DISH Anywhere Slingplayer not working after rebooting

Almighty1

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Apr 29, 2009
1,249
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San Francisco, California USA
I'm running Windows 10 Home Version 1607 (Build 14393.187) 64 bit and it appears originally I had the problem with DISH Anywhere Slingplayer stuck on initializing which was fixed when I uninstalled DISH Anywhere Video Player 2.29.3 and DishAnywhereDesktop 1.1.0.384 from Control Panel -> Programs and Features.

I then went to dishanywhere.com which installed DISH Anywhere Video Player 2.29.3 and DishAnywhereDesktop 1.1.0.384. I can get Watch Live TV to work fine from dishanywhere.com using DISH Anywhere Slingplayer in Google Chrome or Microsoft EDGE or IE 11. There is no DISH Anywhere Slingplayer running in the system tray.

However, after I reboot, DISH Anywhere Slingplayer runs in the system tray as part of startup automatically. When I goto dishanywhere.com in Google Chrome or Microsoft EDGE or IE 11, DISH Anywhere Slingplayer opens and does the initialization and then connecting and basically it will say:

"There is not enough free hard disk drive space available on your computer to allow streaming. (Error 11)
Please free up disk space and try again." with a button OK which I can click on. I have a 2TB SSD and basically there is 1.3TB of free space available as the entire OS and data are all running on the C: drive so space is not the issue.

Apparently, to fix this:
I uninstalled DISH Anywhere Video Player 2.29.3 and DishAnywhereDesktop 1.1.0.384 from Control Panel -> Programs and Features.

I then went to dishanywhere.com which installed DISH Anywhere Video Player 2.29.3 and DishAnywhereDesktop 1.1.0.384. I can get Watch Live TV to work fine from dishanywhere.com using DISH Anywhere Slingplayer in Google Chrome or Microsoft EDGE or IE 11. There is no DISH Anywhere Slingplayer running in the system tray.

Then ofcourse rebooting will cause the same issue with the same error 11 as mentioned above and using the same fix will remedy the problem.

I wanted to also note that in Google Chrome, it appears that for Video On Demand, it uses a Chrome plug-in instead of the DISH Anywhere Slingplayer like it does on other browsers like IE and EDGE. Video On Demand appears to work fine in all browsers. It's only playback from the DVR or Live Streaming, basically anything that comes from the Hopper 3 itself that is the problem.

DISH's own Support Forums representatives told me that a new update to the DISH Anywhere Slingplayer will be released on 10/04, hopefully it's 2016.
 
I am running Windows 10 64-bit, and I have an SSD primary drive (500GB). I also have DISH Anywhere player v2.29.3 and Dish Anywhere desktop v1.1.0.384. It is normal for Dish Anywhere Slingplayer to auto start and appear in the system tray. Dish Anywhere used to run inside the IE browser, but now starts in its own Slingplayer Window.

Your problem is Dish Anywhere is strange. I have a very similar system to yours and Dish Anywhere starts OK for me with Firefox, Edge and IE. I have never seen the "not enough free hard disk drive space available" error on any of my systems.
 
Yes, I think the auto start will be there after rebooting. As for the not enough free hard disk drive space available error, people have gotten it too, maybe it doesn't know how to handle TB sized drives or something, not sure how it is checking the available space. DISH Sling used to be a specific plugin to the browser itself in IE and Chrome, EDGE before Windows 10 version 1607 did not support extensions. Currently, it seems that with Chrome, it would call the external DISH Anywhere Slingplayer, the one in the system tray for DVR and Live streams while it will use a different plug-in for Video On-Demand. With IE and EDGE, it will use DISH Anywhere Slingplayer in the system tray for everything. Are you running Windows 10 64 bit, Anniversary update 1607 or the older November update because it might be 1607 that is the problem.
 
Are you running Windows 10 64 bit, Anniversary update 1607 or the older November update because it might be 1607 that is the problem.
Yes, I am running Windows 10 64-bit Anniversary update 1607, and I have installed the latest updates. I do have a different receiver than you; I have a Hopper with Sling. If you have time, it might be worth trying the Firefox browser. Dish Anywhere has problems and I found that sometimes I have to switch browsers to get things to work right. I usually use Firefox without problems.
 
I'll give Firefox a try later but don't they all call the same external DISH Anywhere Slingplayer which actually runs outside the browser. What I couldn't figure out is if I do a uninstall and reinstall, it will still call the DishAnywherePlayer.exe which works fine except it doesn't run in the system tray until after the reboot. Since DISH Support in their forums said they will have a new version out in early October and then later gave me a 10/04 date which is 2 days away, maybe it's better to wait until then. I wished there was a way to diagnose this since not even sure how it figures the free space available. I have 1607 with all the latest updates as well. It seems like the error is part of initalizing which many people had it stuck on initializing but ofcourse the Hopper 3 came out after the current DISH Anywhere Slingplayer which came out in December 2015. The DISH Anywhere Slingplayer installer .exe file was downloaded in EDGE so I wonder if it makes a difference if the file is downloaded from Chrome itself as I can't do a uninstall while Chrome is still running so naturally downloading the .exe installer with Chrome already closed and EDGE still open was easier.
 
Yes, Firefox runs outside the browser in its own external Slingplayer window. I am sorry but I do not know the answers to your other questions because Firefox, Edge, and IE are all working correctly for me, so I never had to try reinstalling with different browsers.

You might try going into 'Programs and Features' and uninstall Dish Anywhere Video Player and DishAnywhereDesktop. Then install Firefox and try Dish Anywhere again (with Firefox).
 
I haven't really used DISH Anywhere all that often. I just know that before, the plugin was browser specific and did not call a external program and that was working fine and then there was the external player which was fine until reboot then it would be stuck on initializing. I am uninstalling from Programs and Features and don't really want to go install Firefox because I already have 80+ tabs running each time I use chrome using the Tabs Outliner plugin. Don't really have the time for it either since it's more like a bug report and I don't really need it fixed right away as long as it is fixed when I need to use it which is once in a blue moon anyways. Like I said before, the external plugin is a hit or miss, either it works or it doesn't for different people and also, what is the point of trying it out in Firefox if the current plugin will not work after 10/04/2016 anyways which is less than 24 hours from now if the dish.com forum rep is correct about a new version coming out since it is just a waste of time. Remember that it is system specific and initially people had problems getting the plug-in, before the external one existed even with the Hopper 3 itself so it may as well be a problem that is related to the Hopper 3 for all we know while it will work fine if I was using another Hopper or logged into DISH Anywhere that uses another hopper model. It would be a whole lot easier if dish itself would allow troubleshooting with a test hopper on their side to see if it's actually related to their hardware or not. In any case, I have already tried doing the install from Chrome and it makes no difference because the installer does not run inside the browser as the external slingplayer installer is just a .exe file that is run outside the browser.

I just know that there are 3 DIshAnywherePlayer.exe processes running as follows:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\DishAnywhereDesktop\DishAnywherePlayer.exe" --type=plugin --plugin-path="C:\Program Files (x86)\DishAnywhereDesktop\Plugins\SlingPlayer\npSlingPlayerChrome.dll" --no-sandbox --lang=en-US --channel="14548.4.1286072123\1871060968" --lang=en-US --product-version="Chrome/39.0.2171.36 dish-anywhere-sling-player/1.1.0.384" /prefetch:-390060480

"C:\Program Files (x86)\DishAnywhereDesktop\DishAnywherePlayer.exe" --type=renderer --no-sandbox --enable-deferred-image-decoding --lang=en-US --lang=en-US --product-version="Chrome/39.0.2171.36 dish-anywhere-sling-player/1.1.0.384" --enable-pinch --device-scale-factor=1 --enable-delegated-renderer --enable-impl-side-painting --num-raster-threads=1 --disable-accelerated-video-decode --disable-webrtc-hw-encoding --disable-gpu-compositing --channel="14548.1.1830013938\1996363267" /prefetch:673131151

"C:\Program Files (x86)\DishAnywhereDesktop\DishAnywherePlayer.exe"

The mystery is why it would run after installing prior to rebooting without problems but only has problems after rebooting. The other thing is that you and I are just users of the software. It usually will take debugging and their software engineers to fix the problem as they would need to take logs and then also send me test versions of the software to see if it fixes the problem. When I posted, I wasn't asking for a remedy to the problem since if it existed, I would have found it already as people who experienced the problem, the problem fixed itself on it's own a week later for the second thread. The first thread never said what happened later on.

https://support.dish.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=12584

https://support.dish.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10847

The other thing is just because the OS is the same and the browsers is the same, doesn't mean anything because remember there are many variables as it can be some kind of software conflict causing it with something specific on the system which we don't know about but the problem should exist before rebooting which it does not as that is the real mystery.
 
Still have not seen the updated version of the player yet but I've managed to recreate the problem even without rebooting as basically I have to quit the Desktop player in the system tray. Then goto the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\DishAnywhereDesktop and set the Compatibility on DishAnywherePlayer.exe and have it set to Run As Administrator which will allow the Player to work correctly as watch Live on dishanywhere.com will run the player on it's own. If I take the Run as Administrator setting off after quitting the Player, then it will end up with the not enough storage space again so it seems like the issue is related to permissions.

I noticed the DishAnywherePlayer.exe icon has the UAC symbol but it seems that when I try to manually run DishAnywherePlayer.exe, it runs without prompting for UAC. Setting it to run under Windows 7 or Windows 8 Compatiblity mode does not prompt for UAC either. Running it under Windows XP (Service Pack 3) compatibility mode does prompt for UAC. It seems like the error is not there as long as UAC mode is prompted when DIshAnywherePlayer.exe is launched and works successfully which is the reason why Run as Administrator works.

Tony S, are you seeing the UAC Prompt when DishAnywherePlayer.exe launches? Since if a .exe has the UAC shield as part of the icon, it's supposed to ask for UAC.
 
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No, I never see any UAC prompts, and I do not have a UAC symbol on my DishAnywherePlayer icon. Also, I never had to select Run as Administrator in order to get Dish Anywhere to work correctly. However, the account that normally I log in with does have administrator privileges.
 
I am using a Administrator account but the DishAnywherePlayer.exe file in the folder has the UAC icon for whatever reason and Run as Administrator seems to fix the problem. The UAC symbol is not on the DisAnywherePlayer icon. Browse to the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\DishAnywhereDesktop and then look at the DishAnywherePlayer.exe file's icon, does yours have a UAC symbol? I've uninstalled and reinstalled and each time, the .exe file has the UAC symbol. Also, it seems like every time Dish Anywhere player works, if I don't quit it, my screen will not go to sleep. Even if you login with a Administrator account, binaries/executables will still run in standard mode and not elevated mode. Those files with the UAC icon will always prompt for UAC unless you disabled UAC then it always run in standard mode and require prompting to elevated mode. That's why when you have any executable file and you right click on the file, it has a Run as Administrator option.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itpro/windows/keep-secure/how-user-account-control-works

2016-10-05_13-53-54.jpg
 
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The problems could be caused by Windows 10 itself and not DISH as Windows 10 has been known to mess up permissions with folders among other things. It seems your DishAnywherePlayer was installed on September 11, 2016, was the system already on 1607 at that point since it may have to do with if it was installed before or after 1607 as when I originally installed the external player, it was during August 2016 under 1511 and it was in the Initializing loop but turning on/off the H3 fixed it. In any case, DISH said the expected fix release has been delayed until October 18, 2016. 1607 has been known to cause problems for many with Access Exception errors, atleast in my case, hddhealth no longer works properly under 1607 but worked fine with 1511. A lot may also depend on if your system originally shipped with Windows 10 or a clean install versus a upgrade and various other factors, same reason why some people have default windows apps that don't work while others do.
 
I agree with you regarding Windows permissions. I have had Windows 10 mess up the security permissions during an upgrade, preventing some software from starting. Yes, I already had the DishAnywhere player installed before September 11, 2016. Windows 10 decided to reinstall it on 9-11-2016. When I look at 'Programs and Features' I have found that sometimes Windows 10 re-installs software all by itself (and I never figured out exactly why this happens). Sometimes it is after a big update, but sometimes it seems as if Windows 10 re-installs software for no reason (that I can figure out).
 
I never had problems with software not starting but with the default Windows Apps which required setting certain permissions for a folder and then manually reinstall the apps and I used to have the problem with the start menu getting corrupted which was later fixed. 1511 broke regedit.exe in a lot of systems that was not fixed until 1607. I don't think Windows actually reinstalls the programs since I think basically it just updates the install date to the same date that the 1607 installation was done as Windows 10 is known to uninstall programs as part of the install as well but what I mean is only those done on the same date as a Windows install and not the other ones. I'm glad to atleast found my own workaround for the issue which is better than the other people who can't get DishAnywhere to work at all. I just never knew that the same program can be installed with UAC on one system and without UAC on another which is really weird since the binaries all come from the same installer. I tried turning on full control in security for that .exe file and it didn't make a difference. Still puzzles me why Windows 7/8 compatibility does not prompt for UAC while Windows XP does.
 
Dishanywhere on PC is having issues....back in August it was down and it took three weeks for Dish technical staff to get it repaired and this was on any browser on Windows 10 PC's....it then worked fine for awhile until the geniuses at Dish Technical decided to add a pop-up slingplayer version for all browsers...it is down again and two DIRT reps state it is a known issue and they are shooting for a 10/18/16 fix....irony is it works fine in the Android app version...I prefer to hook my PC via hdmi to a tv where I am staying when I travel and this Dishanywhere failure on PC's is and has been a problem even before the Hopper 3....on and by the way if you have a Hopper 2 it works OK on a Windows 10 PC....very frustrating!
 
I'm happy to report that my DishAnywhere is working fine on Windows 10 Firefox and IE. The only problem is that PTAT shows don't show up in the DVR list until they expire in PTAT.
 
My DishAnywhere on Windows 10 1607 works fine in Google Chrome and IE. I can't get the recordings from my external hard drive, but everything else is okay.

Occasionally, it will stop working, but if I quit and restart things, it all comes back eventually.
 
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After Tuesday's Windows 10 update (Version 1607, KB3194798), Dish Anywhere is still working OK for me with Firefox, Edge and IE.

Sometimes when it doesn't work, I just switch browsers and that fixes it. Other times I have had to reset my modem, router, and computer to get it running.
 
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