mc2xml Microsoft legacy gives TCP error

[eskimoquin]

I ran into this error recently and thought I'd write my experience with it as all the info I found didn't match my experience.

I use mc2xml (v1.2) to get xmltv data from Microsoft using the legacy service. I ran my UpdateEPG.bat file from command prompt and noticed an error. I then ran mc2xml without arguments or a dat file from command prompt and saw the same error. I tried it on two other Win 7 Pro 64bit computers with this same error:

Code:

D:\HTPCData\Misc\mc2xml>mc2xml.exe
Loading ..... : mc2xml (c) <mc2xml@gmail.com> (v1.2)
Reminder .... : Unauthorized redistribution prohibited.
Reminder .... : If this software is useful, please donate!
Win32 setup . : Use dialog for initial configuration.
Error ....... : TCP 124363R 124658H

No .dat file or .xml file was created. The first pop up windows always appeared asking for country/zip/service. Sometimes the second pop up would appear asking for

Solutions that were suggested were running the command with options -c and -g (country and zip) always and opening your firewall for the program. I found that these didn't work. What I realized is that sometimes I get this error and sometimes I don't. I believe it is a server side (not your fault) problem and there is nothing you can do about it.

If you donate $20+ to mc2xml, you can get a version of the program that will access microsoft's new service (for Win 7 and 8) which might not have this problem ever.

[eskimoquin]

Hrm, I believe this thread should have been placed in:
Forum > Public > Add-ons (3rd party plugins, utilities and skins) > TV Listings
Feel free to move it if possible.

[anothernewbie]

This started last week. I've been following this thread for info.
http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/view...f=5&t=7861

There is also a Microsoft Connect report on the issue. It requires a Microsoft ID to view. Clicking on the link to state you can reproduce the issue might help in getting it attention from Microsoft.
https://connect.microsoft.com/site1145/f...iew/970453

Speculation is that the issue is with one or more of the Akamai servers that host Microsoft's content.

Some possible workarounds;

1) Some people have had success by changing their DNS servers. In some cases this causes you to access a different Akamai server. Whether it works also seems to depend on your geographic location. It didn't work for me.

2) Using a VPN and picking a server in the Netherlands or another country. Using privateinternetaccesss.com's Netherlands server has worked pretty well for me. I have seen a few failures but a retry usually gets me the listings. There are some free VPN offerings out there if you don't subscribe to a premium service.

3) Modifying your Windows hosts file as described in this post to force access to a particular server. This has also worked or me although I've seen a higher percentage of failures than the VPN. (Post #79 in the greenbutton forum thread)
http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/view...288#p80288

I also saw some changes in the channel lineup mapping I use shortly after the updates started failing which may have been just a coincidence.

Although this thread does seem to belong here, it would be nice to have a post in the main support forum to give folks a headsup and send them here for discussion.

Hope one of the workarounds works for you. Other than Microsoft screwing this up 1-3 times a year I've been pretty happy with their EPG accuracy for US ATSC channels and the 13 days of listings are nice.

[eskimoquin]

Great information, thank you for summarizing it here.

I suppose I didn't find this information as I was specifically searching for "mc2xlm Error TCP 124363R 124658H". They don't use mc2xml at thegreenbutton. The few posts that I did find extended back to 2009 so it seems it is likely intermittent. I'm not too worried about it as I believe checking for new programing 1x/day will eventually catch a good connection and update 2 weeks out. Now with the information you provided people can find real fixes instead of messing with firewall issues and command line options as I did to try to get it to work.

[anothernewbie]

Glad I could help. I realized during previous outages that problems with mc2xml and the legacy Microsoft service are due to issues with the Microsoft service and WMC will be affected too. There's a lot more WMC users so it makes info easier to find.

Someone in the greenbutton thread seems to have found a better server. Use 65.55.5.170 data.tvdownload.microsoft.com in your hosts file instead of the one from the post I linked to in solution 3 in my post. Tried it 5 times and it worked every time.

[PhoobarCO]

Thank you!!! Found the Hosts file and put that address in there and no problems.

[pBS]

i had an outage with mc2xml as well, the hosts file worked for me, data was ending on monday -22nd..
now all is well after adding these lines to hosts file:
[actually just the first one]
then run ipconfig /flushdns (which may have fixed it by itself)

Code:

65.55.186.115   data.tvdownload.microsoft.com
128.177.98.169   cdn.epg.tvdownload.microsoft.com

[Stereodude]

FWIW, 65.55.186.115 and the resolved value of 65.55.186.113 did not work for data.tvdownload.microsoft.com for me. However, 65.55.5.170 (found in thegreenbutton forum link) did. Thankfully, I now have Primetime data past tonight. I wonder how long before it stops working.

[Zeb]

Yes, modifying the hosts file to download data from 65.55.5.170 works for me too, but I worry what happens when that server gets too much business. Thanks anothernewbie!

[Zeb]

I have also gone into Task Scheduler and disabled Media Center's mcupdate. Vista MC doesn't support my QAM channels anyway. Other NPVR users with obsolescent WMC installations should do likewise to lighten the load on the server, especially if you already have 13 days of data downloaded.