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Topic: mp3/media crashes XP (Read 4210 times) previous topic - next topic
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mp3/media crashes XP

I thought this forum would be the best place to start getting advice about my problem, though I don't believe the problem is related specifically to LAME, EAC, etc.  I've been using various versions of these and other players and encoders for years and recently started having a serious system problem.

My system crashes when using mp3's or online media.  It crashes when using LAME command line encoder to convert WAV to mp3 and vice-versa.  It crashes when playing mp3s with Winamp, foobar, Windows Media Player, and many other players (but NOT with the VLC player).  I didn't keep notes on the various circumstances of crashing, but I'm pretty sure some other music formats (shn, ogg) would also crash.  But not FLAC.

It started last summer.  The computer would hang with a split second of audio stuttering/looping and no response from keyboard or mouse, and the HD activity light would be on steadily.  I could restart by pressing the reset button on the front of the machine and XP would reboot normally.  The only major change I remember around the time the problem started was an upgrade to Adobe Reader X.

Later (after system update downloads from Microsoft) the crashes got worse:  the monitor would go off and the reset button
wouldn't work: I had to power off with the switch on the back of the unit.  XP would still reboot normally.

Side-note of possible significance:  Whenever I power-up, the volume of the stereo (on the same circuit) drops slightly for a few seconds.  When the computer crashes to black, and the HD light is on steady, the stereo volume also drops.

I thought maybe it was a memory issue (the partition was very full after the MS updates) but increasing RAM didn't help.  I have since reformatted the partition and reinstalled XP, SP 2 and SP 3 (all from CDs).  I have not reinstalled other players because the problem still occurs with the programs I want to use (EAC and LAME) and I have not tried online media yet.

Here are some details of tests since the reinstall of XP:
-My system has CD-ROM and CR-RW drives.  CD playback can be controlled from the front of the CD-ROM drive and will not crash.
-Both drives can play CDs via WMP and Exact Audio Copy
-EAC can rip CDs to WAV
-Both WMP and EAC can play those WAV files
-EAC can convert WAV to FLAC
-EAC: convert WAV to mp3 (via LAME): crash
-EAC: convert mp3 to WAV (via LAME): crash
-WMP: rip CD to WMA: crash

System info:
XP Home SP3, etc., on 8G NTFS partition on 40G HD
1ghz AMD Duron
1G RAM (recent upgrade; problem started when using 256M RAM and also occured on 512M RAM)
Sound card: Ceative Audio PCI (ES1371, ES1373)

Exact Audio Copy .99pb5
LAME 3.99.2.2
(problem also occured with earlier/other versions)

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #1 –
Welcome to Hydrogen audio.

First things first - it is a rather old system, so hardware check will be necessary to ensure everything is OK. Open up your system, and check motherboard for ANY blown-up capacitor. If there is none, check RAM with memtest86+, and hard drive with the tool from manufacturers. These tools can be easily obtained by downloading Hiren's Boot CD - recently they removed all illegal software from it, so you can use it freely.

Only when you check up your hardware and find it's all OK, we can suspect at some software failure.
TAPE LOADING ERROR

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #2 –
I agree that the likely cause is a hardware problem.

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #3 –
It is almost certainly a hardware problem. After a reformat of the hard disk and a fresh install of Windows, all the software has been replaced and it will not be a software issue. With hardware problems as serious as the ones you're experiencing (total system lockups), I would imagine they would occur during any activity on the computer, not just audio-related things. However, it's possible that - for example - encoding with LAME loads the system in such a way (accesses certain CPU registers, certain memory addresses, the specifics will vary depending on the exact piece of your computer that is malfunctioning) that the crashes occur more often while doing that type of activity.

One of the components, possibly multiple components, of your computer are severely and irreparably damaged. My guess is that it's either something on the motherboard, or bad sticks of RAM. However, correctly diagnosing a problem like this would require physical access to your computer. Taking it to a computer repair shop will cost big money, more money than it would be to buy an entirely new computer. Judging by the specs of your machine, it's probably from around 2001 - 2004, in which case many parts for it aren't even manufactured anymore.

The bottom line is that it sounds like your computer is broken beyond repair. I haven't looked at new desktop computers lately, but you should be able to find one for under $300, maybe even under $200 (not including monitor - you can use your old one). Even the absolute lowest end PC of today will be several times faster than your old one.

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #4 –
Bad memory is a likely cause and one you have not ruled out.

Either make a boot disk with memtest86+ on it and test your memory, or remove the oldest stick(s) of memory if you still have that original 256er in there.
Creature of habit.

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #5 –
Quote from: Soap on
Bad memory is a likely cause and one you have not ruled out.

Either make a boot disk with memtest86+ on it and test your memory, or remove the oldest stick(s) of memory if you still have that original 256er in there.

That's good advice.  Running on the extra memory you bought might provide a clue.

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #6 –
I have only experienced the crashes while working with the media mentioned in my first post, though that stuff probably uses more system resources than anything else I do.

Since my first post I have run memtest86 (2 passes, all OK); the Windows memory diagnostic tool from Microsoft (all OK) and a Western Digital test program for the HD, all OK.  These tests were all done on the 2 'new' 512M RAM DIMMs.  Frankly, I didn't think the problem was related to RAM because it still happens with replacement chips (and quadruple the size).

Some weeks ago I had opened the case and cleaned.  It wasn't too bad in there; some dust under the processor fan on the heat sink fins.  I will open it up again and check for obvious bad parts.

Is there a way to monitor/track/log what happens in memory/CPU, etc., when EAC passes a WAV to LAME for processing?  The log created by such a tracking program would have to 'survive' the resulting crash. 

And, yes, the age of the machine does not warrent much expense to solve this issue.

Thanks,
Bill

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #7 –
I forgot to ask:
How does VideoLan's VLC player handle mp3s that is different than all the other players?  Because it is the only mp3 player which doesn't crash my system (though I haven't tried it since re-installing XP). 

The fact that VLC could play the files lead me to believe some bit of Windows software (used by the other players) was corrupted and re-installing XP might correct matters....Oh, well....

Bill

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #8 –
You say you installed XP SP3 from CD.

Dare I ask if this is a slipstreamed disc you made yourself from the Microsoft original CD + downloaded SP3 or if this is a pirate disc?

If a pirate disc lord knows what you have on your system, fresh install or not.
Creature of habit.

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #9 –
Another cause of flakiness is a dodgy power supply. Diagnosing that would involve at least monkeying around with a friend's known good supply. I think the Universe is telling you to start the new year with a new computer.

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #10 –

I'm not sure what VLC does with MP3 files but hi def .MPG files that crash the ATI and Windows Media Player will play with just a very minor glitch in VLC. Since VLC uses more CPU time it apparently does range / error checking of the data before processing it. That would be consistent with your MP3 results.

G²

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #11 –
XP was reinstalled from my original XP CD, then legit CDs from MS for SP2 and 3.  No pirates or homemade stuff.

By the way, I snooped around inside the machine today and saw no obvious bad parts.

Bill

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #13 –
Well, I tested various things with the utilities on Hiren's Boot CD (Video Mem. stress test; CPU/Video perf test, Gold Memory's test...) and no problems were found.

I looked at the capacitors.  There are about a dozen smaller ones (1/4 inch diameter) which are all flat on top.  Of the 14 larger ones, 13 have variying degrees of bulge.

Seems to me if they were truly bad, I'd have problems with more than MP3s....

Thanks for your help,
Bill
 

mp3/media crashes XP

Reply #14 –
Try running LinX on your machine. If it crashes or the program reports and error when running then you have definitely have a problem with CPU, Motherboard, Ram or PSU.

This is a very stressful benchmark so keep an eye on your PC and CPU temps.
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