# 4oD (Channel4) and BBC iPlayer won't run



## Martin32 (Sep 25, 2005)

Hi

Both these seem to use Kontiki to handle fetching the video files.
4oD is meant to run from a desktop icon or from the Start>All programs menu
iPlayer Download Manager very similar.

I can use both Channel4 and BBC in their streaming mode. Where I have the problem is with their download (fetch then view) mode.
When I try to run 4oD from the desktop icon, there's some disk activity which then stops.
The Channel 4 FAQ and Help pages all seem to want to put the finger on the firewall software but this doesn't really look like the right problem.

I'm running Comodo firewall and AVG Antivirus Free edition (version 7.5.524).
Comodo has two parts, Firewall and Defense+. Both are set to Training Mode, so I would expect them to ask for a decision rather than simply block a program or service from connecting.

Comodo Defense+ provides for placing executables into "My Own Safe Files". I've put c:\Program Files\Kontiki\Kservice.exe into the Safe Files area. When I try to put KHost.exe from the same folder into My Safe Files, Comodo informs me this is already a Safe file.

When the problem first occurred I thought it was because I had removed Kontiki during an anti-spyware sweep and fixing session (based on the instructions in the TechSupport Forum anti-malware 5-step process). All the spyware problems are now sorted but I can't get 4oD or iPlayer working. I've uninstalled them, used CCleaner to uninstall them, used NTRegOpt to tidy the Registry then re-installed after rebooting. Still no better.

The Channel 4 standard help states I need to use services.msc to restart KService. The display I get with services.msc has KService (Delivery Manager Service) as one of the available Local Services, with status blank (ie not Started).

When I try to start KService from the services panel (right-click -> start or else select KService and click on the word Start) it takes 2-3 minutes then fails with the message
Services
! Could not start the KService service on Local Computer
Error 0x80004005: Unspecified error

Channel4's technical help page mentions this error number and says it means the service has to be started from an administrator account. But I was logged in to XP with an Administrator account. 
I've also tried going to services.msc through Start>All Programs>Accessories>[right-click]Command Prompt
so that I could uncheck the box 
[ ] Protect my computer from unauthorised activity
but exactly the same happens.

Firewall history
===========
When this first became a problem, Windows firewall was running.
I disabled this and loaded ZoneAlarm free firewall and 4oD would not load.
I uninstalled ZoneAlarm (which seemed to be hogging performance rather a lot) and installed Comodo instead.

I've also tried disabling Comodo Firewall and Comodo Defense+, but still 4oD won't start and starting KService service manually fails with the same 4005 error message. 

The only other thing I can think of is my Broadband modem, which is billed as a combined ADSL Modem, Ethernet 4-port router, and firewall. I've never created any firewall rules on this. It's a D-Link DSL-904 which I've been using for years and 4oD worked fine up until about two months ago. I'm connecting to it through the Ethernet port rather than Wireless.

I've noticed that when I double-click on 4oD, if I load up services.msc it shows KService in status=Starting for quite a while but then it goes to status=blank not status=Started.

Is there a known problem with getting Kontiki to work? I've read advice not to use it, but since both these major UK TV sources rely on Kontiki there doesn't really seem to be any alternative.

Thanks for any help you can give. 

Martin


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## jamiemac2005 (Jul 5, 2007)

Hey I'm sure kontiki (or 4oD's download service) is a known P2P service(one of the truely useful + legal uses for P2P) and therefore could be a recognised program by Comodo (which i also use :grin... I have not tried using 4oD as my ISP is... well this is a family friendly site so i can't say.... i suggest going into your computer's defence++ policy and the firewall network policy things (in the advanced mode of comodo) and check that the program is a "trusted" application...
To speed up the process you could try disabling your firewall for a small period of time to see if it makes a difference. that would isolate the firewall as the problem..

hope you get this sorted,
Jamey


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## wilton (May 19, 2008)

Martin - Ive got exactly the same problem. Same issues with 40D, Sky Player and BBC iPlayer (not surprising given the underlying Kontiki P2P software).

however I still have worked out how to fix it. There are multiple threads on the BBC website with other people similarly bashing their keyboards:upset:


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## pete-the-meat (Jun 1, 2008)

Hi wilton & Martin32. I had the same problem, with the same error message. The error is still unspecified when viewed under event viewer but when started from the command line the following output is given:

```
The KService service is starting.
The KService service could not be started

A system error has occurred.

System error 16389 has occurred.

The system cannot find message text for message number 0x4005 in the message file for BASE.
```
For me it was my router. Get to your router's set-up page (find the default gateway address in your network connection's status and enter it into your browser) and check that the router's built in firewall is not blocking the program.

If this doesn't work then I would reccomend uninstalling both iPlayer and 4OD and deleting all of their leftover files in Program Files, also the Kontiki folders in Program Files and in the root of the Program Files Drive. Also get rid of anything iPlayer, 4OD or Kontiki in <user>/Application Data. Then re-install.


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## ailsabates (Sep 18, 2008)

Hi I ahve similar problems with iplayer and 4od - were working fine and have now stopped working to the extent that they won't load at all for streaming or download! I don't know how to do what is suggested above - i.e. remove all remnants of them but it sounds like a good idea as then i could do a clean install. Can anyone give me more instructions? Like the otehr poster said - lots of people are having the same problems I know. AIlsa


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## ChickPea2 (Jan 2, 2009)

I had the same problem as Martin32 and Pete_the_Meat above in that iplayer would stream but clicking "Download to Computer" caused my browser (IE 7) to crash. 4OD installed OK but would not load (i.e. some HD activity after clicking shortcut and then nothing). 

I traced the problem to the Kontiki service (KService) not starting properly. To confirm whether this is the case for you, click start > run. Then type "services.msc". Check the status column next to KService. If it's blank rather than "Started" then try starting the service manually by clicking the play button in the toolbar. If you get: 

Services
! Could not start the KService service on Local Computer
Error 0x80004005: Unspecified error

as Martin32, Peat the Meat and myself did then you are probably having the same problem. So, here's the solution:

1. Uninstall Iplayer Download Manager and/or 4OD using Add/Remove programs. 
2. Uninstall Kontiki by running KClean.exe http://static.sky.com/kclean/KClean.exe. 
3. Then delete the remnants of the Kontiki folder in Program Files if it's still there.
4. Check the Services list again. KService should no longer be present.
5. Reinstall Download Manager and/or 4OD.
6. Check Services list. KService should now be present and "Started".
7. Both programs should now work! 

Note: Before doing the above, I eliminated my router firewall as the problem (as suggested by Pete the Meat) by disabling it temporarily and trying to start KService. It still did not start so I did some more research and came up with above fix. Hope it helps.


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## mckele (Jan 22, 2009)

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou! I have spent HOURS trying to sort this out , and Chickpea2 finally gave me a solution!! :smile:


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## dave2001 (Oct 26, 2005)

ChickPea2 almost got it right! I still had to go round the loop several times, and didn't succeed. Thanks ChickPea2 anyway!

I was still getting errors when I started the KService. Then I thought to look at the alerts in my Comodo firewall, and it was immediately obvious that the logged alerts were due to recent blocking of the KService.

I simply opened up the firewall to this program, then the KService worked, and then iPlayer and downloads to iPlayer started to work as they once did before. I suppose I should really nail the firewall down just to the most likely ports - but right now it's working.

If you get the error message when starting the KService and you're not using Comodo, do check the log files in your firewall and see if that gives you a clue what you need to do to open things up.


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## Diddy0690 (Apr 28, 2009)

Re: 4oD (Channel 4) won't run. Please help!!!

I have tried absolutely everything here and still 4oD still won't run. I uninstalled it, got rid of Kontiki etc. I reinstalled 4oD and everytime it comes up with: C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\Flash9D.ocx failed to register. Ive updated the flash to flash 10 but yet it the same problem persists. Does anybody know how to sort it??


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