The program name can't include characters : /\:"*?<>'| Arcsoft Total Media

[Mark v1.966]

Just thought I'd post this so that anyone with the same error message who runs an online search can find the solution. My USB TV tuner uses the Arcsoft Total Media software package. I suddenly found I was unable to add programme details to the recording schedule because every time I tried to save them, this annoying message popped up -

The program name can't include characters : /\:"*?<>'|

Obviously this was despite the fact that none of these characters had actually been used. After trying a few ineffectual solutions, I eventually found that the cure was to clear the schedule history. Strange and annoying that an overfull list could result in this nonsensical error message, but that's computing for you. I hope this may be of assistance to anyone with the same issue.

[Mark v1.966]

Update. It's possible that in some circumstances, clearing the recording history won't cure this problem. I'm not sure, but I suspect this is because its cache is not actually clearing despite the details disappearing from the GUI. I found the following procedure would restore function if that happens - 1) Close the Arcsoft TotalMedia Player 2) Close the Arcsoft TotalMedia Monitor in the system tray, (running W7 you will probably have to use the little 'up' arrowhead on the left end of the system tray to find the blue TotalMediaMonitor icon - then right-click on it and select 'Exit') 3) Remove and replug the USB TV tuner before restarting the TotalMedia Player, which will also restart the monitor. It should now be possible to save recording schedules again.