iMON randomly stops responding to remote

[javaman]

My problem seems similar to others problems being reported...

I built a home theater PC (HTPC) using the Antec Veris Basic for remote control, and it works beautifully.

IONITX-F-E motherboard
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Hauppauge 2250 digital tuner card with Hauppauge MCE remote
iMon Manager set to recognize the MCE remote
Used to control only the Windows Media Center, only using MCE remote, no keyboard

It worked so well that I built a second identical machine - exactly the same hardware and exactly the same software. All software has been updated to latest versions. iMon Manager is at 7.85.0222 on both machines. iMon Firmware is at 0X4302 on both machines.

However, the second ("bad") HTPC randomly stops responding to the MCE remote for extended periods. The first ("good") HTPC continues to work dependably.

I have tried to determine what is causing the problem, and have been getting inconsistent and contradictory results.

(1) I have three MCE remotes. When the "bad" HTPC is not responding, it will not work with any of the three remotes, while the "good" HTPC works with all of them. So, the problem does not seem to be with the MCE remotes

(2) I uninstalled the iMON Manager software from the "bad" HTPC and reinstalled it from the same iMON Manager installation software used on the "good" HTPC. The "bad" HTPC would still randomly stop responding to the MCE remote for extended periods. The problem does not seem to be with the iMON Manager install.

(3) I backed up the entire hard drive from the "good" HTPC and restored it to the hard drive of the "bad" HTPC, so that the "bad" HTPC should be exactly identical to the "good" HTPC, from the software standpoint. The operating system, settings, drivers, etc were exactly the same. This was possible since both machines are identical from the hardware standpoint. However, the "bad" HTPC continued to not respond to the MCE remote. So, overall software does not seem to be at fault.

(4) Therefore, I thought it was defective Antec Veris Basic hardware. So, I took the Antec Veris Basic hardware from the "good" HTPC and put it into the "bad" HTPC. Once again, the "bad" HTPC would not respond to the MCE remote.

When the problem is neither hardware nor software, that does not leave many other areas to look for the source of the problem!

I restored the "bad" HTPC hard drive to its original state (I had backed it up before restoring the "good" HTPC drive to it), and I moved the two Antec Veris Basic hardware devices back to their original machines. I uninstalled iMON Manager, plugged a Hauppauge supplied IR sensor into the Hauppauge 2250 tuner card, and successfully used the MCE remote to run Windows Media Center on the "bad" HTPC.

However, the MCE remote would no longer turn on the "bad" HTPC. This seemed odd, since turning on the HTPC is done when the computer is completely off - there is no operating system running or anything. It is strictly an Antec Veris Basic hardware feature, independent of the operating system, which is not even running when the computer is off. Usually (but not always), the MCE remote will turn on or off the "bad" HTPC even if the MCE remote fails to do any other Windows Media Center functions.

I then installed the iMON Manager software once again, unplugged the Hauppauge IR sensor, and the "bad" HTPC responded perfectly to the MCE remote, including turning and off the HTPC - iMON Manager was apparently working. However, once again, by the next day, the "bad" HTPC would not respond to the MCE remote.

I have spent several weeks working on this. Any ideas?

[johnny.hur]

Dear javaman,

If there is AC reset, you can turn on system with iMON Pad remote. If you turn on your system and run iMON, you can turn on the system with MCE remote.

However, the second ("bad") HTPC randomly stops responding to the MCE remote for extended periods.
Please let me know more about this problem.
1. Does it happen while pressing the remote button?
2. When it happens, doesn’t the remote work anymore? Does Indicator turn to yellow?
3. How did you make the remote work again, reboot, AC reset or running iMON again?
4. When it happens, open Notepad and check if the numeric buttons on the remote can type number.
5. If you use iMON Pad remote, does it happen?
6. Are you using other remote in the room PC is placed?

Regards,
Johnny Hur

[javaman]

Hello Johnny Hur,

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate your help.

I can turn my HTPC on and off using the MCE remote and, if I change the remote using iMON Manager, I can turn the HTPC on and off using the RM100 remote that came with the Antec Veris Basic. None of the other buttons on either the MCE remote or the RM100 remote will cause the HTPC to do anything. I'm not sure what you mean by AC reset.

To answer your specific questions:

You asked:
1. Does it happen while pressing the remote button?

I do not understand what you are asking. I can turn the HTPC on or off using the MCE remote, or the RM100 remote, depending on the iMON Manager settings, but the HTPC does not respond to any other remote buttons. In particular, Windows Media Center does not respond to any of the buttons on the MCE remote.

You asked:
2. When it happens, doesn’t the remote work anymore? Does Indicator turn to yellow?

Correct, the remote does not work any more. (Except that it can still turn the HTPC off and back on.) The same remote will, however, work with the "good" HTPC. The round IR indicator on the HTPC computer desktop does not change color in any way. (On the "bad" HTPC, the IR indicator has a black outer ring, with no other colors. On the "good" HTPC, the IR indicator has a black outer ring with and a blue ring just inside the black ring. I do not know if that means anything.) Using iMON Manager, I set the IR indicator to make a sound when it recognizes an IR signal, and to make a different sound when it senses an unidentified signal. When iMON stops responding, pressing the remote buttons does not result in any sounds.

There is also a blue LED light in the Veris basic hardware, next to the window over the IR sensor. The blue LED light always flickers whenever I press a button on any remote - it always seems to sense the presence of an IR signal, from the TV remote and any other remotes that I have around.

You asked:
3. How did you make the remote work again, reboot, AC reset or running iMON again?

That's a good question. I have not found a dependable way to quickly get the remote working again. Rebooting does not make things work again. I uninstall iMon and then reinstall it, but that does not make things work again. Using iMON Manager, I switch back and forth between the RM100 remote and the MCE remote, but that does not make the remote work again. I exit iMON and restart it, but that does not solve the problem. It seems if I leave the HTPC off for several hours, or several days, that it will eventually respond to the remote once again, for a while. After the HTPC responds to the remote once again, it seems that if I leave the HTPC on for a while, or if I use the MCE remote to move around the Windows Media Center menus, the remote will stop working. Again, it does not seem that the remote itself is a fault, since the remote continues to work with the "good" HTPC. (Same story for all 3 MCE remotes that I have).

You asked:
4. When it happens, open Notepad and check if the numeric buttons on the remote can type number.

When the "bad" HTPC does not respond to the MCE remote, I opened the Notepad and pressed some numeric keys. Nothing appeared on the Notepad. Using the same remote, I could enter numbers into Notepad on the "good" HTPC.

You asked:
5. If you use iMON Pad remote, does it happen?

I used iMON manager to set the remote to RM100, and pressed the RM100 "go" button, which is supposed to start the iMEDIAN HD application, but nothing happens, on the "bad" HTPC.

You asked:
6. Are you using other remote in the room PC is placed?

Yes, a remote to control a TV and a remote to control a DVD/VCR recorder combination. However, for the above tests, I moved the HTPC to another room and did not use any other remotes other than the MCE remote and the RM100.

I realize the my problem does not make any sense, so it must be as frustrating for you as it is for me. I have ordered another Antec Veris Basic to replace the one in the "bad" HTPC, and may try to install Windows 7 all over again, but I would like to avoid that if you can come up with a solution.

Again, the only somewhat consistent behavior that I have found is that the HTPC stops responding to the remote if the HTPC has been on for a while (maybe half an hour) or if I have been using the buttons on the remote a lot to move around the Windows Media Center menus. Turning the HTPC off for a day or so seems to result in the remote working again. Rebooting the HTPC right away does not cause the remote to work again.

[javaman]

I unplugged the HTPC over night, and plugged it back in this morning. I used the power button on the HTPC to turn it on. Once the HTPC was running, it still would not respond to the MCE remote, as usual. However, I found that the HTPC would not even respond to the on/off button on the MCE remote. The little blue LED light on the Veris Basic hardware would still flicker, however, when I press buttons on the MCE remote.

[johnny.hur]

Dear javaman,

AC reset means that disconnecting AC power cable from the wall and re-connecting it after 1~2 minutes.

I think that this problem may come from USB port. Please try to connect iMON HW to other USB ports including the externals. And if possible, update main board BIOS and USB related drivers.

When iMON succeeds to open driver, Indicator shows blue ring. And when it fails, yellow ring. Please let me know if it shows yellow ring when the problem happens.

And if indicator shows blue ring when it happens, try to reset remote mapping with clicking “Reset” button in iMON Manager>Settings>Remote Controller and check FW version. You can check FW version in iMON Manager>Options>Version/Update.

Regards,
Johnny Hur

[javaman]

Hello Johnny Hur,

Thank you for your reply. Things have improved slightly.

(1) I unplugged the AC power cord, and unplugged the Veris Basic USB cable (it was plugged into a motherboard internal USB header).

(2) I plugged in the AC cord, and used the power button on the HTPC to power it back up.

(3) The motherboard BIOS was already updated to the latest level. The Zotac website had no newer BIOS. The USB drivers are also current. I went into the Windows Device Manager, and for each of the 8 USB ports (6 external and 4 internal), I requested a driver search (both on my computer and on the Internet), and the message was that the "best driver software" is already installed.

(4) I plugged Veris Basic USB cable into new port on the back of computer (not previously used). Got message that drivers were being installed. IR indicator ring color changed from gray to blue. In iMON Manager, did reset for MCE remote, checked that software is at 7.85.0222 and firmware is 0x4302.

(5) MCE remote still will not control any functions in the Windows Media Center. The same two MCE remotes that will not work on the "bad" HTPC work fine with the "good" HTPC. The IR indicator continues to show the blue ring on the "bad" HTPC, even while the MCE remote is being ignored.

(6) However, the MCE remote will now power on and power off the "bad" HTPC. (This function was lost for a while.) When I do a power off, the blue ring in the IR indicator turns yellow for a moment, and then the computer turns off.

Could there be a problem with the Veris Basic hardware? I should be getting a new retail Veris Basic product today.

[javaman]

Hello Johnny Hur,

This might be the cause of my problem - the Veris Basic is not getting power when the computer on.

There are three wires - black, purple, and red - that are hooked into the 20/24 pin ATX power supply connector, and that then connect to the Veris Basic hardware.

Black is the ground wire.

The purple wire supplies +5 volts at all times, as long as the computer is plugged in. It is stand-by power, supplies the Veris Basic hardware with power even when the computer is "off", and enables the Veris Basic hardware to actually turn on the rest of the computer when you press the power-on button on the remote control.

The red wire should supply +5 volts, but only when the computer is on. It appears that there is a break in the wire! When the computer is on, I get zero voltage across the black and red wires that supply the Veris Basic, in the "bad" HTPC.

Now, when I check the power supply in the "good" HTPC, the red wire leading to the Veris Basic tests +5 volts then the computer is on. So, there is a fault somewhere in the wires that supply the +5 volts to the Veris Basic red wire connection.

That should be possible to fix. I'll let you know what happens.

[javaman]

My previous post did indeed identify the problem - the Varis Basic hardware was not getting +5 volt power from the red wire after the computer was turned on. I fixed the power problem, and everything is working beautifully.

The 24/3 pin ATX power extension cable supplied with the Veris Basic was too stiff and bulky to fit into my very small HTPC case. I cut off the 3 wire part - the black, purple, red wire extension - and spliced it directly into the appropriate wires on my existing power supply. I used little connectors that you squeeze with pliers to cut partially through the insulation, to make contact with the wire inside. However, the connectors were apparently not good for making dependable, permanent electrical contact.

Instead, I got my wire cutters, soldering iron, and heat shrink tubing to make electrically and mechanically sound connections, and got dependable voltages to the Veric Basic.

Sorry for all the work you did in trying to help me resolve my problem - I do appreciate your efforts! (Now, maybe I'll go make another HTPC...)