Advice Needed Sat tuner card replacement?

[satesco]

Well, the 6903 card arrived a couple of hours ago, and is now plugged into the same m/b PCI-E slot in which the 6902 was working before I sent it back, and I haven't altered anything in the s/w of DVB Dream, EPS Pro or ProgDVB Pro - but:

- it's not showing up anywhere in Device Manager (ISTR the 6902 showed up in the "Sound, Video and Game Controller" group, but I can't be absolutely sure), and scanning for hardware changes made no difference.

- DVB Dream doesn't appear to show it in the "Devices" section (the only device showing is a "Realtek DTV Filter")

- When ProgDVB is started, it reports "[bda.6ea4 device not started] & "[bda.6ea3 device not started]" and then, in the Settings" it is still showing the 2 tuners on the 6902 and their associated sats under USALS or DiSEqC 1.1 ports

- When EBSPro is started it reports "We haven't found any compatible device Do you want to see our compatible catalogue?"

- Can't get any of the above Apps to actually tune & display channels on a sat (notably 9E, 13E or 28E) at which I know the dish was definitely pointed because I had done that using the SX88 a couple of minutes beforehand.

FWIW, nothing like any of the above messages/lack of messages occured after I removed the DVB Sky card and replaced it with the 6902!

After the first time I saw the above, I reseated the card in the m/b slot but that made no difference, and my initial reaction was (is?) to think that the card is faulty, but obviously I can't be sure.

Thus, maybe someone could suggest answers to the following questions to help me try to pin down the problem:

- Did I forget to "do something" before I installed the 6903 - such as uninstalling all the above s/w and then reinstalling it after the card was installed and the m/c was turned ON?

- Are there any "tests"/checks I could try to see if the PC can recognise that 6903 is actually "present" or to "wake it up"

- Does all the above actually mean that the card really IS faulty?

Thanks in advance.

Although it seems useless,I ask you,have you installed the 6903 driver?

 

[moonbase]

Although it seems useless,I ask you,have you installed the 6903 driver?

My first thought, is the TBS6903 driver installed !
It would be best to uninstall any TBS6902 drivers, reboot the PC then install the TBS6903 drivers.

 

[jeallen01]

Although it seems useless,I ask you,have you installed the 6903 driver?

No, I didn't, but would that be any different to the one for the 6902?

PS: if it is different then surely the 6903 should have shown up in Device Manager with a warning flag that it wasn't working!

 

[moonbase]

No, i didn't, but would that be any different to the one for the 6902?

PS: if it is different then surely the 6903 should have shown in Device Manager with a warning flag that it wasn't working!

Of course it is a different driver.
Just uninstall the old TBS6902 drivers, reboot the PC and install the TBS6903 drivers. All the DVB software apps should detect the new card automatically.

 

[satesco]

No, I didn't, but would that be any different to the one for the 6902?

PS: if it is different then surely the 6903 should have shown up in Device Manager with a warning flag that it wasn't working!

@moonbase told you what to do!

 

[jeallen01]

OK, it's a different driver, but since the 6902 isn't installed then it won't be easy to uninstall the driver for that - sounds like I would need to do some editing of the Registry.

Anyone have any idea of the file names for the TBS drivers for which I would have to search and delete?

PS: Even so, I still have trouble in understanding why the 6903 doesn't show up in Device Manager (as mentioned above).

 

[moonbase]

OK, it's a different driver, but since the 6902 isn't installed then it won't be easy to uninstall the driver for that - sounds like I would need to do some editing of the Registry.

Anyone have any idea of the file names for the TBS drivers for which I would have to search and delete?

PS: Even so, I still have trouble in understanding why the 6903 doesn't show up in Device Manager (as mentioned above).

The TBS6902 drivers should be listed in somewhere like Programs and Features in Contol Panel (Win 7). Just click the items in the list and select uninstall.
There is no editing the of the registry required. Reboot the PC after the uninstall has completed.

The TBS6903 might not be showing up in Device Manager as the card has mistakenly been assigned to the old drivers for the TBS6902 card.

 

[satesco]

OK, it's a different driver, but since the 6902 isn't installed then it won't be easy to uninstall the driver for that - sounds like I would need to do some editing of the Registry.

Anyone have any idea of the file names for the TBS drivers for which I would have to search and delete?

PS: Even so, I still have trouble in understanding why the 6903 doesn't show up in Device Manager (as mentioned above).

You can find out which drivers are installed on your pc at C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\tbs...card,as in the pic below.

 

[jeallen01]

@moonbase & @satesco

Many thanks to you both - tomorrow I will have a good look at, and hopefully remove, those old drivers, and then install the appropriate ones for the 6903..

As with many things with this card, the installation process is proving to be a steep learning curve!

Hope to report further progress sometime later tomorrow.

 

[jeallen01]

Update:

Without deleting anything I tried installing the 6903 drivers and then the card showed up in Device Mgr, but didn't actually work properly because, whilst DVB Dream and EBS Pro could select either Tuner 1 or Tuner 2, neither could actually then make use of them to scan for channels -> all were returned as "no signal".

So, I finally trawled through the Registry and deleted almost every entry that appeared to be related to TBS, apart from a couple that could not be removed.

Rebooted the m/c and re-ran the 6903 driver installation, and now both DVB Dream and EBS Pro successfully scan for channels!

"Onwards and Upwards" - Almost literally!

OTOH: ProgDVB still reports that the 6902 BDA devices can't be started - looks like the only way to "solve" that would be to uninstall and then reinstall that s/w!

BTW: I fully agree with @satesco's post #30 comment about what the ProgDVB developer has, and has not, done over the last few years - around 3 yrs ago the satellite side of the then-current generation of that s/w appeared to work relatively well and with few problems, but now that side is a load of cr@p!

 

[moonbase]

Just ditch that ProgDBV, it aint worth two bob.
Get going with CrazyScan, DVB Dream and EBS Pro.

I am not sure if you are aware of it but DVB Dream has its own inbuilt blind scanner.
You need to set the Device to Streamreader from BDA to use it though. It will not blind scan with BDA selected as the Device.

AltDVB seems to get some favourable reports but I have not used it for a few years so have no first hand experience of recent versions.

 

[jeallen01]

@moonbase

Thx and I will keep going with DVB Dream etc., because it's obviously very powerful and flexible - so much so that it's also hard work for a "newbie" with it.

OTOH, I've already found a few things that I don't like - like trying to go back to the previously scanned sat after successfully scanning another one, like the default sat and transponder lists are often way out-of-date, and that when you look at a valid channel in the list for a sat at which the dish is already pointed but then have to double-click twice on that channel to actually select and view it (and I suspect that I will find other things).

OTOH2, maybe that's because I'm using the trial version and things will be better when I purchase the full version (which won't be for a few days until the end of the current credit card "month" as I have already spent far too much on it this "month").

BTW ref ProgDVB Pro: I think that's a little more "user friendly" for "casual viewing" of FTA channels on various sats and so - since I've already bought it - I'll persevere with that, even though it looks like I'll have to cull the Registry to remove all traces of it before I reinstall again because a simple reinstall just resulted in the same start-up errors.

 

[satesco]

@moonbase

Thx and I will keep going with DVB Dream etc., because it's obviously very powerful and flexible - so much so that it's also hard work for a "newbie" with it.

...

DVB Dream(licensed version)-How to blindscan with StreamReader:

 

[jeallen01]

@satesco
Thx, but blindscan on DVB Dream is not my main priority ATM - that's simply getting to "know how it works"!

 

[moonbase]

"Double Click" to select a channel is a setting in the menus, you can disable it so the channel selects on a single click.
You can save the blind scan results from CrazyScan, DVB Dream or EBS Pro as a transponder ini file. Just save it to the DVB Dream Transponders folder and you have an up to date ini list for the satellite.

DVB Dream is easy to use, it just needs some time to learn the functionality.

 

[jeallen01]

"Double Click" to select a channel is a setting in the menus, you can disable it so the channel selects on a single click.
You can save the blind scan results from CrazyScan, DVB Dream or EBS Pro as a transponder ini file. Just save it to the DVB Dream Transponders folder and you have an up to date ini list for the satellite.

DVB Dream is easy to use, it just needs some time to learn the functionality.

Thx - and, as I said, i need to learn how to use DVB Dream. Nevertheless, I find "double click twice", until you find out how to bypass that, to be very unnecessary!

 

[jeallen01]

Thx - and, as I said, i need to learn how to use DVB Dream. Nevertheless, I find "double click twice", until you find out how to bypass that, to be very unnecessary!

Coming back to DVD Dream this afternoon, I been trying to learn my way around it with very little success.

So I thought I'd "" and the website points to 4x on-line Tutorials written by "Lord Dante" but they won't/don't display (I just get blank pages) either when accessed directly from the website or else downloaded to the PC.

Is there are a reason for this?
(because if that's a way to force people to pay for the s/w during the trial period so they can lean out how to use it, then that's a damned good way of driving them as far as possible away from it)

Therefore, if not there, where else can one find basic guidance for the newbie?
(the DVB Dream web forums look to have been very quite for months - "nothing much going on" it would seem!)

 

[moonbase]

I just got to grips with DVB Dream by trial and error, clicking buttons and checking out options in the menus.
Also, a bit of "Googling" on specific points often gets a few hits from the DVB Dream forum that cover the point.

Considering you are allowed to install the fully paid version on as many PC's as you like I thought the cost was decent value.

 

[jeallen01]

I just got to grips with DVB Dream by trial and error, clicking buttons and checking out options in the menus.
Also, a bit of "Googling" on specific points often gets a few hits from the DVB Dream forum that cover the point.

Considering you are allowed to install the fully paid version on as many PC's as you like I thought the cost was decent value.

That gives me a "Lot" of confidence (NOT!) in this s/w with no manuals of any sort and SFA likelihood of any support from the developers if one is "in trouble" - as I am with it ATM because it has stopped moving the motorised dish on Tuner 1, or switching the 16-1 DiSEqC switch sats on Tuner 2, since yesterday (but EBS Pro does move the motor on Tuner 1, and that confirms that the card and the motor appear to be OK).

BTW: if you look at the website, the max number of people who were ever "live" at the same time was FIVE - seems to say a lot in itself.

Installation on multiple PC's is not of any advantage to me, although it might be for some people.

 

[jeallen01]

"DVB Dream" is becoming more like "DVB Nightmare" the longer that I try to play with it