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Topic: OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC (Read 6363 times) previous topic - next topic
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OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC

Hi, I've had this problem with the past few versions of Oggdrop.

Whenever encoding on high quality settings (I use 6-8 or so, I know this is overkill but these are supposed to be archive quality tracks for me...), my computer hard resets every now and then. The last time I encoded something like 16 tracks, my machine crashed three or four times!

In fact I don't know if the bitrate has an effect on this behavior, I haven't made any comparison tests, I only know that I used to encode in a much lower quality and had no problems, but then again, that was some much older version a few years ago.

My computer is an Athlon XP18000, VIA KT-333 chipset, Soltek SL75-DRV5 motherboard, I'm running on all the latest drivers etc.  I have 512mb memory on 2 DDR chips, can't recall the details. Windows XP Pro SP2 with all the latest updates.

And what's more important, no other software has ever shown this problem, so it can't be overheating or something like that?

OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC

Reply #1
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Whenever encoding on high quality settings (I use 6-8 or so, I know this is overkill but these are supposed to be archive quality tracks for me...), my computer hard resets every now and then. The last time I encoded something like 16 tracks, my machine crashed three or four times!


Non-driver software like oggdrop shouldn't be able to do that no matter what goes wrong, at least not on XP.

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And what's more important, no other software has ever shown this problem, so it can't be overheating or something like that?
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Do you use anything else that is simultaneously disk, memory and CPU intensive?

Try [a href="http://www.memtest86.com/]memtest[/url], make the drives you are encoding to/from are working correctly (the sisoftware Sandra Burn-In function is handy for this).

OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC

Reply #2
Let's start by changing the Windows setting that controls the reboot on errors. Change that to the 'do not reboot' option. This will give you a blue screen, possibly giving some more info on the cause of the problem.

Also, performing a Memtest is always a good idea. Overall CPU/mem/mainboard stability can very well be tested with prime95, torture test. Both should be running for a couple of hours without any error.

OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC

Reply #3
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Let's start by changing the Windows setting that controls the reboot on errors. Change that to the 'do not reboot' option. This will give you a blue screen, possibly giving some more info on the cause of the problem.


This means little if you're not familiar with what every single address in your computer means (plus, it varies from machine to machine), but yes, it may be a good idea to start.

Moreover, I've had a similar crashing problem with VIA chipset, which was partially solved by installing the newest drivers and BIOS flashing (but it was never totally solved, until I finally replaced it with a whole new motherborad with the nForce chipset). If you're absolutely positive that you have the newest drivers, try rolling them back to an older version (I remember the time when VIA had set out some official drivers which actually worked much worse than an earlier version), and flash your BIOS.

Also try it on a similar system with, say, some other RAM (hope you can do that). Sometimes there is something wrong with RAM, and it may manifest in little stuff like that.

And one last idea - download the Bloodshed Dev-C++ compiler and the OggDrop source code (don't kill me if this doesn't exist, I'm not really sure), and compile the program yourself, that way it should be optimized for your machine.

edit: your computer also may be crashing randomly bcos some internal Windows problem. How long has it been since you made a fresh WinXP install? If the answer is more than 3 months, try this (and, by all means, if you really need that SP2, slipstream it first, don't install it afterwards).

Cheerz =]
Only the best is good enough.

OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC

Reply #4
Ok, I'm now writing this reply for the third time, I'm right now trying to make some OGGs at q7, and my machine has reseted every time before I have managed to write even this one message... Approx after encoding 30 min of music every time, or that is, 4 tracks.

Gotta try that memtest.

I'm so puzzled, because this only happens with oggdrop. I make a lot of music, which means almost 100% CPU & memory load for even something like 12 hours a day, and a ton of DSP DLLs in memory doing their stuff, but I have never, ever had this kind of problems...

The crashing appens, even if the machine is set on idle and Oggdrop's priority to some lower value, so it can't be a CPU overloading problem. And encoding OGGs shouldn't be so memory intensive that Oggdrop would be the only application to have this problem on a 512mb machine?

Afterwords:
It took me altogether five reboots to encode 15 .wavs

OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC

Reply #5
Just for the record, I'm not ignoring this thread!!  However, I don't recall having received any other notification of such an issue with either the current version or any previous version so I don't really have anything to add.

I'm currently using an Athlon64, but development over the years has been on PIII, Athlon T'bird, AthlonXP and P4 using WinMe, Win2k and XP Pro and I don't recall ever having had a hard reset.

Not any help, I know, but if anyone can provide any further evidence, I'm more than willing to have a 'dig around'!!

OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC

Reply #6
OK, Prime95's stress test crashes my computer in less than a minute. So it's some problem with my computer?

The weird thing is that I don't have problems with software even though I run a ton of VSTs, do a lot of Photoshop stuff etc.

Now, I just need to find out where the problem is :/

OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC

Reply #7
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OK, Prime95's stress test crashes my computer in less than a minute. So it's some problem with my computer?

The weird thing is that I don't have problems with software even though I run a ton of VSTs, do a lot of Photoshop stuff etc.

Now, I just need to find out where the problem is :/
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


If you haven't done it yet, run [a href="http://www.memtest.org/]Memtest86+[/url] from a floppy/Boot-CD, and if it shows errors, increase the RAM latencies in your BIOS to the highest numbers and work your way down again to where they still stay stable.

Check temperatures and fan speeds (Everest/SiSoft Sandra/etc.) if anything is out of the ordinary. Put a big household fan in front of the open PC and see if the crashes persist, if not, you need better (CPU) cooling.

OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC

Reply #8
Running memtest isn´t a bad thing but often fails to find errors if the CPU has problems.
The Superpi 32M test within Windows tells this more consequent.
http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=36
Try to run a 32M test. I bet it fails. If so, try to reseat your CPU and use new termal paste. Many newer copper coolers get a black oxidation layer that makes problems transfering heat uniformly about the whole core. The average temperature seems still ok while some areas just get to hot. So reseating the CPU-cooler may be a good idea.
Is troll-adiposity coming from feederism?
With 24bit music you can listen to silence much louder!

 

OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC

Reply #9
Thanks for the comments.

I ran http://www.memtest86.com/ from a boot CD, and it found over 50 errors before the computer hard reseted. I tried this twice, both times the computer crashed before 50% of the test was completed. The errors seemed to be in just a few locations around 320-360mb range, so I guess my 2nd DDR chip is damaged...
I'll try increasing those latencies, though IIRC there's not much range in my BIOS for that.

I hope the error is in the memory and not the CPU. The funny thing is, that if there's only problems with the memory, why did Memtest also crash?

Actually, I've now started to experience problems with other software too, so I guess starting to use those higher bitrates just accidentally coincided with the start of these problems.

OggdropXPd 1.8.7 hard resets my PC

Reply #10
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The errors seemed to be in just a few locations around 320-360mb range, so I guess my 2nd DDR chip is damaged...
I'll try increasing those latencies, though IIRC there's not much range in my BIOS for that.

I hope the error is in the memory and not the CPU. The funny thing is, that if there's only problems with the memory, why did Memtest also crash?
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


It's not necessarily a memory stick. It can be many different things, for example also [a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague]failing capacitors[/url] on the mainboard.

If it's really the memory, set it to the lowest latencies in the BIOS. Usually those are 3-4-4-8 for DDR RAM. If that passes memtest, work your way down, 3-3-3-8, 2.5-3-3-7. Also try increasing memory voltage by 0.1 V (standard for <DDR400 is 2.5V, so try 2.6V).