Mac: unable to create dvr directory

[Mark_Lambourne]

Hi - I had a Channels DVR running for a long time on a 2010 Mac mini that has finally died, and I'm setting it up instead (temporarily at least) on a recent MacBook Pro.

I need to use the internal SSD for the storage location, but get "unable to create dvr directory" and "read-only file system" when I try paths like "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/channels-data" as the storage location. Is there a best practice for what to use in this case?

Thanks!

[maddox]

Check the privacy permissions to ensure Channels DVR Server has permission to talk on the local network and access removable storage.

macOS is a nightmare these days with permissions that are very opaque and easy to miss. It doesn’t do a very good job at communicating these things.

[Mark_Lambourne]

Thanks. Local Network permission looks good, but I don't see channels-dvr at all in the Files & Folders pane, and don't see a way to add it.

[chDVRuser]

I never used a Mac, but a quick search found these. Does that help?

Controlling app access to files in macOS

Control access to files and folders on Mac

[Fofer]

@Mark_Lambourne

Thanks. Local Network permission looks good, but I don't see channels-dvr at all in the Files & Folders pane, and don't see a way to add it.

IIRC, macOS should prompt for this new permission requirement when it's requested by an app. If your Channels DVR installation was migrated over from an older Mac, or you recently updated to macOS Sequoia or Sonoma, you may want to try running the Channels DVR installer again. After that, reboot the Mac.

That's how it worked for me, at least.

It should also request permission for 'App Management,' so channels-dvr can update itself in the future.

[Mark_Lambourne]

Tried uninstall and reinstall, then rebooting. No request for permission for any file access, or for app management - and it's not listed in either of those sections of Privacy.

[Fofer]

Hmm. What version macOS?

[Mark_Lambourne]

Sequoia 15.2, installed today. I'm going to try an uninstall, then reboot, then reinstall, then reboot. Sigh.

[Fofer]

Some previous discussion here. Hmm. I hope this helps.

Sequoia?

I had to rerun this prompt to get it added to my local network: * If you would like to run the DVR as a background service, open Terminal.app and paste: ~/Library/Application\ Support/ChannelsDVR/uninstall.sh && ~/Library/Application\ Support/ChannelsDVR/install.sh --system. Note that the hardware transcoder is not available when running as a service.

[Mark_Lambourne]

Thanks - I think it's a disk access issue rather than a local network issue. It definitely has network access because I can see it discovered my HDHomeRun. But it doesn't seem to have any access to the disk to create its own data folder.

Perhaps if I put the data folder in the home directory of the logged on user it might work (although clearly not ideal)...

[Mark_Lambourne]

Yeah it works if I provide a path in the logged-on user's home directory. But not really a good solution.

[chDVRuser]

Related?

MacOS install not creating a login item

I'm installing the server on a Mac Mini. It installs but on completion it is not running (can't access web admin). Interestingly, the installer still seem to detect something running and gives me start/stop buttons. If I manually go into the install directory and run channels-dvr everything is fine. I can set it up and it works. Unfortunately, there is no login item to enable and if I logout/restart, it does not restart. What do I need to do to get the login item created?

@tmm1

@platchy

Could it be because my home directory is not in the standard location?

Yes that sounds like the reason

[Mark_Lambourne]

Thanks, don’t think so. I don’t have those symptoms (the service starts and I can get to the web console fine), and my home directory is in the standard place.