Unable to get mythtv working Mint 16,17 &18

[AKADAP]

I have now done a clean install 3 times and have been unable to get past the setup pages when running myth backend setup.
My best guess is that it has something to do with the permissions on mysql.

The messages I get

Code: Select all

2014-05-04 17:36:48.242915 I  Setup Interrupt handler
2014-05-04 17:36:48.242939 I  Setup Terminated handler
2014-05-04 17:36:48.242949 I  Setup Segmentation fault handler
2014-05-04 17:36:48.242959 I  Setup Aborted handler
2014-05-04 17:36:48.242967 I  Setup Bus error handler
2014-05-04 17:36:48.242977 I  Setup Floating point exception handler
2014-05-04 17:36:48.242986 I  Setup Illegal instruction handler
2014-05-04 17:36:48.242997 I  Setup Real-time signal 0 handler
2014-05-04 17:36:48.243106 C  mythtv-setup version: fixes/0.27 [v0.27-214-g27668b7] www.mythtv.org
2014-05-04 17:36:48.243115 C  Qt version: compile: 4.8.4, runtime: 4.8.4
2014-05-04 17:36:48.243119 N  Enabled verbose msgs:  general
2014-05-04 17:36:48.243132 N  Setting Log Level to LOG_INFO
2014-05-04 17:36:48.253950 N  Using runtime prefix = /usr
2014-05-04 17:36:48.253972 N  Using configuration directory = /home/dpeale/.mythtv
2014-05-04 17:36:48.254051 I  Assumed character encoding: en_US.UTF-8
2014-05-04 17:36:48.254552 N  Empty LocalHostName.
2014-05-04 17:36:48.254564 I  Using localhost value of Compromise
2014-05-04 17:36:48.269200 I  Added logging to the console
2014-05-04 17:36:48.270753 E  Unable to connect to database!
2014-05-04 17:36:48.270776 E  Driver error was [1/1045]:
QMYSQL: Unable to connect
Database error was:
Access denied for user 'mythtv'@'localhost' (using password: YES)

2014-05-04 17:36:48.279594 N  Desktop video mode: 4480x1600 59.860 Hz
2014-05-04 17:36:48.303103 E  LIRC: Failed to connect to Unix socket '/var/run/lirc/lircd'
                        eno: No such file or directory (2)
2014-05-04 17:36:48.303130 E  JoystickMenuThread: Joystick disabled - Failed to read /home/dpeale/.mythtv/joystickmenurc
2014-05-04 17:36:48.303334 E  CECAdapter: Failed to load libcec.
2014-05-04 17:36:48.303358 I  UDPListener: Enabling
2014-05-04 17:36:48.303842 I  Binding to UDP 127.0.0.1:0
2014-05-04 17:36:48.303881 I  Binding to UDP 192.168.63.3:0
2014-05-04 17:36:48.303929 I  Binding to UDP [::1]:0
2014-05-04 17:36:48.303981 I  Binding to UDP [fe80::223:54ff:fe91:5f4%eth0]:0
2014-05-04 17:36:48.304024 I  Binding to UDP 192.168.63.255:0
2014-05-04 17:36:48.314980 I  Using Frameless Window
2014-05-04 17:36:48.315016 I  Using Full Screen Window
2014-05-04 17:36:48.317356 I  Using the Qt painter
2014-05-04 17:36:48.370314 I  New Client:  (#1)
2014-05-04 17:36:48.370338 I  Added syslogging
2014-05-04 17:36:48.449569 N  Setting QT default locale to en_US
2014-05-04 17:36:48.837078 I  MythUIWebBrowser: Loading css from - file:///usr/share/mythtv/themes/default/htmls/mythbrowser.css
2014-05-04 17:36:48.837464 E  MythUIWebBrowser: failed to find our parent screen
2014-05-04 17:36:48.837587 I  MythUIWebBrowser: enabling plugins
2014-05-04 17:36:49.058043 I  System Locale (en_US), Country (US), Language (en)
2014-05-04 17:37:08.478552 I  Loading en_us translation for module mythfrontend
libcec.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
2014-05-04 17:37:12.743060 E  Unable to connect to database!
2014-05-04 17:37:12.743078 E  Driver error was [1/1045]:
QMYSQL: Unable to connect
Database error was:
Access denied for user 'mythtv'@'localhost' (using password: YES)

2014-05-04 17:37:12.743096 A  Cannot login to database
2014-05-04 17:37:12.751333 E  LIRC: Failed to connect to Unix socket '/var/run/lirc/lircd'
                        eno: No such file or directory (2)
2014-05-04 17:37:12.751355 E  JoystickMenuThread: Joystick disabled - Failed to read /home/dpeale/.mythtv/joystickmenurc
2014-05-04 17:37:12.751476 E  CECAdapter: Failed to load libcec.
2014-05-04 17:37:12.751487 I  UDPListener: Enabling
2014-05-04 17:37:12.751572 I  Binding to UDP 127.0.0.1:0
2014-05-04 17:37:12.751611 I  Binding to UDP 192.168.63.3:0
2014-05-04 17:37:12.751659 I  Binding to UDP [::1]:0
2014-05-04 17:37:12.751711 I  Binding to UDP [fe80::223:54ff:fe91:5f4%eth0]:0
2014-05-04 17:37:12.751757 I  Binding to UDP 192.168.63.255:0
2014-05-04 17:37:12.762841 I  Using Frameless Window
2014-05-04 17:37:12.762861 I  Using Full Screen Window
2014-05-04 17:37:12.789394 I  Using the Qt painter
2014-05-04 17:37:13.161962 I  MythUIWebBrowser: Loading css from - file:///usr/share/mythtv/themes/default/htmls/mythbrowser.css
2014-05-04 17:37:13.162149 E  MythUIWebBrowser: failed to find our parent screen
2014-05-04 17:37:13.169977 I  MythUIWebBrowser: enabling plugins
2014-05-04 17:37:13.460169 I  System Locale (en_US), Country (US), Language (en)

Procedure I follow installing Mint and mythtv

Code: Select all

Install mint 16 64 bit from live CD on 120 GB SSD
reboot
install mdadm
run "sudo mdadm --assemble --scan"
reboot     //raid drive will not show up in preferences -> disks until after a reboot
open preferences >- disks
  turn off "automatic mount options" for raid mirror & recordings disk so they will be mounted at boot
  turn off "show in user interface"
  mount both drives, move old home to new name, copy current home to this disk
reboot
ctl-alt-F2 to terminal screen
login
sudo passwd to get a root login
logout
login as root
mv home oldhome
ln -s /mnt/(drive serial number)/home home                //I want my home directory on a raid mirror because I want redundancy, in it is too big for the 120 gb system drive
logout
login as normal user
sudo passwd root -l
ctl-alt-F7
log in to Cinneman
run update manager
  update all the stuff
run the device manager
  change to recomended NVidia driver
reboot       //new video drive won't take effect until reboot

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mythbuntu/0.27
sudo apt-get update
run synaptic package manager            //because it lists the available packages in the repository
   install mythtv and mythweb
   set root password for mysql
   accept defaults for everything else
run mythbakend setup
  save language settings
  accept the defaults
  click ok on the next page
  without any gui error messages, it goes back to the language page
  give up and hit cancel

attempting to run the front end is even worse. It goes to the same setup page as the backend setup, but it restarts if you hit cancel. It is necessary to reboot to get out of this loop.

If I make any attempt to access the database, or even run mysql as a user, I get "access denied".
I have tried without setting the root password, and it does not behave any different.
I can run "mysql -u root -ppasword" but I have no idea what to do from there.
The data base is supposed to be named mythconverg, but if the file name is anything like the database name, I have not been able to find it on my hard disk.

Any suggestions would be greatly appriciated.

[jgoldin1]

I have a similar issue in Ubuntu 14.04. I have done a few fresh installs of ubuntu and have tried to install Mythtv via Ubuntu's software install center, with the old symantec package installer (to make sure i had everything), adding the repository and getting the latest packages, and even downloading the source and installing. nothing seemed to work.

It says everything is installed, but when i try to start mythbackend-setup, it asks for my language and location, the location of the backend, and a few things more. i'll click through it and it seems to finish with that initial setup, but then it returns to the beginning. If i cancel, a popup will ask if i want to run mythbackend and if i want to run databasefill. The database fill is where it seems to hang. i'm away from my computer right now, so i can't recall the exact wording, but its something like incorrect login.

I had a working system on 12.04 (and mythtv 0.25). since both of these were end of life, i figured i'd upgrade. maybe i should go back...

[rwagner]

Included in the source is an 'mc.sql' file that must be pushed into the 'mysql' command line client to create an initial database on the database server for MythTV to use. On Mythbuntu, there is a separate database package that performs this operation for you.

[AKADAP]

Taking your hint, I searched my hard drive and found a mc.sql at /usr/share/mythtv/sql
I then did a duckduckgo search on mc.sql to find the command line I needed:

mysql -u root -pmythtv </usr/share/mythtv/sql/mc.sql

It now seems I can run the MythTV backend setup application.
Now I get to see if I can restore my database from the backup...

By running MythTV backend setup to test to see if I had gotten it fixed, it put data into the data base preventing me from doing a restore...
So..
I had to delete the data base:
mysql -uroot -pmythtv -e 'DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS mythconverg;'
Recreate the database:
mysql -u root -pmythtv </usr/share/mythtv/sql/mc.sql
and then run the restore command:
/usr/share/mythtv/mythconverg_restore.pl
I will now fix the soft link to my recordings directory and see how much I need to do to get my system shutting down and booting automatically as I had it under Ubuntu

[AKADAP]

Not quite there yet...
The back end won't run.
MythTV backend setup runs fine, and shows the correct data was restored from the database backup, but the backend won't run.
the backend log from an attempt to run is as follows:

Code: Select all

May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: C thread_unknown mythcommandlineparser.cpp:2595 (ConfigureLogging) mythbackend version: fixes/0.27 [v0.27-221-ge2acf0d] www.mythtv.org
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: C thread_unknown mythcommandlineparser.cpp:2597 (ConfigureLogging) Qt version: compile: 4.8.4, runtime: 4.8.4
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: N thread_unknown mythcommandlineparser.cpp:2599 (ConfigureLogging) Enabled verbose msgs:  general
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: N thread_unknown logging.cpp:914 (logStart) Setting Log Level to LOG_INFO
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I Logger logging.cpp:315 (run) Added logging to the console
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Interrupt handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Terminated handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Segmentation fault handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Aborted handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Bus error handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Floating point exception handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Illegal instruction handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Real-time signal 0 handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: N thread_unknown mythdirs.cpp:55 (InitializeMythDirs) Using runtime prefix = /usr
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: N thread_unknown mythdirs.cpp:68 (InitializeMythDirs) Using configuration directory = /home/mythtv/.mythtv
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I CoreContext mythcorecontext.cpp:254 (Init) Assumed character encoding: en_US.UTF-8
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: N CoreContext mythcontext.cpp:504 (LoadDatabaseSettings) Empty LocalHostName.
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I CoreContext mythcontext.cpp:512 (LoadDatabaseSettings) Using localhost value of Compromise
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: E CoreContext mythdbcon.cpp:216 (OpenDatabase) Unable to connect to database!
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: E CoreContext mythdbcon.cpp:217 (OpenDatabase) Driver error was [1/1045]:#012QMYSQL: Unable to connect#012Database error was:#012Access denied for user 'mythtv'@'localhost' (using password: YES)
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: C CoreContext main.cpp:129 (main) Failed to init MythContext.
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I LogForward loggingserver.cpp:1372 (forwardMessage) New Client:  (#1)
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3149]: I LogForward loggingserver.cpp:295 (SyslogLogger) Added syslogging
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: C thread_unknown mythcommandlineparser.cpp:2595 (ConfigureLogging) mythbackend version: fixes/0.27 [v0.27-221-ge2acf0d] www.mythtv.org
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: C thread_unknown mythcommandlineparser.cpp:2597 (ConfigureLogging) Qt version: compile: 4.8.4, runtime: 4.8.4
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: N thread_unknown mythcommandlineparser.cpp:2599 (ConfigureLogging) Enabled verbose msgs:  general
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: N thread_unknown logging.cpp:914 (logStart) Setting Log Level to LOG_INFO
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I Logger logging.cpp:315 (run) Added logging to the console
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Interrupt handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Terminated handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Segmentation fault handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Aborted handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Bus error handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Floating point exception handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Illegal instruction handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Real-time signal 0 handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: N thread_unknown mythdirs.cpp:55 (InitializeMythDirs) Using runtime prefix = /usr
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: N thread_unknown mythdirs.cpp:68 (InitializeMythDirs) Using configuration directory = /home/mythtv/.mythtv
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I CoreContext mythcorecontext.cpp:254 (Init) Assumed character encoding: en_US.UTF-8
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: N CoreContext mythcontext.cpp:504 (LoadDatabaseSettings) Empty LocalHostName.
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I CoreContext mythcontext.cpp:512 (LoadDatabaseSettings) Using localhost value of Compromise
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: E CoreContext mythdbcon.cpp:216 (OpenDatabase) Unable to connect to database!
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: E CoreContext mythdbcon.cpp:217 (OpenDatabase) Driver error was [1/1045]:#012QMYSQL: Unable to connect#012Database error was:#012Access denied for user 'mythtv'@'localhost' (using password: YES)
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: C CoreContext main.cpp:129 (main) Failed to init MythContext.
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I LogForward loggingserver.cpp:1372 (forwardMessage) New Client:  (#1)
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3164]: I LogForward loggingserver.cpp:295 (SyslogLogger) Added syslogging
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: C thread_unknown mythcommandlineparser.cpp:2595 (ConfigureLogging) mythbackend version: fixes/0.27 [v0.27-221-ge2acf0d] www.mythtv.org
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: C thread_unknown mythcommandlineparser.cpp:2597 (ConfigureLogging) Qt version: compile: 4.8.4, runtime: 4.8.4
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: N thread_unknown mythcommandlineparser.cpp:2599 (ConfigureLogging) Enabled verbose msgs:  general
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: N thread_unknown logging.cpp:914 (logStart) Setting Log Level to LOG_INFO
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I Logger logging.cpp:315 (run) Added logging to the console
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Interrupt handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Terminated handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Segmentation fault handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Aborted handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Bus error handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Floating point exception handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Illegal instruction handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I thread_unknown signalhandling.cpp:194 (SetHandlerPrivate) Setup Real-time signal 0 handler
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: N thread_unknown mythdirs.cpp:55 (InitializeMythDirs) Using runtime prefix = /usr
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: N thread_unknown mythdirs.cpp:68 (InitializeMythDirs) Using configuration directory = /home/mythtv/.mythtv
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I CoreContext mythcorecontext.cpp:254 (Init) Assumed character encoding: en_US.UTF-8
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: N CoreContext mythcontext.cpp:504 (LoadDatabaseSettings) Empty LocalHostName.
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I CoreContext mythcontext.cpp:512 (LoadDatabaseSettings) Using localhost value of Compromise
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: E CoreContext mythdbcon.cpp:216 (OpenDatabase) Unable to connect to database!
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: E CoreContext mythdbcon.cpp:217 (OpenDatabase) Driver error was [1/1045]:#012QMYSQL: Unable to connect#012Database error was:#012Access denied for user 'mythtv'@'localhost' (using password: YES)
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: C CoreContext main.cpp:129 (main) Failed to init MythContext.
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I LogForward loggingserver.cpp:1372 (forwardMessage) New Client:  (#1)
May  6 20:30:39 Compromise mythbackend: mythbackend[3177]: I LogForward loggingserver.cpp:295 (SyslogLogger) Added syslogging

On the old setup, the data base had a different password. I know the old password, so I could use it if necessary.
I was able to use the mysql application to access the current data base, so I also know the current password.
But I can't find any place to enter the database password in the backend setup.

I suppose I could grep the mythTV files looking for the old password, and see if I can change it to the new one, but I'm hoping for a cleaner solution.

[AKADAP]

I did not find any active mythtv config file containing the old password.

[AKADAP]

Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor.
There was an update to mythTV, so I installed it.
I checked system monitor and was very surprised to find that mythbackend was running!
Now I have a few more details to tweek to get it to wakeup and shut down on its own and I should be done!

Oops, I decided to test the front end before I saved this post.
For some reason, the front end now can't access the database, and I am stuck in the 3 setup window loop for the front end.
Strangely, mythweb can access it the data base fine
Odd... This worked yesterday...
$ mysql -u mythtv -pmythtv mythconverg
ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'mythtv'@'localhost' (using password: YES)
It does not work today...
I am able to access the database if I use:
$ mysql -u root -pmythtv mythconverg

Could someone please tell me what is going on? Is there a user access limit on how many users can access the database at the same time?

A quick search later... Yes there is a max_user_connections setting, but it is set to zero which is supposed to turn off the limit.
I still don't know what is wrong.

[bill6502]

You could try this command: diff ~mythtv/.mythtv/config.xml and ~/.mythtv/config.xml to see
if the mythtv user and your own user share the same config.xml file (and therefore the same
mysql password.) The should be the same, and since the backend is running, that should
be the correct password.

Per the log 2 posts ago, the backend is running as user mythtv. Which is good. While testing
mysql with user root may work, root shouldn't be the user running the frontend.

[AKADAP]

Now I am REALLY confused.
Yesterday the password for the database was "mythtv". I certainly did not change it, but today it is different. Today it is random charactors as if generated by a password generator, and yes the two files had different passwords.
Yesterday the front end would run, but the backend would not.
Today, the backend would run but the front end would not.

Anyway, I ran the front end and it asked for the language, I hit save.
It brought up a page where I could set the database password. I set it to the value in the backend setup file and clicked next
I clicked next on the third page, and now the front end runs.

So where did this new password come from?

[bill6502]

Mythbuntu, for example, regenerates a random password when it's installed. You mentioned in your initial post of doing a clean install 3 times. If you've done more, that may be the answer (I don't use Mint.) But I believe you've got the point: every user (usually just mythtv and your own) must use the same password and you now know where it's stored. Plus you know how to change it using the GUI.

[AKADAP]

Those clean installs included wiping the disk and installing Mint from CD.
The primary problem was that the mythTV installer did not run the script to create the database.
The secondary problem was that when I manually create the database, it was give the password "mythtv", but the backend had a different idea of what the password was, different even than "mythTV backend setup".
When I ran the "update manager" the update script for mythtv changed the password to whatever it was mythbackend thought it was.

Anyway, My system is now up and running, shutting down and waking up like it is supposed to, so now I get to try and see if I can mark this thread solved.

[AKADAP]

I just upgraded to Mint 17 using the DVD method. The database problem still exists in MythTV

[AKADAP]

Since my uprade to mint 17 was effectively a clean install with a data base restore, I'd like to sumerise what went wrong.

MythFrontEnd, MythBackEnd, MythWeb, and BackendSetup all have their own copy of the database password. MythBackend and MythWeb got a new random password, and MythFrontEnd, and backendsetup had the old password (I'm not entirely sure how this happened. My best guess is that the database restore operation changed the MythFrontEnd and BackendSetup password on my first attempt to restore the database that failed) I think the created database had the new password, but I don't know because I deleted it when I restored the database).

MythWeb got put in /var/www, but apache2 wants it in /var/www/html. I had to create a new link in /var/www/html and edit the mythweb.conf file to reflect this location (as well as correct the database password) before mythweb would work.

[xmjsilverx]

I had a similar issue with Ubuntu. It would ask for the country then on the next page it said it could not connect to the database. I ended up reinstalling mysql and using "mythtv" for the password on that and it worked. Here is a link to the post I made, there is also a link posted in the answer that had some helpful suggestions that led me to my answer.

http://askubuntu.com/questions/475918/m ... 024_475918

[AKADAP]

Resurrecting a dead thread, because this problem exists in Mint 18 as well. If you install mythTV, then try and run myth front end, you get stuck in an infinite full screen loop that is very difficult to get out of since cancel just causes myth front end to re-start.

I manually edited .mythtv/config.xml, and /home/mythtv/.mythtv/config.xml to set the password.
I found that running the command: $ mysql -u root -prootpassword </usr/share/mythtv/sql/mc.sql
would change the password for mythtv. I found the following sequence worked:
$ mysql -uroot -prootpassword -e 'DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS mythconverg;'
$ mysql -u root -prootpassword </usr/share/mythtv/sql/mc.sql
$ mysql -u root -prootpassword
mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR 'mythtv'@'localhost' = 'mythtvpassword';
mysql> exit
$ /usr/share/mythtv/mythconverg_restore.pl

I installed mythweb after getting mythtv working, and it just worked.

edit: I spoke too soon.