How does DreamBox & Dreambox Edit "manage" Services??

Hi,

Can anyone give me a clear explanation of how DreamBox (DB) and DreamBox Edit (DBE) manage "services"? There doesn't seem to very much depth of explanation on these forums (fora?)

Firstly, my setup is DreamBox 500C(able), DW 1.62 (Enigma) image, pure NTL area.

Let me be a bit more specific:

Q1) Where does DB keep "Services" and any backups (& does it vary with image)?
Q2) How does DB decide which set to use? eg when you use DB menu buttons (soft reset) or when you disconnect the power lead (hard reset)......Every time I upload settings from DBE and press (DBE) reload, it seems to be a bit of a lottery as to which set of "services" are loaded. I would like to know explicitly which set (from which location) will load.....and reload the next time I soft reset or hard reset? What are the "rules" so I can make DB do what I want rather than what it wants? Does a (DW) menu "Reload channels" do something different from DBE's reload?
Q3) In DBE, there appear to be 3 copies of service (and other) files eg:
Services
Services.org and
Services.bak
What are these 3 versions, how are they made by DBE and when is each used? Do they ALL get uploaded by DBE into DB each time?
Q4)Is there a mechanism whereby an earlier set of services becomes "reactivated"? ...or am I just imaging it?
Q5) What happens when you rescan for channels on DB? How are the various services sets dealt with?

OK that's probably a big ask but if anyone can help by answering some/any/all, perhaps us amateurs can get a bit further up the learning curve.

Alternatively is there a COMPREHENSIVE FAQ on the subject of services?

Thanks &
Cheers

In enigma images, the services are stored in /var/tuxbox/config/enigma. The services files is the one that's used. I'm not sure about the .bak & .org services file. The bouquets have their own userbouquet file. In some images, they are in the same enigma folder but in others they are in /var/tuxbox/config/enigma/cable.

In neutriono images, the services.xml file is in /var/tuxbox/config/zapit. The bouquets are stored in one file called ubouquets.xml also in the same location.

Not sure what you mean by 'what services are loaded with different types of reboot'...never heard of it loading different services before. If you want to start a fresh, do a factory reset from expert menu and it will set everything to default. Do a fresh scan and set up the bouquets again. When you do a scan, the DB edits the existing services file with new services it finds.

Hope this helps.

Services etc

Many thanks Devilfish.

I have been puzzled by DB apparently reverting to a different services set. ie different DB channel numbers dependant upon how I reboot. For most people this doesn't make much difference since bouquets seem to track (or not care) these changes. For Tivo users, the channel numbers MUST have been remapped to match Tivo channels. So it may be that "most" users don't even notice that a different set (of channel numbers) be loaded after a reset or rescan.

All help/info gratefully received.

Anyone shed any more light?

cheers

Ah I see what you mean now! It's not that a different set of services is being loaded, it that the channels are being assigned a different number?

I still don't understand why they would change though! I know my skysports1 is channel 34, even after I reboot the box, hard or soft, it's always channels 34.

I hope someone else can help you with this...don't use TIVO myself.

I think the problem may be that when you make changes to the channel lineup via the remote the services file is not saved until you restart enigma. If you unplug it will revert to the previous services as the current one has not been saved.

If you copy a new services to the box and reboot it saves the current one before the restart. Therefore when it reloads the channels have not changed. You need to reload the settings via the web url (cant remember the exact address from the top of my head), or unplug the box.

This may not be the same for all images.