Windows DMS Hack Tools v2.3 - Bug Reports

[VorTechS]

VortechS -

The DMS seems to work great for MP3 files, but I have a ton of AAC files, which worked before on my old DMS cartridge.  Now, when I try to play any of those files, it says that needs an "AAC Decoder."  I believe I purchased this and I have the code for it, which I can apply through the Phatnoise Media Manager software, except when I go to apply the plugin, it says that I do not have any firmware installed on the DMS, although it works great with this one exception with my head unit.

Can I still install the VW 7.02 firmware through PMM and then attempt to apply the plugin for AAC?  Will that undo the patch that allows me to use such a big drive?

Thanks!

Dippdy

Okay before you do anything, let's see if we can work out why it's not working. 

The original aacdecoder (aadec) is copied onto the DMS as aadec-orig, and the modified EXEC.INI put onto the DMS has aac playback pointing to the original file. 
You should see an entry in exec.ini like this:

player.pna=/dos/aadec-orig

The hacked version of aadec (which I believe is for plugin authentication) is then put on to the DMS as aadec.  Now, I've more than likely misunderstood something here, so I'll need to confirm that I've actually got this process right.

Can you confirm your exec.ini has the entry above?

The only thing you'll lose by reloading the firmware via PMM is the new WMA codec that the tools put onto the DMS, but it would be great if you could bear with me so we can identify the actual problem.

VortechS,

Sorry for being such a pain, but I can't seem to get SSA working on my newly created DMS.  I see on the PhatHack Wiki it states "If you have used the Hack CD to create a custom DMS and are adding SSA to that DMS, only perform steps 4 and 5".  Is using the DMS Hack Tools the same as using the Hack CD?  Because I did only steps 4 and 5 and cannot get it to work on my stereo.  I have a Kenwood DDX7015 navigation stereo - it is possible the problem lies with the deck.  Any help would be great.  Thanks a lot.

Steps 4 and 5 are definately the only steps you should need to do to install the replacement VIOT plugin.  You might need to make a modification to Profiles.INI on PHTDATA to tell the phatbox you are using VIOT though.

There's a section called [profiles] and an entry in there which enables VIOT. 
Make sure this setting is as shown below

[profiles]
enable_voice_prompts=1

See if that gets things going.  Your problem might be related to the AAC problem too as the plugin authentication might be failing if I've ballsed up.  Try the profiles thing first and let me know how you get on.

[dippdydo22]

VorTechS -

You are fantastic for responding so quickly.  This is what my exe.ini file says.  Should I change something?

[Phatbox]
player.wma=/dos/phatwma
player.loop=/dos/playloopfile
auth.loop=/dos/swgrli
auth1.loop=/dos/nmp3
startprog=/dos/51d
player.flac=/dos/flacplay
player.pna=/dos/aadec-orig
auth.pna=/dos/nmp3
auth1.pna=/dos/hdparm
auth2.pna=/dos/pkeysa.e
player.ogg=/dos/oggplay-ha
auth.ogg=/dos/oggplay-la
player.m4a=/dos/needaac
auth.m4a=/dos/nmp3
player.hack=/dos/patcher

Dippdy

[VorTechS]

No, the exec.ini is correct, and so AAC playback should be working.  One thing that we have noticed and that I will try to resolve for the next version of the tools, is that the CurrentSettings.xml file is missing from PhtSys and this could be causing the problem with PMM complaining about the firmware.

Also, don't update the firmware using PMM - it'll probably result in you not being able to use the new DMS!

If you have a copy of CurrentSettings.xml on an original DMS for the firmware you are using, try copying that onto the DMS and check if AAC playback starts working.

If not, see if PMM stops complaining about the firmware.  It would be good to get answers to both of those.

Thanks for the patience, sorry we don't have a resolution to this yet - I don't have a working DMS myself as I don't have access to a PhatBox atm.

[dippdydo22]

Just wondering if this line in the exe.ini file means anything?

player.m4a=/dos/needaac

Dippdy

[VorTechS]

Only if the AAC files you have encoded have the M4a extension (*.m4a)?
If so, then you can modify that line to use aadec-orig, but you'll need to regenerate a sig.

[dippdydo22]

Ahhh, there's the rub, I think.  They are m4a files.  How do I regenerate a sig file?

[VorTechS]

Attach your exec.ini here and I'll generate one for you.

[dippdydo22]

I put my original drive back into the cartridge and copied the PHTSYS files to my computer's hard drive.  I looked at the original exec.ini and it says the same thing with the m4a files.  Not sure that is the problem.  Let me swap drives back and I will send you the file from the hacked dms.

[dippdydo22]

Here it is.  Thanks.

[VorTechS]

Okay, re-generated files - stick 'em back on and try 'em out.

I'm out now, will see how you got on later.

[dippdydo22]

I tried something different, and it seems to work.  In the original drive, there was a directory called Plugins and inside of that a directory for AAC in Phtsys.  In the hacked drive, this directory wasn't there.  Lastnight I had ran the update via PMM for the firmware, which added this directory, but the files inside that directory had a date of 5/17/07 or something close to that...  I compared that directory to the original drive, and the original files were from 2005.  I swapped out those files.  I hadn't put in your new exec.ini files at all.  I plugged it into the phatbox and away we went.  AAC files are playing fine.  YIPPEE. 

I am leaving now for a roadtrip, with my 70 gigs of CD collection I have aquired over the years. 

VorTechS, I really owe you big time.  Let me know if you need any files or anything that will help you improve your process.  Also, if you send me a personal message with a place I can send in a donation, or if I should make it to this site, etc., please let me know.  I am happy to contribute to the greater good!

Dippdy

[funkdr_1999]

Steps 4 and 5 are definately the only steps you should need to do to install the replacement VIOT plugin.  You might need to make a modification to Profiles.INI on PHTDATA to tell the phatbox you are using VIOT though.

There's a section called [profiles] and an entry in there which enables VIOT. 
Make sure this setting is as shown below

[profiles]
enable_voice_prompts=1

See if that gets things going.  Your problem might be related to the AAC problem too as the plugin authentication might be failing if I've ballsed up.  Try the profiles thing first and let me know how you get on.

Hi VorTechS,

As usual, I appreciate you help and response.  I tried modiefying the [profiles] enable_voice_prompts but it actually was already done.
My log is as follows:
[Default]
num_discs=88
startup_sound=
pattern=$TITLE$ - $ARTIST$

[profiles]
active_profile=Default
enable_special_discs=1
enable_voice_prompts=1
num_discs=88

[product]
product_name=PhatNoise Media Manager
product_version=3, 9, 2, 0

Also I noticed every time I erase the PHATSYS\Plugins\plugins.dat, plug it in my hacked PhatBox, then return it to my usb dock, the plugins.dat file mysteriously appears again.  I don't know why it's doing that.  Could the problem lie there?  Thanks a lot for you effort again.

[VorTechS]

Okay, have you (like some others) performed a firmware update using PhatNoise Media Manager?

If so, it's possible that the aadec util has been overwritten (PhtSys\aadec) in which case you'll need to put the hacked ones back in.

You can find these files in:

<Path to Hack tools>\DMS_Utils\HackFiles\aadec
<Path to Hack tools>\DMS_Utils\HackFiles\aadec.sig

If you haven't upgraded the firmware I'll have to hand over to judb and sbingner as I don't know what could be causing this problem, as I don't know much about how the plugins work.

[sbingner]

Yes you would still need the plugin to be installed... I don't think you should mess with the "needaac" line tho

[sbingner]

Oh, and the only reason to remove plugins.dat is to make it re-scan your plugins and install any that were missing... when it does that, it recreates plugins.dat -- as it should.

[ButchHandy]

I did a search to see if someone else had given this info yet, but nothing came up, so here it is.

For Vista users...To run the backup part of the Hack Tool, you will have to run it manually, as suggested in the program documentation, BUT you will need to start the DOS prompt with Administrator priviledges. 

You do this by RIGHT clicking on the "Command Prompt" icon and when the menu pops up, you will select "Run as administrator".  When you are in administrator mode for DOS, the title bar for the window will say "Administrator: Command Prompt".

It looks like there may be two root causes here.  One being that it doesn't seem that the Hack Tool is trying to run the dd.exe from the correct folder when it opens a DOS prompt, and the second is that once it is run from the correct location, the DOS prompt needs to be in elevated Administrator mode.  I don't know if the knowledge of this will help the program's author with making his program backup properly or not, but this at least helps explain to him the root cause of the failure with Vista, and a workaround.


So...Basically...

- I tried the v2.3 of the DMS Hack Tools.  It found my DMS and then tried to back it up and failed, just like the documention told me it would for Vista.

- I then went and looked at the log file and found the part where the backup failed.  The author was even nice enough to put a line in the log file showing me what text to copy to run at the DOS prompt.

- I opened the DOS prompt in Admin mode.

- I changed to the directory where the Hack Tools are installed, namely, where the dd.exe program is located.  In my case this was here:
C:\Program Files\PhatHack\PhatHack DMS Tools\DMS_Utils

- From that location, I then pasted the text from the log file into the DOS prompt and pressed the Enter key.  It ran with no problem.

- Here is the text that I pulled from the log file and pasted into the DOS window, in my particular case:
dd if=\\.\PhysicalDrive8 bs=512 count=2048 of="C:\Users\Butch\Documents\PhatHack Media Manager\DMS Backups\DMS Boot\DMS_Backup_19_Sep_2007_(11_45_01)\DMS_Backup_For_DeviceSerial_2265140E.bin"


Hope this helps someone...

Later!
Butch

[VorTechS]

Butch,

Thanks for the additional information I'll amend the documentation.  I am aware that the problem is due to the process requiring elevated rights, but have yet to find a way to do this programmatically - and suspect it will be extremely hard to do due.

Having said that, I've had reports that the formatting executable runs fine when creating a new DMS from Vista and that process is launched in exactly the same way so it's certainly a mystery why the DD executable needs something different.

I will continue to look for a solution on shelling with elevated permissions, so one day hopefully this workaround won't be needed.

[grymster]

I have issue with new DMS creating. When I'm pressing button "Create New DMS" (right one) I get next message:
"Unhandled exception has occurred..."
Details:

See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
   at StandAloneDMSHackWizard.modCommon.GetDMSDiskID(String DriveLetter)
   at StandAloneDMSHackWizard.frmStartupWizard.Start()
   at StandAloneDMSHackWizard.frmStartupWizard.btnStart_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.RaiseEvent(Object key, EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripButton.OnClick(EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.HandleClick(EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.HandleMouseUp(MouseEventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.FireEventInteractive(EventArgs e, ToolStripItemEventType met)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.FireEvent(EventArgs e, ToolStripItemEventType met)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs mea)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseUp(Message& m, MouseButtons button, Int32 clicks)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)


************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/Microsoft.NET/Framework/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
StandAloneDMSHackWizard
    Assembly Version: 2.3.0.0
    Win32 Version: 0.0.2.3
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/PhatHack%20DMS%20Tools/StandAloneDMSHackWizard.exe
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualBasic
    Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 8.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualBasic/8.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll
----------------------------------------
System
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Windows.Forms/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Windows.Forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Drawing/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Runtime.Remoting
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Runtime.Remoting/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Runtime.Remoting.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Configuration
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Configuration/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Configuration.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Xml
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Xml/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Xml.dll
----------------------------------------
PhatUnzip
    Assembly Version: 1.3.3.0
    Win32 Version: 1.3.3
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/PhatHack%20DMS%20Tools/PhatUnzip.DLL
----------------------------------------
DMS
    Assembly Version: 1.0.0.1
    Win32 Version: 1.0.0.1
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/PhatHack%20DMS%20Tools/DMS.DLL
----------------------------------------
DMS Hack Wizard
    Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 1.0.0.0
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/PhatHack%20DMS%20Tools/DMS%20Hack%20Wizard.DLL
----------------------------------------
Interop.WbemScripting
    Assembly Version: 1.2.0.0
    Win32 Version: 1.2.0.0
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/PhatHack%20DMS%20Tools/Interop.WbemScripting.DLL
----------------------------------------
CustomMarshalers
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.312 (rtmLHS.050727-3100)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_32/CustomMarshalers/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/CustomMarshalers.dll
----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just-in-time (JIT) debugging, the .config file for this
application or computer (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

<configuration>
    <system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the computer
rather than be handled by this dialog box.

P.S.
Windows Vista
HDD Segate ST98823A ATA6 80GB
Phatbox was hacked without any issues.
Antivirus was off.
Any other USB storage devices was not connected.

[VorTechS]

Interesting!

After you start the application, and click on 'Create New DMS' (the 1st one on the left side), is your DMS listed in the 'Select destination DMS' dropdown?

If so what is listed there? 

It would also be useful if you could supply me with a copy of Startup_Sequence.txt and PhatHack_NewDMS.txt which are two log files written by the software in 'Documents\PhatHack Media Manager\Logs' under your Windows Vista user profile.

[grymster]

Interesting!

After you start the application, and click on 'Create New DMS' (the 1st one on the left side), is your DMS listed in the 'Select destination DMS' dropdown?

If so what is listed there? 

It would also be useful if you could supply me with a copy of Startup_Sequence.txt and PhatHack_NewDMS.txt which are two log files written by the software in 'Documents\PhatHack Media Manager\Logs' under your Windows Vista user profile.

Yes, DMS is in the "Select the destination device" as "USB-HS ST98823A USB Device"

I have only Startup_Sequence.txt in the logs directory.