have it ring and then disconnect me got me no where!

Thanks again Tivo!!!!! 
/sarcasm

Update - got Desktop 2.1 to install - trying to find version 2.2 now...


----------



## NewYorkLaw

Where are you guys finding versions 2 and 3 -- I only have 2.4a and 2.5 in my download folder, and those absolutely won't work. Can you post links?

UNBELIEVABLE how tivo is not helping or even commenting on this.

Pete


----------



## Rose4uKY

I got 2.5 to work on my XP laptop. And someone on the Tivo.com forum said he got it to work on his Vista 32 bit I believe by doing something I forget what. But if 2.3 is working on my Vista even though it's not supported it works so I am leaving it there for now.

My problem now is I was going to buy the plus to convert my shows cause i am getting a portable player. Tivo's website mentioned using Roxio to convert and burn and my new pc came with Easy Creator Basic and now I paid 50 bucks for the suite and I get error messages when trying to add a Tivo show to convert or to add a Tivo show to burn. I may have to get a refund if tech support can't help me tomorrow. I upgraded from the basic to the suite for 49.99 and was told by Roxio and Tivo with this I wont need the plus. But I may get a refund on this and go with the plus. But I wish 2.5 would work on my Vista 32 bit.


Edit: Here is what someone said over on the other forum but he has plus so I don't know if this only works for plus or not..

Yea ! It's been days and my TD 2.5 with Plus is still working perfectly on my Vista Home Premium 32-bit. I think I stumbled onto the secret with where the recordings are stored. If you're brave and really want 2.5, change where they're stored after installing and entering Plus registration number. I put them on the root drive, ie. C:\My Tivo Recordings and for converted to iPod files, C:\My Tivo Recordings for Portables. Working great, so I'm not going to go back to 2.3a, unless something major happens. 

Rose


----------



## jkalnin

NewYorkLaw said:


> Where are you guys finding versions 2 and 3 -- I only have 2.4a and 2.5 in my download folder, and those absolutely won't work. Can you post links?
> 
> UNBELIEVABLE how tivo is not helping or even commenting on this.
> 
> Pete


It took awhile to find all the old versions, and Tivo Desktop 2-2 is no where to be found. 
I found 2.3a here:
http://rs37.rapidshare.com/files/31512736/TiVoDesktop2.3a.exe

2.0:
http://www.download.com/Tivo-Desktop/3000-2085_4-10364914.html?tag=lst-0-1

and 2.1:
http://rapidshare.com/files/22254478/TiVoDesktop2-1.exe.html

Once Tivo 2.5 fails to install, it also breaks the ability to install 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5.
I was able to install 2.0 and 2.1, but neither of those have Tivo-to-go transfers available.

Right now I am uninstalling Tivo completely, running a registry cleaner, and I am going to attempt to install 2.3a again when I get home from work.

Tivo hasn't been any help for me resolving this issue, but I did get to enjoy the same song 8 million times last night while I was on hold for about an hour!


----------



## Rose4uKY

I know now just to leave 2.3 on my computer. I was one of the lucky ones that it did work for me on Vista. Or maybe it worked on all 32 bit vista I don't know. But I am not going to try the 2.5. I upgraded and installed Roxio Suite and I double checked and it still works. One time on my old XP desktop I had upgraded my WMP and my Tivo stopped working I think I got sound and video. 

I have to get my Roxio going paid 50 bucks to upgrade so I could convert Tivo and burn occasionaly to DVD and it won't work. The whole reason I upgraded. I am ordering this portable player that is suppose to come out on 9/1 by Archos. 

Ok I don't know what to do now I am probably going to have to get a refund on my suite. Roxio claims that when I open disc copier to convert and get the error message must have 2.3 or higher and when I my DVD and it wont let me add a Tivo show saying cannot edit this program will not be added is because of Vista. Tivo 2.3 is not supported by Vista and everyone said it wouldn't work. I was one of the lucky ones and my new HP Vista 32 bit computer 2.3a works and that is what I have. Everyone else says 2.5 will not work on 32 bit and everyone is having problems. So Roxio says since 2.3 isn't supported by Vista that is why the Roxio wont work and that I am missing a codec that I would get If I installed 2.5 which is suppose to be Vista compatible. So he said it's a codec issue call Tivo. Tivo says they don;t know anything about 2.5 not working for people with 32 bit Vista and said I should be ok by installing it since 2.3 worked. He said I don't need to uninstall 1st with some special utility since I bought a vista computer and am not upgrading from XP or 2.4. So I may just get a refund and use Tivo Desktop Plus. All I mainly want is something to convert my Tivo show to Mpeg 4 for the video player I am getting. Thanks, Rose


----------



## jkalnin

I have more info for tech people to go on, assuming anyone is working on this issue. Galleon doesn't work, so I am going to assume there is something wrong with the Tivo Beacon. Whatever that means.

I found an old version of Tivo Desktop 2.2 and it almost install perfectly, except that it is saying "The Tivo Beacon service has not yet started (or may have stopped or uninstalled). This service is required by the Tivo Server."

Getting closer to finding out the main issue...


----------



## jkalnin

HOORAY!
A restart of my PC and I now have Tivo-to-go back, and Tivo Desktop 2.2 is running strong (and so is Galleon). I don't think I am going to test my luck and try to upgrade any further for now. Hopefully reinstalling Tivo Desktop 2.2 finally fixed whatever 2.5 installer severly broke!

Dare I uninstall it and go for 2.3a now? Maybe this weekend...

I am still super pissed at the lack of support from Tivo.


----------



## Rose4uKY

Glad your working! That is why I am staying with my 2.3 on Vista 32 bit cause it works.. I just wish the Roxio Suite I upgraded too would work to convert my Tivo show or to burn to DVD. But my main concern is putting shows on this portable video player I am ordering this weekend. I need to read more on Diret Show Dump and Video Redo. Rose


----------



## jkalnin

I use Sonic studio to convert my Tivo files to DVD. If all else fails check your PMs, as I linked a very interesting article in it.

As for the in-ability to install Tivo Desktop 2.5 and the subsequent failure to install any version of Tivo Desktop (containing Tivo-to-go 2.2 and above) after the installation problem... after sleeping on it I think that installing Galleon actually fixed the issue. That or installing Tivo Desktop 2.2 put back the TivoBeacon which seems to be severely corrupted by Desktop 2.5 for some reason. Either way, something is not right with the 2.5 installer.


----------



## Rose4uKY

Thanks for your help! I have one show to burn to DVD for afriend but other than that I want to just convert and put on my new player I am getting. But if someone misses a show I would like to be able to save it and burn it to DVD for them to play. But I know all DVD players dont play all kinds of files. But the one show I want to burn for my friend she can watch it on her laptop in WMP. I just need to get a refund on my Roxio since it wont work I guess. And if there is a way around getting 2.5 to work on Vista 32 bit let me know but for now 2.3 it is works fine. Thanks Rose


----------



## CIP54

I've seen having this issue for months, never could get the product to run. Started with version 2.4. I have an XP box. I have not yet found a response from any Tivo tech person anywhere I have searched. Seems like it affects too small a number of people to bother.


----------



## jkalnin

What is your problem exactly? I finally was able to upgrade to 2.5 successfully without the help of a Tivo Rep. Are you able to install any version of Tivo desktop, or are you completely without it now? What errors are you getting?


----------



## Rose4uKY

I installed 2.5 fine on my laptop with XP but on my vista 32 bit desktop I have 2.3.

Rose


----------



## montivette

I was able to install on Vista 32 but have no idea if it fully works as I will have to wait until November when TTG/MRV is supported on the series 3. 

During install I did get notice I should should down three services, one was Windows Installer, the other was a media center application, and the third was some Nvidia app. Of Course there was no way to force those processes closed in control panel (Tried and it would not let me.) I just clicked the skip button and installation proceeded and so it seems OK. 

For those who have issues installing or uninstalling you might try doing it via Windows safe mode. On one of my three Vista computers my Logitech Setpoint software would not fully install and would always hang. There would not be an uninstall option as the installer never completed.

The answer was to boot into safe mode and install from safe mode. I am not sure what the issue or conflict was, but being in safe mode took the conflict away. I know it was not a Vista issue, nor a Logitech issue, but a combination of both in conjunction with some other application or process running on my PC. Maybe this could work for those who have incomplete installation issues in Vista.


----------



## Rose4uKY

Well if anyone gets 2.5 to work on 32 bit let us know. Rose


----------



## C_A_Jones

Rose4uKY said:


> Well if anyone gets 2.5 to work on 32 bit let us know. Rose


Have faith, it looks like a fix is right around the corner. I too was having no luck installing 2.5 on a 32 bit Vista machine. I called TiVo and my problem was passed off to the software engineers. It took more than a week but I finally got a phone call from an engineer. He had a fix that worked, but he asked that I NOT post it. He said he wanted to call a few more people to test the fix, and if it worked consistently they would be making an addition to the TiVo Knowledge Base. That was 5 days ago, and I've been using 2.5 without any problem since that time.

I'll scan their Knowledge Base every couple of days and post a link to the KB article when it appears.


----------



## segaily

C_A_Jones said:


> Have faith, it looks like a fix is right around the corner. I too was having no luck installing 2.5 on a 32 bit Vista machine. I called TiVo and my problem was passed off to the software engineers. It took more than a week but I finally got a phone call from an engineer. He had a fix that worked, but he asked that I NOT post it. He said he wanted to call a few more people to test the fix, and if it worked consistently they would be making an addition to the TiVo Knowledge Base. That was 5 days ago, and I've been using 2.5 without any problem since that time.
> 
> I'll scan their Knowledge Base every couple of days and post a link to the KB article when it appears.


Let me just say thanks is advance. Other then my one attempt at an install I have not had any time to deal with this, but I really would like to get it working on my new PC.


----------



## Rose4uKY

Thanks a lot, Please keep us posted.. Rose


----------



## bvanduser

For several weeks I too have battled the Tivo Desktop 2.5 "Ended prematurely" error on Vista Ultimate. I even wasted several hours on the phone with Tivo technical support and they were unable to help. Tonight I found a repeatable solution which may help some of you.

I'm positive the registry entries below were the problem. After removing these registry entries I was able to install Tivo Desktop 2.5. Then after adding these registry entries back in (with no other changes) the Tivo Desktop install started failing again with "Ended prematurely" until I removed the registry entries.

I repeated this process 3 times and every time it resolved the error. No other changes were made to my system during this interval. No reboot is required to activate the fix.

Problem #1: Tivo Desktop uses the Windows Installer and unlike previous OS versions, the Vista Windows Installer doesn't tolerate vbscript.dll and jscript.dll to be registered in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive. Even if these are properly registered in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hive, having them registered in HKCU will cause the Windows Installer to fail with error code 2738.

Problem #2: Tivo decided to get cute and mask error code 2738 and instead gives the "Ended prematurely" error message. Real helpful guys. By displaying this error code the problem would have been found on day 1.

Cause: At some point in your machine's life, you installed a piece of software that decided to register one or both of these dll's in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. According to Microsoft this is a bad practice that should be avoided (even though it worked before Vista). Looking over my change log, I wasn't able to determine which software did this on my machines. It will be difficult to determine who caused Problem #1 and it is most likely caused by a number of bad software titles. We know who caused Problem #2. 

*WARNING: Execute the solution shown below at your own risk! I am not responsible if your machine crashes. If you are not comfortable hacking the registry then wait for Tivo to fix this problem.

If you are not getting the "Ended prematurely" error message when attempting to install Tivo Desktop 2.5 on Vista then this fix probably won't help you. If you run it anyways don't complain when it doesn't fix your specific problem.*

Solution:

1. As a backup export the following 2 keys. If you don't know how to do this then you probably shouldn't monkey with the registry...wait on Tivo to fix this in their Tivo Desktop install package or with another zap script. 
a. HKCU\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{B54F3741-5B07-11CF-A4B0-00AA004A55E8}
b. HKCU\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{F414C260-6AC0-11CF-B6D1-00AA00BBBB58}

2. Delete these 2 classes using regedit or execute the following commands from the Start...Run command prompt:
a. Unregister VBScript from HKCU:
reg delete "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{B54F3741-5B07-11CF-A4B0-00AA004A55E8}" /f 
b. Unregister JScript from HKCU:
reg delete "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{F414C260-6AC0-11CF-B6D1-00AA00BBBB58}" /f

3. Now execute the Tivo Desktop 2.5 MSI package and follow the installation wizard. If Tivo Desktop starts, close it. If you get an error message about the Tivo Beacon service, cancel it.

4. Reboot and run Tivo Desktop.

Step #4 may not be required for some users but from my testing various versions of Tivo Desktop in the past, a reboot seems to resolve issues with the TivoBeacon service not getting started.

Hopefully this information will help a few folks who are getting this error. Shame on Tivo for taking so long to resolve the issue.

Good Luck!

B


----------



## C_A_Jones

C_A_Jones said:


> Have faith, it looks like a fix is right around the corner. I too was having no luck installing 2.5 on a 32 bit Vista machine. I called TiVo and my problem was passed off to the software engineers. It took more than a week but I finally got a phone call from an engineer. He had a fix that worked, but he asked that I NOT post it. He said he wanted to call a few more people to test the fix, and if it worked consistently they would be making an addition to the TiVo Knowledge Base. That was 5 days ago, and I've been using 2.5 without any problem since that time.
> 
> I'll scan their Knowledge Base every couple of days and post a link to the KB article when it appears.


Still nothing about this fix in KB at Tivo. However, I see someone else has posted the exact instructions given to me by the software engineer who called me.

I have no idea why they aren't adding this to the KB. It may not work for everyone, or TiVo support is just slacking off again.

Here's a link to the instructions. Considering TiVo has NOT added this to their Knowledge Base.... USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
http://forums.tivo.com/pe/action/forums/displaypost?postID=10337379


----------



## bvanduser

C_A_Jones said:


> Here's a link to the instructions. Considering TiVo has NOT added this to their Knowledge Base.... USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!


Thanks for sharing that link. I had not seen it. I had to drop the link from your quote because I still can't post URLs.

If I read the docs on Microsoft's web site correctly, the fix you referenced would register vbscript.dll in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (which is required), however, if vbscript.dll is improperly registered in HKEY_CURRENT_USER then the Vista MS Installer will still fail with a 2738 return code even if you follow the instructions shown above on Tivo's message board.

If vbscript.dll wasn't properly registered in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE at the time it was installed then after removing the invalid registration from HKEY_LOCAL_USER you may need to follow the instructions noted above to register it in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Be sure to follow the note about running regsvr32 as Administrator because running it with a regular user account will cause the registration to go to HKEY_LOCAL_USER instead of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

B


----------



## manders1405

I still cant get the Tivotogo 2.5 version to work on Vista. Any news on a fix?


----------



## garfoon

bvanduser said:


> For several weeks I too have battled the Tivo Desktop 2.5 "Ended prematurely" error on Vista Ultimate. I even wasted several hours on the phone with Tivo technical support and they were unable to help. Tonight I found a repeatable solution which may help some of you.
> B


Thank you, thank you, and oh by the way, thank you.


----------



## bvanduser

Did this fix work for you garfoon?

B


----------



## DrSchnitz

C_A_Jones said:


> Still nothing about this fix in KB at Tivo. However, I see someone else has posted the exact instructions given to me by the software engineer who called me.
> 
> I have no idea why they aren't adding this to the KB. It may not work for everyone, or TiVo support is just slacking off again.
> 
> Here's a link to the instructions. Considering TiVo has NOT added this to their Knowledge Base.... USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
> [link removed at Tivo Forum's demand}
> The method suggested in the link worked like a charm. Immediately and seemingly permanently Tivo 2.5 in Vista Ultimate. How do I send Mr. Jones a prize?
> Thank you, sir, thank you.


----------



## vagabum

I tried the regsvr32 vbscript.dll command and got the success message but the Desktop installer still failed for me (UAC has already been turned off).

AMD A64 Dual Core X2 2.8G
Vista Home Premium
4 GB RAM

As a Tivo loyal and unofficial evangelist who has easily converted 40 people to Tivo I have always been a fan of the product and company but this Vista incompatible desktop release has been fumbled in a manner I can only describe as Microsoft-esque and I have better things to do than waste my time with their "support."

I just asked my Magic Eight Ball toy if Tivo would come up with a reliable Vista fix in a reasonable time limit and it admitted sadly "Outlook not so good." [Ok, I didn't really do that, but if it could reliably predict the future for real that is surely what it would say...]

Tivo, you have some 'splainin' to do!!!



DrSchnitz said:


> C_A_Jones said:
> 
> 
> 
> Still nothing about this fix in KB at Tivo. However, I see someone else has posted the exact instructions given to me by the software engineer who called me.
> 
> I have no idea why they aren't adding this to the KB. It may not work for everyone, or TiVo support is just slacking off again.
Click to expand...


----------



## bvanduser

Vagabum,

regsvr32 only adds vbscript.dll to the registry. If executed with the appropriate permissions, it will register vbscript.dll into HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE where it should be.

However, if you happen to have vbscript.dll registered in HKEY_CURRENT_USER as well then the installer will still fail with the "ended prematurely" error message. The Tivo development team should have trapped and either reported the error for what it was (with the return code) or worked around it.

Microsoft developers have posted instructions on MSDN blog sites about removing these script engines from HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

If this is the error you are getting then you may be interested in my post about half way back up the page where I describe removing the vbscript.dll and jscript.dll registrations from HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Windows Vista, unlike earlier OS versions, doesn't tolerate these script engines registered in HKEY_CURRENT_USER - only in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

After executing the two delete commands I provided in the earlier post you shouldn't be getting the "ended prematurely" error message any more.

B


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## vagabum

Thanks, BVAU,

I am actually running Vista HP 64 bit, so in retrospect (and just now noticing the '32' in 'regsvr32') maybe I should not expect that vbscript to help me. 

Should I still go through the action of removing the HKEY_CURRENT_USER entry, or is there no chance this will work on Vista 64?

I know I should contact Tivo support but cringe at the thought...


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## bvanduser

I suggest you use the regedit "export" function to make a backup of the two keys before you delete them. That way, if something bad happens you can always launch the backup .reg file and put the entries back into HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

If you or anyone else is interested I can locate and post the links to the MSDN blog sites where two different MS developers describe the problem of having vbscript.dll and/or jscript.dll registered in HKEY_CURRENT_USER instead of or in addition to having them in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

The way I read their blog posts, this situation applies to all versions of Vista including your 64-bit version.

B


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## gregnash

Hey guys I got a question for you. I have a 64-bit XP machine that I have recently hooked up with out main Tivo. Now I have downloaded on of our saved items to the computer but when I go to play it nothing recognizes the Tivo Format? I thought these were supposed to come automatically as .avi/.divx files? Is there something I missed in the install that will allow me to watch these items on my computer? I am using Windows Media Player 11 (bleh) to try and watch it but nothing happens once I load the movie?

Please help

EDIT: The error message says that I am missing a required codec. That helps a whole lot?!


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## rcobourn

gregnash said:


> Hey guys I got a question for you. I have a 64-bit XP machine that I have recently hooked up with out main Tivo. Now I have downloaded on of our saved items to the computer but when I go to play it nothing recognizes the Tivo Format? I thought these were supposed to come automatically as .avi/.divx files? Is there something I missed in the install that will allow me to watch these items on my computer? I am using Windows Media Player 11 (bleh) to try and watch it but nothing happens once I load the movie?
> 
> Please help
> 
> EDIT: The error message says that I am missing a required codec. That helps a whole lot?!


You need to installed Tivo Desktop to get the codec..


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## WraithTDK

Is anyone else as frustrated at me with tivo's lack of dedication to TiVo desktop? Vista's been out for well over six months now, and Series 3 has been out for even longer than that, and we're STILL dealing with stuff?


If TiVo had a major competitor (yea, I could build a dedicated media center PC to do it, but I am both poor and fairly lazy), I would drop them in a heartbeat.


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## Michael S

I recently upgraded to Vista the is week. I've been trying to install Desktop 2.5. But so far all it does is hang at file install screen. No error messages it just hangs there. What should I do?


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## Rose4uKY

If you have Vista 32 bit it doesn't work. I don't know if anyone has gotten it to work or not on 32 bit. I know they have on 64 bit. I am using 2.3a on my Vista 32 bit and it works even though they say it's not Vista supported. Rose


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## seanski

Rose4uKY said:


> If you have Vista 32 bit it doesn't work.


I have Vista 32-bit and I have Desktop 2.5 installed on my computer. It is a little bit cranky and it sometimes crashes (and every so often is just painfully slow).

When installing it, remember to run the install exe as administrator. I also marked the shortcut to the desktop exe to be executed as administrator.

HTH
SeanSki


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## Rose4uKY

Well until a fix comes out I will use 2.3 it works fine for me. I am afraid to try 2.5. I have it on my laptop though running XP. Rose


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## hutsi

I am also the only person who can't install Desktop 2.5 on 32 bit Vista. I tried running it as administrator but it gives me the prematurely failed message. I'm not going through hoops to get it installed. I'll wait for a proper version.


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## bvanduser

hutsi,

You may be interested in my post near the top of this page (on 9-13-07) where I provided instructions on resolving the "ended prematurely" error message.

This error is mainly caused on Vista 32-bit by two errant dll registrations. Once you remove them from the registry then the Tivo Desktop install will complete as it should.

I haven't experienced any Tivo Desktop 2.5 problems on Vista since implementing this change.

B


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## Rose4uKY

So you got 2.5 to work properly on 32 bit Vista? Wow I guess I'll have to read your post above I must of missed it. Has anyone else tired this and got it to work also? I think I'll wait too since 2.3 is working for me. Rose


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## Rose4uKY

Ok I am still running 2.3a on my Vista 32 bit worked like a charm until last night. I had a Vista update and I am not sure if that casued this but now my Archos 605 isn't recognized I get this error code 10 and now my Tivo desktop the show comes up starts to play with no audio then stops with this error message

Windows Media Player cannot access the file. The file might be in use, you might not have access to the computer where the file is stored, or your proxy settings might not be correct.

I did a sytem restore and it's still not working.. Archos told me I need an updated USB patch from microsoft which I didn't find. But my Tivo desktop always worked until yesterday. I don't know if it was because of the update or not.. So if I can't get it to work do I try 2.5 I don't know..


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## scifiguy

Tivo2Go conversion doesn't work with Vista 64


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## TXTivoUser

scifiguy said:


> Tivo2Go conversion doesn't work with Vista 64


Conversion? Please explain....I'm a n00b with this TTG stuff.


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## Ba Boop

Just got around to the 2.5.1 update. It told me I needed to uninstall 2.4. So I did and rebooted before attempting install. Then I got this:

Error 1904. Module C\Program Files\Tivo\Plus\tivotrans.dll failed to register. HRESULT -2147024703. Contact your local support personnel.

Chose retry, then ignore.it finished install but wont start at all.

Did some searching for answers, turned off antivirus, removed 2.5.1 and re- installed with same results.

Any help here?

Running Xp pro


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## Rose4uKY

Well my 2.3 had quit working but I got it back up. I was messing with this microphone and I messed up some settings but my 2.3 works so I am sticking with it. I don't understand all that registry stuff and what to do and I am afraid I'll mess something up so for now let it work. I download certain shows to the computer then put them on my portable video player. But now that I got this new HD Tivo I will watch most of my shows at night in my bedroom on my HD TV. I've had the TV for a year and just got the 29 HD Tivo. It's nice!!


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## jmpage2

Has anyone else had problems with the codecs that Tivo Desktop installs in 32 bit Vista for media playback?

When I installed Tivo Desktop 2.5.1 it configured MainConcept as the demuxer for all empeg streams and also as the default playback decoder for mpeg-2 files.

The problem is that when the MainConcept demuxer is at work I get some programs that show wrong run times in WMP11. The hour long program for example might show that it's only 11 minutes long.

Manually hacking the DirectShow Filters has proven this out to the MainConcept Demuxer --> MainConcept MPEG2 decoder.

Unfortunately I haven't found a long term viable fix and was forced to uninstall Tivo Desktop because of this. I had a trouble ticket opened with Tivo that had been escalated to their level 2 tech folks. When I called back to discuss the problem in detail (which filter combinations cause the problem, etc) the confused person went to check with "someone" and when she came back she said that it was a known problem and that there would be a fix.

That was a month ago. Does anyone have a similar experience or any other info to share on this issue?


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## Razorbak

jmpage2 said:


> Has anyone else had problems with the codecs that Tivo Desktop installs in 32 bit Vista for media playback?
> 
> When I installed Tivo Desktop 2.5.1 it configured MainConcept as the demuxer for all empeg streams and also as the default playback decoder for mpeg-2 files.
> 
> The problem is that when the MainConcept demuxer is at work I get some programs that show wrong run times in WMP11. The hour long program for example might show that it's only 11 minutes long.
> 
> Manually hacking the DirectShow Filters has proven this out to the MainConcept Demuxer --> MainConcept MPEG2 decoder.
> 
> Unfortunately I haven't found a long term viable fix and was forced to uninstall Tivo Desktop because of this. I had a trouble ticket opened with Tivo that had been escalated to their level 2 tech folks. When I called back to discuss the problem in detail (which filter combinations cause the problem, etc) the confused person went to check with "someone" and when she came back she said that it was a known problem and that there would be a fix.
> 
> That was a month ago. Does anyone have a similar experience or any other info to share on this issue?


There is another thread on this forum addressing this issue, which I have bookmarked, but I haven't seen any recent posts in almost a month...

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=371938

Hopefully, Tivo is working on a solution.

FWIW, after a recent update of the WinDVD software on my Lenovo ThinkPad notebook computer, I started noticing a bunch of audio playback problems on prior Tivo-to-Go recordings already in My Tivo Recordings folder. So I upgraded to Tivo Desktop Plus on a whim, since I have been interested in converting Tivo recordings for download to my son's video Ipod, and after installing the new "Plus" key on the existing program (Tivo Desktop 2.5.1), which enabled the upgrade to the "Plus" features, the audio playback problems went away.

Needless to say, I'm very happy.


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## bcronin

TiVoPony said:


> Hey everyone -
> 
> Look for a new version of TiVo Desktop to be released soon (most likely tomorrow). There are a number of new features & improvements you've asked for:
> 
> * Support for Windows Vista
> 
> Pony


I've been trying to get Photos 2.0 working on Desktop 2.5.1 under Vista Ultimate with no luck. Every time it tries to start the server I get a Java error. I have the latest Sun JRE (version 1.6.0, release 3) installed, yet it keeps telling me that "The application has requested a version of the JRE (version 1.5+) this is currently not locally installed." Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.


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## Alcatraz

Do you have desktop installed on something other than your c:\ drive? I had it on a second partition and always had a java error but I can't remember exactly what it was. I forgot about it until I needed to reinstall it and noticed that it wasn't on the c drive and my problem cleared up.


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## wmcbrine

I had to use 1.5 exactly (not 1.6) to get the HD Photos app to work.


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## bcronin

Alcatraz said:


> Do you have desktop installed on something other than your c:\ drive? I had it on a second partition and always had a java error but I can't remember exactly what it was. I forgot about it until I needed to reinstall it and noticed that it wasn't on the c drive and my problem cleared up.


Nope, C drive.


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## bcronin

wmcbrine said:


> I had to use 1.5 exactly (not 1.6) to get the HD Photos app to work.


Hmmm, now where am I going to get that at this point?


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## alan_bowman

OneCare virus protection also seems to slow Videoredo fine scrolling (eg with wheelmouse or fine slider) - but only on 64 bit Vista. If I run quickstreamfix, the resulting files scroll fast. Difference in the files apper (using GSpot) that there is an extra step in the decode sequence "Decrypt/Tag".

Any ideas, apart from disable OneCare Virus protection?

alan


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## HighTechMN

DigitalAnarchist said:


> 2.5 installed fine on my Vista Ultimate, runs great in Admin account - won't start at all in standard user accounts. Tivo server doesn't start and trying to open the Tivo desktop results in errors.
> 
> Need to run the Tivo services as Admin? Other ideas?
> 
> Also, with multiple user accounts, is each account supposed to have its own "now playing" list and set of recordings? Not sure how that would look to one of the Tivos - would it see recordings from all accounts? I noticed that in the install, 2.5 created My TiVo Recordings folder in the Admin user folders - not visible to other accounts.


I have the same question regarding multiple user accounts but couldn't find an answer. Tivo Desktop works great in the user account I used to install the software, but the software is not even visible as a program when I log in under my wife's user account. It would seem odd to have to download the software twice on the same computer??


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