remote only works every third boot

[eqisow]

I have MCE installed from svn on Ubuntu Intrepid (minimal). I'm using a MCE remote that currently only works every third or fourth boot. (seems kind of random actually) Does anybody have an idea what might cause this? Are there some logs I should post?

Edit: When it's not working, irw says "Connection refused"

/etc/init.d/lirc start says there seems to already be a lircd process with pid 5199 otherwise delete stale lockfile.

/etc/init.d/lirc restart works and fixes the remote (after I restart X)

Still not sure what's going on

Edit again: Moved lirc from 51 to 99 in the boot process, in case it was starting too early. No change.

Solved (sort of): Removed init scripts from rc directories. Added /etc/init.d/lirc start to my .bashrc. Remote now works 100% of the time, but I really really don't like this hackish ass fix.

[divestoclimb]

Did you check to see if the lockfile was still there? Look in /var/run.

I'm not 100% familiar with Ubuntu, but it should be removing all pid files in /var/run at boot time. In Debian (which Ubuntu is based off of) this is handled in the script /etc/init.d/bootclean. Look for any messages in startup related to /var/run and trying to clean it at start up to make sure this is getting done properly.

[papaf]

Let me get you straight: you say you removed all the lirc initscripts from the various rcx.d dirs, and replaced them with the one you had in /etc/init.d ?

If that's true, then you had a difference between the 2 versions, and that's strange because usually what you find in rcx.d are merely links to the one in /etc/init.d, so they're the same.

Could it be you're using a modified, non-packaged lirc version?

[sexus6]

Same issue here.
Sometimes works sometimes not. If I restart lirc and restart xbmc works.

I use official ubuntu lirc from intrepid repositories.

Any idea?

[poserdonut]

I have a issue with this as well. My remote works sometimes when I boot and sometimes it doesn't.

I haven't tried the solution in the OP but that doesn't sound like a really good one either.

Any tips?

[draggy]

I also have this issue. Tried babylon and the latest svn. The SVN seems to be worse. This used to work perfectly in atlantis.

I know the remote's signals are being received, as xbmc will un-dim from idle when any button is pressed. But it's like xbmc doesn't know what the key is.

I'm using the original xbox remote with a modified xbox dongle.

[poserdonut]

Not the same problem that I have since my receiver seems to be locked when it's not working and irw doesn't record any button presses. /etc/init.d/lirc restart does not help and I can't find any errors in any logs. It just seems to fuck up.

[lepingouin]

I have the same problem with a microsoft MCR remote.
Does anybody know how to troubleshoot or fix it ?

Thanks

[wiz561]

To try to narrow it down to see if it's XBMC or something else, I find the 'irw' command useful. Just go to a shell prompt and execute 'irw'.

Try to execute irw as the user that's running xbmc to ensure it's not a permission problem. Once executed, press some buttons on the remote and see if anything gets displayed on the screen. It should look something like...

$ irw
0000000000001795 00 Down Hauppauge_350
0000000000001795 01 Down Hauppauge_350
0000000000001795 02 Down Hauppauge_350
0000000000001795 00 Down Hauppauge_350
0000000000001795 01 Down Hauppauge_350
0000000000001795 02 Down Hauppauge_350
^C
$

[lepingouin]

Thanks. irw does not seem to hear anything from remote : nothing is displayed.
I used the workaround proposed by the initial user on the 1st post and it seems to work so far, but this is pretty dirty :-(

[wiz561]

I have a Hauppauge remote (PVR-150 card) and from what I can remember, it worked without much of a headache. A few things to check...

Since irw isn't seeing the commands, there's probably not a problem with xbmc and it sounds like ubuntu isn't digging the remote.

Check out /etc/lirc/hardware.conf. There should be a "REMOTE_DEVICE" listed...something like '/dev/lirc0'. Make sure that file/device exists on the filesystem. If not, then you might have to reload the mce drivers.

Also, check out 'sudo dpkg-reconfigure lirc' and see if your remote is listed in there. Finally, check out this writeup on how to install mce on ubuntu. Maybe it will lead to something...

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/MCE_Remote#Windows_Vista_MCE_Remote