OS: Vista Premium Home Edition (32bit) inc all updates as at 19/10/08.

PC: AVR-500 (see http://www.enspiredigital.com.au/comp.details.php?cname=AVR-500&tname=AVR-500)

Xbox 360 Ultimate Dashboard ver: D:2.0.6717.0-K:2.0.6717.0 (BK:2.0.1888.0) X:EC2D-64E3-CCE7-B368

Steps:

1. Clean boot Xbox using green button from Universal remote so that Media Center starts straight away.
2. After 10mins TV screen goes black but sound stays on. To unblack you need to press a button on Universal remote or Xbox controller.

Regards
Nigel

 

Hi there,

Did they ever find a solution to this problem?  I have searched on the XBOX website but no help there.

I am having this issue with my XBOX 360 used as an extender.  The Linksys 2100 is not having this issue.  The computer is set to always be on.... it's driving us nuts... I have recently installed the XBOX update... reset the XBOX and reinstalled the links to the Media Center machine... It's still doing it...

 

HELP!

Peter

I am in the same boat, I have 2 360s as extenders and 1 Linksys 2100... the 2100 never does this, but both of the 360s intermittently pull the screensaver problem.

I have recently been effected by this bug as well.  (It wasn't always this way!)  I have two 360 extenders, and both were doing a great job.  Then, last week, one of them red-ringed.  It was the one that I used in the living room, so after I disconnected it to ship it back for a replacement, I started using the PC's Media Center directly via a long DVI cable to my TV and a USB wireless remote.  No problems there.

Around this time, the 360 in the bedroom started to do this 10 minute black "screensaver" thing that people in this thread are experiencing.  The audio keeps playing, but the video goes blank.  The 360 is on a wired LAN, no wireless.

The only thing I've done to the PC lately was that I noticed DVDs placed in the PC played poorly through VMC, so I updated the NVIDIA drivers to the latest version. 

Steps to try and fix:  I tried removing all 360 extender accounts from the PC (via Tasks - Settings - Extender in VMC) and reconnecting the bedroom one, but that changed nothing.

Steps to reproduce:  Start 360, play a recorded show.  In 10 minutes, the screen will go black, but the sound will still play.  Hit the play button on the remote to "wake" it, and video reappears for another 10 minutes before it happens all over again.

My PC specs:
Dell Dimension 9200
Vista Home Premium SP1
Intel 82566HC Gigabit NIC - MS Driver Version 9.11.5.7
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE - NVIDIA Driver Version 7.15.11.8206
Xbox 360 Extender w/NXE
D:2.0.7363.0 - K:2.0.7363.0 (BK:2.0.1888.0) (E:1) X:20FE-FAF0-B9CB-6103
.XEX file:  Created: 11.2.2006  Last Access/Modified: 6.25.2008  Size: 6,443,008 bytes

If you need ANY more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.  (Via reply on this thread or my username at gmail.)

Thanks,
John

Jslatour,
Have you tried rolling back to your older NVIDIA driver? I'd be curious to see if that resolves the issue.

Karri,

I rolled back the driver last night to my old one.  The old one was:

NVIDIA 7.15.11.6371 dated 9/17/2007

I knew immediately that it was the old driver, as my DVD playback went back to being unwatchable video noise.

Unfortunately, the 10 minute "screensaver" black screen persisted on my 360 extender.

Thanks,
John

*BUMP*

Does any have any further ideas to solve this issue?

I wish I had better news for you but we are still unable to reproduce this in-house. Without this, we are unable to root cause the issue. I'm afraid for now you'll have to rely on the registry key workaround. I wish very much we could root cause this issue for those of you affected by this issue.

After re-reading earlier posts in this thread I tried one of the very 1st solutions offered (don't know why I hadn't tried it before) which was to NOT put VMC into sleep mode. So far this seems to have fixed my problem - I just watched a recorded TV show on XMC for more than 10mins without the screen blanking.

I have 2 360s and 1 DMA2100.  Only 1 of the 360s does the black screen issue.  I was using it last night and the screen went black 2 of 3 times, then stopped.  I've used the other 360 as an extender a few times, but it's never done that.  I've used it to watch movies and left the controls alone long enough for the controller to turn off.  On the 360 that black screens, I'm using the remote that came with the HD-DVD player, and on the one that doesn't I use the standard wireless controller.

Hi there - just a quick note to say I've been experiencing this problem for the last few weeks and now that I have taken time to find this thread, mcapewell's solution of disabling the MCX1 screensaver in the registry worked perfectly for me! (handy hint - the disabled screensaver setting doesn't seem to take effect until the Xbox 360 has been restarted).

For the benefit of Karri LaBree, please find my system details below:

OS and Service Pack Level
Windows Vista Ultimate SP1

PC Make/Model
Self-Build Q9300

Network and Graphics Cards
Realtek RTL8168B/8111B Family (onboard)
NVidia GeForce 9800 GTX

Extender Make/Model
XBox 360 Arcade

Xbox Dashboard version
D:2.0.7371.0 K:2.0.7371.0 (BK:2.0.1888.0) (E:1) X:E0E4 C601 B4CB 9EBD

\windows\ehome\mcx\x02\XboxMCX-V.XEX
Created 02 November 2006, 13:35:51
Modified 09 August 2008, 11:33:13
Accessed 09 August 2008, 11:33:13

Repro steps:
View recorded TV in XBOX 360 running as Media Extender. Play a recorded programme and don't use the remote control once the program has started. Exactly 10 minutes into the program, the screen goes black and the sound continues. Pressing Play or Pause twice brings back the picture.

Thanks
Glenn

I am unable to access the registry setting for user Mcx1. I can see that the user exists through Computer Management/Local Users and Groups/Users and that a Users directory exists at C:\Users\Mcx1. Also, I can access the hivelist registry setting for users which I have created.

Also tried running regedit as Administrator and  enabling Show hidden files/folders and disabling Hide protected operating system files. The user that I am logged is under the Administrator group.

Is there some setting to enable viewing of hidden registry settings or does this registry setting not exist? If so, how can I apply the recommended setting for disabling ScreenSaveActive?

I think I may have stumbled on a solution.  I just got an xbox 360 arcade and was having the same problem with the 10 minute blackout.  when I installed the xbox as an extender the setup program changed the desktop power setting for media sharing to allow the computer to enter Away Mode.  with this setting I couldn't get the computer into standby and it stayed at full power all the time. when I switched the setting back to allow the computer to sleep the 10 minute problem went away.

so for Vista the sequence is:

Control Panel

Hardware and Sound

Power Options

Change Plan Settings

Change Advanced Power Settings

Multimedia Settings

When Sharing Media Setting - Allow the Computer to Sleep

I don't know why this works, but so far everything seems to work ok.

edit: just to check this, I changed the setting back to Away Mode and the 10 minute blackout returned. also, you have to power off the xbox for the change to take effect.