Windows instability

[dinki]

I've recently installed Windows XP Home SP2 on the machine listed in my sig. With the exception of gbpvr, I've only really installed a handful of 'small' apps (like vnc and some gbpvr plug ins).

The machine operates fine, but on occassion, I find that the machine has locked up. I can see the time on the menu of gbpvr so I know that it happens at random times throughout the day and night. It seems that it only happens when the system is idle. I have no power save options set; it is set for always on. The box has the latest firmware. This machine is a dedicated pvr and is only meant to run gbpvr.

Can someone give me some tips on what to check, log files to review, and or a possible software auditing program to check the system?

[Clanky]

You could try checking the event logs - right click My Computer & select Manage. In the Event Viewer there are several logs, check the System log & see if this shows any problems.

[HarryH3]

Also be certain that all power saving is disabled in the system BIOS.

[dinki]

Back again. Unfortunately the machine is still acting up. Since posting, I have had the machine lock up once while viewing a recording. I've checked the event logs and didn't see anything unusual.

As you can imagine, this is very annoying. I haven't missed any recordings due to the lock ups, but I'm pretty sure it will happen eventually. Previously, I had linux on this machine and its up time was really good; only going down for reboots/upgrades. I'm guessing that this is a driver issue, but I have no idea on how to track it down.

Can anyone suggest any kind of audit software that might show me what is causing my grief?

[dinki]

Just as an update, I did a windows update, updated my sound drivers, uninstalled my video drivers (third party quartz drivers), reinstalled the ATI official drivers and all is well. No freezes in almost two weeks. One less thing to 'worry' about!

[dinki]

Me again. My problems have been happening with increasing frequency since my last post. It seems like the lock ups usually happen around the top or the bottom of the hour. I understand that these lockups are probably hardware related. I'm attaching my eventlog and syslog and my gbpvr log files. If some kind soul could take a look and see if they can spot anything out of the norm I would be most appreciative.

Thanks ...

[fuzzweed]

shonky drivers or heat build up cause most issues that i've seen.

Have you got any really cheap hardware in there that's not listed in your sig. - I'm thinking network cards, modems, PCI USB cards, web cams etc. Any 'little' things that cost next to nothing and come with a chinese driver? If so take them out for a bit and see what happens.

Heat build up is the other bigone.
Clean the dust off the heatsink and off the fan blades. Consider an aftermarket cooler if you're using the stock 5cm fan and heatsink that comes with most AMDs. If it's a home build check the thermal paste on the processor. You should really use quite a small amout - if you lift the heat sink and it's splurged all over the CPU clean it off with a cotton-wool bud and solvent (lighter fluid or similar) and reapply a smaller amount. If it's using a thermal pad chuck it away and use paste.
HDDs and TV cards produce quite a lot of heat in their own right, so make sure that your case fan is doing a reasonable job of removing the hot air. Maybe consider a second 'input' fan at the front to give a good flow through the case (and put a breeze over the HDDs).

For a HTPC of course you have to balance the heat against acceptable fan noise but worth experimenting in the first place to see if this is your problem.....

[dinki]

Thanks for the reply. The box I am using was previously a Mythtv system. I had no issues with it and it's uptime was usually measured in weeks (between reboots/power outtages). The only thing that has changed since is that I have installed WinXP Home, added two pvr150s and installed Gbpvr. I'll look at adding some more cooling soon. Noise is not a problem as it is in a closet.

Can someone please check my Gbpvr and sys logs? I did notice in the eventlog or syslog that the gbpvr recording service had errors associated with it but I'm not smart enough to figure out what's going wrong..

Thanks for the input...

[HtV]

What about your PSU, is it sufficient for the extra cards. I don't know how much amperes a 150 takes. I do know they can get hot, so it's not very little I guess.

[dinki]

It's a 350W PS. The box has never crashed while recording video. Only when it is idle. (To the best of my knowledge)