Posts by frankvw

  • LE12.0.3 on the RPi4B: Midnight Commander screen updates really clunky

    Quote from frakkin64

    It's probably something related to ncurses library or terminfo. It would require someone probably reverting commits to identify when it worked and when it was broken, and doing runtime testing to isolate the cause.

    It doesn't really bother me, but I have also noticed it. I don't use midnight commander, so don't care about that. But I have noticed it in htop.

    Yes, you're right, htop is also affected (although it's less noticeable there).

  • The infamous "invalid key" WiFi problem... I'd like to help, but which log files would be useful?

    Quote from frakkin64

    The difference between Raspberry Pi OS & Leia is iwd, both of them historically were using wpa_supplicant. As soon as LE (in 10) switched to iwd that's when these reports started rolling in.

    Aha. I hadn't realized that yet (I've been out of the picture for a while.) I now see reports of iwd issues on the RPi4 as early as 2019, then on Raspbian Buster. Unfortunately I can't see this being a big, high priority issue... :(

  • LE12.0.3 on the RPi4B: Midnight Commander screen updates really clunky

    As with all my previous LE installations, I added Midnight Commander from the repo because I use it a lot. But this time, with LE12.0.3 on the RPi4B, using it is a pain. When I start it takes about 5 seconds for MC to appear on screen, and every time I move the selection bar up or down the entire screen is being redrawn. Previously screen updates were quite smooth and only those characters on the screen that needed it were redrawn.

    Has something fundamentally changed in how MC (and perhaps other applications like it) work with the terminal client during an SSH session?

    // F

  • The infamous "invalid key" WiFi problem... I'd like to help, but which log files would be useful?

    While all these replies are useful and appreciated, the idea here is to solve the WiFi problem, not to work around it with wired networking or external dongles. :) It worked fine in Leia on my RPi3b, and it works fine with RaspberryOS on my current RPi4b, so we're looking at a software issue here.

    My original question remains: where do I find the system log files in LE? The Kodi log files are not relevant. The LE add-on has the option to share logs (although it is not clear which logs) but there's no option to extract logfile data and grep it (which would be my preferred initial approach). Just pastebinning it will not work, since that requires network access, and I can only reproduce the problem (and presumably have symptoms ending up in the log files) when there is no good network connection. It's a catch-22: reproducing the problem will prevent access to logfiles at that time, and restoring network and logfile access will make the symptom (and the log files?) go away.

    Quote from HarryH

    frankvw ,

    do you have checked if it works if you limit the security settings in your router to WPA2? The important thing is to test it without PMF (Protected Managment Frames/802.11w). Is there an option to disable this at the Huawei AX3?

    Nope. Nor is it necessary; putting the RPi close enough to the router solves the problem and removes the error message. Moving it further away can make it go completely haywire (switching connections twice a second) and also prevent it from connecting to my Android phone AP. In short, if the signal strength becomes low enough, connman and iwd (and whatever module may be involved) lose their sanity which obviously shouldn't happen. chewitt is right; this needs to be kicked upstairs to the developers of these modules; the LE developers can't be expected to resolve this.

  • The infamous "invalid key" WiFi problem... I'd like to help, but which log files would be useful?

    Update: several hours of testing have shown some progress: I set the WiFi router to use only IEEE802.11b/g and moved the RPi closer to the router (right next to it, in fact). Suddenly the problem disappeared.

    Then I moved the RPi away from the router again (to the point where the WiFi signal was barely enough to be useable) and LE now complains again with the "invalid-key" error and requests that I enter the "correct" key.

    So off-hand this does seem to be related to WiFi protocol implementations in some routers and/or signal strength/quality.

  • The infamous "invalid key" WiFi problem... I'd like to help, but which log files would be useful?

    I just downloaded the latest LE11.0.3 image and installed it on my brand new RPI4. (Due to the RPi shortage they have been available here only since about 2 weeks ago.)

    I'm not sure if it's relevant, but I'm on Linux and since there is currently no working GUI installer I used 'dd' to put the image on the SD card. This seems to have worked fine; LE started up without any problems.

    Unfortunately LE is unable to connect to WiFi. I'm using a Huawei AX3 router (like the vast majority of all fibre users here in South Africa) set to WPA2/PSK. I'm entering the correct password but LE fails to connect and instead displays the notorious "invalid key" error.

    I also tried running RaspberryOS on the same RPi4 and that connects without a hitch, so it is definitely a LE problem and not a hardware issue.

    From what I see in the forum this is a problem that affects a number of users, but LE devs struggle with it:

    Quote from chewitt

    Based on the total number of issue reports to this forum and our IRC channel I'm calculating this problem is impacting ~0.0009% of the users running LE11 images.

    [...]

    As nobody on staff can reproduce this .. someone needs to start sharing connman and iwd debug logs. They will be verbose and sizeable but are often quite human-readable. The issue is likely in the comms between connman and iwd.


    While there indeed may be a low number of users experiencing this problem, to those who do have it this extremely frustrating since it's essentially a showstopper in those situations where wired Internet is not practical (as in my case). However, I also understand the frustration of developers who are expected to "just fix this" without the proper data they need to work with, given that this appears to be a rather "glitchy" issue that most likely depends on a specific combination of hardware, routers and settings which makes it tricky to diagnose.

    So I'd love to help. But given that I can't even ssh into my LE RPi I'll have to retrieve logfile data from the SD card, which I will happily do, but what log files will be useful, where do they live, and how should I submit them after having retrieved them manually?

    // FvW

  • Changing USB powerdown timeout on RPi3

    On my RPi3 with LE 9.2 .8 I have three USB drives with media. In an attempt to achieve smoother playback with other things going on in the background (e.g. file copies) I created an advancedsettings.xml file to extend the playback buffering capacity:

    This works fine! But now I've created another problem. Depending on bit rate and file size, an MP3 file is often cached in its entirety and then plays from the cache, and the next file is only read when the end of the previous one is reached. This usually takes more than three minutes, so after 3 minutes of non-activity the USB disk powers down. This means that during a playlist with multiple MP3 files the disk powers up and down many times, which I fear will cause excessive wear-and-tear on the disk.

    Is there a way around this? Can the USB power-down timeout be changed? Yes, I could reduce the cache size, but that will not always work (e.g. in the case of low bit rate MP3s) and negate the benefits of buffering that I was trying to achieve in the first place.

    Suggestions, anyone?

    // FvW

  • Alternative for thermal tape to affix heat sinks on RPi3 chips?

    I'm running LE on a fanless Raspberry Pi 3B and depending on what's happening, I frequently see the RPi's over-temperature symbol (thermometer in the top right hand corner of the screen) appear. I've bought a pair of those cheap small heat sinks to stick on top of the chips, but they come with double-sided tape (which the manufacturer describes as thermal tape but I have my doubts about that) and sticking them on top of the chips has little effect, presumably due to the fact that the double-sided tape acts as a thermal insulator.

    Is there anything better that I can use to stick these heat sinks on top of the chips? Lacking a case with integrated heat sinks, I'm pretty much reduced to sticking these little ones on top of the chips with some sort of adhesive, but this tape doesn't really do the job in terms of cooling, I'm afraid.

    Suggestions, anyone?

    (And yes, I know, forced cooling and better heat sinks would be best, but fan noise and the high costs of cases and/or heat sink contraptions in my neck of the woods make that plan B.)

    // FvW

  • Can I restore LE/Kodi backups across versions (replacing image for RPI4 with RPI2/3)?

    After repeated power failure had badly corrupted the database (and probably other stuff as well) on the LE9.2 install on my RPi3b, I decided to do a ground-up reinstall. I spent about a day setting everything up, and much to my dismay the new install did not work properly. It was very unstable with many crashes, and screen updates were jerky with lots of flashing and jittering.

    A closer look revealed that somehow, in my infinite wisdom, I have managed to install the wrong image. :cry: Instead of LibreELEC-RPi2.arm-9.2.8.img.gz I downloaded and installed LibreELEC-RPi4.arm-9.2.8.img.gz.

    I have used the "Create System and Kodi Backup" option in the LibreElec configuration add-on. Can I restore that backup on the correct image (the one for the RPI2/3 or do I have no other choice but to set up everything from scratch, install add-ons, enter tons of settings and what not?

    Failing that, can I migrate at least the video library?

    Tnx!

    // FvW

  • Add-on updates fail with 404 and 403 errors

    Quote from mglae

    IMO the repo info is just outdated. When ignoring icon load errors and looking on addons there is a try to download youtube 6.6.0. In the repo currently 6.8.6, 6.8.7 and 6.8.8 are available.

    Go to Addon Setting sidebar and manually update the repos. If this fails again, post a debug log.

    On success enable or increase the "Wait on network" option in LE settings addon.

    BTW: the Textures13.db database is corrupt and should be deleted.

    According to Kodi, all my repositories are up to date. Kodi Add-On Repository is at version 3.1.9; LibreElec Add-Ons is at 9.2.0. I tried to update but I'm getting the message that "There are currently no updates available for this add-on."

    Seeing as I can't update, it seems pointless to post another debug log, since that will not show a failed update. (Right?)

    If I delete Textures13.db, will that break anything?

    // FvW

  • Add-on updates fail with 404 and 403 errors

    Quote from Klojum

    I think so. Mirrors are there to unload the burden of the download traffic a website or application generates, and forwards the requests to one of the connect servers. In this case, in an example, my browser is now connecting to:
    http : // ftp.halifax.rwth-aachen.de/xbmc/addons/leia/plugin.video.thinktv/icon.png

    and apparently the Aachen mirror cannot find the icon.png file...

    Interesting. I just tried http://mirrors.kodi.tv/addons/leia/pl…bcnews/icon.png as well and I was referred to the same URL as you (why? I'm in South Africa, so I doubt the closest server is in Aachen!) and that gives me a 404 as well.

    Which begs the question how this could have been this way for so long. I tried to update for the first time many weeks ago, and I can see a repo or a mirror being broken for a few days but not for weeks on end without anyone noticing. And it's not like the Youtube or Universal Scraper add-ons are so exotic that I'm the only one to try this in recent months.

    <scratches head>

  • Add-on updates fail with 404 and 403 errors

    Quote from chewitt

    Enable additional logging for curl, reboot, demonstrate the problem, then share the full debug log.

    Very well, sir. :) Here it is in all its ASCII-ish glory: Pastebin.com - Potentially offensive content ahead!

    (I note that pastebin issues a warning that this paste may be potentially offensive. Not sure why! It's just a kodi log file.)

    Tnx!

    // FvW

    Quote from Klojum

    Which mirror site are you getting when opening one or more of those URLs?

    Files...

    (or have I misunderstood your question?)

    // FvW

  • Add-on updates fail with 404 and 403 errors

    For quite some time now I have been unable to update certain add-ons. This never was a big issue, but because some of my movies failed to scrape I tried to install the universal scraper (which for some reason was not installed) and that didn't work either. I looked at the logfile and noticed that the update failed to download due to a HTTP 404 error.

    My LE install was a bit old so I upgraded to the latest LE version (9.2.6) and tried again. Same result.

    Trying to install the Youtube plugin from the repo, for example, fails and produces the following log entries:

    Code
    01917824   ERROR: CCurlFile::Open failed with code 404 for https://mirrors.kodi.tv/addons/leia/metadata.universal/metadata.uni
01917824   ERROR: Could not fetch addon location and hash from https://mirrors.kodi.tv/addons/leia/metadata.universal/metadata
01917824   ERROR: CAddonInstallJob[metadata.universal]: failed to resolve addon install source path

    This is not the only add-on that fails. Trying to install the Youtube add-on (previously installed, but uninstalled to eliminate any update issues due to a corrupt add-on) gives the same results:

    Code
    78345088   ERROR: CCurlFile::Open failed with code 404 for https://mirrors.kodi.tv/addons/leia/plugin.video.youtube/plugin.vid
78345088   ERROR: Could not fetch addon location and hash from https://mirrors.kodi.tv/addons/leia/plugin.video.youtube/plugin
78345088   ERROR: CAddonInstallJob[plugin.video.youtube]: failed to resolve addon install source path

    The host mirrors.kodi.tv does resolve and is pingable. (Of course it is; if it weren't no 404 error could be returned.)

    There is also a whole lot of 403 errors in the log immediately following the attempts to install these add-ons, which may or may not be related or relevant:

    I checked the repo and at Files... I find the following files:

    Code
    fanart.jpg 42.7 KiB    2020-Nov-22 01:47    
icon.png4.2 KiB    2020-Nov-22 01:47    
plugin.video.youtube-6.8.6.zip 492.1 KiB    2020-Oct-25 20:36    
plugin.video.youtube-6.8.7.zip 492.1 KiB    2020-Oct-29 13:46    
plugin.video.youtube-6.8.8.zip 492.2 KiB    2020-Nov-22 01:47

    So the file that Kodi is looking for isn't there. If there had been something wrong with the repos since I first noticed this issue weeks ago I'm sure it would not have gone unnoticed for all this time, so I can only assume the repo is fine and the problem is on my side.

    What can I do to troubleshoot this further? All suggestions would be appreciated!

    // FvW

  • PCSX ReARMed Pi 3+ performance - or lack thereof

    Quote from Mario77
    Stick with RA for now...

    Yes, that looks to be the only option that works. It's a shame that it's not integrated with Kodi but runs as a separate environment, but at least it works. I did find the framecounter option and turned it off, not sure why it was on.

    Quote from Mario77

    For audio to work with RA

    add this to config.txt

    Code
    dtparam=audio=on

    I have since found out that I do have audio, but only via the HDMI interface to the TV, not via the USB sound blaster (ish thingy) plugged into my pi. Will this setting solve that? If not, is there another way to make analog audio via USB work?