I found the above error on a Windows XP machine, when trying to update the virus definitions.
I checked the Internet Explorer proxy settings - automatically determine was not checked, and there was no proxy setting.I also ran proxycfg -d, just to make sure.
This still didn't fix it.
In the end, I ran wireshark during the update attempt. I discovered that, despite the proxy settings being turned off, MSE was still querying the dns for host name wpad, and downloading the proxy setting script from http://wpad/wpad.dat.
Which would have been fine, except that I had a stray CNAME record for wpad in my local DNS, that pointed to my local webserver, that had a stray wpad.dat file in it, which set the proxy to a machine that no longer exists!
What was worse, the stray entry only existed in one of the two DNS servers on my network, so the problem was intermittent, depending on which DNS server Windows used for the query.
Once I deleted the stray DNS entry, and removed the wpad.dat file from my web server, it all started working.
The moral of the story is, if you experience the same problem, try typing http://wpad/wpad.dat into your web browser, and see if you get a file. If you do, open it with a text editor, and it will show you what proxy settings MSE will decide to use (even if you have told it not to)!
On 1st Jan 2013, the program guide suddenly stopped working. It claimed it had downloaded the guide, but every program had "No data available" on it.
After some research on the 'Net, I discovered that the UK TV guide was downloaded from Broadcasting Data Services, and that Microsoft's agreement with them appeared to expire on 31 December 2012!
I spent a whole day investigating what to do about this. Microsoft were no help at all. I considered upgrading to Windows 8, but the Microsoft free offer of a Media Centre registration key via email doesn't work (at least, I had no reply to the request I sent a week ago).
The only obvious solution I found on the net was to use a separate program to extract the guide information from the broadcast EPG, and put it into Media Centre. To that end, I installed a program called EPG Collector from SourceForge, installed it, and got it working. Except that it couldn't put the data into Media Centre, with the error message "Could not load file or assembly 'mcepg, Version=6.1.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35'".
Further research, and a posting to the relevant forum, suggested I install something called the Microsoft TV Pack, an upgrade to Media Centre - this does not seem to be available from Microsoft, but I found it at http://digiex.net/guides-reviews/guides-tutorials/media-guides/699-windows-media-center-tv-pack-2008-download-installation-guide.html. I downloaded it, and the PlayReady PC Runtime (also from Microsoft, and linked from the same page), and installed them both.
I restarted the PC, and Media Centre - all my TV settings had gone! (This is normal, I think, as TV Pack is a major upgrade.) I went into the option to set up TV, and it appeared to hang at the point where it should have downloaded the guide. I panicked, and did some more research - others had the same problem, but none of their solutions seemed to work. So I started it again, and left it overnight.
In the morning, success! It had probably abandoned the download, and continued - it had scanned the available TV channels, and I was able to proceed (after another delay while it tried to download guide information again).
I then laboriously went through all the channels (some of which had got guide information from somewhere, and some hadn't). I pressed the "i" button while the cursor was on a channel name in the guide, and chose "Edit Channel" (this is a new option, which only appears after you have installed TV Pack). This gave me the option to renumber the channel (for some reason Al Jazeera had joined BBC2 on channel 2!), and to set up listings for the channel. In most cases, there was an option to "Use listings from broadcaster" - which I assume gets the listings from the broadcast signal, just as a Freeview TV would. There were a few obscure channels where this was not an option, but I left those alone (I wasn't interested in any of them, and most had too weak a signal to actually get a picture).
I now have a full guide, and I am hoping I will not need to use EPG Collector after all. I have lost all my series recording settings, but they were about due for a clear out anyway.
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| Vertical blind, half open |
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| Roof blinds - 1 closed, 1 open |
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| Using a ruler to guide the pleating |
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| Pleated blind with top rail threaded |
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| Threading diagram |
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| Detail showing guide line (blue) threaded in top rail and conduit |
#include <string>
#include <iostream>
#include <sstream>
#include <fstream>
#include <iomanip>
#include <curl/curl.h>
static ostringstream curl_result;
/* curl write callback, to fill tidy's input buffer... */
uint write_cb(char *in, uint size, uint nmemb, void *out)
{
int r = size * nmemb;
in[r] = '\0';
curl_result << in;
return(r);
}
static bool recaptcha_check_answer(const char *private_key, const char *remoteip,
const char *challenge, const char *response, std::string &error) {
if (!remoteip || !*remoteip) {
error = "For security reasons, you must pass the remote ip to reCAPTCHA";
return false;
}
//discard spam submissions
if (!challenge || !*challenge || !response || !*response) {
error = "Captcha challenge or response missing";
return false;
}
CURL *curl;
CURLcode res;
struct curl_httppost *formpost=NULL;
struct curl_httppost *lastptr=NULL;
if(curl_global_init(CURL_GLOBAL_SSL)) {
error = "Error initialising curl library";
return false;
}
curl = curl_easy_init();
if(!curl) {
error = "Error initialising curl library";
return false;
}
curl_formadd(&formpost,
&lastptr,
CURLFORM_COPYNAME, "privatekey",
CURLFORM_COPYCONTENTS, private_key,
CURLFORM_END);
curl_formadd(&formpost,
&lastptr,
CURLFORM_COPYNAME, "remoteip",
CURLFORM_COPYCONTENTS, remoteip,
CURLFORM_END);
curl_formadd(&formpost,
&lastptr,
CURLFORM_COPYNAME, "challenge",
CURLFORM_COPYCONTENTS, challenge,
CURLFORM_END);
curl_formadd(&formpost,
&lastptr,
CURLFORM_COPYNAME, "response",
CURLFORM_COPYCONTENTS, response,
CURLFORM_END);
const char *surl = "https://api-verify.recaptcha.net/verify";
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, surl);
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, 0L);
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, 1L);
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_HTTPPOST, formpost);
#ifdef SKIP_HOSTNAME_VERFICATION
/*
* If the site you're connecting to uses a different host name that what
* they have mentioned in their server certificate's commonName (or
* subjectAltName) fields, libcurl will refuse to connect. You can skip
* this check, but this will make the connection less secure.
*/
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, 0L);
#endif
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_WRITEFUNCTION, write_cb);
res = curl_easy_perform(curl);
/* always cleanup */
curl_easy_cleanup(curl);
if(res && res != CURLE_RECV_ERROR)
{
std::ostringstream err;
err << "Error " << res << " contacting captcha server";
error = err.str();
return false;
}
std::string resp = curl_result.str();
std::string::size_type pos = resp.find("\n");
std::string part1 = pos == std::string::npos ? resp : resp.substr(0, pos);
if(part1 == "true")
return true;
error = pos == std::string::npos ? "Unknown captcha error" : "Captcha error:" + resp.substr(pos);
return false;
}
This code relies on the curl library to handle the communication with the reCAPTCHA server.
const string SqlServerDllFolder = @"C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Binn";
static LibraryModule langwrbk = LibraryModule.LoadModule(Path.Combine(SqlServerDllFolder, "LangWrbk.dll"));
static LibraryModule infosoft = LibraryModule.LoadModule(Path.Combine(SqlServerDllFolder, "infosoft.dll"));
static Guid stemmer = new Guid("D99F7670-7F1A-11CE-BE57-00AA0051FE20");
static Guid breaker = new Guid("173C97E2-AEBE-437C-9445-01B237ABF2F6");
void Main()
{
WordBreaker breaker = new WordBreaker();
string search;
while((search = Util.ReadLine("Query string:").Trim()) != "") {
Console.WriteLine("Original text:" + search);
foreach (string word in breaker.Search(search)) {
Console.WriteLine(word);
}
}
}
// COM Interface to Microsoft word breaker and stemmer
[Flags]
public enum WORDREP_BREAK_TYPE {
WORDREP_BREAK_EOW = 0,
WORDREP_BREAK_EOS = 1,
WORDREP_BREAK_EOP = 2,
WORDREP_BREAK_EOC = 3
}
[ComImport]
[Guid("CC907054-C058-101A-B554-08002B33B0E6")]
[InterfaceType(ComInterfaceType.InterfaceIsIUnknown)]
public interface IWordSink {
void PutWord([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwc,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pwcInBuf,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwcSrcLen,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwcSrcPos);
void PutAltWord([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwc,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pwcInBuf,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwcSrcLen,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwcSrcPos);
void StartAltPhrase();
void EndAltPhrase();
void PutBreak(WORDREP_BREAK_TYPE breakType);
}
[ComImport]
[Guid("CC906FF0-C058-101A-B554-08002B33B0E6")]
[InterfaceType(ComInterfaceType.InterfaceIsIUnknown)]
public interface IPhraseSink {
void PutSmallPhrase([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pwcNoun,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwcNoun,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pwcModifier,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwcModifier,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int ulAttachmentType);
void PutPhrase([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pwcPhrase,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwcPhrase);
}
[ComImport]
[Guid("fe77c330-7f42-11ce-be57-00aa0051fe20")]
[InterfaceType(ComInterfaceType.InterfaceIsIUnknown)]
public interface IWordFormSink {
void PutAltWord([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pwcInBuf, [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwc);
void PutWord([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pwcInBuf, [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwc);
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct TEXT_SOURCE {
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.FunctionPtr)]
public delFillTextBuffer pfnFillTextBuffer;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)]
public string awcBuffer;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public int iEnd;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public int iCur;
}
// used to fill the buffer for TEXT_SOURCE
public delegate uint delFillTextBuffer([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Struct)]
ref TEXT_SOURCE pTextSource);
[ComImport]
[Guid("D53552C8-77E3-101A-B552-08002B33B0E6")]
[InterfaceType(ComInterfaceType.InterfaceIsIUnknown)]
public interface IWordBreaker {
void Init([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)] bool fQuery,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int maxTokenSize,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)] out bool pfLicense);
void BreakText([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Struct)] ref TEXT_SOURCE pTextSource,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Interface)] IWordSink pWordSink,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Interface)] IPhraseSink pPhraseSink);
void GetLicenseToUse([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] out string ppwcsLicense);
}
[ComImport]
[Guid("EFBAF140-7F42-11CE-BE57-00AA0051FE20")]
[InterfaceType(ComInterfaceType.InterfaceIsIUnknown)]
public interface IStemmer {
void Init([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int ulMaxTokenSize, [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)] out bool pfLicense);
void GenerateWordForms([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pwcInBuf,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] int cwc,
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Interface)] IWordFormSink pStemSink);
void GetLicenseToUse([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] out string ppwcsLicense);
}
// Word breaker to break a line of text into words, stem them,
// and return a HashSet of all the words and stems
public class WordBreaker : IWordSink, IWordFormSink {
IWordBreaker wordBreaker;
HashSet words; // Words to search for
IStemmer istm;
public WordBreaker() {
wordBreaker = (IWordBreaker)ComHelper.CreateInstance(langwrbk, breaker);
bool pfLicense = true;
wordBreaker.Init(true, 1000, out pfLicense);
istm = (IStemmer)ComHelper.CreateInstance(infosoft, stemmer);
pfLicense = true;
istm.Init(1000, out pfLicense);
}
public HashSet Search(string text) {
words = new HashSet();
TEXT_SOURCE pTextSource = new TEXT_SOURCE();
pTextSource.pfnFillTextBuffer = new delFillTextBuffer(pfnFillTextBuffer);
pTextSource.awcBuffer = text.ToLower();
pTextSource.iCur = 0;
pTextSource.iEnd = text.Length;
wordBreaker.BreakText(ref pTextSource, (IWordSink)this, null);
return words;
}
#region IWordFormSink Members
public void PutAltWord(string pwcInBuf, int cwc) {
words.Add(pwcInBuf.Substring(0, cwc));
}
public void PutWord(string pwcInBuf, int cwc) {
words.Add(pwcInBuf.Substring(0, cwc));
}
#endregion
#region IWordSink Members
public void PutWord(int cwc, string pwcInBuf, int cwcSrcLen, int cwcSrcPos) {
istm.GenerateWordForms(pwcInBuf.Substring(0, cwc), cwc, this);
}
public void PutAltWord(int cwc, string pwcInBuf, int cwcSrcLen, int cwcSrcPos) {
}
public void StartAltPhrase() {
}
public void EndAltPhrase() {
}
public void PutBreak(WORDREP_BREAK_TYPE breakType) {
}
#endregion
}
static uint pfnFillTextBuffer(ref TEXT_SOURCE pTextSource) {
// return WBREAK_E_END_OF_TEXT
return 0x80041780;
}
// Code from https://gist.github.com/1568627
// By John Jeffery
static class ComHelper
{
private delegate int DllGetClassObject(ref Guid clsid, ref Guid iid, [Out, MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Interface)] out IClassFactory classFactory);
public static object CreateInstance(LibraryModule libraryModule, Guid clsid)
{
var classFactory = GetClassFactory(libraryModule, clsid);
var iid = new Guid("00000000-0000-0000-C000-000000000046"); // IUnknown
object obj;
classFactory.CreateInstance(null, ref iid, out obj);
return obj;
}
static IClassFactory GetClassFactory(LibraryModule libraryModule, Guid clsid)
{
IntPtr ptr = libraryModule.GetProcAddress("DllGetClassObject");
var callback = (DllGetClassObject) Marshal.GetDelegateForFunctionPointer(ptr, typeof (DllGetClassObject));
var classFactoryIid = new Guid("00000001-0000-0000-c000-000000000046");
IClassFactory classFactory;
var hresult = callback(ref clsid, ref classFactoryIid, out classFactory);
if (hresult != 0)
{
throw new Win32Exception(hresult, "Cannot create class factory");
}
return classFactory;
}
}
[Guid("00000001-0000-0000-c000-000000000046")]
[InterfaceType(ComInterfaceType.InterfaceIsIUnknown)]
[ComImport]
interface IClassFactory
{
void CreateInstance([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.IUnknown)] object pUnkOuter, ref Guid riid, [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.IUnknown)] out object ppvObject);
void LockServer(bool fLock);
}
class LibraryModule : IDisposable
{
private readonly IntPtr _handle;
private readonly string _filePath;
private static class Win32
{
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Ansi, SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr GetProcAddress(IntPtr hModule, string lpProcName);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
public static extern bool FreeLibrary(IntPtr hModule);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr LoadLibrary(string lpFileName);
}
public static LibraryModule LoadModule(string filePath)
{
var libraryModule = new LibraryModule(Win32.LoadLibrary(filePath), filePath);
if (libraryModule._handle == IntPtr.Zero)
{
int error = Marshal.GetLastWin32Error();
throw new Win32Exception(error, "Cannot load library: " + filePath);
}
return libraryModule;
}
private LibraryModule(IntPtr handle, string filePath)
{
_filePath = filePath;
_handle = handle;
}
~LibraryModule()
{
if (_handle != IntPtr.Zero)
{
Win32.FreeLibrary(_handle);
}
}
public void Dispose()
{
if (_handle != IntPtr.Zero)
{
Win32.FreeLibrary(_handle);
}
GC.SuppressFinalize(this);
}
public IntPtr GetProcAddress(string name)
{
IntPtr ptr = Win32.GetProcAddress(_handle, "DllGetClassObject");
if (ptr == IntPtr.Zero)
{
int error = Marshal.GetLastWin32Error();
string message = string.Format("Cannot find proc {0} in {1}", name, _filePath);
throw new Win32Exception(error, message);
}
return ptr;
}
public string FilePath
{
get { return _filePath; }
}
}
