Found my Gremlin causing computer to Freeze

[divinehammer]

Just wanted to share my solution for computer/GBPVR freeze up. I am using version 99.05 and my computer was freezing up at random times with no obvious log entries. A freeze up like this required that I reboot the computer each time and the recording service would stop and all functions on the computer would stop couldnt even VNC to it. So it finally did it while I was watching a show. So I was better able to track it down. Seems that the lockup was occuring because I had the system's clock set to automatically sync(Checkbox) with a time server specifically time.nist.gov here in the states.When it was unable to sync is when it would error out. I unchecked the box and have since had no problems. So this was my gremlin thought I would share hopefully it helps someone.

[rscheller]

divinehammer,

I don't doubt your solution worked for you but I too have my Windows XP set to sync the time from time.nist.gov and my computer/GBPVR has never crashed and I leave it powered on 7/24.

Well, maybe 'never crashed' is a bit too optimistic a term but my system is very, very stable and about the only times I ever reboot is upon a Windows XP patch or when I install some new software. My PC has only locked up unexpectedly (i.e. something I didn't cause) requiring a true reboot less than about 2-3 times in the 18 months I've had it. Really!

[zehd]

divinehammer,

I don't doubt your solution worked for you but I too have my Windows XP set to sync the time from time.nist.gov and my computer/GBPVR has never crashed and I leave it powered on 7/24.

Well, maybe 'never crashed' is a bit too optimistic a term but my system is very, very stable and about the only times I ever reboot is upon a Windows XP patch or when I install some new software. My PC has only locked up unexpectedly (i.e. something I didn't cause) requiring a true reboot less than about 2-3 times in the 18 months I've had it. Really!

Really!

Well they say if you don't have to reboot your computer then you're using a mac... :eek:

Mine is stable too. As far as sync goes, I wrote my own program that checks through sveral time servers until it gets a hit. (doesn't wait too long either)

I have a restart everyday at 6:00 am. During that restart, It stopps the GB-PVR service and closes any HIP or GBPVR window, and couple other programs too, I purge, crapclean, , defrag, and set the clock.

Each step is logged so I know it happened...It's a batch file. I hate batch files. I was thinking of writing a kwik gui for a daily restart... But it works fine

[jksmurf]

Each step is logged so I know it happened...It's a batch file. I hate batch files. I was thinking of writing a kwik gui for a daily restart... But it works fine

I'd be interested in such a beast... I could have used XP's Scheduler but's it's a bit of a bane to do so many, plus I have been concerned I MIGHT be recording something.... could you make it check whether it could restart w/o losing recorded stuff ???

k.

[zed]

My XP box is very stable. About the only time I have to reboot is for updates and when I shut it down to fiddle with hardware. It runs GB-PVR and I use for normal everyday stuff, too.

Why do you feel a daily reboot is necessary? I suppose it can't hurt but it seems like overkill to me.

I had a FreeBSD box, an old HP 486 system, that ran over 400 days, according to uptime. We had to shut it down to move it across the computer room. It ran as an smtp server.

I also had a Sun Sparc box in my office that showed over 600 days in uptime. Again, I had to shut it down to move it to my new office.

As for time sync, I use Dimension4...works great...

[David]

I'd be interested in such a beast... I could have used XP's Scheduler but's it's a bit of a bane to do so many, plus I have been concerned I MIGHT be recording something.... could you make it check whether it could restart w/o losing recorded stuff ???

k.

Seems to me that the postepgupdate.bat will only run if GB-PVR isn't doing anything else at the time. That seems like a particularly useful nightly scheduler to me, with the possible exception of DVB based EPG data (no download). Perhaps Sub could confirm.

[jksmurf]

Why do you feel a daily reboot is necessary? I suppose it can't hurt but it seems like overkill to me.

Well whaddya know, zed talking to zehd... ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz .... :-)

My XP box is very stable too. However if I leave it running for "a while" (it's on 24/7) it sometimes doesn't seem to be able to change channel on my ADSL box (internal tuners are fine) and I lose recordings, or rather I tape 2 hrs of stuff on a channel it was on. If I reboot, it can change the channel via my USB-UIRT no problem. Until I work out WHY it is losing focus or whatever the fault it, a reboot is a quick and dirty fix... otherwise I wouldn't need it.

This is my "EVERYTHING" PC. My wife has a notebook downstairs, but this thing is more than just the GBPVR server :-)

k.

[HtV]

Well whaddya know, zed talking to zehd... ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz .... :-)

Yeah took me a minute to figure that out, ......stating that the machine is rebooted every morning and in the next post stating his machine rarely needs to reboot.:confused:

[zed]

Yeah took me a minute to figure that out, ......stating that the machine is rebooted every morning and in the next post stating his machine rarely needs to reboot.:confused:

We try to make it as confusing as possible...

[madcat]

My GB-PVR box (if you can call a laptop a "box") is quite stable. Well, until recently.
In the past 2-3 weeks, it happened several times that if I "left" GB-PVR (exiting full screen using the ALT-ENTER), and then did something, like open FireFox or even once it happened when I just had my mouse over a tray-tooltip (I think was a windows update), then the machine froze. Only hard-reset. No mouse move, nothing. dead in the water.
I've been using GB-PVR and this XP install for many months now, and never had this problem. I don't recall installing anything new in the last months or so.
I will be happy to uncheck the auto time update, though I don't believe it's that - like i said, it only happened when I left GB-PVR to do something else.