Updating Solo 4K with Black Hole 3.0.4 - clean install but keep sat positions & AutoTimers

[Mark Thomas]

Hi
I have Black Hole 3.0.2 running happily for ~1 year on my VU+ Solo 4K, but have started to experience problems with kodi and decided to update my image to Black Hole 3.0.4. I tried doing this using OpenBoot, and while it worked OK, it gives me more problems with kodi. So i'd like to do a clean install and clear the decks of old clutter.

My main issue is that I spent days programming in all my satellite positions and don't want to have to go through that process again. Also, i'd like to keep my AutoTimers.

Other than that, I am happy to re-download picons, EPG sources, etc and re-setup the box (knowing a bit more than I did a year ago).

I have an internal 500GB HD, and a couple of external HDs which are only used for video recording.

Can anybody advise me on how to do this.

Related to this, I previously went through 2 Kingston DataTraveler G4 64GB USB flash drives, which I used for picons and timeshift. However, both burnt out within 4 months of using. Is this normal? Does anybody have any reconsiderations for more robust flash drives?

Many thanks in advance
Mark

 

[AlexWilMac]

Hi


My main issue is that I spent days programming in all my satellite positions and don't want to have to go through that process again. Also, i'd like to keep my AutoTimers.

The file settings in /etc/enigma2 contains, among the others, some lines starting with
config.Nims.
Save it and then copy these lines only once you have installed the new image.
Otherwise, you can simply take a screenshot of your tuner configuration by typing in your browser
your_box_ip/grab
For instance:
192.168.1.10/grab
and then save the picture from your browser.


You can also save all your channels by the appropriate software for your PC: iDreamX for Mac or Dreamboxedit for Windows, for example.


Other than that, I am happy to re-download picons, EPG sources, etc and re-setup the box (knowing a bit more than I did a year ago).

Picons are not (I hope) in flash. They might be in a USB device or in the HDD (although it means work for it: but I prefer to have them there, for instance).

Timers are in timers.xml, again in /etc/enigma2 but it's a bit tricky to copy it there, after having saved the current one because you need to send this fille immediately after a FTP connection is available but BEFORE the GUI ends booting, otherwise your file will be erased and replaced by a new one.


Mark

 

[Mark Thomas]

Hi Alex
Thanks. I actually meant autotimers, but I would also want to preserve timers. Can I not do this simply by replacing the new 'timers.xml' and 'autotimer.xml' after a clean install with the old ones?

RE the satellite positions, I can't make sense of that. I did:

grep 'config.Nims' /etc/enigma2/settings

and got a list starting with:

config.Nims.1.powerMeasurement=false
config.Nims.1.configMode=satposdepends
config.Nims.0.diseqcMode=positioner
config.Nims.0.powerMeasurement=false
config.Nims.0.advanced.sats=305
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.3592.rotorposition=3
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.3592.usals=false
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.3592.lnb=1
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.200.rotorposition=16
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.200.usals=false
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.200.lnb=1
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.3594.rotorposition=3
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.3594.usals=false
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.3594.lnb=1
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.450.rotorposition=22
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.450.usals=false
config.Nims.0.advanced.sat.450.lnb=1
.....

But this doesn't seem to contain enough information about the satellite positions, which makes me nervous.

I tried looking for satellites.xml, but found loads of versions all over the box file system:

root@vusolo4k:/etc/enigma2# find / -name satellites.xml
/media/usb/open-multiboot/BlackHole-3.0.4-vusolo4k_usb_release_20170909_0782c55/usr/share/tuxbox/satellites.xml
/media/usb/open-multiboot/BlackHole-3.0.4-vusolo4k_usb_release_20170909_0782c55/usr/share/satellites.xml
/media/usb/open-multiboot/BlackHole-3.0.4-vusolo4k_usb_release_20170909_0782c55/etc/tuxbox/satellites.xml
/media/usb/open-multiboot/BlackHole-3.0.4-vusolo4k_usb_release_20170909_0782c55/etc/satellites.xml
/etc/tuxbox/satellites.xml
/etc/satellites.xml
/usr/share/tuxbox/satellites.xml
/usr/share/satellites.xml
/usr/share/dona-settings/satellites.xml
/autofs/mmcblk0p4/etc/tuxbox/satellites.xml
/autofs/mmcblk0p4/etc/satellites.xml
/autofs/mmcblk0p4/usr/share/tuxbox/satellites.xml
/autofs/mmcblk0p4/usr/share/satellites.xml
/autofs/mmcblk0p4/usr/share/dona-settings/satellites.xml
/autofs/mmcblk0p4/etc/tuxbox/satellites.xml
/autofs/mmcblk0p4/etc/satellites.xml
/autofs/mmcblk0p4/usr/share/tuxbox/satellites.xml
/autofs/mmcblk0p4/usr/share/satellites.xml
/autofs/mmcblk0p4/usr/share/dona-settings/satellites.xml

Which one is the box using, and so I should replace after a clean install (i.e. after wiping the HDD)?

All best wishes

Mark

 

[AlexWilMac]

1) autotimers.
There is also a file named autotimers.xml in the same folder.
And, NO, as I said, timers.xml (and probably also autotimers.xml, I have never tried with this) CAN'T BE COPIED while the image is running.

2) tuner configuration
I haver never used this grep command. But, again, as I wrote, you just need to copy from your current image the lines starting with config.Nims and paste them into settings (replacing what you find there).

 

[Mark Thomas]

OK, many thanks
Mark

 

[AlexWilMac]

Just to recall what I wrote about copying timers.xml:
"...send this fille immediately after a FTP connection is available but BEFORE the GUI ends booting, otherwise your file will be erased and replaced by a new one.".
So, if you use Filezilla, for instance, choose the computer folder where you have backed up you timers.xml, choose the VU+ (remote) folder etc/enigma2.
Choose also, in the upload preferences (or in the dialogue box that appears when you upload a file that's already in the remote location) to ALWAYS overwrite without any prompts.
Now reboot.
At this point you can repeatedly double click on your local file in order to queue its sending as soon as the FTP connection is established.
The first times you'll see an error in connecting, of course; but afterwards, the trasfer will be performed and the overwriting done.